halo 2 battle guide - addendum

my own retrospective analysis of the content...
for information about mistakes, please refer to the halo 2 battle guide - errata

General Comments
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1. Rumble Pit play
I should have spent more time discussing the 'Rumble Pit' style of play. since this is what most people do on Xbox Live, I should have elaborated on winning strategies when the game seems like complete chaos. for example, the sword rules Lockout, and the Plasma Pistol + Magnum combo is great for Beaver Creek. these weapons work well in the chaos of rumble pit because you can score quick kills. as I wrote in the battle guide, the longer it takes you to finish someone, the greater chance that there will be an 'add' and you'll be an easy target.

Game Types
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given more time, I would have included another factor of detail about specific game types. for example, 'king of the hill'. these games have a rhythm that players need to exploit. more often than not, the winner is not the player with the most kills. for example, here are some thoughts...

1. King
King games have a rhythm to them. do you find that one guy seems to always be along in the circle? that's because he has found the rhythm and is exploiting it to his advantage.

this is the Lockout King strategy for the guy on my friends list who wins the most King games:

- do not just jump into the circle.
- wait till a second person gets in the circle and let them go at it
- then walk towards the circle, throw 2 grenades .. most of the time you get a Double Kill
- then run around the circle
- as people come inside the circle, I do not bother shooting at all
- I just run around the circle and let two other people shoot it out
- before I die, I usually get 5 - 10 seconds

this may seem odd to some, but getting since getting frags is only cursory to performing well in a King game, it makes sense.

2. Swords
there is a bit of a 'glitch' when it comes to sword fighting. players who jump towards their opponent will have an advantage in the fight. I'm not sure why jumping improves the lunge range but it is obviously effective. some have argued that this guarantees that you strike your target high enough for a one-hit fight. however, I don't believe that this jumping advantage was the intention of the Bungie developers.

Weapon Comments
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1. the Plasma Pistol + Battle Rifle
this combination was not really discussed. in open terrain, it is highly effective

Halo 2 Map Comments
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1. to start with, here are the areas that will get you tagged the fastest:

Ascension - inside of the relay dish (i.e. the middle)
Beaver Creek - the creek
Burial Mounds - any open space
Coagulation - the middle of the map (unless you reach that RL). in Sniper games, the back of the bases is a popular kill zone.
Colossus - plain view at the top of the lift
Foundation - the middle of the side platforms (i.e. in the open on the upper level)
Headlong - the dirt area under the broken road
Ivory Tower - the top of the courtyard
Lockout - the courtyard
Midship - the middle (see a pattern?)
Waterworks - the open area in front of the bases
Zanzibar - pretty much ground level on the entire map (with the exception of rocky areas)