Arrange to battle two Banshees with a squad of Marines, in locations of your own choosing!

Posted March 16th 2006

• The basic idea
• Creating a base save
• Setting up a battle from your base save
• Some special battle locations
• Preparation tips
• Battle tips
• An alternative base save
• Off the beaten track

In the latter part of level 2 you get attacked by a pair of Banshees in the valley that links the three survivor areas. Normally you'd be in your Warthog and a gunner would make short work of them. But you can have a much more interesting time than that. It's easy to arrange battles in which yourself and a squad of Marines take on the Banshees anywhere in the valley, or even some places outside it. Banshee battles to order! Lots to play about with here, so let's get on with it.

The first thing you'll need is a save that will form a starting point for setting up different battles. This will be your 'base save', in which all but one of the rockslide survivors has been ferried out of the rockslide area. Together with your original passengers, they'll form a squad of up to eight at a base camp, ready to be moved to any chosen battle location. Here's the detail.

Get the first dropship checkpoint

When you emerge into the valley after the underground section, head for the lifeboat, and perhaps save when you get the checkpoint there; you'll read why shortly. Get the sniper rifle, then head towards the rockslide area and drop your passengers outside. Drive inside and quickly wipe out the enemy with the sniper rifle, ideally before they attack the Marines. Go over to the Marines and you should get a checkpoint that heralds the arrival of the first of four dropships.

Ferry out all except one

Start ferrying out all but one of the Marines, ideally the sniper. In the process, also thin out the arriving enemy troops to help minimize the threat to the remainder; use squashing and chain-gunners. Make sure to leave a handful of enemy though (e.g. kill everyone except the troops from the final dropship), else the remaining enemy get classified as stragglers and an evac Pelican comes in within a few minutes, which you don't want.

If you ever see "Search for additional survivors" on the screen, that means the remaining rockslide survivors got wiped out, which is no good, and you'll have to try again after restarting from some earlier point. With this possibility of failure in mind, it's wise to've saved somewhere prior to ever entering the rockslide area (e.g. at the lifeboat checkpoint), so you can always eject the disc and reload, to restart from that point.

Set up base camp and get kitted out

Now you've got all but one Marine out, preferably move everyone to a more central 'base camp' in the valley, from which to later ferry them to the various battle locations you'll be trying. This is just an efficiency measure.

Make sure you've got your preferred weapon combo for the later battling. I recommend an assault rifle for good visceral fun. The pistol is the best anti-Banshee weapon of course, but can make things feel too easy. Also make sure you're loaded with plasma grenades and set to use them; tagging Banshees is good challenging fun.

Optionally you could assemble a stash of alternative weapons at base camp to make your save more flexible. There are plenty of weapons lying around in the rockslide area which you can probably sneak out ok, even though a few enemies may be around (you could lure enemies away first, so you'll have some time). You could even make quick trips into the other survivor areas as long as you don't trigger the Banshees (by fully dealing with the area).

Personally I'm carrying an AR with pistol as secondary, but I've also got a stash that includes plasma weapons and even a sniper rifle in case I fancy doing a distant bit of battle watching.

Finish off

Alone in the Warthog, go to the rockslide entrance to get a checkpoint. Save and quit, to complete your base save.

Now you've got your base save, it's time to start the fun!

Set up your defence position

Decide where you fancy battling, then ferry all your Marines there (or as many as you want). It can be anywhere in the valley, and even some places outside it. Have fun trying out different locations and squad arrangements. If you've got a weapons stash at base camp, select the combo you want. Optionally, you could even move some or all of the stash to the battle location, to allow you to vary weapons during battle.

Deal with the final survivor

Drive back into the rockslide area. If the final survivor is a sniper, pick him up or squash him. If he's not a sniper, squash him; you hardly want a chain-gunner destroying the Banshees on the way into battle! As you drive back out you get a checkpoint (usually), and the Banshees have appeared. Drive to your battle location with Banshees in hot pursuit, and enjoy the fight. When it's over, you can revert to get back to that rockslide exit checkpoint (or possibly a later checkpoint in some cases), so you can go into battle all over again.

Note: A sniper will add nothing to your squad's effectiveness as his weapon has no effect on the Banshees; but maybe you'll enjoy the racket he makes.

Creating a battle save

If you instead use a copy of your base save, you could then save the battle you've set up. Personally I haven't bothered with this much as it's so quick to set up 'temporary' battles from a base save. I'll set up a battle and replay it for a while, then eject the disc and reload to set up a different battle and play that for a while, and so on.

I've tried out quite a few battle locations by now, and here are some worth special comment.

(1) Cliffside hilltop

I mention this location first as it's so unique, and because it also relates to the origin of all this Banshee fun.

As described in Cliffside hilltop fun, in the cliffside survivor area you can actually drive up the steep hill to get to the plateau-like hilltop. The tremendous Banshee battling you can have up there is notable for the way Banshees tend to come in menacingly low across the ground, with a keen interest in squashing you.

It was actually the battling up there that got me wondering where else you could arrange to fight the Banshees with a squad of Marines. Pretty much anywhere down below, I suddenly realized; and soon the whole valley became one big Banshee battling playground. Woo-hoo! My favourite level, and I'd been missing all this fun!

(2) Jackal mound

Outside the left entrance to the cliffside survivor area is a tall mound where you get Jackal guards standing around (except on Legendary). I call it the Jackal mound, and I've had some of my most exciting Banshee battling here.

You can get some highly dramatic battle views by dropping some Marines on top of the mound (as best you can), and standing behind them a short way down. When the Banshees come swooping in you get a striking view with the Marines ahead of you blazing away, silhouetted against the sky. Go try it out and you'll see what I mean. The mound gives great cover too. Of course, you also get a panoramic view of the valley down to the underground tunnel.

There's further drama when the Banshees come swooping along at about the same level as the top of the mound, occasionally even coming right over it with the apparent intention of taking your head off. As they veer away, their undersides are nicely exposed for a concentrated AR drilling. That's gonna hurt! Great tagging opportunities too. On the other hand the pilots seem quite keen on blasting Marines and cyborgs off the mound with plasma bolts, and sometimes they even laugh as they swoop off. "Ah-ha-ha!". You'll pay for that, squid-face!

(3) Outside the underground tunnel

I really like it outside the tunnel where you first emerge into the valley. There's a large crater-like depression that looks ideal for placing Marines in, and there are some nice rocks at the back to either use for cover or to stand on. You've got the atmospheric sound of the nearby waterfall, and I just love that dramatic view up the valley. Also, the drive to this location is fantastic. The direct route features a huge mound to launch off shortly after leaving the rockslide area, followed by lots of smaller jumps as you bounce down the hill with Banshees on your tail. Great stuff. Try other routes too though; e.g. how about following the stream?

The big rock at the back is sometimes climbable, giving you a nice wide perch if you want one. You may even be able to drive the Warthog up to drop Marines on top of it; I've had four up there. The smaller rocks are often high enough to give you decent cover from Banshee dives, and can likewise be climbable.

If you're wondering what I mean with phrases such as "sometimes climbable", bear in mind that rock geometry varies. It gets decided at the loading point shortly before you emerge from the tunnel. If you save at the preceding checkpoint (just after the light-bridge), you can make repeated attempts at getting ideal rocks as follows, when creating your base save. Take a look at the rocks when you emerge. If they aren't to your satisfaction, eject the disc and reload to try again.

(4) Inside the underground tunnel

Having enjoyed battling outside the underground tunnel, it wasn't long before I started wondering what would happen if I put the Marines inside the tunnel. And boy oh boy, what a time we had when I placed them part way along the flat final section (leading into the valley).

The Banshees periodically enter the tunnel, prang themselves against the walls, and sometimes briefly disappear down the far end before managing to find their way back out. Meanwhile, the idiotic Marines are busy lobbing frag grenades about the place, so you've got high explosive bouncing off the walls all around you, and sure enough, BOOM! There goes half the squad and most of my shielding. Talk about comical. Make sure you try this!

Something else interesting here. When a Banshee disappears down the far end and you go to have a look, you'll probably find him pushing against a corner on the right, low down. If you approach and stand on the slope (the last bit of slope before the tunnel levels out), he may start trying to squash you, but you can move around so that he's continually chasing after you in a small circle, with one side of his machine scraping along the ground. He can't quite turn as sharply as he'd like. First time this happened, we were going around like this for well over a minute, and there was no sign of him giving up (I eventually started getting dizzy and tagged him). An unusual dynamic; have a go and see how long you can keep it going. See Mad banshees for more on weird Banshee behaviour.

(5) Stream near the far waterfall

At the far end of the valley, just past the right entrance to the cliffside survivor area, the stream soon turns into a waterfall off the cliff. It's a pretty dramatic area to place the Marines. For example place them on either side of the stream, as if inviting the Banshees into a two-sided ambush. Or maybe put them in the stream itself. There are lots of rocks around that you can use for cover if you want, and you can also get cover by standing behind one of the shallow 'steps' in the stream. During the battle you may hear some frag grenades going off in the water. SPLOOSH!

It was here that I noticed something new. Look out for the incoming plasma hitting the water. You'll see a nice splash effect in dark blue. You get a similar effect with the plasma rifle or plasma pistol.

On the right as you stand in the stream looking seawards, the stony cliff wall includes a bit of slope (near a big rock) that you can run up for a few metres, potentially giving you a perch from which to watch the battle. As Banshees fly in and attack the Marines (e.g. if you've put them near the end of the stream), see if you can tag them.

(6) Stream under the Banshee overhang

By the 'Banshee overhang' I mean the overhanging bit of cliff above which the Banshees materialize, doing their formation circling thing. Try putting the Marines down below, scattered around in the stream or on the sides. There are lots of trees for cover, and there's a big rock against the cliff, which is potentially climbable for a perched view. With your back to the cliff, the views are particularly dramatic. On one side there's a moon above the cliff, and on the other, Banshees sometimes come diving in out of the sun.

Banshees often come swooping along just above the stream, giving you some nice opportunities for tagging them as they pass. They don't find the area terribly easy to navigate, and occasionally bash into the cliff or trees, which gives you further chances to tag them or give them a nasty AR drilling. And whilst all this mayhem is going on, you've got the restful sound of that running stream as a comforting backdrop. Ah, nice.

Here are some tips concerning your preparations for battle.

Making things last longer

I recommend using Legendary so the Banshees are as tough as possible, to make the battles last longer. Actually, even on Legendary, a mere six Marines with ARs can sometimes do a pretty good job unaided if they don't blow themselves to pieces first. If you want more of the responsibility, you may want to use a smaller squad.

Of course, you don't have to use all the Marines you assembled at base camp; you could always ferry some to another location where they'll be out of the action. Or accidentally squash a few ("Oops, sorry guys, must get that steering fixed!"). Or simply leave them there, though they might catch the attention of the Banshees at some point.

Want more Marines?

With the base save I described, you potentially end up with eight Marines at base camp. If you want even more you can get some from the hillside survivor area. Don't bring them all out though. You'll want at least one to stay inside and alive, otherwise the game will consider the area dealt with and the Banshees will be triggered, which you don't want yet.

Squad arrangement

For general tips on squad arrangement, see Squad arranging in the Engineering tips section.

Checkpoint trouble

As you leave the rockslide area to head into battle, you want a checkpoint to potentially be able to revert to, for driving into battle yet again. If you exit at high speed, you're quickly in a line of sight with the Banshees, and the game may end up delaying the checkpoint (triggered back in the passage) because it considers you under threat. That would be no good. By driving a bit slower past the trigger point in the exit passage, you allow the game more time to give you the checkpoint before you emerge into danger.

Now here are some tips regarding the fun part.

Different routes

Driving into battle should be fun in itself, with all the weaving and jumping you can do in these lush rolling hills. Have fun trying different routes.

Get that plasma off my paintwork!

When driving to your battle location, the Banshees will often be right behind you, dishing out the plasma. If it's getting too hot, one trick you can employ is to briefly swerve into a small circle, hoping to make pursuers overshoot or veer off. You can also simply swerve about trying to make the most use of any cover on the way.

Caution: airborne explosive

Marines have a comically bizarre habit of lobbing frag grenades after Banshees. Of course, all this is ever going to accomplish is to blow up fellow Marines or nearby cyborgs. So watch out!

Weaponry

The pistol can make it rather quick and easy to bring down the Banshees, so consider using the AR or plasma weapons for a bit more challenge. A fun thing you can do with the plasma pistol is to deal the final blow with a 'chaser' shot; a plasma ball that chases after the Banshee as it flies off. When it catches up, BOOM! Very satisfying. See the combat tips section for a fuller discussion of anti-Banshee tactics.

A squashed Marine is not a happy Marine

If you're taking your cyborg duties seriously, have the awareness not to bring down a Banshee when it would likely fall among Marines. On the other hand, if you're just having fun, let 'em dive clear! If they can't see a ruddy great purple thing heading straight for them, that's their fault dammit, am I right?

Cyborg ambush

Depending on the scenery and how you arranged the Marines, you may be able to hide yourself behind a rock or tree so that as a Banshee swoops in to attack the Marines, you can pop out from hiding to give the pilot a nasty surprise, such as a vicious AR drilling at close range, or a nice sticky plasma grenade. Good fun.

Tagging

Tagging Banshees isn't particularly easy, though you'll probably soon get better at it with all the practice you'll be getting. For a challenge, see if you can get them both by tagging. Or, see if you can double-tag a Banshee as it makes an attacking run. You don't have to wait until it's close up of course; see if you can get it with a long throw as it's coming in.

Pilot whacking

When a Banshee heading straight for you explodes, the pilot sometimes comes flying through the air towards you. Take the opportunity to give him a good whack before he hits the ground, just to make sure he got the message! Ok it's not strictly necessary, but it sure feels good.

Sit back and watch

Have fun simply watching the Marines defend; see if they can cut it on their own. You may even be able to sneak away from the battle to enjoy watching it from a distance, perhaps through a sniper scope.

Traitor!

Something else you can do with your assembled Marines is to turn traitor by killing some. You'll have a whole lot of frag grenades heading your way real soon!

The base save I described uses the Marines from the rockslide area, but you could create a similar sort of base save using just the Marines from the hillside survivor area, and it would be quicker and easier. You could drop your original passengers at a base camp location, then ferry out all but one of the hillside survivors to join them. You'd get a checkpoint somewhere to complete your save.

However, on Legendary or Heroic, the hillside area only has three survivors, and because none are snipers, you'll be killing the final guy, hence your battles would feature only four Marines. On Normal or Easy the situation is slightly better. There are four survivors and one is a sniper. You could therefore ferry out the three normal Marines, giving you five; plus the sniper eventually if you want, though his weapon will be ineffective.

The areas I consider convenient for battle locations are the whole valley, the rock tunnel leading to the interior waterfall, the hilltop along the cliffside survivor area, and the final section of the underground tunnel.

What about other places? Namely, the three survivor areas, the interior waterfall area, and the rest of the underground tunnel all the way back to and including the light-bridge area. Well, it turns out that you can lead Banshees into those areas, and things get quite weird, resulting in yet more fun as described in Mad Banshees. But they're not too suitable for arranging Banshee battles. This is partly because of the weird Banshee behaviour. Banshees tend to either squash the Marines fairly quickly, or get themselves blown up after chasing Marine grenades. That certainly makes for a fine spectacle, but it's not much of a battle. A further drawback is that it's not easy to lead both Banshees into an area at once; so you'd usually only be battling a single Banshee. Also, in the survivor areas you may need to kill some enemies first so it's safe enough to drop troops off in a particular locale; but not so many enemies that you trigger the Banshees prematurely.

Interior waterfall

If you want to try out a battle in one of these other areas, let me recommend the interior waterfall. It's picturesque, and there are plenty of interesting ways to arrange your squad there. When you lead a Banshee in, you can potentially sit back and watch, once it's got sight of the squad. Indeed, you can be over on one side of the stream, watching Marines fight on the other. If a Banshee comes after you, you can get rid of this unwanted attention by throwing a grenade in the rough direction of the Marines so the Banshee briefly heads after it then fixates on the Marines.

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