A double dose of the best pistol fun in the whole darned game…

(5:24) Level 2 ('Halo') on Heroic. This shows two plays of a rockslide megabattle save featuring 34 covies, using the far area defence plan with Stacker and Johnson, and restricting myself to a pistol. With no spare ammo I need to be fairly efficient with my fire, but good grenade use will help. I'm using the same save as in BCM67 (a double play with plasma rifle and needler), and all seven Elites have plasma rifles.

Released April 16th 2013, gameplay recorded April 13th-14th 2014.

00:02 (Play 1) Emerging into the battlefield, I curve right and splatter a Grunt before curving left where dropship 4 is coming down. I really like this route, and in the dropship area you can either keep the curve smooth or swing the hog around a bit. In this case I was trying to keep it smooth but the back of the hog swings a little. Anyway, after that we go through part of the rockslide as usual to release the lifeboat group. In the far area I get Stacker and Johnson out, and move the hog clear.

00:37 Three Jackals are emerging from the rockslide and I quickly throw a frag. It kills two and I get the third with pistol fire. However, it makes me slightly late to open fire on an Elite arriving from the right. My first few shots miss, but I shake him up with a frag and finish him off with a few more shots.

00:50 A blue Elite has reached the hog and I throw another frag. It's a bit short but just close enough to hurt him, allowing me to finish him quick. Two more Elites are pressuring from the left and I throw a frag towards the frontmost, a red. He advances out of its range, but I tag him as he advances further. Meanwhile the blue behind him has been shaken by the frag, and after two ineffective plasma throws (the second of which was an attempted tag) I finish him with pistol fire.

01:07 Another blue on the left now. After a few shots I throw a plasma and score a tag on his foot, ha ha. When I turn right and shoot a panicking Grunt, I notice an arriving red Elite taking a plasma ball in the back, and I take the opportunity to finish him with a headshot. However, another red is damaging me from the left. To try and minimize hits, I move left across his field of view while returning fire. As he switches his attention to my Marines, I slam a few final shots into his side - and that's the final Elite down.

01:25 Stacker and Johnson have moved to the right somewhat and are starting to take serious fire from minor covies there. I'm trying to keep them alive, so I charge over and do some slaying, then head back left and end a close Grunt's needling. After that I decide to head straight on to pick up a few plasmas. It's a bit dangerous advancing that far - even these minor enemies can quickly make you regret such a decision - but I get away with it.

01:55 Johnson is in serious trouble from Jackal fire as I move to the right again. I alleviate the pressure, turn back left for a few Grunts, then finish off the Jackal threat on the right. At that point I turn into some Grunts and make a mistake with my movement, causing me to take quite a few needles. I'm briefly worried that I might be about to go down to a single health bar, but fortunately I retain two and the Grunts panic. Even after I've slain a few more though, they attack further and I'm obliged to take evasive action to keep my two bars. I move left and throw a plasma which takes out a Jackal just in time.

02:28 Only one Grunt left now. As he runs off I throw a plasma and it's looking good for a pleasing tag, but he changes path so I move in the with pistol. A deliberate body shot stuns him, giving me time to carefully tag him low down with a plasma. That launches him, and I enjoy using him for some mid-air target practice (because I'm a bad cyborg, of course). Stacker and Johnson are still standing.

02:53 (Play 2) I like to vary my drives within a movie, so here's a different route into battle. It's fun getting the hog threaded though the two trees at the start, and then swerving left around the rock. In the rockslide I take a right and mow down a Jackal, hee hee. After getting the Marines out, I let the hog slide into a position partially blocking the main entrance to the semicircle of rocks - just something done on the spur of the moment.

03:26 I do a bit of zoomed shooting to take out a Jackal, and then I see Elites advancing. I get one with pistol fire as I back off, and a frag takes out a Grunt.

03:40 Back with my Marines, I get busy on a charging blue. My plasma throw make him leap and I finish him with pistol fire. Next up, a red on the right. Johnson is taking some nasty plasma fire but I put a stop to it with a nice tag. There's no time to watch however. I turn left where Stacker's under fire from a blue. I save him with a frag and pistol fire, then throw a frag towards an arriving red. It damages him and he backs off. I maintain my pressure until he's down, though I back off as I do so, because of another red. I'm able to quickly kill that new red afterwards with the help of a frag.

04:09 I throw a long-range plasma towards a pair of yellow-shielded Jackals, but when I subsequently turn back after shooting a few Grunts on the left, I see that it landed a bit short. I throw another, and in due course it kills the nearest and leaves the furthest without a shield. Meanwhile I deal with some other minor covies too, staying out front to try and keep pressure off my Marines.

04:26 After headshooting an advancing Grunt, the final Elite makes a charge but I get him with pistol fire. Jackals are attacking too though, hurting Stacker and Johnson. I fend them off on both sides, mostly with pistol fire but getting the one on the left with a nice plasma throw.

04:47 There are still lots of Grunts around - also at least one Jackal - but the danger is clearly past. Mopping up time! I advance with pistol fire, and at one point a Grunt near the tree takes a plasma ball in the back. Shortly after, I close in on a Grunt who amusingly says "We're gonna die!". After my third attempted headshot fails, I'm close enough to just bonk him on the head - and things are over shortly afterwards. Stacker and Johnson survive again, woo-hoo!

Closing remarks I've shown some pistol use in the far area defence before, but nowhere near enough, and only in combination with other weapons. So I thought it was high time to give the pistol a better showing.

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