New to Halo 3 or need a refresher?
Gametypes
Halo 3 has Capture the Flag, Assault, King of the Hill, Oddball, Territories, VIP, Infection, and Juggernaut, and Slayer.
Capture the Flag
Both teams have flags in their bases. Your objective is to take their flag and bring it back to your base. Meleeing someone with the flag is an instant kill. Flag carriers can only ride in vehicles, not drive them. There is also a One Flag variant where only one team has a flag. Each team gets two tries for a total of four rounds.
Assault
CTF in reverse. Your base has a bomb. Pick up the bomb and take it to the other team's base, arm it, kaboom! The bomb carrier can only ride in vehicles, and the bomb glows. There is a 1 Bomb variant, where only one team has a bomb. Each team gets two tries to arm the bomb, for a total of four rounds. There is also a Neutral Bomb variant, where the bomb spawns in the middle of the map and either team can grab it. Meleeing with the bomb is an instant kill.
King of the Hill
Control the hill to earn points. That's it! A good strategy is to have one person stay in the hill and the rest of the team stays outside of the hill to take down incoming attackers. Remember: Hill is Priority One. Everything else is not important.
Oddball
One or more skulls will spawn on the map. You must pick up the skull (RB on the default scheme) and hold it to accrue points. Meleeing with the oddball is an instant kill. In Multiball gametypes, multiple team members can hold a ball at the same time to double or triple their points for each tick. A strategy if you're in trouble is to draw the enemy to one side of the map, then jump off with the ball, allowing your teammats to grab the respawned ball under minimal fire.
Territories
Capture hills marked with flags throughout the map. Has two variants: one version swaps rounds and usually has 5 points to capture. Capturing all 5 ends the round. The other variant is Land Grab, where both teams can capture points. Capture more points than the enemy team to win.
VIP
A terrible gametype you must always veto. One person on each team will have a star above their head. Kill them to earn points.
Infection (FFA Only)
A quasi-teamed gametype that only shows up in FFA playlists. If you are a human, defend yourself from the incoming zombies. If you are a zombie, kill humans to convert them to zombies. The round ends when everyone becomes a zombie. Note: suiciding off the edge of the map because you think you're clever will result in you becoming a zombie.
Juggernaut (FFA Only)
One person is powerful as all hell. Kill the Juggernaut to become the Juggernaut. You only get points for killing the Juggernaut, or killing as the Juggernaut. Suiciding will make you lose your Juggernaut-ness.
Slayer
Kill or be killed. Appears in both Team and Free For All Formats. Reign in blood.
Maps
Last Resort On Disc
A remake of Zanzibar from Halo 2. Good for asymmetrical gametypes. Recommend 5v5 and up sized teams. If you're playing territories on this map, wait to capture Point 1 last.
Guardian On Disc
A spiritual successor to Lockout from Halo 2. Big open platform in the center with interesting holdable spots at the compass directions around it. Good for 4v4 and smaller gametypes.
Epitaph On Disc
A small elongated map. Has a special version in matchmaking called Epilogue that has shield doors removed. Good for 4v4 and smaller. Appears in FFA a lot.
Sandtrap On Disc
A gianthuge map set in the desert. Pretty much only for 8v8 gametypes. Has two big Elephants you can drive, with awesome horns (press your Fire button while driving). Has a special version in matchmaking called SAND TARP that has the elephants removed and the bases switched for asymmetric gametypes.
Snowbound On Disc
A smallish snowy map with a tunnel system underneath, between the bases. Has turrets that will kill you if you try to leave the map. Has a special version in matchmaking called Boundless that has certain shield doors removed.
The Pit On Disc
A biggish symmetrical map with 3 hallways, a sword room, and sniper towers. Good for 4v4 and up. Really good for King. Has a special version in matchmaking named Pitstop that has access to the upstairs of the bases blocked off.
Construct On Disc
A vertical big map based off the Ark level from campaign. People camp at the gold and purple lifts all the time. Flamethrower, missile launcher, and a Spartan Laser are on the bottom.
Narrows On Disc
A Forerunner symmetrical map with a giant hill in the middle. Based off the Attack of the Control Room bridges from Halo 1. Good for 4v4 up to 6v6. Has a mancannon on the side that will take you from one end of the map to the other.
Valhalla On Disc
A big symmetrical (mostly) map set on the grass plains of the Ark. If you're coming from Halo 4, this is the original version of Ragnarok. Take the middle hill to win the game in Slayer, because you can rain bullets everywhere. Can be played 4v4 but really gets going in 8v8.
High Ground On Disc
An asymmetric map in the spirit of Last Resort, but much smaller. One team starts on the beach, one team starts in a base at the top of the hill. You can sneak in through a broken pipe. In Slayer, you should generally attempt to take the base wall and gate.
Isolation On Disc
Always veto this map. Always.
Standoff Heroic Map Pack
A big death bowl of death set on top of a cliff. Every game pretty much starts with one team all throwing their grenades at the other team's hog. It's hilarious. And then your 360 hard locks.
Rat's Nest Heroic Map Pack
An 8v8/4v4 map set in the Crow's Nest location from campaign. Has an outer ring that vehicles like to live in, and an inner hallway system that infantry tend to stick to. Really good for CTF.
Foundry Heroic Map Pack
Foundy is a special map in that 99% of it is made out of Forge objects. You can completely delete the map and make a new one in Forge out of this one! This is the map where Grifball started. It was generally made obsolete by Sandbox for forging, but it still has it's strengths.
Avalanche Legendary Map Pack
A remake of Sidewinder from Halo 1 with some tweaks here and there. The inner hallways have been deleted, leaving only the upper crosspoint between both sides of the map. There is now a mancannon that will take you to the outer bend of the map. There are also giant mancannons that will fire you into the bases on each side. You'll see it in some 4v4 games but it's best in 8v8.
Blackout Legendary Map Pack
A remake of Lockout from Halo 2 with some tweaks, and now set at night. Take the top towers to win.
Ghost Town Legendary Map Pack
A map set inside of a destroyed township somewhere in Africa. Asymmetrical. Limited sight lines.
Cold Storage
A remake of Chill Out from Halo 1. Very small, 4v4 can work but it's best in 2v2. Has a creepy eye that follows you around. This map is downloadable by itself.
Assembly Mythic 1 Map Pack
A purple dish-shaped map with a center killroom. This is where Scarabs are made. Kind of Desolation-y.
Sandbox Mythic 1 Map Pack
A dark map set in a sand pit that's the best map to forge in for Halo 3. The standard map on it is like Beaver Creek made for vehicles. The entire map can be deleted and replaced with one of your own creation. You can also take a teleporter into the sky and forge maps there, or go underground and forge maps in the crypt.
Orbital Mythic 1 Map Pack
A horseshoe map layered on top of a horseshoe map. It's a bit confusing to wrap your head around at first.
Heretic Mythic 2 Map Pack
A remake of Midship from Halo 2. Very small purple map. Works for 4v4 and 2v2. Unlike other maps, this one is hardcoded to start you with plasma grenades. to emulate the original Halo 2 settings.
Longshore Mythic 2 Map Pack
It's a long story, but this is half remake and half spiritual successor to Halo 1's Hang Em High, or as you might have known it, Halo 2's Tombstone, or Halo Reach's High Noon. Has an extendable bridge that you can extend over the defense base to make it easier to take their flag.
Citadel Mythic 2 Map Pack
A symmetrical map set in The Covenant interior locations from campaign (kinda). Has two levels to it, and can be navigated in a circular path. This is probably the most forgotten map from Halo 3. Technically solid map that's not very flashy.
The Bucket List
If your time in Halo 3 is short, you need to at least try some of these gametypes. These are a mix of both my opinions and general consensus from the rest of the internet. Try these at least once, to get a good idea of what Halo 3 has to offer.
1 Flag CTF / 1 Bomb
4v4: High Ground, Ghost Town
8v8: Last Resort, Longshore
2 Flag CTF
4v4: Snowbound, Orbital, The Pit, Isolation, Assembly, Citadel
8v8: Valhalla, Sandtrap, Avalanche, Rat's Nest, Sandbox, Standoff
Territories
8v8: Last Resort, Sandtrap
King of the Hill
4v4: Ghost Town, Snowbound, Construct, The Pit, Assembly
8v8: Avalanche, Citadel
Oddball
4v4: Heretic, Cold Storage
8 player FFA: Guardian, Blackout
