The thrill of victory, the agony of defeat.
Yesterday, Scatcycle and I (assisted by Monx and Nader) labored to take advantage of the "Golden Opportunity" challenge and confirm whether some of the Banshee BOBs count for the challenge.
Long story short, we confirmed that the Banshee boosting out toward your Falcon at the beginning of Rally Point Bravo (7-B-01) counts for the challenge. Until I accidentally overwrote it, I even had video of the challenge notification popping up on my screen when I killed it. (Very sorry about that.) Scat and Monx can also vouch for this, as they also got the challenge using this "Bobshee" on Exodus.
After Scat noted that this BOB didn't spawn reliably, I postulated that there HAD to be at least one more BOB on Exodus. Every other level I have tested has worked this way. Well, I was right.
I sped through the entire level on Easy and saved the film. The known BOB at RP Bravo didn't spawn, so we knew there had to be another one in my saved film somewhere. After reviewing the film, Scat found ANOTHER constantly boosting Banshee after RP Alpha, as you exit the building and make your way outside to the second building's staircases. It spawns down at the cargo port area that you have to jetpack across, right behind the red loading cranes. It flies up and in between the buildings that you're moving between, then explodes as it reaches the top of the level.
Using a second profile, I was able to confirm that this Banshee also causes you to complete the "Golden Opportunity" challenge, and I managed to keep the video this time.
Video clip currently on our YouTube account:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i-YphsFMwuwAlthough this BOB was new to me and Scat, it was already documented on YouTube back in May. Here's the video link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FieFUo7-HrMI like to assign IDs to things, and BOBs are no exception. I dub this BOB 7-A-01. This follows the Standard Gaming Practice (SGP) for numbering BOBs based on the mission they occur in (7), followed by a code indicating the area within the mission (A = after Rally Point Alpha), followed by a simple sequence number in case we find more BOBs on Mission 7 after RP Alpha.
When you view your Post Game Carnage Report, the BOB appears as a Banshee kill. Killing the BOB increments your kill total by 2, though. In other words, if you add up each of the individual kills listed, the number will be less than the total number of kills you made when you select your name from the PGCR.
The reason for the discrepancy can be seen on your bungie.net game history entry for the game. On b.net, the BOB counts as both "Banshee-Vehicle" and "Covenant-Pilot". Much like friendly kills (such as Marines) are not itemized on the in-game PGCR, neither are Covenant Pilots. The difference between Marines and Covenant Pilots is that the PGCR includes the latter in your kill total. In other words, the same data is being reported a little differently online than it is in-game.
The big issue here is that no "Seek and Destroy" Bungie.net medal is awarded for either of these "Banshee BOBs" on Exodus. Without an "Elite Light Vehicle" appearing in the PGCR or an "Elite Ranger - BOB" appearing on b.net, there simply is no way to confirm that a destroyed Banshee is actually a BOB other than when it grants you the "Golden Opportunity" challenge. Eventually- when we're certain we have all the BOBs on Exodus accounted for- this won't matter. For now, it means we can only find "BOB candidates" to confirm later when the challenge appears again.
The good news is that we now have two confirmed BOB spawn points in Exodus. As we continue to save and review full Exodus game films on Easy, we'll be able to determine if there are even more.
Thanks to everyone who helped!!!
LLtSGP
