Warthog run

The Warthog Run is a type of gameplay segment in both Halo: Combat Evolved's The Maw and Halo 3's Halo. It involves the Master Chief (or the Arbiter) driving an M12 Warthog LRV to escape a Halo's destruction.

Halo: Combat Evolved Warthog Run

In Halo: Combat Evolved, you must enter a vehicle bay and select a Warthog. You must drive around two kilometers down a Class seven Service Corridor to External Access Junction 4C, where you are to be extracted by Foehammer. However, Echo 419 is shot down by Covenant Banshees as she tries to pick up the Chief one last time. After analyzing the UNSC Pillar of Autumn's inventory, Cortana tells the Chief to drive a further one kilometer to Launch Bay Seven, where a Longsword is still docked. As the Chief arrives in Launch Bay Seven, a pile of barrels prevents the warthog from going any further. This forces the Chief to run the last 100 meters on foot. On Easy, Normal and Heroic, you will have six minutes to reach the Longsword and make your escape. However, on Legendary, you have only five.

Halo 3 Warthog Run

After activating the replacement Alpha Halo, the Master Chief and the Arbiter must drive the late Sergeant Johnson's Warthog. They must drive the Warthog to the UNSC Frigate Forward Unto Dawn, which is waiting some distance away, for safety reasons. However, the panels on which the Chief is driving on are being destroyed by explosions caused by the incomplete Halo firing prematurely. When the Spartan reaches the Forward Unto Dawn, he must accelerate to full speed and jump into the frigate's hangar bay. There is no time limit in Halo 3, but if you take too long, the panels will collapse, making it impossible to complete the run. Note that the harder the difficulty, more panels will be destroyed, thus making the run harder than it normally would be.

Changes from Halo: Combat Evolved to Halo 3

• There is no time limit.
• The Chief has a gunner (and a passenger, if three player co-op is selected), instead of driving without any allies.
• The Chief does not have to leave the Warthog at the end.
• Other vehicles are drivable. (Mongoose, Chopper and Ghost).
• Another Warthog will spawn at each checkpoint while playing on 2-4 player co-op.

Trivia

• There is a Grunt Easter Egg in both runs, the Thirsty Grunt in Combat Evolved, and the Final Grunt in Halo 3.
• Both involve a large jump, in which the player must gun the Warthog's engine.
• Halo 3's final cutscene occurs in the middle of the jump, and shows the Warthog going into a uncontrollable roll. However, as you can see if you exit the Warthog at the right point in your jump, so that the cutscene is not triggered, the Warthog actually makes a perfect landing just inside the Dawn's hangar bay.
• The "Rex" may be viewed in Halo: Combat Evolved. When the player must gun the engine and jump, the player must angle the Warthog slightly to the side. Upon landing, they should enter the tunnel on the right. The word REX should be written in bullet holes and blood.
• If you pick up the Thirsty Grunt's Plasma Pistol and overcharge it, the glowing green orb that launches will not appear, only the sparks flying off it will.
• Part of the Truth and Reconciliation Suite will play in Halo: Combat Evolved's run, with a remixed version playing in Halo 3's.
• The Halo Combat Evolved Warthog run is two kilometers, but the Pillar of Autumn is only 1170 meters long (1.17 km), the same as Master Chief's service number.