Editing Cortana (level)/Walkthrough

{{Walkthrough infobox

||era=[[Halo 3]]

{{Article quote|Cleanse High Charity. Save Cortana.}}

Your most valuable pieces of [[equipment]] in this level are [[Deployable Cover]]s and [[Bubble Shield]]s. [[Cloaking]] is also handy but extremely rare. It is recommended that you always have a Deployable Cover with you. [[Grenade]]s are also your friends here; [[Anskum-pattern plasma grenade|Plasma Grenades]] are very effective against [[Flood ranged form|Flood Ranged Forms]] and [[Flood carrier form|Flood Carrier Forms]], and [[M9 High-Explosive Dual-Purpose Grenade|Fragmentation Grenades]] will thin out large groups of Flood and bring down shields on any shielded [[Flood combat form|Flood Combat Forms]]. Beware, though: if you have bad aim, you will be penalized in this level. [[Flood blister|Flood Blisters]] line High Charity's walls and if you are inaccurate you will unleash torrents of [[Pod infector]]s that will make you waste valuable ammunition and probably kill you. Once you've killed all the Flood in a room, melee their corpses to prevent re-animation of them.

Using [[Halo 3 skulls|Skulls]] on this level is not a good idea for inexperienced players, but using the Catch skull provides you with a distinct advantage, as the Flood do not use grenades, but upon death, they will almost always provide them with this skull active.

|colspan=1| [[M90 Close Assault Weapon System#Halo 3 and Halo 3.3A ODST|M90A Close Assault Weapon System]]

|colspan=1|{{Pattern|Okarda'phaa|plasma rifle}}

|colspan=1| 2 {{Pattern|Anskum|plasma grenade}}

|colspan=1| 2 {{Pattern|Anskum|plasma grenade}}

As you round the corner, a few Flood Blisters will automatically explode. Eliminate them quickly so that the infection Forms don't re-animate any bodies. Head up the sloped path to reach the chamber's upper level. Find some grenades and replace your Shotgun with an [[Type-1 Energy Weapon/Sword|Energy Sword]].

When you reach the [[porta]] in the floor, drop through it and immediately take cover in the corner behind you. Stay sharp because combat forms with human weapons will appear. Take them down with quick bursts from your Assault Rifle, then close in on them and finish them off with the Energy Sword. Back away slowly and look out for the Carrier Forms that will appear. Use a grenade that sticks (Plasma, [[Type-2 Antipersonnel Fragmentation Grenade|Spike]] or [[Orgudam Workshop firebomb|Incendiary]]) to kill them. When killed with a grenade, Carrier Forms won't unleash Infection Forms.

The room behind the porta contains a small slope and several Infection Forms. The chamber is filled with dead [[Sangheili|Elites]] and [[Jiralhanae|Brutes]], as well as some grenades. You can throw a grenade to set off a chain reaction and weaken or kill any Flood that re-animates. Finish the Flood off with the Energy Sword. In the next tunnel, grab either a [[Gravity hammer (fiction)|Gravity Hammer]] (good for clearing away Flood if you get surrounded) or a new Energy Sword (usually the best choice), and then drop through the hole in the floor to continue.

Once you're through the hole, run forward and set up your Deployable Cover. You can shoot through it with your Assault Rifle, and it will provide you with excellent cover from the Ranged Forms. Draw in the Combat and [[Flood tank form|Tank Forms]] and finish them off with the Energy Sword (remember to lunge at their "mouths"). Once you're down to just Ranged Forms use your Assault Rifle to clear out a path. Run to the right side of the room. From there you should have a good cover and a perch from which you can finish off any remaining Ranged Forms on the ceiling. Switch to your Energy Sword and finish off any remaining Ranged or Tank Forms that may be present on the ground. Now go back to your Deployable Cover at the entrance of the room. When you look to the left of the place where you dropped the cover you will see a Covenant weapons case with a [[Type-33 Guided Munitions Launcher|Needler]] inside. Swap your Assault Rifle for the Needler, then head underneath the platform. Here you can grab a couple Incendiary Grenades, another Deployable Cover, and load up your Needler. The Cortana [[Terminal (Halo 3)|Terminal]] is also located here.

Once you're through the porta, have your Carbine ready. Zoom in and you should be able to take down many Combat Forms with but one or two shots each. Stalker Forms will attack you here, but you can melee them with a few hits. Once you've cleared as many of them as you can see, reload your Carbine if you wish. Bring up your Energy Sword and activate your Cloaking. Run forward and up the path (it runs counterclockwise for the first part). Eventually you'll run into a few Combat Forms and a Tank Form. Kill them with the Energy Sword and swap your Carbine for a [[Paegaas Workshop Spiker|Brute Spiker]] and {{Pattern|Okarda'phaa|plasma rifle}} combo. This combo will last for a while. Using the cover the first ramp provides you, edge out and use the Plasma Rifle and Brute Spiker to kill the Ranged Forms. You should be able to dispatch most of them from this position before advancing. Once you're fairly certain you're clear, proceed up. It may take a few tries to get the directions and jumps right. On your way up you will run into a few more Combat and Ranged Forms. They will fall quickly under the combined onslaught of the Brute Spiker/Plasma Rifle combo. Grab one of the Cloaking equipments in the room. Once you're through the porta at the top of this room get ready for a run.

Now you've got Cortana, it's time to get out. You must make your way back to the Pelican. Fortunately, several new areas open up, making the route much shorter. Head back up the long corridor leading to the reactor room. After the cutscene, you only have your Spiker and Energy Sword but no worries, there's plenty of ammunition in the reactor room. Head out and quickly throw your Deployable Cover forward so it's near the edge of the balcony. Back up and use your Spiker to finish off the Combat Forms. This will draw in the Tank Form, which you can finish with one swipe of the Energy Sword. Move forward again and swap the Energy Sword for the Carbine. Take down all the Combat Forms you can see, and then take dual-wield a Plasma rifle with your Spiker. You can take out nearly all the Ranged Forms here quickly with this combo. Load up your Carbine and drop it in the center of the room. Pick up a [[Type-25 Grenade Launcher|Brute Shot]] and a full Energy Sword. Shoot on the four reactors with the Brute Shot to destroy them (or throw grenades to destroy the reactors), and then swap it for the Carbine. Bring up your Energy Sword and run back towards your original entrance.

:There really isn't any weapon that is weak in all situations. The only exception is a Plasma Pistol overcharge—while it takes out Brute armor very effectively, it does little to the Flood. If you get a Plasma Pistol, use normal shots. The [[M7057/Defoliant Projector|Flamethrower]] uses approximately the same amount of fuel for killing a [[Flood combat form|Combat Form]] as for killing a [[Flood pure form|Pure Form]]; therefore, save it to kill Pure Forms. Don't hoard weapons continuously, despite how much you may think you need them--if you hoard too many, you will overload the map. The most common result is that some weapons disappear or fall through the floor. But if you are trying to beat the level with Iron or else with minimal death, hoarding weapons is your best bet, although it is time-consuming.:*It is highly recommended that you find a replacement for your shotgun at the earliest opportunity. While the shotgun is an excellent in close anti-Flood weapon, there is limited ammo and are several weapons that can deal more in close damage more quickly without a need to reload. An [[Type-1 Energy Weapon/Sword|Energy Sword]] is far more effective, and a Brute Shot provides both the melee damage and a ranged attack.:*Your MA5C is extraordinarily effective in short controlled bursts and accurate aim. It's ability to kill ranged forms is not as effective as a [[Paegaas Workshop Spiker|Spiker]] or [[Type-33 Guided Munitions Launcher|Needler]], but until you can find them, its high rate of fire and relative accuracy at close-to-medium range is superior to a {{Pattern|Okarda'phaa|plasma rifle}}.

====Gold====

:Activate this skull if you have it; the Flood don't use grenades, but they will drop more when they die, and will cause many deadly chain reactions if you throw a grenade near one, the only detraction here is large chain reactions can also burst blisters and may kill you too.

:You will be surrounded very easily. However as your radar can often be deceptive on this level, if you do use it you're really not losing all that much of an advantage. Use it if you are going for the Meta-Game achievement.

*There is no difference in how you should approach this mission whether it's on Easy or Legendary. The only difference is in the overall numbers of Flood (on Legendary they can seem unending) and in how difficult it is to kill them (headshots, not withstanding) If you can beat this mission on Normal without getting killed, it's a fair bet that you should be able to complete it on Legendary. Remember to take it slow, no battle has respawning flood.

 

[[Category:Halo 3 walkthroughs]]