This Halo: Reach PC mod lets you fight humans in Firefight

Halo: Reach on PC has only been out for just a few weeks, but it's already home to a variety of incredible mod projects. From the ability to play as Marines to an AI spawn menu in Forge, the Halo community has been hard at work creating new gameplay experiences for people to enjoy. One such project is "UNSC Firefight," a mod that swaps the Covenant out for human soldiers in Firefight. Here's what the mod does specifically, as well as how to install it.

What does the mod do?

This mod by 101stephen101 completely overhauls Halo: Reach's Firefight horde mode by putting you in the shoes of an Elite and replacing all Covenant enemies with UNSC soldiers and vehicles. These range from civilians armed with handguns to Spartans with power weapons and each type of trooper you encounter will pose a unique type of threat. In addition, ordnance drops in-game will be Covenant weapons, and the vehicles usually available for players to use, such as Warthogs, are replaced with Covenant vehicles. The loadouts you can choose from aren't Covenant focused, but you can manually create some Covenant-themed ones in the game options.

Currently, the mod only works on three maps: Beachhead, Corvette, and Waterfront. However, the mod author has stated that all of the Firefight maps in the game will be supported soon.

How to install the mod

Installing UNSC Firefight is easy and painless. All you need to do is replace the vanilla Firefight .map files with the modded ones.

First off, you need to download the mod files and navigate to your Halo: Reach maps folder. Here's how:

1. Go to this page and download the mod files.
2. Extract the files to your Desktop.
3. Open up a separate File Explorer tab, and navigate to the drive you installed Steam on.
4. Select the Program Files (x86) folder.
5. Select the Steam folder.
6. Select the steamapps folder.
7. Select the common folder.
8. Go into the Halo The Master Chief Collection folder.
9. From there, go to the haloreach folder.
10. Select the maps folder.

Now that you've gotten the mod files and have the Halo: Reach maps folder open, you want to create a backup of the vanilla files, so you don't have to redownload them from Steam later if you want to go back to normal Firefight. Once that's done, your final step will be to replace the vanilla files in the Halo: Reach maps folder with the modded ones. Here's how to do all of that:

1. In the maps folder, look for the names of the .map files that match the ones you downloaded from the mod page.
2. Right-click the files and select Copy.
3. In a separate folder of your choosing, select Paste.
4. Select all of the modded .map files you downloaded.
5. Right-click and Copy them.
6. In your maps folder, right-click empty space and select Paste.
7. When prompted (see above), select Replace the files in the destination.

And with that, you're all done and are ready to take on the might of the UNSC! Make sure to run the game in Anti-Cheat Disabled Mode, or otherwise, the mod won't work.

If you own the Windows 10 Store version of Halo: Reach on PC, make sure to follow this guide from the helpful Halo community on how to get access to your files. The installation process for this mod is identical for Windows 10 Store users, with the only difference being where you'll need to go in order to find your Halo Master Chief Collection game directory and Halo: Reach map folder.

Your thoughts

What do you think of UNSC Firefight? Personally, I think it's an excellent mod since battling against UNSC AI is something we've never been able to do in a Halo game before, aside from the Marines in Halo 5 Warzone.

Halo: Reach on PC is available now for $10 on both Steam and the Windows 10 Store.