In hour after hour of painstaking research playingHalo® 2 on XboxLive™ (the sacrifices I make for you people, I tell you), I've noted some maps that keep popping up in matchmaking more than others. The teams and individuals that are indomitable in any match are the ones that know the most important locations and weapons on a given map as well as how to get to them the fastest and how to best utilize them.
For instance, there's a big difference between how you play on tight, confined maps and the tactics that work best on wide-open ones—for obvious and not-so-obvious reasons. A map like Coagulation might let you run over open space for all of 20 seconds without seeing an enemy (though you'll likely encounter a sniper if you don't keep your eyes open on the hills).
On the other hand, if you spend more than two moments looking in a single direction on Ivory Tower—the premiere Rumble Pit map—you're likely to get sliced or shot-gunned. Hiding places are plentiful, glowing energy elevators fling friend and foe all over the screen, and you can't snipe without a bodyguard, so you'd better do it from your base.
The following tips will arm you with the info you need to be a more competitive online player in the smaller Halo 2maps.
Ivory Tower The Ivory Tower map—which you might stay in all night, if you're going it alone in match-made Rumble Pit games—consists of an open, tiered central garden area ringed by player-vaulting "airlifts" and narrow staircases. It is, as the kids said the last time I checked to see what was cool,hella cool.
Ivory Tower key locations and weapons:
Mechanical Elevator Near One of the Spawn Points If you have trouble finding it, look for a lit silver garage-style door facing the elevator. It's awfully handy and is a landmark that will keep you oriented in relation to two of the most powerful weapons on the map: the Energy Sword and the Rocket. If all the good weapons are taken, a handy shield-pounding Plasma Pistol is at the top of the elevator.
The Airlifts Though the map is not symmetrical, there's an airlift all the way to the right and left of the central waterfall. It can fling your character into the air and drop you on a choice weapon, like the Shotgun, or just out of harm's way when your shields are down.
Central Passage Hub A lot of fighting goes down in this area, near several spawn points and the map's Energy Sword. This area is also a convenient (but dangerous) shortcut between all four sides of the Ivory Tower. If you need a spare Submachine Gun (SMG), you can find one here.
Basement Waterfall If you see the Energy Sword standing proudly behind the cascading water, grab the thing and go to town. It's the most deadly close-quarters weapon in the game—better even than the venerable Shotgun, thanks to its lock-on targeting.
Foundation The tiny Foundation map, on the other hand, is about as symmetrical as one could hope to find. A stumpy group of bunkers in the center of the map conceal a nice surprise or two, while twin turrets (facing each other from the second floor above like deadly basketball hoops) make any movement across the area without stopping at these bunkers risky. The entire map is cut into quarters like the central bunkers, with huge concrete pillars bearing numbers from 1 through 4, providing cover for four nearly identical spawn points.
Foundation key locations and weapons:
The Central Bunkers Smack in the center of this artificial Stonehenge is your very own Energy Sword. Grab it and hole up, or go hunting if you're able to get out to the sides relatively unscathed.
Under the Turrrets The turrets are obviously important to either avoid or find—depending on your strategy and the game type—but what's under the turrets might be even more interesting: Rockets! Use the twin airlifts on either side of the Rocket Launcher to get to the turret quickly. The goodies under both turrets are identical.
Shotgun Stairs Many a brave warrior has fallen on what I like to call the steps of boom. To the left and right of either turret (between corner spawn points 1 and 2 as well as 3 and 4) two opposing staircases go up in a "V." At the base of the steps on both sides you'll find a Shotgun, and you'll be in perfect position to storm up the steps and take out whatever awaits at the top with a single blast … Okay, maybe after tossing a Grenade … or six.
Barrels o' Fun See those glowing yellow barrel things on the terraces between the stairs? Take over one of the turrets and wait for an unsuspecting (or even suspecting) enemy to get close to them. Then, blast the barrels (not your enemy) with the turret and watch him go flying as the barrels kerplode with the force of at least as many Frag Grenades.
Don't forget to check out Bungie.net for exclusive overhead maps of your own games!
