Clan night tonight. 8pm PT. Halo Reach.

Leave comments here if you have preferred playlists or custom game types.

Office of Not Dying

One of today's daily challenges is to complete ONI on Legendary without dying.  It's worth 4,000 cR and rightfully so, because it's basically impossible to do on your own.  There is a glitch in the game however, where it will credit you for finishing a level without dying if you don't do from the last "Save and Quit" checkpoint.  What this means is that you can play through the entire level on Legendary solo, die as many times as you like, and then Save and Quit at the last checkpoint.  Then Resume your campaign game, don't die, and BAM 4,000 cR.  On ONI Sword Base, the last checkpoint is at the top of the base after you cross the last bridge and before you pick up the Rocket Launcher to go Banshee hunting.

Easy cR Points

Today's daily challenges in Halo Reach are amongst the easiest I've ever seen.  There are 4 Firefight challenges worth a total of 6,000 cR.  All four can be completed in just two Gruntpocalypse games, I finished them in about 20 minutes.  Today's challenges are:

• Be Their Huckleberry (3,500 cR) Kill 200 enemies in Firefight Matchmaking with the pistol.
• Blastin' and Relaxin' (1000cR) Kill 90 enemies in any game mode in Reach.
• The House of Blue Leaves (1000cR)Kill 88 enemies in a single Firefight Matchmaking game on Heroic.
• Above the Law (500cR Awarded) Complete a Round in Firefight Matchmaking without dying.

Daily challenges are like mini achievements with in-game related goals.  They are issued each day at 3am PT and you have 24 hours to complete them.  Completing each one rewards cR points which can be used in the Armory to purchase armor and other aesthetics.

HR: Name Plates

Several people have noticed that players sometimes have little icons next to their gamertags in the game lobbies.  These are Name Plates that can be activated on bungie.net.  Go here to activate yours:

http://www.bungie.net/Account/nameplates.aspx

There 8 different name plate variants with Septagon being the easiest to get and MJOLNIR Mk VI being the hardest and rarest.

Blank.  This is the default.  It has no requirements.

Septagon.  Requires registering with bungie.net.

Assault Rifle.  Requires having played the Halo Reach multiplayer Beta.

Halo PC.  Requires the product key code from the PC version of Halo 1.

Marathon.  Requires having purchased and played Marathon Durandal on Xbox Live Arcade.

Halo 2.  Requires having played Halo 2 on Xbox Live.  using your current gamertag.

Halo 3.  Requires having played Halo 3 on Xbox Live.

ODST.  Requires having played Halo 3: ODST on Xbox Live.

MJOLNIR Mk VI.  Requires having played 4 out of 5: Halo PC, Halo 2, Halo 3, Halo 3: ODST, or Halo Reach Beta.

Clan night tonight. Halo Reach. 8pm PT.

Come check out my Captain Grade 3 stripes and confetti marked deaths. Yaaayyyy!!!!

HR Armor Abilities - Advanced

I have previously covered the new armor abilities in Reach in fairly extensive detail.  Here are some advanced tips on how to maximize your newfangled abilities:

• Armor Lock - This is hands-down my favorite ability and what you'll see me grabbing almost all the time.  Key uses:
• Grenade negation: Most players will lob in a grenade first and then look for a headshot.  When you see the grenade get near, hit armor lock just long enough for it to explode and then come out firing.  Using armor lock this way allows you to lock down twice per recharge, which is usually all the grenades anybody is carrying and throwing.  Remember that it takes a split second to engage, so lock down before the grenade lands.
• Team fire: Teams operating together in close quarters benefit greatly from armor lock.  When the lead guy has low shields he can lock down while the team cleans up stragglers.  Alternating who is in lock down is very effective because other teams will tend to focus on the guy locked down.
  
• Getting unstuck: If you find a blue spider on your face, locking down will unstick it.
• Embarrassing campers: If you are by yourself and locked down because you have low shields, opposing players will tend to just wait for you to come out.  Use the EMP blast of armor lock to pwn their face.  Bad players will wait nearby so when your armor lock expires and sends out an EMP, their shields will be down and you can punch them in the face for an insta-kill.  Remember that you can move the camera around and you will come out of lock in whatever direction the camera is, not the direction you locked down in.  Mediocre players will run nearby while you're locked assuming you're locked down for the count.  You can come out of lock early (with a smaller EMP) and still punch them in the face for excellent results.  Good players will back off and wait.  If you're by yourself, look for someplace to jump for cover as soon as you come out of lock and call for help.
• Sprint - This is most effective for getting to power weapons first, and then pairs extremely well with short-range power weapons like Hammer, Sword and Shotgun.  Sprint at a DMR foe and you'll be in his face before he can 4-shot you.
• Jet Pack - This has two several good uses:
1. Getting places others can't: Many maps will have good sniping locations up high accessible only via Jet Pack.  Note that the roof above sniper spawn on Asylum is being changed into a soft kill zone in the next title update because it's cheap as hell.  For maps with Rocket Launchers, they almost always spawn someplace that's hard to get in or out of without a Jet Pack.
2. Changing the angle of attack: You can often flank land-based opponents by coming up on a level that's not normally accessible without a ramp.  This comes up on maps like Sword Base (alternate route to top of red lift), Pinnacle (getting to top of either tower without using the ramp) and Zealot (flanking on top floor without using ramp).
3. Raining grenades: Grenade to headshot is easily the most popular kill combo in the game.  This is even more effective when jetpacking because you are immune from hand-thrown grenades when in the air.
• Active Camo - This is more complex than appears on first blush.  Note that Active Camo jams your radar and the other team's radar, but *NOT YOUR OWN TEAM'S RADAR*.  This makes it extremely useful to follow your team into combat and engage your camo when getting close but not necessarily engaging in the fight.  This will keep you invisible (not firing) and be totally disruptive to the other team because they become radar-blind.  On multi-level maps, you can actually be on a level above or below the action and still wreak havoc because the jamming is multi-level.  Remember to try and stay crouched especially as your camo runs out so that the other team can't get a good fix on your location when the jamming stops.
• Evade - There's a couple special uses for Evade:
1. On Invasion Boneyard: Makes it possible on left-side Elite spawns to actually get to the base without getting picked off by DMR/Magnum fire.
2. Stick people in the face.  Makes it really easy to stick somebody in close quarters and then back-roll away to safety.
• Drop Shield - This has two special uses:
1. Objectives: Drop a shield on an objective to allow it to be returned safely away from grenade damage.  Bungie has taken Drop Shield loadouts out of territory games (because it was cheap), but it's still allowed in CTF/Invasion games for protecting objectives.
2. Medic: If you're running in a tight team, drop shield effectively allows you to heal your hurt team mates.  Drop it in a heated firefight to allow your team some reprieve.
• Hologram - Couple of special notes:
1. Objectives: This is great to plant a bunch of fake bodies around an objective (like the Core in Invasion).  It's especially effective to plant your hologram with a power weapon like a Sword which will really draw enemies in.
2. Lifts: Interestingly, Holograms can travel up grav lifts, mancannons and elevators.  Use creatively.

HR Maps: Zealot

Zealot is a small, symmetrical map used primarily for Slayer gametypes.  Blue and Red teams spawn opposite each other and have sight lines from the spawn points to hit the other team.  Grenades create massive chaos on the map, so Armor Lock rules with some people choosing Jet Pack as well.  Active Camo and Sprint pair well with Sword on this map, but it's pretty difficult to avoid grenades and stay alive long enough to have a sustained Sword Spree.

Maps annotated in-line with location call outs.  Key weapon locations:

• (A) Energy Sword - Spawns in Holograms every 120 seconds after it is picked up.  Can have a max of two on the map concurrently.  Is not available at the beginning of the game, spawns 120 seconds after the game starts.
• (B) DMR/Magnum - These spawn in both the Red Halls and Blue Halls on the ground level.
• (C) Needler - Spawns on the Center Platform
• (D) Concussion Rifle - Spawns in space, accessible via Red, Blue or Yellow lifts.

Close up screenshots of all locations:

Team Arena

I just finished my first season in Arena and I can honestly say it's pretty hard.  Arena is the all-Slayer competitive playlist for either 2v2 or 4v4.  It's Slayer DMRs all the time, no voting, and you are judged by your game Rating, which gives much more weight to kills and assists than to deaths.  Arena seasons run for a month, you have to get at least 10 daily ratings to get a season division rating, and you have to play at least 3 games a day to get a daily rating.  Like challenges, Arena days begin and end at 3am PT.

My Arena stats for the season are 372 kills, 344 deaths (1.08 K/D ratio), 85 assists, 22 wins, 11 losses (67% wins), 10.63 K/game, 9.83 D/game, 223 DMR kills, 140 DMR deaths (1.59 K/D ratio).  By all accounts, those are pretty good numbers.  That however, only earned me an Iron division rating, which is the lowest of the 5 divisions.  Arena divisions are Iron, Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Onyx.

It's good fun, really competitive, and all Slayer all the time.  But it's hard and takes a lot of time.

Player Spotlight: TimMAY 1023

TimMAY 1023 is a clan member from back to Halo 2.  Per popular request, we sat down for a quick interview to find out more about him.

Q1: What's your name in real life?
A1: Tim Romero

Q2: What is your day job?
A2: I work for Intel Corporation as a Data Center Platform Applications Engineer.  My basic job is to help large OEMs debug their initial platform bring-up of Server platforms and debug tricky system failures while in the qualification process.

Q3: What's an interesting thing about you?
A3: I am half Ecuadorian

Q4: How did you get into Halo and/or video games?
A4: I got into Halo due to John and Clan; this was in the Halo 2 timeframe.  I have been playing video games since I was 10 or 12, the first game I remember would be The Legend of Zelda on NES but there some BBS games I got into on my first Texas Instrument computer.

Q5: What's your favorite thing about playing Halo?
A5: I like playing with the clan against other teams while on-line.  I like driving the vehicles, tanks and the new helicopter and at times snipping.  I enjoy the general slayer matches the most.

Q6: What's your biggest dislike about playing Halo?
A6: I don’t like being killed and trust me that happens a lot.

Q7: How do you manage video game time with family time?
A7: It is getting harder but generally I let my wife know if there is a certain event like clan night and can get on at that time.  Also after 9PM is usually fine as they are asleep but I am not allowed to play any gun games with the kids around so there is a tightrope

Q8: What is your favorite weapon in Halo and why?
A8: I like the tank because it kills most stuff, my second favorite is the jeep, it just feels fun to drive.

Many thanks to TimMAY 1023 for his time!

Noble Map Pack DLC

Bungie has just announced the first DLC for Halo Reach.  It includes 3 brand new maps, including one new Invasion map.  It will be dropping on November 30 for 800 Microsoft Points (about $10).  It also comes with 250 achievement points.  I'll be buying it, but won't require it for the clan just yet until I have a better idea of what playlists require it.  As long as we can support clan night group sizes in the non-DLC playlists, we can live withouot it.

Halo Reach iPhone App

While I realize not everyone is as stat-obsessed as I am, I have recently discovered one of the coolest iPhone apps I've ever seen.  iGameGuides has put together an incredibly slick interface into the Halo Reach stats database.  It's surprisingly fast (even on my iPhone OG), has all the stats from bungie.net, allows you to compare, add friends, and even shows the daily challenges!

It's $1.99 and can be downloaded directly here for iPhone.  It's one of the rare apps that I happily paid for.  It currently is 100% 5/5 star ratings in iTunes, which also speaks for how great it is.

Clan night tonight. 8pm PT. Halo Reach.

My family is in town, so I may be on late, but I expect that everyone can figure out how to party-up without me.

A Monument to All Your Sins

One of the most difficult (or tedious) achievements to get in Halo Reach is "A Monument to All Your Sins," awarded for finishing the entire campaign on Legendary, solo.  Congratulations to Octurian Poon and CoolerSopranos2 for accomplishing this impressive feat!

See the chart for some comparison of Campaign data, click for huge.  Winter Contingency continues to be the easiest level, and The Pillar of Autumn continues to be the hardest.  Interestingly, on Solo, Long Night of Solace has bubbled up to be the second hardest level of them all, but also the highest scoring.  If you notify when you finish Legendary Solo, I'll be happy to compile your stats as well.

Halo Reach Ranks

Are you wondering what it takes to get to the next rank? Are you wondering why you seem to be stuck in Warrant Officer forever? Are you wondering why Warrant Officer seems to be the most popular rank? Are you wondering why there is an achievement for reaching Captain and Lt. Colonel?

Here are the currently available ranks and the credits required to reach each one:

• Recruit (0 cR)
• Private (7500 cR)
• Corporal Grade 0 (10000 cR)
• Corporal Grade 1 (15000 cR)
• Sergeant Grade 0 (20000 cR)
• Sergeant Grade 1 (26250 cR)
• Sergeant Grade 2 (32500 cR)
• Warrant Officer Grade 0 (45000 cR)
• Warrant Officer Grade 1 (78000 cR)
• Warrant Officer Grade 2 (111000 cR)
• Warrant Officer Grade 3 (144000 cR)
• Captain Grade 0 (210000 cR)
• Captain Grade 1 (233000 cR)
• Captain Grade 2 (256000 cR)
• Captain Grade 3 (279000 cR)
• Major Grade 0 (325000 cR)
• Major Grade 1 (350000 cR)
• Major Grade 2 (375000 cR)
• Major Grade 3 (400000 cR)
• Lt. Colonel Grade 0 (450000 cR)
• Lt. Colonel Grade 1 (480000 cR)
• Lt. Colonel Grade 2 (510000 cR)
• Lt. Colonel Grade 3 (540000 cR)

The biggest single promotion is from Warrant Officer Grade 3 to Captain, requiring 66,000 cR. The biggest major promotion is from warrant Officer to Captain, requiring 165,000 cR in total, or 367%.

HR Maps: Spire

Spire is a very large, asymmetrical map used primarily for Invasion.  Map details below are customized for classic Invasion, Invasion Slayer has some different nuances but the geometry stays the same.  In classic Invasion, Spartans try to capture one of two generators in Phase 1, one of two control rooms on Phase 2, and then the core in Phase 3.  Elites win if they stop the Spartans in time at any given Phase.

Maps annotated in-line with location call outs.  Key weapon/vehicle locations:

• (A) Falcon/Warthog - These spawn in Phase 3 after the Core has been removed.
• (B) Banshee - Spawns in Phase 3 after the Core has been removed.
• (C) Focus Rifle -  Spawns in Phase 3 after the Core has been removed.
• (D) Plasma Launcher (n00b tube) - Spawns in Phase 3 after the Core has been removed.
• (E) Focus Rifle -  Spawns in Phase 3 after the Core has been removed.
• (T) Plasma Turrets - Available immediately in Phase 1

Close up screenshots of all locations:

Clan night tonight. 8pm PT. Halo Reach.

There's been lots of information posted to the blog in the last couple of weeks.  Take some time to skim it if you're still coming up to speed on Reach.  We're still working out the intricacies of Active Roster, but we're still sticking to the plan that people joining late should queue up and we'll pick you up at the next lobby.  I promise to drop back into lobby when folks are on-line.  Help keep me honest by sending me a message if you see us finish a game and go back into Matchmaking.  The party details update every 15 seconds when you're queued up, so you'll see this happen.

Maps:

• HUD Location Names
• Countdown
• Paradiso
• Boardwalk
• Powerhouse 
• Boneyard - Note that Covenant weapon caches between Invasion stage 1 and 2 have been removed since the Beta
• Overlook
• Sword Base
• Hemorrhage is a remake of Blood Gulch (Halo CE) and Coagulation (Halo 2), has Rocket Launcher in the middle and Sniper Rifles at each base
• Pinnacle is a remake of Ascension (Halo 2), has Rocket Launcher on a lower platform, Shotgun near the teleport exit, and Sniper Rifles on the outside path near each base
• Asylum is a remake of Sanctuary (Halo 2), has Sword in the middle structure, and Sniper Rifles and Shotguns at each base
• Reflection is a remake of Ivory Tower (Halo 2), has Rocket Launcher in the waterfall, Sword in the back area downstairs, and Sniper Rifle at the top

Weapons:

• Weapon Groupings (includes links to all weapons in Reach)
• Weapon Summary (also includes links to all weapons)

Armor Abilities:

• Armor Summary (includes links to all armor abilities in Reach)

Game Types:

• Generator Defense on Overlook
• Invasion
• Invasion Slayer
• Headhunter and Stockpile

HR Maps: Countdown

Countdown is one of the new maps that wasn't in the Beta, click below images for huge.  It's a small, symmetrical, 3-level map that we've seen mainly in Team Slayer.  The interior houses the power weapons and all the air lifts. Location names below are the "official" location names that will appear in your HUD.  All floors are labeled along the walls as well as on your HUD.

Key locations:

• (A) Catwalk - On the third floor, the Energy Sword spawns in the middle.  The two airlifts from the Launch Pad lead to either side of this area.
• (B) Ventilation - On the north side of the first floor, the Shotgun spawns here.  This is a small room with three airlifts that exit on the third floor.  The middle airlift exits on the Balcony.
• (C) Launch Pad - This is the entire middle "atrium" of the map.  The middle of the first floor is labeled "Launch Pad", but the interior ledges on the second and third levels are also labeled "Launch Pad".  There are two air lifts on the South Side of the large atrium area that lead to the Catwalk/Sword on the third floor.
• (D) Big Door - Named for the large cargo door (closed) that is along one wall, this is the southern most point of the first floor.  This is an easy place to get pinned down and isn't the best spawn location if you have a choice.
• (E) Balcony - There is a Concussion Rifle that spawns here at the northern most point of the third floor.  Because both sets of stairs and three airlifts lead here, this is where much of the action occurs.
• (F) Just for reference, this is where the middle lift from Ventilation exits.
• (G) Tech Stairs - These are on the east side of the map and connect all three floors.  This is the Red side of the map, and this location is named after the room on the second floor with all the tech equipment along the walls.
• (H) Pipe Stairs - These are on the west side of the map and also connect all three floors.  This is the Blue side of the map, and this location is named after the analogous room on the second floor with all the pipes running all the ceilings and walls.

Successful teams will generally try to control the third floor because of good sight lines and the ability to camp the lift exits.  Hologram and Armor Lock come in very handy on this map.

Close up screenshots of weapon locations:

HUD Location Names

In Halo Reach, various locations on each map actually have "official" names.  I haven't been very good about using these, but will start using them with maps that I post from now on.  They won't do you much good if haven't learned them, but you can use the official name during your own communications.  For example, use "1 guy at Ventilation" or "1 guy at Shotgun" instead of "wtf i just died under the engine thing area".

You can see in the above screenshot where I've circled the location name.  This area is called "Launch Pad."  It will update as you move around the map.

Player Spotlight: OmniscientDeath

OmniscientDeath is one of our top players, and an original clan member from the days of Halo 1 LAN parties.  Per popular request, we sat down for a quick interview to find out more about him.

Q1: What's your name in real life?
A1: Ryan Averill

Q2: What is your day job?
A2: I manage an engineering team at Intel that studies how software interacts with various computer designs and provides insight to enable architectural design decision-making and roadmap planning.

Q3: What's an interesting thing about you?
A3: The first Bungie game I played was Pathways Into Darkness back in 1993 on a Macintosh.  Followed by Marathon, Marathon 2 Durandal, Myth: the Fallen Lords, Halo CE, Halo 2, Halo 3, ODST, and now Reach.  They should have something better than a Spartan helmet next to my gamertag for that.

Q4: How did you get into Halo and/or video games?
A4: Blame CoolerSopranos2 for that getting me into Halo.  He was my roommate at the time and bought an xbox with Halo: Combat Evolved.  Downhill ever since.

Q5: What's your favorite thing about playing Halo?
A5: Assassinating someone who just tried to kill my hologram.

Q6: What's your biggest dislike about playing Halo?
A6: Getting assassinated while trying to kill someone’s hologram.

Q7: How do you manage video game time with wife time?
A7: It’s a constant struggle.

Q8: What do you find so satisfying about getting achievements?
A8: The sense of accomplishment.  And having a lot more than CoolerSopranos2.

Many thanks to OmniscientDeath for continuing to be one of the biggest supporters of the clan!