Arena 1: Sandy, sunny and at some point with low visibility, the first area of the Hab Centre Assault mode is small with little next to no relief spots (the little spaces and areas you can reach to evade large groups of enemies) and if you're not careful, you can get swamped by excess sluggas and shoota boys. Fast. For the first arena, choosing the right class and loadout is crucial to success. Further down the track of this guide I will explain the appropriate class and loadout for the first arena of Hab Centre Assault...

Firstly, I should make it clear right away that you will need either Swordsman's zeal/Powerswordman's zeal (it doesn't matter which one you get or already have but power swords are pretty! And nowhere near as noisy.)

Class and loadout: Now I've tried both the Devastator and Tactical class with specialised loadouts and perks - neither work. In fact the only class that works for this arena is Assault. As I mentioned above, you will need the zeal perks for either the chainsword or powersword, obviously for this level you will be deploying either of those two weapons. In addition to the primary zeal perk, you will then need to select the Impenetrable perk, which will be invaluably useful later on in the arena.

• First wave: Fairly straightfoward. Rok lands, orks and gretchin spill out of it and begin the attack. Slugga boys are easily dispatched, even moreso with gretchin. Using the stun ground stomp combo is particularly effective, taking out the gretchin while the slugga boys are stunned, you don't even need Sure Strike for this, thankfully. For me the first wave is quick, short and easy to get through but overconfidence can kill in this game.

• Second wave: Pretty much the same deal as the first wave except this time shoota boys will join the fight in abundance. Take out the inevitable excess of sluggas and then once you've cleared the immediate group of them, make a jump and strike directly towards the shoota boys. If you're overcome, waste no time in eliminating the shoota boys before grinding through the mass of slugga boys. There is one safe zone that ensures a few second's relief from both sluggas and shootas, situated by the left side of the naturally formed ramp which you can reach the top of, and gun down or hack through the slowly advancing orks that clamber up from the bottom. Fit yourself in the little space for some respite but if you're in a position that forces you to recover from battle then there will be enough orks to make sure you dont fully recover lost health and shielding anyway. All in all it really does just come down to your own skills and creativity in surviving combat against the greenskins.

• Third wave: If you manage to get this far, you need to understand just one thing once you start capping the point for this wave: Once you start swinging your sword, do not stop swinging. As you stand on the point you'll see an absolute horde of orks quickly close in on your position. Before two or three of them make it to close combat distance, put a few bolt rounds in them quickly and precise. Don't worry about killing them, because one or two shots to an ork slugga will guarantee a one hit kill with any melee weapon. As more ork boys run to the fight you will notice shoota boys coming from two ends of the area. This is where the Impenetrable perk shines, because without it, the following technique to survive this brief period of brutality just won't be enough. The trick is, as you're being shot at by ork guns is to continue hacking through the mess of sluggas BUT as you proceed in the attack combo you have to make sure you dont make that fourth and most powerful swing. Instead, use the WASD keys to instantly lock onto another few orks behind or beside you, and don't worry about being killed while doing this as the supply of orks to kill and regain health is seemingly unlimited. At this point your shields will most definitely be down so it's important to keep swinging and do not stop, not to stun the orks or even to jump out of the combat to recover. You'll be much worse off if you do. (Unless a grenade is thrown at you, in which case you should jump up to escape the blast and target the nearest group of shootas.) Fortunately this point is actually quite fast to capture so all you need to do is play by this little method I learnt in my own time of soloing the arena. After the point is taken, the rest is child's play.

• Fourth wave: The capture point is done, you can rest easy. But you will still have plenty more orks to deal with. My conclusion to this wave is that it's a more hardcore version of the second wave. As well as the first safe zone I mentioned, another is the atop the high rising pipeline above which ensures relief from sluggas, but not so much with shoota boys.

• Fifth wave: The last wave is, approrpiately the most life-threatening. Initially it's easy to get through, but from what I remember, there are probably more shoota boys in this wave than any other wave of this arena. And then there are the shoota nobs. These big boys can easily kill you if you let them (which is extremely infuriating to have happen when you've come all this way) but are easy to kill, themselves. Their big shootas can crack open your shields in a matter of seconds so use the environment effectively and if possible always stay out of their field of fire unless going in for the kill. As well as keeping an eye out for the nobs, don't forget of the occasional horde of slugga boys and those pesky shoota boys as well. If your skills are up to the task, you'll get through this entire arena with relative ease.

Arena 2: The layout of this arena is easily understood, complete with three ramps that extend from a centralised giant block with a monument of a techpriest set in the middle. These ramps can be used to your advantage, as it's generally known that the orks will follow you where ever you go, and sometimes to do that they have to stay on the same level as you. Stand on one of the ramps and the greenskins will be forced to make their way onto the ramp as well (unless they're already on it of course.) Likewise if you stand underneath one of the concrete ramps, the orks will follow and attack you under it. This strategy of constantly switching from above and beneath the ramps is useful for surviving the green tide that will quickly start the battle against you, but obviously the most efficient way of utilising this strategy is by playing the Assault class. Unlike the previous arena, arena 2 features, in addition to sluggas and shoota boys, you will encounter skar boys, 'ard boys and rokkit boys. Oh and squigs. The fun never ends!

Class and loadout: For me, the only class that works in the second arena is, again, Assault. However the loadout is different from the previous one mentioned. The changes in the deployment of wargear are the power axe instead of the chainsword/powersword, plasma pistol in place of the bolt pistol, Axeman's zeal and instead of impenetrable I instead select Sure strike. If you ask me about it, I'll say that Sure strike is imperative to properly dealing with both skar and 'ard boys without recieving fatal wounds. The power axe is slow but once this baby starts going it never stops mowing (that sounded better before I typed it.) By that I mean that the attack combos of the power axe are hugely destructive to basic ork units - considering you're able to maintain the full combo. The main threat in this arena is not exactly the ranged units but the 'ard boys. They are the nemesis of the power axe because the axe is slow and you have to make sure the 'ard boy is constantly stunned or weathering unceasing attacks or else he'll just bash you with his shield and disrupt the entire process. We'll get to dealing with these annoying buggers later on. Please be aware that the only reason I choose the axe over the swords is because not only is it's basic attack more effective against groups, but it's power stun move is awesome against stunning unscathed orks and killing the ones that took hits prior.

• First wave: Once you've deployed from the start area, you'll probably notice two 'ard boys spawn with a small score of slugga boys. You can do what I do and immediately take out the two shielded greenskins but be aware that there are a vast number of more sluggas making their way to you as you do this. I don't believe the prime safe zones in this map are obvious, so I will describe their positions. The best one is ontop of the building type thing where the majority of the orks will spew out of from small dark entrance ways. The other is directly opposite to the first, you'll have to make a carefully planned jump but I think once you know where it is, it's easy to reach. It's the same deal as before, let fury guide your blade/axe and if need be, fly to the safe zones for relief.

• Second wave: This time round you'll have to deal with more ranged attacks than you had to with close combat previously. The shoota and rokkit boys will emerge from the far end of the arena, to the left of the finishing blastdoor. A good way of dealing with the bulk of these enemies is to strike down directly into the group of ranged attackers as they spawn from the entrance ways and take them out as quick as you can. In addition to these there will be an ample supply of sluggas, skar and 'ard boys as well so keep your eyes open for them. Again, use the safe zones to recover from any close calls and if the situation permits it, go take out a few rokkit boys. You'll be glad you did. A hugely useful tactic is to jump up to the first safe zone as the full number of orks have spawned, and they'll congregate beneath you in a massive group. When you see they've all stuffed themselves into the little interior area beneath the safe zone, jump over the small gate on the edge of the roof, charge the plasma pistol and fire the charged shot into the mass of greenskins, also if you're quick you can throw a grenade in there directly after you let off the pistol shot. You can use this method in all the waves except for the third.

• Third wave: I'll assume that for most people who've tried soloing this arena, once they get to the third wave it's all over for them. But not anymore! The first time I discovered this was when I was soloing the third wave of this arena, and accidently landed a little off of the point and nearly fell off the left edge of the ramp. (Not the side facing the spawnpoint for the shoota boys, the other side.) As I landed, the orks began to spawn and I didn't have any hope of getting through the wave, but I noticed that instead of rallying to my position, they instead made their way underneath the ramp on which I was standing. The first group of orks all stood there beneath me as I capped the point with absolutely no opposition whatsoever. I will however add that you have to make sure to stand in the right place to get this to work, and even I haven't perfected this strategy but when it works you'll sure be glad that it did. Once the point is captured, you can proceed as usual and dispatch the greenskins.

• Fourth wave: This wave is virtually the same as the second, but this time as if the horde of orks wasn't enough, squigs will spawn from the easternmost end of the map. Typically with other players, I stand beside the statue that sits in the middle of the map and take out the squigs while my battle-brothers deal with the green horde elsewhere around me. Obviously when soloing, you will not have such a luxury. Jump strikes will have to be carefully planned, and even making your way around the area will need to be done with foresight lest you become swamped by orks and have a few squigs blow up and finish you off. Again, you can use the trick of jumping from the highest raised safe zone and throwing explosives and letting off a charged plasma shot into the great mass of greenskins beneath, this time with an added effect. The explosion from the thrown grenade will also set off the squigs that stand amidst the orks, increasing the effect of the blast.

• Fifth wave: From what I remember, the last wave is fairly simple to understand; a huge variety of foes to kill. Trust in your wargear and use those safe zones!

As for the next arenas, no amount of skill or luck will assure your survival. But I believe that playing solo two arenas is enough entertainment for one sitting.

Ok I've resolved to just keep this short and to the point because trailing out all this writing is terribly boring: If you're good enough to survive on your own in Hab Centre Assault then you shouldn't have any trouble getting through the first arena of the Chaos Invasion. I contend that this game mode is easier than the original as you have two sets of enemies to face, and if you're not directly engaged they will fight each other. Fighting through three whole waves of imperial guardsmen and the occasional sanctioned psykers, ork sluggas and shootas is fairly simple stuff, but on the fourth wave you have a capture point to take. To see yourself through this trial of constantly hacking away at imperial guard sergeants and melta gunners, you will need to deploy as Raptor and the following:

• Swordsman's Zeal/Powerswordsman's Zeal OR Axeman's Zeal.

As for the second perk, you don't really need to worry about it as much as you with choosing a zeal perk. (I myself favour Sure Strike because the chainaxe's stunning ground strike is just so brutally effective with it.)

Once you're on the point, you'll see small groups of guardsmen approaching your position from left and right. At this time I resolve to lob a grenade each at these two offensive parties. After they've been either killed or disrupted, guardsmen armed with grenade launchers and psykers will spawn not far from the capture point, and in addition there will be a sizable group of sergeants with chainswords will seemingly come from nowhere and attack you with disrupting strikes. The only thing you really need to worry about at this point is the grenade's being launched at you, and the sergeants. Thankfully, the blast radius of the grenades that are launched are rather small and you can easily move from one side of the capture point's diameter to avoid the explosions. The sergeants are more easily taken out with the chainaxe than chainsword/powersword but if you want quicker health replenishment, swords are the way to go. After a short time the point should be captured and you are once again free to exploit the environment to launch destructive strikes from air.

The fifth and final wave consists of the usual ork units, and also skar boys and tactical space marines just before the wave's end. The only thing to look out for before the space marines deploy into the battle is those darn shoota boys. As you probably know already, all it takes is just three of them to strip down your shields in a matter of seconds, although the Impenatrable perk might help a bit with this. Taking out the bulk of the shoota boys helps a great deal in maintaining shields while jumping to the skies and delivering deathblows to enemies below. Regarding the space marines, their spawn times can catch you off guard and it's the absolute worst when you're fighting off the remainder of the skar boys with your shields down and half your health left and then the marines deploy and finish you off. Use as much cover as is required and let your hand be quick and precise in destroying the enemy. After finishing off the last enemy, you'll find that the first arena of Chaos Invasion is actually so easy to solo.