Description: The crew of V-398 barely survived their unplanned landing in this curious gorge. The wreckage of their downed Pelican rests on the field, its remains an unpicked carcass. Tall timbers are dwarfed by titanic granite cliffs and a mountain river spills into a frigid alpine lake.
The map is similar in shape to Coagulation but has unique elements of its own. It also has features from the Halo: Combat Evolved level; Halo. The most obvious feature is the river. The river starts in the mountains behind blue base, and comes out at a waterfall. The river then flows in front of the base, into a cave, then down between the two prominent hills on which players find the Spartan Laser, and the Machine gun Turret. Finally it bends around the base, and empties into a large lake. There is also another cave in the map, which goes through the hill between the crashed pelican and blue base.
The distinguished beam emitter bases are Forerunner technology. The lower portion is reminiscent of the bases in Blood Gulch. There are three possible entrances to the inside of the base; two on the sides, and another is located behind. Replacing the teleporters are the Man Cannons. The largest one, on the front of the base, will send you out into the main battle, while the smaller ones on the side of each base send you a short distance to the nearby cliff for a quick getaway. Also stated about the bases is that they feature a shiny glass floor, most likely on the interior.
There are two similar hills on either side of the river. On one spawns the Spartan Laser, while the other holds a Machinegun Turret. The Sniper Rifle and several of all grenade types spawn within the bases, along with the flag. Numerous Battle Rifles are said to spawn around the map, and Spikers spawn on top of the bases along with the Trip Mine. The Missile Pod spawns inside each base. The current vehicle set per base is a Banshee, Warthog, Wraith, and two Mongooses. The Power Drainer spawns in front of the downed Pelican. While the Bubble Shield spawns at the neutral Mongoose near the Forerunner wall.
- Valhalla is a big map and ranged weapons are key to dominating on this map. Most of the killing occurs in the middle of the map and at the bases so if you stick to the sides and aim inwards you will get quite a few kills before getting noticed. To remain unnoticed for the longest possible time it is best to change positions every two to three kills. Another heavy kill zone is by the pelican. If you are sticking to the sides its best to avoid this area unless your packing heavy firepower.
- Vehicles are a large part of this map both as transportation and as killing machines but vehicles like the mongoose that are defenseless are not the best vehicles to take into battle. Also warthogs being that in a FFA game there is no second passenger to shot for you so they also lose effectiveness. Mongooses are better used as quick transports and then dismounted at the destination.
- The most effective weapons combinations on this map are heavy weapons such as the missile pod or sniper rifle with lighter but still very accurate weapons like the battle rifle. Generally short range combat won't occur except in the middle of the map where everyone seems to run into each other but even still the Battle Rifle is ranged enough that a assault rifle loses some of its effectiveness due to the bullets spread but a battle rifle is precise enough to get the kill.
- Due to all the ledges and outcroppings on Valhalla multiple enemies can be taken by surprise if you jump down from one of the ledges to land in the midst of the enemy. If your armed with a heavy weapon like the missile pod you can usually fire your missiles in a small spread and take out a grouping of enemies.
- Using rocks for cover in a firefight can give you the precious seconds you need to get your shield to repair itself. However if a enemy tries to follow you around a rock to finish off the kill a melee right to the face can even the odds.
- While this map does not come up in FFA playlists it does occur in custom games with various settings and knkowing the geography and how to take advantage of that can provide an advantage in any situation. Such as when going over the hill in the middle toss grenades by the rock croppings to flush out any enemies hiding it wait. Or if you are sure their is an enemy waiting for you crouch down and sneak around the side to get the drop on them.
- Even if you win a firefight against another enemy any around you will be quick to take advantage of your weak shields so never overlook the bubble shield even over something like the power drainer. Even if the enemy throws a bubble shield at you they cannot directly attack you in a bubble shield so if they try to come in and melee a quick melee in return can at worst cause a mutual beatdown or at best take out the enemy before they do anything.
- In FFA games like snipers or splasers which show up in a few playlists its best to find a good location and pop in and out and shot enemies as they expose themselves. If you keep rushing forward in game types like those you will time and time again get killed by enemies in more secure positions. However, no matter how secure your position is always look around and make sure nobody is sneaking up on you or moving around for a shot, if you stay in scope to long this is bound to happen eventually.
- When playing a objective game and attacking the enemies base, like coagulation you can go in from either the front the back or the top. Most people prefer to go in from the top because of the surprise factor but in actuality you lose a lot of surprise this way. Since there will be multiple defenders if it is CTF or assault going in from the top allows your enemy to see you before you see them, if even for a split second and you are for another split second disoriented which gives your enemy enough time to kill you. However, if you have grenades it can be a good idea to chuck them down into the base to distract the defenders but this will also put them on their guard. Going in from the sides means you can make a effective attack and draw back if the odds are against you. Also coming in from underneath can be effective if their is only one or two defenders as you can throw grenades through a small crack in between the top of the floor and the doorframe so they will land close to the defenders. However, be weary of the power drainer as more often than not the defender will be carrying one.
- When traversing across this map on foot its best to try and go along undetected, which isn't that hard given its size. If everyone travels separately the enemy will not find and eliminate everyone before they reach the other side of the map where the objective is. Inversely, if everyone travels together the enemy will be able to find you and see you but attacking and killing you all will be harder because of the combined firepower.
- In objectve games when trying to reach the enemy base to either plant a bomb or steal a flag a decoy often times works wonders to draw enemies away from the objective and allow your real attackers to steal the flag or plant the bomb.
- When playing either one sided CTF or multi-flag CTF one of the quickest ways to get in an early score is to rush through the side tunnels with a passenger in the mongoose and drive directly into the lower floor of their base crouching. Most of the enemies will have rushed out of the base to claim the middle and the weapons if you sneak past the defenses in the middle the base will more often than not be either empty or only have one or two underarmed people. Once you have the flag you have two escape routes. You can either go back the way you can in your mongoose (this is dependant on both teammates staying alive getting the flag) or going over the front or side mancannons. The mancannon you choose should be told to your teammates before you go over so they can shift their cover and protect the flag run back. Also sometimes they can provide a mongoose or warthog for quick transport back to the base.
- In assault gametypes, either neutral or one bomb one of the best tactics is to secure the bomb and bring it back to your own base and hide it either in the base or around it somewhere inconspicious and then attack the enemy for a minute or two to either beat them back or make them apprehensive as to the location of the bomb. Then once you have secured and opening through either Team BRing or killing them before they can enter their base to defend it via the warthog rush in with the bomb and you can get a quick score. Also if your strategy is truely working you can usually get the follow up scores within minutes because the enemy is frustrated and makes rash decisions.
