glyphstrip FAQ button
Halo.bungie.org
glyphstrip
Frequently Asked Forum Questions
 Search the HBO News Archives

Any All Exact 
Search the Halo Updates DBs

Halo Halo2 
Search Older Posts on This Forum:
Posts on Current Forum | Archived Posts


Firefight Solo Guide: Crater
Posted By: Monochron <Fleebop101@gmail.com>Date: 10/29/09 2:48 p.m.


I have read quite a few tips and tricks articles for playing firefight but the problem I usually have with them is that they are almost always geared for four players. The strategies they offer often only work if you have other players to cover a different role. I really enjoy going it alone and seeing how long I can survive and how high a score I can get with no help. If you want to go mano a .... Covenano and need some help staying alive and kicking ass, I hope this will help you. If you are an Ub3R l337 player who has no need for petty tips then I wish you well, but no need for you to bother here.

I am certainly no great player but I have found some methods that have let me get decent scores and I just really love playing some firefight. If you don't find the strategies telling you to stay on the stairs on Alpha Site or sit your butt on a turret to rack up kills very helpful then hopefully this will be for you.

Crater/Crater (Night)

I didn't play Crater for a while and, to be honest, I hated it the first time I played it. Manning the top of the stairs patio area was frustrating as you don't have line of sight on both stairways, and to get anywhere else you have to run into the open leaving your small sensitive balls completely exposed. After a bit of playing however, I found that the rhythm is in the hallways. Ducking into the hallways that you spawn in is great for dodging enemies and lets you pop out at the other door if you are trapped at one. Your primary tactic is guerrilla warfare; pop out of a door and make some kills then duck back and come out of the other door. With every enemy focusing on you it is very beneficial to be able to fall back and move around unseen. On very rare occasion a Brute may come into the hallway but here you are just one on one and with some quick fingers you should be able to take him down and chill in the hallway without worry. Obviously camping the hallway for hours wouldn't be too fun so you can spend most of your time outside, but always know that you can fall back to the hallways if needed.

Weapons

Your weapons on this map should be the same as any other. Plasma pistol(PP) and Human pistol. Pistol ammo shouldn't be too much of a trouble but if it is you should fall back to the carbine. PPs and Carbines should litter the patio area and it is very helpful to walk around picking each one up and dropping it again so that they won't disappear. The Rockets and Sniper are located at the opposite end of the plaza (Rockets in the room underneath the stairs and Sniper at the top of those stairs) and it can often be beneficial to grab them when there is a lull in the fighting and just keep them back in the hallway. Just make sure to pick them up every now and then or hold them when a new wave starts so that they don't disappear.


View from side of Patio

Turret

Contrary to most tips for Firefight, do NOT use the Turret. Without people covering your ass you are very vulnerable and your primary tactic is that of mobility and guerilla; the turret makes you immobile or if you pick it up, slow. If you absolutely can't resist its bullet hosey goodness you can try it out when Catch is off or pull it off its housing. Still be careful and don't be afraid to drop it.


Don't let THIS happen to you

Brutes

PP with a pistol head shot but if you are out of pistol, carbine works too. The Plasma Rifle is really good for taking down Brute shields as well so try that if you run out of PP. Brutes and Grunts will sometimes bring you Fuel Rod Guns but I would not go into to the plaza to get them unless I was desperate. Fuel Rods can be great for the chieftain rounds or just blowing a group of Brutes apart for some multikill action.

Grunts/Jackals

Pistol, Mrs. Jackson. Carbine if you're nasty. On Crater you can nail a bunch of Grunts and Jackals jumping down into the plaza across from the patio or from the left and right overhangs. In the case of tons of grunts it can be helpful to take them out while they are still in the plaza and not let them get up the stairs. Otherwise you can end up swimming in blue, and not the wet kind.

Drones

Drones... I hate drones. They have amazing accuracy and always have the advantage of positioning. Like much of your dangerous enemies you will want to employ a mixture of motion and hiding to take them down. Get in the hallways and strafe as you pop out to take one or two down. Your SMG should be reserved almost exclusively for Drones. It can take them down at surprising range but once the Tilt skull goes on you may as well never pick it up again. Try the plasma rifle or Carbine on the drones after this.


I hate them so much

Engineers

When dealing with the Engineers I have heard a variety of suggestions for taking them down but the only one that makes sense to me is the plasma pistol. One overcharged blast will kill it. By this method, it is by far the easiest enemy to kill in the game. Do not use a needler. Waiting for all your needles to make contact leaves you vulnerable and making all those shots is sometimes difficult especially from the back of the patio where it is safe. In ODST the PP can home from surprisingly long distances and it is important to get that shot off quick so that you can focus on other things.

Hunters

Unfortunately the pistol does very little against the hunter's gooey filling. A good strategy I have found it not to attack the Hunters, but to kill everything else as quickly as possible. You want to be one on one with these suckers if you can. Grenades to the head do a lot to take them down and of course power weapons help. Again you want to engage these guys on the patio, allowing you plenty of pillars and cover to duck behind, and you can always duck into the hallways if things get too hairy.


"Pistol is back" my ass...

Chieftains

For the chieftain round I usually hang back and let them come up the stairs. You are vulnerable to fuel rod Chieftains pretty much everywhere on the map but if you move lateral to where he is you can usually dodge them. This will be a time where you may want to just camp the hallways. Just make sure you have plenty of PP in there with you. Plasma pistol as many Brutes as you can early; if not to kill them then just to get their shields down. Luckily they tend to come up the stairs in groups and a grenade or power weapon can do a lot of damage. Depending on the situation I switch between holding two power weapons and swapping out one for a human pistol. When you see a hammer chieftain, run towards him, not away, and jump over him as he swings. He will deal almost no damage to you and you can spin and pump his back full of any weapon. I usually try Rockets or Fuel Rod and quickly get his hammer.

Blackeye Round

There aren't really any specific strategies for Blackeye on Crater. Generally stay conservative and use the Hammer if you have it, it counts as a melee. Stick to your hallways if you need to but be VERY careful to not touch the health packs. They are right in the door and it is very easy to accidentally take one because your shield will constantly be down.


You will miss them when they're gone

In the interest of being conservative and staying alive at all times you want to be around the patio at the top of the stairs and moving. Moving seems obvious, especially during the catch rounds, but this can also include how you take cover. Don't dodge out of the way behind something, but try to make it a fluid motion so that even if you are putting something between yourself and an enemy you are moving from that position to another. One thing that I have found when catch is on is that moving in circles helps. As you get surrounded by grenades you can circle out and towards your opponent as they are busy throwing grenades as fast as they can. This lets you avoid damage while getting close for a stick or melee and by the time you are back at the beginning of your circle the grenades that were there have already exploded.
Let them come to you. The farthest I go is about halfway down the stairs but I spend most of my time on the patio or in the hallways. From the stairs you can get some kills but you have to be quick to retreat and watch the other side. Once they are up close and personal with you though it is helpful to move around them a lot. Trying to do a zig-zag pattern in and out of cover generally confuses enemies enough so that you can come around behind them or attack someone else for a bit. Try not to keep them on one side of the patio and you on the other, they can easily adapt to that. What they have trouble with is someone who keeps disappearing or who always keeps a box between themselves and the enemy.

One final thing that I have found useful here is when there are loads of brutes down in the plaza to not worry about killing them, but to hit as many as you can with charged PP shots. This way quite a few will berserk, significantly reducing the amount of enemies firing at you. Knock down 5 or 6 shields and once they make it up the stairs you should be able to take them out with grenades and headshots.

And if all of this ultimately fails you, you can always light yourself on fire and punch 'em in the gun.


Eye of the Tiger

I plan on making one of these for each level of Firefight, unless people hate them or something. Feedback is welcome as well!


Message Index




Replies:

Firefight Solo Guide: CraterMonochron 10/29/09 2:48 p.m.
     Hope it's okay...Louis Wu 10/29/09 3:34 p.m.
           Re: Hope it's okay...FyreWulff 10/29/09 4:06 p.m.
                 Re: Hope it's okay...SonofMacPhisto 10/29/09 4:28 p.m.
     Re: Firefight Solo Guide: CraterSonofMacPhisto 10/29/09 4:27 p.m.
           Re: Firefight Solo Guide: CraterMonochron 10/29/09 6:23 p.m.
                 Re: Firefight Solo Guide: CraterSonofMacPhisto 10/29/09 10:05 p.m.
     Re: Firefight Solo Guide: CraterThe More Deluded 10/29/09 4:35 p.m.
     Re: Firefight Solo Guide: CraterJR the Great 10/29/09 5:56 p.m.
           Re: Firefight Solo Guide: CraterMonochron 10/29/09 6:09 p.m.
     Re: Firefight Solo Guide: Craterdaypay------WebKitFormBoundaryCALEzEwoTUxc1+eM 10/29/09 7:05 p.m.
           Re: Firefight Solo Guide: CraterSonofMacPhisto 10/29/09 9:56 p.m.



contact us

The HBO Forum Archive is maintained with WebBBS 4.33.