Halo: Reach Mythic Guide - Pillar of Autumn

Halo 3: ODST Mythic (SLASO) Walkthrough by Daniel Morris

Pillar of Autumn, Page 1

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The Tru7h about The Pillar of Mythic

    Like you didn't see that title coming...
    Rated as one of the most difficult missions in Reach by the Mythic community at large, it falls just barely short of Long Night of Solace's agonizing Corvette endeavor in terms of difficulty. Sans Revenants, you'll find yourself battling all walks of Covenant. The usual suspects, such as Grunts, Jackals, Brutes, and Elites cluster your path along with more rarer foes such as the upgraded Skirmisher, Drones (the only mission in the campaign where you're forced to fight them), Chieftains making a dramatic return for the first time since Exodus, and of course we finally come face to face with the Field Marshall himself (backed by a trio of defensive Zealots!). And finally, we close the mission with a BANG via the largest and most destructive weapon to ever grace Halo... aside from Halo itself...
    All this takes place while desperately delivering a vital package to everyone's favorite Halcyon-class cruiser. WARNING! SPOILERS AHEAD! For those who never snagged a copy of "Halsey's Journal", to clarify just exactly what the package really is, think of it as a massive "update" containing vital Forerunner data for the Cortana AI already onboard the cruiser with the Master Chief. In other words, it's not Cortana herself we're carrying, but instead a rather significant piece to the puzzle.
    Let's divvy up the goods for this perilous journey and survival of all humanity...

Once More Unto the Breach
This Town Isn't Big Enough
Keyes
The Mass Driver

If you're ready to deliver the package (***chuckles!***), then so am I!

Once More Unto the Breach

    With Carter mortally wounded, your free ride aboard the Pelican is over. You'll be taking the fight groundside with hordes of Covenant doing everything in their power to keep you from delivering that package to the Pillar of Autumn.
    A cataclysmic storm brews in the distance as you make your approach to the first squadron of enemies. Though Emile is by your side like a loyal dog, he's about as useful as a goldfish. Oftentimes he'll treat the shotgun like a sniper rifle and try to peg enemies with it from 50 yards away. They told us to leave that lone wolf stuff behind, but with aid like this, I'm not seeing many alternatives...
    Since the CQB brick standing beside you won't be of any real use, we're going to skip the battle completely. Slide down the cliff and sprint to the trailer. Inside, you'll find rockets and DMRs. Grab them (along with any health if you need it) before slipping through the opposite door.
    Though it may be tempting to grab one of the local transports, I'd recommend jacking the Mongoose a bit further down to avoid stray grenades or plasma superbolts.
    Proceed to follow the dirt path past the Banshees and through the cliff wall. The ride ahead is indeed an epic one. I'd tell you to fasten your seatbelt if you had one... For the most part, you'll want to stick to the main road as Grunt-filled drop pods rain from the sky along with... Scarabs! Don't worry though. They're on a fixed path and will ignore you completely with the exception of their secondary gunners. My general approach to this area is rather simple. When the first drop pod hits the earth, jump out and pop the three Specialists that emerge. Nothing fancy, but this will not only save your shields. By the time they're dead, the Scarab will have moved far enough along that it will no longer be a major threat. From there, take the road down to the next drop pod and just skim past it. Ignore the occupants. This time, instead of following the road, ride right off the cliff, leap out and blow away the Grunt pair emerging from the final drop pod. Using this technique, you should not only be able to surge through this battle quickly, but also survive with nearly full shields!
    The caves come next. Slow down when you reach the first exit to avoid Phantom fire. Once it passes, continue on your way. When you reach the broken bridge, make a flying leap of faith to reach other side. The video below may put this into better context.

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This Town Isn't Big Enough

This "town" looks more like a trailer park that's seen better days...
Though there is a bit of debate on exactly which method is the most sound when it comes to successfully bypassing this area, I tend to do a bit of a mix between S&S and Kamikaze. To be up front, it's entirely possible to simply use the multiple ammo crates in the area to safely take out everything here from afar. There's nothing here overly complicated (Brutes, Jackals, and Grunts) aside from the trouble the Wraith in the far back may give you. And thanks to the health pack on the chasm-side of the fence, you can engage your foes with full shields and health. However, I tend to take a tad speedier approach as shown below.

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    I've experimented with several different methods including using the Mongoose to rush past everything (as shown in the Legendary Guide) as well as using RC Master's "left side skip" which essentially involves one trick jump at the beginning to get you running along the rooftops of the leftmost trailers and structures. Both methods are sound, but I've found the above choice to give me the most consistent results.
    Use your DMR to take out both Marksmen and the secondary Wraith gunner from behind the fence. In regards to the gunner—if you're quick enough—you can get a few shots off before the Phantom leaves and the Wraith has a chance to retaliate. It's fairly easy to dodge its mortar from this position, and most of the time it will hit the fence rather than you anyway. Just remember to keep an eye out for death from above. Grab additional ammo from the DMR crate and trace the rightmost side of the trash site. The Wraith may or may not see you before you get close enough to close the gap and board it. Use your best judgement to dodge the mortars. Given the fact that you can dash from point A to point B rather quickly with Sprint, and there's a fair amount of cover on your way to the Wraith, it shouldn't be overly complicated. Board and destroy the Wraith. Quickly move up the incline where you'll be assaulted by a suicide squad and a trio of Marksmen. At this point, Emile should be with you as well. A double-edged sword considering that he's bringing all of his "friends" with him. You'll need to move quickly. Gun down the Grunts first, and use the boulders for cover as you deal with the Marksmen.
    When the cone is silent, trade out your secondary weapon for one of the needle rifles, and gather up all the ammo. The name of the game now is to collect as much needle rifle ammo as you can carry between here and the end of the mission. It will make things much easier for you down the road.
    When you finally reach the cave, you'll be interrupted by a cutscene depicting the heroic demise of the Noble team leader. The haunting theme that creeps in afterwards will set the tone for the dark path that lies ahead. For the first (and last) time in the game, you'll be forced to contend with Drones. No fancy skips this time around. It's just you, your DMR, the rockets for backup, and the talking brick with a shotgun.
    Directly to the left near the entrance to the cave you'll stumble across an extra health pack and additional DMR ammo. There should be plenty there to deal with the Drones and Skirmishers ahead, and hopefully you didn't use too much of your current stash during the last encounter. For the first half of the battle, simply take your time and pick them off one by one. If you happen to notice a cluster of them, feel free to use rockets. The awesome feature with Drones this time around is the simple fact that they explode into kibble almost too easily. Don't forget, corners are your friend! Always take advantage of the cave's natural formations to avoid Drone plasma fire.
    With regard the first set of foes, the first three will always appear on the far left. Take them down first, then pick off the ones clinging to the opposing all. When you've gunned down enough of them, the remainder will retreat further back into the cave. Note that all the Drones in this area only carry plasma pistols.

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    Before heading off to tackle the second half, double back and make sure you don't need health, and pick up some additional ammo from your dead comrades as well. That way you won't have to worry about running back later.
    Emile will give you a verbal heads-up about the Buggers ahead. Peek around the corner and try to catch the first two or three off guard. Again, once you've killed enough of them, they'll retreat further back into the cave.
    Make your way down the incline, letting Emile stay ahead of you, and quickly down the Drones patrolling the ground floor. Hop down and keep your eyes dead ahead. You'll encounter not one, but two Skirmisher variants. Three of them will start pegging you with needle rifles, while the three shielded variants—characterized by the mini energy shielding equipped on their arms—will tend to hang back a bit, also using Needle Rifles.
    Eventually once you've cleared the cave, start collecting needle rifle ammo. Consider this one of your top priorities as you move through the mission. Whenever you come across an enemy with a needle rifle that doesn't force you to go through leaps and bounds to get it, make it a point to down the foe and steal his weapon.

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Drop the DMR for a plasma pistol. Don't worry. There are plenty of them ahead. You won't even notice you don't have one. Promise! Use it to recharge your shields at the opposite end of the cave where you'll find another heath pack and a pallet of armor abilities. There's no need for Sprint from this point forward, so go ahead and swap it out for the Drop Shield.
You'll find yourself at the head of the massive battlefield known as "Boneyard". Currently, a cluster of Marines is under fire by a gaggle of Elites, Jackals, and Shielded skirmishers. Too many baddies to deal with on Mythic. However, thanks to the antics of RC Master, you can take another approach to this battle as shown here.

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    Keep along the right side of the field until you reach the low point in the video. Then grenade/crouch jump to the next level on the bridge and make your way to the other side where you may even get lucky and see the BOB standing in your doorway. He won't actually shoot, but he does love to chuck those devastatingly powerful plasma grenades. Most of the time, however, he won't even be there at all, so don't try to worry too much regarding his demise.
    Assume that your shields are down at this point. Using the plasma pistol, grab the health pack at the base of the stairs ahead, and swap out your near-depleted plasma pistol for a luscious Spartan laser! Climb the stairs, and use the laser to target and ZAP the three Shade turrets on the far end of Boneyard. Once you're done, head to the other side of the decommissioned vessel and swap out the laser for a brand new DMR. With the Shades down, you can now easily traverse the makeshift bridge that stretches over the next segment of terrain. Be sure to headshot the three Grunt Ultras at the far end to reduce the risk of losing shields.
    Once you've made it to the other side, exit right to antagonize the Elite Ultra inside the structure. Now head back over the bridge, jump down on the opposite side, and go through the door. Follow the short corridor until you emerge in the "core" room, and jump down to exit the door.
    I've witnessed some individuals taking a few extra seconds to drop a Shield to prevent enemy fire from following them. I recommend against it strictly because that half-second of shield deployment is all the time needed for a few angry Grunts and Elites to stick you. This is how I tend to handle things.

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    If you lost any shields while traversing the Campaign's version of Boneyard, there are two health packs in the next area you can use to recharge.
    Entering the smelting room, there are a few things you should know. First off, both this and the next encounter were at one point in time deemed among the most difficult in the entire game. Though the opposition may seem light at first, a Phantom will eventually drop off two additional Ultras. Then you have the added issue of the Hunters and Skirmishers parked over on the next platform.
    Start small. Kill the two Grunts on the far right. Then concentrate on the three Jackals. Normally they'll be somewhere near the dual-wielding Elite over on the left side of the room focused on a couple of rookie Marines. Other times they will have moved up the stairs and are taking position near the bodies of their fallen Grunt comrades. If they become an issue, take them out. Otherwise don't go to the trouble and waste the ammo. Next, quickly proceed forward until you reach the barrel at the far end of the catwalk. Jump on top of it. Then turn around and leap up on the pipes. Follow it to the far left corner, deploy a Drop Shield if necessary (recommended), and crouch jump to the platform above. That was the hard part. Now all you need to do is follow the catwalk to the other side of the room, drop down, and continue out the door (wait until the Phantom leaves first!). Most of the time, they won't even notice you, let alone actually follow you. More importantly, the Hunters and Skirmishers that would normally be blocking your path are no longer there. You now have free access to the next area with zero opposition standing in your way. Here's your visual aid...

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    Shoot out the windows and do your best to crouch-jump through as far away from the door as possible. If you manage it successfully, the enemies in the next area won't spawn right away. This gives you time to grab some additional DMR ammo from the small room in the far left corner as well as attempt to block the door on the second floor where an Elite and his three Grunt goonies will attempt to break through. It'll be an easy four kills for you. But first, after you blockade the door using the two crates and three barrels and also stock up on ammo, you'll need to rush back down and activate the enemies simply by touching the door you first entered. This will allow you to ultimately exit the area later.
    Your opposition here includes three Marksmen Jackals located on the second floor catwalk, two trios of Jackals—one on the first floor and one on the second—, and a cloaked Special Ops Elite.
    Stand at the far back end of the room to deal with the Marksmen. Then advance forward and deal with the Jackals. If you remain far enough back, this will entice them to move back and forth unprotected with their shields barely in the way at all.
    Save the Elite for last. Move up far enough to encourage it to come forward, but stay on top of the barrels as you do this. When he's close enough, place Emile between you and the Elite. For the first (and last) time in the game, Emile will go all out with his CQB and will actually lend a legit helping hand. When the Special Ops Elite's shields pop, simply follow up with a DMR headshot, and move up the stairs to the catwalk to temporarily swap out the needle rifle for a plasma pistol.
    Approach the door from the right. When it opens, you should have a clear view of the Elite trapped on the other side. Simply pepper his shields with the plasma pistol until they pop, then hit him with a kill shot. Oftentimes, this will cause the Grunts to climb up over the boxes to see what downed their master. Otherwise, just grenade the crates and pick them off as they emerge from the doorway.

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