Quick Start Guide

Welcome to the Server! if you're reading this guide, its likely your first time playing here, this guide is meant to guide you through the basics of each Faction. The guide will cover the starting steps of each 3 of the factions, from spawning in all the way to getting onto your ship and/or gearing up.

United Nations Space Command (UNSC) Tutorial

Beginners are advised to start with the "Marine" role due to their lack of responsabilities.

Note: This guide uses the assault phase of the Reclamation gamemode as an example. Some things may vary in actual gameplay, but the general idea is the same.

Your home, until you're transfered or it's blown to pieces.

Briefing

Rise and shine, marine. A ship of the Covenant has been detected on long-range scanners and HIGHCOMM believes it to be an invasion force headed for the colony you were stationed to, so you've been thawed out of cryostasis to defend the Orbital Defense Platform "Cassius", the world under its guard and the colonists on it while a support fleet is on the way. Before you can do that however, you need to gear up.

Getting Your Stuff

Onboard some vessels you may need to follow these floorsigns to find your armory, but on ODPs they tend to be just outside the bunks. Once you've made it there, you'll find the Miscellaneous Equipment Vendors and the standard Equipment Vendors. These vendors have everything that a marine needs to kick ass and make Earth proud, but for now we'll keep it simple with a basic loadout:

From the Miscellaneous Equipment Vendor, you'll want:

• Marine Armor Kit - This will stop a few rounds from hurting you until it breaks. Comes in a few different colors, along with a Medic variant for each and a spaceproof variant.
• Infantry First Aid Kit - This kit has medicine that will allow you (or another marine) to stay alive, click your uniform with it on your active hand to attach it. It contains:

• Biofoam Canisters, full of a miracle chemical that can do many things such as heal wounds, broken bones and repair organs to an extent, but more severe cases will warrant additional aid. Injecting more than one canister within a short time will overdose and kill you.
• Bicaridine, for healing brute damage resulting from ballistic weaponry, mainly used by the UNSC or the United Rebel Front.
• Dermaline, for healing burn damage resulting from flames or plasma weaponry, the favorite of the Covenant.
• Polypseudomorphine, a super-painkiller that will make you nigh invincible but obscures your vision.
• Iron and a Chocolate Bar, to fix blood loss resulting from bleeding or repeatedly taking plasma hits.

• Ammunition Storage Belts - They let you carry up to 7 magazines/shell boxes/etc, along with other things like emergency oxygen tanks, knives and armor repair kits.
• Armor Repair Kits - These let you repair your armor, keeping it in shape and stopping bullets. Comes in a miniature variant as well, able to fit in smaller spaces such as your armor's storage and repair armor at a faster speed, but holding less repair materials.

! You can use a Tactical Hardcase (Armor Kits) to store three of them in a single pouch slot. Different hardcases allow for similar effects, though this only works for their designated type of item.

• Earplugs - To prevent deafness from things exploding in your face.

Now, from the Equipment Vendor, you have a few weapon options to choose from:

• M6D Magnum - Packs a punch while letting you move without a slowdown, but it deals less damage against shielded enemies than other options.
• M90 Tactical Shotgun - This will screw over anything that you can close the distance on, unless it's full of combat drugs. Can be loaded with buckshot or slugs (or both!) for raw damage or armor penetration, respectively. Also requires to be pumped after each shot.
• M392 Designated Marksman Rifle - Great for punching through armor and a few kinds of objects such as airlocks, vendors and lockers. Accuracy improves while using the scope.
• BR55 Battle Rifle - A middle point between the DMR and the AR, this rifle comes with long-range capabilities and a decent volume of fire.
• MA5B Assault Rifle and the M7 Submachine Gun - Both are great leadspitters sporting high firerate and big magazines, but the MA5B is more accurate at range while the M7 has no slowdown and can be used with one hand.

Once you're done, you should have something that looks like this. Experiment to find what suits you best!

After you've picked a weapon, remember to vend yourself some ammo for it. You can also store Combat Knives in your boots and Grenades in your armor. As these are the bare essentials, you'll be left with some room for variation in your kit; you could try pairing an MA5B with a Magnum and a hardcase with ammo for it, or a Machete if you're feeling brave.

Once you're geared you must also ensure that you're well fed, as it will allow you to move without a hunger slowdown and help your blood regeneration, useful for avoiding plasma bolts and not dying from them. The mess hall is located directly starboard (i.e. north) of your bunks and has a few voice-operated machines called replicators that can get you something to eat, just say "menu" in their proximity to know what's available.

What To Do

This button controls the MAC Control Room's blast doors.

Now, to prepare the Cassius for defense, you will have to find the locations of the structural weakpoint markers of this particular ODP. The Covenant will try to plant and detonate a bomb in one of these to knock the Cassius out of orbit and begin their invasion of the planet. They always have 3 weakpoints, 2 assigned at random and 1 in the Magnetic Accelerator Cannon (MAC) Control Room. The 2 random points can be located in:

• The Firing Range
• Cargo
• Gardens
• The Gym
• Offices or the adjacent hallway.

^{*Marked on the ODP map above.}

Once you find them, use your headset (with the ":q" prefix to speak in the UNSC radio channel) to tell your allies of their locations so they too know where the enemy could head to. Next to Cargo is a room full of engineering supplies where you can find things to build defenses with, and the equipment vendors also hold coils of barbed wire and two machinegun types which can greatly boost your defenses' staying power:

1. Chainguns, to send a hail of bullets down the hallway.
2. Heavy Machine Guns, with a worse rate of fire and less bullets overall but more stopping power in each.

Keep in mind that if they are deployed, however, they must be guarded to prevent the enemy from packing and hiding them, destroying them, or even using them against you and your brothers in arms.

Aside from trying to seize the weakpoints, the Covenant may also try to destroy the MAC as it is the only thing keeping them from destroying the station with ship-to-ship weapons. To do that, they must destroy the loading and its automated firing control consoles. Make sure to keep both of them safe and the MAC loaded, in case you have to manually bring something down. To access the Control Room, find the button that controls the blast doors in the Command Deck next to the MAC Cannon.

Now that you're geared and know where to defend, all that's left to do is hold out until the support fleet arrives. They expect to be here by operation time 01:10, but if the ODP goes down they'll take longer. Until first contact happens however, you can shoot the breeze with your fellow marines, check out your new toys at the firing range, or read one of our other guides to learn about the server's combat mechanics, vehicles or what to do if Cassius falls.

Good Luck, Have Fun!

Covenant Tutorial

Beginners are advised to start with the "Unggoy Minor" role due to their lack of responsabilities and simplicity relative to other minor roles. Note: This guide uses the point of view of an Unggoy Minor during a round of the Reclamation gamemode on the map KS7 as an example. Some things may vary in actual gameplay, but the general idea is the same Briefing Your staging area and your only way to return home. Rise, warrior of the Covenant. Your vessel, the CRS-class crusier Unyielding Transgression, is closing in on a heretic world for an artifact retrieval operation. Before that however, you must destroy the heretic Orbital Defense Platform guarding it. Each moment counts, as the heretics were expecting you and have summoned a support fleet expected to arrive by mission time 01:10, but destroying that station will delay them. Preparing Yourself First thing to do, however, is to ensure you're well fed. Being hungry slows down your speed and blood regeneration, both crucial for your survival. Within your quarters you will find Food Vendors that can satisfy your hunger. After that, you must arm yourself. Covenant species always have their equipment and weapon vendors somewhere within their quarters, so take a look around. In the case of the Unggoy, it is the room next to their bunks. From the Equipment Vendor, you'll want: Infantry First Aid Kit - This kit has medicine that will allow you (or another warrior) to stay alive, click your uniform with it on your active hand to attach it. It contains: Biofoam Canisters, full of a miracle chemical that can do many things such as heal wounds, broken bones and repair organs to an extent, but more severe cases will warrant additional aid. Injecting more than one canister within a short time will overdose and kill you. Bicaridine, for healing brute damage resulting from ballistic weaponry, such as that used by the heretics. Dermaline, for healing burn damage resulting from flames or plasma weaponry, such as the Covenant's. Polypseudomorphine, a super-painkiller that will make you nigh invincible but obscure your vision. Iron and an Irukan Bar, to fix blood loss resulting from bleeding or repeatedly taking plasma hits. Martial Belt - They let you carry up to 7 magazines, packs of needles or similar, along with other things like emergency oxygen tanks, small melee weapons and armor repair kits. Armor Repair Kits - These let you repair your armor, keeping it in shape and stopping bullets. Comes in a miniature variant as well, able to fit in smaller spaces such as your armor's storage and repair armor at a faster speed, but holding less repair materials. ! You can use a Tactical Hardcase (Armor Kits) to store three of them in a single pouch slot. Different hardcases allow for similar effects, though this only works for their designated type of item. Earplugs - To prevent deafness from things exploding in your face. Now, from the Weapons Vendor, you have a few weapon options to choose from: Plasma Rifles, which lack the need for magazines and allow for almost-constant fire as long as you don't let them overheat. Guided Munition Launchers (a.k.a.Needlers), whose eponymous needles track targets if you click on them and, if enough embed, cause them to supercombine (i.e. explode). Plasma Pistols, which can be overcharged to fire a bolt that deals extra damage and disables headsets, full-body shields and active camouflage. Plasma Grenades, which can stick to targets (both friend and foe) if thrown after 1 second after priming them and before 3 seconds have passed since. You can store them inside your armor. Weapon availability depends on your species, but these weapons remain constant. Aside from those, the Unggoy also get the following heavy weapons: Once you're done, you should have something that looks like this. Experiment to find what suits you best! Fuel Rod Cannons, which are alien rocket launchers that also emit radiation within 2 tiles of the rods' impact site. Plasma Repeaters, plasma light machineguns. It is recommended to acquire experience with standard weapons before using these. As these are the bare essentials, you'll be left with some room for variation in your kit. You could use an explosives hardcase in your belt slot and stuff it with plasma grenades, or even run two plasma pistols at once so you can keep firing for longer. Preparing Your Ship Once you're geared, you will have to confirm that the ship's Shield Generator has been enabled, as this machine greatly boosts the CRS' defenses in naval combat and against boarding actions. The ODP in orbit of the world you're headed to is equipped with a Magnetic Accelerator Cannon that could easily destroy your ship if you enter its 7 overmap tile range without shields to absorb its damage, so you'll want to raise them before approaching. ! Settings highlighted in red are must-haves. "Atmospheric Protection" is helpful if the ship suffers a breach and survives until its shields recover, but you may choose to forego it to let the shields last a bit longer in combat against standard deck guns and recover more quickly should they go down. You will also need to move the ship closer to the ODP, but that wont be possible until 10 minutes have passed since mission start. Here's a quick guide on how to get the ship there, should you be assigned the task when the time comes. Pocket Ship Flying Guide The Overmap and the helm console. Make your way towards the bridge. Once you're there, find the Helm Control Console, one is in the center of the room and the other is all the way on the west side. Once you've found it, click on it then follow these instructions: Enable the "Direct Control" option - This will allow you to use WASD to fly. Identify the coordinates of the heretic world on the nav data - This is where you will fly towards. Subtract 9 from either axis (X,Y) - This ensures that you don't enter the ODP's 7-tile MAC range while leaving some margin for error. Fly to your new coordinates. For example, if NavData lists: "KS7-535: 137 : 82" then you fly either to 137,73 or 128,82. Along the way you may encounter ! exclamation marks, they are space hazards that you must avoid. Reduce your speed as you approach - This is to prevent slipping into MAC range at the last moment. Bring the ship to a complete stop once you arrive at your new coordinates - It is recommended to do this with the cross-shaped button in the manual control panel. Disable the "Direct Control" option - Disables overmap view and lets you move away from the console safely. Do NOT use the autopilot for this as it does not take space hazards into account and will place your ship directly above the planet (and next to the ODP's MAC). Planning Your Assault After checking on the shields, you and your allies will have to decide on how to bring that ODP down so you can begin your scan. For such demolition operations, the CRS has been issued an Antimatter Bomb with a 5 minute countdown and a 30 second defusal time, along with an Explosives Requisition Device that can be used to recall the bomb if it is lost or stolen, both located in a room next to the Bridge, but how you get to the ODP is to be decided by your superiors. Usually, this means either the Elites or the Brutes, but if there are none then it is to be decided by whoever has the highest rank (Ultra, Major, Minor, etc.). Covenant Species Hierarchy San'Shyuum (Prophets) Sangheili (Elites) Jiralhanae (Brutes) T'vaoan Kig-Yar (Skirmishers) Ruuhtian Kig-Yar (Jackals), Yanme'e (Drones) and Unggoy (Grunts) Huragoks (Engineers) Assault Methods A Phantom set as a mobile spawn. To do this, use the "Toggle Mobile Spawn Status" verb in the "Vehicle" tab. Currently bugged, players must respawn then observe to be able to use them. Phantom Infiltration Your dropships, known as "Phantoms", can be used to fly to and from the ODP. They can also be turned into mobile spawns, rendering them immobile but allowing dead players to respawn from them as Unggoy. This method of entry forces most species to bring internals and use Ranger Gear (available from equipment vendors), sacrificing some of their protection in exchange for resistance to the vaccum of space. Unggoy and Yanme'e, however, are naturally resistant to vacuums, and the Unggoy also spawn with internals as they breathe methane instead of oxygen. Expect to be knocked down by sudden rushes of air unless you bring magboots or a vacuum shield to cover the entry point (available in the supply storage bays next to the hangar bays). One phantom is available in each hangar (starboard and port) and the CRS must be within 10 overmap tiles of the ODP to be able to fly to it with Phantoms. Boarding Pods Boarding Pods allow you to land inside the ODP, and maybe even next to a structural weakpoint on which to plant the bomb. Likewise, it could land you infront of a marine squad or a manned chaingun turret. The ODP's automated alert systems will also notify the marines of your landing 30 seconds after the fact, so you'll want to move quickly. Pods are located on the bays west of each hangar, and the Unyielding must be within 14 overmap tiles of the ODP to be able to board it with pods. Necessary Equipment Whatever method your leaders choose, you will need something to allow you to move around. ODP maintenance corridors mostly lack any access requirements, but these items allow you to get into the rooms holding structural weakpoints or create flanking routes during combat: Plasma Charges - Let you blow things up and move around quickly, at the expense of the element of surprise (non-existant if you podded in). Takes 5 seconds to plant and 10 to detonate. Comes in 3 types: Standard, blowing up exclusively whatever you put it on. Breaching, blowing up whatever you put it on, a small cone infront of it and a bit behind. Keep your distance! Piercing, blowing up whatever you put it on and 10 tiles infront of it in a straight line and 3 behind. Keep your distance! Tools - Quieter than charges, get you through airlocks a bit faster with enough practice and the wirecutters can remove barbed wire, yet the reduced storage space may force you to use a plasma weapon. They also let you run repairs if your Phantom was destroyed and you packed nanolaminate sheets. Huragoks - These biological supercomputers can interface with anything, airlocks included. They can also bolt them if you're being chased or have found a place to dig in. Downside is you will have to escort them to prevent their capture. Map of the ODP The heretic station that you must destroy. ODPs always have 3 weakpoints, 2 assigned at random and 1 in the Magnetic Accelerator Cannon (MAC) Control Room. The 2 random points can be located in: The Firing Range Cargo Gardens The Gym Offices or the adjacent hallway. You may also notice tiny blue circles near some of the possible weakpoint spawns, they are locations that Boarding Pods can target and land at. Optional Objective: Disable the Magnetic Accelerator Cannon The MAC control room. The MAC is the only means of self-defense that the ODP has and disabling it will let your team safely attack it with the Unyielding's deck guns, or maybe with something stronger from the Long Range Requisitions Console in the bridge. While this isn't strictly necessary, this will grant your team another method of bringing the ODP down in case the first assault wave fails, and the control room also has a structural weakpoint where you can plant the bomb. The doors leading into the control room may be blocked by blast doors, which can be raised from the ODP's Command Deck (the room directly southwest of the control room itself). To break into the control room, you will need tools or at least 3 plasma charges (2 for doors leading to the Command Deck, 1 piercing to destroy the double airlocks on either side of the control room in one go) and, preferably, an Energy Dagger or some other melee weapon to bash the inner windoors. Once you're inside, you must: Destroy the MAC Loading Console in the middle of the control board, for it allows the heretics to manually load their MAC. Charges are the only method of destroying this console, shooting or bashing it won't work. Delete the "mac_control_automated" program in the MAC Automated Fire Control console. Blowing up the console with a plasma charge will do the trick, but if you can't or don't want to use one you can also delete the program by following these steps: Interact with the console to open the user interface. Exit the program. Open the "NTOS File Manager". Find the file and use the "DELETE" operation. Defense of the Control Room "Consoles are destroyed, defenses are set, bomb is armed! Nothing could go wrong now!" If you wish to plant the bomb here, know that the control room's small space works both for and against you; if you bring a plasma turret emplacement (available from weapon vendors as the "Type-52") you will be able to lock down one side of it through sheer volume of fire and keep the heretics from advancing. Turret emplacements can deflect bullets as long as you're facing in their direction, but they could start throwing grenades or rockets which you may not be able to dodge. Building defenses is an option, at the expense of reducing the space available for movement and making it harder to escape when the time comes. Construction materials are available in the room north of the Unyielding's shield generator and in both hangars, and a Construction Materials hardcase will make lugging them around easier. Full-height barricades in particular stop heretic grenades while also letting you shoot past them, and standard nanolaminate barricades have a chance to stop rockets. To exit turret emplacements you must drop the gun. If you see a black screen while scoped in, adjust the zoom with the buttons in the top left of your screen. Getting Out Assuming you manage to find a weakpoint, plant the bomb and hold against the heretic onslaught, you will need an escape method. If you can't have a phantom fly you home, your remaining options are: Find an escape pod bay and launch it to the planet, but you'll have to wait until someone can pick you up. Steal a dropship to escape AND deny the enemy an asset. Be prepared to adapt however, as by the time you reach the hangar you could be met by an empty bay or a group of evacuating marines. Whichever option you choose, you will have 2 minutes (plus however many seconds were left on the bomb as you left) to leave as the platform's superstructure collapses. If you're still on the ODP as it deorbits, you'll be subject to a hefty (yet surviveable) amount of harm. Should you manage to stabilize yourself, you may radio for evac or use an escape pod to land on the colony. Note that using damaged escape pods will cause further harm, and that you will have to repair them to be able to use them safely. Once you are geared, in position and have your assault and escape plans, all that's left to do is take your leave towards the ODP. Stick with your squad, watch your firing lanes and don't forget the bomb. If you complete your mission and return to the Unyielding, or die while escaping but want to respawn and keep fighting for the Covenant, it is suggested you read up on the next part of your mission. Good Luck, Have Fun!

The URF

Work in progress.

Other useful Links for new players

A link to the rules, if you haven't already read them

• https://projectunsc.org/forum/showthread.php?tid=181

A Link to the forums, where you can read about the server and apply for whitelisted roles (assuming you have the faction whitelist first) https://projectunsc.org/forum/index.php

These are the guides that are specific to halo station which cover some of the server's unique features such as the overmap flying

• Guide To Basic Ship Combat
• Moving The Ship
• Boarding
• Guide to Vehicles

all the ship and base maps (which should have wikis soon, if they don't already!)

• UNSC Iron Will
• SDV Vindicative Infraction

A link to the discord, if you're not already in it! feel free to ask questions here, someone is bound to help you out (as long as it doesn't impact the current round) https://discord.gg/QXCCyK3