Editing Cortana (level)/Walkthrough

''Cleanse High Charity. Save Cortana.''

This is a walkthrough for the level [[Cortana (level)|Cortana]], structured for play on [[Legendary]] difficulty with notes for lower difficultiy levels. Cortana is the penultimate level of ''[[Halo 3]]'', and arguably one of the most difficult of the franchise. Your mission as stated is to find [[Cortana]] on the [[High Charity (Structure)|High Charity]], free her from the [[Gravemind]] and eliminate the [[Flood]].

Your most valuable pieces of [[Equipment|equipment]] in this level are [[Deployable Cover]]s and [[Bubble Shields]]. [[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; [[Plasma Grenades]] are very effective against [[Flood Ranged Form]]s and [[Flood Carrier Form]]s, and [[M9 High-Explosive Dual-Purpose Grenade|Fragmentation Grenades]] will thin out large groups of Flood and bring down shields on any shielded [[Combat Form|Flood Combat Forms]]. Beware, though: if you have bad aim, you will be penalized in this level. [[Flood Growth Pods]] line High Charity's walls and if you are inaccurate you will unleash torrents of [[Flood Infection Form]]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.

===Entering High Charity===

You will start this mission with the [[M90 Shotgun]] and the [[MA5C Assault Rifle]]. At the mission start, use your Assault Rifle to clean out the Infection Forms. Make sure they do not re-animate any of the nearby corpses. Collect some grenades before moving on. Plasma-based weaponry is more effective against shielded Flood, should you encounter any, but for now stick to your current weapons.

As you round the corner, a few Flood Growth Pods 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|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, [[Spike Grenade|Spike]] or [[Type-3 Antipersonnel/Antimatériel Incendiary Grenade|Incendiary]]) to kill them. When killed with a grenade, Carrier Forms won't unleash Infection Forms.

===The Pelican===

For the next area you'll want to be quick. Follow the path up and around. You should see a couple of Deployable Covers here. Grab one and make your way to the large opening in the wall, leading outside the High Charity. There are many Combat Forms here as well as [[Flood Stalker Form|Stalker Forms]] that like to become Ranged Forms. Load up on ammunition here at the [[Pelican]] and get ready to move. You can grab the [[M7057/Defoliant Projector|Flamethrower]] here. It can be a great help on lower difficulties, but on Legendary difficulty it is best to leave it: you will probably end up getting killed by burning Flood forms. From here you have a choice, you can set up your Deployable Cover and shoot out the Combat and Ranged forms, or you can run past them. You're going to need as much ammunition as possible, so while you could clean out this area (and if you're playing the [[Campaign Scoring|Meta-Game]] for points you should) you're much better off just running back inside, going to the left, and making your way to the porta and to the next area. The Flood will not follow you once the porta closes.

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 [[Type-2 Energy Weapon/Hammer|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.

===The Terminal Room===

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 [[Terminals|terminal]] is also located here.

===The Spiral Room===

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 [[Brute Spiker]] and [[Type-25 Directed Energy Rifle|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.

===The Reactor Room===

When the door to the reactor room opens run forward towards the center of the room. You may need to jump over some enemies or crates but go straight to the center. Turn right and run to the wall across the flood grown floor. Turn left and run to the door. Grab a Deployable Cover as you pass through the door. If you got Cloaking, you should be able to cross the reactor room without being seen. If you don't, make a run for it anyway - there's no use fighting the Flood in this room, as more will come in when you kill them. Once the door to the reactor room closes behind you, you won't encounter any more Flood. Run forward to the [[Sanctum of the Hierarchs|Sanctum]]. In the center there will be some sort of podium: Cortana's stasis field. Go to the stasis field and bash on it until it breaks to free Cortana.

=== The Reactor Room, Again. ===

You've got the girl. Now to get out. head back up the path After the cutscene, you only have your Spiker and energy sword but no worries, there's plenty of ammo 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 of 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 drop the Energy Sword for the Carbine and shoot out all the combat forms you can see before swapping your Spiker in and grabbing a Plasma rifle. You can take out nearly all the ranged forms here quickly with the combo. Load up your Carbine and drop it in the center. Pick up a [[Type-25 Grenade Launcher|Brute Shot]] and a full Energy Sword. Shoot out the four reactors with the Brute shot and then drop it for the carbine. Bring up your Energy sword and run back towards your original entrance.

You're going to drop back into the long hallway from before with all the ranged forms. Now there are just a lot of combat forms eager to kill you. Use the Carbine until your clip runs dry then switch in your Energy sword to finish them off. Advance cautiously as there are a few carrier forms here that will just ruin your day. Use your stickies here and don't worry about refilling. Once you're back in the terminal room bring up the Carbine. There's no good way to really pull this off, so use your best judgment for cover and take out all the flood in this area. You really can't run through it so just take a second and finish off the flood here. There are only about eight or ten combat forms here so it shouldn't take too long.

After you drop through this area you'll run into your first large room again. And you'll run into [[Thel 'Vadam|The Arbiter]] who will be cleaning out The Flood with the Flamethrower you left earlier. Run past him and straight to the Pelican. Hop on board and...

 

=== Part 1:Rampant.===

When the level starts, you will drop in with the shotgun and the MA5C. These will be useful for a short while, but you're going to need to swap out sooner rather than later. Progress through the infection forms running, don't waste your ammo on them. Once you get to the point were the combat forms spawn, throw a frag grenade at them and they should all be dead. Continue running, and then you should get to the point were you drop through the hole in the floor.

When you drop through the first Porta you will be assaulted by several Combat Forms. You need to fight these, and there is one with an energy sword, which will definitely come into use a bit later on in the level. When the carrier forms attack you, throw a firebomb grenade and you will be able to skip the infection forms.

The next room is going to be your fastest skip of the level. There are a few things to note though. To the left side is an opening through which is a Pelican. There is a flamethrower and some weapons and ammo out there, but unless you're already really low on ammo, don't go near it. You should run straight forward using your MA5C to clear a path straight through the porta. Once it closes the Flood won't follow you.

In the next area there will be several regenerating combat forms, use a grenade and your Energy Sword to make short work of them then swap out your Energy Sword for the Brute Shot (high Melee plus heavy projectile damage). Your Weapons should now be an MA5C with about 3/4 combat load out and a Brute Shot.

Drop through the hole in the floor. There are loads of flood here, mostly stalker forms that change into ranged and tank forms, that will all be trying to take you down. Run forward with your Brute Shot out, shooting Ranged forms and meleeing the Tank Forms . Once you reach the center of the room you should get a cloaking device. Don't activate it yet. Run straight forward out of this room, into the next area. Once you see the Carrier forms stick them with grenades. Advance. When you reach the left turn bring up your MA5C and activate your cloak. You should be able to make it to the end of the hall without needing to engage, but if you do, the assault Rifle will make short work of the Combat Forms.

When you go through the porta into the next area swap out your assault rifle for a carbine in the case. As far as your Brute Shot, even if it's out of ammo it's melee is worth keeping it until you can get more ammo for now.

Shoot out the combat forms you can see, and melee any stalkers that get close to you. Then Run. The path on the far side of the room runs up and counter clockwise. If you have ammo left for your Brute Shot, you are much better off, because you can melee any combat form that gets close and a single grenade will kill a ranged form, with an accurate hit. Grab a cloaking but don't activate it yet. Just keep running and gunning with the Brute Shot, as it is most effective in this room. There will be a Brut Shot reload at the top of the room just before the porta.

The reactor room is your last challenge here, but just activate your cloak and run straight forward to the center turn right and run to the wall then turn left and run to the door. You should be able to accomplish this without losing your invisibility. Head through the door and down the hall and bash the stasis field to free Cortana.

After the cut scene, Head back the way you came. Here you have no choice but to fight the flood. Use your energy sword to clear out the first area. You have to be quick about it, as there are a number of foes here and if you aren't swift you'll be back to your checkpoint. Once you've cleared your balcony swap your Energy sword for a carbine and snipe any Combat forms that are across form you. Then drop the carbine for a Spiker and finish off any Ranged forms that remain. Load up your Brute Shot, and grab a Carbine. Use the Brute Shot to blow up the Reactors. Then run.

 

Fall through the hole in the floor and run down the thin hallway from earlier using your Carbine and grenades to take out the Flood.

Once you return to the Terminal Room bring up your Brute Shot and ''run'' forward. Toss frags and use your Brute Shot to clear in front of you, and ''only'' in front of you. Keep moving forward and don't look back. The flood will not follow you from area to area, so move quickly and you won't need to fight as much.

Eventually you will reach the room where the Pelican is found. You will find that the Arbiter has joined you, with a flamethrower. Just simply let him do the killing, and run past all of the Flood to the Pelican. Go into the Pelican and escape.

: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 [[Combat Form]] as for killing a [[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 [[Type-25 Carbine|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 [[Type-25 Directed Energy Rifle|Plasma Rifle]].

:Get the most out of your grenades, use them on clusters of flood, but keep at least two stickies (anything that is not a Frag). These are particularly effective against [[Carrier Forms]] because they kill not only the Carrier Forms themselves, but also the [[Infection Forms]] inside them. If you are having trouble killing something, say, a Pure Form in the large room near the halfway point, go ahead and throw a grenade.

===='''Gold'''====

 

:Due to the difficulty of this level using Iron is not recommended. If you do use it, be utterly methodical in clearing areas. Leave no enemy intact.

:A consequence-free multiplier; the Flood don't dodge.

: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 growth pods.

: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.

:Ammunition is scarce on this level, and why make it more difficult. Conversely there are a number of Weapon cases with fully charged items, so if you are an accurate shooter, and with all the meleeing you should be doing you can succeed with this skull on.

:Nearly consequence-free; a few more shielded Combat Forms are all that will result.

No HUD, can not see ammo, grenades crosshairs or guns. Not suggested.

No grunts on this level. Useless.

==Not Legendary Notes==

{{succession box | before = ''[[The Covenant (Level)/Walkthrough|The Covenant]]'' <br />| title =Halo 3 Campaign Walkthrough for: | years = '''''Cortana''''' |after = ''[[Halo (Halo 3 Level)/Walkthrough|Halo]]''}}