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Kikowani Station | Data Hive | Coastal Highway
Coastal Highway
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So you've made it through the night wandering the desolate streets of a ruined city while avoiding superior alien patrols and other countless obstacles. You've culled your way through the city's massive data infrastructure and retrieved an asset so valuable that it could actually bring the Covenant-Human war to a grinding halt. Your only remaining hurdle is to escape the city alive and deliver the asset into the proper hands. The task certainly seems simple enough from here on out. Were it so easy...
Commentary
I don't usually do this for walkthroughs, but I believe this mission deserves a special commentary. If you'd rather not read the wall o' ramble below, feel free to skip to the "walkthrough" section further down. Otherwise, buckle up!
Remember the last "true" escort mission in the Halo franchise? It was all the way back in Halo Combat Evolved aboard the Covenant Cruiser Truth & Reconciliation. The mission? To safeguard Captain Keyes while you, he, and the surviving command crew made it to an abandoned dropship to escape from the Covenant's clutches. We had a few advantages here. The first was that the Captain was smart enough to stay behind the Chief. Second, we had other AI buddies to serve as a mild deterrent for when shields needed to be charged. And lastly, this was a very short portion of the mission. In short, it was an ideal experience even for the novice player. No real pressure. Just fun.
Now queue ODST, the game where everyone tries to be a hero... but sucks at it. We're now confronted with our first escort mission since Combat Evolved. The first time I saw the "Oliphant" pulled in, I was reminded of the Gears of War 2 sequence where the hero is driving along a twisty road using a chain gun on top of a massive transport vehicle to fend off the enemy. Having recalled the Elephant from Sandtrap, my immediate impression was that we'd be plowing this invincible Juggernaut through the highway and scattered Covenant forces to safety. Little did I know this particular variant of the Elephant was far from invincible... As if it weren't bad enough that Dare's piloting a severely underpowered Elephant, she doesn't have the sense to stay behind until the coast is clear (no pun intended). You'll witness countless occasions where you'll be fending off three or four Ghosts when suddenly the blast doors behind you open, and she continues to plow through the debris straight for an armada of Ghosts, Banshees, and Wraiths without your assistance. Considering this makes up about 80% of the mission, it's easy to see how this would get so frustrating very quickly.
Yes, it's irritating to not only have to cover your own ass, but the Oliphant's as well by ping-ponging the enemies between you and Dare, but the real issue I have with this is that it places heavy restrictions on what you can and can't do throughout the mission. One of the major game mechanics that made the original Halo so unique (and even Halo 3), was the open-world environments that you were given. These were times when you had a choice as to how you wanted to tackle a particular scenario or situation. But because of the way this mission is designed, you no longer have that sense of freedom to explore and play. It's either do what they want you to do, or die trying...
But wait! There's more! Once you've finally managed to battle your way to the evac point, you'll be tossed into a Firefight type situation where you'll be challenged against several different waves of Covenant. Normally this wouldn't be that big of an issue, but there's a catch. Just like in Firefight mode, the scattered weapons from fallen foes will disappear after each wave. This makes weapon management nothing short of frustrating and further detracts from the realism of the game.
Bungie, please don't do this to us again!
On a lighter note, this mission does offer some of the most spectacular visuals in the game. The sunrise backdrop is truly a sight to behold, and you'll also bear witness to several Covenant cruisers, Banshees, and Phantoms, whizzing by overhead as they race to the excavation site. All in all, this level is a true adrenaline-rusher and will keep your heart pumping 'til the very end! Had the Oliphant been invincible, or had Dare had the sense to cool her jets until you and Buck paved a path to safety, my opinion towards this mission would have been much different. But it is what it is, so let's wrap up the ODST Mythic mayhem by conquering the toughest mission in the game!
Walkthrough
Like Data Hive, I consider this mission to be a full-scale level in the sense that you can't simply race through it in a matter of minutes with one hand tied behind your back. You're going to have to keep a steady pace with Dare and have a strong sense of awareness if you want both you and your team to survive.
I'd like to offer a few generic tips before continuing. First off, each section of the highway is divided by two sets of blast doors. When Dare's Oliphant reaches the first set, it will automatically open, allowing her to stroll inside. However, if you would like to prevent the second set from open to keep Dare from jumping the gun too quickly and rolling ahead without you, DO NOT cross the threshold of the first set of doors. As long as you remain outside, the second set should remain closed until you are ready to proceed. To go along with this suggestion, if you find yourself in a situation where you aren't quite ready to proceed to the next area, but are in need of health, you can backtrack to the previous bridge and acquire one of the remaining health packs as I demonstrate throughout the mission.
Next is how you deal with Buck and his "shortcomings". Giving him a heavy weapon early on will benefit you down the road, but be aware of the fact that he will usually try to jump into the passenger seat of your vehicle. If you want him in the gunner seat (and for at least the first few segments you will), jump into the passenger seat of the hog, and this will force him to jump in the back. Another item of interest with Buck is his tendency to jump out of the vehicle at certain points. You don't want this, particularly if you are at a very time-oriented portion of the highway. The leading cause of this (vehicle flipping aside) is when a grenade, whether it be friendly or foe, is tossed anywhere near the vehicle. Even if the hog is moving and outside the immediate blast radius, Buck may still jump ship, so do your best to keep your distance from grenade-chucking enemies such as Brutes or Grunts.
And lastly, KEEP THE OLIPHANT ALIVE! Unlike its larger and more robust cousin, the Elephant, it's far from invincible even with the future shielding it acquires down the road. Buck and Dare will even chime in to warn you when the machine is suffering heavy damage. When they do, heed their warnings, drop whatever the hell you're doing, and rush to its aid to pry the Covenant baddies off its back. Remember, if the Oliphant gets wasted, game over.
Keep these items in mind, and you should be well on your way to reaching the end of the longest highway on Earth... Let's take this one nice and easy, folks.
- Dawn's Early Light
- Coastal Highway
- Firefight
Get ready for the ride of your life...
Dawn's Early Light
You'll start out with Buck, Dare, and the Engineer by your side. With two invincible AI's aiding you, this doesn't seem so bad to begin with, but keep in mind that the Engineer MUST survive at all costs. If it dies, mission's over.
The second you reach the great outdoors, you'll notice that you've made it through the night. The sun is rising and lighting your path to salvation. Thanks to the Covenant blockades, there's only one way you can go, so take it.
Now, this next zone may seem intimidating at first glance. A Covie sniper tower guarded by several Grunts, Jackals, and Brutes certainly isn't anything to sneeze at, but fortunately there's a cheap and easy way out. I've tried many paths but I've found the following method to be the most effective.
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As you can see, your safest bet is to hug the right wall as tightly as possible. This prevents the turret from seeing you until the last possible second. Yes, you will take a pummeling. However, nine times out of ten you'll be able to make it through without too much trouble. Along the way be sure to swap out your current weapons for a plasma pistol and carbine, both located in Covie crates along your path through the courtyard.
Don't worry about your buddies. Once you're far enough along, they'll magically warp in behind you. This also has a downside, however. Sometimes this occurs just as Buck chucks a grenade. That's your first TK alert of the mission. Take it to heart.
Follow the path shown in the video. Essentially, you're just exiting the courtyard on the side opposite from which you came. Head up the street, hang a right, and exit through the dimly lit red doors on the far sde. Once you reach the elevator itself, hang out and chill for a minute while you wait for your team to catch up. You'll quickly learn that the Engineer is needed to power on the switch which begs the question, if it was so easily turned back on, who the hell switched it off to begin with? And why? Nevertheless, stepping inside after the squid does its thang will trigger a cutscene.
Coastal Highway
So far you've had it pretty easy. Not much involved in getting to the elevator right? Don't start celebrating yet. What you just went through was a mere mockery of the hell you are about to experience. Oh well. At least you'll have a breathtaking view of a New Mombasa sunrise as you dive head-first into hell.
The Engineer has apparently hijacked a broken Elephant called an "Oliphant" and is suggesting it as a means of escape. Perhaps if it had known ahead of time that Dare would be driving and Buck would be covering, it would have just surrendered to the Covenant...
The highway itself is divided into several sub-sections which we will be covering individually to help lessen the overall blow. Some are more difficult than others, but nearly all of them will require some sort of planned prep work in order for you to succeed. In addition, each divide contains a set of hemo packs to aid you in the next area. Take advantage of it!
If you're all set and ready, hop in the Warthog and start driving, keeping to your left. Around the next bend, you'll notice a large mass of Grunts dead ahead taking positions. Don't drive too close, or they'll start lobbing plasmas your way. Instead, hop out of the vehicle and go to town with your carbine. Don't worry too much about conserving ammo. You'll be ditching it soon anyway, so for the moment, have fun and give to them what they have coming.
Further down will be another large mass of Grunty goodness. One will be wielding a fuel rod cannon, but will likely be crushed by Dare's Sunday driving. As for the rest, I'd recommend taking the time to pick them all off one by one. Why bother, you ask? Your next objective is to equip Buck with a heavy weapon, and it's far easier to both select one, hand it over to your partner, and get him back where he needs to be when you don't have dozens of plasma grenades being lobbed your way. Besides, they're only Grunts and won't take long to wipe out anyway. Below shows how you can dominate the masses carefully without endangering your Warthog.
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I'd recommend choosing the Grunt's fuel rod cannon over the dead Marine's rocket launcher simply because the former has a much higher rate of fire, and when in the capable hands of an AI, the rounds lock on to their targets making them much more difficult to dodge. But the Marine's death shall not be in vain! Go ahead and snatch up one of the health packs he left behind and collect the rocket launcher for yourself, leaving behind the carbine. At ease, soldier. At ease...
The second the doors open, speed on through and splatter any Jackals that get in your way. Keep to the left once again. You'll splatter a trio of Grunts, and further up you'll encounter more Grunts backed by their Brute leaders. The lead Brute will either be wielding a carbine or a Brute shot. If the latter is in play, expect to take some damage before reaching the blast door. Otherwise, ignore and move on.
Now, why was it important that you get across this section of highway as quick as possible? I've noticed that a second or more is all it takes for the platoons in the surrounding area to be alerted to your presence. As a result, when you try to splatter a Grunt or Brute, they will be likely trying to prime a grenade just as your Warthog pounds them into the pavement. Usually that spells out instant death for the Rookie, so don't take any chances.
After getting to the blast door, drive on over to a spot behind the abandoned truck to help draw attention away from your whereabouts. Wait for Dare to catch up. Note that if your enemies start charging you anyway, be aware of their grenades being primed and dodge when necessary.
Dare will catch up as soon as she mentions some nonsense about the squid extending its shields to the vehicles itself... yeah as if it really helped!
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Don't bother with the health packs here unless you managed to survive a direct stick or know for a fact you're on the edge of death. It really isn't worth the risk since you likely have mobs of Covenant infantry charging your location. Speed out of there towards the blast door.
The next set of doors will open, displaying a series of Covenant guard towers occupied by Grunts toting fuel rod guns. As long as you are moving at top speed, you shouldn't have to worry about getting massacred by salvos of green, sparkling hate. The only real issue might come towards the end.
Once you reach the far side, you'll want to swing by the ammo cache and collect max ammo for your rocket launcher. If you aren't careful, though, the Grunts in the nearest tower may spot you and lob a few hate bombs your way, so keep a look out!
Visually, this also happens to be one of the most impressive portions of the highway. You'll start seeing armadas of Banshees whizzing by overhead followed by a rumbling Covenant cruiser that nearly skims the top of the bridge! I will say one thing about Coastal Highway. It's 100% pro when it comes to building up plenty of momentum.
When Dare reaches the blast doors, hop inside the warthog. You'll immediately be greeted by a humongous swarm of angry Drones. Drive straight through them to grab their attention, park the hog right at the opposite door facing the door itself, and hop out for cover. Buck actually does a fair job of administering his own variant of poison to exterminate these overgrown pests, but if you feel inclined to lend him your aid, I'd recommend temporarily grabbing an SMG from the left side weapons cache.
Not all of them have to die in order for the doors to open (usually a couple remain), so be ready to jump back inside the warthog the second they do. In fact, it actually doesn't matter at all how many you kill. The opening of the blast doors to the next area is actually timed anyway, and you can tell when they're about to open when you hear the roar of a low-flying cruiser rush by overhead. The below example will shows everything you need to know.
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Once again, you'll need to head out as quickly as you can. The next segment is about to become densely populated. Several Phantoms will dive down from above and start dropping off groups of reinforcements. Try to stay towards the left side of the highway as it seems to be the least congested and will allow for the best setup for what you're about to pull.
Race towards the last Phantom, which will be in the process of deploying three sets of troops. The first set will be made up of Grunts and Jackals and will likely already be on the ground by the time you get there. Hang back until the second set is deployed, which will include a Brute captain. As soon as lands, rush his location and squash both him and as many Grunts as possible. At this point, the last set should be landing—made up of entirely of Grunts, so do a quick U-turn and steamroll them as well. The survivors at this point should be running around frantically. Take the time to mop them up before the Oliphant arrives. Then, with the area clear, get yourself ready for the next area by placing Buck (who should be wielding a fuel rod cannon at this point) into the passenger seat. The next video demonstrates what needs to be done.
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The next four segments are going to be the major "make or break" points of the mission. The Covenant are stepping it up a few notches by throwing vehicles into the mix. Up until this point, you've pretty much been able to coast down easy street and ignore the Oliphant completely, letting it do its own thing. Now you not only have to worry about your own tail, but the crew aboard the dump truck as well. For the next few minutes we'll be engaging in a rather tense game of Covenant ping pong. Let's play, shall we?
If you aren't already full on health, grab a hemo-pack from the station on the left, and wait for the blast doors to open. This next area contains several Brute-controlled Ghosts, and you're going to need all the health you can get. The second the doors, open, cling to the left side of the highway and race down to the abandoned Warthog. The scattered Ghosts will open fire long before then in most cases, so the second you reach the other hog, jump out and take cover. Your goal is to keep most of the attention focused on Buck while he plows the surrounding vehicles with fuel rod fire. I have yet to see Buck's hog get destroyed from Ghost plasma, so try not to worry about all the damage it's taking. Instead, help speed up the process by deploying the following method...
Up until now, we've been holstering both a full plasma pistol and a full rocket launcher. This section is what we've been waiting to use them for. Use the plasma pistol to EMP a Ghost. At this point one of two things will happen. Either the bolt will knock off the driver's power armor, or it won't. If it does, quickly follow up with either a rocket or plasma grenade to finish it off. If the armor remains, try to board the vehicle and boost into the driver. I'd recommend trying to save at least a couple of rockets for down the road, so use them sparingly if you can by deploying the latter method as often as possible.
A special thanks goes out to VincentKurayama for coming up with the plasma pistol/rocket combo for Coastal Highway. Thanks, buddy!
The next video demonstrates how both you and Buck can clear the area.
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I recommend with this area, as I do with the other three major vehicular-based sections, that you knock out 100% of the occupying forces. Otherwise they are likely to follow you into the next zone which will further complicate your progress. The segments are hard enough without doubling up on enemies.
Once you're clear, you'll be rewarded with a brand new Warthog upgraded with a gauss cannon! Yes, this will make your life easier when it comes to decimating enemy vehicles, so enjoy the luxury. If you haven't already, go ahead and grab a hemo-pack from the health station before jumping into the hog, and once again, return Buck to the gunner seat.
The next segment, in my opinion, is the most complicated of the four. Not only do you have Ghosts, to tango with, but you'll also be dealing with hostile Banshees as well. Again, your primary goal here is too keep the attention OFF the Oliphant as much as possible without offing yourself in the process.
The second the doors open, beeline it for the abandoned gauss hog by sticking to the left side of the highway. When you reach it, jump out, and man the gun on the empty hog. Between you and Buck, you'll be able to put a serious dent in the Covenant forces occupying the highway. Make Ghosts your top priority since these have a much higher tendency to trail the Oliphant later.
Once the Oliphant passes by OR you start taking heavy plasma fire, jump down from the gunner seat, snatch one of the nearby hemo-packs, commandeer your old hog, and rush to the other end of the area to rendezvous with the Oliphant. My advice? Park the hog between the Oliphant and the opposition to help keep the attention focused on Buck. If one of the Ghosts tries to pull a fast one and sneak behind you, hopefully you have enough ammo left from your previous encounter to handle the stragglers. I would, however, continue to try and conserve your rocket ammo if at all possible.
As suggested previously, wait until after every last enemy vehicle has been destroyed before proceeding forward. Additionally, if you need a health boost before moving on, either backtrack to the other gauss hog or even the previous health station before moving forward.
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At least now you're past what I consider to be the most brutal of the four vehicular portions of the highway. The next one isn't quite as bad, but it's still time sensitive. The second the doors part, gun it to the other side. Stay to the right so as to avoid bombardment from the dive-bombing banshees above. When you reach the other side, take shelter behind the truck and wait for the Oliphant. If you successfully demolished all enemies in the previous area, then the machine should be fully charged and able to take all the abuse it's about to receive. The Wraith is obviously the heavy hitter in the area, but it won't follow you or the Oliphant to the exit - unlike the Ghosts and Banshees. Fortunately, there aren't many of either, so Buck should be able to handle this one on his own. Maybe. Hopefully.
When the first set of blast doors opens, you'll notice the Scorpion sitting quietly in the corner. I know it's tempting to take it and help make up for Buck's serious case of ODST ADD, but instead, be patient and let him do all the work. Remember that the second you cross that threshold, you risk triggering the other doors to open. Not worth it!
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Once it's quiet, snatch the tank. If Buck is still wielding a heavy weapon, he'll likely hop on the side and assist with it. Finally! He does something useful!
Coming up is the last of the major vehicular encounters depending on how you handle future portions of the highway. And fortunately, it's shaping up to be an easy one. Roll on through with the Scorpion. Your first encounter will be with a Shade turret nestled perfectly in the center of the highway. Two shells should do the trick nicely. Next on the list is the game's only Anti-Air Wraith, which ironically was placed on the bridge to stop a land-based vehicle... These guys could be a fair amount of trouble in Halo 3, but this one seems to be bugged. After launching an initial salvo of fuel rod barrages your way, it seems unable to continue to fire its primary weapon. Use this to your advantage and finish it off. Buck will even lend a helping hand. Even better, there aren't any Ghosts lingering about to pick away at your armor plating while you're occupied with the Anti-Air Wraith!
You should then notice roughly four Banshees circling overhead. Wait until they start heading your way before opening fire. It's much easy to line up your shots if they aren't zipping each and every way possible. Take them out one by one, and then proceed. Your last adversary here will be a lonely Shade turret. Vanquish the device and proceed forward.
Yet again, though, the next area can be time sensitive if you want a more favorable outcome in future encounters, so if you need health, once again backtrack to the previous health station, grab a hemo-pack, then meet back up with the Oliphant.
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Consider this next zone a freebee. No enemy ground forces at all what-so-ever! The flip side? You'll notice exactly four Phantoms traveling alongside the highway heading for the next zone. What are they trying to do? Cut you off by dropping off two Ghosts each into the next area. However, you are more than capable of stopping them with your 90 millimeters of tungsten love. If you destroy the Phantoms, they will be unable to drop off the Ghosts. Obviously it's ideal to destroy them all, but if you're like me and suck balls when it comes to using the tank in sync with the Blind skull, then you may just settle for what you can get.
I've seen people do this different ways. Some will wait just outside the blast door entrance and try to shell them as they descend, while others try to move with the Phantoms and hit them as they move. As you can see from my video, I was only able to gun down two, meaning there would be four Ghosts to deal with in the next area, but on the bright side four isn't that many considering you're now driving a tank backed up by a rapid-fire fuel rod cannon that can zero in on its targets.
And as an additional bonus, you'll get to witness a rare and massive Covenant carrier suddenly tear through the sky and loom over the towering skyscrapers of New Mombasa!
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Ruh-roh... the carrier is charging its excavation beam... on the wrong side of the city! Hmmm... they must hate Buck too...
As stated previously, however many Phantoms (if any) made it through your barrage of tungsten shells, they will have each dropped off two Ghosts at the end of the next area, so grab some health if need be from the health station beyond the blast doors, and proceed forward. Take out the Shade turret first and continue to make your way down the highway. Once you're about halfway down, the Ghosts will begin to engage both you and the Oliphant. Again, pretend it's like a game of ping pong and try to bounce their attention from Dare to you and back to Dare. Take them out as quickly as possible without having them all on you at once. Then, deal with the additional Shade at the far end. Once you and the Oliphant manage to make it to the other side in one piece, you can finally breathe a heavy sigh of relief. You're now finally down with the vehicular portion of the mission!
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While the next segment may seem intimidating with its large masses of mixed Covenant infantry, it's far easier than it looks, despite the carrier in the background now setting the entire city ablaze with its bright beam of plasma death. Grab health if you need it from the checkpoint station, then proceed to steamroll any Covie forces that occupy the left side of the highway while Dare deals with the right. Go ahead and shell the masses of Grunts ahead since their grenade spam is currently your biggest threat. From there just keep rolling on through. As the Oliphant rolls by, most of them will ignore you anyway in an attempt to catch up with Dare and the Engineer. In fact, the only enemy in the area that really poses any sort of threat to them at all is the War Chieftain shouldering a deadly fuel rod cannon. But even so, as long as you just keep up the pace and rumble on through to the other side, he shouldn't be able to do enough damage to actually destroy the Oliphant.
The only other real item of interest here you want to avoid is being boarded by Brutes. More specifically, avoid being boarded by armorless Brutes since they tend to not only travel faster in their berserking state, but also use their fists as their main source of damage. Keep in mind that once you're boarded, the only way you can avoid taking further damage is if either they get bored and hop off themselves, or if a third party knocks them off. You can't exit the tank at all while they're pounding away at the Scorpion's armor, unfortunately.
Don't bother stopping for health at the next junction. There's nothing in the next area that can hurt you (unless we're still counting Buck...). The four Covenant sniper towers are completely vacant, but feel free to shell the crap out of them if you're feeling proactive.
Up ahead, you'll witness a Scarab scaling the next junction and taking aim at the Oliphant. I'm not going to lie. The first time I saw this, a slew of four letter words quickly followed the decimation of the Oliphant. It was then quickly brought to my attention that event was scripted and was supposed to happen. Bungie, don't ever do that again!
When the blast doors open and the Scarab moves on, collect another hemo-pack, and proceed to the final battleground for the mission.
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Firefight
Buck will follow you into a courtyard that appears to be some sort of sanctuary for the city's Uplift Reserve site. Go ahead and knock out the two sleeping Grunts and steal one of their plasma pistols. About this time, Buck will be signaling Dare to take shelter inside the structure along with the Engineer. At this point, hand over your rocket launcher to Dare. This will give both your invincible AI buddies heavy weapons to better assist you in the coming onslaught. Next, swap out the magnum for one of the crated carbines on the ground level, and then quickly make your way up the stairs to an elevated position. Leave the ground level work up to Dare and Buck. They are certainly more than capable of protecting the Engineer at this point, so focus your attention on the enemies that are about to pour from the sky...
A few side notes to consider before invading forces begin descending on your position... First off, yes it's all downhill from here. You've finally reached a point where you can sit back and take your time. No more rushing. Take it at your own pace from here on out. You're about to go head to head with three vicious waves of enemies so definitely do whatever you need to get comfortable. There are a total of four health packs on the top level which will serve as your primary source of rejuvenation, and additional packs inside the building with the Engineer in case you need them. Hopefully you won't because it's going to be a total BOOM fest down there when combat is in full swing. Additionally, the top level houses several human weapons, but the only ones we're really interested in will be the two sniper rifles. Save those for later. For now, brace yourself for the first wave of terror...
The first Phantom will swoop down and drop off a platoon of Grunts and Brutes. Make sure you're in a position where you can easily duck behind cover, because the captain in charge has a fuel rod cannon.
Taking out the Grunts is fairly standard. Pick them off with your Carbine, and take cover whenever one of them tosses a plasma grenade your way. For the Brutes, however, try to get to the second level's railing and plasma-charge their armor. Follow up with a carbine round to the head. When they start advancing on the stairs, switch to stickies and flank them from the side while your allies have them distracted. Believe it or not, they will be able to do quite a bit of damage themselves. And when you see one's armor begin to smoke and spark, shooting a few carbine rounds his way should be enough to bring it down completely, allowing you to follow up with a headshot, or for one of your allies' grenades to finish the job.
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When your enemies are down for the count, quickly scavenge the area for additional carbine rounds and fallen plasma pistols (the latter for later use). Then return to the upper levels before the next Phantom shows up. Again, keep in mind that most of the weapons disappear once the next wave of enemies shows up on the battlefield.
This time around, two enemy Phantoms will be making an appearance. The first will be dropping off every variant of Jackal in the Halo 3/ODST universe. This includes shielded, marksmen, and snipers. Fortunately, if you handed off those heavy weapons to Dare and Buck, believe it or not they will usually be able to handle the marksmen and shielded Jackals without any assistance from you. The snipers, on the other hand, are a different story.
Go ahead and snag the sniper rifle from the top floor and use it to take out the Jackal snipers which will usually appear on the elevated far sides of the complex. There are normally three total, but as you'll soon see from the video, I only had to deal with two. That's because the third was wiped out by present company. Woohoo!
But even when the snipers are down for the count, you aren't finished with the sniper rifle just yet. The Jackals aren't the only adversaries from Wave Two. A pair of Hunters will also be in pursuit of the Engineer—both being the assault cannon variant.
Dare and Buck will once again be able to do a sizable amount of damage to both of them, however, if you'd like to lend them a helping hand (and it's highly recommended that you do), sneak around behind the Hunters and empty your sniper rifle into their backs to bring them down as shown in the next video.
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And at long last the final Phantom will arrive to drop off yet another wave of terror. This time around you'll be dancing with Jump-Jet Brutes, a few scattered minors, and their Chieftain leader. This is usually the point where you'll start running low on ammo. So make use of any plasma pistols and Brute plasma rifles you can find. Also, make Brute shot-wielding Jump-Jets your top priority since they can typically end you within two shots.
The main thing you need to watch out for is their abilities to boost behind you without you even being aware, so keep track of your surroundings. As you'll see in the final video, I was almost taken off guard once, but lucked out and managed to take him down before he could do too much damage. Deal with the Jump-Jet Brutes first, then clean up the ground level, and once all the cannon fodder is dead, go after the Chieftain. As shown in the next video, a simple assassination will bring him down, effectively bringing possibly the most challenging mission in the franchise to a close. Bungie, this will haunt my dreams forever. Thanks a lot!
Download: QuickTime (103 mb) | WMP9 (89.8 mb)
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I must admit, when I first saw the cruiser rip through the sky and start glassing the sanctuary, my first thought was why the hell didn't they just do that to begin with??? Oh well. Enjoy the final cutscene and the curious Legendary ending that goes along with it.
But I'm not going to lie. After that crazy trip, I'm still waiting for that alternate ending when Buck asks Dare about their status, but instead of telling him to ask her after the war, she roundhouse kicks him out of the Phantom...
Nevertheless, this brings our Mythic journey for Halo 3: ODST to a close. I must admit, for a game that was only designed to serve as an expansion, it sure leaves a lasting impression. The Coastal chaos aside, well done, Bungie. I look forward to the challenges you have in store for us in Halo: Reach. A special thanks goes out to Bungie, Louis and the folks at HBO, the Mythic community, and of course, the fans for keeping us going.
Thanks for reading, and we'll see you on Reach!
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