Halo (Halo: Combat Evolved level)

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Next:	The Truth and Reconciliation
Halo
Game:	Halo: Combat Evolved
Player:	Master Chief
Date:	September 19, 2552
Location:	On the surface of Installation 04
	Halopedia has a walkthrough guide for this level; see Halo (Halo: Combat Evolved level)/Walkthrough.

Halo is the second campaign level in Halo: Combat Evolved, and it begins on the morning of September 19, 2552 and is the first "on the ground" view of Installation 04.

This is the first level in the game where Jackals will be introduced as well as the first on Halo's surface. In addition, this is also the first of five levels in Halo: Combat Evolved where the player will be able to use a Warthog LRV and the S2 AM Sniper Rifle. This will also be the last level where you will be assisted by the Autumn's actual crewmen. The player will also be aided by Marine allies.

Weapons

• Pistol
• Assault Rifle
• Sniper Rifle
• Frag Grenade
• Plasma Pistol
• Plasma Rifle
• Plasma Grenade
• Needler

Vehicles

• Warthog
• Banshee (Non-drivable)
• Pelican (Non-drivable)
• Spirit (Non-drivable)
• Bumblebee (Non-drivable)

Transcript

Part 01: Flawless Cowboy

Cortana: "We're coming in too fast!"

Pilot: "Damn! Airbrake failure! They blew too early! I'm losin' her...brace for impact!"

(White out)

Cortana: "Chief! Chief! Can you hear me? At last! Are you alright? Can you move?" (As you exit the lifepod) The others...the impact....There's nothing we can do.

(As you exit the area)

Cortana: "Warning! I've detected multiple Covenant Dropships on approach. I recommend moving into those hills. If we're lucky, the Covenant will believe that everyone aboard this lifeboat died in the crash."

(If you explore a little bit)

Cortana: "I'm reading thousands of types of flora. The ring's ecosystem is incredibly sophisticated."

(As a dropship approaches)

Cortana: "Alert! Covenant dropship inbound! They must be looking for survivors. I recommend immediate evasion."

File:Scrn 092.jpg

Two banshee's above the mission start.

(You wait a bit)

Cortana: "Warning! The Covenant Dropship has detected us, here they come."

(Combat)

Cortana: "I'm reading a lifeboat beacon over the next hill. We should check to see if there are any survivors."

(As you come up to the surviving Marines)

Bisenti: "Good to see you, Sir! Welcome to the party!"

or

Bisenti: "I thought we were the only ones to make it off of the Pillar of Autumn!"

Sergeant Johnson: "It's a mess, Sir. We're scattered all over this valley. We called for evac, but until you showed up, I thought we were cooked."

Cortana: "Don't worry, Sergeant. We'll stay here until evac arrives."

Private Mendoza: (over radio) "Heads up! I got a Covenant dropship headin' in, over here!"

(Next wave of Covenant troops)

Private Mendoza (O.S.): "Look sharp! Covenant dropship on approach! I could use some help over here!"

(Next wave)

Private Mendoza (O.S.): "Uh-oh, another bandit droppin' in behind us! They're tryin' to flank us!"

(If all of the Marines are dead.)

Cortana: "I recommend to stay here and wait for extraction..."

(If you're leaving the area.)

Cortana: "Where are you going? The lifeboat beacon is our only chance to getting reunited with the rest of the crew, we need to stay with it."

(After the final wave of Covenant dropships)

Foe Hammer: "This is Pelican Echo 419. Anybody readin' me? Repeat. Any UNSC personnel, respond."

Marine, Sgt. Johnson or Cortana (radio): "Roger, Echo 419. This is Fire Team Charlie. We read you. Is that you, Foe Hammer?"

Foe Hammer: "Roger, Fire Team Charlie. Good to hear from ya."

Marine, Sgt. Johnson or Cortana (radio): "If you're not too busy, Foe Hammer, we could use a lift. We have survivors to transport to the Command Shuttle."

Foe Hammer: "I'm on my way."

Echo 419 drops the Chief a Warthog. Two lifeboats can be seen in the distance.

Cortana: "Look, more lifeboats! They're coming in fast. If those lifeboats make it down, the Covenant are going to be right on top of them. (over radio to Foe Hammer) Foe Hammer, we need you to disengage your Warthog. The Master Chief and I are going to see if we can save some soldiers."

Foe Hammer: "Roger, Cortana. Okay, Charlie Team, Warthog deployed. Saddle up and give 'em hell."

Cortana: "Roger, Foe Hammer. Stand by to evac survivors and transport them to safety."

Foe Hammer: "That's affirmative. Echo 419 staying on station. Foe Hammer out."

Cortana: "The Master Chief and I need some backup, can you spare a few men?"

Sergeant Johnson (If you kept him alive) or PFC Fitzgerald: "Sure, Cortana. All right ladies, volunteers step up on the double! The rest of you, get to the Dropship."

(If you walk away from the dropped Warthog or explore the area on foot for more than 5 minutes)

Cortana: "We need that Warthog if we want to get to the other lifeboats in time."

(As you drive through the cave structure)

Cortana: "This cave is not a natural formation. Someone built it, so it must lead somewhere. (Pause) I've hacked into the Covenant battlenet. They're actually broadcasting tactical data on unencrypted channels. We should show them who they're dealing with. Master Chief, I'm going to use your suit's transponder system to monitor their chatter."

(After Master Chief kills all of the Covenant in the structure)

Cortana: "There must be some mechanism to cross this cavern. Look for a control panel or switch."

(Cinematic: When the Chief finds the panel and engage it, you get a nice little cinematic of the giant silver beam-generating structures extending across the chasm, and an energy bridge slowly fading into existence)

(As the Chief drives out the other end of the cave...)

Cortana: "New traffic on the Covenant Battlenet...a lot more crew made it off the Autumn than I had predicted - the Captain really gave them help! If we can find Captain Keyes and other survivors, we have a chance to coordinate an effective resistance."

Part 02: Reunion Tour

This varies depending on the order the Chief visits the crash sites

As the Chief approaches the rock-slide crash site...

Cortana: "Survivors detected. The Marines are concealed in those rocks."

A Marine that is closest to Master Chief: "Contact! Covenant Dropship down there!"

After the Chief fends off assaulting forces.

Foe Hammer: "Echo 419 to Cortana, come in."

Cortana: "We read you, Echo 419. We have survivors and need immediate dust-off."

Foe Hammer: "Roger, Cortana. On my way. I've spotted additional lifeboats in your area. One near the cliff edge. And another near the head of the river. Hard to see from my altitude, but it looks like there are more survivors."

Cortana: "Acknowledged. We're on our way."

If the Chief dawdles

Cortana: "We need to find the other two lifeboats."

As the Master Chief approaches the river head crash site...

Cortana: "There are some Marines hiding in the hills above the structure!"

Marine: "You're a sight for sore eyes Chief. We're in a bad way. We got wounded here."

Cortana: "I'll call in a dropship to pick them up."

When the Chief kills all the Covenant forces.

Foe Hammer: "Echo 419 to Cortana. Foe Hammer's on station and ready for another pickup."

Cortana: "Affirmative, Foe Hammer. We're ready for dustoff. Approach when ready. We're going to look for the last lifeboat, Echo 419. Good luck."

As the Chief approaches the river

Cortana: "Warning. I've picked up reports that the Covenant have located and secured the Pillar of Autumn's crash site. The good news is the Captain's still alive. The bad news is that the Covenant have captured the entire surviving command crew. Let's hurry and find the final lifeboat, so we can link up with the rest of the survivors."

As the Chief approaches the fourth lifeboat

Cortana: "Lifeboat detected. No sign of survivors."

PFC Fitzgerald: "This lifeboat is trashed, Chief. There are weapons and supplies but...no bodies."

{or}

PFC Fitzgerald: "The life boat's totaled sir. There are weapons and supplies everywhere, but I can't find any bodies. Maybe somebody made out of here alive."

{or}

PFC Fitzgerald: "The life boat's trashed Chief. There are weapons and supplies all over the place. Where's the bodies though."

As The Chief moves around the Final structure by the cliff edge

Cortana: "Maybe they took cover in that structure. Let's check it out."

When Chief nears either of the structure entrances...

Cortana: "We should search the interior of those structures before we leave."

File:Scrn 009.jpg

The Master Chief watches a Phase Pulse Generator fire.

As the Chief arrives at the bottom of the cavern, where the Marines and the crewmen are hiding.

Cortana: "I've called for evac."

Marine: "Marines! Assemble for evac, Pronto!"

(If all of the Marines are killed)

Cortana "We weren't able to save any of the Marines. A hundred percent casualties."

When the Chief kills all the Covenant in the area

Cortana: "That's the last of them."

Foe Hammer: "Roger that. I'm on my way."

Cortana: "New traffic on the Covenant battlenet! I've found Captain Keyes! He's being held on a Covenant cruiser, the Truth and Reconciliation, a ship I disabled before we abandoned the Autumn. The Truth and Reconciliation touched down on a desert plateau roughly three hundred kilometers upspin."

As Foe Hammer flies in

Cortana: "There's our ride. Get aboard, and let's get out of here."

Foe Hammer: "Welcome aboard, Master Chief. Ready for dust-off."

As the Master Chief climbs onboard into the Pelican

Cortana: "We should move out, Lieutenant. And then we'll need your help on our rescue mission."

A Cruel Strategy

A recently discovered ingenious, though admittedly cruel strategy for beating this level has been discovered. When you get to the part where you must save the three groups of marines, you do not have to save them. If they all die, you can leave the battle early without having to kill all the Covenant. Killing a few marines is a lot easier than killing a huge horde of Covenant, so simply betraying all your marines then leaving each battle may help you out a lot. Be careful not to let the marines see you killing them, otherwise they will turn on you. You will only be able to skip two of the three battles using this strategy, so save the easiest battle for last. It is best to leave the battle with the hill for last so you can snipe all the Covenant or mow them down with your warthog turret easily. Hopefully the marines have not begun to shoot at you so you can join up with the final group and help them win the battle.

Walkthrough

After the cutscene ends, get out of the pod and take all the supplies (grenades, ammo). After that walk across the bridge and hide, as a Covenant dropship will be searching for you. As the Covenant descend, take out your pistol, zoom, then shoot them as they walk across the bridge (only on easy and normal). Keep going forward (new way) and you will see some Covenant warriors again, kill them. Keep going,then you will see a battle in the middle of a structure, kill the Covenant combatants and wait for the warthog. After everybody is on the Warthog, go downhill, where you will see a cave, go in and then you see an opening where there are lots of Covenant, kill them all. Then get off the vehicle, go to your right, until you see a door, go in and get your weapons reloaded and plasma grenades ready, you will one red elite, after killing him, keep going, then the light bridge will be activated. Go back on the vehicle go through the cave.After you've gone out go to the abandoned lifeboats get some weapons. After this follow the lake, and go through the tunnels, where you will have to kill more aliens and free some Marines. After that get on the warthog and exit the area. You should see an opening, go through it. You will see many Covenant warriors again, kill all of them and finish the level.

Trivia

• The Halo 3 level, Halo, is partially linked because the levels are both the first and last time you ever go on a Halo ring.
• Marty O'Donnell revealed in the Halo 3 Legendary Edition bonus disc that Jen Taylor who played Cortana also played the voice of the lifeboat pilot at the beginning of the level.
• If you have a Warthog near the Pelican at the end of the level, the Marines inside will mysteriously disappear.
• A dedicated Halo player made a site detailing a glitch found near the rockslide part of finding the marine escape pods where exploiting checkpoints to make 4 Spirits drop off a total of nearly 40 enemies back to back. It was called the Rockslide megabattle.
• The level was one of the inspirations for the design of the Halo 3 multiplayer map, Valhalla.
• If you stand under Echo 419 when it lands near the cliff edge, you'll come up through the floor inside the pelican. When this happens jump up through the floor and you can walk inside the dropship. However, when it starts to fly away you'll fall through the floor and most likely die.
• This is the first level where you encounter the Needler and the Sniper Rifle.
• This is the first level where you can use vehicles in Halo: Combat Evolved and in the Halo series, without modding. If you use Halo Map Tools, to change the projectile for a weapon like the plasma pistol in the Pillar of Autumn, the plasma pistol can spawn warthogs. These warthogs aren't just lifeless ones, you can actually drive them around.
• Even if you spawn warthogs in the first level, they will be hard to drive, as the hallways of the Pillar of Autumn are quite confined and cramped.
• If you use HMT to mod projectiles to spawn vehicles, DO NOT use the weapon yourself to spawn vehicles. You will instantly die, because as the vehicle comes out it will 'hit' you. Change the projectile for another weapon that someone else (AI) uses. However, they will instantly die when shooting.
• If you get in the Warthog when Echo 419 drops it, enter the vehicle and turn your camera to the back of the Warthog and then with the right angle you can see inside the cockpit of the Pelican.
• If you change the projectile of a weapon into a Pelican or Spirit dropship, it will not crush you and if you change the pilot seat into a Warthog seat you can actually fly it and even pick up marines in it. However you cannot run over anyone and your only defense is the armed marines.
• This is the first level in Halo: Combat Evolved and in the Halo series in which you fight Jackals.
• There are a total of fourteen Spirit Dropships in the level. 14/2=7. There are 7 Spirits before you go through the tunnel. Both are 7 references.
• At the start when in the lifeboat approach a marine's corpse that's in a seat. If you shoot it from the right angle with the Assault Rifle the bullets will deflect onto you.
• This is the first level in the saga the Spirit is encountered.
• One of the Bumblebees contains 7 Mariness, another 7 reference.