Halo 2: Ultimate Campaign Tweaks is back!


I know I said I would probably wait for Halo: MCC to stop receiving support before remaking this mod, but there's been no news from 343i regarding future updates and an extended weekend with the flu gave me some unexpected 'free' time to slowly piece this mod back together from memory. There's a few glitches here and there (more on that below) but overall it's a mostly-accurate recreation of the original Halo 2: Ultimate Campaign Tweaks mod. I'll be adding a few updates and tweaks in the future, for known issues see the bugs section below.

What is this mod?

This mod is designed to give Halo 2's campaign a refresh, making replaying the story a fun experience full of little surprises. If you have played Halo 2's campaign a hundred times (like I have) you'll love playing through this mod, as it adds just enough to make the game feel like a new experience without deviating from Bungie's original vision. I like to think that, had Bungie had a few more weeks to polish Halo 2 before release, they would have made many of the same changes to the campaign that I have implemented here. Every level has been painstakingly combed through using the modding tools, leaving no stone unturned. From better allies to more interesting enemies and a few fun additions along the way, Halo 2: Ultimate Campaign Tweaks is the best way to replay Halo 2 in 2023.

Overview

- Increased ally NPC numbers throughout the campaign
 - More Female Marines
 - More ODSTs
- Added more variety to ally and enemy weapons
 - More dual-wielding Elites
 - Enemies wield a more diverse variety of weapons
- Added several unused encounters throughout the campaign
- More variety in allied NPC spawns throughout the campaign
- Wraith turrets now work for the players
- Shadows are now driveable

The Armoy

- More Marines are now present during the brief gondola ride
- Some of the Marines in the atrium now wield weapons

Cairo Station

- All Marine spawns have been magnified to increase the number of allied NPCs
- Living ODST allies are now present in the mission
- All Marine spawn pools have been diversified with more Female Marines and ODSTs
- Some enemy Elites have been replaced with Rangers where it makes sense to do so
- Elite Rangers have more diverse weapon varieties and more Elites now dual-wield
- Several enemy NPC weapons have been altered
 - More Elites now dual-wield Plasma Rifles, Plasma Pistols or Needlers
 - Some Grunts wield Plasma Rifles
 - Some Drones now wield Plasma Rifles

Outskirts

- Player now starts with a Sniper Rifle and Magnum
- Increased number of starting Marines depending on the difficulty
- One of the starting Marines will always be a Pilot wielding a Magnum
- More Hunters
- More Sword Elites can be found in the mission, including one that drops in before the tunnel
- The first Warthog is now driven by a Rocket Launcher Marine who can take the passenger seat
- Shadows are now usable for the player and the 'Troop Transport' Shadow is now available
- Several enemy NPC weapons have been altered
 - More Elites now dual-wield Plasma Rifles, Plasma Pistols or Needlers
 - Some Grunts wield Plasma Rifles
 - Some Jackals wield Plasma Rifles or Needlers
 - Some Drones now wield Plasma Rifles

Metropolis

- More Marines now spawn on the bridge
- Three Marines now spawn in the tunnel before the Park to assault the city
- Wraith auto-turrets now work for the player
- More Marines now attempt to defend the command post against the Scarab with Turrets and Rockets
- Enemy waves on the Scarab have been tweaked to have more powerful weapons
- Several enemy NPC weapons have been altered
 - More Elites now dual-wield Plasma Rifles, Plasma Pistols or Needlers
 - Some Grunts wield Plasma Rifles
 - Some Jackals wield Plasma Rifles or Needlers

The Arbiter

- Allied NPCs are stronger on Easy, Heroic and Legendary
- Extra Grunts and one extra Elite spawns at the beginning
- 'Second Lance' Phantom drop have their weapons diversified
- Some Heretic Grunts now wield Plasma Pistols and Plasma Rifles
- Some Heretic Elites now dual-wield Plasma Rifles, Plasma Pistols or Needlers

The Oracle

- Allied NPCs are stronger on Easy, Heroic and Legendary
- Lots more allied Elites and Grunts are present in the elevator section
- Allied Elites dropped from the Phantom after the lab section have different weapons
- Some Heretic Grunts now wield Plasma Pistols and Plasma Rifles
- Some Heretic Elites now dual-wield Plasma Rifles, Plasma Pistols or Needlers

Delta Halo

- Far more ODSTs assist the player at the start of the mission
- Ally starting weapons have been diversified, some ODSTs wield Magnums or Sniper Rifles
- Wraith auto-turrets in this mission fire Needles
- All ally Pelican drops have had their spawn pools diversified, adding ODSTs and more weapon variety
- Several enemy NPC weapons have been altered
 - More Elites now dual-wield Plasma Rifles, Plasma Pistols or Needlers
 - Some Grunts wield Plasma Rifles
 - Some Jackals wield Plasma Rifles or Needlers
 - Some Drones now wield Plasma Rifles

Regret

- Starting ally numbers have been increased and ODSTs have been added to the level
- Ally NPC weapons have been diversified to include some Covenant weapons
- ODSTs have been added to ally Pelican drops and Female Marines are more common
- Several enemy NPC weapons have been altered
 - More Elites now dual-wield Plasma Rifles, Plasma Pistols or Needlers
 - Some Grunts wield Plasma Rifles
 - Some Jackals wield Plasma Rifles or Needlers
 - Some Drones now wield Plasma Rifles
- Some Elite Rangers have modified weapons
- The Grunts protecting Regret now wield Plasma Rifles

Sacred Icon

- Ally NPCs in the first section of the level have been diversified:
 - Many more allied NPCs overall
 - Allied Brutes now spawn in certain areas
 - The Grunt in the first squad is now a Heavy Grunt
 - More allied Jackals spawn, including Minors
- Enemy Marines now spawn in locations further in the level
- Some Carrier Forms are now shielded
- Allies at the camp at the end of the mission have better weapons
- Turrets at the camp at the end of the mission are now manned by Grunts

Quarantine Zone

- Three Spectres now spawn at the start of the level instead of one Spectre and two Ghosts
- The number of Spec Ops Elite allies have been doubled
- Wraith auto-turrets now work for the player
- Rtas 'Vadum now mans the gun of his Spectre as it is dropped off
- The number of allied Elites on the final Gondola section has been doubled
 - Allied Elite weapons have been diversified - some Elites now dual-wield Needlers and Plasma Rifles

Gravemind

- Some Brute and Elite NPCs in the level now wield better weapons
- Some enemy NPCs modified for variety
 - Brute Honour Guards now fight Elite Honour Guards in Hanging Gardens A
 - More variety in Elite ranks will spawn in certain areas throughout the level
 - Some Grunts, Drones and Jackals allied with the Brutes now wield Brute Plasma Rifles
 - Some Grunts allied with the Elites now wield Plasma Rifles
- Far more Marines are present in the prison

Uprising

- Allied NPC ranks and weapons have been diversified
- Certain areas now have far more allied NPCs including the final stretch
- Some Elites spawn as special ranks such as Stealth Elites or Honour Guards
- Some Elites spawn as powerful warlords such as Councillors or Honour Guard Ultras
- Allied Jackals are now present in small numbers
- Some unused encounters have been reactivated, including the corridor rafter Drones
- Wraith auto-turrets are usable for the player
- An allied Spectre is now present in the final vehicle section
- Some Grunts, Drones and Jackals allied with the Brutes now wield Brute Plasma Rifles

High Charity

- Some Flood Carrier Forms are now shielded
- Some Grunts, Drones and Jackals now wield Brute Plasma Rifles
- Some Covenant enemies now wield Human weapons

The Great Journey

- More allied Elites have been added to the Spectre
- Another Spectre joins the fight at the start of the mission
- Dual-wielding Needler Elite is now a Councilor
- Some Drones and Jackals allied with the Brutes now wield Brute Plasma Rifles
- More Elites are present in the prison and imprisoned Councillors now dual-wield
- Diversified ally NPC weapons throughout the mission
- Allied Banshees will assist the player at the beginning of the mission
- Wraith auto-turrets are usable for the player
- Marines, Hunters and more varieties of Elite have been added to the final battle against Tartarus


How to Install Manually

- Navigate to your steam folder and open the h2_maps_win64_dx11 folder in your halo2 folder
- Backup the campaign files 01a_tutorial to 08b_deltacontrol in a safe place
- Extract the mod files and copy them into the halo 2 maps folder
- Play Halo: The Master Chief Collection with Anti-Cheat disabled

Known Issues

There are a few known issues with this mod, some of which are also present in the original Halo 2.

• Allies will sometimes despawn if you move too far ahead - this is an unfortunate side-effect of Halo 2's engine, and probably why large battles weren't included in the game in the first place. It doesn't happen often, and it usually won't be an issue at all, but some of the large battles like Uprising can be prone to this if you move too far ahead.
• No Zealot Drop Pod on Uprising! - Yeah idk what happened here. One test runthrough the Zealot's pod worked fine, a few minor tweaks to encounters later in the level later and - oops. The Zealot's drop pod doesn't open when it lands. As a workaround, I've had the Zealot spawn in the first lobby. Sadly this breaks the dialogue trigger - don't worry, your Stealth Elite and Zealot will still follow you through the rest of the level, they're just a bit sluggish in the first encounter cavern room. I'll fix this eventually - but it will likely involve remodding Uprising from scratch (no small feat, I assure you)
• Certain allies don't follow you through the mission - Certain reactivated ally spawn triggers that I have used for this mod do not come with accompanying script to force the spawned NPCs to follow the player. Noticeable examples include the various ODSTs in Cairo Station, the new squad of Marines in the courtyard in Outskirts, and a few individual Elites/Grunts in various Arbiter levels. Don't worry, you will usually have enough allied NPCs that you won't miss the ones that you have to leave behind.
• Sacred Icon's temperamentality - This mission was a mess even before I started modding it, you can shepherd a large group of allies to the plug lock room, but make sure not to move too far ahead or they will likely despawn. In general, a good piece of advice for managing Halo 2's weird NPC behaviours is "Just remember, take things slow." Only after making this mod and dealing with Halo 2's many quirks do I realise what the devs were talking about when they gave Master Guns that line in The Armory - they weren't talking about Chief easing into his new armour, they were giving players advice on how to best prevent the game from falling apart around them