Gravemind (Level): Difference between revisions

A couple of prerequisites: You'll be taking on brutes for the first time. They don't have shields, but they're quite tough. Guys at [[Bungie]] call them "damage sponges". At least their damage is cumulative, unlike elites whose shields recharge, so every shot you land sticks with that particular brute but, they have their own ways of killing you.

Besides just being hard to kill, they also have one trick you haven't seen before. The last brute in a pack will often go berserk. He'll just flat out charge at you and attempt to melee you to death. Since he's faster than you when he's going berserk, you usually can't just retreat. So you'll want to be ready to deal with a berserk brute when you kill his pack mates, by having something that will do unto him before he does unto you.

There are two primary ways to kill brutes in this level. A magazine of needles will kill brute, and in fact at the start of the level a needler is the only weapon you have. But beware; they tend to duck behind cover when threatened with incoming needles, which just wastes your ammo because the needles harmlessly impact on a wall or something.

If you have dual needlers, so much the better. You'll be able to unload a lethal dose much faster.  

However, relying too heavily on needlers to deal with brutes is not recommended if you intend to go higher on the difficulty levels. The best weapon to deal with a brute from medium distance (which is where you'll usually be) is a Covenant carbine.  

The problem is that the carbine doesn't kill brutes very well if you just pump out shots into the brute. That will require about a magazine and a half, and besides using up too much ammo, with a charging brute you might not have enough time to get in that many shots. Instead, you need to head-shot him. Three or four head shots will almost always take down a brute. I've seen as little as one shot do it. Apparently that shot goes through his mouth and hits his walnut-sized brain. When you have a headshot lined up, a small dot will appear in the middle of the reticule. Don't take a lot of time lining up your shot, just fire as soon as you see the dot appear.

Sniper weapons kill brutes too, but they take two head shots or several body shots to do it, so your dead-brutes-to-ammo ratio is better with a carbine. Brute shots, seen for the first time in this level, also work pretty well at short-to-medium distances. You'll have to learn to aim them a bit high because the shot arcs.  

The blade on the brute shot is not just for show; the brute shot is also one of the best melee weapons in the game. But unless you can sneak up on a brute from the back, you'll have to get in several melee licks to kill him, and he'll be pummeling you at the same time. The brute shot is better at melee for all the other Covenant types, where one whack is often sufficient.