Halo 4 Mythic Difficulty Guide

Halo 4 Mythic (SLASO) Walkthrough by Daniel Morris

Halo 4 Mythic Difficulty Guide - MISSION 7: Composer

The Tru7h about "Mythoser"

Welcome to my nightmare! Remember how I've been telling since the get-go to practice, practice, practice when it came to dealing with the Covenant, and more specifically, the Elites? If you decided to take my advice it's about to pay off in a BIG way. Even so, you're about to get your groin kicked so hard, you'll be coughing up nuts for a week.

Composer is considered by most Mythic contenders to be the most brutal mission in the campaign. Sure it's shorter than Infinity, and unlike Midnight and Infinity you won't be dealing with any Prometheans at all whatsoever, but the Covenant will be throwing everything they've got at you and then some.

Right from the start, you'll be dealing with possibly the angriest Elites I've encountered since "Long Night of Solace" in Halo Reach. Then, if you succeed in performing a trick jump that doesn't always want to place nice, you'll be going toe to toe with a pair of Hunters—the only ones in the game that have no cheap exploits to get past them. From there, you'll find yourself traversing through a series of corridors and airlocks filled with randomized Covenant (and loads of them!) before finally being pinned down in a Mantis by entire legions of Covenant forces.

But what makes this mission so grotesquely irritating isn't the enemies that you'll be facing or even their numbers—it's the amount of sheer randomness you'll encounter from start to finish. Put it to you like this. If you've been keeping up with my site www.mythictyrant.com, you'll know I recently started a series titled "Halo 4 WTF Moments". Out of the first 10 episodes, 7 of them came from this mission. Consider this to be the "Cortana" or "Exodus" of Halo 4, only far more complex.

I've divided this hair-whitening experience into three parts:

Any Landing You Can Walk Away From
The Composer
All Things Lost and Found

Scared yet? Pro tip. Bring an extra pair of shorts...

Any Landing You Can Walk Away From

Following the Didact through the slip space portal, you'll find that you've been transported to yet another remote part of the galaxy. The grandeur of Halo Installation 03 arcs through the star-filled sky above while asteroids tumble about all around you. But the ship is bypassing the ring... and heading straight for what appears to be a UNSC outpost housed within one of the many asteroids. The Composer is inside and Cortana orders you to commandeer the ship in an effort to beat the Didact to it. Once the Chief takes care of business inside the vessel, he radios an old colleague of Dr. Halsey's—Dr. Sandy Tilson—letting her know he is on the approach. But something goes terribly wrong. Cortana abruptly develops a random case of Tourettes and crashes the ship directly in the station... It looks like Cortana's slow decline into rampancy could use a shock treatment or two. Thanks for the smooth landing. Well who's the "condescending bitch" now?!

Undoubtedly confused and disoriented, the Chief will pull himself to his feet armed with nothing but an Assault Rifle and Magnum. You won't be keeping either of these weapons for very long. The same applies to your Armor Ability which is currently the Hard Light Shield. Grab a Hologram from the crate right next to the door. As you soon as you approach the door opens revealing a Marine getting pummeled by a pair of Shielded Jackals. But the joke's on them as the Marine uses his dying breath to launch a mine from the new and tactical Sticky Detonator!

Especially on Legendary, having a weapon capable of launching powerful explosives at your own convenience is invaluable. It's a shame that this is the only mission where the SD is available. And while it isn't quite as strong on Mythic, its placement in this mission works very well to your advantage. So go ahead and drop your Assault Rifle for it. Head down the corridors and the door at the end will automatically open, revealing a platoon of Covenant mowing down a group of terrified and defenseless scientists as well as the honorable Marine attempting to defend them.

Launch a Hologram towards the furthest set of stairs leading to the interior of the structure on the right to draw away enemy fire and take the opportunity to avenge the Marine's death by back-smacking his Marksman murderer. Retreat back to the little pocket on the left where the surviving scientists sit huddled together trying to drown out the noise of the sudden invasion. You'll be using this space for cover as you pick off the enemies surrounding the structure. Five Grunts will be strafing back and forth on the ground level while occasionally dipping back into the structure for cover. Each of the two doors is guarded by a Shielded Jackal. The one on the left will typically lower his shield for you to land an easy headshot while the one on the right won't usually do it unless you're either out of view or he begins to strafe. On the roof, you'll find another Grunt with his Jackal Marksman buddy. While there's also an Elite just inside the structure, he won't bother you unless you go inside, so focus on the rest of the enemies before heading up the stairs to the roof.

Don't move too quickly though! Just across the way on the catwalk is a pair of deadly Jackal Snipers! Use your Magnum to snipe them back. They're terrible shots and should go down rather quickly.

Now things are about to get interesting... The next battle is considered to be one of the hardest ones in the mission (and quite possibly the game). You're about to go head to head with up to four Elites. And these aren't just any Elites. These are Halo 4's very own Four Elites of the Apocalypse—two Sword-wielding Zealots and two Warriors (one with a Storm Rifle and the other with a Concussion Rifle). Not only do they seem to work in sync with each other's movements and coordinate their attacks, but they also tend to be very hyper-aggressive. To make matters worse, without radar and lots of places for them to go, pinpointing their exact locations can be quite the challenge making it very risky to move in for a kill. You also need to come out of this battle with mostly full shields, a Concussion Rifle, a DMR, and Active Camo in order to make the rest of the mission less of a pain. So without further ado, let's get started.

Still on top of the roof of the structure? Good. Turn left and you'll see two small raised platforms. Jump on top of the one of the left, and Sprint-Jump (do NOT crouch!) to the platform closest to you in the landing bay. Race for the controls in order to lock down the station's shield and ready your Sticky Detonator. One Phantom will still manage to make it through, and this is the one toting the heavy payload. Stick the side of the Phantom somewhere within close proximity of the mounted Plasma Cannon in order to blast it to bits, then QUICKLY do a 180 and Sprint back down the walkway to where the pipes on the right merge together. Reference the video at the bottom of the page for a visual on exactly where you need to stand. Aim for the BASE of the activation switch, and when the first two Elites jump to exit the Phantom, jump with them and toss a frag. Typically, this will knock at least one if not both Elites right off the platform brining your opposition down from four to two! Don't worry about their items since it's only one Zealot and the Storm Rifle Warrior. The next two however, you'll want to lure back into the two-story base towards the rear of the landing bay and kill them inside in order to retrieve their goods.

If you waited long enough to jump to the landing bay, you gave the enemies enough time to either die or despawn entirely, so there shouldn't be anything waiting for you inside. Get in quickly! And yes, that's what she said...

Be familiar with the base layout. Each level has three doors total—one on each side and one in the middle with a set of stairs linking them together. The doors closest to the starting area are a great place to retreat in the event that you get in a little over your head and need a second to breathe.

When you first get inside, head to the door on the right and turn back around to face the stairs. The Elites are about to come in after you. The Zealot is usually first inside, so wait a few seconds and deploy your Hologram to travel up the stairway. The Zealot won't know the difference, and this will give you an easy opportunity to take him out with a quick back-smack. Be quick about it though! His Concussion buddy won't be far behind. If that is indeed the case, race up the rest of the stairs, turn back around, and place a second Hologram near the top of the stairs. If you're lucky, the Warrior will charge in and grant you an easy kill—putting a swift end to the battle. If he holds back or hesitates, lure him up the stairs by shooting off a few rounds from your pistol and use the side door to retreat back to the bottom level. Your goal at this point should be to keep him upstairs long enough for you to get behind the base of the staircase on the bottom floor. A nifty little trick to remember is that you can actually back smack an Elite THROUGH the stairs themselves! He will head down eventually. Just be patient and land the kill when he does.

If you end up having to fight more than just the two Elites, again, the best strategy is to get as many of them on the top floor as possible. If there are at least two Warriors left, you'll want to grab the Active Camo from the dead Zealot before attempting to engage them. Also, if you find yourself being hunted too aggressively, you can retreat back to the side area (not far from the first structure you encountered in the room) and wait for the Elites to retreat back into the landing bay. This will allow you to start the process over again and give you a fresh start to the battle.

Whichever path you chose, gather up the following items—a full DMR (there's one on the bottom floor next to the center door, one at the top of the stairs, and another near the left corner on the top level close to the side door), the Concussion Rifle from the dead Warrior, and trade out your Hologram for Active Camo if you haven't already.

Things get a bit trickier here. You're going to want to skip the next battle given the sheer number of Elites and company that you would otherwise be forced to deal with. The best way to do that, of course, is to utilize the forklift outside in the landing bay in conjunction with your newly obtained Concussion Rifle. As you can see in the video, the best method to pull this off is to stare straight down, place your left foot on the right prong's end-notch with part of your foot still touching the ground, then looking up and aiming directly for the dark spot in the right arm (again watch the video!). If all plays out, you'll launch yourself straight up and to the left and hopefully land on top of the wall, allowing you to make a run straight for the Hunters.

I do want to point out, however that there doesn't seem to be an exact science behind this methodology. Most of the time it works. Other times it doesn't. Sometimes I fall short. Sometimes I travel too far. Other times I land on the upper pipes instead of the wall itself (which if that happens, you can still drop down to the top of the wall below and continue). My advice is to practice this a fair number of times until you feel confident that you'll be able to pull it off. Even if you miss the first time (as I did in the video), you can typically still try again by realigning the forklift so it faces roughly the same direction. However, typically after the second attempt it tips over. In that case you'll have to restart the mission and battle the Four Elites of the Apocalypse all over again. So practice!

Make a run for the door once you're on top of the wall and it will open automatically. Running through the corridor triggers another sensor scan from the Didact. Things are beginning to heat up! Round the corner and another door will open just beyond the huddled scientists warning you of the pair of Hunters trying to blast down the door to get to Tilson. You'll find a Shotgun on the ground near them. Juggle it with your DMR into the next room, leave your DMR on the floor, and head for the small room housing the Sticky Detonator while dodging the Hunter. This room will be your safe haven throughout most of this battle. Trade out your Concussion Rifle (temporarily) for the SD and use both rounds against the Hunter closest to the ammo crate. Since he's close to our supply cache, he's the one we want to remove from the equation first. Use your remaining grenades to help soften him up and to knock off the armor from his back. Unfortunately, these are the only Hunters in the game where there's really no "easy" way to dispatch or get around them, so bite down hard 'cause we're going in dry...

Charge him with your Shotgun in hand. Be prepared to jump, because he'll likely take at least one shot at you with his Fuel Rod Cannon before commencing a melee battle. Once you've closed the distance, keep these things in mind. His back-left swing is the easiest to dodge and gives you the most time to recover. You can trigger this particular swing by always being slightly to his left behind him and continuing to move around as he does. Continue to take shots at his back as you do so. You can almost always survive a "partial hit" as long as you have full shields, and if you need to recharge them, simply melee the back as you do the dance. If you run out of ammo before he's down for the count, just continue to melee. It won't be long before he falls and you'll be granted free access to the ammo crate. Load up on SD mines, return to the small room for more Shotgun ammo, and now it's time to deal with Hunter #2.

Loaded up with SD ammo, the second Hunter should fall much easier. Unload everything you've got from afar. When you're out, you can still retrieve two extra remote mines from the crate and use those as well. Not only will the Hunter's armor be completely obliterated, but he'll be significantly weakened as well. You have two choices at this point. You can either close the distance as with the first Hunter and dance around him with the Shotgun, which will result in him going down in only a few direct blasts, or you can hang back inside the room and take shots at him from further away while using your camo to always return his attention back to the scientists between shots. Whichever method you use, both bring down this monstrosity with relative ease.

Killing the Hunters will trigger Cortana to unlock the doors they were attempting to break down. Hit the activation switch and bring a close to what most folks consider to be the most punishing chapter in the mission.

As a side note, I also want to point out that in case the element of surprise isn't your kind of game, you could also trade out your Active Camo for the Thruster Pack. While it cancels out your ability to take the Covenant off guard, it will allow you to close the distance with them faster and even assist in evading encounters altogether. The next chapter is really the only point in the game where the Thruster Pack becomes a valid option for getting through the hordes of enemies you're about to encounter. Also, don't forget to retrieve both your DMR and Concussion rifle before continuing. They will be invaluable for the next chapter as well. So with that, make your choice and get ready to meet Dr. Sandy Tilson.

The Composer

Dr. Tilson informs the Chief that the Composer can't simply be moved off the ship. So what conclusion does he draw? We need to blast the crap out of something. Tilson reluctantly agrees and sends the Chief on his way to activate the station's defenses in order to buy her time to prep the nuclear mines.

Make your way through the corridors into the massive atrium housing the overpoweringly dense Composer—a Forerunner weapon capable transforming humans into Promethean abominations. Feel free to wander around for a bit if you please. The door on the far side won't open until Tilson is finished chatting up the airwaves. Once you're through the door a Marine will awaken from his apparent snooze and unlock the next door for you... or you could punish him by busting a cap in his ass and have the door just open automatically. Depends on what that little voice in your head is telling you.

I'm going to make the assumption that you decided to go with Active Camo. Use it to sneak up the ramp and take out the Grunt and Jackal at the top before they get a chance to retreat back into the passageway. Enter the passageway yourself and two more Shielded Jackals as well as a Marksman will be waiting for you on the other side. Pop-pop goes the alien! Advance forward further and a pair of Grunts will attempt to needle and plasma you. Finish them and turn your attention to the corridor on the left. On the far end will be a Grunt manning a stationary Plasma Cannon, another Grunt close by, and a more formidable Warrior Elite with a Storm Rifle. The weakling Grunt should obviously be at the top of your list. After dealing with him, rush to the opposite side of the hall where you'll have access to another side passage. Before entering, take out the Grunt on the Plasma Cannon. This will cause the Elite to rage and charge forward. Duck into the passage quickly and rush to the other end. Turn to your immediate left and make a run for the door leading up to the second level of the first airlock. On rare occasion, the Elite will follow you which is why I highly recommend cloaking before going through.

From the airlock's catwalk, rush to the door on the far side. While that door won't open, the one on the level below will. Retreat back to the crate to avoid enemy fire. Cloak, move up, make sure the Warrior Elite guarding the door has moved off (preferably with his back turned), and Sprint as fast as you can through the door and down the walkway. The door behind you will shut quickly and nothing should follow you through. Keep sprinting! Turn right in the next series of halls where you'll find an Elite whose back is to you while giving orders to the Grunts and Jackals 9 out of 10 times. That tenth time, however, means you'll need to retreat back into the ramp room and stay put until he's distracted again. The last thing you'd want to do at this point is get into a melee battle with all of his buddies concentrating all of their efforts on you instead of the scientists in the adjacent corridor.

This next little bit requires a degree of luck as the Elite at the end of the hall tends to be a bit of a rebel. After killing his henchmen he'll either stay put—meaning you'll have to find a way to engage him in melee without being drained by the nearby Grunts, he'll move up to engage the scientists himself which gives you the opportunity for an easy assassination, or he'll move up further and try to move in directly for a Chiefly kill. That last one almost ensures your death, so pray for one of the other two.

Just past him you'll encounter another pair of Grunts. Take them out before they have a chance to deliver any damage to your shields. You'll need as much of them as possible for the trick just up ahead.

Approach the second airlock by cloaking and sneaking into small space between the left side of the door and the wall. Back up against the door, aim down with your Concussion Rifle, jump, and launch two rounds close to the corner. The extra boost will catapult you through the "soft ceiling" and on top of the airlock! This grants you the ability to proceed to the next section while avoiding what would otherwise be a punishing group of enemies to deal with on Mythic (including a very sneaky invisible Zealot). Jump over the soft barriers and up the ramp to trigger the next loading zone. You can then bunny-hop over to the next corridor leading to the next area. Normally, you'll automatically be warped down to the corridor itself allowing you to proceed forward as usual. In the event that doesn't happen, you can return to the door leading back to the airlock and crouch back down through the soft wall in order to get back down to where you need to be.

Moving forward, the next door will open revealing two cloaked Zealots. One will be busy working the controls while the other will be off supervising near the opposite door. Run in quickly to land the first back smack against the closest Zealot. Even if you miss, he's relatively easy to rush around while he's raging and pulls out his... errr... Plasma Pistol? Hmmm... Well that's a new one for Zealots... His Storm Rifle-wielding friend won't typically be able to react fast enough, and nailing him should be just as simple. Still, you'll want to practice this a few times in a non-Iron run in order to get the proper feel instead of simply barging in and hoping for the best.

Poor wacked-out Cortana will spit out a few more sentence about her being the "prerequisite to success" and finally tell you to insert her into the magnet—I mean console! She'll activate the station's defenses and unlock the opposite door. Take a second to load up on ammo and switch your Concussion Rifle out for the Sticky Detonator from the weapons cache. Then proceed through the door. You'll go down another windy, narrow hallway just in time to see a Grunt and Shielded Jackal making their way over to their Marksman companion. Snipe all three and proceed forward.

This next room is the final one in the chapter and can get a bit tricky—a common theme for this mission apparently... You'll be greeted by several Grunts and Jackals with shields, and of course they'll be guarded by two Elites—a Warrior with a Concussion Rifle and the only Commander in the entire Mythic campaign. He'll typically start things off with his Carbine before eventually switching over to his Energy Sword.

Pick off the Grunts and Jackals from a safe distance. Killing enough of them will usually be enough to irritate the Commander and have him switch over to his Sword. While he'll typically try to advance, you can use this to your advantage by slipping under the stairs, cloaking, and catching by surprise with a back smack in the same manner you did back against the first four Elites at the start of the mission. The Warrior can be a bit more of a thorn in your side. He may attempt to follow his buddy. If he does, rinse and repeat. If he decides to hang back and guard the door, you have one of two options available to you. You can attempt to use the side rails as a means to get close to the door and when it opens, quickly rush through while avoiding his grenades. Alternatively, you can also use the Sticky Detonator to land a mine directly on him (do NOT detonate it!) and send him into a frenzy of confusion. At this point, you can take the opportunity to cloak and rush past him, through the door, and you'll now find yourself at the observation desk looking out over the atrium housing the Composer. This time, however, we've got company...

All Things Lost and Found

Just outside the door you'll find a pair of Mantis mechs ready for battle. Unfortunately they're being guarded by a Platoon of Fuel Rod Grunts and Jackal Snipers. Whip out your DMR and use the ramp for cover while bringing them to justice. When the area is clear, hop in the Mantis and get ready for several waves of Covenant-style punishment!

Of the two Mantis battles in the game, this one tends to be the more tedious. While the Banshees are far more predictable this time around, you'll be squaring off with both Grunts and Elites with Fuel Rod Cannons, several Ghosts, and a pair of aggressive Wraiths that will all pin you down into a tiny corner of the atrium. There won't be much wandering around until the end of the battle, and you'll need to familiarize yourself with the waves themselves and what shows up when. Given that you need to keep a relatively safe distance, the Elites can take a while to mow down with the Vulcan cannon, so timing here is everything. Fortunately, the Phantoms dropping off these enemies won't usually get to close with the exception of one near the end of the battle, and you can also retreat up the stairs and back near the entrance door for when you need to take a second to recharge your shields. Only the Wraiths will be able to hit you when you're standing here, so at the very least you have a decent place to hide when the need arrives.

This first round of enemies will consist of mainly Grunts and a couple of Elites. A pair of Ghosts will also show up from different sides of the Composer itself, so keep your eyes peeled for foes on both sides. When enough enemies from the first wave have been destroyed, additional Phantoms will swoop in to drop off the Wraiths. While their mortars are fairly easy to dodge from afar, keep in mind that they do have a fairly large blast radius, and the secondary gunners can shred your shields with surprising speed. Give them everything you've got!

Cortana will then inform you that Banshees are on the approach. This would be a good time to retreat back towards the stairs. Taking shots at them with your Vulcan cannon is an excellent method for luring them to you one at a time. By default, they will usually be swarming somewhere near the middle of the atrium and only occasionally break away to launch a strike against you. When they do, you can use the top of the stairs as cover to regenerate your shields.

Towards the end, a final round of Phantoms will show up to drop down additional troops along with another swarm of Banshees—those these tend to hang back and even run into walls and stay there. It's as if they're too terrified to confront the Chief in his badass mech. One of these Phantoms, however, we'll be swooping in within striking distance, so again hang back near the stairs to avoid the wrath of its main cannon. Take your time here and let them come to you.

You're almost finished. When you've killed enough enemies from the final wave, Cortana will signal you to head towards the other side of the atrium where a nav point will be presented. Take it slow and watch for additional threats. A group of Grunts will still be congregated in the center of the atrium, and occasionally another Grunt will be manning the UNSC stationary turret on the far side. If you aren't careful, it can shred you within seconds. That's why I recommend heading towards the right side of the Composer and tracing the outer edges of the atrium while also being careful not to fall off into the abyss.

Reaching the other side will trigger the door to unlock. Hop out of the Mantis once you're sure the way is clear and take the elevator back up to the observation room to insert Cortana into the system. At this point you may want to step away from the window a bit because the Didact is about to delivery his own personal whammy to the space station while stealing the thought-to-be-unstealable Composer. Good call, Tilson...

After a minute or two of watching the station receiving a good pounding from the Didact, Cortana will pinpoint Tilson's whereabouts and allow you to get through the door, bringing the game's most challenging mission to a close. Now relax, sit back, and watch how all of the Chief's efforts were nothing but a huge waste of time, unable to stop the Didact from frying everyone inside the station while making his escape with the Composer in hand...

One mission to go, and this is our last chance to stop the Didact from sending humanity to the brink of total annihilation.