How to beat Legendary mode

Legendary Primer

Okay: so you’ve just beaten the final level for the first time on Normal or Heroic. Think it’s all over? Guess again. Over the following pages, we’ll introduce you to additional features that make Halo 3 infinitely replayable (particularly hidden Skulls, Achievements, and the Campaign Scoring system), and we also provide an overview of all enemies, equipment and vehicles, with a bias towards expert “insider” information.

Before we move on to such matters, though, we’d like to offer a few helpful words for players looking to graduate from Heroic to Legendary.

Legendary is special. There’s really nothing else like it.

Playing Halo 3 on Legendary is like being invited to sleep with the celebrity of your choice, only to find out – too late! – that their libido is the timing mechanism for an elaborate bomb positioned under the bed; or riding into the middle of a shootout on a white stallion and saving the day, only to realize – too late! – that the horse is a bomb; or being forced to disarm a bomb, choosing to cut the blue wire after anxious, panicked deliberation, only to discover – too late! – that the scissors curiously left beside the device were actually the detonation switch.

In short, you tend to explode a lot.

The point is, though, the bits where you aren’t actually in bits are absolutely magnificent: challenging, savagely hard in places, yet the sense of satisfaction you get from beating a level on Legendary for the first time is, in our humble opinion, a gaming experience that is almost incomparably sweet.

There’s no denying that Bungie’s design team take a certain sick satisfaction in occasionally confounding players with ostensibly overwhelming odds. There are several set-piece battles that caused us to coin at least 43 new expletives (which, alas, we can’t actually repeat in a family guide for an M-rated game), and we don’t doubt that there may be a few battles that could leave you disheartened, disgruntled and discouraged – which are, let’s face it, three of the least pleasant things you can be that begin with the letter “d”. But these feelings pass, usually in the time it takes you to collect your controller from whichever corner of the room it landed in. The beauty of Legendary, you see, is that once it gets under your skin, you’ll not rest until you’ve beaten it soundly.

So: to help you get started, we’ve prepared a list of general tips that we’ll call The Seven Fundamental Skills of Successful Legendary Veterans. Absorb them and put them into practice and you’ll be all set for life on Legendary.

Use Cover

Beating Legendary isn’t just a matter of being accurate with weapons, or having fast reactions, or even possessing a solid knowledge of enemy behaviors and weaknesses. These are extremely useful attributes, of course, but the most important skill of all is the ability to pick, and use, solid cover. On Legendary, the rate at which enemies fire is much, much faster, and their accuracy is greatly improved, too. Linger in the open for a split-second too long during large battles, and you’ll be contemptuously cut down; even small groups of enemies are deadly if you charge blindly into the fray. You may think, “Oh, it’s only a couple of Grunts and a Jackal” as you boldly leap forward to do battle, but next thing you know, the Marine coroners are picking the Chief’s boots out of a nearby tree. Fools rush in; survivors choose a good hiding spot and wear their opponents down gradually.

Patience is a Virtue

At first, it may seem that Legendary involves spending 52.7%  of your time cowering behind cover, 34.16% watching the “swirling death camera of doom”, and the remaining period chewing the furniture out of sheer frustration. After months of constant play, we could stand with our backs to the screen while someone else plays and recite exactly what enemies will do, but even we still die once in a while. And sometimes, repeatedly. There’s no doubt about it: Legendary is hard. The surprising thing, though, is that you’ll find that you improve very quickly. And that’s when the fun really starts.

Divide and Conquer

Given the sheer number of foes pitted against you, frontal attacks are often suicidal. For that reason, it’s better to be smart and sneaky. Try to lure individual enemies towards you, or attack from unexpected directions. On Legendary, discretion really is the better part of valor. But don’t worry – it’s not all creeping around in the shadows. Passing a checkpoint is usually your cue to put gung-ho tactics to the test, and it’s genuinely rewarding when they actually work.

Know Your Enemy

Prioritize. Unless you face an opponent that demands your immediate attention (such as a rampaging Chieftain), pick on the little guys first. Grunts are individually weak, but collectively pose a massive threat. If you kill them straight away, you can reduce the number of weapons pointing in your direction with the least amount of effort. The same applies to the less damage-resistant Brute varieties (see page 130  for more information on Brutes, and page 136 to study a table that reveals which ones you can dispatch with the greatest ease), and Jackals. Of course, when you fight the Flood, your priority is to destroy whichever parts of the teeming, festering multitude are most likely to kill you first.

Aim For the Head, and the Heart Will Follow

Players on Normal can get away with a “spray and pray” approach to marksmanship, inexpertly taking down opponents with a lucky shot to the leg or wrist. On Legendary, you really don’t have that luxury. The quickest way to kill all Covenant enemies (with the obvious exception of the Hunter) is to aim for the head; with the Flood, hitting the embedded Infection Forms has a similar effect.

Use the Right Weapons

If you study the table later in this section, you’ll get a clear idea of which weapons work best on Legendary. As a rule of thumb, though, get used to carrying a Battle Rifle or Carbine at all times. The Magnum/Plasma Pistol dual-wield pairing is the Brute-killing combo that all true Halo artists will favor; if your inner barbarian demands a more immediate cudgel, you can keep a Needler at the ready for a similar purpose. You’ll also need to hone your ability to make grenades count – being able to stick enemies with consistent accuracy is an absolute must.

Plan Ahead

Having the right weapons, vehicles and (to a lesser extent) equipment to hand as you enter each battle is often the difference between victory, and Mr. and Mrs. Jub-Jub  having a war souvenir that makes them the envy of all their non-Spartan-helmet-owning Grunty friends. Some fights are maddeningly tricky if you attempt them with low ammo, for example, or if you have short-range weapons when distance sniping is required, and vice versa. Fortunately for you, we always take the time to prepare readers for upcoming fights in each Legendary walkthrough. You’re welcome to ignore these suggestions and pick your own weapons and wheels, of course – but on your own (severed) head be it…