Valhalla

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Revision as of 04:08, December 28, 2006 by halowikia>Esemono
Promotional image for the Alpha build of Halo 3 featuring first-person view of an M6/R Spartan Laser fire on the multiplayer map Valhalla.
A player fires a Spartan Laser towards Blue Base in Valhalla.
Valhalla, a Halo 3 multiplayer map.
Behind the base is the lake into which the river drains.

thumb|200px|A Pelican seen in the shadows of the trees of Valhalla

Valhalla is a multiplayer map in Halo 3. A from-the-ground-up level, it is said to be 'the new Blood Gulch'. It is a forested valley with mountains in the distance, a creek running through the middle, and a large number of small hills and large outcroppings of rocks. Bungie added the new land features to help balance the action between snipers and on-foot travellers, whereas in Blood Gulch and Coagulation, those players were to easy prey for snipers. Another fact is that none of the screenshots of the map contain a Halo in the distance. This leads us to believe that Valhalla is possibly on Earth.

The map is similar in shape to Blood Gulch and Coagulation, but has unique elements. The most obvious is the river. The river starts in the mountains behind Blue Base, and comes out at a waterfall near the base. The river then flows infront of the base, then into a cave. The river continues to flow out of the cave and between the two prominant hills on which players find the Spartan Laser, and the Gun Turret. Next the river goes down to Red Base, and makes a turn to run along in front of the base. After another turn, the river empties out into a lake. There is also another cave in the map, in the cliff behind the pelican, allowing players to sneak through into the small clearing to the side of Red Base.

The "beam emitter" bases are Forerunner technology. They are almost identical to the structures seen in the Halo PC multiplayer map Infinity The bases are remniscient of the ones in Blood Gulch, they are multi-leveled and have protective walls on the top level. There are 3 entrances to the inside of the base, two on the sides of the base, and one in the back. We can only see two of these entrances in the screenshots, but some concept art shows us a hallway leading down into the base. Replacing the teleporters are the Man Cannons. The largest one, on the front of the base, sends you out into the main battle. The smaller one, on the side of the base will send you along a more stealthy path along the edge of the map; Red Base sends you into some rocks (much like the rockslide in Coagulation), while Blue Base sends you into a group of trees (also much like Coagulation).

Not much is yet known for spawns. As previously stated, there are two similar hills on either side of the river. On one spawns the Spartan Laser, while the other holds a gun turret. The Sniper Rifle and several of all grenade types spawn within the bases, along with the flag. Numerous Battle Rifles are said to spawn around the map, and spikers spawn on top of the bases. The current vehicle set per base is a Banshee, Scorpion, Warthog, Wraith and two Mongooses.

Trivia

  • Valhalla (Old Norse Valhall, "Hall of the slain") is Odin's hall in Norse mythology, for those slain gloriously in battle.
  • This map's name has nothing to do with blood, unlike its two predecessors. but, it is related to MJOLNIR, as they are both of the same mythological origin.
  • Additionally, a D-77 TC Pelican Dropship can be seen to have crashed along the shadowed cliff between the bases. Players can salvage supplies from the dropship, like ammo, and possibly heath packs, since pelicans have 2 health packs on their interior walls. Furthermore, weapons canisters from the dropship appear to be scattered across the battlefield.
  • the maps general layout and design bears a startling resemblance to the Halo:PC map Timberland, and may have been inspired by it, incorporating elements from Coagulation and Timberlands.


Sources

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