Achievements:
ACHIEVEMENT – HOW TO UNLOCK
Cairo Station (30 points) – Complete Cairo Station at Normal, Heroic, or Legendary.
Outskirts (30 points) – Complete Outskirts at Normal, Heroic, or Legendary.
Metropolis (30 points) – Complete Metropolis at Normal, Heroic, or Legendary.
The Arbiter (30 points) – Complete The Arbiter at Normal, Heroic, or Legendary.
Oracle (30 points) – Complete The Oracle at Normal, Heroic, or Legendary.
Delta Halo (30 points) – Complete Delta Halo at Normal, Heroic, or Legendary.
Regret (30 points) – Complete Regret at Normal, Heroic, or Legendary.
Sacred Icon (30 points) – Complete Sacred Icon at Normal, Heroic, or Legendary.
Quarantine Zone (30 points) – Complete Quarantine Zone at Normal, Heroic, or Legendary.
Gravemind (30 points) – Complete Gravemind at Normal, Heroic, or Legendary.
Uprising (30 points) – Complete Uprising at Normal, Heroic, or Legendary.
High Charity (30 points) – Complete High Charity at Normal, Heroic, or Legendary.
The Great Journey (30 points) – Complete The Great Journey at Normal, Heroic, or Legendary.
Warrior (100 points) – Complete the game on Normal difficulty.
Hero (50 points) – Complete the game on Heroic difficulty.
Legend (50 points) – Complete the game on Legendary difficulty.
King of the Scarab (20 points) – Acquire the Scarab gun on the Metropolis level, any difficulty.
Silent but Deadly (20 points) – Kill 7 opponents from behind in a row without being spotted, any level, any difficulty.
Demon (25 points) – Complete any campaign level without dying once on Normal, Heroic, or Legendary.
Go Ape Shiv (20 points) – Kill an enraged, berserk Brute by melee, any level, any difficulty.
Stick It (5 points) – Stick an opponent with a plasma grenade and blow them up.
Counterpoint (5 points) – Kill the sword carrier.
Carjacking (5 points) – Steal an occupied vehicle from an opponent and take it over.
Violent Cartographer (25 points) – Play every available default map and stay in each game until it’s over.
Rainman (25 points) – Play every available game variant, with at least 3 other players, to the end of each game.
Double Kill (20 points) – Kill 2 opponents within 4 seconds.
Triple Kill (20 points) – Kill 3 opponents within 4 seconds.
Killtacular (20 points) – Kill 4 opponents within 4 seconds.
Killing Spree (20 points) – Kill 5 opponents in a row in the same game, without dying.
Running Riot (20 points) – Kill 10 opponents in a row in the same game, without dying.
Sniper Kill (10 points) – Kill an opponent with the sniper rifle or the beam rifle.
Roadkill (10 points) – Run over, hit and kill an opponent with a vehicle.
Bonecracker (10 points) – Hit and kill an opponent with a melee attack.
Assassin (10 points) – Melee an opponent from behind.
Skewer Stopper (20 points) – Kill the sword carrier after they kill 5 or more times in a row with the sword.
Vigilante (10 points) – Stop a Killing Spree of another player.
Air Traffic Control (20 points) – Blow up the Banshee in flight while manned, with grenades or the rocket launcher.
Decorated Soldier (10 points) – Get awarded at least 8 different medals in one non-team game.
Ninja (20 points) – In a non-team game, kill 5 people by melee, from behind.
Flaming Ninja (20 points) – Kill an opponent that has the Ninja achievement.
Hired Gun (20 points) – Kill an opponent who has the Legend achievement.
Snipe from vehicle:
This trick requires a friend with a sniper rifle and a Banshee. Get in the Banshee and lay it right side up flat on the ground while still in it. Once you are ready, have your friend jump on the top of the Banshee. Make sure he is in the middle (the large part). Then, slowly ascend or take off and fly. Do not boost. If you done correctly, your friend will be standing on top of the Banshee with the sniper rifle. Once you cannot ascend higher, fly around and have your friend snipe enemies. Be careful not to let your friend fall off. To prevent this from happening, have him watch both your screen and his screen. He should use your screen to align his footing on the Banshee and his screen to kill the enemy. Also, when you ascend he must move forward slightly and do the opposite when descending to prevent falling.
Piggyback ride on vehicle:
With almost any vehicle, you can get a piggyback if you are not skilled at driving or need a fast ride when someone on your team is already on a Ghost. This also works with the Scorpion, Banshee, and the Warthog when you have someone in the gunner seat, when you are all far enough away from the enemy.
This trick requires a friend, a Ghost, and lots of patience. Have your friend drive the Ghost. Jump on the front of the Ghost and align yourself with the plasma guns at the front. Now, look up. Have your friend drive but not boost. You should stay on the Ghost. Your friend’s screen will scroll down and look at your feet. Thus, he will not be able to drive. To bypass this, do not turn your body and shoot “Charlie”, but have your friend look on your screen and steer you.
This trick only works in multi-player maps with the Warthog and a friend. Have your friend drive the Warthog. Jump on the Warthog on the front windshield or the back towards the turret. Have him take off quickly. If done correctly, you should stay on.
Ride on Scorpion tank’s turret:
This trick requires a friend and a Scorpion tank. It is slightly difficult to perform and requires patience. Have your friend commandeer a Scorpion tank. Find a place where you can work in peace. Jump on the tank, then jump on the top of the turret. Adjust yourself so that you are on the middle to rear part of the turret. Have your friend gun the gas pedal and you should stay on the top of the turret. If done correctly you can now stand on the turret, even if it turns.
Two to four players on Ghost:
This trick works best at Coagulation or Waterworks. Before the pilot gets onto the Ghost, have someone climb onto the engine. You can also have two more people jump on the wings, making it a total of four people on one Ghost. This trick creates a heavily armed aircraft that is useful for team games. Make sure the pilot does not accelerate hard or the people on the wings will fly off.
Vehicle explosions:
In a multi-player level with vehicles (Ghosts recommended), stand in front of one of those barrel things that explode. Wait until someone in a Ghost sees you, throws it in turbo. and tries to run you over. At the last moment, jump out of the way. If done correctly, the vehicle will shoot past you, fly into the barrels, and explode; killing the driver instantly with a huge explosion.
Send tanks flying:
While playing on a map with two Scorpion tanks available (Coagulation recommended), have a friend drive his or her tank up against a canyon wall until it flips upside-down, and your friend falls out. Drive your tank over to your friend’s tank. Face the side that looks like a ramp. Line your tank up and start driving up it until one is on top of the other. While you are still in the top tank, have you friend walk over to the bottom one. The “Hold X to flip tank” message will appear. Once flipped, the bottom tank will send the top one flying high into the air (sometimes above the level), spinning at incredible speeds. After awhile, the tanks may start to catch fire and wear-down.
Rewards for straight killings:
The following is a list of rewards you get from killing people without dying once. Note: After you get 20 kills, every five kills you get in a row will result in another overkill medal.
5: Killing spree
10: Running Riot
15 Rampage
20 Beserker
25 Over Kill (it says this every five kills after that)
Rewards for killing in four seconds:
2: Double Kill
3: Triple Kill
4: Killtacular
5: Kill Frenzy
6: Killtrocity
7: Killmonjaro
Defeating opponent that has an energy sword:
Your best chance of killing him before he slashes you is to dual wield SMGs. When you see the enemy from a short distance, just let loose. The bullets will most likely stop the enemy from advancing and will kill him.
Strategic cover:
Get a Warthog and drive it to a slant or a hill. Make sure the front of the Warthog is slanted downward. Shoot it until it explodes. Do not use grenades because it can flip or turn the Warthog. Wait until it stops burning, Also, make sure one or both of the rear wheels are off. When the Warthog stops burning, place a grenade under it, at the rear. If done correctly, the rear should hang in the air slightly. If its not hanging high up enough, you can melee it up higher, making it a perfect place to hide and cover grenades. Note: This may take some practice. Also, this cover will disappear after awhile.
When in multi-player versus mode, choose a level with at least two Warthogs. Park one in front of a wall, then ram the other one into it. Keave a small area behind, with a small crack in between for you to fire from. Hide behind there and wait for someone to pass by. When they turn around, shoot or jump out and ambush them. Note: This works best when you are either the same color as the Warthogs or the wall, or can get very close to the Warthogs. Also, try to use this on a small level.
Intimidate:
After receiving Double Kill, Killing Spree, Running Riot, Beserker, or Over Kill, intimidate the opposing players by finding your team partners and having both you and your partners repeatedly crouch and release to make it look as if it is a victory dance.
Stealth:
Stealth is a powerful ally. If you can sneak up on your opponents from behind or on the side, you can deliver a deadly point-blank attack that if done correctly, will kill them before they can react. The best way to surprise an opponent is from above, as when they look behind them there will be nothing there. The best way to do this is get up on a crate, rock or something where you can ambush an enemy from above. Have a shotgun or an energy sword with you. When the enemy gets directly below you, shoot them in the head with the shotgun. If this does not kill them, jump down and melee them while in the air. If you are using the energy sword, wait until the enemy gets close and the crosshair turns red. Then, lunge attack to kill them instantly. By doing this you can rain down death from above and kill opponents without them even knowing what hit them. This strategy works best in smaller enclosed maps, but can also be put to effective use in the bigger maps.
2 on 2 on 2 on 2 on 2 on 2 on 2 on 2:
Make a new Slayer game, and set the active players to two. Leave most selections at default, except turn off active camo and overshield. Set the starting weapons to the battle rifle and the shotgun. Turn off all vehicles except for two Warthogs, and turn off gun emplacements. Turn on teamplay, and turn off team switching. Set the betrayal penalty to 5 seconds. Play at Coagulation. This should allow you to have eight teams of two people each, making for some really fun teamwork games. If it does not, play with the active players setting until it works.
Energyball:
Go to the Colossus arena and have player two stand next to the middle conveyer belt, and player one stand on the platform that shoots you upward and remain still. This will work with energy swords or any other heavy weapon. Have player two hit a barrel on to the conveyer belt and watch it fly up. Have player one lines himself up with the barrel and hit it with a melee attack.
Troop transport:
This trick works best in Coagulation. Get the Banshee. Before the pilot gets in, get four people on top; two on the canopy (top) and two on the wings (preferably the closest part to the cockpit). Then, let the pilot get in. Make sure he does not boost or you will all fall down. Also make sure he does not do sharp turns. An additional benefit is that the Banshee has extra fire power. Note: This will work better in capture the flag. It is also more effective to have at least five people on the team.
Defeating Brutes:
Get a Plasma Sword from a dead Covenant Elite and get close enough to the Brute for the half-circle surrounding the crosshairs to turn red before attacking. You will lunge forward and get rid of half the enemy’s life. Jump into the air immediately afterwards, and do this a second time to kill him instantly. Both attacks combined cost only ten ammo points, so this process can be done ten times in succession, making it an effective way to crowd-clear Brute patrols near the end of the game. Make sure to jump in-between each strike so that the Brutes you are fighting cannot continue to ram you and drain your life.
Before you encounter a Brute, retrieve two dual wields Needlers. Then, shoot the Brute for two or three seconds. Make sure that the needles stick into the Brute. The needles will explode, killing the Brute. Note: This also works on Flood.
On the last level when you are fighting the Brute leader, wait for his shields to go off (when the blue gas-like thing around him shuts off). Then, shoot him in the head as many times as you can until it turns back on. Repeat this process until he is dead. Do not use an energy sword. It will not work, and he can kill you with one hit of his hammer.
During the final level, once you reach the door that leads to the final battle, a group of Brutes will come out. Instead of fighting them, use your invisibility gear and sneak through the door without having to fight. Note: You must be fast or the door will lock.
When facing several Brutes together, such as in the Uprising level, use a weapon with good accuracy, such as the pistol. However, this may be difficult because it no longer has a scope on it. The Covenant Carbine is a good choice because it has great accuracy, a zoom, and a usable clip size. When using the carbine, aim for the skull plating they have on the top of their head. If you are a skilled shot, this should kill the Brute in about four to five shots. Have something like the energy sword as a backup in case there are too many and they charge.
Two direct head shots with a beam rifle are required if they are wearing a helmet. Pack some heavy artillery. A fuel rod cannon or rocket launcher may be cheap, but they cannot charge you if they are blown up. A few hits with the brute shot can also work; there should be plenty of ammunition for it. If all else fails and they charge, a shotgun or the blade on the brute shot can work, but it will require three shots to the face with a shotgun and three hits with the blade.
The best combination of weapons against a Brute is to use two plasma rifles. Brute plasma rifles are recommended, as they are slightly stronger and shoot faster with a slower heating process. Run up to any Brute (this actually works for all enemies except Hunters) and fire both of your plasma rifles in sequence. This means that first you fire the right (or left) gun until it is nearly overheated, then stop firing that one and begin firing your second one until it is nearly overheated. Again, start firing the other one. Keep doing this in sequence and the only thing that will stop you from shooting is running out of ammunition. A good way to do this properly is to count how long you have been shooting. Shoot with one gun at a time for about three to five seconds, then begin shooting the other one. This is very useful for big groups of opponents as you do not have to reload or wait for your weapon to cool down.
The Brutes’ weakness are their heads. That is why they usually have metal plates. Shoot them in their heads for an easy kill.
Take an energy sword. Jump up and attack when the reticule turns red. You should attack their head and instantly kill them. Note: When facing the last Boss Brute, you must use the charging attack while his shield is down.
The easiest way to kill a Brute, or almost any Covenant enemy (does not work on Flood or Hunters), is to dual wield Needlers. Fire four needles from each gun. If all eight stick, in about one second the Brute will explode. Any creature, except for Hunters, will die with the explosion. Alternately, stick a plasma grenade to them. Note: If it does not stick, it will not kill the Brute. You will get the same result.
Defeating Elites:
When battling with Elites, do not hit them once with your weapon. Always hit them multiple times. If you hit them once, they will have a faster time and kill you with one hit or take down your shield.
An easier way to kill Elites quickly is to double-wield the SMGs and aim for the head. Be careful, as the SMGs tend to send the reticle upward. Also, try meleeing him before using the double strategy.
Dual wield a plasma pistol or rifle and a Human pistol. Use a plasma pistol or rifle to knock down the shields quickly, and then shoot them in the head with the magnum.
You can outsmart Elites in some battles by finding cover and returning fire as usual. However, when they stop firing, relocate to other sources of cover and have a few seconds before they notice. Also throw grenades before they get all the way out, if they are appearing from a door or a ship portal.
The best way to quickly kill an Elite is to hit them multiple times with your weapon. First. hit them so they are stunned for a few seconds, then shoot them quickly. They should die easily.
To kill an Elite easily under any difficulty setting, have a plasma pistol and battle rifle. Overcharge the plasma pistol and shoot the Elite with it. Then, quickly change to your battle rifle and shoot them in the head. If you score a headshot, it will always kill them. If not, then a few shots in the chest should do it.
When killing Elites (blue), shoot them in the head with a sniper rifle (human).
Take the shotgun and run up to an Elite. Fire at the chest and it should kill it in one shot.
If you are in close combat with an Elite, melee attack them in the front. Their reaction may be to come back at you, or to hold their stomach. However, no matter what they do, quickly go to the left then behind them and hit them on the back.
Defeating Floods:
Get a Plasma Sword from a dead Covenant Elite and get close enough to the Flood for the half-circle surrounding the crosshairs to turn red before attacking. You will lunge forward and kill the enemy instantly, sometimes killing two or even three if they are in close-enough proximity to the target. This attack only uses between two to five ammo points, so it can be repeated at least twenty times. Note: Do not use this trick on either the small spider-like Flood or the large bulbous Flood, as the explosion that follows will damage your shields.
To kill the Flood, easily use the sword. It cuts right through the Flood in one shot, unlike any type of plasma gun.
To make fighting Flood easier, use a shotgun and an energy sword. The Flood levels are mostly close quarters — shoot them in the face with a shotgun. This will take down even a shielded Flood in one hit. Then, use an energy sword to vaporize the bodies so that they cannot get back up. The best part is that it will not use any energy sword power.
You can actually kill the human and elite Floods with one shot of the Covenant carbine. Aim directly at the stomach for the human-type Floods (with no long tentacles in their left arm); and aim high in the middle where the head would usually be for the Elite-type floods (with the long tentacles).
Good weapons to kill Floods include the shotgun, energy sword, and dual SMGs.
Run up to the Flood and back off very fast. It will fall toward you and explode, without you having to use a weapon. Note: If you do not get away fast enough the explosion will damage you.
Whenever you have an energy sword and are facing the Flood, it will do the same damage if it is depleted.
It is possible to kill the Flood with the Covenant sniper rifle. For it to work, your parasite victim must remain absolutely still. Aim for his big arm until the crosshairs turn into a brighter color. This is his weak spot. It requires about two or three shots on that mark to kill it. Note: This move will not work on the slow and exploding Flood.
Defeating Grunts:
With big groups of enemies, kill off the Grunts first, as they easier to kill and become less of an annoyance.
Two slashes with the plasma swords are good against Grunts. However, hitting them with the grenade launchers three times can kill just as easily and does not use any ammunition.
Get a needler. Find a grunt and aim close to his head. Shoot him and he will jump in the air and die.
When killing Grunts, shoot them in the head with a battle rifle.
Shoot a Grunt once with a needler, plasma rifle, or just hit them a little out of range. They should either curse and run, or attack.
Unlimited ammunition or power:
This trick requires levels that have either Covenant or Marines following you. If you have a powerful weapon that has very limited power (for example, the energy sword, or Covenant sniper), or weapons that are very powerful (for example, Human sniper or rocket launcher) give them to the A.I. following you. As they use them, the weapons will never run out of power or ammunition. Also, they can use them very well.
Your allies’ weapons’ ammunition never runs out. If you have a strong weapon (for example, shotgun, rocket launcher, or sniper rifle) that only has one round remaining, trade it for an ally’s gun. Even though it has one shot remaining, your ally will never run out of its ammunition. However if you try to get it back, it will still only have one shot left.
Enemies:
Grunts: The basic enemies. They can be yellow, red, green, black, or heretic. They can use plasma pistols, plasma rifles, plasma turrets, and fuel rod cannons. Use a melee attack to the face twice or back once for an easy kill. Any weapon can easily kill them.
Jackals: Special force assassins. They can have a blue or orange shield. They use plasma pistols and beam rifles. Melee them twice in the face to kill or shoot the black center of shield.
Elites: The infantry of Covenant forces. Can be blue, red, gold, black, white, silver (Arbiter), heretic, or royal. They use plasma rifles, carbines, SMG’s, or energy swords. Use a plasma weapon to take down the shield then shoot them in head. Melee them in face about three times.
Wasp: The only flying enemy. They can use plasma rifles. Can be blue or green. Zoom in with a battle rifle and shoot them twice.
Hunter: Protected enemies built like a Scorpion tank. Only blue. They can use the fuel rod cannon. Shoot them in pink spot on back or torso with any weapon. The needler just bounces off their armor. Rockets work the best.
Brute: Resemble evil gorillas. They can be grenadiers, riflemen, or royal. They can use brute shot and brute plasma rifle. Shoot them in head, or throw a plasma grenade on their back.
Human weapons:
M6c pistol (magnum): Recoil operated magazine fed handgun, firing a magazine of six 12.7mm semi-armor peircing rounds. fired accurately in semi-auto mode.
BR55 Rifle (battle rifle): The battle rifle fires 9.5mm rounds from a 36 round magazine. Mounted with a 2x optical scope for targeting. Fires in short automatic bursts of three rounds.
M7/caseless sum machine gun (SMG): Bullet hose fires a sustained bust of 5mm fire from a 60 round magazine. SMGs, while not accurate over long ranges can wither enimies at close range.
52 AM Sniper Rifle: Gas operated magazine fed weapon utilizes a smart linked scope with 2 levels of magnification (5x and 10x). Firing 14.5mm armor piercing, fin stabilized, discarding sabot rounds make it a powerful weapon.
M19 SSM Rocket Launcher: Most commonly used light anti vehicle weapon. Man portable, shoulder fired, with single 2x level of magnification. Fires 102mm highly explosive rounds.
M90 Shotgun: Powerful, loud, pump action magazine fed, firing 8 gauge magnum (3.5″) rounds with strong recoil. Devastating at close range.
M9 He-Dp Fragmentation Grenade: Basic explosive device has changed no thanks to excellent design and flexibility. Well thrown grenade, will kill or stun most opponents.
M41 LAAG (vehicle mounted): 3 barreled, electric powered, link-less drum fed, vehicle mounted light aircraft gun, Firing 450-550 rounds a minute.
M68 Gauss Cannon (vehicle mounted): Asynchronous linear-induction motor produces bipolar magnetic field to fire 25mm projectiles at hyper-sonic velocity. Excellent armor penetration weapon.
Other weapons:
Brass-Knuckles: Get you energy sword depleted to zero. Do not drop it. Melee the Covenant to death by using only R. If you keep pressing R at the correct speed, you should punch the Covenant’s teeth out at amazing speed. You will punch so fast that when you face an Elite, they will not be able to move. You cannot affect Hunters. It is also weak on the Flood.
Brute Shot: It has rapid fire, four shots per clip, and almost every Brute has ammunition for it. It can destroy groups of enemies. It is very powerful and has an anti-Flood power. If you see Flood coming at you, melee them. They will turn to dust in one hit. It is the strongest melee in the game other than the sword. It can also kill Grunts, Drones and Jackals in one hit, Elites in about two to three. You cannot kill Hunters.
Recommended weapons:
One of the best combinations campaign mode is dual plasma rifles. With them, you can vaporize numerous Elites in seconds under the Heroic setting. This makes most close quarter fights extremely simple. A battle rifle in secondary makes medium to long rang targets easier as well.
Jump higher:
Play in co-op mode in any level (Outskirts recommended). Have one player jump on top of the other. Then, have the player on top jump again and keep pressing [Jump]. Then, have the lower player jump immediately after the first player. If done correctly, the top player should land on the lower one (who is in mid-air), then jump again. You can use this to get on top on locations you cannot reach normally.
This trick can only be done in co-op or multi-player mode. Get next to the structure that you want to climb. Have a player take out his plasma sword. Have the other player stand on top and keep jumping in the direction of what you are climbing. While player two is jumping, have player one look up and use the “Sword cancel” trick. If done correctly, you can reach any area in the game as long as you do not exceed the invisible barrier.
On any co-op or multi-player level, have you and a partner find an area where you need some kind of boost to get to a higher location. Have your partner crouch under that area. Jump on your partner, then jump (without falling off your partner) as your partner un-crouches. This should give you a big enough boost to let you jump up to your destination.
You can jump higher by simultaneously pressing [Crouch] while in the air after a jump.
Catapult:
This trick requires at least two people. First, flip a vehicle (Wraith recommended). Have your partner sit on the vehicle, then flip it. It should give you good height and good range. This works well if you have an energy sword out and there is an enemy close to you.
Scraping the “wings” off a Banshee:
Line your Banshee up with a wall so that the wing you want to scrape off is opposite to the wall. Barrel roll into the wall and the wing will hit the wall. This will require a few attempts to completely scrape the wing off and will drain your shield (if available) on every hit. Another way is to simply fly at a corner pointing in the direction you are going, or a pillar. Make sure your wing is the only thing that hits the wall or pillar. Like the first method, this may take a few attempts and will drain your shield.
Ghost tricks:
In multi-player-mode, turn on all vehicles and go to a place with open space. Get in a Ghost and find a tank. Go towards it as fast as you can. You will flip and do different things, depending on where you hit the tank.
Chose a level with the yellowish glowing boxes that blow up (Headlong or Waterworks recommended). Get in a ghost and boost into one of the tiny boxes and you will be sent flying. You can repeat this as many times as desired, or you can pile the boxes and be blown sky high.
Go to any level (Metropolis recommended, when you have to get on the Scarab). Back the Ghost up to the side of the bridge. It will start hopping up and down.
Play as a Grunt Master:
Create a profile and customize his appearance as follows:
Player Model: Elite
Primary Color: Orange
Secondary Color: Violet
Primary Emblem Color: Orange
Secondary Emblem Color: Violet
Emblem Foreground: Grunt Head
Emblem Background: Vertical Gradient