[29] In contrast to the sleek Elite-based designs of the Covenant at large, the Brutes were given their own visual design distinct from the other Covenant. They are taller, stronger, and hairier than the Elites, who are their primary rivals for rank and office within the Covenant hierarchy.

They are usually lightly armed with relatively low-power weapons, but may throw grenades as well. Shield or armor colors denotes the rank of each caste. Shotguns are also effective at close range, and like the sniper rifle, a shot in the arm will kill the Jackal. [36] As a defensive measure, the UNSC creates the "Cole Protocol"; human ships are prohibited from directly traveling to human worlds to avoid detection by the Covenant, and destruction of a ship's navigation databases and artificial intelligence if threatened with capture. With the Covenant destroyed,[2][3][4] its former members create new factions with differing ideologies. A detachment of Covenant follow the human vessel Pillar of Autumn from Reach to Halo, a ring-shaped Forerunner relic that the Covenant believe sacred. The Elites, outraged, threaten to resign from the Covenant high council; in turn the Prophets give the Brutes carte blanche to kill the Elites, sparking a civil war. After the Flood controlled High Charity arrives at the Ark, the Arbiter and Master Chief decide to activate a partially built Halo ring (the replacement for the ring that the Master Chief destroyed in the first game) destroying the Flood and sparing the rest of the galaxy.

They are stocky, possessing both an arthropod-like exoskeleton and a spinal-based nervous system. They are usually lightly armed with relatively low-power weapons, but may throw grenades as well. [19] The characters were also designed to be feeble, yet sinister. For the final installment in the Halo trilogy, Halo 3, designers had to refine the Covenant for the move to the more powerful Xbox 360 hardware. Realizing such a revelation would splinter the Covenant, the newly crowned Hierarchs decide to obliterate the humans instead and declare that a new Age of the Covenant has begun.[35]. The Jackal Snipers' targeting headgear is now much larger and more visible. In the novel First Strike, The Master Chief, survivors of the Autumn and surviving Spartans from Reach destroy a Covenant fleet they learn is preparing to strike Earth, and race home to warn of the impending attack. Their occupations in the Covenant military are often explicitly ranked; they are commonly specialists such as pilots, long-range snipers, grenadiers, or assassins, and their rank or unit may be distinguished by the color or appearance of their body armor, headgear, or weaponry.

A weapons expert noted parallels between the Needler and ancient Greek Amazons painting their daggers pink as a psychological weapon in an issue of gaming magazine Electronic Gaming Monthly.

The use of marksmen Jackals changes the game drastically, because up until now, all Covenant fighters were close range fighters, none of whom carried scoped weapons, and now the Covenant are utilizing tactics seen in Human warfare, in this case, more ranged combat. For the Covenant, the team decided on "sleek and shiny", with reflective surfaces, organic shapes, and heavy use of blues and purples. Depicted as squat and cowardly fighters, Grunts are low-ranking front-line soldiers usually encountered in numbers and often in units presided over by an Elite or Brute commander. Unggoy have methane suits that allow them to remove the breathing apparatuses they usually wear to sustain them in non-methane atmospheres.

The Covenant claim that humans are an offense to their gods, but in reality, three Covenant Prophets have learned from a relic left by their gods, the Forerunners, that humans, who may possibly be genetically related to the Forerunners, have been chosen by the Forerunners as their Reclaimers. From this point onward, the Covenant ceased to exist.[2][3][4]. They are enormously strong, fast, and agile as well as gifted battlefield tacticians, easily matching or surpassing the Master Chief in these respects.

Blue Team and Fireteam Osiris also faced the scattered remnants of Jul's faction on the Forerunner planet of Genesis who were accidentally transported there by Guardians.[42][43]. TYPES. Jackals, or Kig-Yar, are a species originating from the moon of Eayn, orbiting Chu'ot. Inspired by Bungie animators watching biker films, Brutes incorporate simian and ursine elements while retaining an alien look.

In The Fall of Reach, a lone Covenant ship bombards the Harvest colony with plasma, turning the planet's crust into molten glass. Although they were originally created to maintain ancient Forerunner technology, they were eventually enslaved by the Covenant to build and maintain their technology.

Noble Team, a composition of Spartan super soldiers, defend the human planet of Reach against the Covenant's military invasion in a losing battle. Kig-yar Flood combat forms are introduced. [1] The Covenant are ultimately defeated during the final battle of the war set on the Ark, a Forerunner world, in Halo 3.