Avalanche

Avalanche is a multiplayer map featured in Halo 3. It is featured as one of the three maps in the Legendary Map Pack that was made available on April 15th, 2008.

Setting
Avalanche is a large Forerunner power station set on the front of a huge glacial shelf on the reborn Installation 04. The structure pulls its power out of the densely compacted glacial ice that constantly builds up behind the station before it cascades into the ocean below.

Design
Avalanche is a re-imagination, and, some would say, the spiritual successor of the map Sidewinder, from Halo: Combat Evolved. Because the original Sidewinder had elements that created slower gameplay, Avalanche was Bungie's chance to start over again. Certain obvious design elements have been removed due to their slowing effect on multiplayer, such as the tunnel in between the two bases, while at the same time adding new ones, such as the many Man Cannons. The Man Cannons located in Avalanche are much more powerful than those located in other maps, being able to launch players halfway across this huge map. New Forge objects have been created just for this map and can seriously alter gameplay. These objects include energy blockers to block entrances and exits, large sniper perches that will stay in place if put in the air, and Forerunner ramps and such like that can be used to make an entirely new base if you are creative enough. Map effects have been added to the Forge palette, called Forge Filters. These items are found in the other two Legendary Map Pack maps, as well. The map itself is centered around two bases at each end of a U-shaped snowy valley, and to add an interesting dynamic in one-sided objective games, there's a asymmetry in vehicles; the assaulting team has exclusively UNSC vehicles at their disposal, while the defending team has Covenant vehicles to begin with. The map is set to prefer objective gametypes, but works well with BTB slayer and snipers as well.

Gameplay Features and Changes

 * A number of man cannons and a large cavern area have been added to the original 'Sidewinder'.
 * The Forerunner structures serves as giant man cannons, and can launch players halfway across the map.
 * In one-sided objective gametypes, the attacking team has UNSC Vehicles, while the defenders have Covenant and Loyalist vehicles.
 * All UNSC vehicles will now feature snow camouflage colors instead of the traditional green UNSC color scheme.
 * The Scorpion Tank is only available to the assaulting team on one-sided objective based games; during team slayer, neutral and multi objective games both sides will have the Wraith Tank.
 * A bottomless pit is located in the center infantry area of the map. This pit can be crossed by the man cannons there.
 * Energy doors can now be placed in Forge to cover up exits.

Overview
Avalanche is an almost symmetrical map, with the only differences being the placement of rocks, and a small bridge leading to a small shelf in the canyon, minus the bridge the shelf is almost identical on the other side. The map is a U-shape, with each base being a "prong" of the 'U'. there is a mountain that separates the two bases, but there is a path though the mountain creating a T-shape in the U, about mid way though the map there is a tunnel in the upper part of the map that connects the two sides, from that cavern there is a man cannon leading to a lower level that has an exit at the crest of the U. There are Man Cannons placed about the map in such a way that a foot soldier can move throughout the map at a fast pace, though vehicles are still the main mode of transport.

Vehicular Balance
As seen in a recent overview of the map released by Bungie, one-sided objective games have a Human vs. Covenant vehicular setup, while symmetrical game-types will have all UNSC vehicles (presumably). Here are the lists of the vehicles that are included:

Asymmetric game-types:

Defenders - Wraith, Ghost, 2 Choppers, Banshee.

Attackers - Scorpion, 2 Mongoose, 2 Warthogs, Hornet (A downgraded variant with no missiles and less effective chain-guns).

Symmetric game-types:

Both teams have a Wraith Tank, Mongoose, 2 Warthogs and a Hornet. A Ghost can also be found in the middle of the map, near where the Spartan Laser and Trip Mine spawn.

Getting Out of Avalanche
To get out of Avalanche, go into Forge mode and spawn a set of teleporters. Place the receiving end on one of the far ledges that is near the giant sea of ice. Place another on an easy place to reach. Go through the teleporter and place a respawn point. But be careful, if you go too far, you'll die instantly. Also, if you go into Edit Mode and head upwards you can reach another part of the map but you will die if you venture too far out. Another way to get out from there is to go back to where you first placed the teleporter. Face the wall and push against it whilst rising up in Forge mode. Then, head towards the right and you should be able to go further up to a snowy area. Go any further than the snowy area and you will die.

Another simple way is to go inside of one of the bases, to the back where the glowing cylinders are located behind the glass wall. You can either spawn a new teleporter, or use the one readily available near the wall. Simply spawn a two-way or a receiver node while against the wall, and it should spawn behind it. Drop it and hurriedly get into the teleporter as a Monitor before it falls, as it will disappear. From there you can make floating objects so that one may walk around in these areas.

An even simpler way is to spawn a machine gun turret close to the wall at the back of the bases, and then climb onto the turret. After that you look upwards, and go into monitor mode. You should be behind the wall, and can move about, looking at the blue generators.

Trivia

 * The remains of the cliffs walls from the original Sidewinder can be seen at the bottom of the cliffs in the water below.
 * Avalanche is the first Halo 3 map to feature teleporters by default.
 * Avalanche is the first multiplayer map in the entire series in which the vehicles get an appearance makeover.
 * The map is set on the Installation 04 (II) and resembles the Halo: Combat Evolved map Sidewinder. If you look at the sky you can also see that the Halo is under construction, as it is in the final level of Halo 3.
 * Even though the Ark's artificial sun can be seen in the sky above, the Ark itself is nowhere to be seen.
 * A structure in the background is identical to the shield towers on The Covenant.
 * The map was actually rebuilt from the original Sidewinder map and includes the same overall shape, a mid-section joining the bases and near-parallel bases separated by rock. Avalanche is slightly larger than the original Sidewinder, and the sky's setting is also slightly darker.
 * Avalanche contains the most vehicles of any Halo 3 multiplayer level, even more than the number on Sandtrap (excluding Elephants). It is also slightly larger than Sandtrap.
 * The snow camouflage vehicles are the Hornet, the Warthog, the Mongoose, and the Scorpion.
 * Many design elements of the map seem to have been drawn from the Halo 2 map Containment, such as the new design of the bases.
 * If you run or jump too quickly onto the man cannons in the caverns, you will simply fall to your death.
 * On rare occasions, death screams will sound high pitched regardless of the gender of the player.
 * Avalanche is the second map to ever have Brute Choppers by default (Though only in One-sided Objective gametypes like the Scorpion).
 * Avalanche and Snowbound are currently the only maps to have one way-surfaces (inside the bases). They are also currently the only ones with snow.
 * Using the simple "clipping teleporters through walls" trick, players can zoom around the generator type area in the bases.Be aware that not everything in there is solid, and there is another barrier a certain distance away from the glass wall.
 * A glitch can sometimes occur and cause one of the Wraiths to become invisible and over powered. This has been fixed by Bungie in matchmaking but may still occur in custom games offline. This may have convinced some people that there is a "Ghost of Halo" on the Avalanche map.
 * Near the blue base if you look to the right there is an ice formation that looks like Master Chief's helmet.
 * Avalanche appears to be the Legendary Map Pack version of Foundry due to its range of construction materials to build a base.
 * The power of the Hornet's chain-guns in this map seems to be about half of their "Normal" strength.
 * Avalanche is currently the map with the most Mancannons, and also, the biggest.
 * It is one of three maps, along with Sandtrap and Rat's Nest, to feature the Trip Mine by default.
 * The one-way glass in the Red and Blue bases have some resemblances to the Forerunner Terminals.
 * G4-TV held a promotional contest named the Sarkatholon in this map for the Winner to receive Recon armor.
 * During production, Avalanche's code-name was Cottonball. Most likely because it is a snowy winter-type map.
 * Avalanche is the only concurrent Halo 3 level that features an actual Hornet, though not as powerful as usual by Default settings (Its chain guns are less powerful, and the rockets are removed). It is also the only map that features a Scorpion by Default, though only in One-Sided Objective game types and only for the attackers.
 * Avalanche is currently the only Halo 3 multiplayer map where a Halo can be seen in the sky.

Strategies

 * If on the assaulting team grab the Shotgun, a BR or a Sniper Rifle and take out those with the heavy weapons attempting to gun down you team's vehicles. You can close in with the Shotgun or snipe from afar with your scoped weapon. Be careful to remember to watch out for incoming rockets, lasers and, counter-sniper fire!
 * The easiest way to avoid getting killed by a laser is to either possess it, make sure someone on your team controls it, make sure no one controls it, or forge the map and remove it.
 * One can assign a player to be the laser man for the team.
 * Take the laser and stay around the other side's camo area (pick it up if it's there) and try to take out the opposing teams vehicles. Any viable target. Once those are gone, take the Ghost and enjoy the fact that there's close to nothing on the map for the next minute and a half that will be able to destroy you.
 * It's all about map control.
 * The toned-down Hornet is not a very good offensive platform on its own, quickly being dealt with by other vehicles like Banshee or Warthog turrets. Use it to quickly transport teammates or quickly defend your base. If you do want to assault the opposing team's base, have a teammate use the Wraith for ground control. Your enemy will have to decide which target to focus on first, allowing the other to effectively take the threat out.
 * Although the Hornet has been toned-down, it can still be invaluable in CTF and Assault games as the transport for the Objective carriers,because it is actually faster than the Standard Hornet.
 * Because of how the Hornet moves, it is very easy to force a Hornet pilot to bump into a tree or wall, causing the Hornet to lose control temporarily. This is a great time to strike, as the guns on a Hornet do not rotate.
 * When going through the central cave, watch out for anyone opposite the Man Cannon pathway, as many players like to jump up the sloped wall and camp there with a Shotgun to quickly eliminate anyone who passes by.
 * The Spartan Laser can also be positioned here to help take out large vehicles, controlling this area with Sniper and Laser can contribute dramatically to your team's efforts in objective games, damage-wise, or just warnings for your teammates.

Forge Items
There are many new items to be placed in Forge. These are mostly Forerunner-themed, to keep with the style of the map. A few of these items are:


 * Forerunner-style walls
 * Energy-Blockers (effectively, shield-oriented doors that cannot be walked or driven through).
 * A Sniper perch, which is in one picture turned upside-down, thus being able to hold a Scorpion tank.
 * Forerunner ramps also had been added.
 * Items called Forge Filters that change how the map looks, mainly color and shade effects. If you combine certain ones, they can make interesting visual and occasionally confusing visual effects.

Forge

 * If you add teleporters in the main bases, with the receive node in the middle of the map, it allows objective games to move at a faster pace than normal.
 * Its easy to place to many vehicles on the map, make sure that you keep balance between vehicular combat and normal infantry combat, unless the map is either one-sided or you want more vehicular combat.