Previews and Preambles

Campaign Missions

The Basics of Campaign Missions

The Training section of this guide revealed the basic tenets of Campaign mode, along with a labeled screenshot and basic movement and weapon functionality. The following introduces the structure of the Campaign Walkthrough, which provides countless effective strategies for achieving impressive results in this main gameplay mode.

User Preview and Preamble

There are nine Campaign missions and a tenth additional outing, once you’ve completed the Campaign for the first time. Aside from the first, eighth, and ninth mission, each mission is separated into two different sections: (1) the first is a flashback to a series of battles undertaken by various members of your ODST squad, with Buck, Dutch, Mickey, and Romeo on their general quest to locate Dare and complete her secretive sortie; and (2) after these “flashbacks,” the action moves to the New Mombasa city streets at night, and you play the role of Rookie, whose landing was so severe, it knocked him out for six hours. He must piece together what happened for the rest of the ODST team by finding a series of clues scattered throughout the city, which directly react to the flashback sections of the next mission.

The “tenth” mission simply grants you access to all the New Mombasa streets and allows you to thoroughly explore the city, ideally to complete your collection of supersecret COMM Terminal data locations. A tour of New Mombasa is showcased after the walkthrough to help you navigate this sprawling metropolis.

The flashback sections take place between 0 and 6 hours after drop, in a variety of locales (including New Mombasa streets). The Rookie sections take place six or more hours after drop. All missions have been thoroughly play-tested, and the optimal tactics have been recorded in the remainder of this chapter. As the Rookie sections allow you to access subsequent missions in different orders, the safest chronological path is shown. Here’s how the information breaks down:

1. Overview:

Provides the mission name and a quick overview of the flashback portion of the mission.

2. Squad Data:

This gives verbal and visual representation of who you are playing as, where you are, and how long after the drop the mission takes place.

3. Data Stream:

The time, given as a percentage, you should expect to activate your VISR Enhanced Vision (aka “Target Acquisition”) mode. Basically, this shows you how dark the mission is!

3. Comm Data Stream:

There are two specific unlockable actions that occur only if you are playing Rookie sections; the location of 30 COMM Terminals, which in turn open eight weapon caches throughout New Mombasa (and unlock Achievements in the process). The “Tour of New Mombasa” section at the back of this walkthrough reveals more information regarding this.

4. Preferred Weapons:

With the wide variety of ordnance you are given or can scavenge, you may be wondering which type is tailored to your current situation. This lists the top five, along with any other pertinent data. Consult the “Weapons Detail” chapter for specific, in-game examples of weapon usage.

5. Par Score:

The expected “Par” (or average) score for each mission is noted here, after which you can consider yourself a true master of this map!

6. Level-Specific Achievements:

Each mission has some Achievements that you can complete only in that particular section; these are duly noted so you never need worry about missing particular goals. Refer to the “Appendices” at the back of this book for specific advice for obtaining every Achievement, mission-related or not.

7. Map:

Each Campaign section receives its own highly detailed map, showing the location of major weapon drops, choke points, and goals to find.

8. Objectives:

Your HUD periodically updates with new objectives. This list, which also appears as you are given a new objective, details the tasks you are given for this section of the mission.

9. Choke Points:

Using a mixture of common sense, the NAV map data, and this guide’s maps, you should be able to navigate through each of the missions without reading directional commands (although major routes are recommended). However, the main areas where you should expect problems, clusters of enemies, or specific and highly valuable advice are listed.

Choke points appear on the in-guide map and are divided into lists (1A, 1B, 1C, etc.), all of which are related to areas on the map and your mission. Simply refer to the labeled screenshot for visual representation of each choke-point location. When you reach a location, it is flagged in the text (for example, [1A]).

10. Entities:

It is important to know the type of foes you’re about to face before you engage them. This offers a quick view of UNSC and Covenant entities you should expect, so you can plan appropriate action.

11. Tactical Advice:

Each choke point receives in-depth analysis and advice. There is copious general information, designed to help you regardless of your difficulty setting. In addition, there are specific callouts designed to help with particular issues.

Cautions,  Notes, and  Tips: These flag specific elements of a choke point that are dangerous (Cautions), interesting (Notes), or helpful (Tips).

Certain choke points require information designed specifically for a particular difficulty level. Look for the Normal, Heroic, or Legendary text; the associated tactical advice is written precisely for this difficulty level. For example, if you see “Heroic” text, the advice will help you the most if you are playing on this difficulty, although it is still helpful for other difficulties, too.

Generally, the advice shown can be applied when you play through with up to three other people on your team. However, there are certain tactics that you can attempt only with multiple squadmates, and these are duly revealed.