For this plan you need to've set up a 'pass blockade', blocking the exit of the narrow pass that leads through from the previous area. Three Ghosts are enough. Put one Ghost to the left of the large rock, and the others to the right. You don't necessarily need to overturn them to stop Elites boarding them; see my advice on Ghost safety. When building this, one small problem is that the Ghost on the far right has a tendency to slide down the gentle slope at the side. However, it will stay in place if you persevere with the positioning.

Release the enemy by blasting the blockade with a rocket or grenade or Banshee bolt, then try to hold your ground from a well advanced position up near the top of the spiral path or beyond. You can expect a heck of a fight, with combat so intense that you probably won't know whether to laugh or cry. I urge you to give it a try on Heroic. You could also try it on Legendary of course, but rather you than me! I'll describe two specific variants of the general idea. They're the two ways I usually play it.

Variant 1: Early release

Grab any weaponry you fancy, fly up and blast the blockade with a Banshee bolt, then quickly land near the top of the spiral path just a short way down it and try to hold off the tide of enemies from there (basically a path top defence), or maybe even advancing when possible. It's amazingly good. You'll have multiple Elites bounding your way in seconds, with Jackals and Grunts swarming close behind. The Marines will be heading up the path to help you out, and this time you might even be grateful! Well, until some fool fumbles a frag grenade down around your boots.

I get perhaps the most intense fun out of this with a pistol and plasma rifle (both available at the ammo area), but a needler can be very effective too. For variation you could pack a sniper rifle. That will typically make things a lot easier but you'll still have to work fast against that released tide of enemy, and reloading can feel painfully slow when those Elites are getting closer and closer. You might also like to experiment with the delights of sending rockets straight into the distant charging mass, giving those nasty Elites an unwelcome surprise. That's where you get to practice your best Grunt impression: "In da face!".

If your save allows it, a rocket can be used to blast the blockade instead of using a Banshee bolt. Just fly directly to your defence position and shoot a rocket across to the blockade before the dropship comes down and blocks the shot. As long as you got your battle start checkpoint promptly enough, you should have time for this.

Variant 2: Late release

Grab any weaponry you fancy, fly up to near the top of the spiral path and kill the Elite and Grunts near the tree, plus the dropship troops and maybe the Jackals by the rock. You can do it on foot or with Banshee fire according to taste. I quite like to blitz the tree group, then ambush the dropship troops as they start to head past towards my advancing Marines. Once you're ready, release the blockaded enemy and try to hold your ground against the onslaught. There will be needlers available on the ground, and they can be a lot of fun as charging Elites will often run straight into streams of needles. Boom!

You can use the tree and rocks for cover if desired, but after a while it'll probably be safer to move off nearer the top of the spiral path in case the situation goes from bad to worse. From there you can use a needler to dispatch yet more Elites. They tend to get preoccupied with the closer Marines, and fail to notice the glorious streams of stingy pink death heading their way. Love it!

Explosive mischief

Let me also point out that instead of blasting the blockade to release the tide, you could advance on it, lobbing grenades into the enemy's midst and perhaps adding rockets for good measure. Heh, those poor covies have got nowhere to go - except up. The term 'utter devastation' comes readily to mind here, and I've seen the most spectacular chain reactions this way. Get nice and close for the fullest earth-shaking experience. I'd class this as mischief rather than a proper battle plan, but that sure doesn't stop it being a load of fun. It's a great bonus.

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