Editing Skull

{{Status|Gameplay}}

{{New content|[[Halo: The Master Chief Collection]]}}

{{Wikipedia}}

{{Article quote|Standard issue information storage and sensory group housing.}}

[[File:Skull.png|thumb|200px|The skull in ''Halo: Reach''.]]

The '''skull''' is a bony structure in the head of many creatures that supports the structures of the face and protects the brain from injury. It is composed of two parts, the cranium and the mandible.

 

Human skulls have several meanings, with the most widespread one representing death and mortality.

{{Main|Halo 2 skulls|Halo 3 skulls|Halo Wars skulls|Halo: Reach skulls|Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary skulls|Halo 4 skulls|Halo: Spartan Assault skulls|Halo: The Master Chief Collection skulls|Halo 5: Guardians skulls|Halo Wars 2 skulls|Halo Infinite skulls}}

Skulls were introduced as gameplay-modifying in-game items in ''[[Halo 2]]''. Skulls featured in ''Halo 2'' are more like [[easter eggs]] than actual features—although they do affect gameplay dynamically, they are hidden and not entirely well known to every player, and not essential to a campaign's gameplay experience. Once a skull is found in ''Halo 2'', it can be wielded as a melee weapon, but does the same amount of damage a normal melee with a standard weapon would do (excluding the fatality of a sword lunge). There is one skull in every level other than the level ''[[Outskirts]]''.

Skulls in ''Halo 3'' are hidden throughout the campaign as they are in ''Halo 2'', but are separated into two different types (silver and gold) and are incorporated into gameplay as score multipliers. Gold skulls represent skulls that amplify and modify scores in campaign levels, and silver skulls represent those that change the game in humorous ways, except for the Blind Skull which changes the dynamics of the player's HUD. Both silver and gold skulls augment the player's score throughout the campaign. Once a skull is found, it can be wielded as a melee weapon just as it could in ''Halo 2''. Skulls are only found on the [[Normal]], [[Heroic]], and [[Legendary]] difficulties. Finding all skulls will unlock the [[Hayabusa]] [[Armor customization (Halo 3)|armor permutation]]. Skulls are also featured in ''[[Halo 3: ODST]]'' in both campaign and multiplayer ([[Firefight]] remains the sole multiplayer function for ''ODST''), and are separated into gold and silver as they were in ''Halo 3''. The skulls in ''ODST'' remain the same in concept, name, and function as they were in ''Halo 3'', but are not hidden in campaign levels as they were in the previous installments. Skulls can be activated in a special menu before the game starts, similar to ''Halo 3'', and also feature the separation of skulls into both gold and silver types that function almost the same as they did in ''Halo 3''. Gold skulls modify score, and silver skulls only modify the game itself in humorous ways — both of which retain the names, design, and properties as they did in ''Halo 3''.  

Skulls required to be found and claimed in campaign returns in ''[[Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary]]''. Since [[343 Industries]] wanted to preserve the original ''[[Halo: Combat Evolved]]'' experience, most of these skulls will not change gameplay dramatically. Due to this, only a few skulls featured in previous games have returned, and most of the newly-introduced skulls do not alter the core gameplay. Just like the new [[Terminal (Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary)|Terminals]], skulls and their effects do not appear in Classic mode.<ref>[http://ie.ign.com/videos/2011/08/27/halo-fest-halo-anniversary-campaign-discussion '''IGN:''' ''Halo Anniversary Campaign Discussion Panel'']</ref>

The in-game model of the skull itself is from ''Halo: Combat Evolved''<nowiki />'s early development: when the player goes to rescue [[Captain (Navy)|Captain]] [[Jacob Keyes]] in the level [[Keyes]] and discovers that he has been consumed by the [[Flood]], the [[John-117|Master Chief]] was to burn through the [[Proto-Gravemind]] biomass and pull out Keyes' skull to get his neural implants. However, this was cut due to the [[M7057 Defoliant Projector|Flamethrower]] being removed and likely because the burnt skull was too disconcerting to present in the game as well. [[Lorraine McLees]] was originally tasked with designing the burnt skull. Other [[Bungie]] members claimed that she had done her job so well that "the skull was so gruesome no one could look at it."<ref>'''[[The Art of Halo]]''', ''page 140''</ref>

The [[Sangheili|Elite]] skull was used as an indicator for [[Legendary]] difficulty settings in the [[Halo Trilogy]] and ''[[Halo: Reach]]''. The Legendary difficulty icon was changed to that of a human skull in ''[[Halo 3: ODST]]'', and later a [[Promethean]] one in ''[[Halo 4]]''.

*In ''Halo 2'', the Blind Skull can be used to make the player's weapon and Heads-Up-Display disappear. A [[Command Neural Interface]] resembling that of Captain Keyes, can be seen on the base of the skull.

*The ''Halo Wars 2'' skull Total Annihilation could be a reference to the other real-time strategy game with the same name.

<gallery widths="175">

File:H3-Skull.png|A skull as it appears in ''Halo 3''.

File:H3-Skull-Brute.png|The skull of a [[Jiralhanae|Brute]] as seen in the ''Halo 3'' campaign level [[Cortana (level)|Cortana]].

File:Halo 3 - Legendary Symbol.png|The [[Sangheili|Elite]] skull featured for [[Legendary]] difficulty in the [[Halo universe|original ''Halo'' trilogy]].

File:H3 Icon Skull-Silver.png|A silver skull menu icon from ''Halo 3''.

File:H3 Icon Skull-Gold.png|A gold skull menu icon from ''Halo 3''.

File:HR Achievement A Monument to All Your Sins.png|A human skull featured on the Legendary Alone completion achievement in ''[[Halo: Reach]]''.

File:Grunt Funeral Skull.png|The Grunt funeral skull menu icon in ''[[Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary]]''.

File:HINF Halo-ween.png|''[[Halo Infinite]]'' artwork of a headless Spartan holding the Oddball skull.

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[[Category:Collectibles]]