LONG POST
GreyAlpha here
I've also completed the campaign on legendary, and would like to put my two cents in. I felt the most challenging areas of the campaign were Long Night of Solace (NOT the space battle, but rather inside the covenant ship) and The Pillar of Autumn ending. I'm not the fastest draw or sharpest tactician: if I can find somewhere to hide (like the downstairs shotgun door on POA) or if I've got to kill one elite while keeping my eyes open for three others (LNS, inside- use a 96 needler or a grenade+headshot), I'll do whatever it takes. For me, taking cover behind Noble team members is a must for certain areas, (unless you can really multi-task on ennemies) but towards the end I think it's just a matter of thinning them out, softest to hardest.
Any rules of thumb? Here are a couple I'd suggest
-Wraith tanks are actually easier to take out by hand than with ordinance. Save your rockets, and your Target Locator! Snipe the turret gunner and sprint around the back- ennemies will NOT fire on you while you are mounted on wraiths, so just focus on getting there
-Needler is your friend! Scavenge corpses for every needle you can find, especially when you've got a high tier elite cornered. Same goes for multiple elite CQB- start with the pink mist, toss a grenade, then take headshot opertunities
-Boost your DMR lethality: I may just be superstitious, but I would say crouching, aiming for the highest section of the skull, and prioritizing moving (yes, moving) targets over stationary ones boosts the probability of the engine qualifying your 7.62 as a boni-fide headshot. You'll have plenty of grunts to test this out on, so don't take my word for it
-Hoarding. Yes, I'm a hoarding whore. Needlers, fuel rod guns, sniper rifles- even armor loadouts. I'll switch run a pistol if I think I'll need it. Reach has been programmed (either intentionally or not) to have the smoothest switch-running mechanics in any halo game I've played. No, the weapons are not eternal- the game will erase hoarded weapons at certain points, but when you're facing down 15 enemy, including elites and jackals, that fully loaded concussion rifle two checkpoints back might have you pining. At the very least, I'd recommend switch running the energy sword in LNS, and needlers when facing more than 3 elites simultaneously in close quarters
More? Okay, just a few
-Jackals. Stripping covenant waves of their jackals should be your bread and butter. Same directions for DMR lethality as above, except, as Legolas says, "Aim for the neck". The neck seems to be qualified as a head shot, and it is easier to hit than a jackals skull (which moves around almost constantly). Don't take my word for it- you'll have many, many times to test it yourself
-Flick Night Vision VS. Shade Turrets *ESP on The Package! While deconstructing The Package, spotting the super-long range shade (and FRG) turrets can be uber-frustrating. Flicking night-vision on and off very rapidly will briefly highlight enemy materiel (especially a Shades base), even at extreme range. If you have a better way to take down the FRG turrets, by all means post it
-Careful with arming allies- If you're saving that one rocket for a marine riding shotgun, you've obviously made the right choice. However, be careful about giving fully loaded sniper rifles or spartan lasers to marines: they will deplete the ammunition to a point. This isn't usually crucial, but just a heads up
I'm not sure if anyone will stumble upon this, but feel free to reply with any questions or comments re: Reach Legendary Campaign
Thanks,
GreyAlpha
P.S. Check out my Carrier77 Map, Below
GreyAlpha's B.net Fileshare