The Ark (level): Difference between revisions

==Summary==

The Chief and the ODSTs meet up with a group of Marines whose Pelican was shot down.  The Marines inform the Chief that there's a good landing zone for the ''Forward Unto Dawn'' nearby.  After retaking the Pelican crash site, John-117 and his allies commandeer an assortment of vehicles and drive off to secure the LZ. Along the way, the Chief discovers a large Forerunner wall built between the cliffs. The entrance to the wall is guarded by [[Sentinels]] which attack the Covenant but leave the humans alone. Johnson arrives in a Pelican and informs Commander Keyes that Hocus has found a structure located on the other side of the wall. Keyes deduces it's a Cartographer which they can use to locate the Prophet of Truth.   

[[File:H3 - Shadow of Intent Bridge.png|thumb|300px|The Major and 'Vadum on the ''[[Shadow of Intent]]'s'' bridge.]]

''Cut to the bridge of the ''[[Shadow of Intent]]''.''

[[File:H3 ArkAmbush.png|thumb|300px|The UNSC team comes across a Mantis being assembled.]]

*'''ODST leader''': "They're setting up an AA battery. That thing'll tear the ''Dawn'' apart... We'll wait for you to take the shot."

*'''Longsword Pilot (COM)''': "Thrusters are gone, I can't control it!"

''A pair of Marines reveal themselves.''

*'''[[Private First Class]] [[Chips Dubbo]]''': ''(whispering)'' "Flak got our Pelican too, sir. But before we went down, we spotted a good LZ. If we can get to our vehicles, we'll lead you to it."

''If Chief stays by the downed Pelican he can pick up radio transmissions of the ongoing space battles above the installation. These play in a random order, though some phrases are played in quick succession as responses to others. There are several Longsword pilots. All pilots have been marked as "unknown" here.''

*'''Keyes (COM)''': "Stand by to jettison the [unintelligible: "HEVs"?] on my mark."

*'''Dubbo''': "Mount up. Let's find that LZ. Follow us, sir, all the way down this canyon."

''The team mounts up and moves on through the canyon, clearing [[Covenant]] patrols and passing the Longsword's wreckage. There's a working [[M12 LRV|Warthog]] nearby that the Chief can use.''

*'''Jiralhanae Commander (COM)''': "Nooooo! Hit the carrier! Kill the [[Rtas 'Vadum|Half Jaw]] and his crew!"

*'''ODST #1''': "Oh, they see us all right. They just haven't decided what to do with us yet."

*'''ODST #1''': "The LZ's through this cave, sir. Watch yourself; got Covenant heavy armor!"

*'''Johnson (COM)''': "That did it. LZ's clear."

'''''Armor up.'''''

*'''Keyes (COM)''': "Thanks, Chief. I wouldn't have lasted much longer up there. Come to the back of the frigate."

''The convoy starts to move out.''

''After the convoy scores a kill:''

*'''Marine #2 (COM)''': "Tank beats Hunter!"

*'''Marine #2 (COM)''': "Tank beats ''everything''! Oh, ''man!'' I could do this all day!"

[[File:Ark Level Scorpion.jpg|thumb|300px|John-117's Scorpion fighting through Covenant vehicles.]]

*'''Stacker (COM)''': "All armor, form up on the lower doorway. Chief, get upstairs; have your robot pick that lock!"

*'''343 Guilty Spark''': "Please, use caution; avoid collateral damage! While this facility looks quite hardy on the surface, there are undoubtedly delicate structures below the façade. ''(pause)'' Odd, for a doorway to require such robust security protocols. One moment, Reclaimer."

*'''343 Guilty Spark''': "There we are. Please, follow me."

*'''343 Guilty Spark''': "Hurry! To the Cartographer!"  

*'''Johnson (COM)''': "Heads up, Marines! We got trouble."

''If the player remains inside the room and stalls:''

''If the player comes close to the room where the terminal is you can hear 343 Guilty Spark say a few lines from it. If anyone enters the room or 343 Guilty Spark is hit, he will stop talking''.

[[File:Ark.JPG|thumb|300px|The Cartographer displays a holographic map of the Ark.]]

*'''[[Master Chief Petty Officer]] John-117''': ''(surprised)'' "That's...our galaxy. We're beyond the rim."

''Guilty Spark turns around and looks at the Master Chief.''

*'''John-117''': "Can you tell me where we are ''exactly''?"

[[File:Spark installation 00 cartographer.jpg|thumb|300px|343 Guilty Spark helps John-117 read the Cartographer.]]

*'''343 Guilty Spark''': "The barrier ''will'' be difficult to disable... how odd that my makers would place such a comprehensive defense around a single - ''(shocked)'' Oh my."

*'''Dubbo''': "Sir, Pelicans are gonna land... one level down!"

*'''343 Guilty Spark''': "Protocol dictates action. The installation was my responsibility, [[Installation 08|if my suspicions are correct...]] no! I must not jump to any conclusions."  

*'''[[Cethegus]]''': "The [[pack]] will ''feast'' on you!"

*'''Johnson (COM)''': "Hang tight, Chief! We're on our way!"

''The Sentinel closes back up and rejoins the flock.''

''Keyes interrupts.''

''Level ends''

==Trivia==

*In Theater mode, right at the part where the player snaps to Master Chief's HUD, pauses and unsnaps the camera, then plays, they will see the Pelican fly normally and then fly slanted to the drop zone.

*At the structure with the light bridge, killing all the tanks and Warthogs at the bottom will cause the Marine who drops off the Gauss Warthog in the next area to be invincible. He will still react normally and say his line "Chief, 'Hog's all yours," before proceeding to attack the player. It should also be noted that even if the player kills all the tanks and Warthogs by the light bridge, they will still come out of the cliff in the next area, and will not be hostile. This is probably due to the fact that, if the tanks are watched in Theater mode (right after activating the light bridge), they simply disappear and new tanks and Warthogs appear out the other door.

*It is possible to board and destroy the Scarab when the player first exits the Forerunner building and sees the Gauss Warthog being attacked by Ghosts. To do this, the player must grab a Ghost and destroy it at the correct time, so the Ghost part can launch the player directly into the Scarab's doorway. Once destroyed, the player will see the Scarab again in the area where they would normally fight it; half of the Scarab will be missing, and smoke will billow out from its main cannon.

*A player can easily navigate a Chopper the full way down to the Chieftain fight at the end of the level. With a large amount of patience and time, a player can (with a partner) also navigate a Warthog to the Chieftain fight at the end of the level. This second option may take hours, however.

*The Milky Way seen throughout the level is represented as a barred spiral galaxy, but when Master Chief activates the Cartographer it is represented as a spiral galaxy. In reality, the Milky Way is a barred spiral galaxy.

*During the beginning cutscene, the seats on the left side of the cargo space of the Pelican Kilo 023 appear to be occupied by ODSTs; however immediately it appears that the left side seats are now unoccupied and the ODSTs are seemingly gone (though Master Chief is blocking the view of the right side seats). When gameplay starts, one can clearly see marines sitting on both sides of the cargo space, ODSTs returning to the left side. This is most likely an oversight by Bungie, though the NPCs could have switched seats for some reason between the two shots.

===Easter eggs===

*Originally, the platform at the end of the level where the player fights the Brute Chieftain was supposed to be a station for a train leading to [[Guardian Forest|a level]] that was later cut from the game. After the level got cut, Environment Artist [[Paul Russel]] suggested it be replaced by the Chieftain fight arena seen in the final game.<ref>[https://picasaweb.google.com/114253662089061571624/HALO3#5500019593070971362 '''Picasa''': ''Paul Russel > HALO3 8/25'']</ref>

*This is the only ''Halo 3'' level where the regular Wraiths are rigged to explode when its driver dies unless you use the RB and shoot driver method.

==Gallery==

===Concept art===

<gallery>

File:H3 SpaceBattle Concept.jpg|Concept art of the opening space battle.

File:H3 Ark Desert Concept.jpg|Concept art of the desert in the level.

</gallery>

===Screenshots===

<gallery>

File:H3 - Retribution - Ark.png|The Sangheili fleet arrives at the Ark.

File:Ark3.jpg|The ''Forward Unto Dawn'' deploying Pelican dropships at the Ark.

File:Helljumper Squad.jpg|ODSTs fighting on the surface of the Ark.

File:H3 The Ark Arbiter and Master Chief.jpg|The Arbiter and John-117 in battle.

File:Hunter BloodBond.jpg|A pair of Mgalekgolo in combat.

File:H3 Ark FUD-LZ.png|The ''Forward Unto Dawn'' deploys vehicles to help the assault on the Cartographer.

File:TLJ Cartographer.PNG|A view of the Cartographer of Installation 00.

File:HTMCC H3 Coop The Ark Ending Cinematic.jpg|John-117 and Thel 'Vadam watch as a large group of Aggressor Sentinels appear behind the Pelicans at the Cartographer.

</gallery>