The Flood think they're gonna make me jump off the ship at the start of Keyes, but I ain't budging. Welcome to the Flood onslaught challenge…

(2:44) Level 9 ('Keyes') on Legendary. This shows a play of the Flood onslaught challenge using plasma pistol and shotgun (the best combo), in which I survive with perfect health.

Released October 28th 2009, gameplay recorded October 21st 2009.

00:04 Spores ahoy, dropping out of the hole in the ceiling! I don't need to fire like crazy though; each shot can cause multiple pops via chain reaction - though the chain reaction effect is nowhere near as strong as on Normal. A carrier waddles into view and I step up my firing rate to make him go boom. The blast takes out a combat Flood, and his plasma grenade goes off too. A nice start! I think the blast also hurt a needler-wielding combat Flood coming up behind, because he comes tearing around the corner, arms waving. Yep, he's mad. But I take him down quick with another burst of rapid-fire plasma. Meanwhile Cortana is keeping me abreast of the situation: "Warning, threat level increasing". Er, yes Cortana, I kind of noticed.

00:17 Back to a bit of spore popping to try and keep them thinned out, then another combat Flood drops from the ceiling, and more appear from the right. In anticipation I've already lobbed a plasma grenade up there and it does a good job. I finish off another guy with plasma and pop some more scuttling bubbles. Cortana chips in again: "That jump into the coolant is looking better all the time chief". But I reckon we're doing fine so far! More Flood appear. I do some shooting, dodge a few needles, and send up another plasma before backing off around the corner. Frags I prefer to hold onto for a while, for when things get a bit more urgent.

00:36 The grenade makes a nice bang as I emerge from cover, plasma pistol blazing. Can't actually see what I'm shooting at to begin with, but I'm going on the principle of "Just fire, you'll hit something!". When the plasma blast clears I soon focus on the leading guy with assault rifle. AR fire is the thing you need to watch out for most on Legendary, as it can rip through your shield fast. He goes down and I switch to the shotgun to explode the carrier, which takes out an advancing combat Flood. A few plasmas add to the bang and Cortana pipes up once more: "Trust me, it's deep enough to cushion our fall". That's all very well Cortana but I don't wanna get my nice shiny armour covered in messy coolant. I only just buffed it up this morning!

00:43 Two weaponless combat Flood come running at me. Initially I try to take down one with plasma, but then decide it's not going to be quick enough, so I switch to the shotty. The blast puts one of them down and stuns the other long enough to finish him without trouble. Firing to hit two Flood at once is a useful tactic. Switching back to the plasma pistol I move up the corridor to pop a carrier and do some more plasma work, but suddenly things are getting rather intense and crowded, and my shield is getting peppered by AR fire. "Chief, we need to jump now!". What, just when we're starting to have fun? I try to zero in on a carrier to make him pop and cause lots of collateral damage, but it's not easy and my weapon overheats. There's a gurgling freak heading my way but I think he actually gets finished off by friendly fire. I stick with the carrier and finally pop him. Sounds like the bang does a pretty good job, but I'm too busy staying in cover on the right to watch.

00:57 My shield is in a bad way and I need time to recharge, so I drop a plasma near the corner as I cross to the left, hoping to take out more advancing Flood. A second plasma follows and I start blasting combat Flood at close range with the shotty. Things are hectic for a good thirty seconds or so as I try to hold off the attack from around the corner - a good defence position. A few fast-acting frag grenades help out, though the first one (at 01:16) doesn't quite go as planned. I was trying to throw it to land just in front of the carriers, but it actually hits the Flood I just blasted with the shotgun and bounces back a short way. At least it clears a few spores. Others are soon bobbling my way but I keep moving about to avoid getting nibbled.

01:32 I emerge from my corner to find things nicely cleared of combat Flood. There's a carrier up the far end and a load of spores to my left; they tend to collect in that end of the recess when you're back around the corner. A bit of plasma fire pops the carrier, then I lob a plasma in anticipation of the next wave of Flood (they seem to spawn a short way up the side corridor, and get attracted by your gunfire). As I back off the spores leap at me en masse and I pop the lot of 'em rather neatly. They're quite concentrated, which helps the chain reaction effect propagate. But as I move out with plasma pistol firing, I see a load of Flood heading my way. Maybe my plasma grenade didn't go off at the best time? So I drop another plasma and whip out the shotty, preparing for a tough time. The grenade sends a few Flood airborne and I get busy with my trigger finger. A couple of frags are added to the mix, with satisfying results both times. At 01:53 a reanimated Flood comes into view from behind me. "Are you still here?" I say… and then I put him down again. Right after that I blast a Flood at point-blank range, just before he can slap me. Hah! A bit more shotty and grenade work, and finally I've got the attack cleared.

02:02 Not much time for a breather though. Next wave sighted already! I pick out the carrier, popping it with plasma fire - and meanwhile another carrier goes pop behind me, blown past by my last frag. I back off and do some quick spore popping, then finish off a combat Flood with a shotgun blast. Another Flood comes gurgling around the corner just as I throw a frag grenade down. I was sort of lucky there; it could easily have bounced off him and come back at me. I back off from his swipe - gotta watch out for those - and take him down with a satisfying shotty blast. The frag takes out a few Flood and I'm looking in good shape now. Two more point-blank shotty blasts, two more Flood down, then I add a plasma grenade into the mix and use the shotty again. The last few Flood I finish off with plasma fire, conserving shotgun shells in case there's another wave still to come. But no, there are just a few spores to pop. I smack the last one with a brisk right hook. After that I went up to the corner to check for stragglers but there weren't any; I didn't bother showing that in the movie. Flood defeated - and with no health loss either! Ok Cortana, now we can jump.

Closing remarks I chose this play to show you as I managed to keep things in pretty good control throughout, but especially in the opening forty seconds or so where I kept the enemy back up near the far end, with only a few spores getting through. I also liked the carrier pop at 00:12; you want to do as much of that sort of thing as you can. They're walking bombs to be exploited. This play also showed plenty of close-range action back near the door, where the shotty comes into its own. In this save I had 25 shells available but you can actually get as many as 30 if you want (see my set-up advice). When things get hectic back there you'll probably also have to make good use of grenades, and that's something else that went well here. Another thing I liked was at around 01:32 when I popped the carrier then backed off and wiped out a mass of spores, getting things nice and tidy again - if only for a moment!

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