Halo Wars - Skull/Box locations - Golds & Achievements Options

[Rob Cram]

HALO WARS SKULLS/BOX LOCATIONS/GOLD CRITERIA & ACHIEVEMENTS - Guide is copyright of Msxbox-world & their respected owners. Reproduction is strictly prohibited without prior permission.

Game Overview

“Halo Wars” is a strategy game based on the legendary “Halo” universe. Players will command armies of familiar and new UNSC units in its initial encounters against the Covenant, an alien coalition threatening to obliterate mankind. “Halo Wars” will immerse gamers in an early period of the storied “Halo” universe, allowing them to experience events leading up to the first “Halo” title for Xbox.

With the guidance of Serina, a spirited artificial intelligence (AI) persona, gamers will direct legions of UNSC soldiers, Warthogs and Scorpions against Covenant Grunts, Elites, Ghosts and Scarabs, each group having its own strengths and uses in battle. Strategic-minded players who react well under pressure will emerge victorious.

Created from the ground up for the Xbox 360 console and Controller, “Halo Wars” is being developed by the veteran real-time strategy developer Ensemble Studios, the team responsible for the best-selling and critically acclaimed “Age of Empires” franchise on the PC. “Halo Wars” can be played online via Xbox LIVE and through the single-player campaign. Published by Microsoft Game Studios, “Halo Wars” is an exclusive title for the Xbox 360 video game system.




Developer: ENSEMBLE STUDIOS

Publisher: MICROSOFT

Release date 04/03/2009 North America - 27/02/2009 Europe



SCREENSHOT GALLERY

MOVIES



CONTENTS:

-Game Overview
-Skull locations
-Black Boxes
-Gold requirements
-Achievement Guide


Press on your keyboard Ctrl F to bring up the find menu and then type in whatever you are looking for.

ACHIEVEMENT HUNTER HALO WARS ACHIEVEMENTS GUIDES VIDEOS LINK



SKULL LOCATIONS - Special thanks to BTHR Zero X of GruntsRus & JamieZZ

Skulls are unlocked by fulfilling the kill unit types criteria first otherwise they may not appear. Check your objectives.


Skull Name: Look Daddy! (Mission 1: Alpha Base ) - Can be found on the Left side of the last battle area before you head into Alpha Base.

Kill 100 grunts.

special effect when grunts die their methane tank always shoots off



Skull Name: Grunt Birthday Party (Mission 2: Relic Approach) - Can be found on the South edge of Alpha Base, just inside the walls of the base.

Kill 20 Jackals

special effect grunts explode into confetti



Skull Name: Cowbell (Mission 3: Relic Interior) - Located at the very back in a circular platform where you have to save Forge/Anders.

Kill 45 Hunters

special effect destruction physics magnified



Skull Name: Wuv Woo (Mission 4: Arcadia City) - On the right side of the Map just below the Covenant base. It's just past the top of stairs.

Kill 50 Elites

special effect scarabs shoot rainbow made of pure love



Skull Name: Fog (Mission 5: Arcadia Outskirts) - Located on the left side of map, in the top left corner.

Kill 5 Wraiths

special effect no mini-map final score will increase



Skull Name: Sickness (Mission 6: Dome of Light) - Located right inside the big hangar that's behind your base.

Kill 50 Banshees

special effect all player units have 50% fewer hit points final score will increase



Skull Name: Rebel Sympathizer (Mission 7: Scarab ) - Skull is on the left side of the map, on the very edge of the battlefield area. There's a ledge that sticks out over the canyon, next to a Power Node.

Kill 10 Locusts

special effect non-player units get 25% more hit points final score will increase



Skull Name: Rebel Supporter (Mission 8: Anders' Signal) - It's to the far right where Echo gets taken over by Flood on the ridge.

Kill 750 Infection Forms

special effect non player units do 50% more damage final score will increase



Skull Name: Rebel Leader (Mission 9: The Flood) - Located very close to the base on top of a plateau. You'll see it's near the burning Covenant ship.

Kill 20 Flood Stalks

special effect non-player units star with extra veterancy final score will increase



Skull Name: Catch (Mission 10: Shield World) - Can be found on an island located to the Southeast. You'll need a flying unit for this task.

Kill 350 Swarms

special effect all player units recharge unit abilities in half the time final score will be decreased



Skull Name: Sugar Cookies (Mission 11: Cleansing) - This is floating in front of the ship, you will need a flying unit for the task.

Kill 100 Sentinels

special effect all player units have 50% more hit points final sore will decrease



Skull Name: Boomstick (Mission 12: Repairs) - Located right on the super structure that's on the Spirit of Fire at the far end from the Power Core. You'll need to get above the main deck on a platform using a flying unit.

Kill 12 Spirit Transports

special effect 5%chance any non-player unit blows up upon death with explosive area of effect damage final score will decrease



Skull Name: Pain Train (Mission 13: Beachhead) - Located on a Flood vents. Right where the Flood come from as you try to enter the Pelican.

Kill 10 Bomber Forms

special effect all player units train 50% faster final score will decrease



Skull Name: Bountiful Harvest (Mission 14: Reactor) - Located right behind and to the left of the second Covenant base.

Kill 20 Vampires

special effect supplies come in 25% faster final score will decrease



Skull Name: Emperor (Mission 15: Escape) - This can be found right behind the Flood base, at the very back of map. It's pinpointed to the Northeast when looking on the Mini-map.

Kill 3 Scarabs

special effect all player powers recharge in half the time final score will decrease



SKULLS VIDEO - full credit to Dualgame and Venomous fire





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BLACK BOXES - thanks to Doomerz187

Black boxes are used to unlock and fill in the timeline events. These are also tied to some Achievements.

Mission 1: Alpha Base - Can be found just Under last bridge before you enter the back gates of the Alpha Base.

Mission 2: Relic Approach - Go up into the area through the Covenant shield with the supply crates. It's located on the top left on the map.

Mission 3: Relic Interior - It's to the left side of the start point, close to the Pelican crash site. Just outside the Relic itself.

Mission 4: Arcadia City - This is located at the base of the elevator tower near to the controls where you save Adam.

Mission 5: Arcadia Outskirts - This is found Just off the main road behind a destroyed Pelican, just down the first ramp.

Mission 6: Dome of Light - Located on the very far side of map, it's where you transport the 3rd Rhino by Pelican.

Mission 7: Scarab - Located on the right side of the map, just inside a cave like alcove where there are some supply crates.

Mission 8: Anders' Signal - On a ridge located to the right close to the big brute fire line at the start.

Mission 9: The Flood - Head straight out from the base ramp towards the map's opposite side.

Mission 10: Shield World - It's with Bravo platoon, right in the middle of the platoon you pick up.

Mission 11: Cleansing - Towards the left-rear of the ship, just on the sloped wings. You will need to use a flying unit.

Mission 12: Repairs - Close to the left side of the Power Core Building just on the left edge of the Spirit of Fire.

Mission 13: Beachhead - located on a ledge near the second set of teleporters that lie behind the Covenant base.

Mission 14: Reactor - Located up and to the left at the peak of first ramp, It's on the edge of the ramp itself.

Mission 15: Escape - It's between the Covenant base and Flood area in the Northern part of the map. You can find it directly across from your starting point.




GOLD SCORING PAR TIMES - thanks to xxJoJo88xx


To achieve a GOLD you'll need to meet the following criteria.



Mission 1: Alpha Base - 27000+ 5-12 minutes

Mission 2: Relic Approach - 70000+ 15-30 minutes

Mission 3: Relic Interior - 45000+ 8-18 minutes

Mission 4: Arcadia City - 50000+ 21-23 minutes

Mission 5: Arcadia Outskirts - 40000+ 21-23 minutes

Mission 6: Dome of Light - 45000+ 15-30 minutes

Mission 7: Scarab - 32000+ 12-24 minutes

Mission 8: Anders' Signal - 30000+ 18-30 minutes

Mission 9: The Flood - 35000+ 18-30 minutes

Mission 10: Shield World - 55000+ 23-32 minutes

Mission 11: Cleansing - 30000+ 23-30minutes

Mission 12: Repairs - 32000+ 10-20 minutes

Mission 13: Beachhead - 40000+ 20-60 minutes

Mission 14: Reactor - 30000+ 15-30 minutes

Mission 15: Escape - 30000+ 20-33 minutes




ACHIEVEMENTS


Campaign Achievements - guide thanks to various sources compiled by AoR Mind Killer


Everything's Better With Bacon (5 Points)

Mission 1: Ram 50 Grunts With Warthogs

It has been suggested that this is best done on Legendary simply because your Warthog will kill the Grunts before you reach them if it is done on an easier difficulty.
The best way to get this achievement is to use just one Warthog at a time, ram a group of Grunts, retreat, then come back for more until you hit 50.

Endless Fun (5 Points)

Mission 2: Destroy Every Methane Tank
Most of the methane tanks are on the west side of the map. One is on the east side south of where you rescue the warthogs. Some are behind the Shielded areas. Simply target them and destroy them to get this achievement.

Covenant "Hot Drop" (5 Points)

Mission 3: Kill at least 5 Covenant Units with the Bridge
Hack the terminal near the Bridge with Professor Anders. When you see 5 Covenant Units stroll across, switch it off.

The Real Winner (5 Points)

Mission 4: Save Adam
North of your starting position for this mission are some skyscrapers. There is a control panel near these buildings and a Black Box near the control panel. Click the panel to release Adam and make sure he stays protected until he gets on Ship 2.

He's Got The Jack (5 Points)

Mission 5: Jack 6 Covenant Vehicles
Use the Spartan Special Ability (Press Y on a Vehicle) to get into an enemy vehicle. Do it six times.
Sacrifice a vehicle if you need to regain the use of your Spartan. When the Vehicle dies your Spartan will emerge with full health and shields, but his Y ability will need to recharge before you can hijack again.

Rhino Hugger (5 Points)

Mission 6: Protect Every Rhino
Use your healing power (Press Up on the D-Pad, then pick the selection at the 3 o'clock position) to keep the Rhinos healthy. Keep Wolverines and Scorpions near your Rhinos. If you are having trouble doing this on tougher difficulties, it might be simple enough to just come back for it later and do it on Easy.

Micro Manager (5 Points)

Mission 7: Do Not Destroy Any Power Node
The easiest way to get this achievement is to keep your units where they are and just use the MAC Blast on the Scarab.

Ramblin' Man (5 Points)

Mission 8: Use Elephants to Train 100 Infantry
Set the Elephant's Rally Point to a Flood-controlled area and keep training infantry. The Flood will kill the units as they reach the area and you can continuously build more men until the achievement unlocks.

Sweet Naptime (5 Points)

Mission 9: Put Every Colony into Hibernation Mode at the Same Time
Probably best to do this one on Easy.
Build 10 Hornets. Go around the map and kill the big infections. Once you kill one of them you'll get another objective to kill all of them and a handy indicator showing the way to each. As you kill them they will grey out on the map and once they are all dead go to the main boss. Shoot him with your Hornets and when he dies you should get the achievement.

The Procrastinator (5 Points)

Mission 10: Disrupt All Tractor Beams
ALL Tractor Beams = Four. There is one in each corner of the map. Clear the paths to each Tractor Beam so your vehicles can make it, but don't clear out the map because you'll end the mission before you can destroy the beams.

Battened Down the Hatches (5 Points)

Mission 11: Save All the Airlocks
Build turrets around the airlocks. Use Air Units to destroy everything and make sure everything stays destroyed when the ring passes.

Handy With Tools (5 Points)

Mission 12: Repair the Power Core in Less Than Four Minutes
Send all of your Cyclops to the Power Core. Select the airlock on the right side of the map and create as many Cyclops as you can, sending them directly to the Power Core. Don't forget to use your healing ability from the Spirit of Fire to keep your units alive as long as possible.

Beaming With Pride (5 Points)

Mission 13: Destroy 25 Units With the Scarab
The far east side of the map has an abandoned Scarab. Kill the roots to free it then use your Spartan to jack it like you would any Covenant vehicle, even though you normally can't jack Scarabs with Spartans. It will turn to your side and you just need to kill 25 enemy units with it.

Didn't Get to Second Base (5 Points)

Mission 14: Don't Claim an Extra Base
Easy enough to get if you stick with upgraded Scorpions and march through the map. Keep your Elephant back and protect it. Finish the mission without expanding to another base and you'll get the achievement.

Thinkin' About My Doorbell (5 Points)

Mission 15: Open the Doors in Order
The door near your base is the first door. The second door is directly across the map from your base. The third door is directly to the right of your base. The fourth door is closest to the Covenant base. The fifth door is in between doors 2 and 3. The last door is directly to the left of your base, in between the door nearest your base and the door nearest the Covenant base.

Crushed Colors (10 Points) - Improve your Score in any Campaign Mission.

Get a purposefully low score on a mission during the Campaign. Do this by taking a long time to complete it and miss an objective or two. Get a bronze medal. Then go back and replay that mission on the same difficulty and get a purposefully high score by using the Gold Medal guide for Par Times and Points.

Mr. Punctual (15 Points) - Finish All Missions Under Par Time on Heroic Difficulty.

Every mission requires you to beat it within a certain time-frame to get the most points for it.
See the "Momma's Boy" achievement for a list of Par Times.
This achievement can be completed on either the Heroic or Legendary Difficulties.

Momma's Boy (5 Points) - Get a Gold Medal on any mission.
The easiest way to get this achievement would be to play the first mission on the Easy difficulty and move as quickly as possible, stopping to kill everything and complete all the objectives.

See Guide

Own Worst Enemy (20 Points) - Get a Gold Medal with all Debuff Skulls Active

See the "Graverobber" achievement for information on collecting Skulls.
Active the Skulls through the Skulls selection from the Main Menu.
You must activate these skulls to get the achievement:
Fog, Sickness, Rebel Sympathizer, Rebel Supporter and Rebel Leader.

You can activate skulls during the game so do any mission on Easy, finish it except for the last few units, activate the skulls, complete the level and get the achievement.

Wall of Recognition (30 Points) - Get a Gold Medal on every Campaign Mission
If you can't manage this by yourself, do it with a partner. Co-Op Scores add together toward Gold Medals.
See "Momma's Boy" for a list of Gold Medal scores and par times.

Adjudicate the Arbiter (30 Points) - Complete the Campaign on Heroic Difficulty.
Explains itself. Just win every mission with the difficulty set to Heroic.

Detour the Great Journey (50 Points) - Complete the Campaign on Legendary Difficulty.
Beat all 15 campaign missions with the Legendary difficulty setting.
This achievement will unlock "Adjudicate the Arbiter" if you choose to start on Legendary.
Also, skulls do not affect whether or not you can get this achievement.

Epic Grinder (40 Points) - Obtain a Lifetime Campaign Score over 1,000,000
If you obtain the minimum Gold Medal score on each mission you will acquire 591,000 points through one campaign. Switch the difficulty, do the campaign a second time to acquire two Gold Medals for each level and you should unlock this achievement.

Backscratcher (10 Points) - Complete any Campaign Mission in Co-Op Mode
This achievement must be done over Xbox Live or System Link with another person. Difficulty makes no difference.

OMG BFF FTW (40 Points) - Complete Entire Campaign in Co-Op Mode
The acronyms in the achievement stand for:
(O)h (M)y (G)od (B)est (F)riends (F)orever (F)or (T)he (W)in

This achievement must be done over Xbox Live or System Link with another person. Difficulty makes no difference. Go through the entire campaign, but you don't have to do it with the same person for every mission or in one sitting. As long as each individual mission gets completed in co-op you will unlock this achievement.


Skirmish Mode Achievements

While some of these achievements MUST be done in Skirmish mode, not all of them have to be. The ones that don't have to be done in Skirmish mode are still BEST done in Skirmish mode as they'll be easier that way.

Playin' The Field (15 Points) - Win a Skirmish Game With Every Leader

This must be done in Skirmish mode only.
You can change your leader in the options before starting the game. There are six different leaders you need to play, and win, a game with to get this achievement.

Gallivant Around the Galaxy (25 Points) - Win a Game on Every Skirmish Map

This must be done in Skirmish mode only.
There are 14 different maps. You must win on each of them. Easiest if done in coordination with the "Playin' The Field" Achievement.

Empire Builder (5 Points) - Win a Game in Every Skirmish Mode

This must be done in Skirmish mode only.
Complete a Skirmish game in Standard and another in Deathmatch.
[sarcasm] Don't kill yourself over the frustration of not being able to get this achievement. IT'S IMPOSSIBLE. [/sarcasm]

Titan (15 Points) - Get 20,000 Points in Any Skirmish Game

Just like the campaign missions, things like Speed, Kills and Advancement impact your score. Just do enough to get those points.

My Virtual Friends Love Me (10 Points) - Win a 3v3 Skirmish Game with 2 A.I. Allies
Explains itself. Setup a 3v3 game in Skirmish Mode with 2 A.I. partners and win.

Penny Pincher (10 Points) - Get a Winning High Score with 10 or Less Squads Against the Heroic A.I.

The easiest way to get this achievement would be to do a 1v1 Deathmatch against a Heroic A.I.
Since you start out with all techs researched in Deathmatch, as soon as the game starts build whatever Military Building contains your unique unit. Then start building a few of those. Sergeant Forge would be a good idea because his Grizzly is powerful enough to destroy the enemy base fairly quickly from the start. Attack the A.I. quickly and don't build more than 10 units.

The 10 Squads is total, not "at the same time," so if you build 10 units and they get destroyed you can't build more and still get the achievement.

Big Al's Scooter (10 Points) - Win a Heroic Skirmish Game Against the A.I. in Under 10 Minutes

This achievement is best done in coordination with the "Penny Pincher" achievement. See that achievement for a good way to get it done.

2 Bugs Are Better Than 1 (10 Points) - Win a Skirmish Game with Dual Scarabs

This can be done in Skirmish Mode or over Xbox Live.
Play as the Covenant and build 2 Scarabs. You must win the game with both Scarabs still standing.
Scarabs need 20 population, so you should research the Followers upgrade in the Temple to increase your population to 50. Use the extra population to build Engineers in the Summit to keep your Scarabs alive.

Walk-off Winner (30 Points) - Use one of the Six Major Leader Powers to Destroy an Enemy's Last Unit
You can do this in Skirmish Mode just by playing around with the leader powers, or:
You can easily get this achievement by doing Campaign Mission 7 and using only your Mac Blast to kill the enemy Scarab.

The Powers you can use to get this achievement are:

-The Prophet of Regret's Cleansing Beam
-The Arbiter's Rage
-The Brute Chieftan's Vortex
-Captain Cutter's MAC Blast and Sergeant Forge's Carpet Bomb.
-Professor Anders's Cryo Bomb doesn't damage units in a way that makes it feasible to get this achievement.


Multiplayer Achievements


N00b n0 M0r3 (10 Points) - Win a Matchmade Skirmish Game on XBox Live

Explains itself. Log onto Xbox Live, select Public Game and win!

So Lonely At the Top (20 Points) - Win and Have the Highest Score in a Matchmade Skirmish Game on Xbox Live

Select Xbox Live, play a public game and win with the highest score. Probably best done in 1v1. That way if you win you are guaranteed to have the highest score.

Basically Naive (10 Points) - Obtain the Recruit Rank on Xbox Live
Play one game, win or lose, to get this achievement. See the "Running the Show" Achievement for a Ranking Guide.

Running the Show (50 Points) - Obtain the General Rank on Xbox Live

General is the highest rank available. You advance in rank by gaining points with every game played. Not only that, but you get a 40% bonus to your game's score if you win and a 20% bonus if lose. As long as you keep playing you will get this achievement eventually, but it will take a long time if you are not very good!
The General Rank requires a total of 3.2 million points.
Here is the ranking structure:

1. Recruit: Play a game
2. Lieutenant: 80,000 Points
3. Captain: 200,000 Points
4. Major: 400,000 Points
5. Commander: 800,000 Points
6. Colonel: 1,600,000 Points
7. Brigadier: 2,400,000 Points
8. General: 3,200,000 Points

Taken from http://www.bonfire-studios.com/blog


Miscellaneous Achievements


Alas, Poor Andrew Thomas (5 Points) - Collect Your First Skull

To get a Skull you need to fulfill a certain objective (A bonus objective generally different from the Achievement for each mission) and then find the Skull on the map after that objective is complete.
Check out the skulls guide above.

Graverobber (30 Points) - Collect All Skulls

To get a Skull you need to fulfill a certain objective (A bonus objective generally different from the Achievement for each mission) and then find the Skull on the map after that objective is complete.
Check out the skulls guide above.

Halo Academic (15 Points)- Unlock 20 Timeline Events
There are 41 locked timeline events. Unlock them by collecting the 15 Black Boxes in each Campaign Mission, winning a game on all 14 Skirmish Maps and winning a Skirmish game with all 6 leaders. Obviously this adds up to more than 41, but once you have unlocked 41 events you will not unlock anything else by getting everything.

See the black box guide above

Halo Historian (40 Points) - Unlock All Timeline Events

There are 41 locked timeline events. Unlock them by collecting the 15 Black Boxes in each Campaign Mission, winning a game on all 14 Skirmish Maps and winning a Skirmish game with all 6 leaders. Obviously this adds up to more than 41, but once you have unlocked 41 events you will not unlock anything else by getting everything.

See guide

24 Hours of Quality (20 Points) - Play Halo Wars for a Total of 24 Hours

Explains itself. You can't just leave the game on the menu. You have to be in the game for the time to start adding toward this achievement. Campaign and multiplayer both work toward this.
The easiest way to get this achievement would probably be to start the Tutorial and leave the game on. (Not sure if this works, but it works with other RTS games that have a similar achievement)

Ready for the Sequel (75 Points) - Complete 100% of the Game

There are several things you need to do to get this achievement:

-Complete the entire Campaign.
-Get Gold Medals on each mission.
-Collect all skulls and black boxes.
-Obtain the following Achievements:

Titan
2 Bugs Are Better Than 1
Penny Pincher
My Virtual Friends Love Me
Walk-Off Winner
Big Al's Scooter
Gallivant Around the Galaxy
Playing the Field
Empire Builder


Secret Achievements


Meet Sergeant Forge (10 Points) - Completed Mission 1 on Any Difficulty

Explains itself. Complete the first mission to get this achievement.

Ice Warriors (40 Points) - Completed Act 1 on Any Difficulty

Finish Missions 1, 2 and 3 to get this achievement.

Key to Pirth (50 Points) - Completed Act 2 on Any Difficulty

Finish Missions 4, 5, 6 and 7 to get this achievement.

Ugly Is Only Skin Deep (70 Points) - Completed Act 3 on Any Difficulty

Finish Missions 8, 9, 10 and 11 to get this achievement.

No Way Home? (70 Points) - Completed Act 4 on Any Difficulty

Finish Missions 12, 13, 14 and 15 to get this achievement.

Thanks to the following sources:

http://forums.xbox.com/26043583/ShowPost.aspx
http://forums.xbox.com/26004352/ShowPost.aspx
http://www.bonfire-studios.com/blog/
http://www.halowars.com/forums/default.aspx
http://www.xbox360achievements.org/game/ha...s/achievements/
http://www.msxbox-world.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=13198

[xDESTRUCTABLEx]

nice topic i hope i win the competition 4 this game

[Vicktacular]

Anyone want to give me some advice on ramming 50 grunts on the first mission? No matter how hard I try I always seem to end up without 50 grunt brains under my tires. Any advice?

[Dakota]

Thanks! I'll sure use this tonight ! !