Regret
Beginner Goals:
Easy: ~9:00; Legendary: ~12:00
Intermediate Goals:
Easy: ~7:30; Legendary: ~10:30
World Class Goals:
Easy: ~6:45; Legendary: ~9:30
IL Records:
Easy: 6:21; Legendary: 8:35
Segmented Times:
Legendary: 6:47
Regret is the eighth playable level in Halo 2. See Regret (level) for general information.
HaloRuns record page: https://haloruns.com/leaderboards/h2a/solo/regret/Legendary
Contents
Start & Early Gondola
Easy
This guide will assume that the player has carried over the Energy Sword and Rocket Launcher from Delta Halo. To start, walk through the door on your right and pick up the Beam Rifle that's sitting on the ground. Then, walk out into the main section. Go straight until you see a small balcony projecting towards the platform in the center. Jump onto the railing and grenade jump over to the central platform. Then, sword cancel off the Jackals or Elites that spawn at the far end of the platform near the departing gondola onto that gondola. If everything has gone right, you will now be on the gondola early!
From here, what you do will depend on your proficiency at the game and your strategy of choice. There are 3 options:
God Despawn
This trick only works on the MCC version of the game. To do this, simple continue to melee and/or jump while on the gondola. This is delaying a checkpoint that will cause the Phantom that flies in to disappear and will skip multiple spawns at the next tower. Once the Phantom has disappeared, you can stop meleeing or jumping. Stay on the gondola you are on right now and proceed to the tower.
Tower Swordfly
Once on the gondola, don't melee or do anything. This will cause the Phantom to not disappear and the level to proceed normally. Once the gondolas cross, jump over to the other one and press the gondola's "Start" button. This will cause enemies to spawn on the other gondola. Kill them. Once they're dead, drones will spawn at the section you just came from. Snipe them midair as they fly towards you. The gondola will keep moving towards the tower. Line yourself up alongside the left side of the wall that holds the "Start" button, as seen here. Then, swordfly off of the left-side turret and you should fly right to the top of the tower.
Gondola Launch
This trick is very different between H2C and H2A. This walkthrough will assume that the player is on H2A; for a detailed breakdown on H2C Gondola Launch, visit this link. To start, perform Early Gondola like normal. Keep meleeing while on the gondola and stay turned towards the enemies on the platform. From here you have two options. The first is to wait 25 seconds after the enemies on the platform appearing, then turning around towards the tower. This should despawn all of the enemies on the platform and spawn the Phantom but is unreliable. The second option is to kill enough enemies on the platform to force the Phantom to spawn. Whichever method you choose, the Phantom will spawn. Keep meleeing until the Phantom flies overhead, then stop. This should give you a checkpoint. Grenade jump or regular jump over to the other gondola and hit its "Start" button. Then, throw a grenade at the other gondola to spawn kill all of the drones (best visualized through a video). Then, use your beam rifle to shoot one of the two Elites that spawn. Leave the other alive. Line yourself up along the edge of the overhang just above the button so that your foot is halfway off of the little slope facing the back of the gondola. Wait until Miranda's dialogue line starts to play. As soon as you hear Cortana respond with "Understood, ma'am" kill the last Elite. If you've done everything correctly, you should launch right to the tower. This is best visualized through a video example.
Legendary
The start plays a little differently from Easy. Walk out of the right-side door like on Easy, but hold onto your Rocket Launcher. Look to your right immediately when exiting and swordfly to the Jackal Sniper that spawns beyond the broken bridge. Kill him and shoot a rocket at the other potential Jackal Sniper spawn inside the tower, towards the balcony. Then, pick up the dropped Beam Rifle and kill the remaining Jackal Snipers. There are 5 in total, with 6 potential spawnpoints. Be sure to remember their spawnpoints for future runs. Jump from the tower onto the gondola. If necessary, shoot once to draw out the last Jackal Sniper. Once all 5 are dead, you should get a checkpoint. If not, kill an enemy or two in the background. Then, jump onto the railing in front of you with your Energy Sword out. This will spawn 2 Elites and 4 Jackal Snipers. Stick the Elite closest to you and run back towards the gondola quickly.
From here, what you do will depend on your proficiency at the game and your strategy of choice. There are 3 options, same as on Easy: the God Despawn, the Tower Swordfly, and Gondola Launch. Each strategy plays out the exact same as on Easy, except on Legendary you can die quite easily. Be sure to practice your chosen technique before using it in runs.
First Tower
Easy
The route for this section differs slightly based on the technique you chose to perform in the previous section. Either way, you should end up picking up the Fuel Rod Cannon at the top of the tower without having killed any enemies yet. While staying near the top of the room, kill the 4 Jackals that spawn below you. Standing at the top of the room prevents additional drone reinforcements from spawning. You should then hear Cortana's dialogue start, indicating that you have successfully completed this section. During her dialogue, grab additional Plasma Grenades from the stashes throughout the room if necessary. One can be seen to the left of the elevator shaft and another is in the dark cubby near the top of the room. Wait for the gondola to come up the shaft and press the "Start" button, killing the Jackals if necessary. Ride the lift down and to the underwater section.
Legendary
Once again, the route slightly differs based on the technique you performed in the previous section. If you performed the Tower Swordfly or Gondola Launch, you end up at the top of the tower, close to the Fuel Rod Cannon. If you performed the God Despawn, you will be at the bottom of the tower and need to ascend. To do so, run into the first room and quickly jump onto the series of ramps that take you upwards, taking care to avoid fire from the Jackals assembled on the floor. Ascend as quickly as possible and grab the Fuel Rod Cannon, killing the Grunt guarding it if necessary. Use the Fuel Rod Gun to kill the 4 assembled Jackals while taking care to stay at the top of the room to despawn the Drone reinforcements. If you've done Gondola Launch or the Tower Swordfly, this section is a bit different. You end up at the top of the tower automatically from performing these tricks. Grab the Fuel Rod Cannon and walk into the top of the tower. Drop on the upper section of the ramp to spawn in 4 Jackals on the floor. Wait a second until they start moving, then use your Fuel Rod Cannon to kill them quickly. The positioning for this is a bit tight: you want to be low enough to kill the Jackals, but also high enough to despawn the Drone reinforcements. This section could use a bit of practice to become consistent at. After ensuring that all Jackals are dead (additional Jackals can spawn if you do this section improperly), kill the Grunt that spawns above you. If you've done this correctly, Cortana's dialogue should start. Drop to the floor near the entrance to the tower, just adjacent to the door. Start swinging your sword. Two Jackal Snipers spawn in the atrium of the tower. Eagle-eyed players can spot them moving on their radars. Swinging your sword like this will kill the Jackal Snipers right as they round the corner. Move into the atrium to kill them at your own risk; they're crack shots and will dome your head in. Once the snipers are dead, move back towards the elevator shaft and look down into it. Once you see the Jackals spawn, throw a grenade down at them. With some luck, this will kill all three of them. Start the elevator and leave it just before the doors close. Move back towards the atrium and up onto the upper platform where the Marines are dropped off. Replenish your Plasma Grenades and kill a Marine so that he (hopefully) drops Frag Grenades. These will be useful later in the boss fight.
Underwater
Easy
Ride the underwater elevator to the end. When the doors open, start swinging with your sword until you reach the top of the staircase. This delays a checkpoint a bit in case of death. You should now enter a room full of Grunts. Swordfly off the Grunt at the base of the ramp and input a jump during this fly. This should take you all the way to the other door. Next, enter the large room with the giant Regret hologram. Walk in a straight line through this room until you see the Hunters exit the far side door. Shoot three Fuel Rod shots at them, then swordfly to the last Hunter. Entering the next room, you will see a bunch of camouflaged enemies. To go super fast, shoot a Fuel Rod shot at the wall to freeze the enemies for a second and swordfly off of one of the Elites. If not, walk through the room. Sword lunge at the Energy Sword-wielding Elite at the top of the ramp and take his Sword. Proceed to the next elevator.
Legendary
The first section plays the same as on Easy. Ride the underwater elevator to the end. When the doors open, start swinging with your sword until you reach the top of the staircase. This delays a checkpoint a bit in case of death. You should now enter a room full of Grunts. Swordfly off the Grunt at the base of the ramp and input a jump during this fly. This should take you all the way to the other door. Next, enter the large room with the giant Regret hologram. Turn towards 2 o'clock on your right and run directly towards the ledge that's at roughly jump height. The Jackal Sniper spawns are very important in this room. If one spawns on the ledge in your path, sword lunge at it. If not, keep walking. Walk along this ledge and into the alcove, sword slashing any Jackals that get in your way. Walk towards the other end of the room. When you reach the end of the alcove, jump and exchange your Fuel Rod Gun for a Beam Rifle (the beam rifle is on the floor above you, jumping lets you grab it through the ceiling). Jump over the Hunters as they exit the door. In the room with the camouflaged enemies, headshot the two Elites with the Beam Rifle. Swordfly to one of the Grunts or walk. Kill the Energy Sword-wielding Elite at the top of the ramp and take his Sword. Proceed to the next elevator.
Outside and 2nd Gondola
Easy
Once the elevator arrives, jump onto the ledge directly to the right of the elevator. Sword cancel over the head of the Elite around the corner without alerting him. Outside, either perform Mountain Cancel or walk to the next gondola. On the gondola, use the Rocket Launcher in the canister to destroy the two Banshees that come to attack you. Then, snipe the Ranger Elites that spawn on the opposing gondola. You should now have the Energy Sword and the Rocket Launcher equipped. Swordfly to the enemies that spawn on the temple platform to start the bossfight sequence.
Legendary
This section plays the same as on Easy except with enemies that can kill you. For this reason, Mountain Cancel is recommended but simply sword cancelling past the enemies in the first outside section works as well. Before activating the gondola, grab the Rocket Launcher in the canister just before the gondola. After activating the gondola, grab the second set of rockets and destroy the two Banshees that come to attack you. Be very careful - these Banshees kill you extremely quickly. Fire rockets after the Banshees stop boosting to minimize the chances of them dodging. Next, drop the Energy Sword for the Sniper Rifle. The gondola coming towards you has four Grunts and two Ranger Elites on it. Two of these Grunts are carrying Fuel Rod Cannons. These Grunts should be your primary targets. Next, focus on the Ranger Elites, then clean up the remaining Grunts. Be sure to save at least one rocket.
Bossfight
Easy
After clearing the opposing gondola, position yourself at the front of the gondola. You should have the Rocket Launcher and the Energy Sword. Swordfly off of the Grunts that spawn on the temple platform without jumping. This should put you directly into the cutscene trigger. After skipping the cutscene, sword cancel off of a Grunt or Jackal directly into the temple entrance. Sword lunge into enemies in your path to speed up entering. Enter the main chamber with Regret at the other end. Drop down into the room and swordfly to Regret. Perform a grenade board to kill him quickly. Be sure to touch the floor before swordflying. This ensures that you hit a trigger that makes Regret killable. Be aware that the enemies in the room will still have aggro on you for a few seconds after Regret dies.
Legendary
This is one of the most difficult sections of the run and will require extensive practice. After clearing the opposing gondola, position yourself at the front of the gondola. You should have the Rocket Launcher and the Energy Sword. Swordfly off the Grunts that spawn on the temple platform without jumping. Right before you hit the cutscene trigger, shoot a rocket at the enemies on the platform. With good aim, this will kill the majority of the assembled enemies. After skipping the cutscene, sword cancel off of an enemy on the platform towards the box on the ramp. Then, walk to the left entrance. Stick the elite that is in the doorway or walk past him if it's an Ultra. Walk up the ramp, taking care to avoid the Jackals and Elites that spawn beneath you. Swordfly to Regret, taking care to hit the floor before flying. Regret takes five cycles to kill. Various Honor Guard Elites will spawn throughout the fight at four spawnpoints on the ground floor. There is a 4/9 chance that a Sword Elite will spawn, a 4/9 chance that a Plasma Rifle Elite will spawn, and a 1/9 chance that an Elite dual-wielding Plasma Rifles will spawn. Take care to note what Elites spawn and modify your movements accordingly. The dual-wielder will kill you exceptionally quickly, so take care not to expose yourself to him for any length of time. This fight is best taught through guides, two of which are linked here. Make sure to dedicate a lot of practice time to this fight, even experienced runners get tripped up here.
Potential Strategies and Knowledge Base
Throughout the development of this level, there have been many strat discoveries that have either been lost with time or have been proven too difficult to be executed consistently across runs. The following sections is for maintaining a list of potential developments that may be referenced for a future date, and will be listed with:
- Who discovered the trick, date of discovery, and various notes
Historical Strategies
TBD
Potential Strategies
TBD
