Battle plans

Here are some battle plans for the twin bridges megabattle (there's also a separate section of Blockade battle plans to consider).

Pen defence

When you've got Marines in a pen, defending from inside or just outside is an obvious plan. Another idea is to land well to the fore of the pen and progressively fall back as you weaken the enemy attack. Do a good enough job and maybe the Marines won't have much to do!

You can keep the Marines inside or release them - possibly with a Banshee blast as you fly in. If you leave them cooped up and move away from the pen, you can potentially get a nice crossfire going; and if the enemy gets preoccupied by the Marines, you'll be able to wreak havoc without too much hindrance. Good fun!

Trees at back right

My favourite pen defence is fought with a pen based on the trees at back right. That side of the battlefield is nice and brightly lit. You can see your targets easily and the battle area becomes quite a spectacle as the enemy flood along. I've got a great save for this featuring a large squad in the pen, plus Sergeant Johnson ready on a chain-gun off to the side.

One way I like tackling things is to land early near the start of the central pillar structure, then slowly back off, taking down Elites with a sniper rifle as I go. Later I'll probably switch to a pistol. Once I'm back near the pen, I quite like positioning myself well off to the side, at the end of the pillar block. From there you can fire into the sides of enemies attacking the Marines. Jackal sides will be unprotected, as they carry shields on the right. You'll have to watch out for quite a bit of fire coming your way, but you can use the corner of the block as cover. You could even jump up onto the block and use a pillar for cover.

Two pens

Incidentally, there's nothing to stop you setting up two Marine pens if you've got enough material and Marines for the job. I haven't explored this yet but I think there are some fun possibilities. If the pens are close together it could be confusing for the enemy. Or perhaps you could initially defend at one pen, then fall back to another.

Trough defence

Defending from the far end of the trough is a whole lot of fun. I've sometimes got spare weapons there ready for this, including a rocket launcher. The enemy will charge into the trough from the other end, though you may also get some coming along the platforms.

Initially you'll probably want to do some sniping, but rocketing is also a fine idea, especially if you see any enemy concentrations forming. If you've got Marines, they tend to rush down into the trough to mix it with the enemy. Not a good idea guys! Still, it does give you the challenge of trying to keep the idiots alive. When the enemy start to get closer to you, a plasma rifle or pistol are probably the best weapons to have. When Elites are charging up, a stream of plasma to the face is good for stopping them in their tracks. Only trouble is, there are probably another two or three big nasties just behind. Oh dear.

Close and nasty

If you prefer, you could go down into the trough for a more close-up affair that's guaranteed to be even more hectic. This probably works best if you can get down there with a large squad of Marines before there are too many enemies on the scene. You'll have more of a chance of holding the enemy back. The scenes of carnage down there can be quite amazing. If you've got a sniper, he tends to stay back near the top of the trough, picking off enemies for you. Nice!

Blockade fun

The best trough battling can be had with a blockade across the trough, serving to either keep the Marines back or the enemy back, depending on how you play it. See my battle comments on trough blockades.

Platform ambush

In this favourite plan of mine, enemies get drawn along the inner platform that goes along the right side of the trough (the right side as you fly into the battlefield), and you ambush them at the end. Fought with a large squad of Marines the battling is quite stunning, and it's utter glorious carnage. Do yourself a favour and experience this! You don't have to have Marines though.

Flying in and getting ready

Fly in up the right side of the trough, over the pillar block or thereabouts. If your Marines are in a pen somewhere (ideally at the back), you can release them with a Banshee blast as you approach. If they're behind a blockade, there's no releasing needed of course.

Land and position yourself roughly in line with the pillar block, or slightly to the right, in line with the inner platform. You could stand close up to the block or further back. What you're hoping for is lots of enemy charging up the inner platform. That's influenced by your position. If you're too far right, they'll tend to come down the trough and Marines will want to head into the trough, while if you're too far left, they'll tend to come around the outside of the block. Stand within those two extremes however, and most or all enemies will trail down the inner platform as desired, feeding them straight into your ambush.

Let 'em have it!

As they get near the end, you can be waiting unseen and can ambush them as desired. They run into a hail of fire, potentially including a cyborg drilling them from the side at close range, unless you prefer standing further back among the Marines.

I just love this battle with a close-range combo such as a plasma rifle plus AR. It's utter carnage. The needler is also glorious when used on enemies still advancing up the platform. One after another you can send them up in magnificent pink explosions, often followed by a chain reaction from all the grenades that have built up. Needler plus AR is one of my favourite combos. I'll take out as many Elites as I can with needle explosions - maybe some lesser enemies too - and the AR comes into its own when things get hectic close up. You can usually keep a needler well supplied with ammo by making sure to let occasional needler-wielding enemies get past the end of the platform. Kill them and their ammo is yours. See how many enemies you can kill with just your needler; that can make for quite a skillful challenge I find. Even Jackals can be sent up with a bang, by slightly moving to the left as you fire. They'll turn a little to track you, which allows needles to sneak in past their shields.

And hey, let's not forget the rocket launcher! That can give arriving enemies a real nasty surprise. Such good fun to blast Elites to kingdom come at close range from the side, just as they think they're about to start slaughtering my Marines. No doubt about it, this is a bad day for the covies!

You can also wreak havoc with grenades of course. You can plop grenades down ready to explode just as enemies are reaching the end (watch your motion tracker and use your ears), or you can stick your head out and lob them down the platform, often causing enemies to comically dive off into the trough. See those Grunts go! I swear those things on their backs double as stabilizing fins for grunty flight. Elites sometimes jump clean over to the other side!

You can get a succession of great chain reactions at the end of the platform, as grenades build up for a while then get detonated. In fact, you can encourage that by deliberately killing enemies non-explosively for a while, then picking your moment for a massive bang that takes out some arriving victims.

Chain-gun support

You could maybe have a gunner in a Marine-retaining hog for support. One nice position for the hog is to have it backed up onto slightly raised ground against the cliff, at the back right. Being on raised ground makes the gunner less likely to shoot friendlies in the back; hopefully most of his fire goes over their heads.

Handy recharging spot

Sometimes when out front drilling enemies from the side, you may misjudge things and bite off more than you can chew. Maybe you'll have a nasty experience with multiple red Elites turning up at once or something. If you need to recharge, you can potentially back off a few metres to hide on the outer side of the pillar block, letting the Marines deal with things for a moment. Handy!

Watch those approaches

If you do back off around the corner for cover, or if you stray too far left in general, that will tend to draw distant enemies around the outside of the structure; so you'll have to watch out for that. Similarly, moving too far right (or advancing a short way along the inner platform) will tend to make enemies start coming along the trough. Even if you don't do either of these things, occasional enemies may still come around the outside or along the trough. So watch out and be ready for them. If things start getting a bit hot with enemies coming along multiple routes, you could always back off of course.

Up on the pillar block

One other thing to consider doing at some point: you can jump up onto the pillar block and attack enemies from there. In fact, you could sneak around the outside of some pillars to end up attacking a few enemies from behind. Plenty of scope for amusement here.

Fantastic long-range defence too!

Armed with weapons chosen from among the sniper rifle, rocket launcher and pistol, you can have a superb time executing a long-range defence against a steady stream of enemies coming up the platform. Position yourself so you've got a view right down the platform, and you'll have a ball. It's not exactly an ambush, but it's the same enemy approach dynamic going on. The covies make fantastic targets, and with a sniper rifle you'll often be able to kill more than one at once. See how many you can manage. A sniper rifle and pistol make a great combo here, and you can enjoy seeing how clinically you can wipe out the attack. Just as with the close-range ambush, there's also great potential for chain reactions - this time set off by either a rocket or grenade.

For this plan you won't want Marines running about in front of you. So if you've got some in a pen, maybe leave them there. Alternatively, make sure to stand well to the fore.

Herding aids

As already mentioned, enemies start getting drawn into the trough if you move too far right or if you go down the platform a little. Likewise they may start getting drawn around the outside of the block if you move too far left. You can prevent the enemy taking these unwanted routes by setting up blockades, creating a save dedicated to this platform ambush defence. Blocked enemies will probably stand around for a bit, wanting to go where they can't; but once you move back to an acceptable position, they should start getting drawn back along the inner platform again.

If you don't have enough material to block off the outer route, at least block some of it so the enemy would have to go further to get around. For example, four Ghosts would be enough to stretch from the corner of the pillar block and the nearby small rock, as mentioned in Right side blockades.

Ledge support

Support Marines by flying up to the first ledge and going to work with a sniper rifle, coupled with either a pistol or rocket launcher. The pistol is snappier but you'll probably have more fun with the rocket launcher, and it's also good for taking out Hunters (though you can also kill them with several sniper rounds to their blue armour). This is a great plan that I've had huge fun with, trying to pick off enemies as they charge up the field. Possibly the best sniping challenge in the game, what with all those moving targets. And hey, don't forget to rain down a few grenades too!

Distant destruction

When things are quiet, you can also enjoy rocketing distant enemies hanging around near the start of the area. They'll have no clue of the magnificent rockety destruction heading their way. Hee hee! In one case I spotted a wide circle of Grunts and Jackals, way back past the trough. Well, there's no way I can pass up a target like that. Moments later, a rocket in the centre sent them flying out in all directions. Glorious!

Pen at the back right

Here's one particularly good configuration you should try. Have the Marines in a pen towards the back right, e.g. based on the trees at back right. Fly straight past and land up on the first ledge a short way back, near the corner. Your Banshee will probably slide off, but you should be ok if you're careful. You get a great view of the enemy charging up the field. They're being drawn your way as usual, but they'll get waylaid by the Marines of course. It's quite a spectacle, and it's plenty of fun to simply watch if you want. In the save I was using for this, I also had Sergeant Johnson ready on a chain-gun off to the side; which was just as well because although I had eleven guys in the pen, they needed help. A chain-gun really adds to the spectacle. And don't you just love that sound?

You can leave the Marines penned or release them. When releasing them, I found that lots of enemies tended to come up the inner platform of the pillar structure, like they do in the platform ambush plan. In fact, it was basically that same situation, except that I was doing my ambushing from a long way off. For example, I was able to time rockets so they blasted enemies just as they came to the end of the platform, towards the waiting Marines.

Jumping down

Normally you won't have your Banshee at the end of the carnage. There's hardly anywhere on the first ledge where you can land without it sliding off; and you have to be fairly careful not to slide off yourself when you land. Amazingly though, it's possible to jump down safely to congratulate the survivors or to go in search of any remaining covie dirtbags. If you get it just right, the sloping cliff base breaks your fall and you don't lose a single bar of health!

Banshee support

Support Marines in your Banshee. You could hover over the battle area and bombard the enemy, or make more dramatic swooping attacks, perhaps including a bit of squashing. The fighting down below makes quite a spectacle, with all the plasma and whatnot flying everywhere, and it's interesting to see chain reactions from above.

Rats in a barrel

If you go along one of the inner platforms running alongside the trough, the enemy doesn't seem to come after you directly. They mostly seem to get drawn into the trough, making some pretty fine targets. You'll have to watch out for enemy fire, but it's still a bit like shooting rats in a barrel. Rocket launcher, anyone?

Stop press: As a special case (and the best case), see my Platform support plan for a trough blockade.

Door defence

Head for the door and see if you can defend from the passage within, as a horde of enemy try to come in and get you. Wow, that's hectic! It can be quite hard to find enough time to recharge your shield. You won't want any Hunters in this battle; they'd be a bit too troublesome in that cramped passage.

Plasma weapons are the probably the best things to have here, though you could risk using a rocket launcher if you're careful about using it close up. Make good use of grenades. You're unlikely to run short of plasma grenades, with all the enemies you'll be killing. One tactic I use quite a bit is to stun an Elite with an overcharge shot from a plasma pistol, then tag him and back off.

When there's a lull in the action, you might like to advance to the door to potentially fend off the next batch of enemies charging over.

Note: When you use this plan, you'll probably eventually trigger a checkpoint, namely the one you'd normally have got in the passage after leaving any Marines behind. As such, you won't be able to simply revert to the battle start; you'll need to eject the disc and reload.

Charge!

If you've got a strong enough squad, perhaps including one or two snipers, you could consider taking the fight to the enemy. None of that sissy waiting-around defence nonsense; I'm talking about a full-on charge up the battlefield, and ain't no filthy covies gonna stand in our way! Well, perhaps a few covies might; but they'll wish they hadn't!

Carnage from way up high

Here's a plan firmly rooted in the 'mischief' category. Armed with a sniper rifle and rocket launcher, land on a ledge way up high (there's at least one place on the lower ledge where your Banshee won't slide off, if you want to keep it), or on one of the bridges. Now peek over and enjoy sending down rockets and grenades, and watching the delightful results with a sniper rifle. You can also create some fine chain reactions by sniping some Elites or Grunts first, to get lots of plasma grenades littering an area.

Carnage from the underpass roof

Land on the underpass roof (maybe even on the pinnacle) and wreak havoc on the enemy that gather over yonder, much as described in Carnage from way up high. Here though, you've got much better opportunities for setting off huge chain reactions, as the enemy tend to concentrate in a particular spot. Fantastic stuff.

Incoming!

Something else I like to do here is rocket a Shade or Ghost about, trying to get it to land among enemies and squash them. Watch them dive frantically to get clear. Hee hee! I often leave a spare Shade or Ghost in the vicinity, with this entertaining sport in mind.

Where did he go?

If you crouch behind a stationary shield, you can enjoy watching through it as the enemy loses track of you and Grunts go creeping around. Should be fun to lob a grenade into their midst, to wake them up a bit!

Overhead pipes

You can wreak a bit of overhead carnage by landing on one of the large pipes going across the central structure. Although it's a bit awkward, there are places where you can avoid most enemy fire, and where you can get sneaky shots on the enemy. Explore.

Cloaked mischief

If you haven't already used the active camouflage by the underpass, get cloaked and fly to the zigzag path. Dismount and head up into the enemy, to enjoy whatever form of cyborg mischief takes your fancy. For ideas see Cloaked mischief in the spiral path megabattle section.

Cyborg suicide

This probably isn't a battle plan the UNSC would approve of, but it's good for a bit of fun. Fly or run into the area and let yourself get massacred; which won't take long. Listen out for rare Grunt victory cries! Also, if you throw a grenade onto the ground just before you die, it'll usually set off a huge chain reaction with the ones that subsequently spill onto the ground. See how far you can go flying. Often there will be Elites standing over your lifeless body, gloating. They soon change their tune when all those grenades go off! Comical stuff.

Warthog joyride

Whizz around in a Warthog, letting your passengers pepper the enemy. Maybe do a bit of squashing too! It'll take quite a while to whittle them down, but I'm pretty sure you'll enjoy it. Ideally your seated passenger would be a sniper; it would be nice to have Sergeant Johnson from the Pelican area, as he has great vocals. You could also have a Sergeant on the chain-gun; could be Stacker, or even another Johnson! See Extra marines for some relevant info.

Woo-hoo!

There's a jump available for a bit of extra fun. When coming down from the far end on an anticlockwise circuit, look for the rise in the ground near the end. It's not very obvious, but it's a big enough jump to make your Marines whoop; and to cause you to overturn if you're not careful!