Halo on Legendary

[Carlucci]

I think I've painted myself into a corner on my quest to beat Halo on Legenday.

 

I'm on the Truth and Reconciliation Level, and after hundreds of attempts, I finally survived the onslaught that comes when you first go up the gravity lift into the Covenant ship.

 

Now I've got a problem: I've got one health bar, and I'm on the part where you have to go into the "docking bay".

 

I have 3 plasma grenades, and have immediate access to a needler with 53 rounds, 2 nearly full plasma pistols, and 1 plasma rifle. I can't go back to pick up weapons, as they sealed off my retreat.

 

There is a med-kit in the docking bay, and I've tried to make a run for it, but I just get nailed as the covenant have the high ground. I can kill a dozen or so covenant with the weapons I have available, but more just keep coming. I'm running out of ideas, but I refuse to give up and start the level over.

 

I'm going to try to tough it out. Playing on Legendary takes patience - lots of patience. You can't just charge in guns-a'blazing, or you will get dropped like a used rubber.

 

Anyone managed to beat the whole game on Legendary? If so, please share your experience and tips. Is this the hardest level on Legendary, as I've heard elsewhere? Or am I in for even bigger sh!tstorms ahead?

 

Carlos.

[iainl]

Hey, I found it a nightmare on Normal having done the same, so I'd be well stuffed. I take it you're trying the standard FPS onslaught technique beloved ever since Doom, of trying to trick the bad guys into blowing each other up with grenades?

 

Also, if you're legging it stick to the right-hand wall, to get some cover from those gantries. A couple of well-placed grenades before your run might persuade the guys downstairs to clear that area, too; they run away from any grenades they see, and don't tend to charge straight back there either.

[Camp]

I'd call this thread "Halo on Legendary: share your pack of lies"

 

I'm a decent Halo player but I think it impossible to beat Legendary unless playing co-op (even then it's near-impossible). People tell me all they time they beat the game on Legendary but, until I've seen it done with my own eyes, I'm not going to believe it.

 

So continue with your bragging...don't mind me thinking you're liars.

[Carlucci]

Well. I never! :shock:

 

Seriously, I'm doing it! Granted, I'm only on the 3rd level, and it has been excrutiating. I've been told that surviving the onslaught after coming up the gravity belt is THE HARDEST single part of Legendary. I hope that's the case, because I can imagine the insanity that will be "the flood".

 

As I said, playing on Legendary requires a paradigm shift, to use an all-too-frequent business-world parlance. You can't think like a badass anymore. You have to behave kinda like a coward.

 

Stay back, pick your targets. Lure them close, so you can take their weapon afterwards. Legendary is the first mode where I actually am making frequent use of the "crouch" button. Hit 'em hard, then fall back.

 

I've learned a lot too: The needler is indespensible for taking out the Elites. Melee attacks work wonders on the Jackals (the shield guys).

 

So believe it or not! I'm determined to keep trying.

 

Carlos.

[Chris F]

I've beaten Halo on Legendary, but ONLY doing it co-op. It was one of the hardest games I remember. But, it was also the most fun.

 

I have one friend who's beaten it on Legendary by himself, and I witnessed almost the entire thing. It was an amazing feat.

[exile]

I'm just getting thru easy level with alot of difficulty so count me as jealous if you can do it.

[ColdForged]

Feel free to call me a liar, but I've beaten it on Legendary. Twice, actually. Yes, it takes some doing and some luck. But it is possible, I swear on whatever you want. Some tips:

 

1) On the level Halo where they send out the world at you and you have to survive wave after wave, if you finally just can't keep up, go and hide in one of the little side installations. They won't come in after you, can can plink 'em down in numbers and eventually the game "times out" and they all go away anyway. Wusses way out, but sometimes you do get overwhelmed.

 

2) The Truth and Reconciliation level is the hardest part in the game, in my opinion. One thing to try to do is keep your sniper rifle and pistol in hand until you beam up. You can usually ping the first couple of invisible elites as they walk in, then switch to a plasma pistol / pistol combo to take on the rest. Eventually, when it gets too hairy, pick up the invis and start whacking from behind. You'll get on a roll during some of them, so take that momentum and use it for all its worth, lob those grenades and try to stay ahead of the waves.

 

3) The docking bay is tough. I still had my sniper rifle here, so some well-placed headshots was the order of the day. Pick off the elites from afar, then wait for the grunts to stick their heads out, especially when low on life. If you lost the rifle, the only other good combo is plasma pistol and pistol. Charged plasma shot + pistol to the head == dead elite. Needler can get elites too, but the upper level elite is tough to get with the needler, since he dodges so well.

 

4) Flood levels are best with shotgun and assault rifle. Shotgun the big beasties, AR the infection vectors. Hit the front explosive flood so you don't send them flying behind you if one blows up in the back. The Library is best taken with this combo. When you hit "the part" in the library, you can survive with this combo by getting in a corner and hitting them with the shotgun. Make sure to reload whenever you can. Don't run out of loaded ammo, you'll be flood fodder. Anytime you have even a 3 second break, hit the reload button.

 

5) Mixed levels I've found the classic plasma pistol and pistol combo to be best again if memory serves. Or shotgun and pistol. I tend to keep a pistol all the time, actually. There's one level that you can shortcut by grabbing a banshee, but it's tough to time correctly. The basic gist is to clear out everything up to the door to the outside where the banshee is (one of the ice bridges). Then go back and pick up the invisibility and make your way silently toward the banshee. The elite that pilots it normally isn't completely fooled by the invis, so you have to really truck to beat him to it. once you get it, you're golden. (I no longer have Halo anymore and it's been a while since I played, so I don't remember the names of the level that well any more.) Maybe Two Betrayals? Don't remember .

 

Some of the larger pitched battles can be tough, primarily because of invisible elites. All I can say is take the bastards out ASAP. Preferably from afar, with the sniper rifle.

 

Folks, it can be done. I don't know howto prove it to you, but it's definitely doable. Actually, I have an MPEG I recorded on my digital camera of my saved games screen from Halo from right after I beat it, along with the "special" ending. Maybe I'll have to post that to prove it to iCamp . I'll see if I can track it down.

[Robot Monkey]

Those look like great tips, Cold! Too bad I won't be able to use them since I stick to the "Please Don't Hurt Me" level.

 

-j

[HL2CROSSFIREMOD]

I feel like a loser, but Ive beat the game over 20 times (15 times coop - 5 single player)

 

I just really loved Halo when it came out.. it was practically the only game that was in my xbox for about 4 months.

 

Halo on legendary is great, it requires some tactics (not like ghost recon or anything) but more like planning

[General Zot]

co-op all the way. I'm good, but not that good

[reeldeal]

I've finished it on legendary three times.

I wouldn't have believed me either so don't worry.

 

That part described by Carlucci on the Truth and Reconciliation level is the hardest part IMO. It's funny it'll take me about 15tries but then I'll finally get through that part and I'll have full health somehow.

I usually try to find a "cheap" way to get through the hard parts. For example in that opening room after the grav lift I'll try to stay ahead of the door openings by lobbing grenades and shooting the invisible elites with my sniper rifles, then when i start to fall behind I grab the invisibility and when that's near wearing off I'll run up one of the corridors that the baddies come out of. Then you can let your shields recharge while the door is closed, you can control when it opens by simply moving closer and farther away.

 

I found the first part of the library very difficult, not as difficult as the situation mentioned above but definitely frustrated me my first time through. There's also another part in the library where doors close you in from the front and behind while the monitor goes to open the doors. Badguys come flooding out of the pipes and it looks futile...unless you go to the back corner and just sit there. Eventually it'll time out and the doors will open.

I'm telling you these "secrets" so you realize i'm not lying, i'm just incredibly cheap.

 

Carlucci just keep working through it. even with 1 bar of health you can get through any scene as long as you have the patience to try it over and over again. oh and NEVER leave your sniper rifle behind! yeeesh

[Sam P]

Oh god! You guys are dedicated!

 

I'm afraid I have neither the patience, skill, nor inclination to do something like that. Just a wee bit repetitive for me, especially in the later levels.

[ColdForged]

Originally posted by Sam P@Feb 5 2004, 02:48 PM

Just a wee bit repetitive for me, especially in the later levels.

Blasphemer!

 

[Carlucci]

Thanks Mark and ColdForged for the excellent tips. I hope I'm not sunk, because I left my sniper rifle behind before I even went up the gravity lift.

 

The needler does a pretty good number on the elites, if you can get them to hold still long enough to stick a dozen or so needles.

 

Once, I was able to force the elite on top to jump down when I threw a plasma grenade. I'll need to make that happen again, and then be patient for my chance to pick them all off and make a run to the health.

 

I usually keep a pistol at all times, but a FAQ for Legendary highly recommended having a needler/plasma rifle combo when going up the gravity lift.

 

Then you can let your shields recharge while the door is closed, you can control when it opens by simply moving closer and farther away.

 

That's exactly what I did, and that's what I'm doing now in the docking bay area.

 

Charged plasma shot + pistol to the head == dead elite.

 

Excellent! I never thought to combo-up on weapons, but that makes a lot of sense - shoot with the plasma pistol, then a quick double-tap to the head when his shield is down. I'll try that if I ever get my pistol back.

 

 

 

I will definitely keep your advice in mind if, NO, WHEN I finally get done with this level.

 

Carlos.

[ColdForged]

Once, I was able to force the elite on top to jump down when I threw a plasma grenade. I'll need to make that happen again, and then be patient for my chance to pick them all off and make a run to the health.

Oh man! That reminds me that I had the exact same thing happen once. I was to the right of the entrance, lofted a grenade at him and -- as God is my witness -- he leaped off and appeared to fall out of the ship! I saw his trajectory, and he seemed like he was heading right out the "window", and after killing off all the baddies I went back and looked and I simply couldn't locate the body. Had me heehawing .

 

shoot with the plasma pistol, then a quick double-tap to the head when his shield is down.

That is the way to deal with elites of all manner. Learn it, use it. Normally it isn't even a double-tap with the pistol. I got to where groups of under 3 elites were simply child's play. Round corner with a charged plasma up, fling it at the elite and immediately switch to pistol, careful aim at forehead, ping... dead elite. Rinse, repeat. Quite often I'll loft a plasma grenade during the switch too, that way multiple elites aren't hammering away at my shields, they'll normall jump to avoid the grenade. That gives me a good chance to switch back to the plasma pistol for the charge up.

 

Man, I'm missing Halo now . Maybe I'll have to get me a copy again to warm up for Halo 2 in the fall.

 

That docking bay is tough, there's no two ways about it. The entirety of T&R is pretty challenging, as is the later level where you find Keyes has... changed. Patience, accuracy, and some luck will get you through where planning doesn't.

 

library where doors close you in from the front and behind while the monitor goes to open the doors

That's exactly the part I was referring to. I don't necessarily think our solution is cheap. I don't know of another way to actually survive that on Legendary, there's simply too many things coming at you from all directions. The nice thing about the corner is that -- if you loft grenades past the ones you're currently dealing with -- quite often your grenades or the exploding flood will knock weapons or 'nades closer to your hiding hole so that you can re-equip.

 

See, in retrospect I'm not even hating The Library as much as when I first played it! Man. I'm jonesing!

[Carlucci]

Okay, I got out of that jam. I guess I had done myself a favor by not saving after the checkpoint, because when I started today I was back to the previous checkpoint, where I had saved.

 

So, this time I was able to go all the way back to the gravity lift room and get a needler with more needles and another plasma rifle. Plus I did the trick where you keep tossing the assault rifle/needler ahead of each other, so I was able to bring the AR too. And when I killed an elite on the way, he was kind enough to leave me 2 more plasma grenades to go with the 4 I was carriying.

 

Then from the door to the Docking bay, I needled the hell out of the Elites, nailed the grunts, and plasma-pistoled the Jackals. I got lucky and needled the Elite up top. When clear, I grabbed the health and moved around just enough to trigger the next door opening, which brought more of the same.

 

CHECKPOINT (with full health)

 

 

Dispatched them, but took my health down to 3 bars in the process. Got the overshield for dealing with the Hunters, and went back to my hiding room.

 

I never knew this, but if you really waylay the hunters good with needles, you can drop 'em. I took care of one of them with needles and did the dance of death with the other. AR shots to the back dropped him.

 

CHECKPOINT with 3 bars.

 

Now I've made my way up to the top floor of the Docking Bay, and I have gotten another checkpoint, but again only one bar. Had to quit for the night.

 

Man, it's slow going.

 

Man, I'm missing Halo now . Maybe I'll have to get me a copy again to warm up for Halo 2 in the fall.

 

Do it man! Another good way to warm up is to read the books. There's a discussion going on HERE

 

Carlos.

[reeldeal]

lol, i finished the first two levels with a new player named LCVG. I'll take a picture of the screen when i'm done to prove it can be done.

 

i'm in the middle of midterms so it might take me a bit though

[reeldeal]

blah

finally got past the post-grav lift part

I got about half a dozen checkpoints past it before I realized I was on my way to save Keyes and would have to protect his lame-ass which is frustrating as heck. I just remember there being a really big room and baddies come out from two sides at once, and keyes being the gallant hero he is runs around (usually in front of my gun) and gets himself killed right away. I don't need this stress tonight

 

my gf is coming up to visit this weekend, and i guarantee i get yelled at at least once. i'll say "IT'S CARLUCCI'S FAULT"

[Carlucci]

Originally posted by Mark Dubbelboer@Feb 5 2004, 09:56 PM

lol, i finished the first two levels with a new player named LCVG.

TWO Levels on legendary in a single day????!!!! I've been at it for weeks and I've only gotten this far.

 

i'm in the middle of midterms so it might take me a bit though

 

During MIDTERMS, no less!!!

 

Go HERE, but substitute,"DUBBELBOER!!!"

 

 

In my defense, I only get to play about 2 hours a night.

 

 

Seriously, though. Good going mark! You don't have to worry about me believing you. Having gotten through the gravity lift, I KNOW it can be done. By me? Well that remains to be seen, but my confidence is high and I'm gaining momentum.

 

 

Carlos.

[reeldeal]

I'm telling you man, move five hours north of friends and family and your video game time would increase exponentially as well.

 

I finished the silent cartographer (sp?) and just a heads up that the beginning of the next level can be a bit difficult. Just make sure you have those grenades flying into the door the second it opens, or else you're pretty much hooped!

 

This game is so fun, thanks so much for making me revisit it...again:)

[ColdForged]

Found the video and picture! The video is here. Let someone else try to claim it as there's, with that gleaming, lovely bald head at the end . The picture is from the final movie shown once you beat the game in legendary. A little extra something for the girls back home .

 

[Big Daddy Bling Bling]

I thought the game was easy on legendary, but I had my fiance backing me up in co-op. I can't really fathom beating it on legendary in a solo game. Heroic was actually the hardest for us, because that's the first point where you really have to know how to use the weapons wisely to target the weakness of each enemy. Once we had the strategies down, we blew through legendary.

 

Also, I agree that while there are plenty of tough parts in the game, the first room in the latter half of T&R is the most difficult. On co-op, one person would hide in the side tunnels while the other made sorties out into the invisible elites, but it took quite a few respawns.

[Carlucci]

I played ALL DAY (literally) today and got done with T&R, breezed (yeah, right!) through Silent Cartographer, and I'm about halfway done with Assault on the Control Room. Maybe more than half as I'm already out of the Tank.

 

It was a great day!

 

This game is so fun, thanks so much for making me revisit it...again:)

 

It is an amazing, fun game. It the one game that I know for sure I will never trade/sell.

 

 

Carlos.

[reeldeal]

Alright!

my girlfriend took an hour to study tonight and I got to play some Halo. I got to 343 guilty spark. Scary moment as I finished the level before i got a DDE and it kicked me out to the dashboard, luckily it saved that I had completed the level before it did that...phew!

[Angel P]

I only briefly played Halo and couldn't get past the 1st level. :oops:

 

My son, on the other hand, has beaten Halo on legendary.