Legendary

The Legendary difficulty level icon.

Summary

Legendary is the hardest difficulty level in the Halo games. The enemies are more numerous, fight harder, and have more health.

Legendary is regarded as a challenge for even veteran players, as allies are frequently useless except for diversions, and overwhelming enemy firepower and superior numbers often force one to play cautiously and conservatively.

By completing the final level in Halo: Combat Evolved, "The Maw", an alternate ending movie is shown instead of the movie shown after beating the level on any other difficulty.

In Frankie's Bungie Updates, Frankie describes Halo 2's Legendary as:

A whole new sick twist on game difficulty. Legendary includes bizarre stuff like perma-death for co-op players — meaning that you can't hopscotch like you can on other difficulty levels. Once a player dies on Legendary, both players are hurled back to the last checkpoint. It's brutal. Also, that place where you encountered two Grunts and a flowerpot on Normal? Well now they're Hunters, high-ranking, sword-carrying Elites, and they're all PMS-ing. Seriously, sticking your head around a corner on level two can get it shot clean off.

All of the skulls except blind, which can be found on any difficulty, are only on legendary.

Among the features the player experiences in Legendary mode are...

• Extremely weak Health Meter.
• Enemies fire at a much faster rate and fire more accurately.
• Shields are 50% their "Normal" power. A few hits will drain them completely.
• Enemy Shields and health are almost double their "Normal" power.
• Virtually every Elite encountered is a Major Elite. Major Grunts are also far more common.
• Enemies are extremely adaptive and intelligent in tactical action. They are very difficult to kill.
• Grunts do not retreat when a leader is killed.
• Hunters are encountered far more often. Their Fuel Rod Guns are often one-hit kills.
• Marine allies are virtually useless, as they are easily overwhelmed by groups of Grunts.
• Although Marines are useless, when playing as the Arbiter, the Elites and Grunts are far stronger and tend to throw grenades more often.
• Melee attacks on you are usually one-hit kills.
• Enemies noramlly have upgraded weapons, like Brutes that had Brute Plasma Rifles, now have Carbines and also have the deadly Brute shot equipped.
• Enemies will often notice you sooner.
• Jackal Snipers will appear more often then on any other difficulty, and are far more accurate, so you should think twice before sticking your head out into the open.
• Stealth Elites appear more often, and travel in groups of 2-4, usually with one or two wielding dual Plasma Rifles, and the others using Energy Swords.

Related Links

• Easy
• Normal
• Heroic