Ivory Tower

Summary

Ivory Tower is a Halo 2 multiplayer map set indoors in a somewhat tropical environment. In the middle of the map there is an alley that leads to a drainage grate where you will find the Rocket Launcher in most gametypes. This alley leads to a circular area with a palm tree setting at the base of a set of giant stone steps inlaid with grass. These steps lead up to an elevator and two hallways. One hallway leads to a dark room and the other leads to a lighter room that contains the overshield. The elevator can either take you to the upper part of the map that has the Sniper Rifle or the lower part of the map where you can acquire the Energy Sword. To take the elevator up, would place one in the middle of a long hallway. One direction leads to a dark room with air vent lifters and a shotgun, and the other direction leads to a ramp that contains an overshield. To take the elevator down from the main circular room brings you to the middle of another long hallway. Left and Right directions have a small room housing a Magnum before the hallways turn back towards the center of the map. One direction leads you to the lower portion of the dark room, while the other direction will bring you out at the room that houses the ramp that holds the overshield.

To get off the elevator and turn around would lead you past a flag spawn point and then to a T-junction with the Energy Sword right in front of you. This weapon is under the drainage grate mentioned earlier. To turn one direction at the Energy Sword leads you to the dark room, while turning the other direction leads you to the small room containing the ramp and overshield. The dark room has a door on the side opposite the hallway with the Magnums, it leads to the main circular room and also to a small section behind it where the flag spawn point is. This back section has staircases on either end that lead to a catwalk section that can be used to view the center, overshield, and dark rooms. This catwalk winds around above the perimeter of the center room and ends up back at the elevator at the top of the stone steps (a favorite for the custom Juggernaut gametype "Hide and Go Seek").

Strategy

Slayer
In games of Slayer players will often try to hoard all the weapons and possess the top of the map above the elevator. This strategy often proves successful. This is extremely successful because Slayer on this map requires almost no skill, just control the power weapons and you'll win almost every time.

Capture the Flag
On Ivory Tower the only type of Capture the Flag is One Flag CTF Fast. In this game the team on defense defends the flag which is found in the small section behind the center room. The team on offense starts at the bottom of the elevator near the Energy Sword. There is often a race between the player on offense to grab the Sniper Rifle at the top of the elevator and the player on defense to grab the Rocket Launcher in the alley off of the main room. Both of these weapons are critical to being successful on both offense and defense. Offensive strategies involve either taking the flag up the middle through the main room and moving little by little with each life or making a dash for the lower portion of the map by way of the Energy Sword hallway. Both are equally as successful.

Assault
On Ivory Tower the only type of Assault game is Rapid Assault. In this gametype offense and defense spawn in the same locations as Capture the Flag. For offense it works best if the bomb carrier grabs the overshield. This will ensure that he is able to make it to one of the bomb-arming points (each is at the base of the staircases in the back section behind the main room). Even if the bomb carrier dies, as long as the bomb is dropped in the arming circle the team has a good chance of winning. Because Sticky Arming is enabled in Rapid Assault a team can continue to drop off the catwalk and pick up the bomb and arm it little by little until it is complete. To thwart this strategy a defense must attempt to kill the offensive player before they are able to pick the bomb up or they must use a Rocket Launcher and grenades to cause the bomb to fly out of the arming circle.

Territories

Walkway
Elevators
Tunnel
Crossroads
Air Lifts

Music

Hard to hear, but if you go by the steel door behind the elevators, turn your sound up pretty loud, you should hear The Siege of Madrigal from Bungie's older series Myth. Hitting the gate has no major effects, and this may take a good amount of time. You can also hear banging (Which is due to the forked lifts), rattling, and shaking sounds. Since the music also plays, its suspected its the ghost of the former owner. The owners name is very similar to the composer for the Halo series, Martin O'Donnell. A sound or song is heard about every 10 minutes.

Glitches

To get out of Ivory Tower, you need two people. Position one person on the Overshield ramp in the little Garden box on the right side. Walk into the corner. The second person needs to line up with two bold dots on the floor right infront of the First person. The second person needs to crouch. Melee the first player, and walk right. This will break the barrier and send you down below the level. NOTE: This can be done on any ramp with a nearby ledge on any map; the ramp must be thin though. Also if you have at least 3 people and get 2 people outside the map you can Buterfly/sword climb on top of the map. There is more to do and see on top of the map than in the place you first get out.

Trivia

Ivory Tower is the name of Marty O'Donnell's sound studio.
In the game files, Ivory Tower is called cyclotron.map, and on Bungie.net the images for Ivory Tower are in the /cyclotron/ directory, which could mean that the map was originally to be called Cyclotron.
In the upper level of the map, there is a planter box which can be used as an efficient sniper post, but the box can be shot down easily.
The coconuts in the trees can be shot down.
There is an easter egg here shown in Halo: Combat Evolved and Halo 3. It is the Battle of Madrigal easter egg.