A triple dose of heavy duty carnage with my pass blockade rumble plan!

(6:58) Level 5 ('Assault on the Control Room') on Heroic. This shows three plays of a spiral path megabattle save featuring 53 covies, most of whom start behind a 3-Ghost blockade at the pass exit. I use the pass blockade rumble plan each time but vary my weapon combo from play to play. Plenty of rockets involved!

Released March 6th 2017, gameplay recorded March 4th 2017.

00:02 (Play 1 - Rocket launcher & needler) After blasting the blockade to release the mob, I sink to the ice and swap my sniper rifle for a needler. Nearing the top of the path, my first plasma throw is rather long but my second tags an Elite, and meanwhile a stream of needles makes another Elite go bang. There's a bit more carnage besides.

00:38 With a bunch of four Elites galloping forward, I back off to keep some distance while throwing another plasma then firing needles. The plasma kills the two at the back, and the sniper Marine picks off the one at the front. The other guy staggers from needling but isn't quite down, and I elect to finish him with a rocket, to make sure he doesn't get loose among the Marines. Two Jackals are next in line, advancing with shields overhead. I think they wanna go home, but I'd say they're heading the wrong way. I take care of them with my second tube, though on reflection I think it would've been better to use a frag instead, and save the rocket for what's behind them.

00:54 After reloading the launcher I lob a quick frag, which blasts one Jackal and makes another dive off the cliff. I fire a few needles at two close Elites but it's not working fast enough so I blast them with a rocket. Next there's an Elite further behind, and when I see him start to do a sidestep, I see my opportunity for hitting him straight on with a rocket. BLAM! Most satisfying.

01:08 Lots of minors panic and I lob a frag into their midst, killing three Jackals. Next I fire a stream of needles to take out the blue Elite near the trees, but as I'm doing that, I see the cloaked Elite closing in on the Marines. No need to panic though; I switch to the launcher in good time and blast him. The rocket is deliberately placed behind him so it doesn't hurt the leading Marine.

01:17 Actually that Marine is on death's door. He starts to rage and it's no surprise that he's killed a few seconds later by Elite fire. Two of them are attacking now. I quickly get the one further back with a rocket (there was a glut of covies there, making an appealing target), but the lead guy takes a while longer, during which time another Marine is killed - already weakened by a Hunter shot which sailed in from afar.

01:31 That looks like the last of the Elites. Advancing with my launcher, I have an eye on a pair of yellow-shielded Jackals but I think my aim gets interfered with by a close panicking Grunt. At any rate the rocket ends up blasting two Grunts instead, after which I whack the close guy. With a bleeping shield and reloading to do, I then opt to head across to the tree, to let the Marines take up the slack for a while. There I find two Grunts and I leave them with a frag. Coming back out, the two Jackals have advanced but I get them with a frag placed nicely in between. Really liked that one!

01:48 A Jackal at the far rock is sending in fire so I send a few needles and a plasma grenade his way, but then I get busy on a Hunter who's advanced out of the pass. First I shake him up with a rocket, then tag and needle him. I'm not sure whether it's the needles or a sniper round which finishes him off, but anyway, he's down.

01:59 Turning, and evading the second Hunter who's giving chase, I take care of the two Jackals at the far rock (my earlier plasma grenade evidently didn't work). I let needles pile into the front guy and I throw a plasma to get the second. As for the Hunter, I have a bit of fun with needles and a plasma grenade before finally electing to blast him with a rocket. That just leaves a Grunt in the pass. I pile some needles into him but the sniper steals my kill. Bah! Two Marines survive.

02:26 (Play 2 - Plasma combo) I wanted to show different flight patterns for the blockade blasting in each of my plays, so this time I do it a different way, veering off into a descending right curve after the blast. After equipping myself with plasma weapons I throw a plasma grenade up and it kills an Elite. In fact I believe it tagged him. Nice start!

02:52 A red Elite is already starting to gallop down the path as I head up, but I stun him with a plasma ball then tag him. While he's busy dying I throw a frag further back and it kills a couple of Grunts. A blue Elite is next in line. I zap him with my rifle then throw a frag which I'm hoping will also kill some other troops, but actually I think it only takes out the Elite. More Elites are pressing forward and I've already lost a few health bars, so I have to back off down the path, but I throw a plasma as I go and it tags one of the Elites. The subsequent blast is quite satisfying, killing two Elites and a Jackal, if not more.

03:15 That gives me a bit of a reprieve and I'm able to do some recharging and get to the top of the path at last. There's a glut of covies holding back and some excellent carnage ensues, involving a number of pleasing grenade blasts. Two of my plasma throws are tags; the first gets an Elite I think, and the second gets a Jackal. The cloaked Elite dies around 3:32.

03:41 With most of the glut taken out, I advance towards the tree and kill the blue Elite there, then back off and do some work mopping up panicking minors, mostly Jackals.

03:55 Seeing a Grunt still alive near the tree, with Marines in danger close by, I head over and zap him, and briefly enjoy the cover afforded by the tree and rocks. But I head back out with urgency after hearing heavy fire. A nasty red Elite has turned up late, rallying the Jackals! I stun him quick with a plasma ball then finish him with the rifle, but he already killed a Marine and I can hear another guy raging. I kill minors as fast as I can, temporarily ignoring the Hunter who's emerged from the pass.

04:16 Finally I focus on the Hunter, and unfortunately there's a bit of a mishap when I tag him with a plasma grenade. He runs at a Marine who then dies in the blast; plus there's a chain reaction which kills some other slow-witted doofus. C'mon guys, work with me here! It takes another tag and more plasma fire to put the Hunter down.

04:30 That just leaves the second Hunter plus four Grunts. Two of them die after I tag one. A third dies from my plasma pistol fire, and the fourth gets fragged by a Marine. As for the Hunter, I wear him down with melee and plasma fire. Only one Marine survives.

04:54 (Play 3 - Rocket launcher & pistol) Again using a different flight pattern for the blasting, I curve in from the right then sneak down under the dropship as it arrives. After grabbing a pistol I head up the path but briefly turn sideways to slam a rocket into the top of the cliff, killing an Elite. Another is shaken.

05:20 My first plasma throw looks to be too long but I do better with a rocket, firing it along the cliff side to slam into the top again, killing an Elite and a Grunt. I kill the leading Elite with pistol fire but then back off from the pressure, throwing a plasma as I go. It tags an Elite and then I get another with pistol fire.

05:38 Looks safe enough to advance again now, and I throw a frag as I go, blasting a Jackal. As I reach the top it becomes clear that the covies have been partly held up at the blockade, because there's no big mob in sight. That gives me chance to sort out the tree group without much trouble.

05:54 With all close covies now killed, I lob a frag at the two Jackals on the far left, and then a plasma towards the blockade. But then some of the mob is upon me, lead by an Elite and a Grunt. A plasma ball sneaks through from behind and takes me by surprise, but on the plus side I eliminate the leading Elite and Grunt with a rocket. As I back off I kill a needling blue Elite with another rocket, briefly jumping to help with accuracy. I evade most of his needles but a few catch me and I go down to three health bars.

06:05 Now behind the Marines, I lob a plasma quite deep but I'm not sure it does any damage. Before it goes off I slam a rocket into an Elite further back, which also kills a Jackal. Meanwhile the Marines have taken down the closest Elite. Good job guys! Now a blue Elite gets close, but I quickly blast him.

06:12 Reloading the launcher as I go, I advance along the cliff edge. I thought all the Elites were dead but it turns out there's one left. I spot a red heading into battle but he doesn't get far. I stop him with a rocket. There's now a mass of mostly panicking Grunts and Jackals to deal with, and I set about it, but I'm not quite attentive enough to a Grunt with a needler. A few of his needles reduce my health to only one bar. Not good! Right after that, there's also a rocket mishap with two Jackals by the rock. I was trying to neatly rocket the wall, but the nearest Jackal backs off into the line of fire and gets hit. At the same time the lead Marine stumbles forward due to friendly fire, and the net result is that he ends up closer to the blast than I planned - and he's toast. Oops!

06:31 I rocket the Hunter who's starting to advance out of the pass, but it takes a pistol shot in the back to put him down. That leaves a bunch of Grunts plus a Hunter, all still in the pass. When I hear a Marine yell "Frag out!" I have the sense to hold back. A few Grunts are killed by the blast. Advancing, I get the final Grunt with a headshot, and the sniper gets the Hunter. Four Marines live to fight another day.

Closing remarks The save used is the same one as in BCM68 and BCM69, movies which likewise focused on the pass blockade rumble plan (respectively with early and late release of the horde). I really should've revisited that battle plan sooner, because the carnage is terrific. BCM68 was a double play but I stepped things up to a triple play this time, as I found I could squeeze three plays into less than seven minutes. Another difference is that after blasting the blockade, I land at the base of the path (joining the Marines) then run up it, whereas in BCM68 I landed at the top of the path. This tends to make things a bit tougher and more situationally random, because I'm arriving at the top of the path later.

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