Warzone Fundamentals

In Warzone, there are two paths to victory. The most common method of winning is through the accumulation of Victory Points or VP. Victory Points are awarded for capturing and holding Bases. You can also earn VP by eliminating AI-controlled Bosses that appear periodically throughout the battle. The first team to accrue 1,000 Victory Points wins the match. But there is another way to win: If a team holds all three Bases, they can stage an assault on the opposing team’s Home Base, attacking their Core. Destroying an opposing team’s Core results in an instant win, regardless of the Victory Point standings. Warzone’s flexible victory conditions require constant vigilance and attention to the dynamic situation on the battlefield. While it’s easy to get lost in one-on-one fights, it’s important to monitor the flow of the battle and respond accordingly.

home Base Security

At the start of every Warzone match, before teams can rush out and begin capturing Bases and eliminating Bosses, they must first secure their Home Base. Upon the team’s arrival, the Home Bases are occupied by a large contingent of Covenant or Forerunner forces. These fights usually don’t last too long, as the team works together to clear out large numbers of AI-controlled enemies. But don’t get overconfident. The Crawlers, Soldiers, Elites, and Jackals put up stiff resistance—if you’re not careful, their numbers may overwhelm you, leading to an embarrassing early-round death. So if you find yourself alone, play conservatively, using cover and retreating as necessary to allow your shields to regenerate. When the enemies have been eliminated, your Home Base is secure for the time being. However, if the opposing team manages to capture all three Bases, your Home Base is once again vulnerable to attack—your team must maintain control of at least one Base to prevent the opposing team from attacking your Home Base’s Core. If the Core is destroyed, your team loses.

Requisition (REQ) System

Throughout the battle Spartans increase their REQ Level by completing objectives, scoring kills, and earning medals. The more successful you are on the battlefield, the faster you’ll level up. As you increase your REQ Level from 1 to 9, you gain Energy. Energy can be spent like currency to activate REQ Cards. Your current REQ Level is represented by small green hexagonal icons on the bottom of the HUD—the status bar above these icons indicates your progress toward attaining the next REQ Level.

Once you’ve acquired a higher REQ Level, look for a REQ Station to cash in on your hard work. REQ Stations are interactive terminals found at Home Bases and Bases, allowing you to customize your Spartan’s loadout through the activation of REQ Cards. During Warzone battles you can activate REQ Cards for weapons, vehicles, armor mods, and power-ups. Each REQ Card has a specific REQ Level that must be reached before it can be activated. For example, the Sniper Rifle REQ Card requires a REQ Level of six. So if you're at REQ Level 7, you can spend six Energy to activate the Sniper Rifle REQ Card, leaving you with one Energy. But don’t let the high cost of activating REQ Cards dissuade you from gaining access to more powerful weapons and vehicles. When you hit REQ Level 9, you can no longer attain more REQ Levels. So you might as well put some of those REQ Cards to use, helping your team secure a victory.

Bases

There are three Bases on each Warzone map, and capturing and holding these Bases is often the key to victory. Each Base has a capture radius, usually spanning the first and second floors. Before you can capture a Base, you must first eliminate all threats. Initially, Bases are defended by AI-controlled Covenant or Forerunner enemies—these threats must be defeated before the capture process can begin. If enemies are contesting a Base, the number of defenders you must defeat appears in the center of the HUD. Even if one defender is hiding out, the Base is considered contested. Once all defenders have been eliminated, the capture process begins. The more teammates inside a Base’s capture radius, the faster the capture occurs. So always attack Bases with a group of teammates in an attempt to overwhelm the defenders and decrease the amount of time it takes to secure the capture. Capturing a Base gives your team access to its REQ Station, allowing your team to activate REQ Cards, including vehicles and power weapons.

Once a Base is secured, your team gains Victory Points at the rate of approximately one Victory Point per five seconds of gameplay. The more Bases your team controls, the more Victory Points you accrue, putting you closer to the 1,000 VP necessary to win the match. For best results, try to maintain control of at least two Bases in an effort to outscore the opposing team.

power Core

If either team manages to capture all three Bases, the opposing team’s Home Base is open to attack. Normally, Energy barriers block access to an opposing team’s Home Base. These barriers are powered down when opponents hold all three Bases. A circular chamber sits at the center of each Home Base, containing a vulnerable Core. When attacking the enemy team’s Core, aim for the two blue, glowing cylinders on the front side. Rapid-fire weapons (like the Assault Rifle, SMG, or SAW) and explosive weapons (like the Rocket Launcher or Hydra Launcher) are most effective against Cores. As they take damage, the Core’s glowing cylinders change color, eventually turning to a bright orange—this indicates the Core is heavily damaged and about to explode. But attacking a Home Base’s Core isn’t without serious risk. With no Bases to spawn in, the opposing team members are forced to spawn at their Home Base, leading to immediate contact with intruders. As a result, taking down a Core is difficult, requiring skill and careful coordination on behalf of the whole team. Running into an enemy base on your own is suicide.

Boss Battles

The Covenant and Forerunner enemies occupying Home Bases and Bases at the start of the battle aren’t the only ones to make an appearance. AI-controlled Bosses arrive at predetermined locations every two minutes, usually deploying with their own complement of minions. Boss fights are never easy, requiring the cooperation of multiple teammates. But the risks associated with taking on a Boss are usually worth it—defeating a Boss nets your team Victory Points in the form of a bounty. The bounty you earn for defeating a Boss varies based on its prestige and durability. Standard Bosses are worth 25 VP, while legendary Bosses are worth 150 VP. The number of standard Bosses varies with each battle, but there are always three legendary Bosses on each map. While taking on a standard Boss may require the cooperation of a couple of Spartans, taking down a legendary Boss may take the entire team’s focus. Since Bosses can be eliminated by either Red Team or Blue Team, these fights introduce an interesting dynamic, sometimes leading to three-way firefights. Whoever lands the kill shot secures the Boss’s bounty for their team, and all players who've recently damaged the Boss earn credit for the Takedown.

So when fighting a Boss, make sure opponents aren’t camping nearby, letting your team do the heavy lifting—even if you’ve done 99 percent of the damage to the Boss, an opponent can walk away with the full bounty if they land the kill shot. In addition to holding Bases, always strive to take out as many Bosses as possible to reach the requisite 1,000 VP for a win.

Boss Takedowns: Developer Tips

» Avoid taking on Bosses and their minions by yourself. Coordinate with teammates to take down Bosses effectively, as most Bosses are too strong or are too resilient for one Spartan to take down.

» Acquire long-range weapons when they are available to you; they deal a lot of damage and allow for precision shots. Most Bosses possess weapons that are only effective at short to medium range.

» As a general practice, you should always eliminate all minions surrounding a Boss before taking on the Boss. This allows you to focus on the Bosses themselves without distraction from other enemies, minimizing damage caused by Bosses.

» Use the environment to your advantage. Several structures around each map allow for advantageous sight lines on numerous Bosses; they not only provide cover but also will usually give you the high ground advantage.

Vehicles

Have you ever wanted to race across the battlefield in a Warthog or strafe opponents with a Banshee? Warzone gives Spartans the opportunity to commandeer a variety of UNSC, Covenant, and Forerunner vehicles, helping aid their team in taking down Bosses or securing Bases. As with weapons, armor mods, and power-ups, REQ Cards for vehicles can also be activated at REQ Stations. Once a card is activated, you’re automatically dropped in the driver’s seat and ready for action. Ground vehicles spawn in a team’s Home Base or within a Base equipped with a garage, while aerial vehicles automatically spawn above the map. Although vehicles are fast and durable, they’re far from invulnerable—incoming small arms fire and heavy weapons pose a constant threat. So it’s important to keep moving, making your vehicle more difficult to target. Some vehicles can even be hijacked—if you get too close, an opponent can rip you out of the driver’s seat and take off in your vehicle.