Halo Reach (MCC) Firefight Guide - Courtyard

Courtyard is a Firefight map from Reach's Campaign, you'll be going through this courtyard on multiple levels but the first of which is the ONI: Sword Base mission. Depending on what Firefight mode you're playing on this map will either be a lot of fun or, possibly, a disaster. The biggest downside is also the biggest upside, it's all very compact and small.

During normal Firefight the ammo supply crates can be found in the same rooms that you spawn inside of. These rooms are found on the eastern and western ends of the courtyard, near the southern bay where enemies spawn. You'll also find a bunch of Health Packs in this same area so you'll want to learn the location and remember it ASAP.

Enemies are dropped into this map on the northern and southern sides. You'll also find a cargo bay and a small road on the northern side of the map where a lot of enemies spawn as well. Normally the best strategy you can use on this map is to have half of your team watch the northern side and half of your team watch the southern side.

In my experience more enemies spawn on the southern half of this map than the northern half. The southern half of this map is also a lot more open than the north making it ideal for snipers or anyone with a DMR. Another strategy that works pretty well (while also being more or less the same) is to have half your team as "roamers" and half as stationary.

Roamers will run around the courtyard and fight whatever they find thinning out the herd, the rest of your team will camp the platforms and pick off enemies from a distance. You'll be doing more or less the same thing with the half and half strategy but I figured I would mention the slight difference anyway.

Splitting your team up with half covering the top portion and half covering the south works for basically every Firefight game mode on this map. Arcade modes like Rockets, Sniper, Plasma or even Fistfight all work the same as regular Firefight modes. The only downside to this strategy is there are not enough enemies to go around.

One person can handle all of the enemies that spawn up north and it takes two people to do everything that spawns down south. The only exception to this in my experience are the elites that use UNSC weapons. A whole hoard of elites with DMRs and Snipers can still easily overwhelm even the best of players.

When it comes to the Bonus Round for this map, if you're the person hanging out up north you'll want to eliminate the enemies that spawn at the start of the Bonus Round then rush to the south. A few enemies will spawn in the various locations up north at the start of the Bonus Round but they will only spawn once - so once they're dead make your way to the Phantoms.

 

 

 

Extra Tips & Tricks

- When you are playing Sniper, Rocket, Fiesta or any of the other arcade game modes for Firefight you should always use a Jet Pack Loadout. When using a Jet Pack and getting a killing blow you'll be rewarded the Firebird Medal which will get you more EXP overall. You only get the Firebird Medal when you are holding down the button and ascending with the Jet Pack. Letting go of the button and scoring the KB on the descend will not earn you this medal.

- Use the ramps that lead up to the platforms as a method of funneling enemies to you. Once they start coming up the ramp you can take them all out with a single well placed grenade or some other explosive.

- During normal Firefight modes the Target Locator will have its ammo restored after each round. For this reason it's strongly recommended you do not get rid of this weapon after you use up its ammo; if you die while holding the Target Locator return to where you died and pick it up again before it's despawned at the end of the round. As far as the best time to use the Target Locator, typically towards the end of the round. Not the final set because the final set is very small but the 3rd or 4th sets are normally when I end up using it.

- Want some advice on what weapons to use during Firefight and why? I have put together a Halo Reach Firefight Weapon Tier List that you may find helpful in determining what weapons you want to pick up and keep on your character.

- In the northeastern portion of the map you can find a mounted turret pointing east towards the road that enters the ONI Base (where the Courtyard map takes place). There should be enough time for you to grab this between sets or rounds if you'd like to detach it and run around with it for a bit.

 

Courtyard Firefight Videos
- Nadefight on Courtyard
- Fistfight on Courtyard
- Rocketfight on Courtyard
- Nadefight on Courtyard #2
- FRGFight on Courtyard
- Gruntpocalypse on Courtyard
- Rocket Attack on Courtyard
- Skirmigeddon on Courtyard
- Rocket Attack on Courtyard #2