The Snake Pit - Something Bloody Different >> Halo 3 - Legendary Skull Insanity Walkthrough

by Viper187
	Halo 3 - Legendary Skull Insanity Walkthrough

Table Of Contents
Introduction General Tips Sierra 117 Crow's Nest Tsavo Highway The Storm Floodgate The Ark

Introduction

This walkthrough is meant to serve as a guide for those who are trying to survive an insane journey through this game on Legendary with tons of skulls on or just plain suck at this. I actually took down all these notes the first month or two that Halo 3 was out. I beat every difficulty, collected all the skulls, and proceeded to play through with a lot of them turned on. I had almost all of them on while writing this. I know I used all golds except Iron. I'm not sure which silver ones I had on. I got bored at one point and put it down. I never got around to formatting my notes for an actual release until now. I was only up to the Ark, I guess. I might get to the rest eventually.

General Tips

Let the Arbitor take all the heat.
If you're low on carbine ammo or can't find a carbine/BR, you can usually stick a grenade to the Arbitor to get him to drop his; I say "usually" because it doesn't work on Legendary Mythic, but he'll still get killed by the enemies a lot of times.
Switch weapons with the Arbitor. If you have a brute shot or something powerful with like 1 round left, get the Arbitor killed and pickup his weapon leaving yours. He'll most likely grab it when he gets up.
If you want the Arbitor to pull his sword, melee him to drop his shields. If he's close enough to the action, he'll pull his blade and go to work until his shield recharges.
Use AI controlled passengers to your advantage. Giving a marine a spartan laser, rocket launcher, beam rifle, or whatever can be helpful to you. On foot, they get killed in no time flat, but in a vehicle, you can keep them a little safer while they shoot the shit out of anything that moves. It'll also let you bring an extra weapon to the next area, if you keep the marine alive. heheh
Use vehicles from a distance. They have infinite ammo. Keep out of firing range and hammer the enemies until they're dead without taking damage. Having the meta scores on will make it easier to tell when something dies if you're shooting from way off because you can see the score being added.
'Slow and steady wins the race.' This has been strategy with all Halo games so far. With the exception of the prophet fight on H2, there's no place in any of the 3 games where the enemies spawn infinitely. Just back off, recharge shields and regroup. This tactic won't be as useful with Black Eye, since your shields don't recharge on their own, but the enemies will likely lose track of you if you get far enough away. Use that to your advantage.
Chieftains with fuel rods are pussies when you get them alone. Even at a distance, their firing patterns are predictable. Use that to get close. They're easy to melee and dodge their attempts at meleeing back. The one near the start of The Covenant level is my favorite. Get him circling that rock up near the wraith and you can hit him from behind for a quick kill.
As mentioned above, enemies with fuel rods may seem dangerous, but the way they fire is very predictable. On foot, or on a ghost you should have no problem dodging them. The scorpion moves like a tortoise with arthritis, so keep your distance while driving those.
Fog skull: Let the Arbitor take enemy fire to show you where they are. Then headshot with BR/carbine.
Catch skull: Plenty of grenades to go around, so stick them to brutes rather than wasting ammo. If you can get the hang of stepping in front of brutes at just the right distance to make them grenade toss, you should be able to easily dodge theirs and toss one back.
Tough Luck: Don't expect to hit brutes with charged shots or grenades easily anymore. The best trick to connecting and not wasting ammo is to hit them as they toss a grenade (*cough* Catch skull *cough*).
Tilt: Headshots with the sniper rifle are utterly useless on brutes until their armor is removed. However, beam rifles still do alright, assuming you're not using the Mythic skull.
Black Eye: My initial strategy so far has been to clear grunts/jackals from a distance, then piss off the brute so he comes running at you; removing their armor tends to get their attention. Dodge, melee, full shield. I realize that grunts are easy to melee too, but not with the Mythic skull on. There's also the problem of the little bastards chucking grenades to no end with the Catch skull on. Lone brutes seem like an easier target at this point. Also note that hijacking choppers/ghosts counts as a melee! Makes a nice way to refill your shield. Go jack a vehicle, your shield refills, you jet off and turn around to kill the enemy from a safe distance before they can even get a shot off.
Mythic: Some brutes won't die from stuck grenades. It only pisses them off (and removes their armor). Jackals don't usually die from a single grenade (unless it's attached). Melees are useless on grunts unless their back is to you, same with shielded jackals and pretty much anything else.

Sierra 117
There really isn't a lot to say about the earlier parts of this level. The basic thing to do is hang back and let the Arbitor do all the work. Headshot grunts from as great a distance as possible. With a little luck the Arbitor will get toasted and give you the chance to grab his carbine early on. If not, get the ones from the purple containers in second area.
First Area
Enemies: First Wave - brute (brute shot), 6-8 plasma-grunts Enemies: Second Wave - brute (brute shot), 8-10 plasma-grunts Enemies: Third Wave - 2 brutes (brute shot) and lots of grunts Pickups: 1 plasma-needler crate Long walk getting here, but there's a gold brute (who probably has a brute shot) and 6-8 grunts (all plasma pistols, I believe) waiting for you. Walk ahead a little and the next fight starts. A couple dozen plasma-grunts and 3 brutes (all with brute shots).
Second Area
Enemies: 3-4 carbine-jackals, 4 shielded jackals, 2 brutes w/spikers, and a shitload of plasma-grunts Pickups: carbines (3 boxes-Legendary only?), plasma-needler boxes (4ish?), and plenty of spikers in boxes. As you enter the area, grab a carbine. Sneak over and smack that 1 grunt you can see, then stay back and snipe. Hit sniper jackals and nearest grunts first. Then pick off the rest of the grunts. One carbine pickup gives you enough rounds to headshot every grunt in the area, if you're a halfway decent shot. Look for opportunities to headshot the shielded jackals. If you keep backing way off they might lose track of you and be facing another way. Once the area is pretty clear, you'll probably have to move in for the brutes and/or shielded jackals. Again, keep back a ways and let the Arbitor do the work. Watch jackals as he shoots them and headshot if their shield gets knocked away. Frags might be helpful, but the Mythic skull sort of makes them less effective. Grab a plasma pistol and refill your carbine (if possible) before moving on.
Third Area
Enemies: 2 brutes, 2 jackals w/carbines, 2? jackals w/shields 6-8 grunts (plasma and needlers) Pickups: battle rifle, magnum(2), assault rifle When you round the corner, you'll see that gold brute choking a marine. Have your plasma pistol charged and strip his ass while he's standing still. Then flip to your carbine to headshot him as you retreat, and watch for flying purple things that go BOOM. You shouldn't have a problem clearing the area before picking up the battle rifle. Use the carbine to snipe grunts if the Arbitor isn't quick enough for you, since you can pickup ammo from the 2 dead jackals.
Fourth Area
Enemies: Jackals (3 beam, 3 carbine, 2 shielded), an assload of grunts with plasma and needlers, 5-7 brutes with brute shots (2 were dead after the pelicans got toasted, but don't bank on it) Pickups: battle rifle(4-5), frags(20ish), machine gun turret (from crashed pelicans) As you exit the cave heading toward the next fight, there are a couple dead marines to the left with battle rifles and frags, along with a couple more as you near the ledge. Appears to be one over near the stone pipe section on the left side looking off the ledge too. Wait for the pelicans to get shot down and the phantom to leave. Use the battle rifle right now, since there's a decent amount of ammo lying around and it's more accurate. If you're a lousy shot, you might need to switch to the carbine later. Try not to get far below a full load on the battle rifle, since you know there's carbine ammo to be picked up over yonder but you won't see more BR ammo for a while. Plenty more on your path through the next area too. The first thing to go should be the 2 jackoffs with beam rifles on the far side of the water to the right. Take them out before you even try to step off that ledge. Then look to where all the enemies ended up going. You might see 2 grunts and a brute still standing in view. Nothing you can do about the brute at this distance (well, nothing ammo efficient), but knock off the two grunts. Then move ahead a bit, hugging the right wall. As you near the small structure, you should be able to see one of the jackals up by the pipes. Introduce him to the pavement. There's a rock you can stand on to get angle over the two structures. Duck, jump or whatever to keep the grunts attention and get an angle on them while you're still far enough to not be shot at. Sometimes there's a machine gun turret still standing. Perfect for removing the armor and/or killing those brutes that are too far off to hit with grenades or plasma shots, assuming you can get them to stay in view. Beats getting within their firing range. Don't worry if there's no turret. I found it pretty useless anyway. There's 2 wooden crates stacked near the edge of the water. Once you feel it's safe to move to that spot without grunts chucking grenades, hop on top of those crates. You should have an angle on the second carbine-jackal near the left corner of the area. There's also the small part of land past the tree on the right side that you can move out of the water enough to see the jackal. That may be safer. When you move past a certain point, the phantom returns to drop 2 more brutes and bunch more grunts. Trigger this, then back off and snipe while the Arbitor is probably getting 0wned. Look for brutes to have their armor removed by the Arbitor and go for the headshot when possible. When you run out of grunts to snipe, sneak around the left side and deal with the two shielded jackals. Frags are helpful here, but don't rely on them. Slowly creep up around the corner and take out that third carbine-jackal. Whatever you do, don't move any farther around this turn than you have to, cause either the jackal gets you or a stray grunt will. Do it slow, and back off as soon as something shoots or tosses a grenade. Once you can safely walk around the bend, the brutes will probably be all gathered in the far corner from you. Drop your carbine for a minute and take a plasma pistol. Step out where you can see them, launch a charged shot and hope for the best. With a little luck you'll hit one. If not, you should at least draw one in my himself. Then you can step out form cover and n00b combo his ass or whatever you prefer. Once the Arbitor gets off his ass and starts to draw their attention, you can try hitting them with charged shots or needlers while ducking for cover like a sissy every 2 seconds. I've been able to blind side one at times by letting him focus on the Arbitor and then walking around the pipe at the edge there. This is one of those spots where you just have to figure out what works for you. After it's clear to walk over to the corner where they were gathered, you'll probably find 1 or 2 left on top of the rock around the corner. Use the oval shaped structure as cover to n00b combo them or maybe fire needles. As soon as you kill the last one, back pedal like hell, cause those grunts are likely to kamikaze. Now use the oval shaped structure as cover to nail the jackal with the beam rifle. If you back against the rail, you should be able to see over the structure just enough to shoot the jackal. Refill your carbine and battle rifle before proceeding.
Fourth-Fifth Area (Jungle Path)
Enemies: 12-14 jackals with beam rifles and carbines. Time to have one of those Sniper Alley flashbacks. This ones a little easier, since the Arbitor will draw the snipers fire to help you spot them. Collect a beam rifle when convient, but don't lose track of that carbine, as you might need it.
Fifth Area
Enemies: 6 jackals (beam/carbine), 2 shielded jackals, 5 brutes (4 brute shots, 1 spiker), and plenty of grunts (plasma/needler) Pickups: sniper rifle(2), battle rifle(2), assault rifle(3) Coming up to this spot, there's a low path down the middle and high ground on both sides. You can snipe 5 jackals from here; 2 on the rock wall on the far end from where you are, one in a tree, and 2 on the high ground to the left. If the beam rifle isn't empty, you could try sniping the brute or two that can be seen from high ground. I'm playing with Famine on, so I don't have that option at the moment. grab a fresh beam rifle or your carbine before moving forward. Once you drop down, it's a little hard to get back up. Don't miss the little nook on the left you can duck into when you neat to retreat. Creep forward enough to see some more grunts to snipe as you step backwards to avoid attracting them all. I think the Arbitor killed one of the brutes down here before I dropped down. The other one was a real annoyance. I finally stuck him with a plasma grenade. Even on Mythic, at least it removed his armor and caused him to run toward me for the easy headshot. Now if you creep around the next bend, you'll be able to see the phantom still hanging out. Move into a position where you can barely see the turret, and safely smoke that little grunt. The phantom should take off now, leaving you with another mess of enemies. Might want to back off and look for grunts up high. Maybe even jump your way back to high ground to check things out. I noticed a brute with a spiker up on the left. If you can get close enough, stick him. I think the Arbitor actually killed him though, in my case. As you creep around the bend a little more, there's another jackal on a ledge behind the tree (near the crashed pelican). There's a little cove in the rocks all the way over (straight across from where you came under the bridge. Might be another good spot to snipe grunts while they chuck grenades at the Arbitor. Once the area is all clear, pick up the sniper rifle from the crash site and move on. You should still have a full battle rifle, unless you got tired of the carbine. I know I like the BR so much better.
Final Area
Enemies: 10 jackals (2 beam, 4 carbine, 4 shielded), 8 brutes (6 brute shots, 2 carbines), 1 chieftain with a hammer, lots and lots of grunts (plasma/needler) Pickups: carbine container(2), plasma/needler container, spiker container (possibly others-forgot to really look) Trigger the cutscene, then immediately move back. Now creep out a little at a time and nail 4 snipers. The order that worked for me was: beam rifle on the far building to the left (high walkway), then the carbine on the roof at the right side, the one on the roof below, and the other beam rifle on the roof of Johnson's current home. Now put the sniper rifle away and use your BR to snipe all the grunts below without getting your head blown off by a brute shot. There's two shielded jackals down there too, so look for a shot at their heads if they turn. If not, deal with them another way. It's a shame to waste BR ammo trying to knock their shield away for the headshot, but that's the safest way to go. You'll notice two brutes with brute shots are all that's left in this part of the area. If you have sniper ammo left and you're not using Tilt, feel free to headshot them. Otherwise, drop down into the demolished building that one jackal was on, and try to grab hold of a needler/plasma pistol without drawing too much attention to yourself. Sneak around a little and take care of them. With a little luck, Arbitor will draw their fire. Once you move beyond a certain point, another phantom rolls in to drop off more troops. Take cover so you get hit by its turrets. Now look across the bridge area and snipe the fifth and sixth carbine-jackal. Some of those new guys will come to you, so just hang back and wait. It's a good idea to take out anything you can before attracting the attention of that freak with the hammer. Now if the hammer comes after you, or no more come out. Go up toward the bridge, but don't go through the building. Jump up to where that one jackal was and go through the top floor. On the left side is a window that's slightly higher and doesn't totally shatter when you bump against it. Break a small hole and start sniping whatever grunts you can see across the bridge and over near Johnson while keeping the wall between you and the blue dudes with carbines. You'll probably want to use that carbine the jackal left behind for this. Now free up Johnson and the boys, and try not to get killed by those last few grunts and 2 brutes. If you're quick, you might be able to go hide up where the Iron skull is before the phantom shows. Use your imagination.

Crow's Nest

Tunnel to the Hanger
Enemies: tons of grunts, 8 jackals (4 shielded, 4 carbine), 1 brute (brute shot) Take whatever weapons you prefer, but I don't advise going without the battle rifle. I grab the dual magnums as well. Start by letting your marines handle things. With a little luck, they'll clear most of the grunts and shielded jackals, assuming they don't blow themselves up because they're incapable of throwing grenades while standing against crates. Let them keep doing their thing until they get smoked. Then back off, snipe, repeat until you clear the tunnel. tip-toe in front of the door from the side and get each jackal before they get you.
Hanger
Enemies: shielded jackals, grunts, brutes (1 brute shot, 1 plasma rifle, 2 spikers) Pickups: assault rifle(2), SMG(4), magnum(4), deployable cover(3) You shouldn't have a problem getting here with a fully loaded battle rifle. Bring the magnum and a plasma pistol too. Take out whatever you can of the initial bunch of grunts and jackals from the doorways, or just let your marines throw pineapples at them. Once they're dead or you enter the room, the phantom leaves and a fully loaded one comes in. More grunts, jackals, and a plasma brute. If you kill this brute before the grunts, watch for the kamikaze ones. Next wave has 2 spiker brutes and a brute shot that seems to hang back. One approach is to stay in the hallway and just strafe to either door, kill, and return. When it gets hot, back way off so the brutes/grunts lose track of you and quit staring at the doorway. After killing the 2 spiker-brutes, there probably won't be anymore enemies coming toward the doorway. If you go inside and stay against the back wall, you should be able to get an angle on the furball with the big gun. You'll also notice you're probably far enough that he's not firing at you. Now the trick is to hit him with a plasma shot from that distance. Even with the Tough Luck skull, it only took me 3 tries to hit him. Then headshot with the battle rifle, and start cleaning up grunts and jackals. Once the brute was dead, I decided to go get the carbines left by the jackals in the hallway rather than waste battle rifle ammo. Now grab a turret and head back to toward the ops center. What we really need is some industrial strength Raid, but this'll have to do. I actually juggle both turrets all the way there, but do whatever you want.
Supply Room(?)
Enemies: just a shitload of drones Pickups: assault rifles, battle rifles, shotguns, and magnums Well, this is an easy thing if you brought a turret or two with you; just stay in the doorway and shoot without being attacked. If not, good luck doing it without taking damage. Make sure you refill your battle rifle before moving on. I would also take a plasma pistol or 2 off the dead bugs.
Hallway Leading to Barracks
Pickups: battle rifle(3), shotgun(7), assault rifle(4), plasma pistol(3), grav lift(3), deployable cover(2) Enemies: 1 chieftain with a hammer, 12? brutes (1 brute shot, 2 carbines, 2 plasma rifles, 3 spikers) Method 1 (slightly suicidal): Run in, jump on the truck with cases on the left and run into the room on the second floor. Use that as your cover. They'll all pretty much come to you. Trick is killing the last 2 or 3 before the hammerhead comes running at you. Method 2: Stay in the doorway. If you venture in more than 10 feet or so, the door upstairs closes. Keep that door open and keep returning to the dead bugs for plasma pistols. Get the general plan? When you remove their shields, they'll generally berserk and come running up the hall at you for the easy kill. Reload, repeat, don't get sniped to death by the carbines. If you brought along a machine gun turret, hammer for brains shouldn't be a problem. If you didn't, well, pump his hairy ass full of lead any way you can. Before heading toward the next area, I suggest, again, a fully loaded battle rifle and two of the fully charged plasma pistols laying around the room. When you're ready, just drop down and run through the tunnel to hook up with the Arbitor at the barracks.
Barracks
Enemies: 4 shielded jackals, 1 chieftain with a plasma turret, and 16-20 brutes (mostly spikers and plasma rifles, 2? brute shots, 2 carbines) Pickups: A few of each marine weapon lying around. I'm too lazy to look thoroughly. Sticky grenade and n00b combo your way through this, letting the Arbitor/marines draw all the heat. If you walk into the area with dual plasma pistols, you can remove the armors of the first 2 or 3 brutes without getting shot if you're quick. Use the vents, etc as needed. The only time it gets hard is when the Arbitor gets killed and doesn't revive immediately. The chieftain can be a pain. Hit him from behind while he's distracted, or get close and do the boxing thing to keep him from frying you with the turret. If you have any marines left when the smoke clears, be sure to equip them properly before moving on. They seem to end with the crappiest weapons possible (like SMGs).
Landing Pad
Enemies: Bout a dozen jetpack brutes (1 brute shot, 2-3 carbines, spikers and plasma rifles) Pickups: battle rifle(6), assault rifle, shotgun(3), cloaking(2), grav lift, regenerator, frag grenade(2) Stay back and let the Arbitor and/or marines do most of the work. Apply the usual sticky/plasma pistol method on anything close enough, snipe anyone Arbitor knocks the armor off of. Leave the room with a fully loaded battle rifle and whatever carbine ammo you can pick up. That damn tunnel full of grunts and jackals is next.
Tunnel (Heading back to Ops-Center)
Enemies: lots of grunts (some on turrets), 4-6 jackals with shields, 2 jackals with beam rifles Pickups: assault rifle, shotgun, SMG, battle rifle, magnum Slowly make your way down the tunnel with a carbine. If you run out of ammo for some reason, switch to the battle rifle. Just be careful of the turrets and the snipers on the upper floor at the end.
Ops-Center
Enemies: chieftain with fuel rod, 3 brutes (2 brute shots, 1 on turret), 4 grunts with needlers/plasma Pickups: same array of weapons downstairs as before plus plasma pistol(2), and deployable cover(3) Now here's a fun trick to even the odds in this room. Come up to the door with a needler and a battle rifle for secondary. When you open the door, have the needler and your plasma grenades ready. As soon as you open the door, walk in, and quickly observe where the 2 blue brutes are. More importantly, notice that their backs are to you. Stick a plasma grenade to the one on the left, quickly strafe right and pump the other one with needles, then run like hell before the grunts or chieftain can hurt you. After getting a safe distance, creep back in and carefully eliminate the grunts while keeping out of the chieftain's crosshairs. Next, pickup a plasma pistol and carefully de-armor the brute on the turret. Being mindful of the chieftain, flip back to your battle rifle to finish off that last brute. If you happen to be carrying cloaking, now's the time. Activate it and go melee chief dumbshit from behind. If not, get him up against the mesh where you can see him, but he's not shooting at you. Once he's on one side or the other or he loses track of you completely, get close enough to melee him to death. He won't shoot when you're within a certain proximity. Just watch out for grenades, and the damn power drain he's carrying. Before you activate the bomb, take note of your equipment and be sure there's nothing else you want from the previous area (turret, perhaps?). Once you're ready, hit the bomb and off the 3 grunts that come in downstairs. There's 2 jackals with carbine in the next area and a bunch of frantic grunts. Just worry about getting the snipers before they get you. Then you can run around and melee the grunts or just run.

Tsavo Highway
This can be one of the easiest levels in the game, if you don't mind being a little cheap to survive.
"Full Contact Safari"
Enemies (first group): 3-4 shielded jackals, grunts (plasma) Enemies (second group): 1 brute (spiker), 3 shielded jackals, more grunts (plasma) Enemies (third group): 3 jackals (beam rifles) Enemies (foruth group): 1 brute (fuel rod), grunts (plasma/turrets) Enemies (fifth group): 1 brute (brute shot), grunts (plasma) Enemies (dam area): 4 jackals (beam rifles), 2 brutes (spikers), 2 armored turrets, grunts (plasma) Enemies (tunnel area): 1 chieftain (fuel rod), 8-10 brutes (2 snipers, 2 choppers), 2 armored turrets, grunts (plasma?), Drones Pickups (along the path): Warthog, frag grenades, plasma turrets (useless - can't bring them in the Warthog) Pickups (at the tunnel): Warthog, grav lift, shotgun(2), battle rifle(4), frag grenades, trip mine(3), plasma rifle Take the battle rifle with you and grab the hog with the big gun. The general idea here is to keep out of firing range and let your gunner on the hog do all the work. Keep your passenger side more toward the snipers, just in case. Once you dispose of the 2 jackals on the ground, go trade your AR or whatever for one of the beam rifles. Then give it to the passenger in the hog. Now pickup the other beam rifle to take with you, so you have a battle rifle and a beam rifle. Carefully get close enough for the boys to take out the sniper on the high platform, then let your new best friend with the beam rifle take care of things from here on out. Just be careful not to get toasted by the fuel rods. When you finally get to the tunnel area with the chieftain and choppers, keep 1 chopper intact!! It'll make clearing the crazy brute pack in the next area a lot easier, and save you a shitload of ammo. You can get it across the second gap in the bridge on the narrow beam. Keep the warthog till you clear all the brutes and bugs though. You can run once you trigger the bugs and just circle a little to get them all from a distance without taking hits. Even on Legendary-Mythic, the turret still makes short work of them (beam rifle helps a lot too). When it's all clear, bail out of the warthog and grab a chopper, assuming you didn't blow them both to shit. Like I said above, bring it all the way to the next area. Also consider picking up that fuel rod the chieftain left behind and give it to the gunner on the hog. They'll both come with you on foot in the next area. Neither of them will survive for long, but they'll carry some useful weapons for you. :)
The Arena (for lack of a better description)
Enemies (first wave): 9-12 grunts, 5-7 brutes (1 fuel rod) Enemies (second/third wave): 12-15 brutes (2 fuel rods, 5-7 jetpacks), wraith Pickups: sniper rifle(2), grav lift, assault rifle(2), frag grenades (4), plasma pistol(2), spiker, trip mine(4) I have 2 general methods for this area, but feel free to consider plan C (RUN LIKE HELL!). One is pretty cheap, and the other is the more skilled approach for those of you who crave a challenge. If you were just too big of a sissy to hijack a chopper before, you'll probably wish you had. On foot: Upon entering the area, take out everything close (or wait for your marines to thin the pack). Don't move toward the other side of the area until you have to, because it triggers the assholes with jet packs. Once you've cleared what you can, and preferably sniped every grunt in the area with your battle rifle, start picking up "shield removers" and go to work. A couple of things may help you. First, the jet pack brutes have a tendency to come all the way up to where the sniper rifle is (above the entrance to the area). You can use that to get them away from the rest of the pack. Second, The stone pipes on the right side make good cover, even once the wraith is there. You can duck around and stick grenades to any brute you can get a decent angle on. Taking out the furballs with fuel rods using the sniper rifle would be a good first step before moving in close. If the Tilt skull is active, however, this becomes a bit more difficult. With a Chopper: As you enter the area, pummel the first brute and 2 grunts on the right side, then hit the ones in the middle being careful not to get in grenade chucking range. Now this is important: Don't move beyond the point of triggering the next wave until you've completely cleared the area. Why make things any hard than they need to be, right? Take out the 2 grunts on the hillside to the left when they're in view, then start with the nearest brute and kill whatever you can see. As you narrow it down, you'll have a harder time spotting the last couple. You should be able to draw the attention of the one with the fuel rod at least enough to get him in view. You might see him constantly firing on the far left corner of the area. Just try to figure out where he's shooting from and aim close to draw him out. In any case, you might need to step out and use your beam rifle to look around once in a while. Check the far left corner for 3 or 4 more grunts and drop them with the battle rifle; it'll do the job, even though they're a long way off. Don't forget to knock down the sniper roost on the right side. There are 2 more you can get an angle on from up top later. You can even hit the armored turret that's way off in the distance from up top. Your main problem will be those brutes with fuel rods and the wraith. Keep back and stay right you can keep from drawing in the wraith for a while. I only had 2 brutes left when the wraith came last time, and that was only because I couldn't get a decent angle on them; they were hiding up around those buildings on the far left. If you're not using the Tilt skull, then snipe the green team. Even if Tilt is on, you can hammer them enough to knock their armor off with the chopper, then go snipe them to avoid all the green goo they keep firing your way. Either way, you really should commandeer that wraith rather than destroying it. Use the tunnels to sneak in close. Maybe it's just me, but I hate ending up in chopper duels. Those things handle for shit compared to ghosts.
Beyond the Arena
Enemies: 7 brutes (3 beam rifles, 4 choppers), 2 armored turrets Again, keep back and kill everything from a distance. You've probably got a wraith now, or you're still playing with the chopper. Whatever works for you. Just be sure the snipers and turrets don't get you while trying to dodge the choppers.
Cliffside Area
Enemies: wraith(3), armored turret(2), chopper(6?), brute(2) Obviously, you'll want to nail the 2 brutes as you enter the area. Try not to destroy both choppers. You might want one. There's at least one wraith that'll fire at your from all the way over there. If you want to return fire from there, fine. It's a bitch to hit that sucker with wraith mortars though. If not, you can drop down and hide straight across where they won't be firing on you. From there carefully deal with the choppers. I blasted all 3 wraiths from the entrance of the area. Then jumped the gap with the wraith and sat there. There were two marines on the ground to the left drawing the choppers attention. 3 of the first 4 ended up running off the cliff on the left. I blasted the 4th. After that, you can slowly proceed around either side and back off every time you draw in more choppers. If other marines followed you in a warthog, they make a great distraction. Just be aware of the 2 armored turrets. Don't accidentally end up in their line of fire. Now if you didn't kill the wraiths high up, you might want to hijack one of them before moving on. If you're not taking a wraith, use a chopper to clear the road the rest of the level.

The Storm
Pickups (ouside): Warthogs, Plasma Pistol(2), Plasma Grenade Pickups (entry room): Battle Rifle, Magnum(2), Frag Grenade(2) Find a marine with a battle rifle and trade him your AR for it, and grab the plasma grenade before heading inside. You might also want to bring one of those plasma pistols. They still have full batteries even if Famine is on.
Second Room
Enemies: grunts & shielded jackals Walk in carefully and notice that moat of the enemies aren't paying attention to you. A plasma grenade stuck to one of those jackals in the group around the hologram viewer should get their attention. Stick and back out and away FAST. Let your marines deal with grenade chuckers and shielded monkeys. The warthog turret will probably kill all the jackals since they run to the top. If the rest of the marines go KIA on you, sneak in and finish off the few remaining grunts. Now you can open the door and let the warthog through. Wouldn't want a stray plasma grenade to destroy it, would we?
Hallway
Enemies: 3 brutes (1 carbine, 2 spikers), 4 shielded jackals, lots and lots of grunts Pickups: battle rifle, bubble shield The hallway can be done two ways. You can open the big door for the warthog, or sneak through the opening on the right. Consider the fact that, with the Catch skull, that warthog will have half a dozen plasma grenades and spikes stuck to it in 5 seconds. Now is it really worth opening the door? There's also those two ghosts that could get destroyed by the marines. You should make every attempt to get one for the next area(s). Sneak around and eliminate everything you can. Target the grunts and get whatever brutes will come to you. Once you're down to nothing but jackals, you might want to open that door to save ammo, since they don't throw grenades. Now here comes the hard part. Jack a ghost before your buddies in the warthog waste them both. Now reload, open the door, and grab a ghost.
Dock Area (1st AA Wraith Encounter)
Enemies: wraith, AA wraith, 5 ghosts (grunts, 3 to start then 2 more), 2 brutes (1 brute shot, 1 spiker), 6-8 grunts, 1 shielded jackal. Enemies (after AA wraith): 1 brute (brute shot), 2 shielded jackals, 4 grunts (1 turret) Pickups: sniper rifle, battle rifle(5), frag grenade(2) As soon as you open the door, zip down the dock along the left wall and mow down the 1st brute and as many grunts as you can, but don't waste time here. Keep along the wall and boost over toward where the other wraith ends up getting dropped off before the phantom comes!. Leave your ghost somewhere easy to get to. Either over in the corner or inside one of the long metal crates. Now quickly get inside the short metal crate and stay out of sight a few seconds. The phantom comes and drops the wraith 10 feet away from you, usually with its ass end facing you for the easy climb+melee from behind. If you feel the need to hijack it, go ahead. Otherwise kill it quick and get back to your ghost without getting shot. Now there's possibly a jackal running toward you. Where the hell did he come from? The small building in the middle of the dock. The other brute and a few grunts from there are probably still alive too, unless the guys in the warthog actually did something right by themselves. Kill off the enemies on foot first; that brute shot can be real hazardous to your health, and the grunts could take ghosts if you shoot the current drivers. Now get a safe distance and get and angle on the ghosts. Leave the AA wraith for last! Once it's destroyed, the door to the next area opens. This is bad if you plan on killing the rest of those grunts on the ghosts. Keep it simple. Stay far enough away that you can shoot the ghosts, but they don't shoot you. Another phantom drops off more. After they're all taken care of, you might want to reload and get ready for the next area before busting up the AA wraith, because more baddies might come outside when that door opens. Also, it's a bad idea to be right out there when the AA wrath blows because a couple banshees appear and could shorten your life. Now stay back, preferably on the part of the dock that extends out to the building. Get a good angle on the group of enemies that just came out the door. You'll want to focus on grunts first this time. Don't let the little bastards get to the ghosts. They will try. Once they're taken care of, head over near the door.
Indoor Area
Enemies: 1 chieftain (plasma turret), 2 brutes (spiker, plasma rifle), 3-4 shielded jackals, grunts Enemies (room 2): drones I tried to do this all with the ghost. Be careful of brutes dropping power drains on you. If you think everything is cleaned out but Chief Hairball, you could sneak up behind him for the easy kill while he's looking at the marines. Get back on the ghost and carefully clean out the drones, or possibly boost through once the door's open.
Outside (Scarab Battle)
Enemies: 2 AA wraiths, 4-5 ghost-grunts, 2-3 choppers, 1 brute (spiker?), 2 grunts, 4? banshees, 1 bad ass spider Pickups: missile pod(2), battle rifle, grav lift, assault rifle(5) The safest thing to do it let your buddies take out everything. If you're on a mongoose, it doesn't hurt to get close enough for your pal with the rocket launcher to fire a few shots. Just be careful about it. Those ghosts can really cut you down if you get in their sights. Once everything is clear enough, get to the bunker between the two missile pods. Take out the AA wraiths with the missile pods if need be, then await the scarab. Just stay inside until you can see its back. Then run to a missile pod and target the ass until it turns toward you again. Hide and repeat. Before leaving the area, you'll probably want to find a plasma pistol (or 2) to bring to the next area, since it's all brutes. Plasma Pistol + Battle Rifle = WIN
Staging Area
Pickups: battle rifle(10), assault rifle(10), magnum(4), frag grenade(2), machine gun turret(2) You might want to grab those turrets, cause you won't be able to come back for them for long.
Warehouse area
Enemies: 10-12 brutes, 2 hunters Pickups: shotgun(20), battle rifle(20), assault rifle(20), machine gun turret Let the Arbitor and marines take all the heat here. Headshot brutes when you see their armor come off to keep them from mauling the marines. When it gets sticky, get sticky, basically. Sneak around corners and stick spike grenades or use the n00b combo. Once you get to the hunters, you might be wanting those machine gun turrets. I find that on Legendary-Mythic they take a ton of punishment (and you don't). Plenty of ways to handle these guys, but keep out from in front of the doorway. Letting the Arbitor and marines distract them to reveal their backs is usually a good start. Just be careful not to catch shrapnel from all the frags your idiotic comrades throw.
Warehouse Exit
Enemies: 1 chieftain (hammer), 4 brutes (2 carbine, 2 spiker), 2 shielded jackals, grunts Use the windows in the rooms on the right to snipe the grunts (battle rifle/carbine). The brutes will likely all run off to the right where you won't be able to see them. Use this opportunity to floor the 2 jackals and any remaining grunts. Then revert to the old tactic of letting someone else do most of the work. Pick up a plasma pistol and take charged shots at the brutes if you see an opening. With a little luck, 'Harry The Hammer' will go at the Arbitor. Sneak up behind him and put his lights out. Then deal with the rest of the brutes.
Anti-Air Gun Area
Enemies: 1 chieftain (fuel rod), 2-4 brutes, shielded jackals, grunts Use the turret to clear the hillside. Then you have two options. Sneak up around and fight that chieftain and his buddies(A), or snipe the power core(?) on that gun from down here on the right(B). I opted to snipe the gun this run, since I'm playing with every gold skull but Iron. If you want to do it the hard way, have fun.

Floodgate

Enemies: FLOOD! Pickups (Outside): Spiker(2), Spike Grenade(2), Gravity Hammer, Shotgun(4?), Battle Rifle(4), Assault Rifle(4), Magnum? Pickups (Warehouse Area): Assault Rifle(13), Shotgun(3), Battle Rifle(4), SMG(8), Flamethrower, Spiker(2), Deployable Cover, Regenerator Pickups ('Shadow of Intent'): Trip Mine, SMG, Frag Grenades, Energy Sword, Plasma Rifle(2) Pickups (Inside Corridor): Assault Rifle(5), Flamethrower Pickups (Last Area): Machine Gun Turret, Deployable Cover(4), Trip Mine

No real need for a complete walkthrough here. It's a short level, and you should know what to expect by now. I'll make a few notes though...

Use the Arbitor. If he's doing too much shooting and not enough cutting, melee him. When the shield comes down, the sword usually comes out.
Use the other elites (when available), but do what you can to keep them alive while preserving yourself.
When fighting with the other elites, try not to get ahead of them. You might end up with a plasma grenade stuck to your back.
If you're after the achievement, you'll need to kill a lot. A good approach seems to be the battle rifle+gravity hammer. The hammer at the start of the level has full ammo even with Famine on. Shoot only what shoots back. Smash the rest. The only exception is that second (warehouse?) area. You have the high ground and there's a whole case of battle rifles outside. Get the picture? Just don't get blind-sided. The Arbitor does a lousy job of watching your back.
The Black Eye skull actually seemed to make this level easier, since you end up bashing so many enemies anyway. If you're having trouble, or playing on Iron, don't miss that Regenerator just before the last area; it's where the dumb marine is screaming, exactly where the machine gun turret was on The Storm.

The Ark

Anti-Air Gun Area
Pickups: Sniper Rifle(2), Battle Rifle, Carbine(2), Plasma Turret(3) Enemies: 6 brutes (3 brute shots, 3 spikers), 6 jackals (2 carbines, 4 shielded), grunts Your marines probably won't survive beyond this area. Try not to lose track of the battle rifles they drop. Probably the only useful thing they'll do. This spot is a lot easier with a motion tracker, but it can be done without. The only decent strategy I've come up with is to start by sneaking up and killing the 3 sleeping grunts at the bottom of the hill. Trade your sniper rifle for a plasma pistol (or give that to a marine if you're not afraid of losing it), and remember to switch to the plasma grenades you just picked up. Your marines should have given away their position by now, so strafe over to the right to be more covered by the ring around the area. Sneak a bit and hit the brutes that climb up on the ring with plasma grenades or charged shots while they're shooting at your buddies. Once nothing else is coming over, slide left or back up the hill and snipe grunts/jackals. When you see a brute climb up, hit him with a plasma/spike grenade or n00b combo him.
Second Area
Enemies: 6-8 brutes (2+ brute shots), 5 jackals (3 carbine, 2 shielded), 2 hunters, grunts Pickups: Spiker(8) Drop the carbine-jackal up high as soon as you walk in. Then draw as many brutes as possible up the hill toward you and sticky/plasma them. Once there aren't anymore brutes close enough to be a problem, snipe the grunts/jackals with your battle rifle/carbine until the hunters come. I'd like to know what actually triggers the hunters. I think after a certain number of enemies fall they just sort of show up. This also prompts the other 2 jackals with carbines to jump down from their perch. Spank those monkeys. You'll have to figure out your own way to survive the hunters. On Mythic, they take a hell of a beating. One ammo-conserving way to kill them is to lure them up near the cliff one at a time. If you chuck a grenade to the inside, they're likely to jump off the cliff to avoid it. Getting up the hill to the next area with brutes and grunts still alive is usually interesting. Snipe grunts and stick grenades to brutes as you carefully make your way up the hill. Plenty of cover from the rocks, but watch or for grenades being chucked in your direction. Unless you really like waste ammo, you should have a full sniper rifle left from the pickups in the first area. Bring it along with a battle rifle or carbine.
Third Area
Pickups: Brute Shot(4), Spiker(2), Plasma Grenade(2), Plasma Pistol(2), Battle Rifle(2), Assault Rifle(2), Rocket Launcher, Frag Grenade(2) Enemies (First Wave): 2 brutes (1 brute shot, 1 carbine), grunts Enemies (Second Wave): 8? brutes (2 prowlers) This area sucks. Grab a plasma pistol at the entrance and try to take out the nearest brute quick. Half the grunts might suicide. Then get rid of the other brute and his underlings. When the rest of the pack shows up, just keep the high ground and use the rocks for cover. If you have an extra marine left when this is all over, it might be wise to equip him with the rocket launcher that's lying over by the smoldering pelican and make him a passenger in a mongoose/prowler. Don't forget your sniper rifle, if you still have one. It might come in handy for all those grunts with fuel rods coming up.
Fourth Area
Pickups: Battle Rifle, Rocket Ammo, Warthog, Sniper Rifle, Frag Grenade(3) Enemies: 4 brutes (3 choppers), grunts (2 ghosts) It wouldn't be a bad idea to hijack a ghost/chopper and deal with the rest from a distance. Otheriwse, have fun.
Near "The Wall" (Before The Dawn Lands)
Pickups: Chopper, Spiker(2) Enemies: 5 brutes (2 choppers), 2 armored turrets, grunts (some with fuel rods) At the moment, clearing this area is optional, but you may as do it. You might want a fuel rod for the landing strip area anyway.
Path Toward the Landing Strip
Pickups: Warthog, Chopper, Mongoose Enemies: 1 brute (fuel rod), 4 shielded jackals, grunts (4 ghosts)
Landing Area
Enemies: 7-10 brutes, grunts, 1 armored turret, 2 plasma turrets, 3 sniper roosts, 2 AA wraiths, 4 ghosts