Yet another Monday has arrived, ripe with new Challenges for the Reach faithful. This week's takes place in the Campaign space known as New Alexandria, "the crown jewel" of Reach, as Jun refers to it. But right now, with the Covenant's claws deep into its back, it doesn't look all that spectacular. Your job is to fix that in the Campaign mission entitled "Exodus":

EXODUS: LASO - 15000 cR
Complete Exodus, Legendary, All Skulls On (LASO).

Not sure how you personally do LASO runs best, but get it sorted and get into the fight so you can knab that sweet 15k worth of credits. Remember, LASO is "All Skulls On," so this isn't the day for medicore Reach skills. Cowboy up and go save yourself some civvies. If you operate best within a team element, come visit our forums for some awesome folks who will be glad to fight alongside you:

Campaign Challenge Thread

Ever have one of those Monday mornings? You know. When you get up and nothing goes right? Yeah, well that's the morning I was having, but I'm gonna buck up--because there's always Halo: Reach to brighten up the day and this Monday is no different than any other. Super sweet Weekly Challenge here to give the week a nice finish line:

NOT LOUGH, HIGH - 7777 cR
Earn a score of 80,000 in any mission in the Reach Campaign.

So if you're into Reach's Campaign, this is where you should really shine. Pick a mission you score loads on and make it happen. If you're not into Reach's Campaign, you should be, because it's awesome! Grab some friends and hit the Covenant right between the eyes, 80k points worth awesome is to be had by you!

Campaign Challenge Thread

Yet another epic Weekly Challenge approaches. I hope you guys got all rested up over the weekend, because if you're going for this particular Challenge, you're not going to get much rest this week:

DEDICATION/TIME - 18000 cR
Complete 24 Daily Challenges this week.

Twenty-four Challenges = 18k worth of credits. The math is pretty simple (even for my comparatively small brain), but you may need to gather together some friends to make this happen. So put a call out, get your boots on and let's starting chipping away at that twenty-four, shall we?

Weekly Challenge Thread

I know, I know, I know! The picture above has nothing to do with this week's Challenge in Reach. But Highlands is too awesome for me not to have that picture up there!

TIP OF THE SPEAR: LASO - 13000 cR
Complete Tip of the Spear, Legendary, All Skulls On (LASO).

Yet another LASO, so Spartan-up boys and girls. "Tip of the Spear" is my favorite mission in the game and while I doubt that turning on all skulls and fighting through it on Legendary will endear it further, it should give me better appreciation for how differently it plays. Need help? Check out our forums:

Weekly Challenge Thread - Campaign Edition

For those impacted by Day Light Savings time change (where an hour is stolen from you without mercy or hesitation), I hope this finds you well. If you're feeling a tad bit angry about the whole thing, this is your opportunity to take it out on someone:

CLEAR EYES, FULL HEARTS - 7777 cR
Win 50 games in multiplayer Matchmaking this week.

And keep your eyes open this week in Matchmaking as the Waypoint crew will be present and in full effect, with the Defiant Multiplayer Map Pack making landfall on Tuesday, March 15th.

Weekly Challenge Thread

I love multiplayer, but my favorite thing about Halo is its campaign experiences. Thankfully, the Weekly Challenges don't ignore my infatuation. Once again we're back with another LASO (Legendary run, with all skulls on) gauntlet laid out in front of us by the folks at Bungie, this time on Nightfall. An ode to Halo: Combat Evolved's "Truth and Reconciliation," this nighttime, sniper mission is easily one of the more difficult in the game. With no real vehicle play, lots of heavy-infantry contact and an incentive to bypass enemies rather than engage them, this mission provides some interesting shortcuts for folks who know their way around the shadows and aren't afraid to strap their running shoes on:

NIGHTFALL: LASO - 12000 cR
Complete Nightfall, Legendary, All Skulls On (LASO).

A sweet hunk of cash is getting paid out for this Challenge, so you probably want to enlist the help of a faithful few to make short work of it. Check out our campaign forums for some friendly allies to help you score the credits:

Weekly Challenge Thread - Campaign Edition

What is this, another space station Multiplayer map? That might have been your initial reaction in the wake of Halo 3’s Orbital and Reach’s Anchor 9. While Condemned is, in fact, a space station (easily Reach’s most well-known within fiction), it is neither Orbital nor Anchor 9, so scratch anything you knew or thought you knew about space stations in Halo Multiplayer. Let’s grab a beefy bite of Condemned and find out just why it’s so cool and fun to play on.

Click image to enlarge...

OVERVIEW

As noted, comparisons to Halo 3’s Orbital are likely to come first, but this is only skin deep, as the two maps share a subdued, post-modern sci-fi color palette. While Orbital is a series of corridors interconnecting two larger rooms, Condemned is instead a series of rooms elegantly wrapped around a central hub. And each room is filled with its own unique brand of combat, forcing players to change up their play style from one location to the next. The hub, referred to as the Center Core in-game, offers players quick shortcuts to and from the outlying rooms, but beware: its low-gravity makes movement tedious, slow and extremely predictable, heightening a player’s vulnerability as they traverse it.

TRAM STATION

Numbered as the first of the four primary rooms in this section of Gamma, Tram Station appears to have once been the push-off point for the primary mode of transportation across the enormous orbital. Rest assured that you won’t be hitching a ride off this station anytime soon (as there’s no place left to go, lolz!), but I doubt you’ll want to.

Tram Station

Bridge over Shotty

Lift Corner

When you first enter Tram Station, you’ll likely notice the Shotgun/Lift corridor first, calling to the forefront memories of Halo 2’s Lockout and its green-tinted Shotgun hall. While the lift system has been reversed here from Lockout’s, the local, close-quarters combat is not far off from the kind experienced in the lower levels of the Halo 2 classic. This comparison is true of Tram’s play area in general, as well: it is a composite of truncated stair ramps, stunted hallways and multi-tiered levels allowing players who are proficient with jumping some measure of success, much like Lockout did.

GENERATOR

The second major room in Condemned is Generator, a large circular floor wrapped around a generator column with a balcony girding its far side. Here the combat shifts to something wholly different than Tram Station, with longer lines of sight and sparse cover forcing players to stay on their toes and move quickly.

Generator

Perimeter Walkway

Sniper Rifle (topside)

While there are no direct corollaries between this area and other past maps, it easily conjures up memories of the perimeter of Halo: Combat Evolved’s Derelict and the circularity of the main chamber in Halo 2’s Gemini. Generator is also the home to Red Team’s base and is one of the two locations on Condemned which holds the ever-so-lethal Sniper Rifle.

REPAIR BAY

Number three on the list is Repair Bay, a quick jaunt from Generator, after dropping down a long stairway and turning a sharp right. Most of the combat in this room revolves around the center set piece, a badly damaged Sabre single-ship. A lift, and the short hallway which protects it, lets players get on top of the Sabre where there’s some safety, though that area can be particularly vulnerable once an enemy gets their act together.

Repair Bay

Lift to Sabre

Repair Control

At the corner of the room is raised control deck, which will provide decent enough protection if your opponents don’t have a slew of Frag Grenades at their disposal. Repair is most certainly the smallest of Condemned’s major rooms, but it can be especially useful when fleeing another section of the map overrun with enemies.

COMMUNICATIONS

Adjacent to Repair is Communications, a large sweeping room with a front row view of the Covenant’s particular brand of destruction—their elaborate and obliterative "glassing" process. The main floor holds little overall cover and is segmented into two basic sections with another tier hanging just above one of them. Here you’ll find the second Sniper Rifle and much like the other’s spawn, Communications provides longer ranged combat than the rest of the map. It also shares space with Blue Team’s base, mirroring the gameplay attributes of Generator.

Communications

Sniper Rifle (topside)

Main Floor

Huddled in between Communications and Tram Station is a separate room not connected to the Center Core hub area: the Observation Deck. Coming from Communications it is only a short series of corners and corridors away, including one holding the map’s only Energy Sword. Observation Deck, itself, is essentially an escalating series of platforms with some well-placed cover and clean lines of sight. Players with the high ground will, as expected, have the upper-hand, though they would be remiss to let their guard down, since decent players can close the gap in this space with relative ease.

CENTER CORE

And as stated at the outset, Condemned has a middle hub area connecting all four rooms referred to as the Center Core. Holding Gamma’s reactor, this site has very little gravity and forces players to move deliberately and carefully through the space. Twin pocket locations in two of the room's four corners provide good ambush points during Slayer, but they can also serve as grenade traps.

Center Core to Communications and Tram Station

Center Core to Generator and Repair Bay

Corner Pockets and Hub Floor

Players need to become familiar with the Center Core and use it to great effect in order close the distance between firefights or to even circumnavigate overrun locations. Proficient teams will also move flags and bombs across the core with ease and speed once they wrap their collective brain around the map’s overall layout.

STRATEGY

While the designers’ comparison to Lockout initially confounded me, after spending considerable time with Condemned, I've come to find that the philosophical similarities are unmistakable. Each of Condemned’s rooms have multiple points of ingress and egress, something that defined Lockout’s tightly-cropped, platform-heavy space. Though the lines of sight never extend the length of the map, the freedom of movement allows players to close gaps quickly and to even cut off fleeing foes by taking a shortcut to the enemy’s perceived trajectory, another prevalent component of Lockout’s design.

From Communications

Another comparison, and perhaps the most critical, is the absolute need for locational communication with one’s team, a staple of other compartmentalized maps like Chill Out/Cold Storage, Turf and Ghost Town. Knowing where your teammates are and where your enemies are (or are heading to) will always give well-communicating teams the advantage on this map, particularly since its locations are so precisely unique. Saying “we have two reds going from comm to observation,” for instance, tells me that I should get to Tram Station as quickly as possible and enter Observation Deck from the higher of two levels. It also says I should be wary of the Sword if I haven’t seen it used by others previously, since the interstitial corridor that connects Communications and Observation is where it spawns.

Sword Hall

The biggest strategy one can pull away from Condemned is use of space during objective gametypes. Because it is essentially a circular wheel around an interconnecting hub, an offensive player during Assault could effectively take the bomb from its offensive spawn (Communications) to the defensive planting site (Generator) a number of very different ways. They could push through the Tram Station (grabbing Shotgun along the way), they could head through the more linear Repair Bay route (seeking shelter if needed) or they could cut through the Center Core, snagging the Rockets (with Sniper support) and pushing right into the heart of the Communications room. And these are just a fraction of the paths, when you consider that the two first options allow the player to dive in and out of the map’s center hub.

Observation Deck

So remember: (1) Communication with your team, (2) grabbing the power weapons at the start of the match and (3) knowing all of the map's shortcuts are all super critical factors of combat on this station. With these three used together, teams should be able to effectively negotiate the tight corners and super sweet combat spaces of Condemned with ease and efficacy.

Continue to Unearthed.
Return to Main Article.

For most of us, Halo is synonymous with pastoral canyon beds, foam-covered rivers and enormous rockslides, all elegantly laced with the vibrant light of a warm sun. Halo is, after all, pretty. And in this regard, Highlands delivers in spades, but that's not all it does. Set amongst the mountaintops of Reach's Viery territory is a Spartan training facility, and, incidentally, the site of some of the most exciting and frenetic team-objective combat to ever find its way into Halo. Let's take a close look at Highlands and get a better understanding of what exactly makes it tick.

Click image to enlarge...

OVERVIEW

At first look, Highlands appears to be a classic twin-base, large-scale Halo map geared for team-focused gametypes, and more specifically, those which are driven by objectives like CTF and Assault. In the same vein as Blood Gulch, Coagulation, Containment, Valhalla, Standoff and Hemorrhage, this map favors mid-to-long range infantry combat with a heavy focus on vehicular interaction throughout.

Where it differs from its predecessors, however, is where the map truly finds its niche: Highlands is also reminiscent of Halo 2's Burial Mounds and Terminal, both of which used interstitial structures and terrain to cut up the play spaces, compartmentalizing combat into fluid and organic patterns. The end result is that Highlands is just as fun to play footin' it with a DMR in-hand than it is behind the bellowing engine of a Warthog.

Red Base (front)

BASES

At the far ends of the map reside its expected Blue and Red Team bases, a pair of squat structures which are nearly identical in layout. The arm of the base is single raised platform and series of ramparts which wrap around the front entrance ultimately connecting with a main tower, a multi-tiered, lift-traversable structure which is the site of many an objective. The tower has a variety of ingress/egress points, making flag knabs particularly interesting.

Red Base (rear)

Blue Base

On the ground floor is a gravelly, dogleg road which swings about the back of the base, around the tower and out the front door, providing relatively easy-access for light vehicles of most kinds (by default, you'll find two Mongoose and a single Hog in-base). Here also you'll find teleport chambers near the ramp to each bridge, throttling players to the center of the map's periphery. If you're coming from Red Base, you'll end up in the Communications center near the waterfall; from Blue Base you'll find yourself in the Operations center, cliff-side and near the Pelican crash site.

There are a few notable differences between the two bases (that is, other than their paint color): Blue Base is hemmed by a series of enormous stone columns, all of which are nestled behind Big Horn River. The environment is heavy-laden with shadows and features a looming rock wall at the foot of a nearby mountain. Red Base, instead, has a series rappelling towers and a swinging sheer cliff ledge, perfect for defensive ad hoc ambushes with any flavor of vehicle overturning weaponry.

CENTERFIELD

Base combat will no doubt be prominent, but much like other maps of this design, Highlands' centerfield is where most of the action resides. On the mountain-side of the map lies the Communications center, with a waterfall-backed platform at the top and a swinging underpass below, very reminiscent of the “Ribs” from Halo 2's Burial Mounds. Eerily-lit, claustrophobic caves connect the bases to this peripheral structure. And while only Red Team's teleport exits here, within Communications itself, a two-way teleport is found topside, near the waterfall, connecting the player to the cliff-side structures on the other side of the map.

Central Pond and Island

Highlands' own "Ribs"

Opposite of the mountain is the cliff ledge, which holds the Motor Pool and Operations buildings. They are slightly more complex than the previous set, bearing walkways, rooftops, close-quarters corridors and a sizeable garage; as well as navigated by an interesting series of vehicle-sized pathways dangerously close to the cliff's ledge. Whether by happenstance or by design, much of the physicality of the map here feels like some of the interior spaces you might remember from Halo 2's Terminal, a compliment to be sure given that map's historically positive reception. Here you'll also find Blue Team's teleport drop off, conveniently close to the nearby Pelican crash site.

Motor Pool (exterior)

Motor Pool (interior)

The shattered remains of the UNSC dropship offer cover to those brave enough to move out into the open, lying alongside a swelling hill at the center of the waterfall's runoff. This collection of water ultimately forms one of the many tributaries of the Big Horn River, a site that has only been visualized in the minds of Halo fans until now. Whether the Pelican debris field, the hill or the pond that surrounds it, this central area will become the site of many a battle, both on foot and in vehicle.

STRATEGY

Ignoring the Sniper Rifle's power on this map is impossible; if you, or a proficient member of your team, don't pick it up then you'll most certainly (and unfortunately) be reminded about it often by the opposing team. Fortunately, each team is awarded a Sniper and Rockets, so use them and use them effectively. In default Slayer, players should also note the triple distribution of power weapons across center: Laser, Grenade Launcher and Plasma Launcher, all baiting players for the classic weapon rushes of Halo 2 and Halo 3.

During Slayer, the power weapons operate as expected, but they will become incredibly useful during objective matches, where teams retrieve them and turtle-up in their base. Offensive strikes require sleek precision and close-knit teamwork; otherwise they'll be easily swatted, particularly by the Rockets. When traversing either perimeter, don't fail to pick up the Shotgun. It is incredibly useful within the building interiors' tight confines.

Cliffside and Operations

And as expected, the vehicles play big roles throughout this map. Warthogs are prominent if they manage to evade the Laser, while Mongooses are swift and nimble enough to dart around cover for quick flag knabs and bomb drops. Two Ghosts, sidling either rim of the map, can also give players a quick ride across Highlands undulating terrain, with the ability to get the splatter drop on folks standing out in the open like one o'clock half-struck.

Much like Valhalla of Halo 3 fame, Highlands will demand teamwork, communication and some weapon control. Thankfully, not getting the Laser isn't the end of the match, due to the extenuating cover patterns and the Sniper Rifles' long-range equalizing capabilities. Move quick, communicate well and if your team has what it takes, you'll be performing a successful flag dust off on Highlands in no time at all.

Continue to Condemned.
Return to Main Article.

As the first Firefight DLC ever, Unearthed automatically makes Halo history, but it’s not just a museum piece. This Firefight mission taps into one of the most popular components of Halo’s PvE (player versus enemy) combat: vehicle play! And it is here that Unearthed could really be renamed “Unparalleled,” since it deftly accomplishes things that only a few other Firefight spaces have dared to do before.

Click image to enlarge...

OVERVIEW

Unearthed is a large, open environment at the edge of a titanium-laden crater site. It is composed of a series of drop zones that the Covenant will use at length to encompass, overwhelm and overtake the facility, which is, itself, a series of buildings, walkways and platforms protecting the interior of the mining site.

BXR Mining Facility

Unlike many of the other Firefight experiences of the past, Unearthed offers a sizeable amount of vehicle interplay, presenting a Rocket Warthog at the start and later deploying Wraiths and Ghosts, which, when intermingled with the facility-based, on-foot combat make for an incredibly new and refreshing experience.

FACILITY

At the center of the map is the BXR facility itself. Players spawn within the building, and will likely exit it between a pair of gates which guard the interior and look out to the east and west sides of the map. After crossing the roadway, players will notice a series of buildings, rooftops and conveyor belts that allow them to reach the crane and outlying drop zones. The facility’s interior has a garage with a Rocket Hog and one of the two ammo resupply crates, with the first within the primary spawn room and the second just outside the front door. At the far corners the facility’s clustered layout are a pair of turrets looking out toward the primary Covenant drop zones.

Facility

The facility represents the main defensive site for the Spartans—the last place you'll be able to fight from when your vehicles and outer defensives have been burnt to a crisp. Be mindful though, as Covenant drop pods are deployed en masse around and within the facility’s interior and enemies can follow the player as deep into the complex as the primary spawn room, even oversized Hunters.

DROP ZONES

While the Covenant can deploy their troops in almost any location, they primarily focus on a series of strategic infiltration points dotting the map’s dusty outer rim. These areas are largely open, favoring long-ranged combat and vehicle warfare. On the west side of the map resides an empty vehicle depot with decent cover and large, winding paths which surround it; on the east lies a steep but narrow quarry, creating a tight choke point that can be dangerous to navigate during a firefight.

Quarry, Maintenance and East Gate

West Drop Zone

East Drop Zone

Ordnance drops which occur throughout the Firefight experience line the interior of each of these zones, close enough to the facility’s outer wall to make it accessible for both infantry and vehicles. And with respect to vehicles, three pathways cut across the center of the map providing convenient access to both sides of the map when riding. The three paths are as follows: (1) a paved road directly through the facility, (2) a dirt one just south of it (covered by a walkway and conveyor) and (3) a single path which drops below the crane platform, shooting across the southernmost part of the map.

Paved Road

West Gate

CRANE

And that brings us to the crane itself, a towering structure which rises high into the air, connecting to the main facility by a conveyor and walkway. Most of this structure is not accessible, but the girding platform offers plenty of combat opportunities for adept players.

Crane's Main Platform

Apart from it overlooking the two most heavily utilized Covenant drop zones, this location has substantial cover by way of its height and angle, as well as a few well-placed items. The Covenant can deploy directly on this platform, but usually only when it’s uncontested. That said, anyone who chooses to defend the facility from this point must keep an eye on the large south-side platform.

STRATEGY

For those who Firefight often, immediate comparisons to ODST’s Lost Platoon and Reach’s Beachhead are obvious and clear. Unearthed offers raw, large-scale vehicle combat, particularly when players manage pry the control of a pair of Wraiths away from the Covenant (1 Rocket Hog + 2 Wraiths = Amazing). The map’s three cross points and its large, organically flowing open areas make vehicle combat not only part of the map’s design, but central to it. All that being said, the industrial warrens and walkways of the facility’s interior are equally important, since many a session with end with players being on-foot and vehicle-less, forced in between the boundaries of the facility.

Vehicle Depot

At the start of any Firefight match, Ordnance grabs are important. Once everyone is certain they have the weapons they need to survive, an appropriately skilled two-man squad should grab the Hog and began making careful passes throughout the map as long as they can over the course of a given session. Other players footing it should try to occupy the facility and crane areas, using the high ground and cover points to their advantage against Covenant infantry.

West Drop Zone

East Drop Zone

Another component of combat on Unearthed are the Covenant drop pods which are deployed directly into the facility itself and on some of the nearby edges. These clusters of enemies will infest the industrial sections, making it difficult to navigate or even to find a solid defensive footing. Also keep in mind that during Generator Defense, the three generators are sprinkled about the facility area which will likely force the players to turtle-up near the structures rather than deal with the Covenant right where they drop.

Rocket Warthog (use me!)

The keys to success on Unearthed are almost as simple as they are fun: Use vehicles, use vehicles, use vehicles. When properly commanded, the Rocket Hog and Wraith combination is entirely obliterative. Fans have asked for more vehicle-friendly Firefight maps for a long time now, and now Unearthed is here, so take advantage of the extra firepower.

Return to Main Article.

Someone once made the analogy to me that life, as one gets older, feels like you're watching a picket fence from a car passing by. Initially, the car is going incredibly slow and you're able to count each picket, analyze each detail at an absurdly high level. As you get older, however, the car accelerates. Now the pickets are a single and constant blur that is impossible to calculate or quantify in any real way. It's the last day in Februrary folks! The year 2011 is two months done!

While I'm not certain how valid this analogy will prove in the end, I can say for a fact that Reach's Weekly Challenges have made the time fly, with their ever-approaching deadlines always on the rise. This week is yet another beast which will require your complete attention and an unmitigated dedication of time:

ALL IN A WEEK'S WORK - 17500 cR
Kill 1500 enemies in multiplayer Matchmaking this week.

I don't care what side of Reach you were brought up on, 17,500 credits is some serious cheese. While solo play in FFA gametypes might yield more kills, working together as a team can work even better, with overall success rate of folks working together for a common goal. If you're interested in squad'in up, check out our forums for other like-minded super-soldiers:

Weekly Challenge Thread