Halo 4 Mythic Difficulty Guide

Halo 4 Mythic (SLASO) Walkthrough by Daniel Morris

Halo 4 Mythic Difficulty Guide - MISSION 2: Requiem

The Tru7h about "Mythiem"

Welcome to the mysterious Forerunner installation Requiem! It appears that we've finally upgraded from ring world to round world. Not to be confused with ringworm and roundworm...

This isn't an easy mission (again "medium" in difficulty), but I personally found it somewhat easier to contend with than Dawn. First off, even though you'll be fighting far more enemies here than in the previous mission, the weapons available to help you deal with them are conveniently plentiful. You'll have quite a few options available to you as well in terms of which routes you want to take. The amount of freedom given to you here is quite amazing and certainly does bring out one of the best qualities of the game.

Even though mission may seem long, it only has two chapters associated with it. There really should have been three, though, so I added one of my own!

Requiem
The Cartographer
A Star to Steer By

So if you're ready to (literally) plunge head first into this new world, let's get this show on the road!

Requiem

Having a chapter title the same as the mission reminds me of having a mission given the same title as the game (Halo from CE). Perhaps this is another tribute? Ah well. Take a moment to recover from your orbital drop and look at the smoldering world around you filled with both Covenant and UNSC wreckage. You know, I find it quite amazing that Spartans seem to have this dangerous habit of plummeting from space and landing on nothing but their armor and spinal cords, brushing themselves off, and going on their way. Yet, if you take one small step off the wrong ledge, you're history... Explain that one to me!

Moving on, the drop zone is literally FILLED with a large array of weapons including Battle Rifles, Carbines, Sniper Rifles, Fuel Rod Guns, and more! If you were planning on fighting out the upcoming battle, this would be an excellent place to load up. However, since we aren't, just ignore everything and move on. Head through the cave on the opposite of the crater and feast your eyes on the surreal world of Requiem! Even I have to admit this first sunlit entry into the new world is spectacular. You'll get to witness Forerunner technology at its finest with self-adjusting structures that float in midair, carefully landscaped terrain, and an environment that has stood the test of time for over 100,000 years!

Head to the "sheltered" fragment of the Forward Unto Dawn which houses Warthogs and an ammo crate loaded with Battle Rifles. Snag one of the Battle Rifles, jump into the hog, and begin your long journey to the first open area. You'll jump over a series of massive gaps that are no doubt at least partially due to the abrupt arrival of both human and Covenant presence. The one to take note of, however, is the FINAL gap you'll jump just before reaching the first battle zone. You'll be returning here at least twice for a nifty little trick.

Approaching the opening welcomes you to a vast area littered with both Covenant and tons of weapons. On lesser difficulties, this battle is immensely entertaining simply because of the vast variations in combat you can use to claim victory. However on Mythic, it's a bit much even with the vast amounts of firepower granted to you. So, drive the hog just slightly into the area—not so far as to trigger the Phantom into firing its heavy plasma cannon—and make a U-turn to head back to that last major gap you jumped (the one with all the Covenant crates scattered around it).

This is where things get a bit tricky, so you may want to use the video at the bottom of the page to reference the glitch I'm about to describe. Remember in Reach how you could despawn enemies on the Pillar of Autumn mission by backtracking to certain load zones? Well, you're essentially doing the same thing here. When you get to the gap, keep to the right hand side. You'll be using a series of beams and platforms to reach the other side. It's really only three jumps. The first is a Sprint-jump to the first beam, a crouch-jump to the platform on the right, then a normal jump to the other side. You'll notice the screen freezing up momentarily while it despawns all of the enemies from the first battle zone. Once you've triggered it, Sprint-jump back to the other side and use the ghost to return to the former battlefield.

As a side note, each time you come across a group of enemies, you can always backtrack to this loading zone to despawn them, though the more times you do it, the longer it takes. Not only does it get a bit mundane after the second deload, you also need to be very comfortable with the jump so as to not plunge to your death. For the sake of this guide, we'll only be doing it twice, and you've just completed the first one!

Use the Ghost to boost to the far end of the battlefield. The only enemy that will be remaining is a single Concussion Warrior Elite. If you park your Ghost far enough away and rush up to his location (right before you enter the Grunt cave), you can usually take him by surprise and use your Elite dance techniques to bring him down. Likewise, you can also grab a Carbine from one of the nearby crates and peck away at his shields from a far. Either way, once he's down, go ahead and grab a Carbine from the crate next to him. For the remainder of this mission, your weapon combo should be Battle Rifle/Carbine. You'll be using the Carbine primarily against Elites and the Battle Rifle for everything else.

Peek around the cave entrance carefully! There will be three Grunts beelining it right for you. At least one will be wielding a Fuel Rod Cannon (sometimes two!). Be quick to take them out. Then, go back for your Ghost. If you have trouble boosting it over the ledge, you can use one of the other vacant Ghosts nearby as a makeshift ramp. Boost the Ghost through the cave and blast into the next zone. Be wary of the Elite and usually one Fuel Rod Grunt. If you're fast enough, you'll almost always be able to avoid his shots as well as the grenade shower that will be heading your way. A few sprinkles of plasma with a chance of doom!

Boost to the right side of the canyon, make a sharp left up the rock ledge, turn the Ghost back around so it's facing the entrance, and make a daring escape back into the cave while trying your damnedest not to get caught in the heavy crossfire. Why move up at all? Because this will also trigger the third wave of despawnable enemies which will save you a trip!

Head back to the chasm once again and perform the same trick you did the first time around. Once you've successfully deloaded the enemies, the screen will once again freeze for roughly a second, letting you know it's safe to head back. Begin your long trek back to the tower and boost to the top using the Ghost. When you get there, you'll have one Zealot fast approaching you with his Energy Sword. Use the Ghost to turn him into road kill and immediately backtrack to the base of the ramp to avoid being taken off guard by Kamikaze Grunts. Use the top of the ramp as cover to deal with the remaining enemies which will be comprised of a pair of Jackals and a few Grunts (if they decided not to bite the big one with their own Plasma Grenades).

After you've cleared the area, Cortana will highlight an object on the ground which you will be forced to pick up in order to proceed. It's your first Armor Ability! And a pretty nice one to boot—Active Camouflage!

It seems as though 343 really did take their time in tweaking old Armor Abilities and creating new ones for Halo 4. Active Camo is an excellent example. There is now a distinct crinkling sound whenever you cloak or uncloak, and if you aren't entirely sure whether or not you're still invisible, you can also look down at your legs to be sure. The cloaking device lasts roughly 15 seconds with a 10 second recharge. So if you're planning on using this to sneak up on unsuspecting Elites, be sure to begin your retreat at around 10-12 seconds in order to avoid detection. Also, enemies have been given a boost of intelligence when it comes to Active Camo. If you stand too close to one and they turn to face your direction, regardless of whether or not you are completely invisible, they'll notice the shimmer and all hell will break loose. So be cautious!

Once you've retrieved the Camo, the door on the far side of the platform will open. Grab your Ghost and proceed inside.

The Cartographer

There are many ways to deal with this battle. Having the Ghost also gives you a few additional unique options that you may not have otherwise had. Until you push any buttons, this large, multi-structured room will remain completely empty, so take a moment to get familiar with your surroundings and what items are available for you to use. The main one you should be focused on is the Carbine crate located further up on the right-hand side of the room (second level). Plan on refilling here at least once or twice.

Now, as I said, there are many ways to tackle this section. If you wanted to take the extra time, you could use the Ghost to move crates to the doorways to block the upcoming enemy waves (there are two doors on top leading to the generators and two doors on the bottom—one on each side—where the enemies emerge). You could even drive the Ghost to the console, hit the button, and immediately jump back in before the cutscene begins to have invisibility for the rest of the chapter!

Keeping all these things in mind, however, I highly recommend you simply fight this one out. You have more than enough ammo, and at the very least it will help to get you comfortable with fighting the Covenant. You'll need to be for much later in the game, so take this opportunity to master combat with them!

After hitting the cartographer, you'll be prompted to deactivate two generators very similar to the ones in Combat Evolved's Two Betrayals. They will disable your shields, but you'll have plenty of opportunity to get them back as well as the boost from the Mythic skull for your health. Once you do this, I highly recommend going for the right-most generator first. When you deactivate it, quickly jump up and exit the second floor doorway. You will have triggered the first wave of enemies. On the lower level you'll notice an Elite casually walking toward the other side (though sometimes he picks up the pace a bit). If he's in patrol mode, and normally he will be, back-smack him for good measure and get your shields back. For the remainder of the battle, you'll have one Elite to deal with who tends to remain on the far side of the room along with several Jackals and Grunts. Use your mid-ranged weapons to take them out one at a time while using the Forerunner structures as a means for cover.

When you are CERTAIN all of the Grunts and Jackals are taking a dirt nap, use your Active Camo to move around the room to assassinate the last Elite. Again, if you get too close—even if you're cloaked—he'll see you. So be extra cautious. If you believe your shields are down, be very quick to land the first melee, then immediately back off to give your shields a few seconds to recharge. Given that it's just you and him, he should go down fairly easily.

Now it's time to trigger the second wave. Deactivate the generator on the LEFT and again jump back up to the light bridge to make your way back into the main room. Wave 2 will be comprised of only Jackals and Grunts. At this point you should be an expert at taking them out. Again, when it comes to the shielded Jackals, you can wait for them to strafe (so they lower their shields), or you can either toss a grenade or hit them with a Plasma Pistol overcharge. Either way, this should be candy for you at this point.

When you've killed the enemies from Wave 2, Wave 3 will show up from the upper right doorway. This will consist of shielded Jackals, one Marksman, and two Elites. Make the Marksman your top priority, then focus on the shielded Jackals.

For the two Elites, there's a very easy way to deal with the first one thanks to RC Master. You can make your way to the right side of the room and use the position shown in the bottom video to take him out with the Carbine. Again, it takes roughly three entire clips to take out a fully shielded Elite, so be patient! But if you're in the right spot, he won't move at all!

Use your Active Camo to sneak up on the last Elite to not only get your shields back, but also to finish the chapter! Just a side note, you will need to kill them before you are allowed access to the Cartographer again. Additionally, if you still even have Battle Rifle ammo at this point, you're most likely dangerously low, so don't forget to fill up on Carbine ammo before proceeding!

A Star to Steer By

After that last battle, the upcoming bridge encounter should be a breeze! You can move at your own pace and aren't required to kill a specific number of enemies in order to proceed onward. And though it's entirely possible to rush this area completely, I'd recommend wasting all the enemies on the first side of the bridge to give you a higher chance at success. This is the last major battle you'll need to deal with (the next one is cake), so take your time here!

As soon as you reach the bridge, you'll find yourself on an elevator platform. Stay back! It's very easy to accidentally stumble on the lift and be lowered into the enemy chaos below. Instead, stay back and cloak yourself. This will allow you to remain invisible to the Phantom while it drops off additional reinforcements. As long as you stay cloaked and don't attack anything, it won't see you. Once it passes, the bridge becomes a shooting gallery. Your immediate threats are the Grunts and Jackals directly below. When you start picking them off, most of them will start to retreat to the bridge structures further back. Pop them while they're on the run! You should be able to tag most if not all of the cannon fodder. The Elite, on the other hand, tends to be a bit dodgy, often retreating back to one of the structures to recharge his shields. So when you've cleared out most of the area, take the lift down, fill up on Battle Rifle ammo courtesy of the nearby weapons plate, and use the structures in the center of the bridge to move up towards the Elite. When you reach him, cloak, wait until he's in Patrol mode, and run in for an assassination.

Now turn your attention to the lower level of the bridge. There will be a few Grunts on the retreat. Take them out to prevent them from kamikazing later. Head back up to the top level. You'll have one more Elite to deal with. Here's the trick, though. Advance just far enough to trigger the next Phantom. You'll need to take out the secondary gunner in order to get him to fly away. Once you've done this, take out the Jackal Sniper on the other side of the bridge. With these threats eliminated, you can switch your focus to the Elite. Use the same tactics as before to deal with him. Cloak, wait for him to Patrol, then rush in for the kill. Uncloak and listen for any Grunts that might be running your way armed with Plasma Grenades. If the coast is clear, load up on Carbine ammo from the nearby crate, and approach the break in the bridge.

Below you'll see several Grunts, a pair of Shielded Jackals, and one Elite. Use the Carbine to deal with all of them, especially since you have more than enough ammo to do so. Clear the area and run back for additional Carbine and Battle Rifle ammo. After loading up, use the walkway below to cross to the other side of the bridge. Jump in the parked Banshee as fast as you can and beeline it for the exit on the other side. The door will open, giving you a chance to simply rush in and bypass all the enemies. The Concussion Warrior guarding the entrance may get a few shots off on you, but as long as he doesn't land a lucky stick, you should be able to proceed without any hassle.

Had you decided to stick around, you would have been forced to tango with two enemy Banshees—whose intelligence seems to have been given a rather nasty upgrade in Halo 4—as well as an enemy Phantom. With Black Eye activated, dogfights in this game are absolute hell. Avoid them whenever possible!

Off to the final battle! It's all downhill from here. From the entrance, you'll notice a Phantom that seems reluctant to attack you dropping off Grunt reinforcements. Take them out. The two Ghosts patrolling the area won't advance too far, so as long as you stay near the entrance, you should be in the clear. You'll want to hijack one of these guys later. The upper platforms on either side are fortified with Shade turrets and ranged Jackals—one Marksman on either side and an additional Jackal Sniper on the right. These guys are top priority. Make them feel the wrath of your Battle Rifle before attempting to assault the Ghosts. Try using the Battle Rifle to take out at least one of the drivers. I recommend saving the other one to hijack in order to restore any shields you may have lost in the previous battle. You can very easily use the barricades in addition to your Active Camo to sneak up on him. Once the Ghost is in your possession, quickly boost to the opposite side of the battlefield and straight into the structure. Mow down the Grunts if you can!

This is where you really need to pay attention. We are going to skip several trigger spots that spawn additional enemies. Entering the structure alone will despawn all of the enemies you left behind outside. This is one obstacle that you've just eliminated. However, do NOT get close to the ramp leading up to the second level as this will not only trigger the additional enemies up top, but also the ones that emerge from the two sides of the second floor. Instead, head back outside (assuming you're in the structure and facing the area's entrance) and make your way over to the pillar on the right side of the area. There will be a large boulder beside it. Crouch jump to the top of the rock, then jump to the Forerunner structure right beside it, and hop up to the top of the platform.

A word of warning, I think the Forerunners have a lube fetish, because this has got to be one of the most slippery rocks I've ever encountered in a Halo game! The jump can get a bit frustrating, but with all Covenant in the area gone, you can attempt this as many times as you like. Check out the video at the bottom of the page for a visual demonstration on how all these jumps and skips play out.

You may take a few potshots from the one remaining Elite standing on the second level of the structure on the far end. If he gives you too much trouble, you have plenty of Carbine ammo to take him out safely, and he really doesn't have any place to hide. After you've reached the platform, immediately Sprint through the doorway and rush past the pair of Grunts and Shielded Jackal. Most of the time, they're be too startled to even shoot at you! Then proceed to the top of the Forerunner area where your exit—guarded by harmless Sentinels—awaits. Thanks to this little technique, the Hunters and Elites that would normally be battling them won't be there at all! So at this point you won't have any opposition for the remainder of the mission.

Stroll through the door into the next room. A platform will lower itself from above. Simply climb on board and ascend to the end of the mission. At this point, Requiem winds down to a close, and you should now be well-seasoned in dealing with the Covenant! Trust me, you'll need this training later in the game. You have been warned!