Halo 4 Full Campaign Walkthrough

Four-player co-op Legendary run of Halo 4 on MCC. The group considers this the best 343 Halo game and the last campaign where you play forward rather than retracing events that happened off-screen. More tactical than Halo 3 — no bloom, hit markers, and significantly tankier enemies.

General Notes

• MCC version runs at up to 144fps with resolution improvements.
• Grunts are beefier than previous games — take 4–5 BR bursts to kill if not headshot.
• You do not spawn with grenades in this game. Scavenge them from the field.
• When you die and respawn, you typically respawn with Promethean weapons rather than your loadout.
• There are no traditional skulls in this game.
• Terminals: Only one player gets the achievement per terminal.
• The Didact is the primary antagonist. The Librarian tricked him into the Cryptum to protect humanity; Requiem's distress signal was relayed to trick Master Chief into releasing him.
• Prometheans are humans transformed by the Didact's Composer.
• Cortana is the only AI created from living tissue (a brain scan of Dr. Halsey) — relevant to her rampancy arc.

Weapons

UNSC

• DMR — No bloom in this game; very strong. Highly recommended.
• Battle Rifle — Solid as always.
• SAW — New LMG-type weapon; excellent against groups. Runs out of ammo quickly.
• Railgun — One-shots Phantoms. Save shots for vehicles rather than infantry.
• Spartan Laser — Appears only once in the entire campaign.

Covenant

• Plasma Pistol — Still hits hard, useful for overcharging shields.
• Storm Rifle — Weak; not recommended.
• Fuel Rod Gun — Dangerous, causes many deaths due to splash damage.

Promethean

• Light Rifle — Strong precision weapon; highly recommended.
• Bolt Shot — Decent uncharged; charge it for a one-shot shotgun blast (broken in multiplayer).
• Scatter Shot — Forerunner shotgun variant; very nasty at close range.
• Binary Rifle — Two-shot kill, very punishing.

Armor Abilities

• Promethean Vision — Thermal vision through walls; enemies glow red. To swap it out, you must pick up a different ability.
• Hardlight Shield — Useful for blocking incoming fire; does not bounce projectiles back.
• Auto-Sentry — Large area-of-effect against groups; does not follow the player.
• Active Camouflage — Available in later missions.
• Jetpack — Considered weak and impractical. Not recommended.

Enemies

Prometheans

• Knights — Very tanky, can teleport, and respawn unless the Watcher is killed first.
  • Kill Watchers (flying support units) first — they will revive Knights and intercept grenades.
  • Knights can be assassinated but require patience to set up.
• Crawlers — Pack animals, very aggressive, hunt in groups.
• Promethean enemies completely outclass the Covenant when they encounter each other.

Covenant

• Elites, Grunts, Jackals, Hunters, and Brutes are all present.
• Grunts require headshots to kill efficiently — body shots take 4–5 BR bursts.

Sentinels

• Appear only once in the entire campaign (Mission 1/2 area).

Mission 1: Dawn

• Opens aboard the UNSC Forward Unto Dawn, four years after Halo 3.
• Sentinels appear here — the only time in the campaign.
• Cortana's rampancy is introduced as a central concern.

Mission 2: Requiem

• Warthog driving sections through Forerunner environments.
• First encounter with Promethean enemies.
• The distress signal that summoned the Infinity was a trap — Requiem relayed it to lure Master Chief into releasing the Didact.
• The Plasma Pistol overcharge still EMP-stuns vehicles effectively.

Mission 3: Forerunner

• First pylon activation objectives. First sustained Promethean combat.
• When you die, you respawn with Promethean weapons — this is intentional design.
• Bolt Shot charge discovered — charged shot functions as a one-shot close-range blast.
• Watchers intercept grenades and throw them back — always prioritize killing them before engaging Knights.

Mission 4: Infinity (Jungle / Outdoor Section)

• Large outdoor environment with vehicle combat.
• Ghost is widely available and very powerful in this mission.
• Scorpion tank available; tip: you can potentially keep the Scorpion tank all the way to the end of this mission if careful.
• Mantis (bipedal mech) is introduced at the end of the mission.
  • Has energy shields.
  • Rockets can be charged for a burst-fire mode.

Mission 5: Reclaimer (The Mammoth)

• The Mammoth — a massive mobile UNSC platform.
  • Has a mini-MAC cannon and jetpack pads on its floor.
  • Players can be teleported off the vehicle if they stray too far — stay on board during movement phases.
• Objectives involve destroying particle cannons to allow the Mammoth to advance.
• A Lich (large Covenant capital ship) appears — you eventually board it. The Lich is a one-way trip.
• Railgun is very effective against Phantoms — one shot to kill.
• Librarian augmentation happens during this mission — a significant lore moment where the Librarian upgrades Chief's genome.

Mission 6: Shutdown

• First prolonged Promethean + Covenant mix.
• DMR shines here with no bloom — use it freely.
• Mantis becomes available to multiple players for a section.
• Tip: Watchers catch and return grenades — do not throw grenades until the Watcher is dead.

Mission 7: Composer

• Notable for the combat Pelican — the only time you pilot one in the franchise.
• Pelican has side gunner positions and a primary pilot view.
• The Composer device is the lore centerpiece — it transforms humans into Prometheans.

Mission 8: Midnight (Final Mission)

• Heavily Promethean — prolonged Knight and Crawler encounters.
• Binary Rifle snipers are extremely punishing at this stage.
• Cortana sacrifices herself by injecting her rampant personalities into the Didact's system to overwhelm him.
• Chief uses a nuclear device manually detonated as the final act.
• Closing cutscene shows Chief from a human perspective for the first time — emotional and well-regarded.
• The Didact is not a traditional boss fight — he is dealt with via a QTE/cutscene.

Achievement Notes

• Terminals: Only one player per terminal receives the achievement. Terminals disappear after a set time — act quickly.
• Par Score: Tracked throughout; the group ran well above par for most missions.
• Skull note: No traditional skulls confirmed in this game.
• Score is penalized for friendly Spartan deaths and friendly fire — be cautious with explosives.