More fun with my 3-Ghost pass blockade, this time doing a two-phase defence with a later covie release…

(4:51) Level 5 ('Assault on the Control Room') on Heroic. This shows two plays of a spiral path megabattle against 53 covies; the same save as in BCM68. Both times I use the pass blockade rumble plan, but this time with late release of the blocked covies. In the first play I use a pistol and plasma rifle, while in the second I use a needler and AR.

Released March 2nd 2013, gameplay recorded February 28th and March 1st 2013.

00:02 (Play 1 - Pistol & plasma rifle) After blasting a Grunt near the tree, I land and get equipped with a pistol and plasma rifle, one of my favourite combos for a pass blockade rumble. Charging forth to blitz the nearby covies, I drill the tree Elite with plasma, then tag one of his Grunts. Another Grunt gets tagged too, and meanwhile the sniper has taken care of the dropship Elite. Pistol work and a frag takes out the distant two Jackals by the rock, and then we're ready for the main course.

00:48 Even before I lob a grenade to release the blocked mob, a trigger-happy Hunter makes an opening for himself, accidentally blasting his own troops and shifting the Ghost on the left. A second blast appears to set off a dropped plasma grenade, and just after I throw a grenade to the right, a further Hunter blast kills an Elite who was likely heading through the new gap on the left. Good work guys! With the blockade now wrecked, I open with some pistol fire.

01:04 Sniper shots whizz past me and I realize I'm standing in a rather dangerous place, but luckily I'm not hit. My plasma fire finishes off an Elite who got sniped, and then I move to the right a bit. Probably none too soon either, because at 1:17 a Marine goes down from a sniper round in the back. That could've been me!

01:19 With things hotting up, a growling blue starts to rage forward but goes flying from a Marine grenade which sets off an impressive chain reaction. A few seconds later I spot the cloaked Elite. Without pausing to reload my pistol, I hastily switch to the plasma rifle and bring him down in the nick of time, just as he's taking a swing with his sword. However, I can see that those Marines are all going to be killed in the next few seconds, so I start backing off, firing my pistol as I go.

01:37 It's just me and the sniper again, and we've got a few nasty Elites closing in. I switch to the plasma rifle and fail to hit the blue who's moving to the left, but he amusingly sidesteps right off the cliff, so that's him done with. I get the other Elite with pistol fire but take a plasma ball from the Jackal on the right. He soon pays for it though, and myself and the sniper do some easy mopping up.

01:59 Only the Hunters left now. A pistol shot drops the first, but for the second I decide to have fun with the plasma rifle instead. He's finished with a sniper round though. Almost lost the sniper in that final phase, as he suffered under the Hunter bombardment. Good job he's armoured!

02:21 (Play 2 - Needler & AR) After a spot of dropship blasting for fun, I land and pick up an AR and needler, then start blitzing. Needles take out the both Elites and a Grunt, and I finish most of the other Grunts with hot lead. The sniper gets one for me. After skirting around the tree, I hop over the rock and lob two grenades, both of which do their intended job.

03:16 During that spell of play, you may've noticed the Hunters taking a few shots and succeeding only in blasting their own troops. There was one at about 2:55 (not as well seen as the one at 3:09), and it shunted an Elite up onto one of the Ghosts. An Elite you now get a good view of. After throwing a grenade at the Ghost, I follow up with a stream of needles at him. Some carnage ensues, and the enemy advance begins.

03:31 I move right to dodge an incoming Hunter shot, and send out a plasma which kills an Elite. But meanwhile we've got Elites closer at hand, and I get busy with the AR and a succession of frags. Moving up over the rock to get a novel angle at a red who just got shook up, I throw my final frag from the left and score an appealing triple kill, comprising a weakened blue Elite flanked by synchronized rolling Jackals. After a bit more work, including with a chain reaction set off when I needle a distant Elite, the covie charge is over.

04:12 Just the Hunters left, lurking in the pass. My plasma grenade lands short on the rock, so I have a go with the AR then switch to my needler as I jump over a Ghost. I pile a nice stream into the furthest Hunter, but when I fire some more while backing off at close range, they set off an explosion which causes him to rotate as he swipes, so I get an unexpected whack. Slight miscalculation on my part. I finish him off soon after though. Four Marines still alive, woo-hoo!

Closing remarks On the second play I think the blocked covies did themselves a lot of damage before getting free, which made the battle considerably easier than it could've been. Those Hunters really are a pair of idiots in that congested area.

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