Weapon hot spots
Posted Janary 14th 2007, updated later
If you'd like to know the juiciest opportunities for using any particular weapon in Bad Cyborg's mass of extracurricular fun for the Halo campaign, this list of suggestions should be just the thing.
- Assault rifle
- Chain-gun
- Needler
- Pistol
- Plasma pistol
- Plasma rifle
- Rocket launcher
- Shotgun
- Sniper rifle
Assault rifle
For this wild-firing popgun you'll usually want to be quite close to enemies, to make those rounds count. Let's see what we can come up with:
- Level 2: In the rockslide megabattle, the plateau front defence is huge fun with an AR, ideally with supporting Marines; see Joys of the assault rifle. The top pass retreat is another good plan for close-range drilling. Also, try surviving with just an AR in the hit and run plan.
- Level 2: Do some Banshee battling in the valley and enjoy bringing them down with an AR, preferably with a Marine squad contributing to the racket.
- Level 3: The dustbowl megabattle is just the ticket for drilling lots of covies at close range.
- Level 3: Are you tough enough to hack it in the boarding challenge on Legendary? Prepare to sweat. Remember, AR and grenades only!
- Level 4: Take on half a dozen massed Hunters in some hectic close combat. Fantastic drilling fun as you dodge around to avoid the swipes.
- Level 5: Drill unsuspecting covies in a platform ambush, in the twin bridges megabattle.
- Level 5: Take on a room crammed with covies, in the glasshouse battle.
- Level 9: Tackle gurgling freaks in the Flood onslaught challenge. In particular try the AR challenge there, a punishing test of efficient gun craft.
Chain-gun
Don't you just love the sound of that thing? Here are my best suggestions for ventilating masses of Covenant scum with lots of holes:
- Level 2: Good scope in the rockslide megabattle, though it may make things a bit easy.
- Level 4: Set up a battle at the main facility as described in Marine battles on the island, and have some chain-gun fun from behind the log.
- Level 5: Have some dual chain-gun fun in the mob battle in the first snowfield.
- Level 5: There's some fine chain-gun fun to be had in the spiral path megabattle, particularly when defending at the base of the spiral path. See chain-gun fun.
- Level 5: Try some chain-gunning in the twin bridges megabattle. Oodles of enemies to mow down, and you can have a Marine on another chain-gun nearby.
Needler
Ah the joy of streaming needles into stinkin' covie hide! Needler connoisseurs, load up that funky pink ammo and step this way:
- Level 2: The arc of death is quite simply needler heaven!
- Level 2: In the rockslide megabattle, the needler is glorious for exploding foe after foe as they try to rush you in the far area defence, top pass defence and plateau alley defence.
- Level 2: You can do some needling mischief in a battle outside the right entrance of the hillside survivor area. In particular, it's fun to needle enemies in the back when a second wave advances down the hill and focuses on the Marines.
- Level 3: One after another, hilariously needle enemies in the back in a procession ambush, part of the fun you can have with massed enemy in the second area.
- Level 4: Position yourself down below on the grass in a battle at the main facility (one of the Marine battles on the island), and send streams of needles up at the Hunters and Jackals.
- Level 4: It's not a combat situation, but the needler is a key ingredient in creating lovely Hunter fireworks.
- Level 5: Again it's not a combat situation, but the needler plays a major role in creating spectacular Elite fireworks.
- Level 5: Obtain a stationary mob in a mob battle in the first snowfield, and enjoy piling needles into the witless fools.
- Level 5: The needler is pretty nice to use with a bridge assault in the cavern megabattle.
- Level 5: You can have some fine needling mischief against largely stationary enemies if you set up a good shooting gallery outside the pass.
- Level 5: In the twin bridges megabattle, the needler can wreak havoc against enemies streaming up the narrow platform towards your platform ambush.
- Level 5: Let yourself loose on a spectacular needling spree in the glasshouse battle.
Pistol
If you're a pistol fan like me, you'll be happy to hear that you're spoilt for choice when it comes to great places to use it. Such as:
- Level 2: The rockslide megabattle is great for pistol work, but two cases stand out. The far area defence gives fantastic medium to long range pistol fun as enemies converge on you from a wide range of angles. No pistol fan should miss it! For some great fun at closer range try dispensing death from on high, standing on the central rock at the Marine plateau.
- Level 2: If you love taking down Banshees with the pistol, do some Banshee battling in the valley.
- Level 4: Try bringing down six massed Hunters with six shots, close up. With style.
- Level 5: Set up a mob battle in the first snowfield and get ready with your shiny M6D; you won't regret it.
- Level 5: Good pistol shooting to be had when doing a bridge assault in the cavern megabattle.
- Level 5: The spiral path megabattle will give you some great pistol action. Whittle down that charging horde!
- Level 5: The twin bridges megabattle is superb for pistol work. Masses of enemy attacking over a large area; wonderful!
Plasma pistol
Powerhouse extraordinaire. The following should give your little horse-shoe of death plenty of scope to work its magic:
- Level 2: In the rockslide megabattle, rapid fire from the plasma pistol is able to single-handedly hold back the mob in a top pass retreat. Nice challenge on Heroic; should make you sweat!
- Level 2: Set up some Banshee battling and see what you can do. In particular, try to take out your targets with chaser shots; see Battle tips for a mention of that.
- Level 4: For a bit of gentle novelty try pinging shots off a frozen Hunter and get them whistling back past your ears. Mesmerizing.
- Level 5: The glasshouse battle is a great scenario for plasma weapons, and even better if you've arranged extra covies. See if you can get through with a single plasma pistol.
- Level 9: See if you can survive the Flood onslaught challenge with a plasma pistol, perhaps allowing yourself a shotgun as backup.
- Various levels: If you like plasma pistol sniping, there's good scope for it in cliffside hilltop fun in level 2 (where I discovered it), on top of the island in level 4, and fun with a stolen Banshee in level 5 where you can plasma-snipe bridge enemies from a ledge.
Plasma rifle
Laugh heartily as you toast covies with their own lethal technology, in any of the following scenarios:
- Level 2: There are some fine opportunities in the rockslide megabattle, such as in the plateau front defence.
- Level 2: Set up some Banshee battling and try to bring them down with your plasma rifle; a nice challenge where your skills of leading the target will make a big difference.
- Level 3: The cramped environment of the dustbowl megabattle makes for some great blasting.
- Level 5: Good weapon to have when doing a bridge assault in the cavern megabattle.
- Level 5: In the spiral path megabattle I find the plasma rifle good fun when defending from the outside corner of the ice path, against enemies that come filing along. Go on, let those Elites have it in the face!
- Level 5: Give the covies a white-hot welcome in a platform ambush, in the twin bridges megabattle.
- Level 5: You can make fine use of a plasma rifle in a good intense glasshouse battle.
- Level 9: The Flood onslaught challenge is ideal for lots of close-range plasma work if you don't mind all the gurgling.
Rocket launcher
If you like to make a firm statement with your weaponry, this is the baby for you, and you're in for plenty of explosive fun with the following:
- Level 4: Wreak a bit of havoc from on top of the island.
- Level 4: Set up a battle at the main facility as described in Marine battles on the island, and administer some rockety justice from down below on the grass.
- Level 4: Let your launcher loose against massed Hunters.
- Level 4: Blast enemies with vicious abandon in a platform attack.
- Level 4: Set up a prong attack and send rockets across the shaft, to blast enemies clean off the platforms. Especially Jackals!
- Level 5: Good opportunities in the mob battle in the first snowfield, as detailed in my account. In particular, you can potentially enjoy blasting the Wraith and a Ghost. And if it's mischief you want, you can blast a stationary mob from afar - possibly up on a ledge.
- Level 5: There's lots of rockety mischief available in fun with a stolen Banshee. Send in rockets from distance and watch the bang through a sniper scope. Hee hee!
- Level 5: There are great opportunities in the cavern megabattle, not just with a bridge assault or deep incursion but also rocketing as part of some long-range mischief.
- Level 5: The spiral path megabattle is a rocketer's paradise, and it's especially good fun in the path base defence plan. Also great fun to blast blockades, preferably when covies are right behind it. Oh, and don't forget to create some ice horde carnage!
- Level 5: The twin bridges megabattle is tremendous for rockety goodness; anything from short to long range. Scan through the battle plans for mentions. Blast approaching waves of enemy until your cyborg heart is singing with joy. Sheer glorious carnage. One particularly good place for it is in contributing platform support in a trough defence featuring a blockade.
- Level 5: The glasshouse battle is great for indoor rocketing.
- Level 5: You can have a bit of mischief with a few enemies by going up the spine at the end, to fire down on them.
Shotgun
Short-range brutality your thing? Try this for size:
- Level 7: The two door battle gives you some superb shotgun fun, and especially the wipeout challenge.
- Level 9: The Flood onslaught challenge gives you some good shotgun fun, but you'll need to ration your ammo.
- Level 9: You'll have an absolute field day in the Keyes hangar battle, and this time there's all the ammo you need.
Sniper rifle
Who can resist a spot of long-range death-dealing eh? Not me! Check out these excellent scenarios:
- Level 2: Plenty of opportunities in the rockslide megabattle, especially with the far area defence, probably the best sniping scenario outside the twin bridges megabattle. The lifeboat area defence and island plateau defence are also good.
- Level 2: Try some cliffside hilltop fun.
- Level 5: Set up a mob battle in the first snowfield and coolly wipe out the charging mob with your magnificent sniper skills. Ho ho ho.
- Level 5: Lots of great sniping to be had via fun with a stolen Banshee.
- Level 5: There's some fabulous sniping to be had in the cavern megabattle, especially as part of some long-range mischief.
- Level 5: You can arrange for a couple of Elite fireworks to repeatedly go flying, giving you some novel target practice. See clay pigeon shooting, cyborg style, especially the hint about using pre-blasting.
- Level 5: The spiral path megabattle is great for sniping fun, especially in the path base defence plan.
- Level 5: The twin bridges megabattle is a sniper's dream, with opportunities from both the ground and from up high. Possibly the best sniping fun in the entire game, though rivalled by the far area defence in the rockslide megabattle. Not the easiest battle to set up, but by golly it's worth it. Don't miss out!