Cortana (level)/Walkthrough

Cleanse High Charity. Save Cortana.
== Starting Weapons ==
Player VStarting Point > 	Mission Start 	Rally Point Alpha 	Mission StartRespawn 	Rally Point AlphaRespawn
John-117 Primary WeaponSolo 	M90A Close Assault Weapon System 	M90A Close Assault Weapon System 	N/A 	N/A
Master Chief Secondary WeaponSolo 	MA5C Assault Rifle 	MA5C Assault Rifle 	N/A 	N/A
Master Chief grenadesSolo 	 	 	N/A 	N/A
Master Chief Primary WeaponCo-op 	M90A Close Assault Weapon System 	M90A Close Assault Weapon System 	M90A Close Assault Weapon System	M90A Close Assault Weapon System
Master Chief Secondary WeaponCo-op 	MA5C Assault Rifle 	MA5C Assault Rifle 	MA5C Assault Rifle 	MA5C Assault Rifle
Master Chief grenadesCo-op 	2 M9 High-Explosive Dual-Purpose grenade	2 M9 High-Explosive Dual-Purpose grenade	N/A 	N/A
Thel 'Vadam Primary WeaponN'tho 'Sraom Primary WeaponUsze 'Taham Primary Weapon 	
Type-1 Energy Weapon/Sword 	Type-1 Energy Weapon/Sword 	Type-1 Energy Weapon/Sword 	Type-1 Energy Weapon/Sword
Thel 'Vadam Secondary WeaponN'tho 'Sraom Secondary WeaponUsze 'Taham Secondary Weapon	Type-25 Directed Energy Rifle 	Type-25 Directed Energy Rifle 	Type-25 Directed Energy Rifle 	Type-25 Directed Energy Rifle
Thel 'Vadam grenadesN'tho 'Sraom grenadesUsze 'Taham grenades 	2 Type-1 Antipersonnel grenade 	2 Type-1 Antipersonnel grenade 	N/A 	N/A
==Overview==
This is a walkthrough for the level Cortana, structured for play on Legendary difficulty with notes for lower difficultiy levels. Cortana is the penultimate level of Halo 3, and arguably one of the most difficult of the franchise. Your mission as stated is to find Cortana on the High Charity, free her from the Gravemind and eliminate the Flood.
Your most valuable pieces of equipment in this level are Deployable Covers and Bubble Shields, as they'll protect you from the numerous Ranged Forms that litter almost every encounter. Cloaking can also be found in several sections of this level, but appear uncommonly; in fact, the only time Cloaking will need to be used is if you need to avoid dangerous Flood.
Like equipment, your weapons of choice are also incredibly helpful in passing this level. Plasma weapons can easily rip the shields of shielded forms, and are also efficient at killing unshielded and Pure forms.
Beware, though: if you have bad aim, you will be penalized in this level. Flood Growth Pods line High Charity's walls and if you are inaccurate you will unleash torrents of Flood Infection Forms that will make you waste valuable ammunition and probably kill you. Once you've killed all the Flood Combat Forms in the room, destroy their bodies so the Infection Forms will be unable to revive them.
Using Skulls on this level is optional; however, Catch is useful as while the Combat Forms don't use and drop grenades, the Ranged Forms will drop spike grenades upon being killed, replenishing your spike grenade stock. Grenades are some of your best friends here, as stickies kill Carrier Forms without releasing the Infection Forms inside them. Incendaries can also kill Flood Tank Forms in mere seconds, and these are some of the most dangerous on Legendary as a single swipe from them will kill the player.
If using Co-op, the Arbiter starts off with an Energy Sword and Carbine. This is perfect because even when the Arbiter dies, he will respawn with these weapons, so two players could easily pass the level with John-117 hiding in a spot for the Arbiter to respawn and suicide rush enemies, if meta-points are not desired.
__TOC__
==Part 1: Rampant==
===Entering High Charity===
You will start this mission with the M90 Shotgun and the MA5C Assault Rifle, though on Heroic it's possible to start with a Type-25 Directed Energy Pistol. At the mission start, use your Assault Rifle to clean out the Infection Forms. Make sure they do not re-animate any of the nearby corpses (a Brute and Elite). Search the corpses for a Brute Spiker, Plasma Rifle, and a Plasma and Incendiary grenade. If one has spawned with the plasma pistol, take the Spiker to get some added firepower.
As you round the corner, there's a fork. Take the right path. As you go reach the top, the pods explode, releasing Infection forms that will infect the bodies of Elites and Brutes alike. Using the right path gives a minor advantage, as this avoids being unexpectedly being ambushed by Elite Combat forms from the top, although some Infection Forms might be up there and infect a few corpses. Once all the Flood are dead, search the area carefully for any grenades, provided that they haven't blown up to accidental firing. Swap your Shotgun for the Energy Sword, and ensure that you enter with dual-wielded weaponry consisting of Spikers, Plasma Rifles or both.
When you reach the porta in the floor, drop through it and immediately take cover in the corner behind you. Stay sharp because several Combat Forms will appear; some might appear with Energy Swords, which they can and will use. Destroy them; after killing enough, the remaining should retreat back up the hill. Cautiously go up the slope, as several Carrier Forms will be making their way down to greet you. Use a grenade that sticks (Plasma, Spike or Incendiary) to kill them. When stuck with a grenade, Carrier Forms do not unleash Infection Forms.
===The Pelican===
For the next area you'll want to be quick. Follow the path up and around. You should see a couple of Deployable Covers here. Grab one and make your way to the large opening in the wall, leading outside the High Charity. As you saw when you entered through the porta, a bunch of Stalker Forms made their way through and will be waiting for you here. Many of these like to become Ranged Forms. A few extra Combat Forms will also arrive, alongside those that retreated from their earlier skirmish with you.
Cautiously deal with the Flood, battling on your own terms and not theirs; blindly charging up will get you overwhelmed and killed. There's a crashed Pelican in the area (which will serve as your escape vehicle later on); there is case containing four Fragmentation grenades, a SMG, a Rocket Launcher and a Flamethrower lying around. Make sure to grab a Deployable Cover for use against the Flood.
Once this group of Flood are killed, grab the Flamethrower and move up slightly until you hear the Flood scream and screech; at this point, two or three Carriers alongside a large number of Stalkers will appear from the end of the room. The Carriers aren't much of a threat; simply focus your attention on the Stalkers, sending out small bursts of flame to kill them. They'll usually attempt to attack you without changing, but if you are too slow, they may change into Ranged or Tank forms depending on your distance and cause extra headaches.
If you used any plasma/incendiary grenades, before leaving this chamber through the porta in front of you, turn left to a path where there are some Elite and Brute corpses. There are several plasma/incendiary grenades near them.
Alternatively, you can simply skip the entire room by dashing your way towards the porta, as the Flood will not attempt to chase you down.
Keep moving to the next porta, where a Cortana/Gravemind memory appears. Keep moving to find a slope with bodies of Elites and Brutes. Infection forms will appear, and they tend to infect the Brutes because of the distance from them and the Elites. Alternatively, because of the grenades in the area, you can set off a chain reaction by throwing a grenade of your choice, which should kill most of the Infection Forms. Deal with the stragglers afterwards.
Scan the area closely, as there are powerful weapons not to be missed, such as the Gravity Hammer, Brute Shots and Energy Swords. Ignore the Gravity Hammer and simply ensure that you have a Carbine and two fully stocked Plasma Rifles before going down the hole up ahead.
===The Terminal Room===
You'll be in small enclosure. Hide behind the pillar. There'll be many Flood here, consisting of Combat and Pures. Lure out the Combat Forms and any visible Tank Forms to you, so that you can kill them easily. While there will also be some Ranged Forms firing on you, most of them should be within range for the Plasma Rifle to have reasonable accuracy, so kill them with short bursts. Throw down a Deployable Cover if you have one, and when all the Flood in sight are killed, move up to bait more towards you.
Near the end of this room, several Tank Forms will be waiting for you. Kill them one at a time, and when all Flood are killed, move into the small passageway and keep moving until you reach the end; until you do so, an infinite wave of Infection Forms will continually appear, and hamper you by directly attacking or reviving any corpses in the area.
Before leaving the area, you may want to familiarize yourself with where the weapons are. There are various lockers, and in the room containing the terminal, there are various equipment, including another Gravity Hammer, Maulers, Cloaking, and grenades. There are a few lockers containing Plasma Rifles/Pistols and Needlers. Make sure to grab a Cloaking before you leave.
===The Hallway===
When you keep moving, a few Carriers will appear. DO NOT throw your Plasma or Stick grenades yet; doing so will make them burst, and the grenade's explosion will release even more Infection Forms from the pods. Make them get closer to you (make sure there's none or little pods nearby) before killing them. Be wary though, as several Stalkers are waiting around the bend (one of which turns into a Ranged Form near the second Carrier). Move up the narrow hallway, where plenty of Ranged Forms will pelt you. Slowly advance, using your Needler or dual-wielded Plasma Rifles to kill them off.
If you need to resupply, return to the terminal room to do so.
As you proceed, midway through some Combat Forms will appear. As you reach the end of the area, a squad of Combat and Tank Forms will appear. You can use your Cloaking if you want, as the Combat Forms are all equipped with weapons and you certainly don't want to be dealing with them in an enclosed area. More Cloaking can be obtained further on.
===The Spiral Room===
When you get through, another hard part appears. Like the hallway section you just completed, there are plenty of Flood here; a similar amount of Stalkers (which will almost always turn into Ranged Forms), and slightly more Combat Forms. Try to take out as much Combat Forms as possible, before dealing with the Ranged Forms.
Once all Flood within range are killed, grab another Cloaking, and an Energy Sword hiding in a small corner of the room. As you near the top, a few more Combat Forms and any Pures that haven't been killed yet will attack.
===The Reactor Room===
When you see the last porta open, turn on your Cloaking. If you feel you won't be able to get past in time, kill the Pure Forms first; they will cause more problems than the shielded Combat Forms. Note that there is a good chunk of idle Stalkers lying about; these will not do anything, even when fired upon. However, they do cause some problems if they're in the way of an active target. Run forward to the Sanctum. In the center there will be some sort of podium: Cortana's stasis field. Go to the stasis field and bash on it until it breaks to free Cortana and start a cutscene.
If you want to clear it, there are some incindary grenades, cloaking, Brute Shots, some other weapons, and near the place to the Sanctum is a Covenant Weapon Case with 2 fully charged Energy Swords.
==Part 2: Nor Hell a Fury==
=== The Reactor Room, Again ===
Now you've got Cortana, it's time to get out. Cortana will tell you to destroy the reactors to destroy the infested city. As soon as you return to the reactor room, you will be greeted with both Combat and Pure Forms. Take out all attacking hostiles in the room before opening up the reactors. There are plenty of Stalker Forms in the room; however, they can be ignored as they don't react to the player (don't confuse these for the active Stalkers). Open up the reactor cores and destroy them. Simply use the Brute Shot to destroy the cores; there's no need to melee them. Make sure you have two fully charged Plasma Rifles before destroying the cores.
Once all three reactor cores are destroyed, a new area will open up. A Combat Form lurks behind the door with a Mauler, so shoot it down from range before moving foward.
Drop down into the long hallway before the spiral. Combat Forms are running away, although they will try to kill you after running a while. If you have your Cloaking, use it and run past them as there are also Carriers that can kill you on higher difficulties. Run back to the Terminal Room.
=== The Terminal Room ===
On Heroic and Legendary, as soon as you re-enter this room, a group of Combat Forms will greet you. Clear them out and keep moving up, where more Combat Forms will appear. Deal with this second group carefully, as some may carry Energy Swords on Heroic/Legendary. At the end of this room, a Tank Form will burst out from the side of the hallway, which is where you make your escape from. Any Flood in this room will not chase you when you enter the wired area.
===Going Back===
When you go back to where you got your first Gravity Hammer, there is a Combat Form running from the area. If you are playing on Heroic/Legendary, a few extra Combat Forms might appear, including one with an Energy Sword; take it out. You will later run into a few Carrier Forms, which you can dodge. Keep making your way back to the first large room.
=== The Pelican ===
After you make your way through this area you'll run into the first large room again. You'll find the Arbiter (solo only) who will be cleaning out the Flood. On Easy and Normal, there will only be Stalkers and Carriers. On Heroic and Legendary, there'll also be a small group of Combat Forms with them. If you left the Flamethrower when you first reached the Pelican, the Arbiter will be using it. Run past him and straight to the Pelican. Hop on board and...
What you weapons have at the end of this mission will be at the last and final mission as your starting weapons. However, you will lose your support equipment.
==Speed Run Walkthrough==
If you're having difficulties beating this level the traditional way, you can attempt to adopt a speed run strategy. On Legendary, this method is suicide and you won't advance much beyond the Pelican, but on lower difficulties you can make it through nearly every area without a prolonged engagement with the Flood.
=== Part 1: Rampant===
When the level starts, you will drop in with an Assault Rifle and a Shotgun. These will be useful for a short while, but you'll need to switch to other weapons sooner rather than later. Progress through the Infection Forms running, don't waste your ammunition on them. Once you get to the point were the Combat Forms spawn, throw a Frag grenade at them and they should all be dead. Continue running. You should soon get to the point were you drop through the hole in the floor.
When you drop through the first porta you will be assaulted by several Combat Forms. You need to fight these. There is one Combat Form with an Energy Sword, which will definitely come into use a bit later on in the level. When the Carrier Forms attack you, throw an Incendiary grenade to prevent Infection Forms from spawning.
The next room is going to be your fastest skip of the level. There are a few things to note though. To the left side is the opening with the Pelican. There is a Flamethrower and some weapons and ammunition out there, but unless you're already really low on ammo, don't go near it. You should run straight forward, using your Assault Rifle to clear a path to the porta. Once the porta closes the Flood won't follow you.
In the next area there will be several regenerating Combat Forms. Use a grenade and your Energy Sword to make short work of them, then swap your Energy Sword for the Brute Shot (which provides strong melee plus heavy projectile damage). Your weapons should now be an Assault Rifle with about 1/4 of the ammo left and a Brute Shot.
Drop through the hole in the floor. There are loads of Flood here, mostly Stalker Forms that will change into Ranged and Tank Forms, that will all be trying to take you down. Run forward with your Brute Shot out, shooting Ranged forms and meleeing the Tank Forms. Once you reach the center of the room you should get a Cloaking device. Don't activate it yet. Run straight forward out of this room, into the next area. Once you see the Carrier Forms, stick them with grenades. Advance. When you reach the left turn bring up your Assault Rifle and activate your Cloaking. You should be able to make it to the end of the hall without needing to engage, but if your Cloaking fails, the Assault Rifle will make short work of the Combat Forms.
When you go through the porta into the next area, swap your Assault Rifle for a Carbine in the weapons case. Keep the Brute Shot, even if it's out of ammo its melee is worth keeping it for now until you can get more ammo.
Kill the Combat Forms you can see, and melee any Stalker Forms that get close to you. Then run. The path on the far side of the room runs up and counterclockwise. If you have ammo left for your Brute Shot, you are much better off, because you can melee any Combat Form that gets close and a single grenade will kill a Ranged Form with an accurate hit. Grab a Cloaking but don't activate it yet. Just keep running and gunning with the Brute Shot, as it is most effective in this room. There will be a Brute Shot reload at the top of the room just before the porta.
The reactor room is your last challenge here, but just activate your Cloaking at the end of the long empty corridor before the reactor room and run straight forward to the center of the room. Turn right and run to the wall, then turn left and run to the door. You should be able to accomplish this without becoming visible again. Head through the door and down the hallway. Bash the stasis field to free Cortana.
=== Part 2: Nor Hell a Fury ===
After the cutscene, head back the way you came. In the reactor room you have no choice but to fight the Flood. Use your Energy Sword to clear out the room. You'll have to be quick, as there are a number of foes here and if you aren't swift you'll be sent back to your checkpoint. Once you've cleared your balcony, swap your Energy sword for a Carbine and snipe any Combat Forms across the room. Then swap the Carbine for a Brute Spiker and finish off any Ranged Forms that remain. Load up your Brute Shot, and grab a Carbine. Use the Brute Shot to blow up the reactors, and run. Fall through the hole in the floor and run down the narrow hallway from earlier using your Carbine and grenades to take out the Flood.
Once you return to the terminal room bring up your Brute Shot and run forward. Toss Frags and use your Brute Shot to clear the area in front of you, and only in front of you. Keep moving forward and don't look back. The Flood will not follow you from one room to another, so move quickly and you won't need to fight as much.
Eventually you will reach the room where the Pelican is found. You will find that the Arbiter has joined you, with a Flamethrower. Just let him do the killing, and run past all of the Flood to the Pelican. Go into the Pelican and escape.
==Notes for Legendary Play==
===Tips & Tricks===
*Know how to use every weapon to its greatest effect.
:There really isn't any weapon that is weak in all situations. The only exception is a Plasma Pistol overcharge—while it takes out shields effectively, it does little to the Flood. If you get a Plasma Pistol, use normal shots. The Flamethrower uses approximately the same amount of fuel for killing a Combat Form as for killing a Pure Form; therefore, save it to kill Pure Forms. Don't hoard weapons continuously, despite how much you may think you need them--if you hoard too many, you will overload the map. The most common result is that some weapons disappear or fall through the floor, although this is helpful when you use the Iron Skull in this level. Try using anti-Flood weapons, such as the Energy Sword, Plasma Rifles, or Brute Shots as these are plentiful in this mission.
*Know how to use grenades.
:Get the most out of your grenades, use them on clusters of flood, but keep at least two stickies (anything that is not a Frag). These are particularly effective against Carrier Forms because they kill not only the Carrier Forms themselves, but also the Infection Forms inside them. If you are having trouble killing something, say, a Pure Form in the large room near the halfway point, go ahead and throw a grenade. Never stick grenades on Combat Forms or blindly throw them as this can waste the grenade and burst multiple growth pods. Reserve incendiary grenades for Tank Forms.
*Know how to use equipment.
:If you are a Halo 1/2 veteran, you probably made it this far, with difficulty, without using equipment. But on Cortana, equipment becomes a necessity. Deployable Covers are probably the best equipment; they do not self-destruct after a while, unlike any other equipment, and you can fire while protected if you are carrying a human weapon. Note: The Carbine cannot fire through Deployable Cover. If you cannot find Deployable Cover, use a Bubble Shield, as lesser forms enter your shield, you can kill them without worrying about exposing yourself to Ranged Forms. But when the timer goes out, you will be exposed. Cloaking is good for speedruns, it is also effective for crossing the larger open spaces without detection.
* Pay attention to your surroundings.
:It sounds ridiculously obvious, but more so than any other level it is true here. The Flood blend with the background and often times your radar will not detect the enemy because they are stationary. Always check behind you and be methodical when clearing areas.
*Know your Flood.
:Each variety of Flood has a specific weakness. No one weapon will be effective against all (for example; The Energy Sword is excellent against shielded Combat Forms and Tank Forms, but its range makes it unsuitable against Ranged Forms). Understand that your best chance of survival is knowing what combination of weapons will provide you with quick short range attacks and excellent range, to maximize your overall damage.
===Skulls===
Activating Skulls on this level is at your own peril, but here is a breakdown of skull use on this level and how it will affect your gameplay.
====Gold====
*Iron
:Due to the difficulty of this level, using Iron is not recommended. If you do use it, be utterly methodical in clearing areas. Leave nothing intact, and be very precise in your accuracy.
*Black Eye
:There are no Regenerators and many situations where you can die very quickly. Not recommended due to the difficulty of meleeing the Flood and the numerous Ranged Forms throughout the level.
*Tough Luck
:The Flood often don't have anywhere to dodge to, and they usually forget to dodge anyway.
*Catch
:Activate this skull if you have it; the Flood don't use grenades, but they will drop more when they die (espically Ranged Forms), and will cause many deadly chain reactions if you throw a grenade near one, the only detraction here is large chain reactions can also burst growth pods. Flood also tend to avoid grenade attacks, so this is usually not recommended unless they are decently scattered around.
*Fog
:You will be surrounded very easily. However as your radar can often be deceptive on this level, if you do use it you're really not losing all that much of an advantage. Just listen to the screeches of the Flood to indicate if they are close or far from you.
*Famine
:Ammunition is scarce on this level, therefore this skull is highly discouraged. However, there are multiple ammo lockers with full ammo, and several weapons are quite common, such as Brute Spikers and Plasma Rifles. Using these weapons often with a decent amount of meleeing will make you suceed.
*Thunderstorm
:You will simply get more Elite Combat Forms with this skull active; however, they appear throughout the whole level anyways, so the only issue is having to deal with their shields on higher difficulties. It does mean more points if this skull is used, because Elite Combat Forms give more points then their other Combat counterparts, which is pointful for gaining the main achievement here, but if you struggle to take down the Elites, avoid turning this skull on.
*Tilt
:This skull is probably the most annoying, but also the easiest to get around. Your plasma weapons will become very ineffective, but projectile weapons like the Spiker and Human weapons are twice as deadly. Being able to aim properly is key here as headshots with the Carbine aren't affected.
*Mythic
:Much like the "Tilt" skull, for experienced players it's going to be more annoying than anything else. Accurate fire and knowing your weapons will effectively negate the consequences of activating this Skull. For inexperienced players, and those with difficulty aiming, this skull can be a death sentence.
====Silver====
*Blind
No HUD, you cannot see ammo, grenades crosshairs or guns. Not suggested because the majority of Flood will be Brutes, and you will have a hard time headshotting them. Poor shooters can also hit growth pods which can be very deadly if multiple are shot at.
*Cowbell
Bigger explosions. Stay away from grenades you toss, carrier forms, and any other explosions. Useful to get rid of tightly grouped pockets of Combat Forms with a Carrier Form around. However, explosions can cause growth pods to burst open.
*IWHBYD
No effect on this level. Use anyway for more points.
*Grunt Birthday Party
No grunts on this level. Useless.
Depending on what you use and how good you are, Thunderstorm, Tough Luck, and Grunt Birthday Party/Mystic, you will get enough points to get the achievement depending on how you use it. Examples are sticking foes, assasinating them, using a Needler, headshots, etc.
==Trivia==
*﻿This is the largest level in Halo 3.
*This level has 2 skulls, though one is rendered useless (if you got it before).
*This is the only level to give a lot of Incindary grenades out (there's one at the start room).
*This level has an opposite toll. Instead of getting Human Combat Forms and Brute Combat Forms often, it is Elite and Brute Combat Forms that come.
*This is the only level where your only headshot comes from Carbine.
*The terminal on this level does not show anything but a Cortana moment.
==Not Legendary Notes==
*There is no difference in how you should approach this mission whether it's on Easy or Legendary. The only difference is in the overall numbers of Flood (on Legendary they can seem unending) and in how difficult it is to kill them (headshots, not withstanding) If you can beat this mission on Normal without getting killed, it's a fair bet that you should be able to complete it on Legendary. Remember to take it slow, no battle has respawning flood.
==Videos==
File:MCC_Halo_3_Heroic_Walkthrough_-_Mission_09_Cortana
Category:Halo 3
Category:Walkthroughs