What you need to know
- Twitch streamer and Halo 2 sprinter JerValiN has accomplished something previously thought impossible: a no-death run of Halo 2 on Legendary difficulty, with all skulls enabled (except Envy, which offers Master Chief the Arbiter’s active camouflage instead of a flashlight).
- By successfully completing this challenge, JerValiN has completed the $20,000 bounty issued by popular Twitch streamer MoistCr1TiKaL for beating Halo 2 LASO without dying.
- The run lasted six hours, 29 minutes and 44.17 seconds, and involved masterful, methodical play and the incredibly skillful use of jumps and misses.
After weeks of grinding out Halo 2’s campaign, Twitch streamer and Halo speedrunner JerValiN has finally achieved something the internet once thought was impossible: a full run of the game on Legendary difficulty with all skulls enabled ( except for the Envy Skull, which provides Master Cap with active camo) without a dead head. No other player has accomplished this feat, meaning JerValiN has officially made gaming history.
The community-wide race to beat Halo 2 LASO without dying began when popular Twitch streamer MoistCr1TiKaL issued a $5,000 reward for completing the challenge in late June, which was then raised to $20,000 in July. After attempting the challenge dozens of times, JerValiN finally managed to finish it with an expert knowledge of Halo 2’s campaign systems, clever use of glitches and jumps, skillful and methodical play, and a touch of luck .
Remarkably, victory almost eluded the speedrunner in the final moments of the game when a Brute with a shotgun managed to dodge two grenade launches from allied elites (grenades that almost always knock it off the map in these LASO races) and charge towards JerValiN while it was being done. in a Banshee. Fortunately, JerValiN managed to turn the Banshee’s armor towards the Brute for protection just in time, using the ship’s plasma weapons to take care of the threat.
Halo 2 LASO is known for being significantly more difficult than any other Halo LASO campaign, largely due to the fact that with all skulls enabled on legendary difficulty, enemies do insane damage and have much more health, while the player he has almost no health. Absolutely not. On top of that, the combined effects of all the skulls in Halo 2 really hurt the player as they take away the head-up display (HUD) and weapon view model, preventing them from reloading their shields without getting killed melee and reducing the amount of ammunition. they can bring Meanwhile, all enemies gain active camouflage, increased range, improved fire rate, and the ability to throw grenades with reckless abandon. Halo 2 is also considered very balanced for legendary difficulty in general (I’m sure you’ve seen the Sniper Jackal memes).
Another element of the challenge that makes it so difficult is that Halo’s AI can often be a bit unpredictable, even for masters like JerValiN who have extensive knowledge of their behavior patterns. This unpredictability is generally considered a good thing in normal games, as it keeps players on their toes and allows for good moment-to-moment gameplay, but in challenges like this where death is just a few plasma rifle shots away, it’s terrifying.
Part of me seriously doubted that this challenge would ever be completed, which made watching JerValiN do it live absolutely amazing. Halo 2 undead LASO without the Envy Skull is arguably the hardest feat to achieve in all of gaming – it’s been 18 years since it was done, and the vast majority of people who try have enough jobs could pass the first few rooms of the first level of the game, but in a dazzling display of skill and finesse, one man has shown that it is not impossible.
The successful run took a total of six hours, 29 minutes and 44.17 seconds. You can watch the full VOD directly from JerValiN’s Twitch channel in the VOD above.