Here are some battle plans to try (best three first). Depending on quite how many enemies you're dealing with, some of these may only be viable on the lower difficulty levels however (I've mainly used Normal).

• Enclosure defence
• Cliff path defence
• Top path defence
• Bridge start defence
• Two mounds defence
• Single file
• Cloaked mischief
• Launch me

Associated movies… BCM10

Up at the far end there's a small area that sometimes contains a Shade. I call it the 'enclosure' and it's a pretty obvious defence position. From there you might initially do a bit of sniping as enemies approach, though there's usually not time for more than a few mags. When they get closer you can retreat towards a corner if you like, forcing enemies to advance through the entrance before they can get nasty with you. In one corner (the left as you face out) there's quite a nook at the back which can give you good cover and give you time to duck back and reload or recharge. Actually, if you hide in that corner before enemies arrive, it may be while before they spot you (you'll probably get rumbled by a Grunt); and then all of a sudden you've got a mass of covies to deal with.

Grenades quickly build up near the entrance, making this a great plan for setting off chain reactions. You'll probably find it hard to stay in one corner due to the pressure and possibly some incoming plasmas from the Grunts, but that's ok; it's a lot of fun moving around from one corner to another, and you can pick up grenades as you go. There's an almost constant supply of them.

This defence spot makes for a fantastic battle against 40+ covies on Normal using plasma weapons and and the AR; or even just a needler. It's utter carnage, and it's really a case of fighting for your life. Make sure you give this plan a go! I've also tried surviving with just the sniper rifle and grenades, trying to keep the covies back as much as possible, but they close in a bit too quickly. You might just about manage it though, if you shoot fast and make every round count. But for me this battle is all about close-range carnage. Incidentally, it's possible to escape from either corner by jumping over where the rocky fronting joins the cliff, though that really isn't part of the plan. Could come in useful if you're just dallying here as part of a defence on the move however.

If you're using a Grunts-only save, it's quite an amusing sight as they approach, especially through a sniper scope with light amplification. If there was a 50s B-movie called 'Attack of the Grunts', this view would be just the thing for the poster. Here they come, toddling along from all over, eager to put their needlers and plasma pistols to good use. Cute!

One other remark; your flashlight seems to be a bit fickle in the enclosure, sometimes not illuminating things even though it's on. There's some sort of glitch there - but you get some of this trouble in other areas of the dustbowl too.

Associated movies… BCM9

Defend from the cliff path. There are various options here but I think the most enjoyable is to defend in the section stretching between the two entrances to the dustbowl (the ramp entrance and the far end entrance). You'll potentially have enemies coming at you from both directions, making you the meat in a pretty nasty cyborg sandwich! I've had a load of fun with this against 40+ enemies on Normal and it's one of my favourite defences. This stretch of ground is relatively well lit too (more towards the far end), another reason I like it.

Depending on how many enemies you're up against, you may be able to enjoy just running around taking out covies one after another, throwing grenades about the place and generally tormenting the enemy. There are plenty of rocks and trees to use for cover, though that becomes rather hard when enemies are arriving from both ends. Lots of fun for melee too; watch out for heads to whack as you run around. I really like using a plasma rifle here, perhaps coupled with an AR for the fun of drilling enemies up close. Come to think of it though, I like that combo pretty much everywhere in the megabattle.

If you want to have enemies arriving mostly from only one direction to give things a less chaotic flavour, it's easy enough to engineer. To get most of them arriving via the ramp entrance, you could just hang around at the safe spot for a short while to get everyone clustered below in the dustbowl, then run along the side path and to the entrance (or you could jump across and go over the bridge, but you may take more fire that way). If you instead want most enemies arriving via the far end entrance, you could head around that way yourself in a nice big arc. In both cases there are other ways too though, and once you're in that section of the path, it's fairly easy to draw enemies to one particular entrance simply by being nearer to it. Likewise, if you want them coming from both ends, it's quite easy to get them doing that. I like to get them coming from both ends because it makes things a lot more interesting and challenging. Against 40+ covies on Normal, you'll need to work hard to stay alive.

One particular tactic you could try is to hold off the enemy at one of the two entrances, having made sure most of them will enter from there. With so many enemies being killed in such a small area, chain reactions can be massive. I think the best of the two options is probably the ramp entrance as you have some very close rocky cover handy, plus it's harder for any Elites to move outside of you. It's easier to keep them contained. If you want extra challenge at that entrance, see if you can stay at the bottom of the ramp itself, not letting yourself use cover to either side.

One other cliff path option is to defend on the other side of the ramp entrance, i.e. to the right as you look at it. You've got rocky cover available and you could even retreat back towards the cliff corner. Enemies won't come after you that far.

At the end of the bridge there's a short bit of path to the left. There, you're in a great little area from which to defend against enemies that come along it. If they were initially gathered in the bowl or near the passage entrance, they should mostly come along just as desired. You've got two rocks available for cover; one on the inside corner where the bridge and path join, and one against the cliff wall. You can flick between them as desired, or just stand out in the open flaunting yourself if you like. You could also advance to the odd holed rock that sticks out of the cliff wall, to see if you can keep everyone back from there. Real in-your-face stuff!

This is a favourite defence of mine and it's great for setting off one chain reaction after another if you're in the mood for some high-explosive fun. Mind you, with all the plasma grenades littering the place you have to be mighty careful not to blow yourself up!

Don't overlook the needler in this defence plan. Yes it's slower than the plasma weapons and AR, but if you pick your moment it can give you a very satisfying bang. The enemy only has a narrow gap to come through, and they're not great at dodging.

Quite often there will be enemies gathered further back near near a tree where the active camouflage was, sending needles and plasma your way. Watch out especially for needle streams. It's easy to get too focused on enemies closer to hand, and then all of a sudden you realize you've got a stream of needles piling into you. Not good news! If you've got a spare grenade, clusters of enemy on that mound make a nice target. One other thing to beware of is the occasional enemy coming across the bridge behind you.

First get the enemy gathered down in the dustbowl near the passage entrance or thereabouts. You can make that happen by waiting at the safe spot for a short while. Now run to the area between the start of the bridge and the cliff wall. If you were waiting at the safe spot as suggested, you just need to run along the side path and continue a bit further. Turn to face the enemy (the start of the bridge will now be to your left) and defend from there, trying to keep the covies back as they come up the slope towards you.

You'll have a tricky job as the enemy has quite a wide area in which to advance. You can defend either from up top or from lower down where there's a large rock formation for cover. They seem to favour coming around the right side of that formation but you'll also get some coming around the left. If you're defending up close to that rock, try switching from side to side to keep them back. That may be the best tactic and I had good fun with it against 40+ enemies on Normal. Better chuck a lot of grenades though!

With the enemy gathered down in the dustbowl, defend from well ahead of the enclosure at the far end of the area. You'll have a mound to your front left with a rock jutting out of it, and a mound to your front right where there's sometimes a Shade. The ground makes a nice curve between these mounds and the enemy can be quite a spectacular sight as they come into view (heads first, if you're back far enough). You can defend from whatever depth you fancy and could every try using a sniper rifle if you go well back. From well forward you'll have the best chance of keeping them contained in the bowl but you're also exposed to more enemy fire, so you'll probably have to back off pretty soon.

The enemy has a wide area to come up and they tend to spread out, so you'll probably have some enemies coming in at you from your sides. This can make it hard to stay in control, and things may soon degenerate into a chaotic affair with enemies all around you. But that can be an enjoyable aspect of the battle of course. You've got a nice big patch of fairly level ground for moving about in - and movement is going to be pretty important if you want to stay alive!

Because you're fighting without cover, this can be a rather hard battle and may not be viable if you've got a load of Elites present. It may be best played against lesser enemies only. I tried to defend against 30 Grunts on Normal using a plasma rifle and AR, and it was tough work, especially if I disallowed myself the use of grenades. Made for a lot of fun though! After a battle like this, take the time to survey all the blue Grunt blood splattered around. Oooh, pretty!

With this battle you may need to make a bit of an effort to get the enemy coming up out of the dustbowl in the desired manner, rather than having a lot of enemies arriving over the humps themselves, giving you trouble from your sides. Assuming you're starting off cloaked, try the following. Go to somewhere near the start of the bridge (e.g. underneath the start of the bridge - or perhaps further back against the cliff wall where there's a solitary ground light) and wait a short while for enemies to flock your way and gather, then head up between the two mounds. That should give you a good attack, though you'll probably still get a few enemies coming in from your sides. You'll find that you can influence them with your position. A little to the left or right and they tend to go that way.

Get enemies following you, then take up a position where they can only get at you one at a time, allowing you to kill one after another. "Next!" Explore for the best places. Of course, this is a fine recipe for chain reactions if you fancy clearing the ground of bodies occasionally.

Possibly the most amusing instance of this idea is when you've only got Grunts around and you lead them towards a rock you're sheltering behind, so they come into your sights one by one at very close range, which is when you inject them with AR bullets or plasma (or give them a good whack if you like). For example, lead your grunty mob across the bridge in the direction of the grav-lift, and shelter behind the second rock you come to (as seen in the pic). Crouch down and prepare to fire crossways as the victims come through, sometimes with an amusing sideways hop facing you. Here you've got the added benefit that enemies often stagger back from a light peppering and fall off to their deaths (e.g. on Normal try three AR bullets fired staccato style). You'll hear the death cries. Hilarious!

Do some mischief while cloaked. Major fun! Here are some ideas.

Tagging unsuspecting enemies is the obvious thing to do. Watch their comical reactions. Tag lesser enemies low down to make them shoot up; see my general article on launching Grunts and Jackals for details.

Bashing enemy skulls should also be on your list; see how many you can get. Can you get all the Elites and Jackals? Or maybe all the Grunts? Use a plasma pistol or AR so you can whack fast.

Here's something else, best done with a concentrated mob. Lob a grenade straight up in the air and watch the enemy follow it as it comes in amongst them. Enjoy their somewhat dim-witted reactions and the subsequent bang sending them flying. Bunch of idiots!

If you've got lots of Grunts in a nice gaggle, fire off a shot and enjoy watching the whole lot leap off the ground in surprise. You have to see that!

Special set-up advice

To get more time for using the camouflage, you might like to create a dedicated save using one of the methods described in Cloaking issues. That'll be no trouble on Easy, a difficulty level which seems perfectly fine for cloaked mischief.

This isn't much of a battle plan as you're going to lose quite badly, but here goes.

Stand where needler-wielding enemies can really pile in those needles; maybe on top of a rock or something. You want as many needles as possible. Eventually, BOOM! You go soaring up from a needler explosion igniting your grenades, and you can briefly see part of the level from above. Fascinating. That's the first time I've seen it from the air. Different places can tend to send you different directions, depending on nearby surfaces and how your grenades drop. Explore.

Special set-up advice

To make things as spectacular as possible, you could perhaps use a special save in which only enemies with needlers are present. This way, plasma fire won't contribute to your death and you should hopefully take even more needles. I haven't actually tried this idea out yet, but I like the sound of it. If you can manage to set it up on Heroic or even Legendary, I think you'd get even more needles heading your way as enemies are more aggressive.

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