There's been quite a lot of talk about bungie not keeping their promise of Reach having large campaign battles. The promised numbers, originating from the Once More unto the Breach ViDoc, are: -Old halos had about 20 enemies on screen at once -Reach can have 40 enemy AI -Or twenty vehicles -Versus the player and a dozen friendly AI -Or, alternatively, the game can handle 40 AI at once, which means ten UNSC vs 30 Covenant. Now there's no question about ground vehicle battles being smaller than those in previous Halos. But what about infantry encounters? Or aerial combat? I set out to find out the truth because I like truths. I played the campaign through on Legendary solo, earning a legit Onyx commendation in the progress. I examined each saved film, counting every enemy and ally, figuring out the size of each battle. After 10 hours of theater (made easier by you, bungie forums) and one monument to all my sins, I've completed a thousand row text file that lists every enemy, marine, trooper, spartan and occupied vehicle in the game. Now this entire document is mainly pointless. When it comes to the question of "40 AI or not", who cares if there are 4 enemies in 'Reception'? So I'll only list interesting results here; the big battles. If someone really cares because they're writing a guide or something, I can upload the full .txt. Some details on conventions: -Solo Legendary. Co-op encounters often have more enemies. I may check the maximum numbers after I've amassed a collection of 4-player legendary films from all levels. -BOBs are not counted. I didn't even know many I saw existed. -Each separate weapon seat of a vehicle counts. So a phantom with gunners is 3 enemies, while a falcon with 2 gunners but no chingun is 2 allies. -I will blatantly assume survival of all UNSC units. Vehicular manipulation is also condoned. These are maximum numbers. [u][b]And now to the numbers.[/b][/u] Largest amounts of enemies in one battle: -Glacier wave 1: 50 enemies -Relay defense: 43 enemies -Olympic Tower: 43 enemies -Larger attack force (LNoS): 41 enemies -Beachhead: 39 enemies -BXR Mining facility: 38 enemies -Ardent Prayer: 36 enemies (AP itself counts as 9) -Glacier Wave 2: 36 enemies -Canyon: 35 enemies -Waterfront defense: 32 enemies -Sword Base atrium: 32 enemies -AA gun 2: 30 enemies Largest amounts of UNSC AI in one battle: -Beachhead: 17 troopers -Exodus turret section: 13 firing troopers -Sword Base Atrium: 12 UNSC soldiers -Holdout: 10 marines -AA gun 2: 10 UNSC soldiers -Return to Sword Base (Package): 9 UNSC soldiers -Executive landing pad: 8 UNSC soldiers -Glacier: 7 UNSC machine-and-nerves -Airview base (Package): 7 UNSC soldiers Largest amounts of enemy vehicles in ground battles: -Glacier worst case scenario: 10 -Airview Base (Package): 9 -Beachhead: 8 -Return to Sword Base (Package): 7 Largest UNSC vehicle forces: -6 on the package: 2 falcons, tank, whatever the ODSTs drive. -6 on Long Night of Solace: 5 sabres, Anchor 9 / UNSC Savannah -5 on beachead: 2 warthogs, 2 mongooses, falcon dropping troopers Largest active vehicle amounts in ground battles: -Airview base: 15 -Return to Sword Base: 13 -Beachhead: 13 -Glacier worst case scenario: 11 Largest total AI amounts: -Glacier Wave 1: 57 AI -Beachhead: 56 AI -Olympic tower: 48 AI -Exodus turret section: 48 AI -Larger attack force (LNoS): 47 AI -Relay Defense: 46 AI -Sword Base Atrium: 44 AI -Ardent Prayer: 44 AI -Glacier wave 2: 43 AI -AA gun 2: 40 AI There, done. Remember, many of these battles are what they are. Remember what they are like in the campaign and decide for yourself if that big number means anything. There are a few which I think are rather meaningless. Questions welcome.