Manifestation

Prev:	The Archive
Manifestation
Game:	Halo Wars 2
Player:	Voridus
Date:	June 4-5, 2559
Location:	High Charity crash site, Installation 00
Objective(s):	Repel the final Flood threat before it's too late
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Manifestation is the nineteenth campaign level in Halo Wars 2, and the fifth and final mission of the Awakening the Nightmare expansion.

Transcript

HIGH CHARITY CRASH SITE

MANIFESTATION

Mission Briefing

Atriox: "Voridus, Pavium! Do you know what your action have cost me? I have spent months fortifying positions to continue the fight against the humans. Now I have to abandon them because of you!"
Pavium: "We will fix this, Atriox. We only thought it wise to inform you of the threat."
Atriox: "You "thought it wise"? The Flood is the very thing this installation was created to destroy! You have no idea what you've unleashed! If we don't send every soldier we have right now to stop its spread, everything we've worked for will be consumed."
Voridus: "We've already reactivated the Sentinels, we will help them fix this! You have our word!"
Atriox: "I want actions, not words. I'm on my way."

Mission Summary

Repel the final Flood threat before it's too late.

Scouting Report

Pavium's Mega Turrets are critical to defeating this menace.

Cutscene

Atriox: "What is the situation?"

A squad of Grunts and two Choppers are fending off a Flood assault.

Pavium: "I've lost over forty percent of our troops, Atriox. The Flood has spread quickly in the area near High Charity."

the Choppers and Grunts are defeated, and an Abomination arrives.

Voridus: "Do not fear, Atriox. With the Sentinel defenses up and running, we will crush the Flood threat!"

Screen changes a base the Banished are defending from the Flood.

Atriox: "It was that very arrogance that causes this mess, Voridus! I'm on my way now. You will have this fixed by the time I arrive!"

Two Spirit dropships arrive, dropping off Pavium and Voridus to reinforce the defenses.

Pavium: "Fight back! Do not let them destroy our base!"
Voridus: "Their numbers are infinite!"

Gameplay

Pavium: "Come, brother, we must find the source of this new Flood outbreak!"
Voridus: "This could be our greatest battle, Pavium. We will be legends!"
Pavium: "Legends!? If we fail, there will be nobody left to recount our folly! Do not underestimate the graveness of this situation, Voridus."

The Banished start to strengthen the base's defenses as the Flood launch a new assault wave.

Voridus: "The Flood is trying to destroy our base! Stop them!"

Voridus: "Keep the Flood from our base, or we'll have no way to defend ourselves!"

After repelling the assault, the Banished regroup and start assembling a strike force.

When scouting ahead

Pavium: "The Flood have infected Wraiths! They'll destroy our infantry!"

Punching through, their progress is soon blocked by a massive tentacle that appears to the left.

Voridus: "Argh! How are we going o find the source of this outbreak thing with all these tentacles in our way?"
Pavium: "Have faith, brother. My siege turret will carve this thing up. There's a point nearby that will provide the necessary firing position."
Voridus: "Once we destroy it we can join the Sentinels in pushing the rest of the Flood back!"

When the Banished try to advance through a slope, another massive tentacle is found blocking their way, forcing them to take an alternative path.

The Flood and Sentinels are found fighting against each other.

Pavium: "Voridus, the Sentinel defenses you activated are here! They're attacking the Flood!"
Voridus: "We can't let them have all the fun! Let's get to work!"

The Banished fight their way to the first location that was marked by Pavium, only to discover it is occupied by Flood biomass.

Pavium: "That monstrosity is sitting right where I need to build the turret!"
Voridus: "Then what are we waiting for? Attack!"

After a fight, the Flood is destroyed and a two-slow minibase becomes available.

Pavium: "Prepare the turret, we'll soon rid ourselves of those tentacles!"

When the Flood attacks the minibase that will be used as Mega Turret emplacement.

Voridus: "The Flood is attacking the turret!'
Pavium: "Their intelligence is growing! Something must be guiding them!"

When the Mega Turret is complete

Brute: "Pavium, the turret is ready to fire."
Pavium: "Fire at will, commander."

If player has yet to spot the target.

Brute: "Pavium, what are my firing coordinates? We need eyes on the tentacle."

or

Brute: "Ready to fire, Pavium. Just give me eyes on my target."

The Banished spot the target for the Mega Turret.

Brute: "Lock on target. Firing!"

The Mega Turret fires and the Tentacle withdraws, opening the way for the Banished.

Brute: "Target hit!"
Pavium: "It's retreating!"
Voridus: "But to where? We didn't destroy it, so it must be connected to something!"

Reaching the center, the Banished see the size of the Proto-Gravemind.

Voridus: "That tentacle was just an extension of this...thing. If the stories are true...it would be unstoppable."
Pavium: "We must focus all our effors on it."

The Flood tentacles extend to block the way.

Pavium: "We must test its defenses to find a way to destroy it! Attack!"

The Banished attack, but Proto-Gravemind calls hordes of Flood to protect itself.

Pavium: "It's trying to protect itself! Carve through those wretched creatures!"

More Floods come to defend the Proto-Gravemind from the Banished.

Pavium: "How can it produce endless number of those vile things?"
Voridus: "Desperation, brother! It is finally beginning to know fear!"
Pavium: "I don't believe that thing can feel fear, but perhaps it can feel pain!"

The Proto-Gravemind finally surfaces.

Voridus: "Pavium! There seems to be some kind of armor shielding the thing's hide!"
Pavium: "Then it must be protecting something vital! Target the carapace!"

Breaking through its carapace, four tentacles emerge and some Sentinels arrive to assist Banished.

Pavium: "We have broken through part of its armor!"
Voridus: "Then why does it not fall?"
Pavium: "The armor must have been protecting those strange sacs! Our work is not over yet, brother!"
Voridus: "Get rid of those distracting tentacles! They're protecting the beast!"

The Banished continue to attack the sacks while fending off the tentacles and Flood.

Voridus: "We must be doing something right for it to fight with such ferocity!"
Voridus: "Destroy those sacks! We will see this thing fall today or we'll die trying!"

After fending off the tentacles, the Banished focus fire on the sacks.

Pavium: "Focus all firepower on those sacks, make it pay for our losses!"

The Proto-Gravemind start to shake after the sacks are destroyed

Voridus: "Ha, I think it's flinching!"
Pavium: "Be on guard! We must be prepared for anything!"

The Proto-Gravemind retreats from the surface, but its core is exposed. More Sentinels arrived to assist the Banished.

Voridus: "Aim that thing in the center! It must fall!
Pavium: "Voridus! The Sentinels you released earlier! They're joining in the attack! We were right! They must sense where that thing can be hurt!"

After dropping to 75% of its health, it resurfaces and closes its core.

Voridus: "It is working! We're killing it!"
Pavium: "At last! I began to fear it was unstoppable!"

It retracts its tentacles as it retreats from surface again.

Voridus: "It has retreated!"
Pavium: "But it's not finished yet. Look, it's releasing more Flood!"

Proto-Gravemind critical mass is shown on the HUD.

Pavium: "Fall back! We must not waste troops battling those Flood forms. I've marked new potential locations for an extra turret. Get one constructed now!"

The Banished retreats for a while to avoid further losses.

Voridus: "We can't reach that thing while it's in that hole, Pavium!"
Pavium: "Then we must encourage it back out again! I've found several locations where we can build a turret to force it out!"
Voridus: "At least with its tentacles retracted we can move about more freely!"
Pavium: "Which gives us more sites on which to build a turret! Quickly, troops!"

The Banished move west, but the tentacles are blocking their way, forcing them to find another place to set up a Mega Turret.

Finding another Flood-infested area, the Banished clear it and Pavium calls another turret drop. The Flood assault the location.

Pavium: "That thing suspects what we're doing! It's trying to destroy the turret! Protect it!"

The Flood start to attack the Banished that are protecting the Mega Turret.

Pavium: "Flood incoming! Protect our turrets, we must not lose them!"

When the Mega Turret is completed

Brute: "Turret ready. I need eyes on the target."

The Banished spot the Proto-Gravemind.

Brute: "Targeting Proto-Gravemind.
Voridus: "Fire! Drive it out!"

Mega turret fires on the Gravemind, hitting it.

Brute: "Confirmed hit!"

It surfaces again, and its tentacles block their paths.

Pavium: "It's working! It rises!"
Voridus: "What does it take to kill this thing?"

The Banished start to attack the Proto-Gravemind carapace.

Pavium: "Stay strong, brother. We know how to wound it now, we must keep going."
Voridus: "Time to show the mettle of the Banished, troops! Put that monstrosity down!"

The Proto-Gravemind releases more Flood forms to stop the Banished.

Pavium: "It's trying to stop us with more of it's vile offspring!"

Pavium: "Send in our heavy unit to break its shell! It must fall!"
Voridus: "Hit the armored carapace! Crack it wide open!"

The second carapace is destroyed, exposing its sacks. Multiple tentacles emerged to stop the Banished.

Pavium: "The carapace is destroyed! Now's our chance!"

The Banished focus their attacks on sacs while fending off Flood forms.

Pavium: "Target thoe sacs!"
Voridus: "We've broken through its armor! Shoot the sacs and make it bleed!"

The Banished destroy the sacs and expose the core.

When its health reaches 50%, Proto-Gravemind shields the core again and retreats. The tentacles once again opening the paths for the Banished to advance.

Voridus: "It cowers in the hole! Prepare another turret to force it back out!"

The Banished start to retreat and search for another Mega Turret site, while the critical mass on the HUD starts to increase again.

Voridus: "It retreats! Take the time to heal wounds and build another turret! We will need all the the firepower we can get!"

Approaching the third site, the Banished prepare for another engagement.

Pavium: "We're nearing a turret site! Get one constructed, quickly!"

Once the Flood base is wiped out, Pavium calls a minibase drop and the Flood launch an attack to stop it.

Pavium: "Don't let the Flood destroy a single turret, we need every one of them to hurt that thing!"
Voridus: "Protect our turrets, fools! If we lose them we'll never force that thing out!"

When the third Mega Turret is ready to fire.

Brute: "Turret ready, where is my target?"

The Banished spot the target for Mega Turret.

Brute: "Target acquired. Firing."

The Mega Turrets fires and hit the Proto-Gravemind, forcing it to surface again. The Critical Mass on the HUD decreases.

Brute: "Target hit!"
Voridus: "The Flood are relentless! Next time, remind me to bring more troops!"
Pavium: "Next time, listen to my warning, and we won't have to!"

The Banished start attacking the carapace again while fending off Flood assault.

Voridus: "Atriox will be impressed with our prowess if we survive this, Pavium!"
Pavium: "Then we'll just need to survive Atriox!"

More Flood Forms come to stop the Banished.

Pavium: "Watch out! More Flood incoming!"
Voridus: "Send all you can, monster! We will cut them all down!"
Pavium: "Break through its armor! We will end that monster if we have to pry it out of its shell!"

The carapace is destroyed and the sacks are exposed. Multiple tentacles emerge to attack the Banished.

Pavium: "Its sacs are exposed! Target them!"

The Banished attack the sacs and tentacles.

Pavium: "Target the tentacles! Keep out of their reach!"
Voridus: "Destroy those sacs! Teach it what happens when it crosses the Banished!"

Destroying the sacks, it subermeges and exposes the core again. The banished focus their attack on the core.

Once its health is depleted to 25%, it submerges into the ground. The critical mass HUD begins to increase again.

Pavium: "Fall back and get another turret built! It must be close to reaching Gravemind state now, and this may be our last chance!"

The Banished retreats and goes to the fourth minibase site.

Pavium: "See to the injured and replace any lost troops while that turret is being built!"

Reaching the fourth site, the Banished destroy the Flood base and call a turret drop.

Pavium: "Flood incoming! Protect our turrets, we must not lose them!"

The Flood launches an assault to destroy the minibase.

Voridus: "You heard Pavium! This may be our last chance to kill that thing!"

The Banished protect the minibase and the base is completed with Mega Turret ready to fire.

Brute: "Turret ready. I need eyes on the target."

The Banished returns to Proto-Gravemind to resume the attack.

Brute: "Lock on and firing."

The Mega Turrets hits the Proto-Gravemind and it surfaces. An Abomination arrives to defend the Proto-Gravemind.

Brute: "Confirmed hits from all turrets!"
Voridus: "We must be close now, how much more punishment can that thing take?"
Pavium: "As much as we can deal out, it seems. We may need to hit it with something even more powerful!"

The Critical Mass on the HUD decreases again, and the Banished resume the assault.

Voridus: "Another Flood wave! Stand fast!"
Pavium: "Aim at the armor to expose the sacs! No armor exists that Pavium has not broken!"
Voridus: "Blast through that armor!"

The carapace is destroyed, exposing the sacs, and multiple tentacles emerges from the ground, along with many Flood forms.

Pavium: "Its armor has fallen! Target the sacs underneath!"

The Banished go mobile to avoid being smashed by tentacles.

Pavium: "Keep those ground troops moving, they'll be crushed by the tentacles!"
Voridus: "Destroy those sacs! Spare nothing!"

The Proto-Gravemind goes underground again, but it won't open the core.

Brute: "Pavium! We're blasting it, but it's resisting!"
Voridus: "Pavium, that thing has grown too strong. Our turrets aren't enough anymore, we need more firepower!"
Pavium: "I was afraid of this, but I think I have the answer."

A Sentinel lock clogged by Flood Biomass is shown.

Pavium: "I've detected a damaged Sentinel lock nearby. If we cleanse it of the Flood filth, it should call in Sentinel reinforcements."
Voridus: "Get to it, troops! Cleanse that lock while we still can!"

The Banished advances towards the clogged access point but a massive tentacle gets in their way. A Mega Turret fires and forces the tentacle to retract it.

The Banished quickly clears the area around the lock and unclog it.

Voridus: "The lock is clear, Pavium. Has it worked?"
Pavium: "I'm detecting something very powerful on the way now, brother!"

A Sentinel Retriever arrives in the battlefield.

Voridus: "A Retriever! You do not disappoint me, Pavium!"

The Retriever Sentinel is now under player's control.

The Banished guide the Retriever to the Proto-Gravemind.

Pavium: "Now we shall see how strong that thing is!"

The Retriever unleash its beam, forcing the Proto-Gravemind to expose its core.

Voridus: "Haha! Burn!"
Pavium: "It's working!"

The Flood start to attack the Banished desperately as more forms emerge from the ground.

Pavium: "It has increased its attacks! It's getting desperate!"
Voridus: Let's show this thing Jiralnahae rage, brother!"
Pavium: "Strike with all we have!"

The Banished focus all of their attacks on the core of Proto-Gravemind.

Cutscene

Banshees flies overhead as the Proto-Gravemind starts to retract its tentacles and shake violently.

Voridus: "We did it! We've beaten it back, brother. Atriox will be pleased!"
Pavium: "I don't think pleased is the right word, brother. Atriox will arrive soon. He may not be as merciful as the Flood."

Cinematic Cutscene

Pavium and Voridus removes their masks, grin at each other, and roar in victory. The other Jiralhanaes on the site follow suit.

Atriox's Lich arrives and lands. An honor guard of Warlords comes out first, followed by Atriox.

He grimly inspects the Proto-Gravemind, passing the Jiralhanae brothers.

Atriox: "I told you NOT to go inside."

A Pod Infector jumps at Atriox. He quickly grabs it and looks at it for a moment, before squashing it and throwing it at their feet.

Atriox: "FOR GOOD REASON!"

He turns to Voridus and Pavium and approaches them as both of them look down, not daring to look at Atriox.

Atriox: "Secure the breach. Clean. Up. Your. Mess."

He look at Voridus with anger on his face.

Atriox: "I will be waiting for you when you are done."

Pavium and Voridus grab their equipment and walk away, while Atriox gazes up at the corpse of Proto-Gravemind.

Above them, a swarm of Sentinels head towards High Charity to contain the outbreak.

Mission Complete

Level ends

Leader Powers

Rain of Fire I, II and III
Atriox's Bulwark I, II and III
Burnout I and II
Orbital Designator I and II
Stasis I and II
Ultra Mines I and II
Infusion Wake I and II
Catacalysm I
Lich Vanguard I

Unit Deployment

Banished Main Force

Pavium
Voridus
2 Hunters
2 Brute Grenadiers
2 Choppers
Citadel
Raid Camp
1 Extractor
1 Harvester
1 Turret
700 Supply
500 Power

Defense encampment

2 Chopper (Destroyed)
1 Grunt Infantry Squad (Killed)

Trivia

Miscellaneous

Each Minibase will be fortified by one Mega Turret, and it cannot be replaced if it's destroyed.
Par time for this level is 30 minutes.

Strategy

Make sure you have every counter unit avaiable when attacking. The Flood Spawner is one of the toughest opponents due to its ability to spawn counter units.
- Make sure you prepare a reserve in case you suffer losses when attacking Proto-Gravemind or minibases occupied by the Flood.
Jump Pack Brutes can be used to traverse heights where caches are stored. Use them to collect supplies.
It's recommended to clear all area of the Flood, including the giant tentacles. There may be a base to discover that enables you to reinforce units more quickly.
Protect your Engineers by any means necessary; Seeder Infectors will always aim for Engineers first to slow down healing.

Mistakes

Sources

Preceded by
The Archive

Halo Wars 2 campaign levels
Manifestation