Halo Reach (MCC) Firefight Guide - Holdout

Holdout is another of the many Firefight maps which comes from the Reach campaign. This map is from the campaign's final mission, The Pillar of Autumn. During the campaign you are tasked with holding out at this location and defeating multiple waves of enemies - which is probably why this map is named Holdout.

In my opinion the Holdout map is one of the worst Firefight maps in Reach due to the topography and how difficult it is to defend. The main building of this map is the small 4 story building on the western side of the area. You'll find the ammo supply crate inside this building on the 2nd and 3rd floors if you're playing normal Firefight modes.

Enemies will spawn in multiple places on this map with the Drop Ships being their most obvious spawn points. Due to the size of this map it's going to be very hard to avoid the turrets on the Drop Ships too - a good rule of thumb is if you're able to see the enemies and shoot at them - the Drop Ship can see you and will shoot at you.

The best piece of advice that I can give to you is either hide until the Drop Ships leave, destroy their turrets or try to stay on the move as best as possible. Alternatively, pay attention to what Drop Ships are where and try to hide somewhere out of their line of sight and draw the enemies into your line of sight. Having one person in your group grab the enemies attention and flee to cover typically works well for this sort of thing.

As for the best strategies to use on this map, I find that having one person as the stationary sniper and the rest of your team being mobile to be the most effective. Sniping on this map is very difficult because of the Drop Ship turrets so it would be ideal if your entire team was mobile but if you have one person who is really good with a DMR or sniper and they want to do that then it's fine.

Holdout's best Sniper location.

While we are on the topic of sniping, I'd like to point out my favorite perch on this entire map. You can only reach this location with a Jet Pack armor ability so keep that in mind. On the southern side of the map (pictured above) there will be a platform that you can Jet Pack up to which is out of bounds. This is the same area the MAC gun is at during the main campaign.

One of the rails of this platform is broken and if you stand on that broken rail you'll be in bounds while on this perch. If you are playing an arcade game mode like Fiesta, Sniper or Plasmafight then I recommend this location to you because it will give you an overview of 3/4 of the map. For regular Firefight modes it may be a little too dangerous to stay up here - although I notice that many enemies won't shoot at you while you're on this perch. They acknowledge your presence but often don't shoot. The Drop Ship turrets do shoot, however.

 

 

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.

- 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.

 

Holdout Firefight Videos
- Firefight Limited on Holdout
- Rocketfight on Holdout
- Plasmafight on Holdout
- Sniperfight on Holdout
- Skirmigeddon on Holdout
- Firefight Limited on Holdout #2
- Fistfight on Holdout
- FRG Attack on Holdout
- Skirmigeddon on Holdout (2)