Checkpoint bypass by highwire
Posted November 2nd 2008
At rally point alpha there's a checkpoint you can bypass to get some novel gameplay. Here's how to do it, and what you can do afterwards.
Bypassing the checkpoint
At the first place where you encounter Choppers, get the grav lift from the building the Marines were in. After continuing on to rally point alpha across the broken highway, run up on top of the water pump house, then along to the far end. The massive pipe ends in a cube-like housing there. Clamber up the rock at the side of that housing, then curve sharply around to end up on top of the housing.
Deploy the grav lift and use the updraft to get up onto the high cable supported by pylons. I recommend facing in the approximate direction of the sealed tunnel when making that jump. Landing on the cable can be a bit fiddly and might take a few tries, but you'll probably have had a very recent checkpoint you can revert to if needed (maybe as you neared the housing). Once up, head along the cable towards where Marines were holding out in a low building. One time a jet-pack Brute actually landed on the cable ahead of me, but he was facing the other way and I bashed him from behind.
You can actually go all the way along to the main building where Marines were holding out if you like. But for the purposes of what I'm describing here, you don't need to go that far if you don't want to. Once you're past the metal structure that looks like two joined cylinders, it's ok to drop down. You've now bypassed a crucial checkpoint by being high up as you crossed the relevant triggering area (the game expected you to be on the ground of course). Some novelties are now open to you, as follows.
Deserted level beyond
If you head on through the level, it'll be deserted and you won't get any more checkpoints. There won't be any Shades in position yet. At the end, you can destroy the shield generator yet the shield will remain in place. Even if you go through it, there seems to be no way to trigger the final cutscene.
Novel battle preparations
Make some novel preparations for future battling, then go back to get the critical checkpoint to resume normal play. You can expect enemy reinforcements to turn up shortly afterwards. What 'novel preparations' do I mean? Here are some ideas.
(1) You could go ahead and through the tunnel to get a fuel rod gun or its ammo. Combined with the ammo from the fuel rod gun that a Brute was using on the Marines (and possibly from a fuel rod gun even earlier in the level), you'll have a lot more ammo than you normally would, ready to use on the Brute reinforcements that come in via Phantom. Indeed, you could have a full fuel rod gun. Note: there are three more fuel rod guns across the broken bridge, but if you cross over to get one of those, the tunnel seals up behind you and you won't be able to return to rally point alpha; so that's no good.
(2) You could yank the chain-gun off its mount, so you'll have it with you as you get the checkpoint, ready to give the arriving Brutes a nasty welcome!
(3) You could carefully deploy trip mines about the place. Maybe put them all on the path to try to get the Wraith when it trundles along later? Or maybe put them all where reinforcement Brutes are going to jump down from a Phantom! That's going to make for a pretty nasty landing I think. However, keep in mind that trip mines self-explode after 90 seconds. So if they're going to do any good at all, they need to get triggered before then. Here's a tip to help. By continually swapping with another bit of equipment (something you brought along from earlier in the level probably, and which you brought with you on your highwire trip), first move all the trip mines to near where you want them. Then do all the final deploying as quickly as you can, and run to trigger the checkpoint.
(4) You could destroy the two sniper platforms in the area just past rally point alpha, where you'll tackle four Choppers and some sniper Brutes.
Later developments - an easier method
After advertising this checkpoint bypass method in the HBO forum, Ghost Faction brought to my attention an earlier forum post at High Impact Halo, in which SonicSniper03 bypassed the checkpoint merely by clambering along the hillside. No precarious highwire act needed! I tried things out, and the hillside route is admittedly easier. I ran along on top of the water pump house as usual, and started clambering up the rock around the cube-like housing at the end. But instead of curving around sharply to end up on top of that housing, I continued straight on up the hill. In just a few steps it levels out, and if you then go along the hillside staying up as high as you can, you can fairly easily remain high enough to bypass the checkpoint, though you'll have an annoying invisible wall on your left and sometimes you might slip down too far.
I also found that you can take basically the same route in a Chopper! See Getting vehicles to rally point alpha for how to bring a Chopper this far. Use boost to start getting up the rock around the cube-like housing; it's slightly awkward, but not too hard. Once you've got your Chopper over the checkpoint you can go explore the deserted remainder of the level much faster than on foot of course. Not that there's a lot to see!