Sangheili Honor Guardsman

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"We have always been your protectors."

— Arbiter Thel 'Vadam talking to The Prophet of Truth

The Sangheili Honor Guardsman is a Covenant Sangheili position, serving as elite protectors to the Prophets.

Rank

Honor Guards protect the High Prophets and other high ranking officials in the Covenant High Council. The highly ornate armor of the Honor Guard is a glowing red, pink, and orange colored combination of jutting spikes and pauldrons, indicating that the Honor Guard is not only meant for combat, but is also a great position of pride and honor. They are the most skilled of warriors and are hand-picked for the duty of protecting the High Prophets, as well as members of the High Council, from any danger: if anyone pulls out a weapon in the presence of a Hierarch, the Honor Guard's immediate response is to defend the Prophet; meaning eliminating the threat. This can be seen slightly when the Arbiter ignites his Energy Swords in front of the Prophet of Regret. Also when Zhar attempts to kill Truth. In addition, they also keep order during important meetings within the High Council. Although a great honor, it is seen by some Elites as a merely ceremonial duty and a way to silence those who perhaps see a little too clearly in the Human-Covenant War.

It is unknown how an Honor Guard ranks in comparison to the normal chain of leadership, but it is assumed they are equivalent to an Ultra Elite, or slightly below the Arbiter. It seems that wherever a High Prophet is present, the Honor Guard are as well. There could be as many as 300 Honor Guard Sangheili for each Prophet, as the Step of Silence seems designed to hold 300 Honor Guards but only one Prophet. They are commanded by the more skilled Honor Guard Ultras.

Up until the Changing of the Guard, seen before the level Sacred Icon in Halo 2, these Sangheili were the personal bodyguards of the Prophet Hierarchy. The Jiralhanae replaced them after the death of the Prophet of Regret, in what many viewed as a carefully planned coup that devolved into the Civil War of the Covenant.

Combat

Honor Guard Elites' armor could take as much damage as that of a Major Elite. They carry ceremonial pikes, but in combat they often make use of Energy Swords, Plasma Rifles, or Carbines. They seem to dual wield plasma rifles more often than other Elite types. More wary and agile than the Brute Honor Guards, their speed and quick reflexes with the Energy Sword paired with their skill with the Plasma Rifles's rapid fire made them quite formidable foes.

Although their armor was removed from them during the Changing of the Guard, it seems several of the Elites were able to regain their armor from fallen enemies, as they wear them during the start of the Covenant Civil War on High Charity.

Appearances

Honor Guard Procession.

Honor Guard Elites stand on guard during the judgment of the Arbiter.

Honor Guards attacking Red Team in Halo Wars.

Elite Honor Guards were never shown in Halo: Combat Evolved or Halo 3. They only appear in a few levels within Halo 2, and are combatants in less.

• The Heretic - (cinematic only) When Thel 'Vadamee was questioned, there were many Honor Guards guarding the Hierarchs inside the Council Chamber.
• The Arbiter - (cinematic Only) When Tartarus brought Thel 'Vadamee to the Mausoleum of the Arbiters, it was guarded by Honor Guard Elites.
• Delta Halo - A small number of Honor Guard Elites attack the Master Chief in the final structure.
• Regret - Six Honor Guard Elites challenge the player in the underwater structure and also they come in unlimited waves inside the main temple where the Prophet of Regret takes refuge in.
• Sacred Icon - (cinematic only) Honor Guards and Honor Guard Ultras are seen surrendering their armor to the Brutes at the beginning of the level.
• Gravemind - As mentioned above, some Honor Guard Elites took back their armor and are encountered in High Charity while fighting the Brutes.

In addition, Honor Guard Elites are a playable unit in Halo Wars, and are the leader-specific unit of the Prophet of Regret. Honor Guards wield Energy Swords, and deal a tremendous amount of damage to infantry. They are trained directly from the Citadel.

Tactics

As with all Elites, the most efficient means of killing them is with the Noob Combo. Simply overcharge a Plasma Pistol and then fire a Battle Rifle or Covenant Carbine and land a headshot on them. For closer ranges, use the Battle Rifle (more damage dealt); for further ranges, use the Carbine to avoid the spread effect. Brute Shots also work to some extent but, in Legendary, are ultimately overpowered by the incredible rate of power and damage dealt of the Plasma Rifle. Specifically, for the instance at the end of the level Delta Halo in the cramped space, the easiest means of killing them is the Energy Sword, as the Elites can easily hide behind all the cover. Be wary though, as some of them have swords of their own.

Halo Wars

"Protect the Hierarch!"

— Honor Guard Elite

In Halo Wars they appear as a special forces unit, however, they are only available if the Prophet is the leader unit. Armed with Energy Swords, they are extremely effective against infantry and light vehicles like Warthogs and Wolverines, but are vulnerable to heavy vehicles and useless against air units. A good strategy would be to put Honor Guards with some Hunters and Grunt Squads for anti-vehicle and anti-air, respectivly. 

Resource: 125

Minimum Tech Level: 1

Population Count: 1

Upgrades:

• "Cloak": Enables an active camouflage cloak.
  • Resource: 500
  • Minimum Tech Level: 2

• "Personal Shield": Adds a personal energy shield.
  • Resource: 800
  • Minimum Tech Level: 3

Trivia

The Honor Guards in Halo Wars, protecting the High Prophet of Regret.

• There may be a Sub-rank known as the Honor Guard Minor, which may be Honor Guard Trainees. This possible rank could be seen in the Halo 2 game guide, and the "Monster" cinematic in Halo Wars.
• In Halo Wars, it is possible to see Honor Guards grab enemy infantry by the heel and throw them as a finishing move, along with other special killing moves.
• By buying the Limited Edition version of Halo Wars, one can obtain the Honor Guard Wraith as a playable unit.
• A Minor Elite with Honor Guard armor can be seen on page 110 in the Halo 2 Official Strategy Guide.
• Taking into account both the large number of Honor Guards killed in the initial actions (excluding pre-hostile actions) of the Covenant Civil War, plus the Flood infestation that then occurred, it is likely that, during and post Halo 3 that few, if any, Honor Guards remain. However, there are only two levels in Halo 3 where the Covenant are your allies, and a good number of other Elite ranks were not seen, the possibility exists that some Honor Guards may survive.
• In Halo Wars you may garrison Elite Honor Guards, but when doing so they have no attack, but can be used as lookouts.
• They were eventually replaced by the Brute Honor Guard just before the Great Schism.
• Honor Guard armor is one of the most wanted Halo 3 armor permutations wanted by gamers including the Councilor headdress, Ranger armor and the Arbiter's armor.
• Elite Honor Guards can attack garrisoned units in sniper towers much like the Arbiter they have no animation for it and just stand around the garrison spot damaging the garrisoned units.
• In Halo Wars the Honor Guards don't use ornamental armor pieces in cutscenes, only a crimson color like the Major Elite in Halo 3. In Skirmish and Campaign they wear the same armor that the Honor Guards do in Halo 2 and they wield Energy Swords as in the cutscenes they wield javelins.
• Occasionally the Honor Guards in Halo Wars encourage the Prophet of Regret to fight, yelling things like "Burn them Hierarch!".
• Throughout Halo Wars, the Sangheili Honor Guard has gone through numerous changes in armor appearance and details. In chronological order starting with the pre-Halo Wars trailers, the Honor Guardsman wore plain gray or silver armor and wielded ceremonial Energy Stave. However, in the Halo Wars cinematics/cutscenes, the Guardsman sport blood-red standard armor while still wielding their pikes/stave. But this is then questioned by the Halo Wars gameplay in which the Guardsman sport completely different armor and weaponry. These changes consist of wearing the updated(original) Halo 2 Honor Guardsman ceremonial attire with headdresses, ornaments, etc. as well as an Energy Sword to replace their "cinematic exclusive pikes/stave". This has led some fans to believe that the change of armor appearance in the game marked a time to update the Sangheili traditions or if the Guardsmen were simply inconsistent due to Ensemble's developing understand of Halo canon or if the inconsistency was intentional.
• Although in Halo 2 they are seen wielding an Energy Staves, they are never seen using them in-game.

Related Links

• Honor Guard Ultra
• Jiralhanae Honor Guardsman
• Honor Guard Councilor