The Pillar of Autumn (Halo: Reach level)/Walkthrough: Difference between revisions

==Once More Unto the Breach (Mission Start)==

===The Abandoned Bridge===

The first encounter is a tough one. You have three Grunts with an Elite Major (or Minor) on the left, three more Grunts with an Elite Ultra on the right, three Jackals guarding the bridge, and three Grunt Heavies underneath it. Although the enemies are unaware of your presence when you arrive, they're so closely gathered that trying to take them out by stealth is impossible. Cover is also very limited here, as most of the rocks are too short to hide at and make you a target for grenades. While you have more than enough assault rifle ammo, your pistol only has 24 rounds, half of its total capacity. So you're going to have to make do other weapons while saving your pistol for the absolutely necessary.

===The Mongoose Drive===

The drive down the road with the Mongoose is a brief section that doesn't warrant much strategy. Just keep moving, drift your turns, and don't let Emile drive. But before you drive along, you may want to arm up for a secret encounter. At the small supply house where the Mongooses are parked, there's a dead Marine with a rocket launcher. Inside there's more rocket launcher ammo. In total there are twelve rockets, and four Banshees spawn as soon as the music changes. With four rockets to spare, why waste them?

Only last thing you need to know for the Mongoose drive is that a Phantom flies over after you pass through a tunnel and then it comes over the broken bridge you have to jump. Since it shoots at you with its turrets, avoid it on high difficulties by stopping for a bit and letting it drive past.

===The Brute Blockade===

Across the bridge, the Covenant have barricaded the road. Guarding its end are ten or so Brutes, a few Grunts and Jackals, two Jackal marksmen in a lookout tower, and worst of all, a Wraith at the very end of the road. After them come three more marksmen in the rocks past, and four Grunts that like to go kamikaze.

===The Drone Caves===

The [[Yanme'e]] in the caves are annoying, but there are less of them than it feels like there are. In the first room, there's ten. Use your needle rifle to shoot them; even if you miss a headshot, three bodyshots will kill them. Don't worry about conserving your ammo; there will be more than enough needle rifle ammo in the next area and there's full DMR ammo by the entrance if you need that instead. Also, try to shoot the Drones unscoped, so that their shots don't constantly pull you out of scope. As their numbers diminish, they'll retreat further back in the cave.

==This Town Isn't Big Enough (Rally Point Alpha)==

===The Boneyard (Starboard)===

The Boneyard is the largest battlespace in the level, and there are tons of ways to complete it. But the safest and most efficient way to use what you have available at the cliff to you enter from before heading down. At the cave exit you'll have a grenade launcher, a Spartan Laser, frag grenades, and an Armor Ability case carrying both Armor Lock and Drop Shield. And of course you have your weapons from before, needle rifle, DMR, and rocket launcher.

===The Boneyard (Port)===

You're leaving behind your DMR because there's plenty more inside, and also because of a time-sensitive matter: a [[BOB]]. A Gold Ranger Elite may spawn at the other end of the next area and you want all the time you can to snipe him. He'll be on the far right by a Shade turret, and it will take three to four sniper shots to kill him.

===The Trapped Troopers and the Hunters===

Before entering the next area, it's necessary to note a frequent glitch. When leaving the boneyard and going further into the next room, the game will load the next area and in the process de-load all the previous ones. If you're drop-carrying weapons, then sometimes it will despawn the weapon currently on the floor and leave you only with the two you're carrying. If you drop-carry them quickly enough, then most of the time you'll avoid this. But if it keeps happening, then your utmost necessary weapons are your needle rifle and Spartan Laser. There will be no DMR ammo in this section and the next, but there will be enough needle rifle in the room following those to replenish half capacity, plus more DMRs. Use your needles sparingly.

===The Smelting Plant===

The first half of the smelting room reverses your own strategy for the previous areas. Now you're on the bottom of the room while marksmen snipe at you from above. Three Jackal marksmen pick at you from the left balcony with needle rifles, and two groups of shield Jackals defend the right balcony and path to the stairs. But while they are annoyances who can be headshot easily, there's a more dangerous threat in the room: an Elite with an [[energy sword]]. On Heroic, he's an Ultra Elite; on Legendary he's a Spec Ops Elite. So you need to remain aware while counter-firing if he's coming or not. Don't stay scoped in for too long; check the area and even jump on top of one of the barriers with a crouch jump if you feel unsafe on the ground. There's a spare DMR to your left facing the balconies if you need it, and there's an ammo crate with more under the balconies.

==Keyes (Rally Point Bravo)==

As for weapons, inside the base you'll find assault rifles, grenade launchers, shotguns, and a few armor abilities. More importantly, [[Hidden Weapons on The Pillar of Autumn|there's a hidden crate with DMRs]] that will be absolutely vital. To get it, go to the back of the base and melee the wall or go inside and melee the small box inside. If the crate falls off the cliff or gets stuck inside, revert the checkpoint and try again. There's one more DMR lying around in the western plain, and a sniper rifle with twelve rounds on the roof of the base.

===Wave 1===

Wave 1 lands as soon as you arrive. It consists of assorted Jackals and Heavies Grunts already on the ground, and two Phantoms carrying Brutes that fly in very soon after. When you enter the area, stay on your balcony and don't go down the stairs yet. Use your high ground to shoot down as many Jackals and Grunts as you can before the Brutes show up. When they do, stay back a little so they're distracted by the Marines. Use your DMR for this section; it isn't time to use your needle rifle yet. When you kill enough of the Brutes, they'll retreat from the center platform to the western plain. Use this opening to get the hidden DMRs and refill ammo.

===Wave 2===

Wave 2 is two Phantoms. One carries a pack of Brutes and lands at the central platform. The other carries Jackals and two Brute Chieftains, and it drops them at the eastern plain. Despite being further away, the eastern Phantom is the more dangerous. One of the Chieftains has a Fuel Rod Cannon, the other has a Gravity Hammer, and they'll charge straight for you after they land. But they're momentarily stunned when they land and you have a sniper rifle. That's your one chance. When the Phantoms fly in, pick up the sniper rifle, aim out to the eastern plain, and aim a little to the left of the boulder in its center. The Fuel Rod Chieftain will land, and it'll have two headshots to kill him. Then the Hammer Chieftain will land, and he'll take two headshots as well. Try not to use more than four or five shots (you'll need this sniper rifle again later), but make sure he's downed quickly.

===Wave 3===

Once again two Phantoms fly in, and the first one lands right above the base you were sniping from. The other lands at the western plain, so its troops will take longer to reach you. The first Phantom carries a Brute pack and the second drops in some Grunts and Brutes. Although the Brute pack has a Chieftain with a plasma launcher, his shots are very easily dodged. The greater threat is actually the Grunt team because one of them is a Heavy Grunt with a Fuel Rod Gun. Additionally both Phantoms blast down any remaining Marines, so you're on your own.

===The Zealots===

The final duel of the main campaign is now. Up ahead on the way to the mass driver is going to be three [[Sangheili Zealot]]s, four [[Special Operations Unggoy|Spec Ops Grunts]], (on Legendary) an Engineer, and their leader a [[Sangheili Field Marshal]] and killer of your teammates. The Grunts will all have plasma pistols, the Zealots dual-wield plasma rifles, and the Field Marshall holds a [[Fuel Rod Gun]]. As for you, you have all the weapons you just stockpiled before the cutscene plus more in the base. You're plenty armed.

===The Mass Driver===

With the Field Marshal dead, it's time to man the Mass Driver. In it you'll be engaged by multiple Phantoms and Banshees before aiming for the incoming {{Class|CCS|battlecruiser}}. While this section is easily done on Heroic and lower, it's much more luck-based on Legendary. In Legendary the Covenant's projectiles are so strong and travel so fast that often times it's impossible to complete this section in one go. So if you're worried things will go awry, enter and then exit the mass driver to trigger the Phantoms and hide by the stairs. Then when the cruiser arrives, run back up, deploy a hologram to distract all the dropships, jump in the mass driver, and fire a single shot at the cruiser to end the mission.

As soon as you enter the mass driver, charge a shot and fire at the first Phantom you see. Fire at two more before looking up and shooting a Phantom coming from overheard. Then the Banshees will start to spawn from the left. Shoot at them then look up or to your right again for more approaching Phantoms. The general principle with Banshees is this: if three spawn at once, there's a good chance that you'll die or at least lose some health. If it's two, the odds are even, and below the odds are in your favor. Aim carefully to be sure you don't miss because the mass driver shots take a long time to recharge, about as long as the Spartan Laser.

After one minute and fifteen seconds of shooting dropships, the cruiser will lower its shield and charge its [[energy projector]]. At Keyes' urging, fire a mass driver shot into it to end the level and the ''Halo: Reach'' campaign.