Watch mode
Posted September 8th 2005
Most Halo enthusiasts probably get their jollies on Heroic or Legendary, but you can have fun of a different type on Easy (or maybe even Normal) by using it as a sort of leisurely 'watch mode'. On Easy, Marines are fully able to cope with the Covenant, even those nasty Elite fellows with their toasty plasma rifles. Quite a change from usual! So here's what to do. In a level of your choosing, get to a nice battle and watch the Marines and Covenant go at it as you lazily sit back with a bag of popcorn and a fizzy drink. Some of these battles can go on for ages!
A great place to do this is up on the Marine plateau in the rockslide megabattle; see They're alive! where I specifically mention the idea. There's also good potential in the spiral path megabattle. However, there are plenty of skirmishes in normal play that are also fun to watch, even when there are only a few Marines. One such example is the bit in 'The Silent Cartographer' when you come across a circle of Jackals on the beach, with Grunts and an Elite nearby (guarding the way to the security substation). Get your Warthog buddies dismounted before the chain-gunner does much damage, then watch from behind one of the big logs for cover, or from the overlooking rise.
Stop press: I later found a particularly good battle for watching, in which Marines take on five Jackals in level 4. See Battle at the substation circle. Another good battle is described in Hillside reinforcements, for level 2.