06: Dome of Light

Forge and Anders move to a secret ONI base perched over a huge Covenant dome discovered on Arcadia. Request special Rhinos fitted with Plasma Cannons and maneuver them into position. Have them fire simultaneously and pierce a hole in the dome large enough to allow the Spirit of Fire’s Mac Cannon through.

Objectives

Win Condition: All primary objectives met.

Loss Condition: All buildings and units destroyed, and heroes downed. Not enough supplies to recover.

Par Time: 15:00–30:00

PRIMARY OBJECTIVES

Kill Approaching Covenant Infantry

Completion Score: 300 Points

The Covenant are attacking in force. Fight off the assault.

Request a Rhino at the Landing Pad

Completion Score: 300 Points

Call on Anders to send down a Rhino to the pad adjacent to your base.

Get the Rhino to the First Position

Completion Score: 400 Points

Place a Rhino at the Marked Second Position

Completion Score: 550 Points

Transport a Rhino to the Marked Third Position

Completion Score: 500 Points

Positions for the Rhinos are marked. Protect each Rhino until it can safely deploy at the marked destination. The Spirit of Fire menu has an option that allows you to use Pelicans to transport Rhinos.

Get Rhinos to the Last Two Marked Positions

Completion Score: 600 Points

You will need to get several Rhinos in position to be able to bring enough firepower to bear on the dome. Rhinos will be dropped at the landing pad.

OPTIONAL OBJECTIVES

Claim Two ONI Reactors

Completion Score: 400 Points

Taking control of the nearby ONI Reactors will let you train advanced troops more quickly.

Kill 50 Banshees [50]

Completion Score: 600 Points

A fast-moving flying unit, the Banshee is highly maneuverable. Equipped with a plasma cannon, it provides deadly and effective air support for Covenant forces. Counter Banshees with Wolverines.

Destroy the Dome Generators and Air Defenses

Completion Score: 500 Points

The Rhinos are all in position. Wipe out the enemy structures and bring down the dome.

Mission Commencement

Punching through the energy dome is no easy task, but first there’s a small but troublesome ground force of Covenant troops to wipe out, directly north of your station. Once you clear the immediate area of enemies, quickly begin a buildup, in a defensive posture, and a small expedition to the first four Waypoints. During this time, build two or three Supply Pads and upgrade them, affix two Turrets to the front of your base, and use your ragtag band of brothers to secure all the immediate supply crates surrounding the base, as shown on the map.

Before you call in a Rhino from the Spirit of Fire, it is cost-effective and strategic to send one of your Marine squads to the first ONI Reactor, located just to the southwest of your base. Send the Marine squad to collect supply crates around the back of the base; when they’re done, situate them in the Reactor. Because the Reactor is behind your base, don’t expect to receive heavy enemy attacks on it; immediately increase your Tech level without supply expenditure!

To the northeast of your station is a second and equally important ONI Reactor to take and hold. Claim this as early into the mission as possible, as you can start building vehicles immediately. However, this Reactor is much more susceptible to Covenant attack, mainly from foes landing on the concrete roadway in front of it. For this reason, send in Marines but periodically check on them—or better yet, use a Spartan to take and hold this Reactor.

[ and ] Waypoints 5, 6, 8, 9, and 11 are the locations for Rhino placement, but you must request Rhinos by clicking on the communications tower to the station’s east. Dropped in seconds after you request them (Picture 1), Rhinos are reasonably expensive, and you can have only one on the map at a time. However, they can fight alongside your regular army, so have one in your army at all times. As soon as you’ve built a few Scorpions, request a Rhino and send your small but heavily armored and armed force to the middle of the tarmac directly north of you (Picture 2). Bring the Scorpions’ considerable firepower to bear on any Covenant troops on the ground or on Banshees in the air. Gradually creep forward.

The first Rhino lockdown location is directly ahead—a vista point overlooking the giant Covenant dome below. Send your Rhino to this Waypoint, and make sure you clamp it down (using ): Locking down a Rhino allows for an additional attack and greater firepower to defend against the increasingly hostile waves of Covenant forces.

Expect Banshees and Spirits to periodically fly up from the dome and swing around toward your station (which should now be at Fortress level). Spirits are also a problem, depositing enemy troops on the tarmac north of the base and to the northwest of Waypoint 4. Once you clamp down the first Rhino, immediately call for the next, as Cutter hot drops in a few ODST squads to help defend this initial location. You may place an additional Wolverine or Scorpion to patrol the area near Waypoint 5 before turning northwest.

The Covenant have been busy constructing a couple small buildings near the second Rhino deployment point, so take your lumbering Scorpion squad, along with at least a couple of Spartans; drop in a MAC Blast to soften up the targets; and rumble in, focusing on the Shade Turrets, Hunters, and buildings, clearing the area. Clamp down your second Rhino just as you call your third one in.

[ and ] As the second Rhino clamps down at Waypoint 6, you should have another Rhino dropped in and a couple of Wolverines waiting at the Rally Point near Waypoint 3. Previous bombardment (Picture 1) has reduced the road to the third vantage point to impassable rubble, and the only way to reach Waypoint 8 is to call in the Pelican Transport from your Spirit of Fire menu (, then ). Group the Wolverines and Rhino close together so the Pelican swoops in and catches them all; then select Waypoint 8 as the deployment point (Picture 2). When they land, lay waste to the small Covenant detachment, and clamp the third Rhino into position.

Black Box 6 Just after you position the third Rhino at Waypoint 8, search a blocked tunnel entrance behind you, to the west. Black Box 6 is located here. You can quickly snag this without losing too much of your Time Bonus.

After Cutter’s failed attempt to order the first three Rhinos to fire on the dome, which results in a few more airborne Covenant units but no punch-through, you’re tasked with positioning two more Rhinos at the last two vantage points, both northeast of the main Fortress. This time, you may have to deal with an invasion of Hunters and some Locusts.

This can really hamper your progress, so time is of the essence. You need a strong force to charge past the second Reactor, from which you can disembark the Spartan and Jack enemy troops with your other two Spartans. Battle your way up onto the flat overlook, and position the fourth Rhino.

[ , , ] Continue to press on, with advance units already demolishing the buildings the Covenant are attempting to build at Waypoint 11. Transport in your final Rhino once this final route is cleared, and watch as all five Rhinos punch a hole in the dome big enough for Cutter to launch multiple MAC Blasts into the Covenant base beyond. You’re tasked with aiming the MAC Cannon, so quickly aim and fire, making sure each shot lands squarely in the middle of a Covenant structure or vehicle cluster. Next stop: inside the dome!

Sickness When you’ve shot your 50th Banshee from the skies (you may need Cobras in order to tag every one quickly enough so your Time Bonus doesn’t suffer), have a Marine unit (like the one garrisoned at the Reactor at Waypoint 1) quickly dash across to the hangar in your base’s southeast corner. Claim the Sickness Skull here!

Awards and Summary