The Spartan Program began under dubious circumstances. Children were selected and kidnapped from their families and replaced with terminally ill flash clones. Their parents would assume that their child merely died of disease. The training of the Spartans was brutal, and sometimes fatal.

Spartans were originally a means to quell human insurrection in outlying colonies, and the Covenant were initially not a factor driving the research. After the disastrous first contact at the human colony world of Harvest, Spartans were directed at the new alien threat. They became the most successful soldiers on the ground.

Spartans could never be listed as “Killed In Action.” The UNSC knew that even the presence of a single Spartan at any desperate battle was enough to steady beleaguered ground troops. Propaganda built up the Spartans as perfect soldiers, unkillable machines of war, therefore the loss of any Spartan could only be reported as “Missing In Action.” Over the three decades of war with the Covenant, many Spartans went MIA, and none was more famous, more feared by the enemy, than the Master Chief Petty Officer John-117.

In the aftermath of the Human-Covenant war, the feats of Spartans had passed into legend, and their numbers severely depleted. In a post-war galaxy, the UNSC knew that it needed the Spartans. The Spartan-IV project was intended to fill that gap, to create an entire branch of the UNSC that would continue that legend against foreign and domestic threats. The new Spartans are all volunteers, the best and brightest humanity has to offer all led by veteran survivors of the war.

Welcome to the Spartans. Welcome to Spartan Ops.

As a new member of the Spartan corps’ Fireteam Crimson aboard the UNSC Infinity , you will undertake missions on the shield-world of Requiem, where the war against the resurgent Covenant rages on. Taking place in the aftermath of Halo 4 , players are able to experience an entirely new story line with their own Spartan-IV, and earn experience points after every battle to unlock new weapons, armor types, armor abilities, Tactical Packages, and Support Upgrades. The best thing about Spartan Ops is that anything you unlock through these missions actually applies to the War Games multiplayer. If you feel like you’re struggling against the competition’s arsenal, you can always accomplish a few Spartan Ops to reach those needed upgrades.

Spartan Ops are found by choosing the Infinity option on the main menu. If it’s your first time doing so, you’ll see a cinematic that primes you for the action to come. Then you’re taken to the main Infinity menu, where you can access everything to do with multiplayer.

So You Think You’re the Master Chief or Something?

If you’ve played the Campaign on Heroic or Legendary, you probably have a few ideas about what you’ll be able to do against the Covenant and their Promethean allies.

• The Enemy Is Tougher: You might try firing up a Spartan Ops mission on Heroic, thinking that you’re hot stuff, only to find yourself getting killed again and again. Some Spartan Ops on Heroic are at least as hard, if not harder, than the toughest sections of the Campaign on Legendary, and it only gets harder. You will see higher ranking enemies appear earlier into your Spartan Ops, and they are all generally tougher to kill. Every enemy will try much harder to avoid taking damage, which makes weapons like grenades or rockets less effective, as the enemy is more likely to dodge away from them.
• The Odds Are Worse: You can expect overwhelming enemy numbers from the very beginning of your Spartan Ops. There’s a reason why these missions are not being handed off to regular grunts. Even a squad of four Spartans will be hard-pressed to achieve victory. We can guarantee this: you will never fight so hard just to get close to a switch that needs to be pushed.
• Lone Wolves Are Dead Wolves: While it is entirely possible to slog your way through each chapter by yourself, if you’re trying to avoid getting killed repeatedly, you’ll be moving with your group. Your chances greatly improve if you bring friends along for the ride, focus your fire, and in general, stick close to your allies to support each other. A maximum of four players can participate in a Spartan Ops mission.
• No Rush: Because the odds are so stacked against you, rushing headfirst into any battle is not the best call to make. If you are overly aggressive and try to take the fight to shorter ranges, you’ll most likely be dying more often and have to make your way back to the fight each time. This ties back to the lone wolves advice. If you’re going to rush at an enemy position, have some backup to cover your flanks.
• Your Starting Arsenal Is Limited: If you haven’t participated in War Games, you might be surprised that your Spartan-IV’s available loadout is fairly limited in the beginning. The Assault Rifle isn’t exactly a threatening weapon on higher difficulty Spartan Ops, and a Magnum is at its best when the enemies are unshielded and there is plenty of spare ammo nearby. Your starting grenade type is the Frag Grenade. Any other weapons or explosives will have to be found in the field. On top of all that, you lack any Armor Abilities, Tactical Packages, and Support Upgrades. It’s totally possible to succeed despite these disadvantages, but you’ll want to look into getting new weapons and equipment as soon as possible.
• Use the Best Tools: Headshots are the quickest way to bring down most of the enemies you face, so you always want to bring weapons like the Magnum, Battle Rifle, Covenant Carbine, DMR, or LightRifle within your loadouts.
• Ammo Crates, Best Crates: Many Spartan Ops missions have UNSC ammo crates strewn throughout the maps. These locations allow you to stay fully stocked for your UNSC firearms. These locations can make excellent points to make a stand against encroaching waves of enemies, as you can really cut loose with your firepower and not be pressured too much by limited ammo. Ammo crates never disappear during a mission, so you can always fall back if necessary to rearm and catch your breath. In general, always know where these crates are, so you can guarantee that you will have firepower when you need it most.

On the Next, Exciting Episode of ...

Spartan Ops tell a story distinct from the Campaign. How it’s delivered is actually quite unique. At launch, the first episode, consisting of 5 missions, will be made available. Periodic updates from 343 Industries will add a new episode to the story free of charge, each including a new set of five missions, until the season is finished. Every mission can be played on all four difficulty levels available to the main Campaign, which will affect your total reward at the end of the mission. All of the Spartan Ops detailed in this guide will be from Season One, Episode One. All missions were completed on Heroic difficulty, while playing co-operatively with another Spartan.