Stephen Cawood The Unauthorized Halo® 2 Battle Guide ADVANCED COMBAT TECHNIQUES The Unauthorized Halo® 2 Battle Guide © 2005 by Thomson Course Technology PTR. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage or retrieval system without written permission from Thomson Course Technology PTR, except for the inclusion of brief quotations in a review. The Thomson Course Technology PTR logo and related trade dress are trademarks of Thomson Course Technology PTR and may not be used without written permission. SVP, Thomson Course Technology PTR: Andy Shafran Publisher: Stacy L. Hiquet Senior Marketing Manager: Sarah O’Donnell Marketing Manager: Heather Hurley Manager of Editorial Services: Heather Talbot Acquisitions Editor: Mitzi Koontz Senior Editor: Mark Garvey Associate Marketing Manager: Kristin Eisenzopf Marketing Coordinator: Jordan Casey Project Editor: Sandra Wilson Course Technology PTR Market Coordinator: Elizabeth Furbish Interior Layout Tech: Bill Hartman Cover Designer: Mike Tanamachi Indexer: Katherine Stimson Proofreader: Sara Gullion All screen shots are the property of Xbox, Xbox Live™, Bungie, Halo® 2, and Microsoft Corporation. Xbox, Xbox Live™, Bungie, and Halo® 2 are registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. © 2004 Microsoft Corporation. All Rights Reserved. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Thomson Course Technology PTR and the author have attempted throughout this book to distinguish proprietary trademarks from descriptive terms by following the capitalization style used by the manufacturer. Information contained in this book has been obtained by Thomson Course Technology PTR from sources believed to be reliable. However, because of the possibility of human or mechanical error by our sources, Thomson Course Technology PTR, or others, the Publisher does not guarantee the accuracy, adequacy, or completeness of any information and is not responsible for any errors or omissions or the results obtained from use of such information. Readers should be particularly aware of the fact that the Internet is an ever-changing entity. Some facts may have changed since this book went to press. Important: Thomson Course Technology PTR cannot provide software support. Please contact the appropriate software manufacturer’s technical support line or Web site for assistance. ISBN: 1-59200-700-7 Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 2004114485 Printed in the United States of America 04 05 06 07 08 BM 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 ii Thomson Course Technology PTR, a division of Thomson Course Te c h n o l o g y 25 Thomson Place ■ Boston, MA 02210 ■ h t t p : / / w w w. c o u r s e p t r . c o m TEAM LinG - Live, Informative, Non-cost and Genuine ! The Unauthorized Halo® 2 Battle Guide ADVANCED COMBAT TECHNIQUES To my love, Christa. iii TEAM LinG - Live, Informative, Non-cost and Genuine ! The Unauthorized Halo® 2 Battle Guide ADVANCED COMBAT TECHNIQUES Special Thanks I’d like to thank my agent, Neil Salkind (StudioB.com). Special thanks to Crew 116 and the other Halo experts. I couldn’t have done it without your help: Reed Townsend DJ Martin Matt Childerston Bret Anderson Theo Michel Justin Long I’d also like to thank the following people for their help with the book: Patrick ‘PC’ Chin Rasool Rayani Mike Laing Mitzi Koontz Bill Hartman Mike Tanamachi Christa Peters Bruce Clarke Michal Piaseczny Scott Fynn Chris White Thanks to the ‘Battle Guide Players’ who created the screen shots used in this book: Rasool Rayani Pat Chin Christa Peters And finally, thanks to Bungie and Microsoft for creating the Halo universe. iv TEAM LinG - Live, Informative, Non-cost and Genuine ! Table of Contents ADVANCED COMBAT TECHNIQUES Table of Contents Chapter 1: Introduction 1 About Halo 3 Contents of this Battle Guide 4 Crew 116 5 Crew 116 Profiles 6 Chapter 2: Basic Combat 9 Run and Gun 9 Cyclic Fights (a.k.a. ‘Circle Strafe’) 10 Aim Smart 10 Reloading 10 Your Arsenal 11 Dual Wielding 11 Shields 11 Motion Detector—Watch Your Back! 12 Evasion 12 Shadows and Cover 12 The Better Part of Valor 12 Weapon Selection 13 When You Have It… 14 When They Have It… 16 Chapter 3: Weapons 19 Weapon Descriptions 20 Human Weapons 20 Covenant Weapons 24 Chapter 4: Vehicles 29 Human Vehicles 30 M12 Warthog LRV 30 M12G1 Warthog LAAV 32 M808B Scorpion Main Battle Tank 33 Covenant Vehicles 35 Ghost 35 Banshee 36 Spectre 37 Wraith Tank 38 Vehicle Tactics and Techniques 39 Destructible Vehicles 39 Vehicle Suicides 39 Jacking 39 Chauffeuring the Flag 40 Chapter 5: Advanced Combat 41 Grenades 41 Plasma Grenades 42 Fragmentation Grenades 42 Grenade Jumping and Rocket Jumping 43 Blasting Objects to You 44 Shields 44 Overshield 45 Active Camouflage 46 Three Weapon Tile Puzzle 46 Using Your Settings 47 Look Sensitivity 47 Color 47 Screen Brightness 47 Button Setup 47 v TEAM LinG - Live, Informative, Non-cost and Genuine ! The Unauthorized Halo® 2 Battle Guide ADVANCED COMBAT TECHNIQUES Using Your Ears 48 Using Timers 48 Snipers 48 Make the First Shot Count 48 Choose Your Perch Carefully 49 Choose Your Targets More Carefully 49 Your Clip 49 Night Vision 50 Aim Using the Sniper Rifles 50 Using Vehicles 50 Look Sensitivity Reminder 50 Playing Against a Sniper 50 Remember the Four Rounds 50 Evasion 50 Closing In 51 Dual Weapon Combos 52 Dual Magnums 52 Magnum + Plasma Pistol 53 SMG + Plasma Pistol 53 SMG + Plasma Rifle 53 Dual Plasma Rifle 53 Dual Needlers 54 Dual SMG 54 Final Thoughts 54 Sword Combo Punch 54 Spawn Melee 54 Improving Your Play 55 Chapter 6: Solo Strategy 57 Have a Plan 58 Unpredictability 58 Going for the Same Weapon at the Same Time 58 Using the Same Route Around the Map 58 Camping in the Same Place 58 Practice Your Aim 58 Fluidity 59 Assessing the Battlefield 60 Objective 60 Maneuvers 61 Firepower 61 Surprise 61 Initiative 61 Determining When to Engage 61 Can I Win This Fight? 62 Is This an Important Target? 62 Will This Fight Help My Team Even if I Lose? 63 Finding Targets 63 Prioritize Your Targets 64 Flanking 65 Feinting 66 Playing the High Ground 68 Using the Environment 69 Messing with the Enemy 69 Trash Talk 69 Melee Attack 69 Sticky Grenades 70 Single Sniper Shot 70 ‘Hitting’ a Corpse 70 Getting Around 70 Running Weapons 71 Example Game Types 71 Slayer 71 Slayer Variants 72 Assault 73 Capture the Flag 73 King of the Hill 74 King of the Hill Variants 74 Territories 74 Oddball 75 Juggernaut 75 vi TEAM LinG - Live, Informative, Non-cost and Genuine ! Table of Contents ADVANCED COMBAT TECHNIQUES Chapter 7: Team Strategy 77 Fundamentals of Team Play 77 Planning for Battle 78 Fighting Positions 79 Mutually Supporting Positions 81 Communication 82 Attrition Warfare—Or Lack Thereof… 83 Weapon Allocation 83 Playing the Clock 84 Team Roles 84 General Roles 85 Specific Roles 87 Midfield 87 Positional 88 Weapon 88 Driver 89 Distraction 89 Sneak 90 Leader 90 Lockdown Strategy 91 Team Offense 91 Frontal Assault 91 Overload 92 Pressing the Rocket Launcher 94 Vehicle Attacks 94 Air Support 95 Using Overtime 95 Team Defense 96 Defensive Action 96 Rocket Launcher Defense 97 Reverse Defense 97 Full Court Press 98 Man-to-Man 98 Zone 99 Choke Point 99 Reverse Slope Defense 99 More Military Strategy for Halo 2 100 Pincer Attack 100 Enveloping Maneuver 101 Shaping the Battle 102 Battle of the Bulge 103 Focus of Effort 104 Combined Arms 104 Ambush 104 Reconnaissance 105 Sample Team Game Type Strategies 106 Team Slayer Strategy 106 CTF Strategy—Capture the Flag 107 Assault Strategy 109 King of the Hill 110 Territories 111 Additional Reading 111 Chapter 8: Multiplayer Maps 113 Ascension 114 Ascension Weapons 117 Ascension Strategy 118 Beaver Creek 120 Beaver Creek Weapons 122 Beaver Creek Strategy 124 Burial Mounds 126 Burial Mounds Weapons 128 Burial Mounds Strategy 130 Coagulation 132 Coagulation Weapons 134 Coagulation Strategy 136 Colossus 138 Colossus Weapons 140 Colossus Strategy 142 Headlong 144 Headlong Weapons 147 Headlong Strategy 148 vii TEAM LinG - Live, Informative, Non-cost and Genuine ! The Unauthorized Halo® 2 Battle Guide ADVANCED COMBAT TECHNIQUES Ivory Tower 150 Ivory Tower Weapons 154 Ivory Tower Strategy 156 Lockout 158 Lockout Weapons 162 Lockout Strategy 164 Midship 166 Midship Weapons 168 Midship Strategy 170 Waterworks 172 Waterworks Weapons 174 Waterworks Strategy 176 Zanzibar 178 Zanzibar Weapons 181 Zanzibar Strategy 182 Chapter 9: Level Ranking System 187 Almost ELO 188 Matchmaking Playlists 188 The Nitty Gritty 189 Using the Stats from Bungie.net 191 Level Ranking FAQ 191 Chapter 10: Wort Wort Wort! Halo 2 Etiquette 193 Camping 194 Spawn Camping 194 Flag Tossing 195 Weapon Hoarding 195 Leaving the Map 195 Leaving the Game 195 Parking Vehicles in Unusual Places 196 Screen Cheating 196 Karaoke Wannabes 196 Strong Silent Types 197 Poaching 197 Teamwork in FFA Games 198 Team Killers and Griefers 198 Appendix A: Halo 2 Glossary 199 Index 203 viii TEAM LinG - Live, Informative, Non-cost and Genuine ! Chapter 1: Introduction ADVANCED COMBAT TECHNIQUES 1 TEAM LinG - Live, Informative, Non-cost and Genuine ! The Unauthorized Halo® 2 Battle Guide ADVANCED COMBAT TECHNIQUES 2 11:00 hours, New Mombasa: Game: Small Team, Single Flag CTF A Spartan known as ‘Armed’ spawns on the Zanzibar beach with his small blue team. Armed has played this level often enough to know where all of the weapons are located. Immediately, he hops over a broken wall and hightails it to the Sniper Rifle. On his way, he figures he’ll also grab the Battle Rifle. As he approaches a crumbling staircase, he sees that two other blue team members are heading the same way; he reaches the top of the stairwell just in time to see one of them grab his Battle Rifle. “Ah well, I’ll just have some fun picking off the red team from across the map,” he thinks to himself as he turns toward the Sniper Rifle. To his horror, the same teammate proceeds to grab the Sniper Rifle as well. “What a jerk,” he says out loud and then quickly checks to see if his mike is muted. Fortunately, it is. With no Sniper Rifle, Armed figures he had better head for the Shotgun location. He jumps over the blue sniper—who is now taking aim on the red base—and proceeds toward his favorite weapon. But there is still another blue in front of him. Before he can reach for his mute button, the other blue has acquired his Shotgun. This time he turns on his mike and yells at his teammate. “What the hell man? What am I supposed to fight with?” The reply comes back immediately over proximity communication, “Dude, relax! This is the first weapon I’ve taken.” Armed is frustrated and can’t help but yell back, “Fine, you guys suck. I’m going in with my pea shooter!” Armed decides that he will go in with his Sub Machine Gun (SMG) and show his teammates what happens when they hoard weapons. As Armed moves down the side of the map, he wonders why he doesn’t hear sniper fire or rocket explosions. He asks himself, “What is my useless team doing?” He looks over to the other side of the map just in time to see a Warthog roar by with the rest of his team. Armed seizes this chance to join his team in a unified assault. He runs toward the side of the base. As he enters, he sees that his team is taking fire. Armed stops in his tracks. The team indicators now show red Xs. They’re not taking fire; they’re dead. Armed decides that he’s already close to the base so he may as well get into the action. As he approaches the base, he spots a red team sentry. The opponent fires a Shotgun in his direction. Armed backs up and takes cover behind a rock. He knows that he is out of the effective range of the weapon. After a few seconds, the opponent ducks into the security of the base. Seeing his chance to advance, Armed charges into the side entrance of the red base. As he goes in, he spots the red sentry running up to the top level of the base. Armed runs by the gate control panel and jumps down on the red flag. Of course, the red team is fully armed and waiting. Before Armed can take a step, he is cut down by a Rocket, a Battle Rifle burst, two SMGs, and a Frag Grenade. Armed spawns again on the beach wall. He looks at the game time and shakes his head. He knows that the blue team will not get the cloth in this round. Armed’s teammate takes off with his favorite weapon. A bad time to attack. Armed’s foolhardy attack. TEAM LinG - Live, Informative, Non-cost and Genuine ! [...]... disadvantage Use the right tool for the right job As a player, you should be well versed in the following basic offensive and defensive guidelines for the Halo 2 weapons See Chapter 3, Weapons, for more details about weapons and their usage tactics Use the right weapon for the right job ADVANCED COMBAT TECHNIQUES TEAM LinG - Live, Informative, Non-cost and Genuine ! 13 The Unauthorized Halo 2 Battle Guide When... adopt them With online Halo 2 play, you can expect that there will be times when you wonder, “How did that guy do that?” When this happens, you can rush to one of these fan sites to search for the answer Quite often, that answer will be waiting for you there ADVANCED COMBAT TECHNIQUES TEAM LinG - Live, Informative, Non-cost and Genuine ! 3 The Unauthorized Halo 2 Battle Guide You’ll find that some Halo. .. as a gamer? The answer is quite simple; the more people who play Halo, the larger the Halo community A larger community translates to more resources for you to use when you’re looking to improve your game You should start by visiting Bungie.net, but don’t stop there Expand your search to other resources The Unauthorized Halo Battle Guide website (www.halobattleguide.com) will point you to other useful... in the back Getting the drop on someone ADVANCED COMBAT TECHNIQUES TEAM LinG - Live, Informative, Non-cost and Genuine ! Chapter 2: Basic Combat his chapter is an introduction to Halo 2 combat Although these tactics and strategies may seem obvious to experienced players, it’s absolutely essential to have a solid grounding in the basics before moving on to advanced strategy Furthermore, these basic combat. .. level, you can use the Battle Rifle to irritate the opposite base Using the Battle Rifle scope, you can easily distract the other team from your attacking force—you’ll probably even poach a few kills Having this weapon is a great advantage in open space Zanzibar and Waterworks both include great examples of Battle Riflefriendly terrain The Halo 2 Shotgun The Battle Rifle ADVANCED COMBAT TECHNIQUES TEAM... examines the vital statistics for the Halo 2 weaponry You will be more effective in all situations when you are armed with an understanding of each weapon “Expert players must be proficient with all the weapons and understand what makes them each unique.” —Striker, Crew 116 ADVANCED COMBAT TECHNIQUES TEAM LinG - Live, Informative, Non-cost and Genuine ! 19 The Unauthorized Halo 2 Battle Guide Weapon... Genuine ! Basic Combat Covenant Weapons Plasma Pistol This was not a popular Halo 1 weapon, but it can be used strategically in Halo 2 Dual wield this weapon with some other gun and take advantage of the plasma burst option The burst will take out an enemy’s shield and the other weapon can finish him Plasma Rifle The Plasma Rifle in Halo 2 does not pack the plasma stun effect of the Halo 1 version This... Probably the best example of a pure entertainment-focused Halo site is www.redvsblue.com Others will go to great lengths to try to improve your fighting skills Be sure to visit http://www.thegtc.com/videos.htm for Halo- related videos These guys produced some cool Halo 1 material Hopefully, they will continue the tradition with Halo 2 Reading the Halo novels may not improve your game, but they will... in the good ol’ days This gun is still useful though, especially when you DW two of them Plasma Sword Along with the Shotgun, the Plasma Sword is one of the top two short-range weapons in the game The lunge feature of the sword is just brutal; it’s one of the most deadly moves in the game Wait for the reticle to turn red and then pull the trigger It’s a very rewarding one hit take down Needler The. .. it became the weapon of choice in Halo 1 tournaments Expert players would actually turn down their look sensitivity so they could improve their accuracy with the Pistol Many people also argued that it was illogical to have a scope on the Pistol when even weapons such as the Assault Rifle didn’t have one By the way, you can rest assured that the Halo 2 Magnum Pistol is not as powerful as the Halo 1 Human . Stephen Cawood The Unauthorized Halo 2 Battle Guide ADVANCED COMBAT TECHNIQUES The Unauthorized Halo 2 Battle Guide © 20 05 by Thomson Course Technology PTR. All. Genuine ! The Unauthorized Halo 2 Battle Guide ADVANCED COMBAT TECHNIQUES To my love, Christa. iii TEAM LinG - Live, Informative, Non-cost and Genuine ! The Unauthorized Halo 2 Battle Guide ADVANCED. don’t stop there. Expand your search to other resources. The Unauthorized Halo Battle Guide website (www.halobattleguide.com) will point you to other useful sites such as http:/ /halo. bungie.org,