Terminus Firefight

Terminus Firefight in Halo Wars 2.

Terminus Firefight is a cooperative gametype introduced in Halo Wars 2. In Terminus Firefight, players build both bases and armies to defend and survive against an onslaught of enemy forces. ^[1] This new mode is included with the digital expansion Awakening the Nightmare, released on September 26, 2017.

Gameplay

Up to three players amass armies to defend both their bases, and their Forerunner terminus node against an ever-increasing and intensifying hoard of attacking enemies.
Players have to battle against UNSC, Banished, and voracious Flood forces while fighting for survival. With the ability to construct new defense measurements such as spike floors and barricades alongside classic Halo Wars gameplay features like base-building, tech trees, and Leader power usage, this modes adds an entirely new tower defense-style twist to the classic wave-based Firefight mode. The enemy firepower and health are adjusted based on how many players are participating. The more players, the more of a challenge it will be. The longer you survive the wave, the tougher the enemies you will face. If the player manages to defeat an enemy wave before next wave starts, they will be awarded bonus points; the more quickly you defeat them, the more bonus points you will earn; however, each wave appears randomly. The wave's compositions are completely random; however, every 5 waves, heavy units (mainly Grizzlies), Leader Army (Such as Flood Spawner) or Super Units will appear. The bonuses will not be rewarded if the player does not clear 5 multiplier waves (5, 10, 15, etc.) in time. The Healing Drones bonus heals all damaged units, Veterancy Bonus will increase all unit's veterancy rank by 1, and Unit Reinforcements will deploy 1 random unit with each dropship without consuming population.

Bonus items will be often dropped after a few waves. The possibilities are Power, Supply or Veterancy bonuses, and they will dropped on a random area of the map. A score multiplier will be added with every minibase you construct; however, your minibases will be extremely vulnerable to the enemy since they will attack them on sight, forcing the player to mostly concentrate their defenses around the Terminus. The more minibases you construct, the more score multipliers you will earn, but it will also put your base on more risk from enemy attacks. The score multiplier does not affect all players in a game if one succeeds in constructing a minibase; rather, it only affects those who constructed it. If you construct a minibase and complete it, you can build more turret defenses surrounding the minibase outside the Terminus to delay the enemy more, allowing you to intercept them with more organized forces, in addition to adding barricade defenses, without risking losing troops. Note that turret defenses surrounding minibases can only be constructed if a minibase's construction is complete.

The player should get close to terminus since it provides a permanent healing effect, suitable for units that defend the last line.

Always expect of every type of attack. The Huragok in this mode are modified with a glassing beam, and can self-destruct above your structures. Note that the enemy will be constantly focusing on attacking the terminus, except for air units, such as modified Huragok that can use a glassing beam if self-destructed above your base and air units who steer off from their original attack course. In a wave of ODST drops, they will always make a drop around the Terminus and main base.

As a starting base, the player will be provided with a basic squad unit (2 Marines or 3 Grunt Infantry Squad), a Tier 2 base (Combat Station or Stronghold) with five slots available and 600 supplies and 400 power. You will be given 30 seconds to prepare before the first wave starts. Terminus firefight generally provides 3 variable minibase slots to each player scattered around the map, with a total of 9 minibase slots available if played by three players; these can be seen while the game is loading. A 1-slot minibase is available near Terminus, a 2-slot minibase is available in the chokepoint area leading to the terminus, and a 3-slot minibase is available near the enemy's spawn points.