Firefight Basics

Firefight Guide Lobby

The Basics of Firefight Missions

Setting up Firefight games from the appropriate menu is easy and is covered in your instruction manual, but we will cover the fundamentals of this epic (and ultimately hopeless) struggle against the forces of the Covenant. For this, we’ll study the following labeled screenshot and will reveal the basic tenets of Firefight mode in the process.

Basic Tenets

This example snapshot was taken during the Firefight Mission: Chasm Ten. Only information pertinent to Firefight has been labeled. Here’s how all the information breaks down:

1. Compass and VISR Readout: : This stores pertinent directional information and allows you to yell to your teammates when, for example, a new influx of foes appears and you need to give compass directions your team can easily follow. The periodic readouts (not shown) under your Health bar indicate when a wave has only a few enemies left or how many total points you get during a bonus round.

2. Match Data: This provides extremely helpful knowledge on how the match is progressing. The top section shows the number of lives your team has (in this case, seven). The middle section, comprised of a number and three dots that gradually fill up, indicates how far through a set you are. The bottom section, comprised of five yellow bars that gradually fill up, indicates how far through a round you are. Each of the yellow bars comprises a single wave. In this example, the player is three waves through his first round of his first set.

3. Skulls: In every Firefight, the same seven skulls become active at different times during a match, and the number and type of skulls varies from round to round. However, the same skulls are always active during the same rounds and sets. In this example, only Tough Luck is active. The more skulls that are active, the more difficult the round becomes, and this can lead to a change in tactics. The first three skulls (Tough Luck, Catch, and Black Eye) are activated during consecutive rounds. The second three (Tilt, Famine, Mythic) are activated during consecutive sets. The last skull (Iron) is activated only during bonus rounds.

4. Primary and Reserve Weapon (“Weapon Combo”): The two weapons you can constantly pick up, use, reload, or swap for new weapons are shown here. However, throughout this chapter, we refer to “weapon combinations.” These are preferred pairs of weapons you should carry under particular circumstances—tactical occasions designed for you to perform a particular task more effectively than simply rushing about without a plan.

5. Enemy (RIP): A number of Grunts have been blown off a high catwalk thanks to a well-placed Plasma Grenade. This foe has been labeled because it’s the ugliest and is heading toward the player. Enemies leave weapons and Grenades behind, and scavenging certain ordnance can be the key to surviving longer.

6. Kill Points: This shows how many points the player received for this kill (+143). As the object of Firefight is to accrue as many points as possible, the key to scoring a massive amount stems from killing everything in sight and doing so proficiently enough to be awarded additional points in the form of multipliers and other statistical elements. The different ways to augment your score are listed below, in the “Accrue More Points” section.

7. Medal: During your Firefight battles, you are awarded medals for particularly satisfying or amusing takedowns. These range from sprees (culling multiple foes in quick succession) to enemy deaths with a specific weapon, and they are an easy way to instantly see that you’re doing well. In this case, we won the Grenade Stick Medal for killing the Grunts with a thrown Plasma Grenade.

8. Match Data (Additional): The time spent on this Firefight match is shown (in this case, four minutes and 15 seconds), as are the current points or score multiplier (in this case, 1.4x), which varies depending on several factors, listed in the “Accrue More Points” section. Finally, there’s your score (along with the insignia and base color you chose when you outfitted your character). As this ODST trooper was playing a Solo Firefight, the team score isn’t shown but appears here during two-, three-, or four-player matches.

What to Do

After emerging from your spawning corridor (which can be one of two adjacent locations and is the place where you respawn after dying), your task is to get into a tactically advantageous position in readiness for a Covenant incursion. These take place from one of two locations:

1. Phantom drop : At least one Phantom dropship comes into view and descends to a drop-point location. Covenant spill out, either via side hatchways or a hole in the base of the Phantom’s superstructure. As this is going on, the Phantom’s Plasma Turrets provide a constant barrage. You can knock these turrets out of commission with explosive ordnance, and your team can then use them.

2. Monster closets : Nicknamed by the ODSTs, “monster closets” are sealed doorways you cannot enter; however, they periodically open to reveal an energy wall, through which you cannot pass but the Covenant can. Expect one or more doorways (or “closets”) to open at a time.

Attack!

Once enemies are present, your team takes down the threat until no more foes are present and the wave is complete. Then the next wave randomly appears from either type of location detailed previously.

Weapons Detail

Attack foes with the weapons you were given at the beginning of the round, which have easily obtainable ammunition at your spawning point; with weapons you pick up from fallen foes, which can be very potent, although scavenging for ammunition can be problematic; with weapons positioned on the map, like the Rocket Launcher or Sniper Rifle (only one team member should attempt to use this due to the lack of weapons and ammo); or with Turrets, which are stationary and offer impressive and infinite ammunition as long as the Turret is still attached to its base (if you take the Turret off the base, the ammo can be depleted).

How To Do It

Accrue Points

The one overriding goal in Firefight is to score as many points as possible for your team. You and your team’s specific points are shown, and once the match is over (i.e., you’ve all been killed, or you stopped the match), inspect the Postgame Carnage Report to see how you did. Remember that the goal here is to score as many points possible as a team, not as an individual. There are some tactics that help your team’s score and not your own.

Accrue More Points

Simply killing everything in sight is an excellent plan, but you should be figuring out how to make every shot count for more than just basic points. To this end, you need to consider how to maximize your score potential. Naturally, the bigger and more ferocious a foe you slay, the more points you gain. But there are other ways to pile on the points, too:

Skulls:

When certain Skulls are active, your points multiplier fluctuates. For example, when Black Eye is turned on, your multiplier value is 1.5x. When Mythic is on, the value is 2x.

Difficulty:

Choose a difficulty, and the harder the match, the more points you obtain. While Easy reduces your points by .25x, Legendary increases it by 4x. However, actually surviving on Legendary is insanely improbable, so Normal or Heroic are the better bets for an overall higher score.

Quick kills:

Tagging foes in quick succession (by constant headshots, massive wallops with a Gravity Hammer, or well-aimed ordnance into clusters of foes that are disembarking from their release locations) results in multikills. The more you do, the higher the multiplier.

Sets:

Expect your score multiplier to increase on each subsequent set you reach. Complete three rounds and the bonus, and your next set rewards you with a +0.5x overall multiplier increase.

Stylish kills:

Many of the more esoteric weapons have their own points multiplier if you choose to destroy the Covenant using them.

Multiple kills (sprees):

Killing sprees or kill chains entail defeating a large number of foes without pause (which is different from quick kills, as you can keep your spree going over time) and result in a large points boost. Try different weapons or vehicles, too.

Enemy threat:

Take down a Grunt, and your basic points reward is only 10. Take down a Brute Captain in armor and your basic points reward is 150. It seems like the Brute Captain is your takedown choice (especially if he’s carrying a Fuel Rod Cannon!), but can you kill 15 Grunts in the same time as facing a Brute Captain in dangerous combat?

Achievements:

There are nine Achievements specific to this mode, although eight of them simply expect you to score 200,000 points during a match on a specific map. A tenth, Vidmaster: Endure Achievement (passing the fourth set of a Firefight match on LIVE Co-op), is also available.

Friendly fire:

The one way to ruin friendships and your team score is to kill one of your teammates (accidentally or otherwise), as this reduces your points total. Reduce the opportunities for friendly fire by being proactive; talking to your team; and, if worse comes to worst, taking down a teammate who’s being reckless and trying to increase their own score at the expense of others.

Team Etiquette

Once a match begins, there are many ways to help both your score and your team without being labeled a troublemaker:

Getting into the zone:

Prior to the match, designate team members to patrol each area of the map. If your squad can handle enemy types in a specific part of a map, and the rest of the team are flexible enough to provide support when needed, you’ll go far.

Nomenclature:

Develop a series of nicknames for the scenery, buildings, and other structures that exist on the map, and provide periodic safety updates. Be careful using numbers that appear on barricades, though; some of those numbers are repeated. Yelling “Covenant Wraith, north courtyard! I got it!” should provide all the information the rest of your team needs to know (i.e., what the enemy is, where it is, and whether it is a threat). Compare this to “Oh crap, there’s a big purple thing, and I’m scared!” which is far less informational, except to showcase your ineptitude.

Flanking fire:

Enemies love being able to shoot or lob Grenades at a group of ODSTs bunched together; therefore, spread out across the map so you can cut down enemy incursions from two or more angles.

Flexibility:

Working in unison and learning the map layouts allows you to develop a kind of sixth sense so you know when a friend is in trouble (or when they are likely to be in trouble) and when the more horrific Covenant entities are going to show up during a round.

Prediction:

Although Covenant forces and entity types appear semirandomly, there’s some degree of prediction involved. For example, if you’ve just tackled foes from a Phantom to the north, it isn’t likely to appear there again. Being aware of enemies by sight or sound (e.g., seeing Phantoms on the horizon and energy walls activating in preparation for Covenant release and hearing the noise Phantoms and energy walls make) and waiting to strike is better than spotting a mass of foes spreading out before acting.

Preparation:

There’s just enough time between waves and rounds to tool up with your preferred killing ordnance; always stay on the move, and with a purpose.

Fighting style:

Some team members love camping out and sniping. Others enjoy tearing through masses of foes with a Gravity Hammer. Play to your particular strengths, although you’ll get further (especially on higher difficulties) if the majority of your team tackles foes from range.

Weapon specialists:

With the optimal weapon combinations available, you should choose the exact weapon types to wield ahead of a match, and ensure your team members do the same. Due to the lack of ammunition for some weapons (such as the Rocket Launcher, and Plasma Pistol in later Sets), having everyone use the same weapon is a terrible idea; you’ll all end up with limited ammunition and being overrun. Instead, pick squadmates with a particular weapon and have them choose a role related to that weapon. For example, the squadmate with the Plasma Pistol should take down Engineers and reduce Brute shields.

Pairing up:

Taking a friend with you can prevent you from patrolling a zone effectively, as you’re concentrating on each other as well as the enemy, but it has other benefits instead; you have double the firepower, you’re able to shoot from two directions, and you’re less likely to be outflanked or overrun.

A healthy outlook:

Each map has only four Health Packs available, which are replenished after every round. Use only one per round so your friends have a chance to heal, too. Also, it is always better to wait for your Stamina to recharge than grabbing a Health Pack; use them only when you’re about to die and have a pitiful amount of health left.

Stockpiling:

Each map’s weapon caches (featuring Silenced SMGs, Magnums, and Grenades), harder-hitting weapons (such as the Rocket Launcher), and Turrets that have been removed from their stands are replenished after every round. Increase your available offense by grabbing these items (especially the Turret) and carrying them. Once the next round starts, place them in a designated area so your teammates can utilize them, effectively doubling your ordnance. This works with vehicles, too—although, you must be holding a weapon or riding an enemy vehicle at the end of the round or it disappears.

The Postgame Carnage Report

After every match is over (whether you died or quit), you can review all your kills, medals, favored weapons, number of slain enemies, preferred weapons, and a host of other information in the Postgame Carnage Report. This shows you how each team member played, and you can hone their combat effectiveness in the future by playing on the strengths they display in this report. For example, if one of your team had a massive Headshot Medal count, you know they’re the best choice for sniping and using their preferred ranged weapon.

Legendary Difficulty

Playing Firefight on Legendary tests the mettle of the very best players, and simply ramping up the difficulty and expecting to last more than ten minutes is naive and reckless. Legendary Firefights require you to stay hidden much more frequently and usually result in your team staying close to their spawning positions and holding them. Unless your squad is comprised of truly unstoppable players, consider Normal or Heroic difficulty to garner the most enjoyment from Firefight. However, there is one map (Windward) on which surviving on Legendary for an obscenely long time is possible.

Patterns in Randomness

Now that you have a broad knowledge of the basics, it is worth remembering the following information:

No end in sight: There is no upper limit to Firefight. You can keep going as long as you have lives left and your hands haven’t cramped up.

Enemy waves: There isn’t really a pattern to how enemy waves appear, but there are some elements that are a constant: The first wave of any round always has Grunts and/or Jackals in it. The three middle waves always consist of different enemy types that randomly rush you. The final wave of a round always has a Chieftain in it—sometimes more than one!

Middle three waves: Between the first and last waves of a round, there are three “middle” waves. These escalate in difficulty and enemy type as you progress further into a set or during subsequent sets. For example, the middle three waves of the first round are relatively easy. But by the third round, the enemies and weapons they carry become much more problematic. For example, take Jackals: In the first round of any set, they wouldn’t ever carry a Beam Rifle. However, by Round 3, they will probably be using this powerful sniping tool. You can apply this rule to all the different enemy waves, with one exception: Hunters’ weapons never change; they’re always crazy enough!

Back from the dead : Look for certain milestones during a match for which you are awarded after the completion of a wave: If you are out of lives and everyone is dead except one player and that person remains alive long enough to see the “Reinforcements” sign appear on their HUD, they bring the others to life. Once this resurrection happens, the player is awarded with a special Hero medal for their bravery.

Ready for the next round: You gain lives for your team each time a round is passed. Between rounds, listen for the announcer to acknowledge the replenishment of your health and the respawning of all your weapons (including Turrets). Take advantage of this restock by “stockpiling” at the correct time.

General Tactical Advice

Use the following information to gain an advantage over the Covenant in this combat zone:

Pinging: This is the art of shooting a single bullet into a troublesome foe (who is almost always far away, partially hidden, or invisible), such as firing on a Brute Stalker so you can ascertain their location, to let your team know where a foe is. Refer to each specific mission tactic for more information.

Know your enemy: For every enemy type, there is a weapon proficient in killing them. For general strategies on taking out the various Covenant scum, consult the chapter “Know Your Enemy.”

Plasma plans: Weapons using this type of energy (such as the Pistol or Rifle) are excellent at deteriorating enemy shields and should be saved for Brutes, certain Drones, and Engineers.

Problem Skulls I: Be wary when certain skulls are active. In category one, Black Eye (which prevents your stamina from regenerating unless you melee enemies or use a Health Pack) is a real problem, so make sure you know when it is active and why your screen is tinged red and you haven’t recovered; then pistol-whip a foe as soon as it is safe.

Problem Skulls II: In Category 2, Tilt and Mythic are troublesome. Tilt reduces the effectiveness bullet-based weapons have on enemies with shields (Brutes, Shielded Drones, Engineers), making them more difficult to hit; use Plasma rounds instead or sidestep a Brute and do a melee attack from behind. Mythic doubles the health of all enemies; this makes headshots a necessity. With Tilt and Mythic both active, expect trouble!

Random predictions: Although waves appear randomly, the first wave of a round usually has Jackals to defeat. The last wave in each round always contains Brute Chieftains. Chieftains are always dropped off via Phantoms, except in Chasm Ten.

Turret plan: Generally, you should keep any Turrets on their bases, as the ammunition they use is infinite. However, this isn’t the case when you wrench the Turret off its stand. Stockpiling at the end of each round (not wave!) is recommended.

General Weapon Combinations

If the Optimal or Preferred weapon combinations are not available due to team members already accessing such ordnance, follow this general list of weapon combinations, which can help you survive a set or two:

ALL MISSIONS

• Carbine & Plasma Pistol
• Magnum & Plasma Pistol
• Fuel Rod Cannon & Gravity Hammer

LOST PLATOON

• Brute Chopper

CRATER (NIGHT)

• Plasma Pistol (Engineer takedowns)

RALLY (NIGHT)

• Plasma Pistol (Engineer takedowns)

User Preview and Preamble

Released with Halo: ODST are ten Firefight missions; eight separate maps; two nighttime versions of Crater and Rally Point, which involve more judicious use of your VISR Enhanced Vision; and Engineer enemies. We have thoroughly play-tested all missions and have recorded the optimal tactics in the remainder of this chapter. Here’s how the information breaks down:

Overview:

The mission name (and Night variant if applicable), the mission’s motto, and a quick overview explaining the general layout of the map.

Expected enemies:

This lists the general entities you should expect to repel throughout a Firefight match. Specific colors of Hunters or Drones are not mentioned, as they don’t tend to affect your combat. Enemies are not listed in a particular order, because they arrive somewhat randomly.

Special enemies:

Almost every Firefight mission has one or more specific enemy types that are particular to this map, such as the Jackal Snipers in Crater, or the Brute Chopper Riders in Lost Platoon. This tells you what to expect.

Expected vehicles:

All expected vehicular activity is noted here, including whether Covenant Phantoms drop in to deliver infantry payloads or whether other Covenant (or UNSC) vehicles are available, some of which your team can appropriate and utilize.

Weapon combinations:

Although your personal preferences may vary, we have developed (through months of play-testing) a series of optimal weapon pairs, which are guaranteed to prolong your life span in the combat zone. We also include preferred combinations that are advisable to utilize.

Par score:

The expected “par” (or average) score for each mission is noted here. If you can beat this score, you can consider yourself a true master of this map!

Map:

Always handy, maps detail the entire area, showing multiple floors, your spawning positions, the location of enemy intrusions, and available ODST weaponry and Health Packs. Recommended “zones” for your team members to patrol increase the usefulness of maps.

Tactical notation:

The remainder of the mission information is broken down into helpful tactical advice. There’s a section on notable offense, including what weapons or other equipment work well against the Covenant on a particular map; general plans, including the overall techniques to try during a Firefight on this mission; cooperative plans, which are specific tactics designed for solid team play; and bonus round plans, which help you maximize your score during the Grunt invasion between sets.