Easy
From Halopedia, the Halo wiki
Template:Article Quote -Description from Halo: Combat Evolved and Halo 2. Template:Article Quote -Description from Halo 3.
Summary
Easy is the least challenging difficulty level in the Halo games. The enemies are few, target inaccurately, and are overall far weaker than on the other difficulty levels. Many players use it to learn the story, after they beat it on easy they will often play again on harder difficulties.
The icon for the Easy difficulty setting is represented with a shield that has the Marathon Logo encrusted into the center.
This is for people just beginning to enter the Halo Universe and the first person shooter genre.
Among the features the player enjoys in easy mode are...
- Tougher health meter.
- Shields are 200% their "Normal" capacity.
- Lower energy and shield levels for enemies.
- Elites or Brutes are less common, and there are very few Major Elites or Brute Captains. Minor Elites or Brute Minors are almost exclusively seen.
- Less intelligence for enemies and tactical action. Enemies are far more reckless and easy to kill.
- Marines and other allies are tougher, more accurate, and do more damage.
Enemies
All enemies in Halo: Combat Evolved and Halo 2 are very easy to kill. The only main problem any player should encounter when playing is being hit on the back of the head, being stuck by a Plasma Grenade, or a charged Plasma Pistol shot fired at them with no cover available.
Grunts are by far the easiest to kill in all Halo games. Even in groups they can be killed in a matter of seconds. The biggest threat they present is setting up and firing at you with a Plasma Cannon, but even then, they are no serious threat.
Jackals are, like Grunts, very easy to kill too. The only main problem is the shield that, with the exception to the Rocket Launcher, can not be destroyed by UNSC weapons. In Halo: Combat Evolved, this is very easy to counter, a simple melee attack will send them flying, also killing them. This method can be used in Halo 2, but will usually require more than one melee attack to kill them, despite it being on Easy. The other main way of dispatching shielded Jackals is by using any Plasma weapon and firing at them, which will deplete the shield. Jackal Snipers are no problem, despite having a Beam Rifle. The damage inflicted on you is very small.
Drones are the physically weakest members of the Covenant. This is especially the case on Easy. Usually one shot or melee attack is enough to kill one. The only problem is their ability to fly. This though is still not a threat, especially considering the fact that they need to frequently rest, however, they are still irritating.
Elites, even the higher ranking ones, are fairly easy to defeat. Despite their intelligence, they seem to lack it considerably on the Easy difficulty. As mentioned in the previous article, Minor Elites are almost always the Elites encountered. Even when higher ranking Elites are faced, such as the Zealot, it is fairly easy to kill them. The only main problems are having to fight large numbers of Elites at once, being hit over the back of the head by one, or facing an Elite holding an Energy Sword. Only being hit over the back of the head though, can kill you with one hit.
Brutes, like Elites with intelligence, seem to lack the strength that they are supposed to possess on Easy. They are quite easy to kill, even when berserking. The only problem with them berserking is not being able to get out of the way in time. The other problem facing Brutes is if you face a large number at a time. Both of these though, are not serious and can be dealt with easily.
Hunters are not any threat usually, especially in Halo: Combat Evolved. Despite the armor that covers most of their body, ways to get to their exposed flesh is simple. On Halo: Combat Evolved, one shot with a Pistol to the back can kill a Hunter. All other weapons directed to their backs are effective too. They can even be run over by a Warthog. The only threat on Halo: Combat Evolved is facing them in areas with little space. But this is no major threat, as that hardly ever happens. On Halo 2, Hunters are a little bit harder to kill, but still present no major threat. The only major problem is facing them in tight space, which also hardly ever happens.
Sentinels are very easy to destroy. A few shots from any weapon will destroy them. They never really present a threat.
The Flood are easy to kill, but can present a threat if they are underestimated. The Infection Forms are easy to kill and give out little to no damage when they explode on you. The only problem they present is finding and bringing back to life a dead body. The Combat Forms can be killed with a few simple shots, sometimes one. The main threat from them is attacking in large groups. Carrier Forms are also easy to kill, but the explosions can be deadly if you get caught in them. Apart from that they are no real threat.
Trivia
- Every difficulty shield icon has the Marathon logo on it.
- Developers have referred to easy in Halo: CE as "grandma mode" according to the official guidebook.
- 343 Guilty Spark will suggest that you switch to 'Easy' if you teamkill in Halo 3 with the IWHBYD Skull on.
- You cannot find any skulls on Halo 3 on Easy difficulty.
