Normal

The Normal shield, as per Halo: The Master Chief Collection's release.

"Hordes of aliens vie to destroy you, but nerves of steel and a quick trigger finger give you a solid chance to prevail."

— Description from Halo: Combat Evolved, Halo 2, Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary, and Halo: The Master Chief Collection.

"Face firm resistance from competent, determined enemies, but burn through enough ammo and you will eventually triumph."

— Description from Halo 3, Halo 3: ODST and Halo: Reach

"Face firm resistance from determined enemies. Fight hard and you will triumph"

— Description from Halo 4

"Hordes of enemy forces converge to destroy you. Show no mercy. Recommended for players with first person shooter experience."

— Description from Halo 5: Guardians

"The enemy will not relent, but a considered strategy should earn you a victory. Recommended for players with RTS experience."

— Description from Halo Wars 2

Normal is the default difficulty rating on Halo: Combat Evolved, 2, 3, 4, Halo 3: ODST, Halo Wars, Halo: Reach, Halo 5: Guardians, and Halo Wars 2. It is ranked second in the list of four difficulties.

Summary

The original Normal shield.

Normal is not too hard, but not too easy. The enemies will not cower as much, and a few Grunts will throw Plasma Grenades. While Normal mode represents strength and health for Master Chief, Elites, and all other Covenant and Marines, intelligence, enemy accuracy, and enemy numbers are the most realistic in Heroic.

The icon for the Normal difficulty setting is represented with a shield that has the Marathon Logo encrusted into the center. Over the shield is a UNSC machete from right to left; in Halo 3: ODST, the knife is replaced with an M7S SMG.

The most dangerous things at close range are Elites with Energy Swords. From a distance, the player must also watch out for either Jackal Snipers with Beam Rifles or Crawler Snipes, Soldier Snipers, and/or Knight Lancers with Binary Rifles. Grunts are still very easy to dispatch of and will more often than not run away in fear if the Elite or Brute leading them is killed, which is also fairly easy. Drones, Promethean Watchers, Promethean Crawlers, and Jackals (with the exception of snipers for the latter two) are generally the second easiest to kill, even with their unique capabilities. Elites, Brutes, Hunters, Promethean Soldiers, and Promethean Knights are around the same overall in difficulty to kill. It mainly depends on a player's weaknesses as to which enemy is harder to kill.

When the player encounters the Flood, the biggest threats to consider are Combat Forms armed with Rocket Launchers and Shotguns. Plasma weapons can work well, but human weapons are preferred. The most effective weapon is the Energy Sword, which will kill a Combat Form in one hit. The second most effective is the Shotgun. The last most effective weapon is the Spiker. The Flood's unarmed attacks are not that worrying on their own, but if large groups attack the player or they gets hit from behind, then the player has an extremely high chance of being killed.

Marine allies have their own strengths and weaknesses. They can quickly gun down Grunts and Jackals, but will easily get overwhelmed by Brutes and higher ranking Elites. This will require players to prioritize on fighting the stronger enemies while having the allies focus on the weaker enemies.

Halo: Combat Evolved and Halo: Anniversary

Awards

• In Halo: Anniversary:
  • The Birth of a Spartan achievement is awarded for completing Halo: Anniversary on Normal.
  • The Standard Operating Brocedure achievement is awarded for completing a level of Halo: Anniversary on Normal, in cooperative play.
• In Halo: The Master Chief Collection:
  • The Birth of a Spartan achievement is awarded for completing Halo: Anniversary on Normal.
    • The blue Normal nameplate is awarded to the player.
  • If the player has completed all other Normal campaign missions or playlists and obtained the associated achievements, they will also unlock the Veteran achievement.
    • Additionally, the platinum Normal nameplate is awarded to the player.

Halo 2

Awards

• In Halo 2: Vista:
  • The Warrior achievement is awarded for completing the game on Normal.
• In Halo: The Master Chief Collection:
  • The Warrior achievement is awarded for completing the game on Normal.
    • The bronze Normal nameplate is awarded to the player.
  • If the player has completed all other Normal campaign missions or playlists and obtained the associated achievements, they will also unlock the Veteran achievement.
    • Additionally, the platinum Normal nameplate is awarded to the player.

Halo 3 and Halo 3: ODST

The Halo 3: ODST Normal shield.

Awards

• In Halo 3:
  • Completing Tsavo Highway on Normal will unlock the EVA chest for multiplayer use.
  • Completing The Ark on Normal will unlock the EVA shoulders for multiplayer use.
  • Completing the campaign on Normal will unlock the EVA helmet for multiplayer use.
  • The Campaign Complete: Normal achievement is awarded for completing the game on Normal.
• In Halo 3: ODST:
  • The Campaign Complete: Normal achievement is awarded for completing the game on Normal.
• In Halo 3 on Halo: The Master Chief Collection:
  • The Prophet's Bane achievement is awarded for completing all levels of Halo 3 on Normal.
    • The silver Normal nameplate is awarded to the player.
  • If the player has completed all other Normal campaign missions or playlists and obtained the associated achievements, they will also unlock the Veteran achievement.
    • Additionally, the platinum Normal nameplate is awarded to the player.
• In Halo 3: ODST on Halo: The Master Chief Collection:
  • The Urban Warfare Badge achievement is awarded for completing all levels of Halo 3: ODST on Normal.
    • The silver Superintendent nameplate is awarded to the player.

Halo: Reach

The Halo: Reach Normal shield. Notice the lack of the Marathon symbol.

Awards

• The The Soldier We Need You To Be achievement is awarded for completing Halo: Reach on Normal.

Halo 4

Awards

• In Halo 4:
  • The Wake Up, John achievement is awarded for completing Halo 4 on Normal.
• In Halo: The Master Chief Collection:
  • The Wake Up, John achievement is awarded for completing Halo 4 on Normal.
    • The gold Normal nameplate is awarded to the player.
  • If the player has completed all other Normal campaign missions or playlists and obtained the associated achievements, they will also unlock the Veteran achievement.
    • Additionally, the platinum Normal nameplate is awarded to the player.

Halo 5: Guardians

The Halo 5: Guardians Normal shield.

General differences

• Promethean Crawlers' built-in Boltshots start exhibiting tracking behavior.

Awards

• The Legacy achievement is awarded for completing Halo 5: Guardians on Normal.

Halo Wars 2

The Halo Wars 2 Normal shield.

Trivia

• In Halo 3, Normal difficulty or higher is required for the player to collect skulls.
• Halo Wars and Halo Wars 2 are some of the only Halo titles to not include achievements for completing the campaign on Normal.