NMPD HQ

Find Mickey and Dutch's Pelican

Follow Buck up the stairs and through the building. At the top of the second staircase, turn right and exit outside, through the door.

Outside, turn right to spot a trio of enemies including a Brute. They haven't yet spotted you, giving you an ideal chance to try out your sniper rifle. Try aiming it at the Brute's noggin--a single shot won't take him out, but you should have time to finish him off with a second before they attack. Now target the two nearby grunts with the pistol, then seek cover behind the concrete barrier to the left overlooking the platform below. This provides a great vantage point in which to target the remaining enemies, including the turret to the left, and another Brute. Once those two are taking care of, cleaning up the Grunts is simple.

With the area cleared, hop into the now-vacant turret and aim left to kill some baddies on an adjacent platform. Once you've taken down all you see, proceed through the nearby door, leading to that platform. Remain inside the doorway for cover as you target the enemies just outside. Before long, more will emerge on the upper walkways; you're best off sticking to the lower levels, hugging the walls just below them for cover, aiming for the enemies whenever you back away. There's a turret along the edge, near the spotlights, that you may also want to detach and carry around with you to quickly rip through the Covenant ranks.

After clearing the platform, continue through the door on the upper-most walkway. Inside, feel free to stock up on guns, ammo, and health--may we suggest the Silenced SMG (but keep your sniper)? When fully loaded, exit through the opposite door.

As you exit, Buck will point out a sniper above--he's but the first of several that'll appear on those balconies, as well as the far bridge. It's best to use the first pillar for cover, hugging it closely, only peeking around it far enough to reveal a single enemy at a time--if you take fire, quickly get behind it again to regain your shields. Remember, if you run low on health or ammo, more can be collected in the previous room. Once you've finished off the snipers, several Brutes will roll in, some armed with jet-packs. Continue to use the pillar for cover while you pick off the Brutes--if it looks as if one's about to take to the air, wait for him to launch then target him while airborne--they're surprisingly easy to pick off while hopping around. Oh, and watch out for a turret just below the bridge--if an enemy hops inside, carefully aim for his exposed head (remember to wait for your cursor to turn red, indicating the enemy is within your crosshair.)

After clearing the deck, drop down and proceed through the far left door. Grab the ammo and health on the right before exiting out the other side. Actually, about that exiting thing--don't. Instead, use the room's interior for cover as you blast the enemies outside. Once you've cleared the lower floor, step out and use the nearby cluster of containers for cover and get ready to take down the enemies on the levels above, including some Brutes. Pay particular attention to the turret on the left. If you run low on sniper ammo, we suggest backtracking to that health/ammo room a little ways back to restock, which should give you enough to take down the remaining enemies.

Continue through the door on the top floor and descend the staircase inside. Kill the two grunts at the base and go through a couple more doors, leading back outside. See the two enemies ahead? Watch out, as the Grunt is armed with a Fuel Rod Cannon--aim for him first, then the nearby sniper. You might also want to pick up the Fuel Rod Cannon he drops. At any rate, you'll spot your two friends across the abyss, but thankfully, a suspended platform provides a perfect walkway--carefully drop onto it and follow it to your teammates.

As you approach the far end, a couple of Banshees will swing by--don't worry about them. Instead, you should concern yourself more with some Brutes and co who appear on the far platform. Before dropping to it, it's best to remain on the suspended platform, using either the sniper rifle or Fuel Rod Cannon to easily pick 'em off from a distance. Once clear, drop on down and join your squad by the Pelican.

Defend Pelican Crash Site

Alright, so you need to protect the Pelican from a squadron of inbound Banshees. Grab one of the Missile Pods lying near the open hatch, or from behind the ship, and let 'er rip. Remember to wait for the lock-on icon before firing. There's also a missile turret on the left side of the ship (assuming you're facing away) which has unlimited ammo, but it can only cover the left half of the dock, so use it with caution. If you exhaust your missile supply in one of the pods, simply ditch it and grab another--they respawn continually.

Throughout the battle, both Banshees and Drop Ships will appear--in regards to the latter, you'll want to take down the individual turrets on each ship so they don't blast you to smithereens. As you near the end of the battle, some Brutes will appear. Missie Pods work just as well against them, and you don't have to worry about the lock-on. In addition, a machine gun turret located behind the ship can come in handy too, or you may also want to consider using your Fuel Rod Cannon.