Template:Covenant Rank Infobox
- "The only thing worse than Jackals are Jackals with sniper rifles!"
- — Marine about Jackal Snipers
Jackal Snipers are the most unusual of their species, and were first seen in Halo 2. Unlike standard infantry Jackals, Jackal Snipers do not use Jackal Personal Arm Shields, as they are unwieldy for snipers, and block their views (though they are seen with one in Halo 3 Template:Fact). They wield long range weaponry, serving as the Covenant's answer to the UNSC Marine sharpshooters. They are usually hidden and are only noticed when the laser from their Beam Rifles or Carbine hits a target, or they are given away by the purple light on their mask; also, when they turn on their Beam Rifles a shining sound is heard.
Jackal Snipers are very different from all the other types of Jackals. Jackal Snipers do not use the Energy Shields they wear but instead they use both hands to wield the Beam Rifle or a Carbine, leaving the shield off (oddly, they still wear the gauntlet). The Covenant Beam Rifle is a very powerful sniper weapon; it may take your shields down in Easy or Normal but in Heroic or Legendary, the Beam Rifle may only take one shot to end the life of a player. Jackal Snipers are not like the regular Jackals; they do not keep shooting if you are close, but instead drop their Beam Rifle, draw out a Plasma Pistol and retreat.
Appearances
Jackal Snipers appear commonly in Halo 2 and Halo 3, and can be quite frustrating and dangerous if you are playing on higher difficulty levels. On Legendary, these Snipers are deadly accurate, either missing you or making a perfect headshot, the latter occurring about 70% of the time if you are standing still for any amount of time. Most of them often snipe from hard to reach places, such as ledges or cliffs. They are easily seen, however, as in Halo 3, their headpiece glows purple as an indication they've seen the player. The player can use this to their advantage, as it gives away the Jackal's position.
Halo 2
- Outskirts and Metropolis- Jackal Snipers were swarming all over rooftops of buildings and set-up Gravity Platform Towers. Later in the more city-congested parts, they were crawling all over several Human-made platforms such as roofs and balconies.
- Delta Halo and Regret- Many were on Forerunner structures to assist other Covenant troops to prevent the UNSC forces from finding the Prophet of Regret.
- Gravemind and High Charity- They, along with other Jackal ranks, sided with the Covenant Loyalists and helped them to take out Covenant Separatist forces, hanging back to engage in long range combat. They also fight Master Chief when he comes across them. Later when the planetoid was infested by the Flood, a few were seen alive struggling to defeat the Flood.
- Uprising and The Great Journey- Jackal Snipers are seen throughout the two levels, with the last one supporting other Jackals in an effort to stop the Arbiter and his allies from advancing.
Halo 3
- Sierra 117- Several Jackal Snipers wielding Beam Rifles and Covenant Carbines took several positions guarding the jungle from UNSC forces.
- Crow's Nest- A few were seen inside the base mostly wielding Carbines to support the other Covenant troops from a distance.
- Tsavo Highway- Some Jackal Snipers took positions on Gravity Platform Towers to support Covenant Infantry and Armour against UNSC Forces.
- The Ark- Numerous Snipers were placed throughout the sand dunes on parts of the Ark and some wielding Carbines were seen in the Cartographer facility.
- The Covenant- They were seen defending the three shield barrier towers. Later they were seen on a few Gravity Platform towers assisting Covenant vehicles in preventing the UNSC and Separatist forces from entering the Ark's Citadel.
- Ghost Town They are not actually seen, but you can hear them turning on their Beam Rifle and Carbine if you listen closely.
Killing Jackal Snipers
The best way to kill a Jackal Sniper is to use a Beam Rifle, Sniper Rifle, Battle Rifle or a Carbine for a possible instant kill (if shot in the head).You can also throw a Plasma grenade or a Spike grenade on it. However, since they are usually perched high away from your position, a grenade stick will require near perfect accuracy.
Unlike all other Jackals, Jackal Snipers are slow but have compact bodies. The Beam Rifle or Sniper Rifle is the best weapon on them. One shot, one kill. Make sure you take cover as they can kill you with a single shot on higher difficulties. Switch to an automatic weapon such as the Plasma Rifle or the Assault Rifle and blow away any retreating Jackals, but the SMG is not very effective, due to its low damage rate and walking. But on Legendary, and sometimes even Heroic, Jackals can be extremely hard to counter-snipe. Most weapons will be completely useless unless several rounds are fired into the skinny body, but shots to the beak are always instant kill. If you can ever use a Sniper Rifle or Beam Rifle against them, it is recommended you do so. Also, they will pick out targets much faster, and you may only have a second or two to line up and fire before it shoots you first, and blindly taking shots is nearly useless due to the small target that it is.
Jackal Snipers often snipe from well covered Gravity Platform positions. In these cases, it may often be best just to destroy the platform, or if you don't have sufficient firepower, try to go up the gravity lift, and engage the Jackal in close combat. Often, you can destroy the Gravity Platform with a single Plasma grenade.
Another way to kill them is by getting as close as possible, without getting sniped or spotted for that matter, as they will drop their Beam Rifle and pull out a Plasma Pistol. But even though they may drop their strongest weapon, you can still die down to low health or take your time to kill them. It isn't hard to kill them in this state as Jackal Snipers do not wield shields. A simple beating or shot could finish the job. Jackals hate close combat, and even flee with their backs exposed on lower difficulties.
Trivia
- In the level Outskirts, there is a Jackal Sniper in a tower that when killed, an "invisible shield" collapses, and you can see the tell-tale blue electricity and impression.
- In Halo 3, the Jackal Snipers sport helmets with a personal scope attached to the left eye. This scope shines a vivid purple light that actually gives the Sniper's position away.
- It is possible the eyepiece they wear impedes their aiming, but increases vision.
- In a Bungie interview, they stated that Jackal Snipers in Halo 2 were too dangerous and too accurate. So to even the game out a bit more, Bungie made the Jackals aim not as good in Halo 3 as it was in Halo 2.
- The Jackals with Carbines are better known as "Marksmen" Jackals.
- In the Halo 3 Multiplayer level Ghost Town, you can hear the sound of Sniper Jackals turning on their Beam Rifles, if you listen closely.
- A good way to snipe Jackals without using sniper ammo is to use a Battle Rifle. Just simply aim at the head and shoot.
- In Halo 3, the Sniper Jackals mainly carry Carbines, and are not very accurate, which is why they are considered less hostile than in Halo 2.
- The Jackal Sniper was featured in the first series of McFarlane's action figures.
- On Easy and Normal difficulties, Sniper Jackals can be found mostly using Carbines, but in Heroic and Legendary, they use the Beam Rifle far more often, and their aim is better.
- Jackal Snipers in Halo 2 do not have the eyepieces seen in the above pictures.
- It is stated on the Bungie site that only battle hardened veterans are selected to become Jackal Snipers. This could suggest that as well as being a special type of rank, Jackal Sniper is an elevated rank either for Jackal Majors (i.e. the next promotion) or in between Jackal Minors and Jackal Majors. However, their duties do not tend to involve commanding other troops.
- If you look at a film, when they first raise their weapons, their shield generators float for a moment.
- When Jackal Sniper in the first sniper tower in the level Outskirts is killed, it will expel a flash of light as if he had a point defense shield. This is either a glitch, or to make it easier for the player to tell if they had killed the sniper on higher difficulties. This possibly only happens in Halo 2 Vista.
- In Halo 2 Vista, if a Jackal Sniper drops his beam rifle, he will then hold his plasma pistol as if he was still holding a beam rifle.