5. Assault on the Control Room

Push through the frozen canyons to the heart of the ring

Mission Flow

  1. Descend from the bridge into the snowy canyon network
  2. Fight through alternating canyon, tunnel, and bridge sections - Ghosts and a Scorpion are there for the taking
  3. Break through the twin-Wraith canyon
  4. Climb the pyramid ramps and enter the Control Room

At a Glance

  • Enemies: Everything the Covenant has, plus Wraiths, Banshees, and Shade turrets; a gold Elite guards the summit.
  • Typical length: ~60-75 min
  • Collectibles: 3 skulls, 1 terminal

Skull Locations

IWHBYDRare and funny dialogue plays far more often

In the room where you get the Scorpion: clear it, then check the ice formation (the hole in the leftmost ice wall by the bridge area).

AngryEnemies fire faster and more often

After you're forced to ditch the tank, past the cloaked-Elite tunnel and the uphill fight (Banshees and Ghosts), climb the farthest Forerunner arch.

CowbellPhysics objects are lighter - everything flies farther

Where you can grab a Banshee before the pyramid assault: directly under that bridge (take the ramp to the lower metal platform; the skull sits on the snowy rock beside it).

Terminal

Tangent I

At the icy cavern fork: upper level of the central rock structure, in a corner. See all 13 terminals and their lore →

Legendary Tips

  • The classic route is grabbing a Banshee as early as possible and flying past half the mission - the remake's hijacking makes stealing one even easier (community).
  • In the Scorpion sections, protect the tank and grind forward - losing it on Legendary hurts.
  • Save plasma-pistol overcharges for the sword Elites on the pyramid ramps (community).

Attempting LASO? Read the 17-skull LASO guide first.

Sources: skull locations cross-checked from DayOne, Push Square, and TheGamer guides (July 2026); terminals from Halopedia and Pure Xbox; remake changes from the official PlayStation Blog feature. Tips marked (community) come from player reports and may predate patches. Mission lengths are estimates. Last updated July 28, 2026.

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