Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary Achievement Guide & Road Map

Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary
Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary Achievement Guide

Overview:
-Estimated achievement difficulty: 7/10
-Offline: 44 = 1000/1000
-Online: 0 = 0000/1000
-Total Play time required: 10-15 hours
-Minimum Playthroughs: 1
-Number of missable achievements: 0 (Chapter Select available)
-Glitched achievements: 0
-Stackable Achievements: Yes
-Does difficulty affect achievements?: Yes
-Extra Equipment Required?: No

Introduction:
10 years after the launch of one of the best selling series of all time, Halo: Combat Evolved is finally being brought back with a total graphic overall and a pretty selection of achievements to boot. It launched with 44 achievements, all attainable through one or more playthroughs of the campaign. A few of them look to be a bit of a doozy, but nothing is impossible. For the sake of ease, I’m going to suggest these be done in 2 separate playthroughs, but for those of you looking for a challenge, why not set this on Legendary and see if you can't get all of them in a single playthrough?

Step 1: Campaign
Your experience with the past Halo games will determine the difficulty you choose to play first. In my experience, my first playthrough was on Legendary running solo. If you can’t handle it at first, do the best you can and return to the higher difficulty later. Anyway, onto the game itself.

Without worrying about the secondary campaign achievements, just play the campaign. Playing every level and beating the campaign alone will unlock a good amount of achievements - every level will give you an achievement, beating the campaign will give you an achievement, and you're sure to pick up some miscellaneous ones along the way.

Step 2: Mop-Up
At this point you’re sure to be familiarized with the level layouts and the best strategies to approach each encounter. It’s simply a matter of using the Chapter Select and approaching each individual achievement as you feel most comfortable with. If you did your initial playthrough on Heroic or Legendary, you’re likely to have at least a few of these already, so just get whichever ones you’re missing using the guide below.

Conclusion
Congratulations! With only one run through the campaign and a few miscellaneous chapters through chapter select, you should now have 1000 in Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary!

[x360a would like to thank DarkReign2021 for this road map]

The Silent Cartographer

25
Complete the level “The Silent Cartographer” on any difficulty.
(19)
Story related, can't be missed.
Assault on the Control Room

25
Complete the level “Assault on the Control Room” on any difficulty.
(6)
Story related, can't be missed.
Pillar of Autumn

25
Complete the level “Pillar of Autumn” on any difficulty.
(3)
Story related, can't be missed.
Halo

25
Complete the level “Halo” on any difficulty.
(3)
Story related, can't be missed.
Truth and Reconciliation

25
Complete the level “Truth and Reconciliation” on any difficulty.
(8)
Story related, can't be missed.
343 Guilty Spark

25
Complete the level “343 Guilty Spark” on any difficulty.
(4)
Story related, can't be missed.
The Library

25
Complete the level “The Library” on any difficulty.
(9)
Story related, can't be missed.
Two Betrayals

25
Complete the level “Two Betrayals” on any difficulty.
(3)
Story related, can't be missed.
Keyes

25
Complete the level “Keyes” on any difficulty.
(2)
Story related, can't be missed.
The Maw

25
Complete the level “The Maw” on any difficulty.
(5)
Story related, can't be missed.
Tsantsa

50
Complete any level with at least three skulls active on Heroic difficulty or higher.
(56)
This will be familiar to anybody that’s used the skulls in the past Halo titles. My personal suggestion is Bandana, Grunt Birthday Party and Boom on 343 Guilty Spark. GBP will be useless most of the level and Bandana mixed with Boom makes grenades plentiful for large groups of flood. This level is relatively short, so it shouldn't take too long to plow through. If you're brave enough, you can attempt this achievement as early as Level 3 as you'll have picked up the skull from PoA and 2 skulls from Halo.
What have we here?

10
Read a terminal.
(19)
Refer to Headhunter.
Heavy Reading

25
Read half the terminals hidden throughout the campaign.
(5)
Refer to Headhunter.
Dear Diary...

50
Read all of the terminals hidden throughout the campaign.
(25)
Refer to Headhunter.
Looks like the Oddball

10
Find your first campaign skull.
(12)
Refer to Headhunter.
Skulls Taken!

25
Locate half of the skulls hidden throughout the campaign.
(8)
Refer to Headhunter.
Headhunter

50
Locate all the skulls hidden throughout the campaign.
(78)
Terminals and skulls are Halo's version of collectibles. Collect certain amounts of the terminals and skulls and you'll get an achievement. For their locations, refer to this thread.
Birth of a Spartan

10
Complete every level of the game on Normal difficulty.
(7)
Refer to Living Legend.
Believe in a Hero

20
Complete every level of the game on Heroic difficulty.
(1)
Refer to Living Legend.
Living Legend

50
Complete every level of the game on Legendary difficulty.
(274)
For this achievement, you have to beat the entire game on Legendary difficulty. Co-op is recommended, because it can get pretty intense at times and it will also net you Brohammer. If you're having trouble with a specific level, Youtube is a good resource for videos on how to beat them. Difficulty achievements also stack, so if you get Living Legend, you'll also get Birth of a Spartan and Believe in a Hero.
Standard Operating Brocedure

10
Complete any level on Normal difficulty cooperatively.
(1)
Refer to Brohammer.
Brovershield

20
Complete any level on Heroic difficulty cooperatively.
(6)
Refer to Brohammer.
Bro Hammer

50
Complete any level on Legendary difficulty cooperatively.
(104)
To complete the 3 co-op achievements in the game, pick any level and do whatever it takes to reach the end. You have infinite lives and no time limit, so you can work together with a friend or just have one person doing all of the work while the other hangs back as a respawner (This works well for dummy controllers.) The fastest way to do this in a single playthrough is to set the Pillar of Autumn to Legendary and beat it in Co-op, netting you all 3 at the same time and eliminating the need to repeat a level at a later time.
He’s Unstoppable!

20
Complete any level on Heroic difficulty or higher without taking health damage.
(43)
This one goes well with Walk it Off. Obviously if you can't pick up health packs, you don't want to lose any health at all. Kills two birds with one stone. If you prefer to do it separate, however, level 4 "The Silent Cartographer" is typically the easiest level to beat due to the excessive number of marines, warthogs, and rocket launchers they give you throughout the level.

As far as strategy goes, try to fall back, stay cautious, and let your allies (or better yet co-op friends) take everything out. It may take a few tries, but it's not too bad.
Overshields are for Sissies

10
Complete the level “Pillar of Autumn” on Legendary without picking up an Overshield.
(15)
You'll have to beat "Pillar of Autumn" on legendary regardless of whether you're aiming for this achievement, so when you do just don't pick up an Overshield. It's that easy.
Walk it Off

25
Complete the level “Pillar of Autumn” on Legendary without picking up a health kit.
(35)
This will be one of the tougher achievements in the game due to the tight corridors of the level. Your biggest saving grace is that there are no jackals on this level and your enemies do not use the Needler on this level. Heroic and Legendary also allow you to use grenades earlier on in the level, so the corridors make frags more effective against enemies. Look for side hallways whenever possible. They can sometimes lead you around certain fights, thus saving you from potential damage.
No-Fly Zone

10
Destroy three of the four Banshees on “Halo” on any difficulty during a single play-through.
(43)
There are 4 banshees to be found on this level. The first two attack immediately after crossing the bridge in the beginning of the level. The best way to destroy them is with the pistol. The AI is programmed for the second one to flee after the first is destroyed, so you have to be quick about it. The other two will attack you after you save the marines in the first of the three regions. You’ll be attacked in the open plain area heading toward your second region. Neither will flee, however, so make short work of them with your pistol.
How Pedestrian

25
Complete the level “Halo” on any difficulty without entering a vehicle.
(65)
This is going to be a long mission, but with no enemy vehicles to worry about vehicle firepower isn’t necessary anyway. Get ready for a long walk though. The only issue you’re come up against is a large gap in the first part of the tunnel after getting the warthog drop. The only way across is to grenade jump across. Be sure to have a frag or plasma grenade handy to do this because you aren’t going anywhere otherwise.

In Co-op, you can have one player drive the warthog will allow the other person to eventually teleport over the gap without having to grenade jump, making this slightly easier.
Close Quarters Combat

25
Complete the level “Truth and Reconciliation” with at least four rounds left in your Sniper Rifle.
(29)
For this mission, there’s a positive and a negative. The positive is you start with 48 sniper rounds and there are ammo caches all over the first part of the level and a handful in the second part on the ship (look for the bloody marine corpses). The downside is you’re going to want most of those rounds for the Elites, you must keep the sniper rifle in your possession up to the end, and there is no pistol in this level to fall back on. That said, smart use of grenades, melee, and Optic Camo should get your through most of this level fairly painlessly.

Doing it co-op also simplifies this task as both players have Sniper Rifles. Sharing an equal load of the work will enable both players to conserve more ammo. Solo players can use a dummy controller to eke out the damage while the 1st player can hide as well.

Note: The Bandana skull means you'll have infinite ammo in your sniper, which guarantees you have at least 4 round at the end. If you already have the skull, consider using it.
I’ll Be Taking That!

25
Pilot a Banshee on the level “Assault on the Control Room.”
(31)
Toward the end of the level, you'll come to a snow-covered bridge crossing another canyon. Two banshees will be parked in the distance. There are any number of options you could use. A normal run n' gun might work if you can kill the Elite fast enough. If you've got a sniper rifle, you can casually snipe the Elites before they enter the banshee. With careful aim, a rocket launcher or grenade will flip the banshee or knock it off the edge, allow you to pick it up when you get to the ground floor.

On Co-op, there's an easier trick. Don't use the camo found in the corridor before the final room preceding the bridge. Instead, go into the room and kill the hunters and grunts. Have the player that needs the cheevo go back to the camo and have the other player wait next to the teleport point in the hallway before the bridge. Right as the player picks up the camo, teleport him and have the invisible player run out and head straight for the banshee.

Here's a video for further assistance:
This One's for Jenkins!

10
Kill 50 Flood Combat Forms on the level “343 Guilty Spark” on Heroic difficulty or higher.
(30)
This one will come naturally as you progress through the level. Just make sure you kill everything and find a shotgun is quickly as possible. They'll start showing up a few rooms after the ambush and there will be one on top of the bloody crate you use to escape guaranteed.

It can also be done in co-op mode, but after the first player gets his achievement I suggest they stop killing immediately so the other player will have enough to get his as well.
That Just Happened

10
Complete the level “The Library” on Heroic difficulty or higher without dying.
(232)
This one is pretty self-explanatory. Just beat the level like you normally would, but don’t die at all in the process. Shotgun is your best friend, rocket flood are your worst enemy, and carrier forms will always sneak up behind you. The Bandana skull will make this level much easier since you don't risk being ambushed while searching for more ammo. Your best bet is to simply hunker down in each portion of the level and just grenade and shotgun anything that comes at you from around a corner. When your radar is no longer red, move on to the next segment and repeat.

Note: The dummy controller trick will not work on this level. In Co-Op both players MUST survive.
Speed Reader

25
Complete the level “The Library” on Legendary difficulty in 30 minutes or less.
(265)
Note: Reverting to the last checkpoint will put your time back to what it was when it saved, so dying has no effect on attaining this achievement in single player.

For most people, this is the equivalent of Reach’s Solo Legendary achievement. This is one of the two biggies that puts the list difficulty rating up for inexperienced players. If you’re lucky, you’ll get this in just a regular playthrough. If you’re familiar with Legendary in the Other Halo titles, you might be able to pull this off in 20 minutes or so. Again, always have a shotgun. I also recommend having the rocket launcher whenever possible. It’s good when they start to pile up. Your best bet is to find a good corner to put your back against and just keep your finger on the trigger. Bulk doors will slow you down automatically. If you don’t have a bulk door, you better be moving forward. The Bandana skull will make this easier because Shotgun ammo can and probably will be scarce at times. The skull eliminates the need for that.

Assuming you don't die too often, having a dummy controller can be beneficial as long as you don't have to back-track too much. Otherwise you're probably better off just trying to solo the level for this achievement.

Here are videos for further assistance:
Look Out for the Little Guys

10
Complete the level “Two Betrayals” on Heroic difficulty or higher without killing any Grunts.
(82)
Fortunately, the number of Grunts on this level is fairly limited. the real trick is to let the Flood and Covenant fight it out with each other, than pass through when the fighting has finally stopped. The flood will almost always beat the covenant or at least wipe out most of the grunts before they lose. Just skip past the rest in whatever vehicle you’re using.The majority of the grunts will be encountered within the first part of the level as you escape the pyramid. Once you get past the first core and inside on the bridge, the grunts are gone until you get close to the scene where you lost the tank in "Assault on the Control Room."

On Co-op, you can have one player kill the grunts while the other player hangs back to get that profile the achievement, which makes this a little bit easier.
Leave It Where It Lay

25
Complete the level “Two Betrayals” on Legendary difficulty without picking up a new weapon.
(68)
This is another one of those good/bad situations. Good news is, you start with a shotgun. Flood problem solved. Bad news is there’s a severe shortage of ammo for the weapons in this level and shotguns really aren’t that great against the Covenant. Again, you want to let them two factions fight each other and you pick off stragglers whenever possible.

On co-op, if one person dies, they will respawn with an AR instead of a shotgun. This will not void the achievement so long as you continue to not pickup weapons. This is also a good means of keeping your plasma pistol battery full for those pesky elites.

Note: The Bandana skull makes this easier as the Plasma Pistol is good for Elite Shields and shotguns are good for flood. Everything else just gets grenades.
Popcorn.gif

25
Kill 100 Flood Infection Forms on the level “Keyes” on Heroic difficulty or above.
(21)
Just shoot the little poppers when you see them. One pop will kill a few of them each time. They also rupture when they hit your shield. so getting 100 should be no problem by the end of the level.

The easiest way to get this is while beneath the ship, you will come to a cliff-side where there will be hunters fighting Carrier flood forms. Don't drop down, but instead stay up top and the carriers continue to spawn. With the Bandanna skull, they will continue to spawn and you can just continue to grenade them until you get the achievement.
All According to Plan...

10
Kill all the enemies in the first encounter of “Truth and Reconciliation” without being detected.
(39)
Immediately after getting off of the dropship, head to the cliffside toward the back of the canyon, but stand back far enough to avoid being seen. There are 2 shade turrets, 2 elites, 2 Jackals, and a handful of grunts (mostly asleep) Start by eliminating the Elites, than the Jackals, than the turrets. After that it's just a matter of taking out the grunts scattered around the canyon.

Note: Whatever you do, do not leave the cliff-side or the marines will move in and blow your cover. Do not stop hunting for enemies until the marines move on their own. That signifies that you're done.

Here's a video for further assistance:
Beachhead

10
Storm the beach of “The Silent Cartographer” with no marine casualties on Heroic or Legendary.
(40)
Two pelicans land on the beach, one with you and a few marines and the other with a handful of marines as well. Unfortunately, you're up against 3 jackals, 4 elites, and a dozen grunts in a wide-open area. Even worse, you can’t use the cover you have because you have to be quick to stem the death of your eager marines. The grunts are easy targets for the marines as long as you’re careful about grenades, but look for the 3 by the cliff to the left right when you start out. They’re sneaky little buggers. At the end of the fight, 2 elites and the 3 jackals are dug into the rocks fairly well. Grenades and pistol fire are the best way to flush them out quickly.

A combination of the Boom skull and Bandanna skull (as well as Grunt Funeral if you've got it) makes short work of the beach assault. Just headshot grunts and grenade Elites if necessary. You should kill them before the marines even get a chance to get close.

Here's a video for further assistance:
Grenadier

25
Escape the map room in “The Silent Cartographer” without firing a shot on Heroic or Legendary.
(32)
Maker sure you're fully stocked on Frags and Plasmas before you go down (there's a cache of frags on the floor with the hunters. The elites on the bottom floor should drop plenty of grenades as well.) Assuming you killed everything before activating the map, there should be no enemies on this floor. On your way up to the next floor, you’ll be stormed by 2 jackals on the rampway. Usually a frag makes good work of them. After leaving the ramp room, a door to the right will lead down another ramp and a camo should be just at the exit. Use it and you can easily bypass the entire floor - just make sure you beat down any pesky elites you run into on your way. On the next floor you’ll have an elite and a few grunts. A frag is good for that followed with a melee to put the elite down for good. Go up the final ramp to the top floor and immediately to your right will be your exit blocked by an elite. Pop a grenade in there and make a run for the tunnel (if he doesn't die, he shouldn't follow you.) Go around the next turn and you'll be blocked by a Gold Sword Elite. As he taunts you quickly stick him with a plasma grenade. All you have left now is a few invisible elites at the very top of the structure. Lure them over one at a time and beat or grenade them to death and you’re path to the pelican will be open!

Grenade Jump trick: IF you're any good at grenade jumping, instead of going up to the second floor from the map room, there will be a small room across the way. Two jackals will be on the platform above. Take them out with a grenade, than grenade jump up and you'll be right next to the aforementioned camo pickup. This is a good way to prevent the entire room from being alerted.

Note: If you've got it, Grunt Funeral skull is excellent for this scene because a single frag can set off a decent chain reaction of grunts if time it right.
Wraith Hunter

10
Destroy four Wraith tanks in “Assault on the Control Room” with the Scorpion tank, in a single play.
(36)
This is pretty simple. There are 4 wraiths to destroy in total. When you first reach the snowy cannon, avoid destroying the 1st wraith tank you encounter. Proceed to the next canyon and you'll find a scorpion tank. Since you can't backtrack from the drop, proceed forward into the canyon and kill everything, including the two wraiths, with your tank. Go back to where you found the tank and the 1st Wraith should've come over and dropped down. Blow it up, than proceed with the level. After emerging from the tunnels, there will be 1 more wraith on the far end past the spire. Destroy it and the achievement will pop.

Note: The player going for the achievement must kill all 4. Kills cannot be shared during co-op play.

Here's a video for further assistance:
Breaking Quarantine

25
Escape the Forerunner facility on the level “343 Guilty Spark” in 21 minutes or less.
(30)
Assuming you don’t get turned around, this is a fairly short level. Coupling it with killing 50 combat forms will slow you down, but it’s definitely not impossible. The trickiest spot is one of the containment rooms. You’ll notice a crate covered in blood with a shotgun on top. Use this crate to jump up to the second floor since there is not an actual path up.) Otherwise this is very straightforward.

Note: When you come to a flickering broken bridge, it is possible to jump across if you time it perfectly/ This can shave a minute or two off of the clock as well.
Tying Up Loose Ends

10
Kill every Elite on the level “Keyes” on Heroic difficulty or above.
(70)
Good news is, the Flood fight the Covenant frequently. Patience and persistence and you can eliminate most of the Elites early on. Before re-entering the ship, just make sure that everything is dead down below just to be sure. Once on the ship, again, make sure everything is dead. After encountering the Proto-Gravemind (Keyes Blob) this is where the bad begins. All grunts and Elites will be Spec-Ops units. There are easily 20 or so Elites from this point up to the hangar bay. Make sure you explore every nook and cranny of the 3 floors in the Hangar bay to ensure you got everything. Enter the banshee and end the level to make the achievement pop.
This Side Up

10
Complete the Warthog ride on the level “The Maw” without being forcibly ejected from your vehicle.
(44)
Just don’t flip the vehicle over. You have plenty of time to spare, so if you’re not sure of a ramp or jump, be safe and take the easy way around. Nothing fancy and this should be cake. At the large jump, I personally find doing a 360 degree spin through the air helps balance the vehicle as it falls, but it's a more advanced trick that takes practice.
Never Tell Me the Odds

25
Escape “The Maw” on Legendary with at least a minute left on the count down.
(166)
Legendary has no actual effect on the warthog circuit in terms of difficulty so long as you don’t let the sentinels shoot at you for too long. Three tricks to getting this easy. First, drive carefully. Like I said above, you have plenty of time, so don’t flip your vehicle. It takes less time to detour than it does to get going again. Second, look for the side openings on the curved tunnels between rooms. These are nice little shortcuts if you can hit them right. Last, don’t stop when Foehammer messages you. Keep going and it will pause the timer shortly, which gives you a decent 20 second bonus. Within a few tries, you should be able to get this.