Halo Campaign Evolved Mission 1: Boarding Action Walkthrough

This is a Legendary co-op walkthrough of Halo Campaign Evolved Mission 1 — Boarding Action. Below: Brute berserk tips, best weapons, Gene Forge objectives, prequel timeline notes, Halo Wars easter eggs, and where to grab this mission’s 3 skulls + 1 terminal, with the full video embedded above. First impressions are strong — it looks and shoots like modern Halo on Unreal, even if Legendary is punishing from the opening firefight.

Halo Campaign Evolved Mission 1 setup (Legendary co-op)

• These are prequel missions set before Cortana is in Chief's suit — chronologically before Reach leads into the main Campaign Evolved campaign.
• Sergeant Johnson is a major presence; Andy and Gus treat the prequels as the closest thing they may get to a Johnson-focused game.
• Loadouts differ between players at start (BR/AR vs SMG/pistol). Sprint is in the game.
• No PvP multiplayer — campaign-focused release. Development reportedly took longer because most assets could not be imported into Unreal and had to be rebuilt.
• Master Chief's voice actor returns for new lines.
• Visuals and gunfeel get consistent praise on high-end PC; Andy and Gus wonder how well Unreal will scale on lower-end hardware.

Halo Wars references in Boarding Action

Worth flagging for Halo Wars players — several deliberate callbacks show up early (see also our Operation Spearbreaker walkthrough for more Johnson-led UNSC fantasy):

• In cutscenes, Johnson wears a smart missile pack on his shoulder, the same style seen in Halo Wars 2.
• Johnson carries a launcher/railgun-style weapon consistent with his Halo Wars kit; it can end up on the ground but is not always pickable.
• Andy and Gus plan to watch for further Halo Wars references across the remade/refined missions.

Boarding Action opening: Triumph of Tolerance

• Opening combat is dense on Legendary — Covenant AI feels aggressive ("saucy"), ammo runs dry quickly, and Johnson is unreliable as backup early on.
• Covenant ship interior reads as religious / temple-like; some Elites appear in ceremonial garb.
• Ship name later identified as the Triumph of Tolerance.
• New soundtrack cues play during the boarding run — Andy and Gus like the new track.
• Objective later: Enter the Gene Forge.

Best weapons in Boarding Action

• SMG hits hard and is a welcome return (underused in the 343 era / missing from Infinite).
• Plasma rifle fires differently from older games and can zoom.
• Needler still feels like the one weapon Halo never really changes.
• Needle rifle is in the game and highly sought.
• Assault rifle "really messes people up."
• Shotgun has intense recoil; rockets and fuel rod explosions look especially good.
• Spiker returns (Halo 3 vibes). Magnum spawn surprises them — unclear if it kept the old "vista pistol" character.

Boarding Action combat tips (Brute berserk, camo, sword)

On Legendary, treat Brute packs as a crowd-control opportunity: shoot the glowing chest energy pack or land a charged plasma pistol shot to send them berserk into their own allies. Save energy sword lunges for softer targets — trades with sword Elites can kill you, and sword swings do not one-shot Brutes. Watch for cloaked Elites (often only the weapon shows) and grab active camo packs when they appear for safer room clears.

• Brute berserk trigger (new): Shoot the glowing energy pack on a Brute's chest (or land a plasma pistol charge) and they go berserk on their own teammates. Andy and Gus love this as a meaningful remix of Brute fights.
• Energy sword: Simultaneous swipe trades can get you killed; sword swings do not one-hit Brutes.
• Active camo / invisibility: Cloaked Elites are hard to spot — often only the weapon is visible. Active camo packs appear later for player stealth runs.
• Shade turrets: Feel weak; enemies can stun them with plasma fire.
• Charged plasma pistol overheat/drain is slow but present.
• Assault rifle has a stick-zoom, but it is not precision-weapon effective.
• Flashlight is available in dark sections.
• Johnson can die and respawn — interesting for a named ally NPC.
• Co-op respawns feel generous.

Gene Forge objectives and mid-mission tips

After the boarding run, push toward the Gene Forge objective and clear staged rooms carefully — sleeping Grunts and side-path Ghost/Grunt flavor can distract you before denser fights. Expect some CE-style room reuse (same criticism as the original campaign in our Halo CE Anniversary walkthrough), but the remake quality still sells the mission.

• Gene Forge area is filled with pods/structures that look more like experiments than trophies; Andy and Gus speculate about Engineers and Covenant research.
• Sleeping Grunts and staged enemy setups appear before larger firefights.
• Helmetless Elite snipers stand out — Andy and Gus wonder if this ties into early heretic aesthetics.
• Optional flavor: Grunts sparring in a side area; Ghost available nearby.
• First spotted bug: a floating prop asset that "corrects" when touched.
• Enemy spawning sometimes feels odd — units appearing in rooms rather than entering through doors.
• Some room reuse prompts the same criticism Andy and Gus had of original Halo CE mission design, though overall remake quality still earns support for further remakes (especially Halo 3).
• Collectible heads-up: after the two white heavily armoured Hunters, peel right of the objective for Malfunction. Later, in the palace-style room Johnson calls a training room (purple cylinder overhead), the Johnny Ammo Seed skull sits on an upper ledge path.

Boarding Action skulls and terminals

This mission packs 3 skulls and 1 terminal. Andy and Gus mostly play through for combat and story commentary; the locations below fill in the collectible route so you can grab everything in one Legendary pass (order matches a natural playthrough; locations cross-checked against the Push Square skulls & terminals guide).

• Skull — Malfunction (Rally Point Alpha): After you kill the two white heavily armoured Hunters, go right instead of following the objective marker. Drop down toward the Covenant dropship area, enter the door ahead, and follow the path behind the turret — the skull is on the ground.
• Skull — Johnny Ammo Seed (Rally Point Bravo): In the palace-esque stretch, clear the room Johnson compares to a training room (look for the purple cylinder running horizontally overhead). Climb to the second floor, turn back the way you came, and take the left of the two rear exits onto the top floor of the previous area. Clear enemies, then step onto the ledge — the skull is in the middle of the path.
• Skull — Leadhead (Rally Point Delta): On the way to the upper decks of the Triumph of Tolerance, clear the Covenant waves so Johnson can activate the grav lift. Before (or after) that, take the door in the back-left corner of the room and follow the corridor to the skull at the end.
• Terminal — The Path (Rally Point Delta): At the top of the grav lift, turn around instead of chasing the objective marker. Go through the door in the back-right corner — the terminal is on the other side.

Late mission Legendary combat and stealth

• Unified Covenant era fights (Truth, Regret, Mercy as the three High Prophets) feel notable — rarely shown this cleanly in FPS Halo.
• Large mixed packs: Brutes, Elites (including cloaked sword Elites), Jackals, Grunts, Hunters.
• Stealth section with active camo lets players assassinate perimeter Jackals while Brutes hold the center; Shade turrets and BR/sniper pickups are available.
• Sniper rifle underwhelms one of them relative to other weapons.
• Fuel rod and shotgun continue to stand out visually and in feel; Hunter encounters remain high-threat on Legendary.
• AI feels smarter / combat rhythm feels different from classic Halo — "Halo, but not" — largely attributed to the new engine and updated enemy behaviors.
• Grav-lift room reminder: Leadhead is through the back-left corridor before you leave; The Path terminal is behind you at the top of the lift (back-right door).

Boarding Action walkthrough takeaways

First mission leaves Andy and Gus more positive than expected. Campaign Evolved looks and shoots like a modern Halo despite Unreal, the SMG/needle rifle/fuel rod kit feels great, and small systemic changes (especially Brute berserk) already justify attention. Main caveats from this run: Legendary is punishing, Johnson's special weapon is teasingly unavailable, Shade turrets disappoint, and a few CE-era design habits (asset reuse, dense corridors) still peek through. If you are hunting collectibles, Malfunction is the easy miss after the white Hunters (go right, not with the marker), and The Path is the easy miss at the top of the grav lift (turn around).

FAQ: Halo Campaign Evolved Boarding Action

Is Boarding Action a prequel mission?

Yes. Boarding Action is one of the Halo Campaign Evolved prequel missions set before Cortana is in Chief's suit, chronologically before Reach leads into the main Campaign Evolved campaign.

How hard is Legendary co-op?

Legendary is punishing from the opening — dense Covenant packs, fast ammo drain, and unreliable early Johnson support. Co-op respawns feel generous, which helps, but expect to manage ammo and use Brute berserk / camo to survive mixed rooms.

How does Brute berserk work?

Shoot the glowing energy pack on a Brute's chest, or land a charged plasma pistol shot. The Brute goes berserk and attacks its own teammates — a useful Legendary crowd-control trick in mixed packs.

Are there Halo Wars easter eggs?

Yes. Sergeant Johnson appears with a Halo Wars 2-style smart missile pack on his shoulder and carries a launcher/railgun-style weapon consistent with his Halo Wars kit (sometimes on the ground, not always pickable).

How many skulls and terminals are in Boarding Action?

Three skulls (Malfunction, Johnny Ammo Seed, Leadhead) and one terminal (The Path). Malfunction is right of the objective after the white Hunters; Johnny Ammo Seed is on an upper ledge above Johnson’s “training room”; Leadhead is the back-left corridor off the grav-lift prep room; The Path is behind you at the top of the grav lift through the back-right door.