The Halo series is no stranger to hard gameplay. Given that there are challenges such as Legendary All Skulls On playthroughs, the development teams of the games surely packed some levels to be extra tough.
Seeing as Halo: Infinite might add another level to the hardest in the series, it is time once again to remember the missions that caused headaches. These are missions with waves of enemies, horrible checkpoints, and usually lots of Flood. Redditors across the site had delightful memories of these torturous missions. There are some levels missing, and many up for debate as being amongst the hardest, but LASO runs and even some casuals will struggle on these. The devs simply were not kind to players in these missions.
Cairo Station
Halo 2's third mission is not one to be taken lightly. "Those flying Elite f*****," as Redditor JayRod_DM put lightly. The main difficult part in this level is the room with the bomb. Players are swarmed with enemies, and as JayRod_DM said, there are multiple flying Elites as well.
Still, this mission does take place right after the tutorial, and while difficult, does not hold a candle to some of the other missions within the Halo series. And at least it also has one of Master Chief's best quotes, "To give The Covenant back their bomb."
Regret
Pretty much every Covenant enemy type appears in this mission. Considering the sheer amount of enemy spam, there is one rival that seems to stick out, "Jackal. F******. Snipers," Redditor JayRod_DM said.
Besides the snipers, the player must also face nearly every kind of Elite as well as Hunters and Banshees. The ending is also notoriously hard given the Elite Honor Guards. Although maybe not considered the hardest of Halo levels, it definitely deserves a mention.
The Breaking
Halo 5 also has its own difficult level in The Breaking. Fighting waves of Prometheans may not be bad but then there are the Warden Eternals. As Redditor FrostyWostyUwU puts it, "Having to fight 3 Warden Eternals and turrets at once while having near Halo 2 on legendary ttk sure is fun :)".
The mission may not be as hard or long as some, but the Wardens definitely add a high increase in difficulty. Given how much of Halo 5 is rather easy compared to other titles, The Breaking turned up the difficulty to the 12th degree.
Long Night of Solace
What makes this mission difficult is that it is the only Halo mission where the player flies in space. What may seem like a fun time turns into a hot mess, especially given the large amounts of enemy ships coming at the player. "For Reach, definitely Long Night of Solace," Redditor SckidMarcker said.
After the space combat, the player then enters the ship, which does not get any easier. There are waves of Covenant enemies, with most being Elites. This mission is especially difficult on higher difficulties. On lower ones, however, players might find this to be the lesser of difficult missions throughout the series.
Truth and Reconciliation
The third mission in the first Halo game would not sound hard initially, but it can be especially challenging. "No pistol really makes this level a****," as Redditor OhHiClark states.
What also makes this level particularly difficult is once the player is inside the ship. There are many instances of invisible Elites with laser swords that demolish unknowing players. To make matters worse, these are one-hit kill enemies which can cause a lot of panic, especially on harder difficulties. On top of this, the ship can turn into a maze if players are not careful.
The Covenant
This mission starts out interesting, as it is the first time the Flood team up with Master Chief and Arbiter, but it quickly turns into a bait and switch. The Flood quickly turns on the player, and what is worse is players have to run the full length of the level back. "The beginning of The Covenant would wreck me," one Reddit user stated.
It also takes the cake for being the longest mission in Halo 3. From beginning to end, there are massive amounts of enemies, including the most difficult ones such as Brutes, Hunters, and Pure Flood.
Cortana
Right after defeating The Covenant, the mission following suit is a difficult one. Simply because of the waves of Flood coming at the player. "The mission Cortana kicked my tail man," Redditor RTideR said.
Certainly, anyone who has played this mission knows the issue in facing wave after wave of Flood. To make matters worse, the ending of the mission does not prove any easier. The Flood seems to never stop in this level and it is truly a test of how well ammo can be spared. What is worse is there is no cover throughout this level, and the Flood does not care about cover. So, good luck trying to recover when swarmed. With the Flood rumored to make a comeback for Infinite, the next installment will likely have its own harsh levels.
The Library
Anyone who has played the first Halo knows how difficult The Library truly is. Facing wave after wave of Flood is maddening. "That was an absolute madhouse. Gotta be so careful with shotgun rounds so you don't run out of ammo," Redditor joeyo1423 said.
And they are right. The shotgun is crucial when taking on the Flood and it becomes absurdly difficult if the player runs out of ammo. Other weapons in the game simply do not cut it when shaving off Flood. Given the many points where the player must simply survive, each with increasing difficulty, this can prove especially challenging. This is one of the levels to break the controller on LASO runs.
Gravemind
Often referred to as one of the hardest Halo missions, Gravemind is an absolute experience. As Redditor FrostyWostyUwU states, "You can die before you can see your crosshair." Simply put, the number of enemies within this mission is astronomical.
While the mission does allow the player to experience the beginnings of the Covenant Civil War, the number of tough enemies takes away the fun. Anything from Brutes, Elites to Hunters and Jackals. What makes it worse is that the checkpoints are very unforgiving and a lot of progress will be lost if the player perishes.
Two Betrayals
This is a mission that is unforgiving to the player. "The beginning is all wrong, you get a shotgun and a plasma pistol," Reddito EduHi said. To create a more difficult situation, this level is filled with some of the worst enemies in the game. Rocket Flood. Somehow, these Flood can rocket snipe Master Chief at any spot. What is worse, is they often appear in tight areas causing multiple deaths even on casual difficulty.
Despite the Rocket Flood, enemy spam is also common in this level. The Flood does as the name suggests and completely envelops the player in multiple points. The addition of the Covenant in this mission adds extra headaches to the difficulty.