ONI: Sword Base/Walkthrough: Difference between revisions

{{Walkthrough Infobox

|pagelabel=Walkthrough

|era=[[File:Halo Reach box art.png|40px|link=Halo: Reach]]

**[[Type-52 plasma launcher|Plasma Launcher]]

**[[Type-33 Light Anti-Armor Weapon|Fuel Rod Cannon]]

Your landing site consists of two courtyards, and the Covenant have control of the one to your north. When you land, four Grunts, one Elite, and two Jackals will attack you. Your starting loudout is an [[MA37 Assault Rifle|assault rifle]], a [[M392 Designated Marksman Rifle|DMR]] and 2 [[M9 High-Explosive Dual-Purpose Grenade|grenades]]. Two or three Army troopers should with you, as will be [[Kat-B320|Kat]], now armed with an assault rifle. Your first objective should be to gain a [[Type-25 plasma pistol|plasma pistol]].

The four Grunts will come over the barricades to your north, the Jackals will attack from the stairs to your left and the Elite will attack from the right. Once you kill two Grunts, the enemies will retreat. So to gain that plasma pistol, let the Grunts charge until they reach the cover in front of you this will bring their weapons close for easy grabbing. Pick off the Jackals then the Grunts; the Elite will usually just fire a bit at the troopers then fall back. Once the enemies have fled, swap your assault rifle for one of the plasma pistols and prepare to move up to the left balcony.

In the courtyard ahead of you will be numerous Jackals, assorted Grunts, and three or four Elites, the leader of which is an Ultra with a [[Type-50 concussion rifle|concussion rifle]]. They'll be behind four [[stationary shield generator]]s, though they'll be shooting so much that at least one or two will be down. The Ultra is the biggest threat; on Legendary his concussion rifle takes just two direct shots to kill you and he is not shy about tossing [[Type-1 plasma grenade|plasma grenades]]. But you can't get him now; first you have to get him alone. Pick off as many Grunts and Jackals as you can with your DMR while on the left balcony stairs; this is the safest place to fall back from the concussion rifle. If the enemies get clustered, move up to the balcony and toss grenades over the side; feel free to use all of them, including the two spare ones left by a dead trooper. He also has spare DMR ammo if you need it.

When you hear [[3 Echo 57]] call for help, arm your Target Locator and aim for the Wraith on the left. Done right and you'll destroy it and maybe even a few of the infantry that cross the blast zone. But now there's still one more Wraith, and most likely an Elite and several Grunts with it, so you've still got a challenge ahead of you. Strafe back and forth to dodge the Wraith's mortars, Sprint if you see one headed your way. While you're dodging, pick off all the Grunts with your DMR, including the Grunt in the Wraith's [[Type-52 plasma cannon|plasma turret]]. When most of the Grunts are dead, Kat and any living troopers will move up to attack the Elite. He'll likely be too far away for you to noob combo him, so let your allies wear down his shield then finish him off with your DMR.

On the way to Airview Base, your Wraith will come to a small valley with ponds, where you’ll encounter a Ghost and three Grunts. They won't be a problem unless they disable your Wraith with an overcharge and toss grenades; even the Ghost will take a while to damage you. Keep your distance and shell them; fall back if you see an overcharge approaching. When they're all dead, keep driving up the path.

 

A few words of caution. First note when returning is that the Phantom that just dropped off the Ghost may still be nearby and will be powerful at close range. Wait for it to leave then engage. Second is that sometimes, though rarely, a Revenant may leave the gate and hide in this area. Keep an eye on your radar and fall back behind a boulder if it’s there; you’ll be fighting it at very close range.

Tons of Covenant are occupying the base and defending the captured AA gun. Elites, Grunts, and a formidable [[Sangheili General]] with a [[Type-52 plasma launcher|plasma launcher]]. Approach too close and Elites will dodge all your shots, the Grunts will disable you, followed by the General sticking you with the launcher and blowing you up. What's more, there are more dropships waiting as soon you kill too many enemies. If you want to nail them all with the Target Locator and clear this area in 30 seconds, here's how.

If you’re doing this site first, drive your Wraith to the edge of the pond and park it; If you’re doing it second, park your Wraith at the cliff overlooking the hill. You should be far enough that the Covenant will notice you but won't approach. Get out of the Wraith, target the General with the locator, and get back into the Wraith as an airstrike blasts him in the head and kills everything else in the base. If this site is done first, all that should be left are a few confused Grunts; approach with the Wraith and Kat will mop them up. If it’s done, a few Elites will survive and take position at a spare Warthog. They'll jump into the Hog and fire its turret, though they don’t seem to be able to drive it, making them sitting ducks. Circle your Wraith carefully around the boulder between you and their Hog, so that their turret can’t quickly damage your tank. One mortar will blow up their Hog and wipe them both out.

In between Farragut and Airview is a plain with large boulders and a steep hill. There a Phantom will drop off two Elite Majors, four Grunts, and two Ghosts. If you’re coming from the comms to the AA gun, then this area is easy. Your Wraith can easily hide behind a hill near the start of the area, fire mortars, and take cover with attacked.

If you’re going from the AA gun to comms, then this area is harder. You’ll be at the very top of the hill, with almost no cover on the way down. Those Ghosts have incredibly long range, and your aim with the mortar is likely not going to be great, as you’ll have to aim extremely high to account for its firing arc. So instead park your Wraith out of their sight, and pull out your plasma launcher. Then aim down the hill, lock on to a Ghost, and fire a homing grenade at it. It takes two shots to destroy a Ghost, but only fire one at a time because sometimes the first explosion will cancel out the second one.

At Farragut Station, there are two source of enemies: the Covenant infantry coming out of the power generator house and the Revenant guarding it. The Revenant is the greater threat; it's more maneuverable than your Wraith, has better aim, better range, and can fire faster and so send multiple mortars your way. That said, your Wraith can withstand one direct shot from it, and you might still have the plasma launcher if you just came from Airview. You have two options to take out the Revenant. You can either shell it from afar (it will stay fairly still if you keep your distance), try to shell it from close by traveling along the raised ridge on the side of the area (riskier but you’ll have better aim) or using your plasma launcher (which may have low ammo). If you’re shelling from afar and doing the comms first, then keep your Wraith at the top of the entrance slope overlooking the area and raise your reticle until it aligns with the top edge of Reach's moon [[Csodaszarvas]] in the sky; bring your reticule to align with its edge before firing. You'll have more or less the right angle to strike the Revenant and can adjust until the shot connects. If you’re doing this second and got a plasma launcher, it will take four homing grenades to destroy it. At least three will damage it badly enough that you can finish it off with DMR shots to its hull.

If you’re coming from the steep hill, you’ll have only so much room to fight the enemies coming from the house, since moving up past the large rock will alert the Revenant. Stay back and try not to pass the large rock in front of the door to the generator house until you've cleared out the infantry. There will be a few Elites and many Grunts coming at you. Back away from them as they charge and shell them. You're looking out for plasma overcharges and grenades as your priority threats. If they stand by the rock, aim at it and the shockwave should get them. Kat will help with the turret. After enemies have stopped charging, all that should be left are possibly the Revenant and two Jackal marksmen far back on the house’s balcony. These two are trivial; their needle rifles are useless against your tank, take only one headshot to die, and they don’t even try to dodge incoming mortars. Make sure everything is dead then activate the generator switch inside the house.

If you go through here to return to the gate after completing comms last, there will be a single Revenant waiting for you. In an area this narrow, its mortar is deadly. If you’re in a Wraith, keep your distance and shell from afar until your mortar connects. If you’re in the Gauss Hog, drive forward carefully then pull back when it shoots; the Revenant may misjudge your direction and fire too far ahead. It takes one mortar or two shots from the gauss cannon or rockets to destroy it.

Curiously, this Revenant has a tendency to drive into the ocean right after it’s deployed, so you may not even have to fight it.

It's time to return to SWORD Base, but its gate is defended by several Revenants and Ghosts. If you did the comms first, you’ll fight three Revenants and a Ghost there; if you did the AA gun first it will be two Ghosts and two Revenants. It’s possible to complete this next area with either the Wraith or the newly dropped off Gauss Hog. Therefore, this guide will list both.

In the Gauss Hog, you have half the firepower and durability of the Wraith but greater accuracy and twice the speed. The key to beating this next area in the Hog is hit-and-run attacks with rockets. When taking the Gauss Hog, go to the trooper that came with it and give him a rocket launcher; you’ll find one on the second floor of the comms building. Hand it to him and he’ll give you an assault rifle, which you’ll want to trade for a sniper rifle. You’ll find two with twelve rounds, one at the generator building’s balcony where the Jackal marksmen were and another in a small building next to Airview with armor abilities inside. Get into the Hog’s driver seat, have the trooper get in the side seat, and have Kat take command of the gauss cannon. Then drive around the bases for the sniper rifles before heading to the gate. If you have trouble getting Kat and the trooper in the correct seats, try getting them out then driving up a bit so Kat reaches the Hog first; she should jump in the back.

When you arrive at the gate, your first priority is the Ghost (or Ghosts). Their constant streams of fire are harder to dodge than the Revenants’ mortars, and they can quickly strip your shield. Approach it from around cover carefully, let Kat or the trooper fire a shot, and pull back before doing it again. If you’re coming from the left, use the large hill for cover; the Ghost will wait in the open area behind it. If you’re coming from the right, drive up the slope carefully while the Ghost waits at the top; it won’t be able to fire shots at a downward angle.

When it’s dead, next priority is the Revenants. With more than one in the area, dodging them is not easy. So above all, keep moving. Drive across the area in roughly a figure-eight shape, moving around and behind cover boulders. The Revenants only need one shot to destroy your Hog, and even a graze can overturn it. Drive fast, but ease up on the throttle control stick just the smallest amount, since at top speed you’ll easily flip over. In between then Kat and the trooper will be firing gauss shots and rockets with great accuracy, and it takes two shots total from either to destroy each Revenant.

When they’re destroyed, finish off any remaining Covenant in the area. If you did this area in the Wraith, go back from the Gauss Hog and arm it as instructed earlier in this section. You can use the spare turret hog by the gate to shorten the trip and to bring Kat with you. Make sure you have full sniper rifle ammo, a DMR, a Gauss Hog, a trooper with full rocket ammo (which you’ll find more of on the hill where Kat fought the Wraith), and Kat. Once you have all of them, drive up to the gate and press the return to return to SWORD.

Once they're all dead, head into the elevator with Kat, carrying the DMR and the sniper rifle. Refill your DMR ammo at the gate entrance; ammo for it will be fairly scarce inside. If you still have the rocket launcher nearby, you can take it with you too; it will be your panic button inside the base should anything go wrong. Take from the trooper with you (don’t give him your DMR or sniper ) and drop-carry the launcher to the elevator. Note that a glitch sometimes occurs in which a weapon gets embedded in the elevator floor and thus becomes inaccessible. So be careful to drop the rocket launcher in the center of the elevator floor; near the doors is where the glitch happens. When you’re sure it isn’t stuck, press the button to activate the elevator.

When crossing the walkway from the first floor to the second, you'll see some troopers firing at Covenant on the other side of the second floor, towards a room just above the one you're crossing from. Leaving that room will be several Grunts, but in it might be a BOB. If he's there, go back for your sniper rifle and shoot with him until he's dead. It’ll take three snipes on Heroic and four on Legendary. You can easily angle yourself so that you can shoot his head but he can’t shoot you, since his shots will strike the guardrails of his room's balcony. As he doesn't throw grenades, he'll be no threat to you this way. If you drop his shield but fail to kill him, he'll retreat and hide farther back in his room. You'd then have to face him later, but he'll be no threat for now and you won't have to face him until you're ready. If you already fought a BOB in the courtyard, this one will not spawn. If there was no courtyard BOB, this one will spawn.

The Grunts on the balcony can't shoot you, but they can toss grenades, so stay under the balcony. The Jackals are close enough to be a nuisance, you can easily blast them with your own grenade. Once they're dead, the Grunts and the Elite will fall back. Jorge will advance at this point and oftentimes head up the ramp to engage the Elite. Any living troopers will also advance, but they’re not great against the Elite. Headshot the Grunts from a distance, then focus on the Elite. While he'll be far and high enough that you won't be able to see much more than his feet, making him a pain to wear down with the DMR, you can use the needle rifles from the dead Jackal marksmen to supercombine him. Wait for Jorge to drop his shields, then shoot him three time with needles for him to explode.

*Elite Ultras throw grenades but Minors don’t and Major rarely do.

*The AI in Reach is based on distance; the further an enemy is from you, the simpler its AI is. This results in powerful enemies like Generals or Revenants simply staring at you if they’re too far away to hurt you. Use this to make sniping or long range mortar shots easier.

*The Wraith, when Covenant-controlled, can fire its mortar sideways, while the player is limited to firing forward. Do not assume you’re safe when approaching it from the side.

*The Revenant on the icy path tends to drive itself into the ocean at random. If it does, you could possibly grab the Revenant for yourself if it’s within wading distance.

*Don’t let Kat pilot the Wraith. Her aim with the mortar is not great and sometimes she’ll drive it away to another area and get it destroyed. She will also try to drive your location and frequently run you over.

*The troopers you fight with in the courtyard will have assault rifles, shotguns, and maybe one DMR. They're usually too weak and short-ranged to be off much help, and won't last long against a concussion rifle, but can be useful if given a plasma rifle from a fallen Elite. Since you won’t use your assault rifle, you can give it to a shotgun trooper to increase their range.

*Completing the base missions in a Warthog is possible but riskier. If you bring a rocket trooper with you, you’ll have roughly the same firepower but you won’t be able to control when the shot’s fired, making sections like the concussion Rangers harder to fight. Plasma pistol overcharges and grenades will also be much more damaging. However, you’ll have much greater speed, making areas like the steep hill and the generator much easier with their abundance of low cover. If you use the Warthog, retain a shot in the Target Locator for Airview.

*If you’d rather assassinate the General in SWORD Base rather than snipe him, here’s how. Instead of going up the ramp to summon him, cross the walkway leading to the BOB’s room. This will also summon the General, and the plan will be to assassinate him or blast with a rocket or overcharge. That said, the third floor is pretty cramped, he's got a one-hit-kill weapon now at close-range, and it will take a direct rocket hit to kill him. Watch your radar to make sure he’s still distracted by NOBLE Team. Jun will also sometimes snipe him mid-assassination. If he survives, he'll fall back to the final room with the Banshees.

*Good Skulls are Thunderstorm and Tough Luck. Since you'll be in a vehicle, the greater ranks won't matter, but on foot you'll expend DMR ammo more quickly. You’ll also encounter grenades more from the many Ultras.

*While Kat and the trooper won’t get into the Gauss Hog if you flip it over the gate’s concrete barriers, the trooper will get in if it’s a Revenant. If you steal a Revenant, you can use the Armor Lock strategy to bring it in the base to fight the Hunters. Keep strafing to avoid their fuel rods while blasting them with mortars and rockets from the trooper.

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