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Zach Hensel

English 1101

Mr. Arnold

September 29th, 2010

How to PwN: Novices’ Guide to HALO

37 seconds to go, your team is down 49-48, you have dominate map positioning with a

sniper and “stickys”, what do you do next? At this point in time there are many things you could

do, whether it be teaming up and cornering your opponents, going solo and adding an element

of surprise or just going all out, rushing your opponent causing him to choke and make a

vulnerable mistake. With proper team work, communication and execution, one would be able

to pull out 2 kills in no time, capturing a close victory and coming out on top. In the video game

HALO, a fictional first-person shooter game that is a big part of XBOX Live or a community of

online gamers, there are many different approaches you can take on how you think about and

play the game but there is only one way to win. Here we will talk about and discuss the

different maps, vehicles, weapons and tactics that are vital to the game of HALO, specifically in

the multiplayer mode. One thing is for sure though: Practice makes perfect.

The first thing to HALO is the maps. You must know every part of every map before you

can move on to slaying the blue team. If you don’t know where you are or what’s around you,

you will be nothing more than a sitting duck and within the blink of an eye be down to no

shield, susceptible to a quick and easy kill shot. Big maps are normally for “Big Team Slayer”, or
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2 teams of eight players that play first to 75 kills, and are very wide open with minimal hiding

places. Medium sized maps are ideal for “Team Slayer”, 2 teams of four players that play first to

50 kills, or any variance of that game type such as “Team Objective” or “Team Snipers”. These

maps, such as Sanctuary or Midship, will normally have a 2 base layout meaning that one side

of the map will be where the red team starts and the other side will be where the blue team

starts. Knowing these maps is vital because this is where you will spend most of your HALO

career. Last but not least, we come to small maps. Small maps are mostly used for free-for-all

game types such as “Rumble Pit”. Basically small maps are every man/woman for themselves.

These maps are small but very complex with many different layouts, levels and passageways

and knowing the maps by heart is essential in order to surprise enemies from behind or escape

a short fate. While memorizing these maps is imperative you must also be knowledgeable

about their content such as weapon placement and where to find vehicles.

Next is the lineup of weapons that you will have available to you upon the start-up of a

new game. Weapons can be sort into many different categories but can best be organized into

long-range, medium-range, short-range and close combat weapons. You will want to choose

your weapon carefully and take into consideration the map you will be playing on, the game

type you are in and the amount of players you are facing. The bigger map you are on the longer

range you will want your weapon to have and the same goes for small maps. You would not

want a sniper on a small map because most of the “slaying” will be up close and personal; you

would be much better prepared with a sword or shotgun in your hand. Think deeply about your

weapon choice because this will affect your contribution to the team.
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Long-range weapons include Snipers, Rocket/Grenade Launchers and Plasma Cannons.

These guns are highly effective and damaging but you have to be very accurate and make sure

you hit your target dead on, preferably in the head. They don’t hold a lot of ammo either so re-

loading happens quite often. Know that if you take one of these weapons into close range

combat then you must realize that you will probably come out a loser. Next are medium-range

weapons which include DMR’s, Battle Rifles and Carbines. These weapons hold a good amount

of ammunition but are normally semi-automatic. The accuracy of these weapons is dead on

unless the player himself has poor aim. These weapons are the key to most players. They can

take out an enemy with relative ease while keeping the shooter himself at a safe distant from

harm. Next are short range weapons, weapons that are dangerous up close but highly

ineffective from afar. This category consists of Pistols, Needlers, Plasma Pistols, Plasma Rifles

and SMG’s. All of these weapons are fully automatic and can hold a large amount of

ammunition. Last but not least are your close range weapons. Here you have your Energy

Sword, Shotgun and Gravity Hammer. If you are on the receiving end of one of these weapons I

wish you the best of luck. You can expect nothing short of a quick, easy, painless death. After

you know all of your weapons what you choose to use is completely up to you.

Now we move on to vehicles. When it comes to vehicles there is one simply thing to

know: larger vehicles move slower but cause major damage while smaller vehicles are much

faster but lack in the weapons department. Larger vehicles are also much more prone to

withstanding oncoming fire while smaller vehicles are much more susceptible to enemy fire.

The larger vehicles consist of Scorpion Tanks, Wraiths, Banshees and Warthogs. These vehicles

can carry more than one person at a time and often have machine guns attached for other
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players to operate while the driver maneuvers around enemy lines. Smaller vehicles are fast

and have minimal effectiveness when it comes to slaying the other team because they can be

destroyed easily but are very efficient in getting from one place to another in a short amount of

time. Getting behind the wheel of all these vehicles takes a talented individual. Each vehicle has

its own special abilities, such as the Banshee that has the capability to flip and roll to avoid

oncoming rockets, and an experienced driver will know how and when to use each specialty.

The best way to use vehicles is to gather up into a large group or “envoy”. Team work is critical

at this point in order to penetrate the opposing team and clear them out. This leads us to our

last point: Team work/tactics.

Tactics and teamwork are crucial at this stage. You know your maps, your weapons and

your vehicles. Now put them all together, create a strategy and kick some ass. Here are a few

rules that will lead you and your team to victory. Grenades first guns second. This allows you to

cause as much damage as possible to the conflicting team while keeping you safe. Once you

have drained your grenade supply, run in and wipe out the rest of the weak. This leads us to our

next rule. ALWAYS use the buddy system. Just like in real life, if you decide to wonder off into

the dark woods at midnight all by your lonesome, you are more likely to be kidnapped where as

if you have a buddy with you, then you can just out run your buddy and your good to go! Same

rules apply to HALO. If you go in alone you will most likely get slaughtered without causing

much damage to the blue team. Going into battle with a teammate is much more effective

because you will always have someone beside you to help you out. Now we get to team

communication. This is where knowing the maps come into play. If you know where the other

team is then you can simply relay this information to the rest of your team and you guys can
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ambush them from every direction and wipe each and every single one of them out. How

awesome does that sound?! Pretty awesome isn’t it?

Now you are an expert of the HALO multiplayer experience. You know your maps, your

weapons, your vehicles and your tactics and team work strategies. Work on these main

objectives in order to cause as much pain as to make little kids cry and throw their controllers at

their TV’s, floors, etc. But even with winning and all of its glory, go out there, have fun and

enjoy yourself and your friends. That’s what matters most. Just remember: PWN No0Bz and

BK’s.