Boarding Action
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Boarding Action is a multiplayer map in Halo: Combat Evolved.
Layout
There are two parallel human battleships, possibly Prowlers or Cruisers. In addition, there are 4 teleporters on both ships, two on the first level and two on the fifth level, which are the only means of transportation between the two ships. This map is usually picked by hosts for its extremely exciting sniper and rocket battles. Other hosts may turn off sniping to force players to board the other ship. This usually results in a frenzy of explosions and gunfire near each teleporter as each team frantically tries to stop the other team on their ship. The ships are in fact not that far apart, in truth it is simple to throw a grenade to the other ship.
There are 5 symmetrical floors on each side, and other than being mirror copies of each other, they are exactly the same. Teleporters are found on the 1st and 5th floor, each leading into the exact same place on the other side. On the top right corner of each base (looking out), there is a small indent with a power-up.
Learning the layout of this level is more important than most other maps, as the level can be very confusing to inexperienced players, similar to Chiron TL-34 (Level).
Weapon Location
- Plasma Rifle – located to the left of the base
- Shotgun – located to the right of the base
- Assault Rifle – located behind the base
- Rocket Launcher – take a left, go through the corridor, climb up the ladder, and to the right, the rocket shall lay in the small “room”
- Fuel Rod Cannon – Proceed as you would for the rocket launcher, and instead of turning right on the last part, go towards the left end. Then, climb the ladder at the end, and to your left, the fuel rod shall lie behind a barrier.
- Plasma Grenades – Continue from the directions of the Fuel Rod Gun, but continue forward. Finally, in front of the level five teleporter, there should be 4 Plasma Grenades.
- Flamethrower (Halo PC only) – You should spawn from the base. Then, head towards the left, but rather than go up the first ladder, continue and head down the ladder on the extreme left. Then, proceed by simply walking forward (by cautious by not jumping too far off the level one). You should take the upgrade, an active camouflage, that is next to you in between the two pillars. Continue forward, go past the teleporter, up the ladder, and the flamethrower should lie on your right.
- Sniper Rifle – Do as you would for the Flamethrower. Then, go down the ladder infront, past the other teleporter of that level, and climb the ladder next to the health pack. Then, travel to the right, where the alternate Rocket is located. Climb up the ladder, which should lead you to Floor Four. If you wish to make a detour, the Overshield is simply located to the right, between the two pillars. Proceed to your right, where you can also pick up some frags, and climb the ladder at the end. Go to the left, past the Needlers, past the other level five teleporter, through the corridor, and take a left.
- Needler – Follow the directions to the sniper rifle until you reach the needler.
There is an ideal sniper location to the left of the sniper rifle, where it is arduous to locate someone unless you already know of the place. After sniping, though, to avoid giving up your hiding place, back into the corridor and out of site. If you’ve been spotted, then you can simply jump between the pillars to land on an overshield.
Combat
An interesting way to simulate ship-to-ship combat is to do a 4 Xbox system link, and have 16 players, eight to a team, loaded with all Rocket Launchers.
It is not at all uncommon in any game type to find yourself standing directly above or below an enemy as the ships have several floors, with each floor number marked on the wall. Often times, one player will come through a teleporter right in to another player without much warning. Should you fall into the space between the two ships, obviously you will die, but after falling a certain distance, you hit an invisible floor, for lack of a better term.
Another popular game type on Boarding Action is all snipers, in either Team Slayer or CTF, because of how many parts of the map are remote to each other, the fact that you can see almost all of the map from any area, and that most weapons can't reach to most parts of the map.
Tactics
Game Types
This map is very good for Capture the Flag, Assault, and Team Slayer. Free-for-All gametypes work too, especially Oddball matches with NavPoints turned off or Slayer with every weapon type.
Capture the Flag
If you wish to be the flag carrier, the most direct method is to go through the teleporter on Level 5 and then proceed down to the enemy base. First, you should spawn within close proximity to the flag. Then, go to the left of the flag and go up the first ladder you reach. You should grab the flag, as it will deter any pursuing enemies and offer a quick getaway. If it is vacant, though, don't panic. There is also the Fuel Rod Gun for similar purposes. Note: do not grab the flag if you intend to score; eventually, the enemies will simply overwhelm you, grenade you or fire from a relative distance. Run the moment you come within contact of the flag and then scram. However, don't follow this unless you have set up a plan. Position snipers and escort for the getaway. Usually, the first scoring will be the simplest, as the opponents are usually composed of disorganized hassles (One prominent exception is when you are facing a clan). However, when you are past the wall and almost at the wall, DON'T celebrate yet, as you are in an exposed area and are prone to sniper fire.
Trivia
Theories
- A possible explanation is that the teleporters are only a gameplay concern; or that the map is set some time after the Human-Covenant War, when teleporters have been more widely implemented.
- You can see the moon, Basis, from the red ship, so it could be in the Threshold system.
- It's possible, since the map features two ships (possibly ONI Prowlers), neither of which seems to be the Pillar of Autumn, that ONI had been to Halo before or after the events of the first game.
- Another possibility is that the two ships are UNSC freighters because of their box like appearance.
Miscellaneous
- Boarding Action is one of five space-based multiplayer maps in the Halo franchise, along with Derelict (Level) and Longest (Level), also in Halo CE, Elongation (Level) in Halo 2 and Orbital (Level), in Halo 3.
- This map is one of the few maps in Halo: PC or Halo: CE which includes all the possible weaponry and upgrades.
References
