Halo (MCC) Reach & ODST Firefight Walkthroughs
Firefight is a game mode for Halo 3 ODST and Halo Reach which typically involves players fighting wave after wave of enemies until the timer runs out. You can queue for Firefight through Matchmaking or start a game using the Custom Game feature in the main menus. There is a 2 player or 4 player Firefight Mode that you can play and both have different Game Modes associated with them.
Game Modes are not only different between 2 player and 4 player but they're also different between games. One of the biggest examples is Floodfight, a popular game mode where people fight the Flood, is only available when playing Halo 3 ODST. When playing 2 player Floodfight is renamed Spore Attack which is a mostly similar but slightly different version.
If you're going to play Firefight I recommend you do so in Matchmaking that way you can earn EXP for your MCC account. Firefight is the best EXP you can get in MCC unless you're one of the few top tier PvP players in which case that's probably better EXP for you (sometimes). You should check out my How to Earn The Most EXP In Halo MCC Guide for more information about this if you're interested.
As aforementioned there are two different games that you can play Firefight in. I've sorted the available Firefight maps based on what game they belong to - click on whichever map below that you'd like to learn more about.
Reach Firefight Maps
- Beachhead
- Corvette
- Courtyard
- Glacier
- Holdout
- Installation 04
- Outpost
- Overlook
- Unearthed
- Waterfront
Halo 3 ODST Firefight Maps
- Alpha Site
- Chasm Ten
- Crater
- Last Exit
- Lost Platoon
- Rally Point
- Security Zone
- Windward
Before I end this guide I would like to give you a bunch of tips and tricks on how to get better at Firefight and how to maximize how much EXP you earn. I'm going to give tips for every mode of Firefight, if I don't mention a game mode assume that I am talking about Firefight Limited. When I am talking about a specific game mode like Fistfight or and of the other Arcade Game modes I will mention them.
The following tips are in no specific order.
Firefight Tips & Tricks:
- Covenant (Plasma) weapons deal more damage to shields than the UNSC weapons. UNSC weapons deal more damage to flesh than Plasma weapons. For this reason it is sometimes a good idea to use Plasma weapons to strip shields then finish them off with a humanoid weapons. A good example of when this is important is during the Brute waves of Firefight Classic. Pick up the Brute Plasma Rifle and it will strip their shields significantly faster than the SMG.
- One of the most effective combos in Halo is the Plasma Pistol + a precision weapon. You can hit an enemy with an overcharged Plasma Pistol shot to rip off their shields then finish them off with a headshot. This combination is extremely effective when playing on Legendary or against shielded opponents.
- When playing Fistfight on Halo Reach make sure you use the Evade armor skill. It's the best one available by far for this match type because it lets you close the distance between you and any enemy within a second using only a single button press.
- For the Rocket Attack and Rocketfight match types on Halo Reach you should use the Jetpack armor ability. The reason for this is you'll get Firebird medals for killing enemies while you're holding down the Jetpack button. This detail is important because you can't kill enemies while descending - it has to be while you're holding down the button and ascending. On Rocketfight this is pretty easy since you don't need to be accurate; I recommend it for Sniperfight too depending on the map and how coordinated you are. You want more Firebird medals because it means extra EXP at the end of the match for you.
- If you kill a Brute or Elite that is commanding a group of Grunts it will send the Grunts into disarray and cause them to run around with their arms up. Alternatively, in the later Halo games it may cause them to become suicide bombers.
- During Firefight Classic on ODST hide when the Drones come out. When playing reach hide during the Skirmisher wave. Both of these waves have very fast moving enemies that will take you out extremely quick if you're not careful. It's normally best to hide until they land/stop moving then pick the ones off you can see and slowly poke out of cover to shoot more.
- Knowing what weapons are best for what situation is another important part of Firefight. I recommend you check out my Halo Reach: Firefight Weapon Tier List and my Halo 3 ODST: Firefight Weapon Tier List pages for more information about this subject.
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