Halo Reach (Mission 3) ONI: Sword Base Walkthrough
Video Walkthrough: (Mission 3) ONI Sword Base Walkthrough
Datapad Locations: Datapad #2 Location and Datapad #11 Location
ONI Sword Base is the next mission for us in Reach and it's a rather short one. You start this mission in the courtyard of the ONI Sword Base - this is a location you'll be running through on multiple missions. It's also one of the Firefight maps for this game (Courtyard Firefight Map)! The first thing you do is force the Covenant out of the base; search the ledges above you for some long range weapons like Sniper Rifles.
When you kill all of the Covenant inside of the base you'll get a HUD update pointing you towards some Ordnance nearby in a vehicle bay. The Ordnance that is here is actually a Target Locator which needs to be used to destroy the two Wraiths in the field outside of the base. If you use the Target Locator directly on a Wraith the circle will follow the Wraith around where ever it goes.
The Target Locator will be useful throughout this mission so I recommend that you bring it with you. If you've played Firefight in Reach you've probably used this weapon before since it's always given as an Ordnance drop at the start of Firefight.
Grab this Target Locator and use it to destroy both Wraiths
After taking out both of the Wraith tanks you'll get a Warthog drop which will be needed for the next part of this mission. So, the next part of this mission is non-linear, we have two objectives to complete and they can be done in whatever order you desire. Essentially how it works is there are two locations filled with Covenant and you need to go to each of them and press a button then clear out all enemies.
One location is a small village in the north/northeast that has a Revenant protecting it. Revenants are new Covenant vehicles added in Halo: Reach which are kind of like mini Wraiths. The location in the south/southwest is an AA gun which may look familiar to you if you've played Firefight since this is the Outpost Firefight Map.
Both of these locations are pretty straight forward, the buttons you need to press are marked on the HUD so you're not going to get lost. If you're having trouble my advice is to look around for better weapons or ammo. Search the walls for weapon racks and Health Packs and the roofs of the various buildings for power weapons (like Sniper Rifles).
Datapad #11: Those of you who want to grab Datapad #11 will find it at the village being protected by a Revenant when you're playing on Legendary difficulty. For more information check out my Datapad #11 Location Youtube Video.
When you've cleared out both of these locations you'll get a call to return to ONI Sword Base. Return to the base and you'll notice that Covenant have spawned inbetween you and the base - you can drive by them most of the time but sometimes they follow you and become a nuisance. Hit the button on the computer out front of the base to open the doors and give ourselves entry.
You'll quickly learn that not only does the outside of ONI Sword Base have Covenant, the inside is infested with them too. Our goal is to go inside of the base and clear out all Covenant in the courtyard, after doing this you'll need to head inside and kill more Covenant before riding the elevator up to a new section of the base (pictured below).
This next portion of the ONI Sword Base I would describe as like a fancy apartment tower with bridges going back and forth between the two sections. You'll be tasked with clearing out all of the Covenant on your way up to the top then once you're at the top you'll have to use the Rocket Launcher to blow up a couple of Banshees and a Phantom in the sky.
On your way up to the top you'll pass by Datapad #2 which is a Datapad that you can pick up on any difficulty. For more information about where you can find it check out my Datapad #2 Location Youtube Video. Other than this Datapad it's a straight shot to the roof. There will be many Covenant in the way (some of the Elites are pretty tough) but as long as you take it slow you should be fine.
My advice from earlier still applies here. If you ever run out of ammo or health check the walls in the surrounding areas for weapons, ammo and Health Packs. There is normally always plenty of each for you to find when you're inside of a UNSC building. Once you make it to the roof area search the floor around you for all of the Rocket Launcher(s) and ammo you need for the Banshees and Phantom that you have to deal with.
After destroying all the Banshees and Phantoms in the air you'll trigger a cutscene that marks the end of the mission.
Continue to Mission 4: Nightfall
Return to Mission 2: Winter Contingency