Halo: Campaign Evolved Operation: METEORITE Walkthrough — 3 New Prequel Missions

TL;DR

• Operation: METEORITE shipped in the 8/17 Update 17.661.002 — Halo Studios’ first post-launch campaign content for Halo: Campaign Evolved.
• Three prequel missions set just before the Pillar of Autumn’s fall: Breach at Orbital Grid 4, Silent Insertion, Escape from the Covenant Core.
• Three METEORITE-exclusive weapons: Battle Rifle (mid-range burst), Brute Plasma Rifle (close-range heat-managed plasma), Spiker (close-range spike launcher).
• Two new Brute variants: Hunter Brute (heavily armored, Spiker-weak back panel) and Storm Brute (fast, energy sword, headshot-weak).
• Jackal Sniper makes its campaign debut in Silent Insertion — instant-kill long-range energy shield.
• Free with the 8/17 patch for all Halo: Campaign Evolved owners and Xbox Game Pass Ultimate / PC Game Pass subscribers.

What Operation: METEORITE actually is

Operation: METEORITE is Halo Studios’ first post-launch campaign content for Halo: Campaign Evolved. It is a self-contained, three-mission prequel episode set in the timeline gap just before the Pillar of Autumn’s fall to the Halo ring. The METEORITE prequel covers the events leading up to Master Chief’s cryo-sleep awakening on the Pillar of Autumn, in the same era as the Halo: Reach and Halo: Combat Evolved timeline.

Operation: METEORITE is roughly 2-3 hours of content for a first playthrough on Normal difficulty. It supports the same co-op modes as the base campaign — 4-player online cross-play co-op, 2-player split-screen co-op on console, and solo play — and it can be started from the main menu after installing Update 17.661.002 (2026-08-17).

The METEORITE prequel introduces four significant gameplay additions:

• Three METEORITE-exclusive weapons — the Battle Rifle (mid-range burst), the Brute Plasma Rifle (close-range heat-managed plasma), and the Spiker (close-range spike launcher).
• Two new Brute variants — the Hunter Brute (heavily armored, Spiker-weak back panel) and the Storm Brute (fast, energy sword, headshot-weak).
• One new enemy archetype — the Jackal Sniper (instant-kill long-range energy shield), making its campaign debut after years as a Halo multiplayer-only enemy type.
• One new difficulty spike — the Storm Brute’s energy sword is a one-hit-kill on Legendary difficulty, forcing the player to learn close-range weapon priority.

The METEORITE-exclusive weapons do not carry over to the base campaign. This is a design choice by Halo Studios: the METEORITE prequel is set before the Pillar of Autumn’s fall, so the Battle Rifle (a later-era weapon) and the Spiker (a Brute-era weapon) are period-inappropriate for the base campaign.

Mission 1 — Breach at Orbital Grid 4

Length: ~30-40 minutes Difficulty curve: Easy → Medium First weapon acquired: Battle Rifle

Breach at Orbital Grid 4 is the shortest and easiest of the three METEORITE missions. It is set on an orbital grid station orbiting the Halo ring — a UNSC Marines-vs-Covenant boarding-action scenario. The mission begins with Master Chief and a squad of UNSC Marines defending the orbital grid’s control room from Covenant boarders.

The mission’s core loop is straightforward: defend the control room from three Covenant waves, then push forward through the orbital grid’s corridors to secure a Mac Cannon targeting solution. The Covenant waves mix standard Grunts and Jackals with a few Elite Minors. The mission is a tutorial for the Battle Rifle — you pick up the Battle Rifle from a fallen UNSC Marine in the control room, and it is your primary weapon for the rest of the operation.

Key tips:

• Stick with the Battle Rifle burst pattern — tap the trigger for each burst, do not hold it. Three headshots drop a Grunt in one trigger pull.
• Use the UNSC Marines as distraction — they will draw fire from the Covenant boarders, giving you clean shots from cover.
• Save your grenades for the Elite Minors — Grunts and Jackals die to Battle Rifle bursts; Elites need a grenade to finish off after their shield is broken.

Mission 2 — Silent Insertion

Length: ~50-70 minutes Difficulty curve: Medium → Hard New weapons acquired: Brute Plasma Rifle, Jackal Sniper (enemy) New enemies: Storm Brute

Silent Insertion is the longest and most challenging of the three METEORITE missions. It is set in a Covenant corvette where Master Chief is inserted for a stealth mission to disable the corvette’s slipspace drive. The mission begins with Master Chief in a Covenant drop-pod, inserting through the corvette’s exterior hull.

The mission’s core loop is a mix of stealth (the first half) and open combat (the second half). The first half is a series of stealth-takedown sections — Covenant patrols in the corvette’s corridors, Jackal Sniper nests in the ventilation shafts, and Brute patrols in the cargo bays. The second half is the Storm Brute gauntlet — a series of arenas where Master Chief has to fight Storm Brute after Storm Brute in close-quarters combat.

The Jackal Sniper first appears in Silent Insertion’s mid-mission sniping section — a long corridor where the player has to advance while avoiding fire from elevated Jackal Sniper positions. The Jackal Sniper’s energy shield is instant-kill at any range, so the player has to break the shield first with the Battle Rifle, then headshot.

Key tips:

• Use the Battle Rifle on Jackal Snipers — break the shield first, then headshot with a precision weapon. The Assault Rifle’s spread is too wide to reliably hit the shield.
• Use the Brute Plasma Rifle on Storm Brutes — the plasma’s stagger effect buys you time to land a headshot. The Storm Brute’s energy sword is a one-hit-kill on Legendary.
• Save your Battle Rifle ammo for the Storm Brute gauntlet — the Storm Brute’s headshot-weak point is small, and the Battle Rifle’s burst is the most reliable headshot weapon in the mission.
• Communicate with your co-op teammates in 4-player co-op — the Storm Brute gauntlet is the most friendly-fire-heavy section in METEORITE.

Mission 3 — Escape from the Covenant Core

Length: ~45-60 minutes Difficulty curve: Hard → Boss fight New weapon acquired: Spiker New enemies: Hunter Brute

Escape from the Covenant Core is the most varied of the three METEORITE missions. It is set in the Covenant corvette’s core — a massive Covenant energy core where Master Chief has to plant explosives and escape before the core detonates. The mission begins with Master Chief deep in the Covenant core, with a time limit to plant explosives in three core chambers and escape to the drop-pod extraction point.

The mission’s core loop is a mix of arena combat (Hunter Brute encounters) and timed objective (planting explosives in three core chambers). The Hunter Brute is the new enemy — heavily armored, slow-moving, carries a Brute Shot. The Hunter Brute’s weak point is the back armor panel; the Spiker is the most reliable weapon for breaking it.

The mission ends with a boss fight — a Covenant shipmaster in a Hunter Brute armor rig. The shipmaster has three phases: ranged Brute Shot (break the player’s shield), melee charge (close-range energy sword), and a final desperate suicide run (the shipmaster tries to melee Master Chief before the core detonates).

Key tips:

• Use the Spiker on Hunter Brutes — the Spiker’s high single-shot damage breaks the Hunter Brute’s armor faster than the Battle Rifle. Aim for the back panel.
• Save your Battle Rifle ammo for the shipmaster boss fight — the Battle Rifle’s burst is the most reliable headshot weapon in the mission.
• Watch the core’s energy meter — the mission has a time limit (roughly 12 minutes for the full escape). If you run out of time, the mission fails and you restart from the last checkpoint.
• Communicate with your co-op teammates in 4-player co-op — the Spiker is the most friendly-fire-prone weapon in METEORITE. Aim carefully.

The three METEORITE-exclusive weapons

The Battle Rifle, Brute Plasma Rifle, and Spiker are METEORITE-exclusive. They do not carry over to the base campaign. Here is how to think about each:

Weapon	Range	Strength	Weakness	Best use
Battle Rifle	Mid	3-round burst, headshot-priority, reliable at 30-80m	Tap-only trigger, low magazine count (32 rounds)	Primary mid-range weapon for the entire operation
Brute Plasma Rifle	Close-mid	Plasma splash damage, staggers Brutes, breaks armor	Heat mechanic (overheats after 4-5 shots), 1.5s lockout	Storm Brute encounters, close-quarters combat
Spiker	Close	High single-shot damage, breaks Hunter Brute armor fast	Straight-line projectiles, friendly-fire-prone, 6-round magazine	Hunter Brute encounters, point-blank combat

The two new Brute variants

The Hunter Brute and the Storm Brute are METEORITE-only. They do not appear in the base campaign. Here is how to handle each:

Variant	Behavior	Armor	Weak point	Recommended weapon
Hunter Brute	Slow, frontal pressure, Brute Shot	Heavy armor (front + sides), no armor on back	Back armor panel	Spiker → Battle Rifle burst to back panel
Storm Brute	Fast, flanking, energy sword	Light armor (head only)	Head	Brute Plasma Rifle stagger → Battle Rifle headshot

The Jackal Sniper — campaign debut

The Jackal Sniper is a long-range variant of the standard Jackal. It fires an instant-kill energy shield round at any range. It has never appeared in a mainline Halo campaign before — it was previously a Halo multiplayer-only enemy type.

The Jackal Sniper first appears in Silent Insertion’s mid-mission sniping section. The Jackal Sniper’s energy shield has the same break threshold as a standard Jackal shield, so the Battle Rifle’s burst is the ideal counter. The Jackal Sniper’s head is exposed once the shield is broken, and one headshot kills it.

Key tip: do not engage Jackal Snipers at long range with the Assault Rifle — the AR’s spread is too wide to reliably hit the shield. Stick with the Battle Rifle.

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Operation: METEORITE is a meaty 2-3 hours of prequel content that earns its place in Halo: Campaign Evolved’s first post-launch patch. The three METEORITE-exclusive weapons (Battle Rifle, Brute Plasma Rifle, Spiker) are fun to learn, the two new Brute variants (Hunter Brute, Storm Brute) are genuinely challenging on Legendary, and the Jackal Sniper is a great campaign-debut enemy. If you have already cleared the base campaign on Heroic, METEORITE is worth a first playthrough on Heroic or Legendary.

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