Halo Reach: LASO Guide – Part 2: ONI: Sword Base - I

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Winter Contingency LASO Guide.

Here are some general strategies to remember for LASO difficulty:

• Be a Team Player - Let your Teammates do the work.  The rest of Noble Team is invincible and has unlimited ammunition.  You are not and do not have that.
• Avoid, Avoid, Avoid! - Avoid any fight or enemy that you absolutely do not need to engage.  Sometimes you will have to clear an area to continue the mission, but other times you can just sneak around.
• Melee for Shields - Black Eye Skull is on, which means that meleeing an enemy will bring your shields back up.  If you are close in, with a low number of enemies, melee and make sure those shields are strong.
• Sneaky, Sneaky - Crouch and you will find that you can sneak around quite a few enemies if they are far enough away.  Stick to walls and this will help you avoid fights.
• Cover - Use it.
• Assassination - The best way to deal with strong enemies, like Elites, is to assassinate them.  It is a one hit kill and a hell of a lot faster than the traditional method of killing them.
• Two Player? - The Challenges are for beating the level on LASO difficulty, not SLASO (Solo, Legendary, All Skulls On).  Turn on a second controller and then you will not have to restart the entire mission every time you die.  The enemies will become slightly harder, but then at last you do have to be perfect through the entire level on its hardest difficulty.
• Headshots - Headshot anything you can, because it kills them faster.  Enough said.
• Mark the Spot - Get a small piece of paper and some tape, or just tape and a sharpie.  and Make a dot with the sharpie on the tape and then put the tape on your screen where the reticule should be.  Do not write on your screen, please. 

Now that you have brushed up on your LASO knowledge and strategies, let us get down to business.

ONI: Sword Base Walkthrough:
(Warning: This is a long walkthrough and contains spoilers.  Links lead to pics illustrating strategies.)
NOTE: Currently, the Challenge does not require the Blind Skull to be turned on.  Do yourself a favor and keep it off.  Do not get used to it though.

Kat will be your teammate for the majority of this mission.  You will start out in a courtyard outside Sword Base and are required to clear it and then to clear three other areas outside the base.  Then you will come back inside and clear out the base.  Obviously, you cannot run through much of this like Winter Contingency, but there are some tricks and shortcuts.

The Right Ramp.

At start, run up the right ramp and you will have an Elite one on one.  Melee, sidestep, and assassinate.  Watch out for the kick because it is lethal.  Grunts down below will probably go kamikaze so take them out before they kill your second player since he is just a stand in.

Melee, Sidestep, and Assassinate.

Now you will want to sneak across the small foot bridge and got to the opposite side.  There will be a pair of Jackals there that you can possibly flank plus some ammo, grenades, and a health pack.  Try to clear this upper walkway entirely.

Sneak Through Here.

Now, slowly sneak along this upper walkway to the very end.  Stay crouched and wait for the space near the truck trailer to be empty.  An Elite will be moving around and time it so when you move, he is up towards the fight.

Hide Here.

Get behind the trailer wheels and wait.  You should get a checkpoint here.  This will cause Kat to power through whatever enemies are remaining in that area and it will have all the enemies retreating or turning their attention.  Peak around the corner and, if you time it right, you should be able to assassinate two Elites as they are distracted by Kat.

Take 'em From Behind.

Now all the enemies will fall back into the inclined area.  You cannot run through because you need to clear the area to advance the mission.  Pick off the smaller enemies (i.e. Grunts, Jackals, and Skirmishers) with head shots and thin the herd.

Thin the Herd.

This will leave one Elite and some smaller leftovers.  Sprint past them to the small garage/gate area.  It will not open yet but, once you make it in, the Elite forgets that you exist and goes back to fighting Kat.  Sneak up from behind, assassinate him, and finish off anything else that is lying around to advance to the next part of the mission.  Before going to the gate, however, pick up a Plasma pistol from the ground.

Should Have Been Paying Attention.

The credit for this next part goes wholly to the Mythic Difficulty guide over at Halo.Bungie.Org which has great videos showing the strategy.  You will commandeer a Wraith tank.  If this is a little unclear, go watch their video and great explanation.

And It Goes Boom...

Go and pick up the Target Locator and Armor Lock AA.  Stick near the door and take out the Wraith on the left with an artillery strike.Now go back and switch the Target Locator for the Plasma Pistol.  Once you go out far enough, your second player will be teleported to your location.

Good Camouflage.

Move him here into this corner.  He will come in handy later.  Take out any infantry on that comes to the middle and make your way around the right side.  While moving take out the turret gunner on the Wraith to make your life a lot easier.

Overcharged.

Wait till Kat has the Wraith sufficiently distracted and sneak near it.  Hit it with an overcharged shot from your Plasma Pistol and board the front part of it.  Now, melee twice which will open up the top hatch and expose the driver.

Melee the Driver.

Jump off and hit it with another overcharged shot from the plasma pistol and physically jump onto the Wraith.  You have taken out the hatch and can now melee the driver without damaging the Wraith further.  Take out the driver and then you are all set.  Mop up any remaining ground forces and you are set.

Part II is up.
Also on Examiner.com.