Cortana (level)/Walkthrough: Difference between revisions

==Part 1: Rampant==

You will start this mission with the [[M90 Close Assault Weapon System|M90 Shotgun]] and the [[MA5C Individual Combat Weapon System|MA5C Assault Rifle]]. At the mission start, use your Assault Rifle to clean out the Infection Forms. Make sure they do not re-animate any of the nearby corpses. Collect some grenades before moving on. Plasma-based weaponry is more effective against shielded Flood, should you encounter any, but for now stick to your current weapons.

When you reach the [[Porta|porta]] in the floor, drop through it and immediately take cover in the corner behind you. Stay sharp because combat forms with human weapons will appear. Take them down with quick bursts from your Assault Rifle, then close in on them and finish them off with the Energy Sword. Back away slowly and look out for the Carrier Forms that will appear. Use a grenade that sticks (Plasma, [[Type-2 Antipersonnel Fragmentation Grenade|Spike]] or [[Type-3 Antipersonnel/Antimatériel Incendiary Grenade|Incendiary]]) to kill them. When killed with a grenade, Carrier Forms won't unleash Infection Forms.

For the next area you'll want to be quick. Follow the path up and around. You should see a couple of Deployable Covers here. Grab one and make your way to the large opening in the wall, leading outside the High Charity. There are many Combat Forms here as well as [[Flood stalker form|Stalker Forms]] that like to become Ranged Forms. Load up on ammunition here at the [[D77H-TCI Pelican|Pelican]] and get ready to move. You can grab the [[M7057/Defoliant Projector|Flamethrower]] here. It can be a great help on lower difficulties, but on Legendary difficulty it is best to leave it: you will probably end up getting killed by burning Flood forms. If you choose to leave it here, it will greatly help at the end of the level (which is at the Pelican). From here you have a choice, you can set up your Deployable Cover and shoot out the Combat and Ranged forms, or you can run past them. You're going to need as much ammunition as possible, so while you could clean out this area (and if you're playing the [[Campaign Scoring|Meta-Game]] for points you should) you're much better off just running back inside, going to the left, and making your way to the porta and to the next area. The Flood will not follow you once the porta closes.

The room behind the porta contains a small slope and several Infection Forms. The chamber is filled with dead [[Sangheili|Elites]] and [[Jiralhanae|Brutes]], as well as some grenades. You can throw a grenade to set off a chain reaction and weaken or kill any Flood that re-animates. Finish the Flood off with the Energy Sword. In the next tunnel, grab either a [[Type-2 Energy Weapon/Hammer|Gravity Hammer]] (good for clearing away Flood if you get surrounded) or a new Energy Sword (usually the best choice), and then drop through the hole in the floor to continue.

Once you're through the hole, run forward and set up your Deployable Cover. You can shoot through it with your Assault Rifle, and it will provide you with excellent cover from the Ranged Forms. Draw in the Combat and [[Flood tank form|Tank Forms]] and finish them off with the Energy Sword (remember to lunge at their "mouths"). Once you're down to just Ranged Forms use your Assault Rifle to clear out a path. Run to the right side of the room. From there you should have a good cover and a perch from which you can finish off any remaining Ranged Forms on the ceiling. Switch to your Energy Sword and finish off any remaining Ranged or Tank Forms that may be present on the ground. Now go back to your Deployable Cover at the entrance of the room. When you look to the left of the place where you dropped the cover you will see a Covenant weapons case with a [[Type-33 Guided Munitions Launcher|Needler]] inside. Swap your Assault Rifle for the Needler, then head underneath the platform. Here you can grab a couple Incendiary Grenades, another Deployable Cover, and load up your Needler. The Cortana [[terminal]] is also located here.

Go forward again, around the corner. You will run into two Carrier Forms. Stick the first one with a grenade and let it explode. Don't stick the second Form right away. If you do you will probably end up popping some Growth Pods. Lure the Carrier Form forward and stick a grenade on it at the place where you did so with the first Carrier Form. Take out your Needler and edge forward. Use the Needler in the next long corridor to take out the Ranged Forms. It takes the better part of a caddy to kill them, but it's incredibly fast and effective so it's worth the waste. Run back to the room where the Cortana terminal is to reload the Needler if you need, then head forward again. You will trigger several Combat Forms including several shielded ones. Use what's left of your Needler to take down their shields and finish them off with the Energy Sword. A Bubble Shield is extraordinarily effective here because the Combat Forms won't be able to fire at you, forcing them to move into melee range. Once they're in range of your Energy Sword, they're dead. Once you've cleared the area head back to the Cortana terminal room again and grab a [[Type-51 Carbine|Carbine]], a new Energy Sword and the Cloaking equipment. Head forward to the next porta and get ready for another long fight.

Once you're through the porta, have your Carbine ready. Zoom in and you should be able to take down many Combat Forms with but one or two shots each. Stalker Forms will attack you here, but you can melee them with a few hits. Once you've cleared as many of them as you can see, reload your Carbine if you wish. Bring up your Energy Sword and activate your Cloaking. Run forward and up the path (it runs counterclockwise for the first part). Eventually you'll run into a few Combat Forms and a Tank Form. Kill them with the Energy Sword and swap your Carbine for a [[Type-25 Carbine|Brute Spiker]] and [[Type-25 Directed Energy Rifle|Plasma rifle]] combo. This combo will last for a while. Using the cover the first ramp provides you, edge out and use the Plasma Rifle and Brute Spiker to kill the Ranged Forms. You should be able to dispatch most of them from this position before advancing. Once you're fairly certain you're clear, proceed up. It may take a few tries to get the directions and jumps right. On your way up you will run into a few more Combat and Ranged Forms. They will fall quickly under the combined onslaught of the Brute Spiker/Plasma Rifle combo. Grab one of the Cloaking equipments in the room. Once you're through the porta at the top of this room get ready for a run.

When the door to the reactor room opens run forward towards the center of the room. You may need to jump over some enemies or crates but go straight to the center. Turn right and run to the wall across the flood grown floor. Turn left and run to the door. Grab a Deployable Cover as you pass through the door. If you got Cloaking, you should be able to cross the reactor room without being seen. If you don't, make a run for it anyway - there's no use fighting the Flood in this room, as more will come in when you kill them. Once the door to the reactor room closes behind you, you won't encounter any more Flood. Run forward to the [[Sanctum of the Hierarchs|Sanctum]]. In the center there will be some sort of podium: Cortana's stasis field. Go to the stasis field and bash on it until it breaks to free Cortana and start a cutscene.