Halo is without a doubt an absolutely iconic franchise. It’s a game that’s so deeply rooted in the gaming community worldwide, it is still going strong years after its official debut. The series’ roots in popular science-fiction tropes and its throughly engrossing first-person shooter action make Halo one of the best franchises to dip into for newcomers and veterans alike.
However, Halo has changed a lot since the first game, Halo: Combat Evolved, released back in 2001. More specifically, enemy types in the series have evolved from their early beginnings. The different foes that Master Chief faces during his adventures are a part of what makes Halo so special for fans. Encounters with the Covenant and the Flood are just so memorable, you can’t help enjoying a drawn-out firefight with them. And the Halo series is home to some notoroiously tough enemies. Read on if you want to check out the most unbelievably powerful enemies in Halo.
Updated December 28, 2021 by Amanda Hurych: With the release of Halo Infinite, we’ve gotten a look at some interesting new enemy types. A couple of them have proven quite tough to take on. As fans have come to expect, part of the joy of playing Halo comes with tackling opponents who make you sweat through your clothes as you struggle to keep Master Chief alive. Thankfully, Halo Infinite continues this fine tradition!
10 Skimmers
Skimmers are a new alien species we are introduced to in Halo Infinite, and while at first blush they may seem like pushovers, they can very easily overwhelm you thanks to their numbers and their choice in weaponry. More often than not, Skimmers wield Dynamo grenades and Shock Rifles, both of which can drain Chief’s shields in an instant. And to make Skimmers even more interesting opponents, some of them also carry rocket launchers. Good luck tackling these fellows on Legendary!
9 Promethean Knights
Promethean Knights are one tough nut to crack. During combat encounters in both Halo 4 and Halo 5: Guardians, Knights are often surrounded by Promethean Crawlers and Watchers. This entourage makes it easier for Knights to relentlessly batter your shields. The difficulty in tackling a Promethean Knight is only enhanced in Halo 5: Guardians. In Guardians, you have to target two small points on the backs of their “shoulders” to bring them down. Not only that, but they have a nasty habit of teleporting into close quarters right when you’re trying to snipe them from a distance.
8 Elite Honor Guards
Every Halo fan knows that familiar feeling of your stomach dropping when you see an Elite approaching you with a vibrant Energy Sword crackling in their hand. From the first Halo game all the way to the latest, Elites with Energy Swords have been the cause of bowels dropping across the fandom. As soon as these Elites catch sight of you, they march toward you at a relentless pace. The most you can do to survive is back up and blast away at their shields until you can drop them. If you don’t do this quickly enough, you might end up within their reach. And as anyone who has played a Halo game knows, the reach of an Energy Sword is far indeed.
7 Sentinel Enforcers
Seen in Halo 2, the Sentinel Enforcers are no joke, and they end up feeling like mini boss encounters every time you meet one. A gargantuan shield covering their forward side means that you have to circle around them to do any damage.
Trying to do this while swarms of Sentinels hover over you and the Enforcer hurls energy projectiles in your general vicinity makes this a most difficult task. And while they were only seen in the second game in the mainline Halo series, the Enforcer made for a memorable opponent. Having one of these mechanical monstrosities looming over an open battlefield became almost as intimidating as seeing a Scarab.
6 Brute Chieftains
If an Elite with an Energy Sword doesn’t do you in, then a Brute Chieftain swinging a Gravity Hammer certainly will. With heftier shields than an Elite’s and a penchant to leap right on top of you, these Brutes mean business. In Halo 2, only Tartarus got to swing a Gravity Hammer. When Halo 3 rolled around, other Brutes got to accessorize with this deadly weapon as well. Campaign-ending impacts became the last thing you heard before the “whud” booted you back to your last save point. The inclusion of Brute Chieftains in Halo: Reach made many Firefight matches intense affairs, as groups of friends frantically concentrated fire on these rushing behemoths of doom. In addition to that, Halo Infinite added a ton of boss fights with various Chieftains, not the least of which is against Escharum, leader of the Banished.
5 Pure Flood Forms
When a Flood Infection Form comes in contact with a viable host, it turns them into Flood Combat Forms. These Combat Forms often take the shape of whatever host the Infection Form took over. This is why the outlines of Elites, Brutes, and humans are often seen in the shambling Combat Forms that attack you in Halo: Combat Evolved, Halo 2, and Halo 3.
However, Halo 3 introduced us to “pure” Flood forms. These ranged from mobile creatures that loped around taking swipes at Chief to tanky monsters that could kill you in one punch. On Legendary, these enemies could absolutely wreck you in an instant.
4 Harbinger
Halo Infinite truly does a fantastic job providing a challenge to long-time players by throwing boss fight after boss fight at Master Chief during his adventure on Zeta Halo. One of them is against the Harbinger, a member of a wholly new alien species to the series, the Endless. Not only is the Harbinger intriguing based on what she brings to the game’s lore, she’s also one tough nut to crack. She moves incredibly quickly and tosses energy blasts at the Chief if he gets too far. Your fight with her occurs during the end of Infinite, so you can bet it’s one you won’t forget.
3 Warden
If you tried playing Halo 5: Guardians on Legendary, you will remember the arduous encounters both Blue Team and Osiris had with the Warden. This Forerunner construct is a bullet sponge, and a beam of light from the Warden could send your Spartan sprawling. When Master Chief and his friends have to tackle three of them, it almost makes you want to throw up your hands and quit. Needless to say, we hope the Warden only makes limited appearances in Halo Infinite, if any at all.
2 Hunters
Playing Halo: Combat Evolved for the first time means that fear will come in the form of Hunters. Unlike other members of the Covenant seen up to that point, Hunters were uniquely large and fired explosive plasma bursts from their arm cannons. Always traveling in pairs, Hunters required precise aim to take out since most of their bodies were covered in thick armor. Even though their looks have only marginally changed from Halo game to Halo game, their status as powerful enemies in the Halo universe has not diminished.
1 Jackal Snipers
Before you laugh, just remember trying to play Halo 2 on Legendary with these critters scattered throughout a mission. Jackal Snipers are notorious for being one of the most impossible enemies in the Halo series. Able to kill you in a single shot and always located in tough-to-see spots, these Jackals are a nightmare to deal with. While it is laughably easy to deal with their shield-carrying brethren, Jackal Snipers apparently exist to take vengeance on any Halo 2 player who attempts to breeze through the campaign. The single glimmer of light given off by their headwear is the last thing you’ll see before their quick trigger finger sends a beam straight into the Master Chief’s skull.
