Relic

Relic is a multiplayer map in Halo 2. It is part of the Maptacular Pack. The map was remade in Halo 2: Anniversary's multiplayer mode as Remnant.^[1]

Overview

"A battle-scarred island rises from the blue waters of a Delta Halo sea- A titanic Forerunner structure juts menacingly from the center like the spine of a beached behemoth.^[2]"

The map is set on a large island on Installation 05 with sandstone formations. It possesses a vast, partially buried Forerunner vessel centered on the island. During the Battle of Installation 05, the surveillance team RECON 127 was deployed from the UNSC In Amber Clad shortly after the frigate arrived at Delta Halo. The detachment’s goal was a large structure buried under one of the installation’s many islands. Upon arrival, they encountered heavy Covenant resistance and their Albatross was shot down. Though the members of RECON 127 did not survive the following ground engagement, they did transmit a series of incredibly compelling scans of the site to In Amber Clad. The details revealed the site - dubbed ‘Relic’- was in actuality the remains of a long-dormant Forerunner vessel that had been carefully hidden below the island over one hundred millennia years ago^[3] , as opposed to the Covenant belief that islands such as these were memorials to fallen Forerunner warriors, who died during the Forerunner-Flood war.^[4]

All that remained of RECON 127 was the evidence of the battle on the Island, with RECON 127's Albatross's wreckage and materiels spilling in the wind. Shield formations, vehicle detritus, and combat platforms litter the field. Sandstone formations provide cover, but the huge expanse of low dunes leaves infantry highly vulnerable.^[2]

Description

Due to its design, it is best played using one flag/bomb CTF/Assault variants. The map itself features the sniper rifle and beam rifle, as well as the deployable lookout towers used by Jackals.

There is a two-way teleporter that can be activated from inside the basement of the building, though the inside Teleporter can be used prior to its activation by jumping, firing a rocket at it, and landing on it -- or, more simply, by crouch jumping.

There is also a Covenant deployable lookout tower, with a Beam Rifle lying at its base. This tower can be toppled using explosive weapons or certain vehicles, such as the Gauss Warthog. Despite this, the tower can be an amazingly helpful tool for such a large map.

There is also a sniper rifle located near the back of the Albatross. Two more fantastic weapons are the energy sword and the shotgun, both of which are located near the center locale of the map, under the Forerunner building. The Rocket Launcher is located by some broken walls on the far side of the island. Control over these weapons generally translates into control over the outcome of the game.

It is, oddly enough, one of the few maps in which the flags in a CTF game mode are not on opposite ends of the map or in any symmetrical pattern. This makes for unusual gameplay. In addition, Relic is unique in having context-sensitive ramps that only appear in certain modes - in Slayer and other such modes, ramps appear around the front of the base to help map traversal. In CTF, they are removed.

Territories

Pinnacle
Watchtower
Beach
Rear Base
Teleporter Ridge

Trivia

Production notes

One of the goals for Relic's design was to make it feel like a level out of the first Halo game. To this end, artist Chris Barrett used the very first level developed for the multiplayer of Halo: Combat Evolved as inspiration when doing the art on this level, making the map itself a sort of relic.^[2]^[5]
In designing Relic's layout, the team wnated to create a map suited to 1-Flag CTF in a similar vein to Zanzibar. The team eventually settled on a design that involved the attacking team having to cross the entire map and double back on themselves, with a shift in power initially favouring the defenders but switching to favour the attackers once the flag was reached.
In balancing the map, Bungie wanted to create a mix of vehicle action and "storming the beach at Normandy". However, in creating large spaces for the vehicle gameplay, it became apparent that a sniper would be able to shut down the map for the opposing team. To alleviate this issue, the attacking team's sniper rifle was made easier to get, to give infantry on the beach more of a fighting chance against those in the structure.^[5]
Early in the map's development, there was a gate in front of the flag to prevent Warthog rushes, and more cover for the defenders around the flag. These features were removed to make the defense more challenging.^[5]
This is the only multiplayer map that has a deployable lookout tower placed in it by default.
The map originally featured five SOEIVs located across the map from the crashed Albatross, but they were presumably cut; they cannot be found without modding tools. An energy barrier (most likely anti-vehicle) was also cut from the map, but not removed from the map's files.

Trivia

A player who is connection host can use a rocket launcher, an overshield, a black barricade, and a trick similar to the Banshee Launch Wingtip Method to reach the top of the tower, which is an excellent sniping location.
On Bungie.net, the image files for Relic are in the /dune/ directory, and in the game files, the map is called dune.map, which may indicate that the level was originally called "Dune".
Avoid using the energy sword to attack someone who has positioned themselves behind the teleporter (when active) inside the structure; doing so will launch you outside of the map and to your death.
There is an Albatross dropship on the west edge of the island. Another dropship of the same make (and crashed in a similar way) appears in Halo 3's Sandtrap.
Relic was used as the setting for the cover of the Halo 2 Multi-player Map Pack box, as the Forerunner structure can be seen behind the Spartans.