Grav lift jump onto the Scarab
Posted March 4th 2008
If this isn't the quickest method of boarding the Scarab, I'll eat my battle rifle! It can get you aboard practically the moment the Scarab steps onto the lake bed. Not only that, you'll be conveniently close to the core and can reach it in about five seconds if you don't let enemies hold you up. Or you can just have some fun wiping out every covie aboard and generally making them regret ever signing up for this giant steel bug malarkey (which probably sounded like a good idea at the time).
Get a grav lift before the Scarab arrives; there's one in the dark alcove near the missile pods. In the lake bed is a high cylindrical tank of some sort. Reach the top via the ladder and deploy the lift somewhere. At a suitable moment, head into the lift to end up landing on some of the Scarab's decking as it settles and recovers, or as it starts to advance. Depending on quite where you're aiming for, you may need to jump as you enter the lift, to get extra height.
Note: In getting onto the cylindrical tank, you don't have to use the whole ladder. You can easily jump up to the very top of it from a nearby surface, which is the natural thing to do if you're coming from fetching the grav lift.
Early jumping
There's lots of variation available in regard to exactly where to put the grav lift, when to jump, and where to land. But for getting aboard the quickest, I suggest you have the lift near the base of the short brown vertical extension (with lights on the side) near the top of the ladder. The extension has no physical presence, so you can move through it without interference. You can actually have the lift past the extension and slightly off the tank, seemingly floating in mid-air. You'll be facing the incoming Scarab as you run into the lift, and you'll probably want to jump for extra height.
The earliest you can step into the lift is at about the time the Scarab's front right leg leaves the top of the building to come down. An early jump like that can allow you to land on the prow of the Scarab as it steps foot on the lake bed, but you have to get the timing just right so you land just as the decking slides underneath you. If you're too early you can get smacked down into the lake bed by the Scarab's belly. It'll take weeks for the Marines to dig you out of that mud! That's if they even bother. If you arrive fractionally late on the other hand, you can look forward to having every bone in your body shattered by the rising deck. Well, no one said being a cyborg was going to be easy!
Instead of landing on the prow, you can go for the upper side, possibly landing close to Grunts near the plasma cannon. Grunts who are likely to get the shock of their lives! In that case it's quite nice if you've got a Brute shot or a rocket launcher because you can maybe blast a few enemies in mid-air to do some advance clearing as you're heading down. As well as the Grunts, you'll probably see Brutes back near the core. You could also use grenades of course.
Late jumping
If you're not worried about every last jot of speed, you may care to delay your transfer until the Scarab has started moving forward after recovering. In this case you'd best place the grav lift further back on the cylindrical tank. You'll be jumping as if to intercept the Scarab as it passes.
In my favourite type of late jump, you achieve a beautifully smooth boarding in which the prow pretty much slides underneath you just as you rise to about the right height. It's really worth trying just for the fun of it. I find this jump particularly reliable because it's so forgiving. If you're slightly low as you're intercepted, the gentle curve of the Scarab's nose usually scoops you up without serious damage. If you're a bit late, again you can get often away with it. Not that it can't go wrong mind. One time I was slightly late and got funnelled straight down the central ramp, ending up on the deck below, face to face with a Brute. Oooh, didn't plan on that!
There's also a walkway that goes down along the nose of the Scarab, and that can be a relatively easy target to go for. If you choose the right moment it can be low enough that you don't even need to jump as you enter the lift, nor even be running. You can just rise up as if in an elevator and be scooped along as the Scarab turns slightly and advances.
On board
If you land on the prow, it's rather tempting to lob a grenade down the central ramp, if only to discourage a nasty Brute from maybe coming up and around behind you as you head along the side for the core. But if you're going for speedy destruction, don't bother with that.
A Brute shot would be great for clearing your path to the core, and you could just about have a full one by now; there was one at the first lake bed and two dropped by the Chopper Brutes. Failing that, a few rockets can provide high satisfaction if you can avoid blowing yourself up in the process.
Sometimes the covies along the side don't even notice you at first, which makes it possible to run past their backs and reach the core before they know what's what. I managed that on Heroic, blowing the core and jumping off without stopping to kill a soul. My abiding memory is of a Brute comically saying "Yikes" as he suddenly saw a 7ft cyborg pop into view at the core. Heh heh. So long suckers, and enjoy the bang!