They stated it was not possible and, for practically twenty years, that appeared to be the case. However final night time, a streamer named Jervalin beat Halo 2’s “LASO deathless” problem, incomes a cool $20,000 within the course of. Discuss ending the battle.

Let’s rewind. Earlier this summer time, the YouTuber Charles “Cr1tikal” White Jr. posted a $5,000 bounty to beat Halo 2 on the very best problem setting, with each bonus problem modifier turned on, with out dying. Within the 18 years since Halo 2’s 2004 launch on Xbox, nobody had ever revealed proof of finishing the problem. White’s problem stipulates that the entire run is streamed, both on YouTube or Twitch. By July, nobody had efficiently stepped as much as the plate, so final month, White tacked an additional $15,000 onto the bounty.

Most observers maintaining tabs on the problem had their cash on Jervalin—a comparatively personal streamer who’s picked up a modest following for setting world data on a wide range of Halo challenges—being the primary particular person to finish it. Positive sufficient, late final night time, he crossed the end line. (Right here’s the archived stream.)

Neither White nor Jervalin could possibly be reached for remark in time for publication.

Jervalin was remarkably chill for ending what some individuals, together with White Jr., have known as the “hardest problem in all of gaming,” addressing viewers within the even-handed tone you’d use whereas shifting on to the subsequent addendum in a principally empty neighborhood board assembly.

“All proper, chat,” he stated. “I feel we did it. I feel we fucking did it. Think about that. Two years in the past, I stated, ‘I feel that is not possible.’ Think about fucking that.”

Whether or not or not Halo 2’s “LASO deathless” problem actually is the “hardest … in gaming” is, in fact, a subjective measure. Nevertheless it’s positively up there. You must activate all the sport’s skulls, or gameplay modifiers that usually ramp up the problem. The Catch cranium, as an illustration, makes enemies toss grenades extra steadily. Famine, in the meantime, means enemies drop half the ammo they often would. Mythic doubles the well being of all enemies, whereas Indignant will increase the enemy’s hearth fee. Blind removes your HUD. Assassins turns enemies invisible. (It’s not technically all skulls, nonetheless. For the problem, Envy is left off, as a result of that one grants you invisibility too, which doesn’t make Halo 2 harder, for apparent causes.) All collectively, once you flip each cranium on and play on Legendary, the sport’s highest problem setting, you kind of create a set of circumstances that ensures you die immediately in the event you take any harm.

Jervalin had to rely on a few exploits to finish the challenge. To wit: He brought a banshee, a violet-colored aerial vehicle with a powerful cannon, into the final boss fight against Tartarus on the “Great Journey” level. That final fight takes place on a series of circumferential platforms hovering over an abyss. With pinpoint precision, he used the banshee’s cannon to send waves of foes careening off the edge as they spawn—before they get a chance to really even fight.

I’ve been covering the Halo community for a while now, and can’t recall a time where I’ve seen players pretty unanimous in an opinion, let alone a positive one. Sure, Halo Infinite, the latest game in the series, has its issues, which gamers will not be shy about criticizing. However there stays a reverence amongst even the most important names for Bungie’s authentic video games from the mid-2000s, and the mind-bogglingly spectacular feats gamers are capable of pull off.

The run garnered reward from Halo streamers like Remy “Mint Blitz” and Luc “HiddenXperia.” Emanuel Lovejoy, the coach for Cloud 9, arguably one of the best skilled Halo workforce on the planet proper now, known as Jervalin a “legend.” So did Spacestation Gaming’s UberNick. The Halo professional Kyle Elam famous how yesterday’s scrims—principally, matches between professional gamers that don’t rely towards the official seasonal file—have been placed on pause so gamers may collectively watch Jervalin get it carried out. “Gonna want Jervalin to make a Twitter so we are able to truly @ this legend [clapping hands emoji],” Halo esports analyst and caster Alexander “Shyway” Hope stated. It has been a real delight to witness such common acclaim from all corners of the neighborhood.

However probably the most heartwarming second—the form of second that proves this, not the toxicity that inhales a lot oxygen out of the room, is what video video games are all about—occurred within the remaining seconds of the stream: Jervalin’s household runs into the stream, embracing him in an nearly suffocatingly tight bear hug. $20,000 is good. That’s nicer.