Unearthed

Unearthed is a Firefight map in Halo: Reach released as a part of the Defiant Map Pack. It is a fairly large map set in a BXR titanium mine in the Viery Territory on planet Reach.

Overview

Unearthed is a medium-large sized Firefight map. The map consists of a factory (which has an inside portion, a courtyard, and the crane) and two large drop zones, all connected by a road that encircles the whole area. The factory inside contains a small room where the player spawns and a garage with a Rocket Warthog inside. The facility inside is linked to the outside by three exits, one leading to a ledge above the courtyard, one exit that actually leads to the courtyard, and the exit to the garage to the left drop zone. The courtyard is traversed by three bridges that lead from the ledge of the factory inside to a group of building on the other side. The courtyard also opens up to the rest of the map by two main gates (reminiscent of the Halo 3 multiplayer level High ground) and two more exits to the main road between the courtyard and the crane. The crane is a large structure situated at the edge of the map which has an upper platform where Phantoms drop off enemies and two ramps leading down to each of the drop zones (one ramp being a staircase and another being a conveyor belt). The drop zones are two open sections of the map where enemies are primarily dropped off and contain numerous rocks, trees, and titanium spikes. Stranded in the west drop zone is a small vehicle depot.

Locations

The following are locations on the map that are so named on the player's heads-up display during gameplay:

• Facility Interior
• Facility
• Conveyor
• Street
• West Gate
• Maintenance
• East Drop Zone
• Quarry
• West Drop Zone
• Crane
• Lower Path
• East Gate
• Vehicle Depot
• Store Room

Strategies

• Always stay on the high ground as enemies will quickly occupy most of the pathways and will often flank players that are on the ground.
• When playing with a teammate, use the Warthog to mow down enemies while the passenger handles the turret.
• When playing solo, get the Warthog to a secluded place and jump on the turret and shoot down enemies that will chase you down.
• While the roof of the maintenance building has a soft kill zone, the edges of the roof do not. Use a jetpack to get up there and use the Sniper Rifle to snipe distant enemies.
• When holding out in the main spawn room, watch out for Jackal and Skirmisher snipers on the conveyor belt as they can easily gun you down through the window.

Trivia

• Unlike its partner maps Highlands and Condemned, which were locations mentioned in the novels, Unearthed is completely original.
• It is currently the only map where the Target Locator has 3 shots, possibly due to the map's slightly heavier emphasis on vehicular combat.
• The hazards on this map are the Wraith, Ghost, and Jackal Snipers.
• Certain Affinity had toyed with the idea of adding friendly AI units to Unearthed but didn't have time to implement it.

Gallery

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  An overhead view of Unearthed.

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  A Rocket Warthog fires a volley at a Phantom.

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  A Jiralhanae Chieftain attacking a Spartan.

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  A battle on Unearthed.

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  The east drop zone.

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  The west drop zone.

• Defiant concept 5.jpg

  Concept art of the map.

• Defiant concept 6.jpg

  Another concept art piece, depicting the mining operations in the crater.