Almost finished a solo legendary playthrough. Many of these are probably obvious to most people already. These are just random musings.
This list of opinion and observations (and I’m sure there are others like it) is simply for people who haven’t yet, but want to, try a Legendary Solo campaign run
NOTE: If you haven’t finished campaign on ANY difficulty, don’t read this list (just in case their are spoilers):
- Legendary is the only way to play for seasoned Halo players
- Legendary seemed easier (in some ways) compared to Normal
- Further to the point above, it definitely helps if you play MM first before playing Legendary. It helps more if you’ve played online against people who beat you. Badly. Every game.
- Whatever the TILT skull does, exactly, I’m not sure. But I am using this skull, so the points below might have something to do with it
-Other skulls in use - grunt birthday, cowbell, IWHBYD
- Elites seem to die faster when using Covvie weapons against them. UNSC bullets seemingly bounce off of them
- Knights, as tough as they are, actually seem less dangerous than Elites
- Knights also seem more vulnerable to Prommie weapons. Suppressor then charged boltshot worked surprisingly well
- An Elite dodge is much more frustrating than a Knight teleport
- A lunged Energy Sword bounced off of an Elite’s shields, at least once
- Definitely leave the Elites and Knights as the last enemies to fight
- A Hunter survived at least 3 direct Incinerator shots
- A Hunter survived at least 6 direct Fuel Rod shots
- A Hunter survived at least 5 direct stuck (to the back) Sticky Detonator shots
- These were different Hunters, not some Super Hunter
- Hang back and take as many scoped shots as you can. Jackals, Grunts and Crawlers are easy ‘one shot to the head / face’ enemies.
- Even the Boltshot works better against Crawlers than a Scattershot or Suppressor
- Just for reference: After a few shots were traded, I could easily crouch behind a wall where a Knight was directly on the opposite side, and not once did the Knight pursue. The takeaway: I think of them as security guards - they’ll protect an area, but outside of their ‘zone’ they often don’t bother you
- If a Knight does pursue, and your shields are down, simply run around a piece of cover - yes, in circles - until your shields charge. As long as other enemies aren’t potshotting you, this is surprisingly effective
- After using them in Legendary campaign, the vehicles in MM will probably feel like they’re made from adamantium, fused with titanium, and tipped with diamonds
- Then, a few rounds in MM, you’ll realize they’re still made of paper
- Head shotting Grunts is probably the most fun aspect of the game
- A Knight survived at least 3 Binary Headshots
- A Knight survived at least 4 direct charged Boltshots
- The first time the DMR was found, a sense of relief followed… until the realization that Elite shields make a mockery of the DMR
- A Knight can take at least 2 direct Rail Gun shots
- Auto sentry really is the most useful AA in Legendary Campaign.
- The carbine against an Elite works surprisingly well
- Spartan IV’s and Marines are cannon fodder. I understand with the marines…
Some opinions not related to difficulty level:
- Going from Halo 3, where Chief is, at the time (in game history) the last living Spartan, it’s unusual how flat the introduction of the Spartan IV’s really is. You think there’d be this big reveal. Instead, there’s nothing. No revelation. No ‘surprise’ look on Chief’s face (as far as I could tell). They exist. That’s it. Done.
- Dr. Tillson is, IMHO, the most well scripted and acted character in the game. Next is Laskey.
- I used to think this ‘humanizing’ of Chief was a bad thing. Now, I see that it’s not so bad. There are some slightly ‘soppy’ moments, but overall, it’s done pretty good.
- Of course, when playing Legendary alone, cut scenes are probably more relevant, and welcome, because they are a relief from some of the games more difficult sections. So maybe this affected my view on Chief’s new found humanization
- The music really adds to the atmosphere, if you really listen to it. Which really only happens when nothing is really happening.
- Then there are times when you wish the music would shut up e.g. in combat. Especially repetitive bars of music. “Look, I’ve got 3 Knights to kill here. Please, shut up because this is going to take a little while”. That’s the kind of thoughts you have when you’ve heard the same 4 bars of music for 5 minutes.
That’s it.
Yea, plasma based weaponry is meant to tear through shields. Human ballistics are for mowing down flesh.
Tilt just means that plasma weapons are super sucky against health and human weapons are sucky against shields. Not sure where forerunner tech fits in.
I was kinda disappointed for co-op legendary and the fact that the difficulty isn’t upped a bit for co-op like in Reach or Halo 3.
-Yes, most of those weapon vs enemy issues were due to Tilt
-No, Chief was never the last remaining Spartan of any sort at the end of H3. Though if you didn’t read the books and lore I can understand how you would think he was.
I found hard light shield to be the most useful AA in the game due to the fact that you can beat a sword elite and a promethean knight in a melee battle with it. This is because when either enemy is about to take a swing at you (which is really obvious) you just put up your hard light shield and absorb the hit, when the enemy has just struck you and getting ready to shoot at you again then you melee them, rinse and repeat until the enemy is dead 
> Yea, plasma based weaponry is meant to tear through shields. Human ballistics are for mowing down flesh.
Pretty much this.
This is why I tried to carry a storm rifle and BR, DMR, LR or Carbine to compliment.
Wait, how exactly is Normal easier than Legendary in some aspects?
> Wait, how exactly is Normal easier than Legendary in some aspects?
I think you meant to say “How exactly is Legendary easier than Normal in some aspects?”
Only thing I could think of is that it makes you more aware and cautious of everything and trying to work around as much as you can.
Unlike Normal where you might just try running through everything and dieing because of this.
I know I’m more cautious while playing on harder difficulties because I actually need to work around the enemies not run through them.
My first playthrough was on legendary. I remember how people used to say that it’s hard and what not, but I’ve beaten it in 11 hours without any issues.
Hell, I didn’t even replay it because it was annoying and repetitive.
I experienced it as:
- Entered a new area;
- Saw them fighting each other;
- Made the best move to get around them.
Then again, I don’t usually get sucked into the lore.
Things I learned:
-Prometheans are too predictable
The one point with the music, I find frustrating. Not the point itself, it was a good point, but just the music in this game.
I almost never hear it. I remember in Halo 2 at the end of the level Gravemind, when you were in the Arbiters chamber filled with brutes and ultra elites, the music switched from calming, to “Blow Me Away”.
Honestly, that’s still my favourite fight out of any Halo game. The music set the tone for the battle, and boy did it do a good job.
I almost never heard the music in Halo 4, which is a tad saddening to me.
Also, things I learned from legendary:
-
If you get in a banshee, you gon’ die. Doesn’t matter which mission it is, it doesn’t matter how few enemies there are, you gon’ die.
-
Boltshot is just as OP in campaign as it is in multiplayer.
-
Unless there is a group of battle wagons and knight with an I-canon, prometheans are really, really stupid and really, really easy to kill.
-
I will not be replaying the final mission of Halo 4 on legendary ever again.
Two things that you can learn:
-patience
-good timing
Why would the Chief look surprised that the UNSC has created new Spartans, when he was around for Spartan-IIIs?
This is a chap that blew up a Halo ring, chatted with a Gravemind and the Librarian remnant, and faced off against a levitating Didact…
IMO the best way to defeat an enemy is to manipulate them.
> - If a Knight does pursue, and your shields are down, simply run around a piece of cover - yes, in circles - until your shields charge. As long as other enemies aren’t potshotting you, this is surprisingly effective
Huh, this actually sounds new. I’ll keep this in mind!
> The one point with the music, I find frustrating. Not the point itself, it was a good point, but just the music in this game.
>
> I almost never hear it. I remember in Halo 2 at the end of the level Gravemind, when you were in the Arbiters chamber filled with brutes and ultra elites, the music switched from calming, to “Blow Me Away”.
>
> Honestly, that’s still my favourite fight out of any Halo game. The music set the tone for the battle, and boy did it do a good job.
>
> I almost never heard the music in Halo 4, which is a tad saddening to me.
>
> Also, things I learned from legendary:
>
> - If you get in a banshee, you gon’ die. Doesn’t matter which mission it is, it doesn’t matter how few enemies there are, you gon’ die.
>
> - <mark>Boltshot is just as OP in campaign as it is in multiplayer</mark>.
>
> - Unless there is a group of battle wagons and knight with an I-canon, prometheans are really, really stupid and really, really easy to kill.
>
> - I will not be replaying the final mission of Halo 4 on legendary ever again.
I think it’s supposed to be that way for campaign. Not so for MP.
I always try to listen for the music, and when I did it was amazing. But there were some parts where I would hear almost nothing, like the tank run on Infinity.
> Why would the Chief look surprised that the UNSC has created new Spartans, when he was around for Spartan-IIIs?
>
> This is a chap that blew up a Halo ring, chatted with a Gravemind and the Librarian remnant, and faced off against a levitating Didact…
I would be more surprised that a forerunner, thought to be a extinct species, appeared and completely owned me than more spartans appear
> > The one point with the music, I find frustrating. Not the point itself, it was a good point, but just the music in this game.
> >
> > I almost never hear it. I remember in Halo 2 at the end of the level Gravemind, when you were in the Arbiters chamber filled with brutes and ultra elites, the music switched from calming, to “Blow Me Away”.
> >
> > Honestly, that’s still my favourite fight out of any Halo game. The music set the tone for the battle, and boy did it do a good job.
> >
> > I almost never heard the music in Halo 4, which is a tad saddening to me.
> >
> > Also, things I learned from legendary:
> >
> > - If you get in a banshee, you gon’ die. Doesn’t matter which mission it is, it doesn’t matter how few enemies there are, you gon’ die.
> >
> > - <mark>Boltshot is just as OP in campaign as it is in multiplayer</mark>.
> >
> > - Unless there is a group of battle wagons and knight with an I-canon, prometheans are really, really stupid and really, really easy to kill.
> >
> > - I will not be replaying the final mission of Halo 4 on legendary ever again.
>
> I think it’s supposed to be that way for campaign. Not so for MP.
> I always try to listen for the music, and when I did it was amazing. But there were some parts where I would hear almost nothing, like the tank run on Infinity.
I dunno. When the most used strategy becomes me running up to a knight an boltshotting it on legendary, I think there may be a problem 
I wish the music had been more effective in the game. Would have made it a lot better.
You said you were playing with the Tilt skull…That means that Shields are resistant to ballistics and Unshielded opponents are resistant to plasma and other energy weapons.
Playing on Legendary def. makes you think more about what your doing. On my first play through of the game I play on normal or heroic so I can appreciate the story and environments more than pulling my hair out. But IMO if you haven’t beaten the game on Legendary than you haven’t beaten the game at all !