Part 1: Noble Team
You begin this level with a 600 ammo assault rifle and a 70 ammo magnum. You are riding in a falcon with Carter and Jun and land on top of a hill to investigate a distress beacon below. This distress beacon is fake, created by covenant forces as a trap. If you sprint down the hill, you will find an invisible Elite spec ops escaping the scene, most likely the one who created the trap. It will not attack you even if shot at, and will disappear after crossing the bridge. If you kill this Elite, it will drop a data pad which contains information about covenant glassing.
After reaching the distress beacon and possibly killing the Elite spec ops, move forward down the path to the right. Follow the path through a building, where you will come to another building with three farmers. Jorge will talk to these farmers, and they will warn you of "something in the fields." Continue following the path to the right, where you will eventually come to a farming building with covenant outside. This area is the "Outlook" firefight mission. You will find a Skirmisher major with a needle rifle on top of the building to the left. As soon as it sees you, the Skirmisher calls for backup. This triggers seven normal Grunts, one Grunt ultra, and three Skirmisher minors with needlers to move in and attack. The three Skirmisher minors run into the basement underneath you, but the Grunts and the lookout stay outside. Kill the Skirmisher major and the Grunts through the window with your magnum while using the wall next to the windows as cover. Next, move down the stairs into the basement to finish off the Skirmishers. As soon as you exit the building, two banshees will attack Jun's falcon, but they do not pose a threat to you. Swap your assault rifle for one of the Grunt's plasma pistols before leaving.
Move forward into the farm and out the gates, where you will find a Grunt minor and a Grunt ultra whom you should kill with magnum headshots. Once you reach the bridge, a phantom will drop six normal Grunts, one Grunt ultra, and three Skirmisher majors in the rocks on the other side of the bridge. Wait for the phantom to leave, then cross the bridge and use one of the large rocks as cover. Kill all of the enemies with magnum headshots, moving up to new rocks as cover if necessary.
Once you kill these enemies and cross the river, you will find four Grunts, and Elite major, three Elite ultras, and an Elite general with a concussion rifle. First kill the Grunts with your magnum by using the large rock in front of the tree as cover. Then, move backwards and into the building to your left. This building will provide you good cover from the Elites. While most of the Elites are focusing on the other Spartans, walk out of the building and remove one of the Elite's shields with an overcharged plasma pistol shot. Quickly kill them with a magnum headshot before their allies injure you, then immediately step back into the building to avoid enemy fire. Repeat this tactic to kill all of the Elites, including the general. After killing the last Elite, grab a fresh plasma pistol from one of the Grunts bodies, move forward towards the small cliff to your left, and jump down to enter the next rally point.
Part 2: Rebels don't leave plasma burns
At the bottom of the cliff, you will find a truck and health kit. Restock on health if necessary. If you enter the truck, carter will ride in the passenger's seat and Jorge will ride on the back. Because Jorge carries a turret, this provides the truck with the equivalent firepower of a standard warthog. However, there is an achievement for completing this level without entering any vehicles, so utilize sprint instead if you do not have this achievement yet.
Partway down the path, you will find two Skirmisher majors, one with a needle rifle. Whether you are in a truck or on foot, kill these Skirmishers and swap your magnum for the needle rifle. The path will then take you across a small bridge to a fork in the road. The right path will lead you into a small settlement filled with covenant. However, clearing this settlement is not part of your objective, so I suggest taking the left path to bypass it.
If you take the right path: You will almost immediately come to a courtyard surrounded by buildings where you will find four Grunts and an Elite minor. Move into the building too your left and kill the Grunts, then the Elite. Exit through the large garage door in the middle of the building. If you have the truck, you can drive right by this fight without killing the enemies. Inside the buildings, you will find an assault rifle, a 16 ammo magnum, a grenade, and two health kits.
Both of the paths combine at a large open area with a covenant antenna off to the left. If you came here quickly, you will find two Skirmishers, one with a needle rifle. Kill them both and add the needle rifle ammo to your needle rifle. Continue down the path, where you will come to a river. Depending on how quickly you got here, you will find a variety of enemies. There are usually at least five Grunts in the river, but there can also be more Grunts, Skirmishers, and even a spirit. Use the rocks on your side of the river as cover to kill all of the light infantry you can see with needle rifle headshots. Cross the river to the buildings on the other side. Here you will find three or four more Grunts and an Elite major. Kill the Grunts first, then the Elite, which triggers a distress signal from Corporal Travis. He and a group of marines are attempting to defend themselves from covenant in another settlement, so Carter instructs you to rescue them.
Exit the settlement you are currently in and take the left path up the hill. Take the second right into the building with the marines. On the lower story of the left building, there is a 30 ammo DMR in the center of the garage, marked with the ordinance symbol. Swap your needle rifle for the DMR and move outside the garage. If you did not kill the two Skirmishers at the crossroads earlier, you will find them here outside of the garage. Kill them if you see the, then take cover behind the stack of four barrels. A spirit will arrive to drop seven Grunts. Kill them with your DMR from your cover.
As soon as you kill these Grunts, run forward and then turn left onto the dirt path. Move behind the hill with the tree on top for cover. To use this hill as cover, hug the cliff wall to your right and walk to the top of the hill to shoot the enemies while they are focused on Jorge and the other marines. If you become hurt or see a threat heading towards you, walk back down the hill, where you will be safe from enemy fire. About twenty seconds after you kill the last Grunts from the previous drop ship, another spirit will drop seven more Grunts and an Elite major. Pick off the Grunts from your position with your DMR, and wait for the Elite to come to you. If it starts moving towards you, back down the cliff while charging your plasma pistol. Therefore, you can remove its shields and kill it as soon as it walks over the crest of the hill. Soon after the first spirit leaves, another drop ship will deliver four Grunt majors, three Grunt ultras, and an Elite ultra with a needle rifle. Use the strategy described above kill them.
After you have completely cleared the area, the UNSC pilot can safely land his falcon. Get into the falcon so the pilot can transport you, Carter, and Jorge to the relay outpost. You will land in the courtyard of outpost. Noble team is trying to enter the facility, but the door has been locked by the covenant inside. Kat is currently cutting through the door, and you must survive while she does this. When you first land, you will find Emile engaging four Grunts and five Jackals. Kill them all with DMR headshots while using any of the larger items in the courtyard as cover, then swap your plasma pistol for a fresh one from the dead Grunts or Jackals. Restock on DMR ammo and health from the case inside the room in which Kat is cutting open the door.
The covenant will now send many drop ships in order to stop Noble Team from entering the facility. The other Spartans will move into the room to protect Kat, but you should move to the area off to the left. From this position, you can pick off the Grunts, Skirmishers, and Jackals that will arrive with your DMR while taking cover behind the large storage block to your left. Wait for any Elites to come to you, and hide behind the storage block when the start charging. Remove their shields with your plasma pistol once they come around the block and follow through with a headshot before they injure you.
A spirit will soon arrive to deploy the first wave of enemies, consisting of seven Grunt majors and an Elite major. Peek around the storage box to pick off the Grunts as soon as possible. The Elite usually attacks the rest of Nobel team, so only engage him if he approaches your position. As soon as the first spirit leaves, the second will arrive, dropping seven Grunt majors, four Jackals, three Skirmisher majors with needle rifles, and an Elite major. Continue to pick off all of the light infantry from this position. You do not need to watch your back because the covenant infantry are not intelligent enough to sneak behind you. The second spirit will continue to stay and provide air support, so step back behind the storage block when you see concussion projectiles flying towards you.
After a little while, the third and final spirit will deploy four Grunt majors, four Jackals, three Skirmishers, three Elite spec ops, and an Elite general with an energy sword. At this time, two banshees will also arrive, but they will not attack you if you stay in your position. Kat will finish opening the door soon after this spirit leaves, so you will not need to fight this entire group of enemies. Sprint into the safety of the room to join the rest of noble team once Carter instructs you to. Shoot any enemies that try to enter through the door, though the constant stream of bullets from Emile and Jorge usually keep back the covenant forces.
Kat will soon close the first door and open the second, allowing you to travel inside the relay station. Here you will find a health kit, but you will soon gain full health anyways. You will come to a dead civilian face down on the floor, which will trigger a cut scene in which Noble Team is attacked by two Elite Zealots and an Elite Field Marshall. One of these Elites takes a civilian as a hostage, the Field Marshall escapes, and Carter sends you to peruse the Zealots, ending this rally point of Winter Contingency.
Part 3: Skeleton crew
At the end of the cut scene, your loadout is automatically reset. Therefore, you will always begin this rally point with full health, sprint, two grenades, a 27 ammo magnum, and a 288 ammo assault rifle. Directly to your right of where you start is a DMR crate. Swap your magnum for a DMR and turn on your night vision by pressing left on the D-pad.
In front of you is a hallway with three Grunts and three Jackals. In addition, an Elite Zealot with a concussion rifle will stand at the end of the hallway and shoot a few shots at you before retreating. Jorge will slowly walk up the center of the hallway, constantly firing at the Grunts and Jackals. To the left of Jorge is a raised hallway that will provide you better cover than moving up with Jorge. Walk part of the way down this hallway and kill all of the Grunts and Jackals with your DMR, but allow the Elite Zealot to retreat.
Move the rest of the way up the hallway, and you will see a second hallway filled with four Grunts and two Jackals to your right. Kill them all with your DMR, using the last bit of wall from the hallway you are in as cover. After killing most of them, four more Grunts will spawn around the corner. Wait for them to come to you so you can kill them from the same cover. Swap your assault rifle for one of their plasma pistols.
Follow the hallway onto a platform overlooking the computer database. Inside the computer database, there are four Grunt majors and the two Elite Zealots seen in the cut scene, one with an energy sword and one with a concussion rifle. Move down the hallway to the right and try to spot the energy sword Zealot as soon as possible. Once you have spotted him, begin DMR sniping the Grunts while using the wall as cover, but keep a close eye on the Elite Zealot. As soon as it begins to charge, switch to your plasma pistol and begin charging it. Simultaneously begin backing down the hallway, and once you lock-on to the Zealot, stun him with your plasma pistol. This will temporarily cause him to stop charging, providing you the time required to switch to your DMR and kill him with a headshot.
DMR snipe the remaining Grunts, then swap to your plasma pistol. The last Zealot will be in the computer terminal attempting to hack it, but will come out to kill you once you come near. Begin charging your plasma pistol as you approach the room and stun the Zealot just as it comes out of the door, then finish him with a headshot. Carter will order you to reset the computer, so walk over to the green square and hold x. This will trigger a cut scene, concluding the mission Winter Contingency.
