Gameplay

Cortana (level): Difference between revisions

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{{Ratings}}{{Era|H3}}
{{Title|Cortana}}
<center>''Looking for [[Cortana]], the Human AI?''</center>
{{Status|Gameplay}}
{{Article Quote|Cleanse [[High Charity]]. Save [[Cortana]].}}
{{Disambig header|the Halo 3 campaign level|the human AI|Cortana}}
{{Level infobox
{{Level infobox
|prev=''[[The Covenant (Level)|The Covenant]]''
|pagegamelabel=H3
|next=''[[Halo (Level) (Halo 3)|Halo]]''
|prev=''[[The Covenant (level)|The Covenant]]''
|next=''[[Halo (Halo 3 level)|Halo]]''
|name='''''Cortana'''''
|image=[[File:H3 Cortana Loadscreen.png|300px]]
|game=''[[Halo 3]]''
|game=''[[Halo 3]]''
|name='''''Cortana'''''
|devname=<code>110_hc</code>{{Ref/File|Id=H3EK|H3EK|H3EK\tags\levels\solo\110_hc\110_hc.scenario}}
|image=
|player=*[[Master_Chief_(gameplay)#Halo_3|Master Chief]] (player 1)
[[Image:High Charity Infested.jpg|300px]]
*[[Arbiter_(player_character)#Halo_3|Arbiter]] (player 2)
|player=[[SPARTAN-117]]
*[[Elite (co-op)|N'tho 'Sraom]] (player 3)
|date= [[2552]]
*[[Elite (co-op)|Usze 'Taham]] (player 4)
|place= [[High Charity]]
|date=[[2552#December|December 11, 2552]]<ref>[http://halo.xbox.com/en-us/intel/featured/video/herofortitude/bfe5038b-314a-4f17-a6be-f7613e0e3788 '''Halo Waypoint''', ''Hero-Fortitude'']</ref>
|Objective= Save [[Cortana]] Destroy [[High Charity]]
|place=[[Installation 00]], inside the crash site of [[High Charity]]
|enemies=*[[Flood]]
|objective=Rescue [[Cortana]] and destroy [[High Charity]].
**[[Pure Form]]
|partime=00:15:00 {{C|''Master Chief Collection''}}
**[[Combat Form]]
|parscore=17,000 {{C|''Master Chief Collection''}}<br/>15,000 {{C|''Halo 3''}}
**[[Carrier Form]]
**[[Infection Form]]
 
}}
}}


'''Cortana''' is the ninth [[campaign]] mission (eighth playable mission) of ''[[Halo 3]]''.
{{Article quote|Cleanse [[High Charity]]. Save [[Cortana]].}}


It takes place in the [[Flood]] infested ''[[High Charity]]''. Your mission is to find [[Cortana]] in order to activate [[Installation 04 (II)|the new Halo ring]].  
'''Cortana''' is the ninth [[campaign]] level of ''[[Halo 3]]''. It takes place in the [[Flood]] infested [[High Charity]]. The player's mission is to find [[Cortana]] in order to activate [[Installation 08]].  


Upon completing it on the [[Normal]], [[Heroic]], or [[Legendary]] difficulties, the player will earn the [[The Key (Achievement)|"The Key" achievement]] and 40 [[Gamerpoint|Gamerpoints]]. Earning over 15,000 points in the campaign meta-game on this level will give the player the [[Orpheus]] achievement and 10 Gamerscore.
Upon completing it on the [[Normal]], [[Heroic]], or [[Legendary]] difficulties, the player will earn [[the Key|"The Key" achievement]] and 40 [[Gamerscore]]. Earning over 15,000 points in the campaign meta-game on this level will give the player the [[Orpheus]] achievement, and 10 Gamerscore.


A curious note to add to this level is that if you listen carefully, [[Cortana]] will say some quotes by [[Dr. Halsey]] from [[Halo: The Fall of Reach]]. Also when you recover Cortana, she says the phrase "Just keep your head down.  There's two of us in here now, remember." which is reminiscent of the phrase she says on the first level of Halo: Combat Evolved when you lose a bar of health on higher difficulty levels. The Gravemind will also repeat his line "two corpses, in one grave" that he first said in the penultimate Halo 2 level - High Charity.
==Summary==
 
With the [[Prophet of Truth]] dead and the [[Covenant]] defeated at last, the Master Chief must now infiltrate the Flood-infested [[High Charity]] and rescue [[Cortana]], who possesses the [[Activation Index]] needed to activate [[Installation 08|the new Halo]]. The Chief flies into High Charity in a Banshee and journeys into the depths of the city, searching for his lost AI companion. During this mission, not only does the Chief encounter stiff resistance from the Flood, he is constantly plagued by disturbing visions of Cortana being tortured, as well as taunts and threats from the [[Gravemind]]. Despite this, he finally locates and retrieves Cortana, finally fulfilling the promise he made to her before departing for [[Earth]]. The Chief then overloads High Charity's backup reactor to destroy the city. The Arbiter unexpectedly shows up and aids the Chief in his escape. The pair find a crashed Pelican and use it to escape from High Charity just before the city is destroyed.
This level has been infamous among the community for being overly difficult, frustrating and generally not very fun.<ref>[http://www.xbox360forum.com/forum/halo-3/52037-whats-annoying-about-level-cortana.html]</ref><ref>[http://forum.8bitbrigade.com/showthread.php?t=4009]</ref>. The entire level is covered with Flood 'sludge', which is thought to be flesh of dead bodies. This means that enemies easily blend into the scenery, thus making the level very difficult. It also contains uncountable amounts of enemies that can drain you of your ammo very quickly, not that there is a shortage, but every time you reload you are easily open to be killed. Some fans have even claimed it is one of the worst Halo single player missions ever made and few have even labelled it as the 'worst video game level ever designed'.<ref>[http://forum.8bitbrigade.com/showthread.php?t=4009]</ref>
These are often players who have only played Halo 3. In contrast, many other players enjoy the level for its challenge. A few players have commented that the levels layout is simply too confusing for those playing it the first time. This is because the enormous amount of enemies and maze like pathways.
 
== Starting Weapons ==
 
{|class="wikitable" border="1"
|colspan=1|'''Player V <br> Starting Point >'''
|colspan=1|'''Mission Start'''
|colspan=1|'''Rally Point Alpha'''
|----
|colspan=1|'''[[John-117|Master Chief]] Primary Weapon <br> Solo'''
|colspan=1| [[M90A Close Assault Weapon System]]
|colspan=1| M90A Close Assault Weapon System
|----
|colspan=1|'''Master Chief Secondary Weapon <br> Solo'''
|colspan=1| [[MA5C Assault Rifle]]
|colspan=1| MA5C Assault Rifle
|----
|colspan=1|'''Master Chief Primary Weapon <br> Co-op'''
|colspan=1| M90A Close Assault Weapon System
|colspan=1| M90A Close Assault Weapon System
|----
|colspan=1|'''Master Chief Secondary Weapon <br> Co-op'''
|colspan=1| MA5C Assault Rifle
|colspan=1| MA5C Assault Rifle
|----
|colspan=1|'''[[Arbiter (Character)|Arbiter]] Primary Weapon'''
|colspan=1| [[Type-51 Carbine]]
|colspan=1| Type-51 Carbine
|----
|colspan=1|'''Arbiter Secondary Weapon'''
|colspan=1| [[Type-1 Energy Weapon/Sword]]
|colspan=1| Type-1 Energy Weapon/Sword
|}


==Transcript==
==Transcript==
'''{''Cut scene''}'''
[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oQtAv7HmhK0 '''{''Cutscene''}''']


''The [[Master Chief]] flies a [[Banshee]] to High Charity. He finds an opening into the hive. (In co-op, the [[Arbiter (character)|Arbiter]] will follow the Chief and land his Banshee next to the [[Spartan]]'s [[Banshee]])''
''The [[John-117|Master Chief]] flies a [[Type-26 Banshee|Banshee]] to [[High Charity]]. He finds an opening into the hive. (In co-op, [[Thel 'Vadam]] will follow the Chief and land his Banshee next to the [[Spartan]]'s Banshee)''


*'''[[Johnson]] (COM)''': "Chief, I'll round up our survivors, fall back to the Dawn."
*'''[[Sergeant Major]] [[Avery Junior Johnson]] (COM)''': "Chief, I'll round up our survivors, fall back to the ''[[UNSC Forward Unto Dawn|Dawn]]''."


''Master Chief drops down (The Arbiter follows him in co-op)''
''The Chief drops down onto a wide platform from a hole above ('Vadam follows him in co-op)''


*'''Johnson (COM)''': "Arbiter will do the same with the Elites."
*'''Johnson (COM)''': "Arbiter will do the same with the [[Sangheili|Elites]]."


-(Co-op Change) '''Johnson (COM)''': "[[Rtas 'Vadum|Shipmaster]] will do the same with the Elites."
''(Co-op Change)'' '''Johnson (COM)''': "[[Rtas 'Vadum|The Shipmaster]] will do the same with the Elites."


''The Chief shakes off organic material that is stuck to his boot.''
[[File:H3-MC-Boot-FloodBiomass.jpg|thumb|300px|Flood organic materials stuck on the Chief's boot.]]
''The Chief shakes off some organic material sticking to his boot.''


*'''Johnson (COM)''': "[[Cortana]]'s in there somewhere..."
*'''Johnson (COM)''': "[[Cortana]]'s in there somewhere..."
'''{''Gameplay''}'''


===Rampant===
===Rampant===
'''''Graverobber.'''''
'''''Graverobber.'''''


{''Game play''}
''The Chief begins his journey through the hive, killing any Flood in his path.''


''Chief begins searching, further in the hive.''
*'''[[Gravemind]] ([[Character interludes|Gravemind Moment]])''': "Child of [[Forerunner|my enemy]], why have you come? I offer no forgiveness: a [[Forerunner-Precursor war|father's sins]] [[Reclaimer|pass]] to his [[Humanity|son]]."


*'''[[Gravemind]] (Gravemind Moment)''': "Child of my enemy, why have you come?  I offer no forgiveness; a [[Forerunners|father's]] sins passed to his [[Humans|son]]."
''The Chief drops down a [[porta]].''


''A little later.''
*'''[[Cortana]] ([[Character interludes|Cortana Moment]])''': ''(A strange mix of cries of agony and psychotic laughter)''


*'''[[Cortana]] (Cortana Moment)''': ''(A strange mix of cries of agony and maniacal laughter)''
''The Chief passes through the area where the [[High Council Chamber]] once was. Exploring further, the Chief goes to an outside area where he finds a crashed, but intact [[D77H-TCI Pelican|Pelican]], possibly from the {{UNSCShip|In Amber Clad}}.''


*'''Cortana, Coming out of a speaker within a crashed Pelican''': "I tried to stay hidden, but there was no escape! He cornered me, wrapped me tight and brought me close."
*'''Cortana''' ''(coming from a speaker within the crashed Pelican)'': "I ran, tried to stay hidden, but there was no escape! [[Gravemind|He]] cornered me, wrapped me tight... and brought me close."


''As the Chief goes deeper into the hive.''
''As the Chief goes deeper into the hive.''


*'''Gravemind (Gravemind Moment)''': "Of course, you came for ''her''.... We exist together now. Two corpses, in one grave."
*'''Gravemind (Gravemind Moment)''': "Of course, you came for ''[[Cortana|her]]''... [[Prophet of Mercy|We exist together now. Two corpses, in one grave...]]"


*'''Cortana''': ''(sounds distant, then when "stolen" is said, sounds suddenly close)'' "A collection of lies; that's all I am! ''Stolen'' thoughts and memories!"
*'''Cortana''': ''(distant)'' "A collection of lies; that's all I am! ''Stolen'' [[artificial intelligence|thoughts and memories]]!"


*'''Gravemind (Gravemind Moment)''': "And yet, perhaps a part of her... remains?"
*'''Gravemind (Gravemind Moment)''': ''(intrigued)'' "And yet, perhaps a part of her...remains?" ''(maniacal laughter, fades into Cortana's voice)''


*'''Cortana''': (deranged laughter)
*'''Cortana''': ''(deranged laughter)''


''In the large room where the [[Tilt skull]] is located, a Terminal can be activated, but does not count towards the Marathon achievement. If activated, it displays another Cortana Moment)''
''In the large room where the [[Halo 3 skulls|Tilt skull]] is located, a [[Terminal (Halo 3)|Terminal]] can be activated, but does not count towards the Marathon Man achievement. If activated, it displays another Cortana Moment.''


*'''Cortana (Terminal)''': It was the coin's fault! I wanted to make you strong, keep you safe ''(drop in tone)''. I'm sorry, I can't...
*'''Cortana (Terminal)''': "[[SPARTAN-II program|It]] was the [[Quarter|coin]]'s [[Halo: The Fall of Reach|fault]]! I wanted to make you strong, keep you safe...''(drop in tone)'' I'm sorry, I can't..."


''(Referance to earlier sections of [[Halo: Fall of Reach]] in which Doctor [[Catherine Elizabeth Halsey]] examines [[John-117]] as a potential [[Spartan II]] candidate)''
''Cortana begins to show signs of [[rampancy]].''


''Cortana begins to show clear signs of malfunctioning.''
*'''Cortana''': ''(casually and kindly, as though nothing is wrong and mimicking Dr. [[Catherine Halsey]])'' "May I speak with you, please?... What's your name? It's very nice to meet you!... You like games? So do I."


*'''Cortana''': ''(casually and kindly, as though nothing is wrong)'' "May I speak with you, please? ... What's your name? It's very nice to meet you! ... You like games? So do I."
''The Chief fights through more narrow, Flood-contaminated tunnels.''


''(Also referance to earlier sections of [[Halo: Fall of Reach]] in which Docter [[Catherine Elizabeth Halsey]] examines [[John-117]] as a potential [[Spartan II]] candidate)''
*'''Cortana''': ''(upset and frightened)'' "I'm just my [[Catherine Halsey|mother's]] [[Cognitive Impression Modeling|shadow]]... don't look at me, don't listen! I'm not who I used to be..."
''The Chief struggles through into more narrow, Flood contaminated tunnels.''


*'''Cortana''': ''(upset)'' "I'm just my [[Catherine Elizabeth Halsey|Mother]]'s shadow... don't look at me, don't listen! I'm not who I used to be..."
''As the Chief nears a large room (with the route to the reactor room at the top):''


''As the Chief nears a large room {with the route to the reactor room at the top}.''
*'''Gravemind (Gravemind Moment)''': ''(angrily)'' "Time has taught me ''patience''! But basking in new freedom, I will know ''all that I possess''!"


*'''Gravemind (Gravemind Moment)''': ''(angry)'' "Time has taught me PATIENCE! But basking in new freedom, I will know ALL THAT I POSSESS!"
''The Chief continues to the reactor room.''


''En route to the reactor room.''
*'''Cortana (Cortana Moment)''': ''(panicking, her voice slightly distorted)'' "I have walked the edge of the abyss. I have seen your future, and I have learned!"


*'''Cortana (Cortana Moment)''': ''(Panicking)'' "I have walked the edge of the abyss. I have seen your future, and I have learned!"
''The image of Cortana suddenly turns a tinge of green. She clutches her head and writhes in pain.''


''The image of Cortana suddenly turns a tinge of green, and clutches its head and writhes in pain.''
*'''Gravemind (Gravemind Moment)''': ''(angrily)'' "''Submit''! ''End her torment and my own''!"


*'''Gravemind (Gravemind Moment)''': (Shouting angrily.) "SUBMIT! END HER TORMENT AND MY OWN!!"
''The Chief heads through a tunnel littered with bones and skulls, and enters the reactor room. He sees one of the four reactor pylons malfunction and overload. The Chief fights his way through the reactor room, and exits through a door on the other side. He enters yet another hallway.''


''The Chief enters the reactor room, passing by bones and skulls back at the entrance.''
*'''Cortana (Cortana Moment)''': ''(panicking, voice slightly distorted)'' "There will be no more sadness, no more anger, no more envy!"


''The Chief finds a door out the reactor room, and follows it.''
*'''Gravemind (Gravemind Moment)''': ''(enraged)'' "You ''will'' show me [[Activation Index|what she hides]]...or I shall feast upon your ''bones''!"
 
[[File:Cortanam2.jpg|thumb|300px|Cortana turns green.]]
''The Chief begins to reach the end of the hallway.''


*'''Cortana (Cortana Moment)''': ''(Panicking)'' "There will be no more sadness, no more anger, no more envy!"
*'''Cortana (Cortana Moment)''': ''(speaking in a calm, distorted, monotone voice as though brainwashed. Her image is green.)'' "This is [[United Nations Space Command|UNSC]] [[AI serial number|AI Serial Number]] CTN 0452-9. I am a monument to all your sins."  


*'''Gravemind (Gravemind Moment)''': "You WILL show me what she hides, or I shall feast upon your BONES!"
''The Chief rushes to the end of the hallway and enters the former [[Sanctum of the Hierarchs]]. There he finds Cortana lying prone in a stasis field in a center podium. He bashes the shield until it finally fails. Cut to black.''


''The Chief begins to reach the end of the hallway.''
[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zEnWjrjJpDc&feature=related '''{''Cutscene''}''']


*'''Cortana (Cortana Moment)''': ''(Speaking in a flat, monotone voice as though brainwashed. Her image is green.) "This is UNSC AI Serial Number CTN 0452-9. I am a monument to all your sins."
*'''Cortana''': ''(weakly)'' "You ''found'' me."


''The Chief rushes to the end of the hallway, to find Cortana lying prone in a Stasis Shield in a centre podium. The room resembles the Sanctum of the Hierarchs. He beats and bashes the shield until it finally fails.''
''The Master Chief leans closer towards the panel [[Cortana]]'s on. The AI lies pitifully on the podium, pain and shame on her face. The animated code that usually flows across her skin is absent.''


{''Cutscene''}
*'''Cortana''': ''(weakly)'' "But so much of me is wrong… out of place. You might be too late…"


*'''Cortana''': "...you found me..."
''The Chief kneels right next to Cortana.''


''Master Chief leans closer towards the panel Cortana's on.''
*'''[[Master Chief Petty Officer]] [[John-117]]''': "You know me. [[High Charity (level)|When I]] [[Fall of High Charity|make a promise]]…"


*'''Cortana''': "But so much of me is wrong... out of place. You might be too late..."
''Cortana looks up at the Chief. She starts to glow.''


*'''Master Chief''': "You know me. When I make a promise..."
*'''Cortana''': "You… keep it. ''(she raises her head, and sounds amused)'' I ''do'' know how to pick 'em."


''She looks up at the Chief.''
*'''John-117''': "Lucky me. Do you still have it?"


*'''Cortana''': "...you... keep it. I ''do'' know how to pick 'em."
[[File:H3-Index and Cortana.jpg|thumb|300px|Cortana shows the index to John-117.]]
''Cortana slowly gets up. As she does, she begins to glow more brightly and the lines of code and equations begin to fall over her surface again. She opens her palm and a hologram of the Index appears above it.''


*'''Master Chief''': "Lucky me. Do you still have it?"
*'''Cortana''': "The [[Activation Index]] from the [[Installation 04|first Halo ring]]. A little souvenir I [[Battle for the Control Room|hung]] [[Two Betrayals|onto]]… just in case. ''(she looks around)'' Got an escape plan?"


''Cortana slowly gets up, recovering her strength.''
''The Chief gets back on his feet.''


*'''Cortana''': "The [[Index|Activation Index]] from the [[Installation 04|first Halo ring]].  A little souvenir I held onto... just in case. ''(she looks around)'' Got an escape plan?"
*'''John-117''': "Thought I'd try shooting my way out - mix things up a little."


*'''Master Chief''': "Thought I'd try shooting my way out - mix things up a little."
''The Chief takes Cortana's old [[data crystal chip|data chip]] out of his helmet and holds it in front of her. Cortana touches its core and uploads herself into the chip. The Chief inserts Cortana back, at long last, into his armor.''


''The Chief takes Cortana's old [[Data Crystal Chip|data chip]] out of his helmet and holds it in front of her. Cortana touches its core and uploads herself into the chip, and the Chief inserts Cortana back, at long last, into his armour. The music builds.''
*'''Cortana''': ''(jokingly exasperated)'' "Just [[The Pillar of Autumn (Halo: Combat Evolved level)|keep your head down...]] [[Battle over Installation 04|There's two of us in here now, remember]]."


*'''Cortana''': ''(jokingly exasperated)'' "Just keep your head down... There's two of us in here now, remember." ''(This is a reference to ''[[Halo: Combat Evolved]]'', where Cortana would say "Hey, keep your head down, there's two of us here now, remember?!" When the Master Chief first loses a health bar on the first level, [[Pillar of Autumn (Level)|Pillar of Autumn]].)''
'''{''Gameplay''}'''


===Nor Hell A Fury...===
===Nor Hell A Fury…===
'''''Shoot your way out.'''''
'''''Shoot your way out.'''''


{''Game play''}
*'''Cortana''': ''(weakly)'' "Chief, get me out of this place. I… I don't want to stay."


''If the Chief continues to stay in the room Cortana was in.''  
''The Chief heads back out into the hallway.''
*'''Cortana''':''(weakly)'' "Chief, get me out of this place. I... I don't want to stay."


''The Chief heads back up the hallway.''
*'''Gravemind (Gravemind Moment)''': ''(roars)'' "Now, at last, I see! Her secret is ''revealed!''"


*'''Gravemind (Gravemind Moment)''': ''(roars)'' "At last, I see! Her secret is ''revealed!''"
''The Master Chief returns to the reactor room. Flood forces, now aware that Cortana is in possession of the Index, start attacking. The Chief stands his ground and defeats them.''


''The Master Chief makes it back into the reactor room.''
*'''Cortana''': ''(weakly)'' "We need to buy some time. This reactor... start a chain reaction. ''Destroy'' [[High Charity]]."


*'''Cortana''':''(weakly)'' "Wait, we need to buy some time. This reactor... start a chain reaction. ''Destroy'' [[High Charity]]."
''The Chief heads to the center of the reactor room and accesses the main controls, exposing the three remaining reactor pylons. A new wave of Flood swarms the reactor room, attempting to stop the Chief. However, he successfully destroys all three reactor pylons.''


''The Flood begins to swarm the reactor room, realizing the Chief's plan. However he successfully destroys all three reactor pylons.''
*'''Gravemind''': ''(roars in pain)''


*'''Gravemind''': ''(Roars in pain)''
''Alarms blare. Explosions erupt throughout the reactor room.''


*'''Cortana''': "You hurt it, Chief. But not for long. We need to get to Halo - destroy the Flood once and for all."
*'''Cortana''': "You hurt it, Chief. But not for long. We need to get to [[Installation 08|Halo]] - destroy the [[Flood]] once and for all."
 
''The Chief leaves the reactor room and races through High Charity, which is now rapidly falling apart.''
 
''If the Chief takes too long:''


''If the Chief takes too long''
*'''Cortana''': "An explosion just made us an exit! I'll mark it on your HUD, Chief, go!"
*'''Cortana''': "An explosion just made us an exit! I'll mark it on your HUD, Chief, go!"


''When the Chief reaches the halfway point escaping.''
''When the Chief reaches the halfway point to escaping High Charity:''


*'''Cortana''': "Analyzing the route ahead...  I have it mostly figured out. Just keep moving, I'll update your [[HUD]] as you go."  
*'''Cortana''': "Analyzing the route ahead… I have it mostly figured out. Just keep going. I'll update your [[heads-up display|HUD]] as quickly as I can."


'''Cortana''': "Corridors ahead have all collapsed. I'll find another way, Chief; be careful."  
''The Chief reaches a blocked hallway.''
 
*'''Cortana''': "Corridors ahead have all collapsed. I'll find another way, Chief; be careful."
 
''Or''
 
*'''Cortana''': "Corridors beyond this point have collapsed. I'm looking for an alternate. Careful."
 
''If the Chief still can't find his way out:''


*'''Cortana''': "There, Chief, into the maintenance tunnel."
*'''Cortana''': "There, Chief, into the maintenance tunnel."


''The Chief finds his way back when...''
''The Chief finds his way back when…''
 
*'''Cortana''': "I've got a friendly contact! Who would be ''crazy'' enough to come in here?"
 
''The Chief and Cortana find the Arbiter battling Flood with a [[M7057 flamethrower|flamethrower]] (occasionally, Thel will use his energy sword instead).''
 
*'''Cortana''': ''(amused)'' "[[Gravemind (level)|Wait]], you [[Thel 'Vadam|two]] [[Arrival|made]] [[Sierra 117|nice]]? [[Battle of Kenya|What ''else'']] [[Battle of Installation 00|did you do]] [[Human Weakness|while I was gone]]…?"


''(''Single-Player Only'')
[[File:H3 High Charity Blowing up.jpg|thumb|300px|''High Charity'' is destroyed.]]
*'''Cortana''': "I've got a friendly contact! But who would be ''crazy'' enough to come in here?"


''Chief and Cortana find the [[Arbiter (Character)|Arbiter]] battling Flood with a [[Flamethrower]]. The Chief assists.''
''The Chief and 'Vadam clear the immediate area of remaining Flood, then head outside.''


*'''Cortana''': ''(Amused)'' "Wait, you two made nice?! What else have you been up to while I was gone...?"
[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q0i93cjEEyM '''{''Cutscene''}''']


'''''{''Cutscene''}'''
''The Chief and the Arbiter board the Pelican the Chief discovered earlier. The Chief uploads Cortana into the Pelican's holotank and starts up the engines. One of the [[Gravemind]]'s tentacles reaches for the dropship, but the heat from the thrusters forces it to retreat. The Pelican takes off, smoke pouring lightly from the left engine. The tentacle comes back and tries to ensnare the dropship, but the Pelican pulls free of its grip. The Pelican barely escapes as [[High Charity]]'s reactor goes critical, consuming the planetoid in a massive explosion. The Pelican makes its way to the new Halo ring.''
 
==Achievements==
The following [[achievement]]s can be unlocked on this mission on the [[Xbox 360]] edition of ''Halo 3''.
{|class="wikitable"
|-align="center"
!Icon
!Name
!Description
!{{Gamerscore|Gamerscore}}
|-align="center"
|[[File:H3 Achievement The Key.png]]
|[[The Key]]
|Finish the eighth mission of the [[Campaign]] on [[Normal]], [[Heroic]], or [[Legendary]].
|{{Gamerscore|40}}
|-align="center"
|[[File:H3 Achievement Tilt.png]]
|[[Tilt (Achievement)|Tilt]]
|Find and claim this skull.
|{{Gamerscore|10}}
|}


''The Master Chief and Arbiter find a Pelican, possibly from the ''[[In Amber Clad]]'' nearby and board it. The Chief uploads Cortana into Pelican's holotank and starts up the engines. One of the Gravemind's tentacles advances to the Dropship, but the heat from the thrust forces it to retreat. The Pelican takes off, smoke pouring lightly from the left engine. The tentacle comes back and tries to wrap around the Dropship, but the Chief escapes its grip. The Pelican barely escapes from a massive explosion caused by the reactor going critical as High Charity is finally destroyed, and the Pelican makes its way to the new Halo ring.''


==Walkthrough==
==Production notes==
{{Main|highcharity}}
{{Quote|I took the Cortana mission, completely gutted it and rebuilt it in about three weeks—that mission where Gravemind is talking to you and Cortana is in distress. We didn’t have a lot of resources for that. It was a lot cooler on paper. And it had the transforming Flood, but I don’t think we did great there. It’s a kind of half-baked mission that needed to be there for the story, so we sort of threw it together, but I would’ve preferred not to do that.|[[Paul Bertone]] discussing his work on Cortana.{{Ref/Site|Id=VICE|URL=https://www.vice.com/en/article/xwqjg3/the-complete-untold-history-of-halo-an-oral-history|Site=VICE|Page=The Complete, Untold History of Halo: An Oral History|D=10|M=10|Y=2021}}}}


If you have the Black-Eye skull, now is the time to use it.
During the [[Development of Halo 3|development]] of ''Halo 3'', ''Cortana'' was originally intended to be a very different mission, with a prominent role for the [[Mausoleum of the Arbiter]]. This version was scrapped and mission increased in scope by around 75% - due to issues with development, the geometry cut from [[Cut Halo 3 levels#Flood Ship|Flood Ship]] to Cortana.{{Ref/Site|Id=GDC1|URL=https://www.bungie.net/en/aboutus#page=publications&publication=12662|Site=Bungie Publications|Page=Halo 3 Flood Alien Level Autopsy|D=10|M=10|Y=2021}}{{Ref/Site|Id=GDC2|URL=http://halo.bungie.net/images/Inside/publications/presentations/Bungie_EnvDesign_GDC.pptx|Site=Bungie.net|Page=Halo 3 Flood Alien Level Autopsy|Detail=Original presentation download link|D=18|M=1|Y=2021}}{{Ref/Twitter|dmiller360|533780549807398912|Dan Miller|Quote=the level order was the same,just the geometry was different. Originally floodgate consisted  of both floodgate AND Cortana|D=10|M=10|Y=2021}}{{Ref/Twitter|dmiller360|1113434705133625344|Dan Miller|Quote=In floodgate you went into the covenant cruiser at the end, correct? Well that was the Cortana geometry. The Floodgate mission was much, much longer. There was original High Charity geometry made for the Cortana mission that was cut due to lack of time.|D=10|M=10|Y=2021}}{{Ref/Twitter|dmiller360|533780831513624576|Dan Miller|Quote=the old original geometry for cortana was cut- that was high charity geometry.|D=10|M=10|Y=2021}}


Drop down onto the ground and get the fire bomb then move forward and pop the Infection Forms with about 2 clips. Go up a ramp and take out the Infection Forms and switch the energy sword for your [[Assault Rifle]]. Head straight through the [[Porta]] and then down, take cover behind the pillar as the Flood come down, using your shotgun and energy sword together to pick them off until they're all dead or they jump off. Trade your shotgun for the Brute shot and pick up the bubble shield. Kill the Carriers and RUN as fast as you can to the door, it may take two or three tries though (don't use your bubble shield). (For those of you who don't trust regular weapons, there is a [[Flame Thrower]] and a [[Rocket Launcher]] by the crashed Pelican), however it is inadvisable to take the flamethrower as it takes a while to kill the Flood and they can easily charge you and burn you to death in the time it takes them to die.
<gallery>
File:H3 Cortana DesignDoc 1.jpg|An early design draft for the initial layout of Cortana.
File:H3 Cortana DesignDoc 2.jpg|A later design document for Cortana, more resembling the final game.
</gallery>


When you get to the room with the Infection Forms, use a grenade to clear them out and collect as many grenades as you can before heading out. Drop down to the room with the Elite next to you and just run to the centre. Now activate your bubble shield before the Ranged Forms kill you, pick up an active camouflage and you sword thrusts to get through quicker and improve your "living ratio". Stick the Carriers and move forward. When Cortana speaks move into the narrow corridor and kill as many Pure Forms as possible if you have Scoring on. Right after you see the first Combat Form come out, turn on your [[Cloaking]]; they won't see you unless you're 2 inches next to them. This is possibly the hardest part now so this will take many times to master. Grab a carbine as you enter the room for the Brute shot. Get as many head shots as possible and proceed into the camouflage room on your left. If you're swamped activate your cloaking immediately and kill the Flood.  
==Trivia==
===Glitches===
{{Main|Glitches}}
*During the level, the player will find dead Elites wearing [[Assault Harness|Assault Armor]]. One of them is glitching by doing their death position in mid-air though; it looks like his foot seems to be stuck in Flood biomass. The corpse will fall if the player melees or uses explosives against it.


Once your camouflage starts to fade grab the second one and activate it. After you jump over the ledge your camouflage will go away so find cover now. Kill the Flood in the next room with the sword and grenades. Take out the Ranged Forms with the carbine and well aimed grenades before proceeding. Pick up the Brute Shot and move on. There really is no strategy for this part in the reactor room. Take it one step at a time and use your bubble shield when in danger. When ready, go into the next room and save Cortana! Again there is no real strategy for combating the Flood, for fun kill everything then destroy the reactors (pick up the camouflage in the room before leaving). Even a Spiker will blow a reactor at a fair distance. Kill the Brute and move on. When you drop down move fast for a bit then activate your camouflage so the Flood can't see you.  
===Easter eggs===
{{Main|Easter eggs}}
*The [[Halo 3 skulls#Tilt|Tilt]] Skull can be found on this level.
*After obtaining [[Cortana]], there is a skull on a ledge-like structure (it's purple and is kind of bulbous at the end) overhead after the player exits the hallway that leads to Cortana. To get it, one needs to get the Deployable Cover, deploy it on the floor directly in front of the edge of the roof, jump on the deployed cover and crouch jump onto the roof. One may also partner jump or grenade jump with a plasma grenade. Once on top of the roof, locate the skull towards the apex of the angled roof and get the skull. Please note that this skull has no affiliation with the "[[Halo 3 skulls|13 required skulls]]" list and, if carried for the rest of the level, will start Master Chief with a Spartan laser on the next level. This may only work with certain skull combination's and/or other factors in gameplay. However, this skull is unavailable in the ''Halo: The Master Chief Collection'' edition of ''Halo 3''. An unknown glitch causes the skull to spawn in incorrectly, which then rolls off the ledge and into the abyss below the reactor room. Whether this will be fixed in a future patch is as-of-yet unknown. Season 8 update seems to have fixed the skull from dropping down and can now be used again as intended in the original Halo 3.


Move into the next room where you would find the Tilt skull and kill the Flood and this fight will be very tough unless you use cover if your shield goes down to a fourth of its energy. Go on and just rush through the whole thing. If you don't get the time you wanted try it with a friend and it will be much easier with two or more players, then try it alone.
===References===
It is good to have a [[Brute Shot]] handy when you run out of ammo because of the blade on the bottom.
*The section of the level after saving Cortana is called 'Nor Hell A Fury...', referencing the poem by William Congreve 'The Mourning Bride'. The entire line is 'Heaven has no rage like love to hatred turned, Nor hell a fury like a woman scorned', possibly referencing Cortana, who, after months of torment, now has the ability to light the newly constructed Halo ring and destroy the Ark as well as the Flood.
*One of Cortana's lines, "There will be no more sadness. No more anger. No more envy," appears to reference [[Marathon]]'s stages of Rampancy; Melancholia, Anger and Jealousy, respectively.
*The line "It's the coin's fault," is a reference to a factor that brought [[John-117]] into the Spartan program. He identified the side of a 20th-century quarter owned by [[Catherine Halsey|Dr. Halsey]] before it fell to the ground in ''[[Halo: The Fall of Reach]]''.
*The Gravemind uses a line from ''Halo 2'': "We exist together now. Two corpses in one grave." This line is referring to Cortana, and referred to the Prophet of Mercy in ''Halo 2''. This line was said in the level ''[[High Charity (level)|High Charity]]''.
*The achievement for gaining over 15,000 points on this level, entitled Orpheus, is a reference to the ancient Greek mythology story in which the Greek hero Orpheus ventures into the depths of hell to retrieve the one he loves. This is easily compared to the Chief's mission: venture into hell, that is represented as High Charity, to rescue Cortana.
*The line "Just keep your head down... There's two of us in here, remember." is a reference to the ''Halo: Combat Evolved'' level ''[[The Pillar of Autumn (Halo: Combat Evolved level)|The Pillar of Autumn]]''. When the player's shield is completely depleted, Cortana would say the exact line, albeit with a more urgent tone.


----
===Miscellaneous===
*Due to Flood form action in the reactor's room, one of the four reactors explodes when the player first enters the room. This led to the player's mission to only destroy three reactors instead of four.
*The [[Mausoleum of the Arbiter]] can be seen in the distance when standing near the crashed Pelican. This and the [[San'Shyuum|Prophets]]' Inner Sanctum are essentially the only recognizable features of High Charity in ''Halo 2'' that can be seen in ''Halo 3''. One can see in the Bungie feature "Flood Autopsy", that they had originally planned to have the Flood reanimate all Arbiter corpses in the room, creating an Arbiter army for the player to fight.
*The room where [[Cortana]] is located is a remake of the room from the level ''[[High Charity (level)|High Charity]]'' from ''Halo 2''. This room is located before the final gravity lift where Cortana says "apparently these are the Prophet Hierarch's private quarters, their inner sanctum". In the "inner sanctum" there are three doors, two located opposite one another, with a third, opposite a large view screen. In the level ''High Charity'', the Chief enters through the third door, and exits through the door on his right; in the level ''Cortana'' from ''Halo 3'', he enters through the door that was locked in ''Halo 2'' (opposite the door that leads to the final gravity lift). The graphic design of the room and the rest of High Charity's interior has been remodeled in ''Halo 3''. It resembles the corridors of the {{Pattern|Ket|battlecruiser}} ''[[Truth and Reconciliation]]'' from ''Halo: Combat Evolved''.
*There is an area with a dead ODST (not the crashed Pelican). It is unknown how he made it so far from the Pelican or if he was from the Frigate {{UNSCShip|In Amber Clad}} before the Flood attacked [[High Charity]]. There is also a Flamethrower in this area which hints to a final stand since he's in a pipe area with one opening.
*Most of the weapons from the [[The Covenant (level)|previous level]] are carried on to this level unless the player makes a fresh start, in which case the loadout will be an [[MA5C assault rifle]] and an [[M90 shotgun]].
**In the opening cutscene, the Master Chief is shown holding the shotgun no matter what weapons the player starts with. However, if the player starts with the default loadout, they are holding the assault rifle instead of the shotgun with the shotgun as their backup weapon.
**If the previous level the player brought Fuel Rod Gun or Gravity Hammer, the loadout would reset to the Assault Rifle and Shotgun.
*As seen later, primarily in ''[[Halo Wars 2: Awakening the Nightmare]]'', [[High Charity]] was not completely destroyed when the player detonates its reactor. This shell is eventually covered by a [[containment shield]] under the command of [[000 Tragic Solitude]].{{Ref/Game|HW2|Detail=''[[Phoenix Logs]]'' - ''Idle Hands II''}} This is later breached by [[Voridus]] and the [[Banished]] in ''Awakening the Nightmare'', [[Outbreak on Installation 00|releasing the Flood that had survived the destruction of High Charity]] and the firing of [[Installation 08]].
*After [[Thel 'Vadam]] joins you in battle against the [[Flood]], you can find his [[Type-26 Banshee|Banshee]] outside by the [[D77H-TCI Pelican|Pelican]]. You can jump up to his Banshee and even destroy it, but it is impossible to enter the vehicle.


Another way to beat this mission would be to use a better player to escort you in Co-op. You follow them and do not stop to take out anything just run to each point. Keep the [[Energy Sword]] handy if you run into some trouble but you can take whatever weapons you feel like. This only works on lower difficulty and you will still die a lot.
==Gallery==
===Concept art===
<gallery>
File:H3_HighCharity_Schematic_Concept.jpg|A concept art schematic for the level.
File:MausoleumConcept.jpg|Early concepy art of John-117 looking at Mausoleum of the Arbiter.
File:H3 Cortana Concept 1.jpg|Concept art of the environment in the level.
File:H3 Cortana Reactor Concept.jpg|Concept art of the reactor room.
File:H3 Cortana Concept 2.jpg|Concept art of the Master Chief's raid within ''High Charity''.
File:H3_Cortana_Concept_3.jpg|Concept art of the Flood-infested ''High Charity''.
File:H3_Cortana_Concept_4.jpg|Concept art of the Flood-infested ''High Charity''.
File:H3_Cortana_Concept_5.jpg|Concept art of the Flood-infested ''High Charity''.
File:H3_Cortana_Concept_6.jpg|Concept art of the Flood-infested ''High Charity''.
File:H3_Cortana_Concept_7.jpg|Concept art of the Flood-infested ''High Charity''.
File:H3_Cortana_Concept_8.jpg|Concept art of the Flood-infested ''High Charity''.
File:H3 Gravemind Concept.jpg|Concept art of an encounter between the Chief and the Gravemind.
</gallery>


==Trivia==
===Storyboards===
*There was going to be a Secondary Objective. Where the crashed ship was, the creators where going to make it a marine stand off behind some barriers. then the objective was to find the missing pilots (the two ODST bodies with flame throwers)
<gallery>
*The [[Mausoleum of the Arbiter]] can be seen in the distance when standing near the crashed Pelican. This and the [[Prophets]]' Inner Sanctum are essentially the only recognizable features of High Charity in Halo 2 that can be seen in Halo 3.  One can see in the bungie feature "Flood Autopsy" that they had originally planned to have the Flood re-animate all Arbiter corpses in the room, creating an Arbiter army for the player to fight.
File:H3 Cortana Storyboard 1.jpg
*Nearly all of the [[Cortana Moments]] are quotes from [[The Fall of Reach]], such as at [[Crow's Nest]] it is a direct quote from the speech Dr. Halsey, and many in Cortana (level) involve or are quotes from the genius, Dr. Halsey.
File:H3 Cortana Storyboard 2.jpg
*The section of the level after saving Cortana is called 'Nor Hell A Fury...', referencing the poem by William Congreve 'The Mourning Bride'. The entire line is 'Nor Hell a fury like a woman scorned', possibly referencing Cortana, who, after months of torment, now has the ability to light the newly constructed Halo ring and destroy the Ark, as well as the Flood.
File:H3 Cortana Storyboard 3.jpg
*Earlier in the game when Cortana speaks through the Cortana Moments her voice is normal, but as you play through this level her voice sounds more demonic and corrupt.
File:H3 Cortana Storyboard 4.jpg
*Thematically, this level also has much in common with the levels [[Keyes (Level)|Keyes]] and [[The Maw (Level)| The Maw]]. It depicts the Chief venturing alone into a vessel to rescue a comrade or friend, from the Flood, most specifically for a data construct in their possession; and detonate the fusion reactor core. In this case the objective is the Index to fire Halo; in Keyes it was [[Captain Keyes|the Captain]]'s neural implants to destroy [[The Pillar of Autumn]].
File:H3 Cortana Storyboard 5.jpg
*The line "We exist together now, two corpses in one grave," is said by Gravemind in both this level and in Halo 2 on the level High Charity.
File:H3 Cortana Storyboard 6.jpg
* The room where [[Cortana]] is located, is a remake of the room from the level [[High Charity (Level)|High Charity]] from [[Halo 2]]. This room is located before the final gravity lift, where Cortana says, "Apparently these are the Prophet Hierarch's private quarters, their inner sanctum". In the "inner sanctum" there are three doors, two located opposite one another, with a third, opposite a large view screen. In the level High Charity, the Chief enters through the third door, and exits through the door on his right; in the level Cortana from [[Halo 3]], he enters through the door that was locked in [[Halo 2]] (opposite the door that leads to the final gravity lift). The graphic design of the room and the rest of High Charity's interior has been remodelled in Halo 3. It resembles the interior of the CCS-[[Truth and Reconciliation]] from [[Halo: Combat Evolved]].
File:H3 Cortana Storyboard 7.jpg
*In the area with the dead ODST and where you can get the Flamethrower (not the crashed pelican). It is unknown how he made it so far from the Pelican or if he was from the Frigate ''[[In Amber Clad]]'' before the Flood attacked [[High Charity]].
File:H3 Cortana Storyboard 8.jpg
*After obtaining Cortana, there is a skull on a ledge-like structure (It's purple and is kind of bulbous at the end) overhead after you exit the hallway that lead to Cortana. To get it, you need to get the Deployable Cover, deploy it on the floor directly in front of the edge of the roof, jump on the deployed cover and crouch jump onto the roof. Once on top of the roof, locate the skull towards the apex of the angled roof and get the skull. Please note that this skull has no affiliation with the "[[Halo 3 Skulls|13 required skulls]]" list and, if carried for the rest of the level, will start Master Chief with a Spartan laser on the next level. Caution, this may only work with certain skull combinations and/or other factors in game play.
File:H3 Cortana Storyboard 9.jpg
*One of Cortana's lines, "There will be no more sadness. No more anger. No more envy," appears to reference [[Marathon]]'s stages of Rampancy; Melancholia, Anger and Jealousy respectively.
File:H3 Cortana Storyboard 10.jpg
*This is the only level where almost the entire part of the level in Single player mode, there are no allies.(The Arbiter A.I. comes in at the end of the level.) In Halo:CE, there were three levels where there aren't any allies at all and in Halo 2, one level.
</gallery>
*The line "It's the coin's fault," is a reference to where [[John]] was brought into the Spartan program. He identified the side of a 21st century quarter that was about to the hit the ground before it did.
*On Single player campaign at the end of the level, go out to where the Pelican is, and look to your right. You will see the Banshee the Arbiter rode in on. While you can get to it and destroy it, you cannot enter it, and oddly, grenades will not stick to it.
*Later on in the level, in a tunnel where Flood may come out from a room, there is an Elite corpse with greenish-blue and some silver parts on his armour, theorizing that his armour might have been burnt.
*Much of ''High Charity'' is flooded with water; the reason for this is that it crash-landed in a large body of water near the Ark's Control Citadel. This can be seen by going out to the crashed Pelican and looking towards the Mausoleum and looking downwards.
*There are several Brute skulls and rib cages that can be found near the beginning of the level, before the first Porta leading into the floor. The skulls can not be picked up like the hidden skulls, but can be meleed or kicked around.
*There is a small weapons cache below the large room where you can grab the Tilt skull in the level.
*This Level also shares similarities with the [[Halo 2]] level [[High Charity (level)]] and [[Halo 1]] level, [[Keyes (level)|Keyes]]. All three are the second to last levels of their respective games, take place in Flood infested capital-ships, feature a large number of lines from Cortana, feature no allies(except the Arbiter at the end of Cortana), and all three end in the Chief escaping on a flying vessel.
*In the entire level on High Charity not a single [[Grunt]], [[Drone]], [[Jackal]] or [[Hunter]] corpse is seen at all. Only Brute and Elite corpses are seen.
*Sometimes in the level, you will walk above a room where Infection Forms are running on top of each other.
*In the tunnel like room where you can find the flamethrower next to the dead marine if you walk back a few feet and jump, when you hit the ceiling repeatedly tap the A button and you will seemingly float in midair, this may take a few tries and moving to different positions.
*Around halfway through the level, there is an Elite corpse that is floating in the air.
*In co-op, after saving Cortana and destabilizing the generators, if one player stays behind in the hallway with the hole, the generator room will disappear and the room will be replaced by the other player's point of view.
*The Flood [[Porta]]s have [[7]] parts, a direct reference to the number seven. There are also 7 Porta's in the level.
*During the level, you will find dead Elites wearing Assault Armour. One of them should be glitching by doing his death position in mid-air although; it looks like his foot seems to be stuck on one of the corrupted Flood rock-like. If you stick his body or deck it, the corpse will fall. That is the only way except for a Brute Shot grenade or other explosive.
*If you go to the crashed Pelican while going to save Cortana she will talk to you through the Pelicans radio. She says "Tried to stay hidden, but there was no escape! He cornered me, wrapped me tight and brought me close."
*This is one of  3 level in Halo 3 that a player has access to [[Flamethrower|Flamethrowers]] with Floodgate and Halo.
*If you are playing Co-op, you can attack your ally during [[moments|Gravemind and Cortana 'moments']] they will not get injured. This is only known to work with melee attacks of any kind, but may work with ranged attacks.
*This level completes the patterns shown in all three halo games in which during the penultimate level of the game the Master Chief is on a covenant ship fighting the flood.
*Some players have been known to call the ground the player encounters throughout the level 'Earwax' which is pretty crude.
*Because this level has skull's and ribs lying around with blood and creatures everywhere it has been promptly called the "Doom" level
*This level is one of the most hated by players, due to the sheer abundance of hostiles, and lack of support for most of the level.


==References==
===Screenshots===
*[[Halo 3 Achievements|''Halo 3'' Achievements]]
<gallery>
*[[Fall of Reach|''Halo'' The Fall of Reach]] page 24
File:H3 Menu 09 Cortana.png|Preview of the level in ''Halo 3'' menu.
File:H3-MC-Boot-FloodBiomass.jpg|John-117 finds Flood biomass stuck on his boot upon arrival.
File:H3-JohnFlamethrower.jpg|John-117 uses a flamethrower against a Flood combat form.
File:H3-Cortana-StasisField.jpg|thumb|300px|The shielded podium in which Cortana is trapped.
File:H3 Arbiter Flamethrower.jpg|Thel 'Vadam, wielding a flamethrower, links up with John-117.
File:H3-117 and Cortana (Cortana level).jpg|The Chief and Cortana ready to escape on a Pelican.
</gallery>


== Images ==
==Sources==
<Gallery>
{{Ref/Sources}}
Image:Cortana1.jpg|Cortana With The Index
</Gallery>


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


{{Level}}
{{Levels|H3}}
 
[[Category:Halo 3 campaign]]
[[Category:Halo 3 Campaign Missions|{{PAGENAME}}]]

Latest revision as of 08:18, June 28, 2024

This article is about the Halo 3 campaign level. For the human AI, see Cortana.

Prev:

The Covenant

Next:

Halo

Cortana
H3 Cortana Loadscreen.png

Game:

Halo 3

File name (?):

110_hc[1]

Player:

Date:

December 11, 2552[2]

Location:

Installation 00, inside the crash site of High Charity

Objective(s):

Rescue Cortana and destroy High Charity.

Par Time:

00:15:00 (Master Chief Collection)

Par Score:

17,000 (Master Chief Collection)
15,000 (Halo 3)

Main-Legendary.png

Halopedia has a walkthrough guide for this level; see Cortana (level)/Walkthrough.

 
Cleanse High Charity. Save Cortana.

Cortana is the ninth campaign level of Halo 3. It takes place in the Flood infested High Charity. The player's mission is to find Cortana in order to activate Installation 08.

Upon completing it on the Normal, Heroic, or Legendary difficulties, the player will earn "The Key" achievement and 40 Gamerscore. Earning over 15,000 points in the campaign meta-game on this level will give the player the Orpheus achievement, and 10 Gamerscore.

Summary[edit]

With the Prophet of Truth dead and the Covenant defeated at last, the Master Chief must now infiltrate the Flood-infested High Charity and rescue Cortana, who possesses the Activation Index needed to activate the new Halo. The Chief flies into High Charity in a Banshee and journeys into the depths of the city, searching for his lost AI companion. During this mission, not only does the Chief encounter stiff resistance from the Flood, he is constantly plagued by disturbing visions of Cortana being tortured, as well as taunts and threats from the Gravemind. Despite this, he finally locates and retrieves Cortana, finally fulfilling the promise he made to her before departing for Earth. The Chief then overloads High Charity's backup reactor to destroy the city. The Arbiter unexpectedly shows up and aids the Chief in his escape. The pair find a crashed Pelican and use it to escape from High Charity just before the city is destroyed.

Transcript[edit]

{Cutscene}

The Master Chief flies a Banshee to High Charity. He finds an opening into the hive. (In co-op, Thel 'Vadam will follow the Chief and land his Banshee next to the Spartan's Banshee)

The Chief drops down onto a wide platform from a hole above ('Vadam follows him in co-op)

  • Johnson (COM): "Arbiter will do the same with the Elites."

(Co-op Change) Johnson (COM): "The Shipmaster will do the same with the Elites."

Flood organic materials stuck on the Chief's boot.

The Chief shakes off some organic material sticking to his boot.

  • Johnson (COM): "Cortana's in there somewhere..."

{Gameplay}

Rampant[edit]

Graverobber.

The Chief begins his journey through the hive, killing any Flood in his path.

The Chief drops down a porta.

The Chief passes through the area where the High Council Chamber once was. Exploring further, the Chief goes to an outside area where he finds a crashed, but intact Pelican, possibly from the UNSC In Amber Clad.

  • Cortana (coming from a speaker within the crashed Pelican): "I ran, tried to stay hidden, but there was no escape! He cornered me, wrapped me tight... and brought me close."

As the Chief goes deeper into the hive.

  • Gravemind (Gravemind Moment): (intrigued) "And yet, perhaps a part of her...remains?" (maniacal laughter, fades into Cortana's voice)
  • Cortana: (deranged laughter)

In the large room where the Tilt skull is located, a Terminal can be activated, but does not count towards the Marathon Man achievement. If activated, it displays another Cortana Moment.

  • Cortana (Terminal): "It was the coin's fault! I wanted to make you strong, keep you safe...(drop in tone) I'm sorry, I can't..."

Cortana begins to show signs of rampancy.

  • Cortana: (casually and kindly, as though nothing is wrong and mimicking Dr. Catherine Halsey) "May I speak with you, please?... What's your name? It's very nice to meet you!... You like games? So do I."

The Chief fights through more narrow, Flood-contaminated tunnels.

  • Cortana: (upset and frightened) "I'm just my mother's shadow... don't look at me, don't listen! I'm not who I used to be..."

As the Chief nears a large room (with the route to the reactor room at the top):

  • Gravemind (Gravemind Moment): (angrily) "Time has taught me patience! But basking in new freedom, I will know all that I possess!"

The Chief continues to the reactor room.

  • Cortana (Cortana Moment): (panicking, her voice slightly distorted) "I have walked the edge of the abyss. I have seen your future, and I have learned!"

The image of Cortana suddenly turns a tinge of green. She clutches her head and writhes in pain.

  • Gravemind (Gravemind Moment): (angrily) "Submit! End her torment and my own!"

The Chief heads through a tunnel littered with bones and skulls, and enters the reactor room. He sees one of the four reactor pylons malfunction and overload. The Chief fights his way through the reactor room, and exits through a door on the other side. He enters yet another hallway.

  • Cortana (Cortana Moment): (panicking, voice slightly distorted) "There will be no more sadness, no more anger, no more envy!"
  • Gravemind (Gravemind Moment): (enraged) "You will show me what she hides...or I shall feast upon your bones!"
A green Cortana interlude during Halo 3 campaign level Cortana.
Cortana turns green.

The Chief begins to reach the end of the hallway.

  • Cortana (Cortana Moment): (speaking in a calm, distorted, monotone voice as though brainwashed. Her image is green.) "This is UNSC AI Serial Number CTN 0452-9. I am a monument to all your sins."

The Chief rushes to the end of the hallway and enters the former Sanctum of the Hierarchs. There he finds Cortana lying prone in a stasis field in a center podium. He bashes the shield until it finally fails. Cut to black.

{Cutscene}

  • Cortana: (weakly) "You found me."

The Master Chief leans closer towards the panel Cortana's on. The AI lies pitifully on the podium, pain and shame on her face. The animated code that usually flows across her skin is absent.

  • Cortana: (weakly) "But so much of me is wrong… out of place. You might be too late…"

The Chief kneels right next to Cortana.

Cortana looks up at the Chief. She starts to glow.

  • Cortana: "You… keep it. (she raises her head, and sounds amused) I do know how to pick 'em."
  • John-117: "Lucky me. Do you still have it?"
Cortana shows the index to John-117.

Cortana slowly gets up. As she does, she begins to glow more brightly and the lines of code and equations begin to fall over her surface again. She opens her palm and a hologram of the Index appears above it.

The Chief gets back on his feet.

  • John-117: "Thought I'd try shooting my way out - mix things up a little."

The Chief takes Cortana's old data chip out of his helmet and holds it in front of her. Cortana touches its core and uploads herself into the chip. The Chief inserts Cortana back, at long last, into his armor.

{Gameplay}

Nor Hell A Fury…[edit]

Shoot your way out.

  • Cortana: (weakly) "Chief, get me out of this place. I… I don't want to stay."

The Chief heads back out into the hallway.

  • Gravemind (Gravemind Moment): (roars) "Now, at last, I see! Her secret is revealed!"

The Master Chief returns to the reactor room. Flood forces, now aware that Cortana is in possession of the Index, start attacking. The Chief stands his ground and defeats them.

  • Cortana: (weakly) "We need to buy some time. This reactor... start a chain reaction. Destroy High Charity."

The Chief heads to the center of the reactor room and accesses the main controls, exposing the three remaining reactor pylons. A new wave of Flood swarms the reactor room, attempting to stop the Chief. However, he successfully destroys all three reactor pylons.

  • Gravemind: (roars in pain)

Alarms blare. Explosions erupt throughout the reactor room.

  • Cortana: "You hurt it, Chief. But not for long. We need to get to Halo - destroy the Flood once and for all."

The Chief leaves the reactor room and races through High Charity, which is now rapidly falling apart.

If the Chief takes too long:

  • Cortana: "An explosion just made us an exit! I'll mark it on your HUD, Chief, go!"

When the Chief reaches the halfway point to escaping High Charity:

  • Cortana: "Analyzing the route ahead… I have it mostly figured out. Just keep going. I'll update your HUD as quickly as I can."

The Chief reaches a blocked hallway.

  • Cortana: "Corridors ahead have all collapsed. I'll find another way, Chief; be careful."

Or

  • Cortana: "Corridors beyond this point have collapsed. I'm looking for an alternate. Careful."

If the Chief still can't find his way out:

  • Cortana: "There, Chief, into the maintenance tunnel."

The Chief finds his way back when…

  • Cortana: "I've got a friendly contact! Who would be crazy enough to come in here?"

The Chief and Cortana find the Arbiter battling Flood with a flamethrower (occasionally, Thel will use his energy sword instead).

High Charity is destroyed.

The Chief and 'Vadam clear the immediate area of remaining Flood, then head outside.

{Cutscene}

The Chief and the Arbiter board the Pelican the Chief discovered earlier. The Chief uploads Cortana into the Pelican's holotank and starts up the engines. One of the Gravemind's tentacles reaches for the dropship, but the heat from the thrusters forces it to retreat. The Pelican takes off, smoke pouring lightly from the left engine. The tentacle comes back and tries to ensnare the dropship, but the Pelican pulls free of its grip. The Pelican barely escapes as High Charity's reactor goes critical, consuming the planetoid in a massive explosion. The Pelican makes its way to the new Halo ring.

Achievements[edit]

The following achievements can be unlocked on this mission on the Xbox 360 edition of Halo 3.

Icon Name Description Gamerscore gamerscore
H3 Achievement The Key.png The Key Finish the eighth mission of the Campaign on Normal, Heroic, or Legendary. 40 gamerscore
H3 Achievement Tilt.png Tilt Find and claim this skull. 10 gamerscore


Production notes[edit]

Main article: highcharity

"I took the Cortana mission, completely gutted it and rebuilt it in about three weeks—that mission where Gravemind is talking to you and Cortana is in distress. We didn’t have a lot of resources for that. It was a lot cooler on paper. And it had the transforming Flood, but I don’t think we did great there. It’s a kind of half-baked mission that needed to be there for the story, so we sort of threw it together, but I would’ve preferred not to do that."
Paul Bertone discussing his work on Cortana.[3]

During the development of Halo 3, Cortana was originally intended to be a very different mission, with a prominent role for the Mausoleum of the Arbiter. This version was scrapped and mission increased in scope by around 75% - due to issues with development, the geometry cut from Flood Ship to Cortana.[4][5][6][7][8]

Trivia[edit]

Glitches[edit]

Main article: Glitches
  • During the level, the player will find dead Elites wearing Assault Armor. One of them is glitching by doing their death position in mid-air though; it looks like his foot seems to be stuck in Flood biomass. The corpse will fall if the player melees or uses explosives against it.

Easter eggs[edit]

Main article: Easter eggs
  • The Tilt Skull can be found on this level.
  • After obtaining Cortana, there is a skull on a ledge-like structure (it's purple and is kind of bulbous at the end) overhead after the player exits the hallway that leads to Cortana. To get it, one needs to get the Deployable Cover, deploy it on the floor directly in front of the edge of the roof, jump on the deployed cover and crouch jump onto the roof. One may also partner jump or grenade jump with a plasma grenade. Once on top of the roof, locate the skull towards the apex of the angled roof and get the skull. Please note that this skull has no affiliation with the "13 required skulls" list and, if carried for the rest of the level, will start Master Chief with a Spartan laser on the next level. This may only work with certain skull combination's and/or other factors in gameplay. However, this skull is unavailable in the Halo: The Master Chief Collection edition of Halo 3. An unknown glitch causes the skull to spawn in incorrectly, which then rolls off the ledge and into the abyss below the reactor room. Whether this will be fixed in a future patch is as-of-yet unknown. Season 8 update seems to have fixed the skull from dropping down and can now be used again as intended in the original Halo 3.

References[edit]

  • The section of the level after saving Cortana is called 'Nor Hell A Fury...', referencing the poem by William Congreve 'The Mourning Bride'. The entire line is 'Heaven has no rage like love to hatred turned, Nor hell a fury like a woman scorned', possibly referencing Cortana, who, after months of torment, now has the ability to light the newly constructed Halo ring and destroy the Ark as well as the Flood.
  • One of Cortana's lines, "There will be no more sadness. No more anger. No more envy," appears to reference Marathon's stages of Rampancy; Melancholia, Anger and Jealousy, respectively.
  • The line "It's the coin's fault," is a reference to a factor that brought John-117 into the Spartan program. He identified the side of a 20th-century quarter owned by Dr. Halsey before it fell to the ground in Halo: The Fall of Reach.
  • The Gravemind uses a line from Halo 2: "We exist together now. Two corpses in one grave." This line is referring to Cortana, and referred to the Prophet of Mercy in Halo 2. This line was said in the level High Charity.
  • The achievement for gaining over 15,000 points on this level, entitled Orpheus, is a reference to the ancient Greek mythology story in which the Greek hero Orpheus ventures into the depths of hell to retrieve the one he loves. This is easily compared to the Chief's mission: venture into hell, that is represented as High Charity, to rescue Cortana.
  • The line "Just keep your head down... There's two of us in here, remember." is a reference to the Halo: Combat Evolved level The Pillar of Autumn. When the player's shield is completely depleted, Cortana would say the exact line, albeit with a more urgent tone.

Miscellaneous[edit]

  • Due to Flood form action in the reactor's room, one of the four reactors explodes when the player first enters the room. This led to the player's mission to only destroy three reactors instead of four.
  • The Mausoleum of the Arbiter can be seen in the distance when standing near the crashed Pelican. This and the Prophets' Inner Sanctum are essentially the only recognizable features of High Charity in Halo 2 that can be seen in Halo 3. One can see in the Bungie feature "Flood Autopsy", that they had originally planned to have the Flood reanimate all Arbiter corpses in the room, creating an Arbiter army for the player to fight.
  • The room where Cortana is located is a remake of the room from the level High Charity from Halo 2. This room is located before the final gravity lift where Cortana says "apparently these are the Prophet Hierarch's private quarters, their inner sanctum". In the "inner sanctum" there are three doors, two located opposite one another, with a third, opposite a large view screen. In the level High Charity, the Chief enters through the third door, and exits through the door on his right; in the level Cortana from Halo 3, he enters through the door that was locked in Halo 2 (opposite the door that leads to the final gravity lift). The graphic design of the room and the rest of High Charity's interior has been remodeled in Halo 3. It resembles the corridors of the Ket-pattern battlecruiser Truth and Reconciliation from Halo: Combat Evolved.
  • There is an area with a dead ODST (not the crashed Pelican). It is unknown how he made it so far from the Pelican or if he was from the Frigate UNSC In Amber Clad before the Flood attacked High Charity. There is also a Flamethrower in this area which hints to a final stand since he's in a pipe area with one opening.
  • Most of the weapons from the previous level are carried on to this level unless the player makes a fresh start, in which case the loadout will be an MA5C assault rifle and an M90 shotgun.
    • In the opening cutscene, the Master Chief is shown holding the shotgun no matter what weapons the player starts with. However, if the player starts with the default loadout, they are holding the assault rifle instead of the shotgun with the shotgun as their backup weapon.
    • If the previous level the player brought Fuel Rod Gun or Gravity Hammer, the loadout would reset to the Assault Rifle and Shotgun.
  • As seen later, primarily in Halo Wars 2: Awakening the Nightmare, High Charity was not completely destroyed when the player detonates its reactor. This shell is eventually covered by a containment shield under the command of 000 Tragic Solitude.[9] This is later breached by Voridus and the Banished in Awakening the Nightmare, releasing the Flood that had survived the destruction of High Charity and the firing of Installation 08.
  • After Thel 'Vadam joins you in battle against the Flood, you can find his Banshee outside by the Pelican. You can jump up to his Banshee and even destroy it, but it is impossible to enter the vehicle.

Gallery[edit]

Concept art[edit]

Storyboards[edit]

Screenshots[edit]

Sources[edit]

  1. ^ Halo 3 Editing Kit, game file H3EK\tags\levels\solo\110_hc\110_hc.scenario
  2. ^ Halo Waypoint, Hero-Fortitude
  3. ^ VICE, The Complete, Untold History of Halo: An Oral History (Retrieved on Oct 10, 2021) [archive]
  4. ^ Bungie Publications, Halo 3 Flood Alien Level Autopsy (Retrieved on Oct 10, 2021) [archive]
  5. ^ Bungie.net, Halo 3 Flood Alien Level Autopsy: Original presentation download link (Retrieved on Jan 18, 2021) [archive]
  6. ^ Twitter, Dan Miller (@dmiller360): "the level order was the same,just the geometry was different. Originally floodgate consisted of both floodgate AND Cortana" (Retrieved on Oct 10, 2021) [archive]
  7. ^ Twitter, Dan Miller (@dmiller360): "In floodgate you went into the covenant cruiser at the end, correct? Well that was the Cortana geometry. The Floodgate mission was much, much longer. There was original High Charity geometry made for the Cortana mission that was cut due to lack of time." (Retrieved on Oct 10, 2021) [archive]
  8. ^ Twitter, Dan Miller (@dmiller360): "the old original geometry for cortana was cut- that was high charity geometry." (Retrieved on Oct 10, 2021) [archive]
  9. ^ Halo Wars 2: Phoenix Logs - Idle Hands II
Preceded by
The Covenant
Halo 3 Campaign Missions
Cortana
Succeeded by
Halo