Halo Reach: LASO Guide - Part 3: Nightfall

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Time to get the Weekly Challenge done, eh?  This mission is so incredibly easy that it belies logic.  And it only takes five to six minutes if everything goes right.  Check the video if you do not believe me (Also on Youtube).  There is one skill you need to perfect for this mission, however.  I'm talking about the "Beat Down."  Now, in Halo 3, a "Beat Down" was whenever you melee'd and opponent and kill them.  In Reach, that would be "Pummeled."

Now in Reach, a "Beat Down" is a melee from behind that kills an enemy without entering into an assassination animation.  What you need to do is quickly hit the melee button while behind an enemy but do not hold it at all.  This will perform a "Beat Down" instead of an assassination.  If you can perform a "Beat Down" on an unsuspecting enemy, you will not alert any nearby enemies unless they directly see you.  This is very useful for this level.
Need to review LASO and what it means?  Look here and here.





Nightfall Walkthrough:

(Note:  You, still, are not required to have the "Blind Skull" on.  Why, I don't know, but it isn't really SLASO if it is off.  :P )

Easy kill, but be quiet.

You will start this mission on a ledge.  Travel along it and you will come up on an Elite which is not paying attention and open for an easy kill.  If you do a regular assassination, you will alert the nearby Grunts and, if you do a "Beat Down," his body will alert the enemies below.  Instead, jump up and, while in the air, assassinate him.  This will trigger an animation that keep the kill quiet and does not alert any other enemies.  Now dispatch the two Grunts with melees.

Go here.

 Do not jump down, but continue along the ledge and, once you can see the buildings ahead, crouch down.

Try to stay hidden.

 
There will be a bunch of Jet-pack Elites and an invisible one with a Beam Rifle.  The latter is the one you need to worry about.  They are not always in the same spots and move around quite a bit.  Unless you run or walk right in front of the Jet-Pack Elites they will not notice you.  The Invisible Elite, however, will see you even if you are crouching.  You just have to get lucky.

Walk up to the side of the building and jump onto the balcony.

Continue around and run through the large opening down the stairs.

Once you reach this spot, wait a few moments for Jun to spawn and take everyone's attention. 

Sprint through the garage, through the door, and up the stairs.

Once up the stairs, you will see a Grunt which you can easily eliminate. 

Turn right and keep sprinting to the Covenant Shield.  Once you get to the Covenant shield, a Grunt and a Jackal will pop up.

Exit Stage Left.

You can kill them or run by, but do it fast as an Elite might be chasing after you.

Mopping Up.

Now, ahead of you, will be the area with the Grunts and the "Gutas."  You can run through, but the enemies are not at all difficult to eliminate the enemies with the Sniper if you stay up on the rocks.  It is simply safer this way.  The area will be clear once the Phantom leaves and Jun starts talking to Kat about the encounter.

This is not your fight.

Keep moving through as you normally would but, when it comes time to help the civilians, we are going to be a little evil.

You can skip this entire fight and all the combat after it by simply running up to the wall, jumping up, and sprinting to the dry riverbed.

That is much easier than fighting all the waves of enemies that come.  Keep along the path till you come to the ledge across from the Pylon.

Crouch through here.

We will, generally, be skipping this fight as well.  Creep up to the bridge and wait till the Elite is facing away from you. 

This is the spot.

Come up from behind and perform a "Beat Down" on him, not an assassination.  You do not want to alert the enemy here.  Once he is eliminated, finish off the grunts and hop into the Forklift.

The Vehicle of Champions!

Yes, you read that correctly, the Forklift.  We will use this to nudge you through a barrier and finish the mission superfast.  Drive it up to the gate you would be using later and turn into it so your left side is flush with the gate.

Right Like This.

Get the vehicle in this position and then exit the Forklift.  Voila, you have now been nudged through the gate.  It might take a few tries, but be quick.  The Covenant will eventually notice you, so be quick.

Success.

And now, all the enemies in this area are missing.  Simply, they have not spawned yet.  This is very similar to the trick for ONI: Sword Base.  Simply sprint through and the mission is complete.  See, easy as pie.

Oly-Oly-Oxen-Free!