INTRODUCTION – Hunting the Chief
The basics:
- Balance your weapons – It is always best to have a balance between your weapons effective ranges. For example having a boltshot and shotgun only allows you to cover short -> mid range (shotgun = short, boltshot = short -> mid). This will put you at a major disadvantage in a long range firefight. Make sure to carry weapons that cover all three distances (short, mid and long) to be effective in any situation when possible.
- Grenades are your friends (most of the time) – The AI of the Halo series is well known for making smarter enemies take cover when damaged/ unshielded. This can be frustrating when the enemy is only one or two shots from death as they hide and regenerate their shields. Luckily, you can use a well aimed grenade (LB) to force them out of cover or even kill them. However, they can do the same to you too, so watch out.
Legendary difficulty tips:
- Plasma pistol swap – Enemies with shields (such as elites) often require you to waste a lot of ammo at mid range to take them down. An alternative strategy is to pick up a fallen plasma pistol (found anywhere there are grunts) and use a full charge to instantly remove the shield, then swap to your alternate and finish off the stunned elite. A very effective tactic if your weaponry is limited.
- Take advantage of ammo caches – Often as you move through areas, if you look you'll find weapon racks that you can use to refill your weapon multiple times (depending on what weapon is in the rack), by abusing these you can fire off many clips worth of ammo without needing to scavenge for additional weapons. Very handy on harder difficulties when enemies take a lot of bullets to bring down.
- Dealing with shielded enemies – One of the main issues with legendary difficulty (apart from the increased enemy damage) is dealing with pesky shielded enemies. There are several methods you can use to make life easier for yourself: A well aimed plasma grenade (killing elites in one hit if you stick them), shotgun charging an elite from around a corner and blasting it twice (once for the shield, the second to kill it). You can also use energy/ plasma weapons to quickly remove their shields and then swap to a regular weapon to finish them. Repeated headshots, preventing them from taking cover and well placed grenades are also effective skill based methods of gunning these enemy types down.
- Alternate routes – Having difficulty picking off all those enemies firing at you from the other side of the area? Can't cross the terrain between without your squad getting mowed down by gunfire? Time to look for alternate routes. They may be as simple as a set of barriers you can use as cover to get safely across, vents in the walls, tunnels covered by icicles that you can smash through with your spartan charge ability or any number of other pathways. Don't assume you have to spend each firefight facing the enemy force from the far side of the room. We have ways of making them squawk (in surprise and alarm as you appear from nowhere)
