Skulls are Easter eggs in Halo 3 designed to make the game more challenging or interesting.
Background
The skulls greatly resemble those in the Multiplayer game variant "Oddball" and can be used as weapons in much the same way but they lack the information text (i.e. :press RB to pick up) to pick them up. They are usually hidden and out of the way, so one must search for them, or know where they are, to get them. There are thirteen skulls in Halo 3; nine Gold ones which unlock Achievements and four Silver ones which do not unlock Achievements but are needed to unlock the Hayabusa Spartan Armor for Multiplayer. There is also one 'Unknown Skull' (also known as a second Blind Skull) which doesn't unlock anything, but has been proven to be a glitch that gives the player a Spartan Laser on the next level, Halo if you continue through the end of the level.
Note: In order to obtain any of the skulls, you have to start the level from the beginning and on Normal or higher difficulty. You may, however, use the "Resume Solo/Co-op Game" option from the title menu to resume a level, and will still obtain them. You do not have to finish the level nor do you need to carry the skull after first picking it up, so you can simply save and quit, with the exception of the IWHBYD (I Would Have Been Your Daddy) skull. The Mythic skull is also available on Easy, although you will not receive the achievement for it. Also, a VERY important note is that the skulls are affected by physics. This means that a grenade can knock a skull out of its place. The exception to this is the Famine skull on The Ark, which cannot, through any means, be moved until it has been picked up.
To activate the skulls, you merely need to press X in the Campaign Lobby and select any of the skulls you desire to play the game with. The Unknown Skull will not appear on this list.
"Gold Skulls" will grant you achievements, worth 10 Gamerpoints a piece when you first get them, and add multipliers to your campaign meta-game score. There are 9 Gold Skulls. Gold skulls affect the difficulty of game-play, making the game more challenging.
"Silver Skulls" do not unlock achievements or add multipliers to your meta-game score. They are differentiated on the selection screen by their background, but are identical in-game. There are 4 Silver Skulls. Silver skulls affect the physics, dialog and appearance of the game-play.
Collecting 5, 9, and all 13 skulls of either type will unlock the Hayabusa Chest, Shoulders, and Helmet pieces, respectively, for usage in Multiplayer and Matchmaking.
Campaign Skulls
Meta Game Quick Reference
| Skull Name | Multiplier | Short Description |
|---|---|---|
| Iron | 3x | Teammate dead? Reload checkpoint. Everyone dead? Restart level. |
| Black Eye | 1.5x | No auto-shield regeneration, melee attacks cause regeneration. |
| Tough Luck | 1.5x | Enemies attain ninja-esque dodging, for grenades, Needlers, slow moving projectiles (ie. Rocket launcher, Brute Shot, and Fuel Rod Cannon and vehicular assaults). They also Berserk and go Kamikazi more. |
| Catch | 1.5x | NPCs are more likely to throw grenades. NPCs always drop two grenades when dying. |
| Fog | 1.5x | No motion tracker. |
| Famine | 2x | Dropped weapons have half the initial ammo/charge. |
| Thunderstorm | 1.5x | Maximum rank for all NPCs. |
| Tilt | 2x | Damage type resistances/weaknesses are amplified. |
| Mythic | 2x | NPC's health is doubled. (Mythic is also considered the difficulty level above Legendary.) |
List of Gold Skulls
If you need some help, watch the video at this link.
Iron
Level: Sierra 117[1]
Directions:
- Battle through to the end of the level until the point where you must rescue Sergeant Johnson and his team.
- Snipe as many enemies as you can before jumping down, especially on the bridge.
- Jump down and cross the bridge.
- Keep to the right of the bridge until you see a blocked line with some pipes. Hop onto this block and continue.
- When you reach the end of this raised block, jump up into the balcony.
- Follow this balcony to the end, the skull is hidden behind a pillar jutting out from the building tucked into the corner.
- A good strategy for getting this skull is to wait for the Pelican to show up and then get the skull.
Icon: A skull marked with a hammer.
Effect: If you die while playing alone, you will restart at the beginning of the level (you cannot revert to the last checkpoint at any time). If any player dies while playing co-operative, you will reset to the last checkpoint. This is similar to what would happen when playing co-operative on Legendary in Halo 2, but is slightly more harsh on the players. In addition, this skull is used in the Vidmaster Challenge: Annual Achievement.
Point Multiplier: 3x
See also: The other Sierra 117 Skull, Blind
Black Eye
Level: Crow's Nest[1]
Directions:
- At the beginning of the level, walk to the door leading to the barracks, then turn around.
- Walk to the green metal rack and jump on top of it.
- Turn to the right and look up to the red metal beam and jump on it.
- To the direct right again, is a much larger blackish pipe. Jump on it.
- Walk along the pipe, taking care not to fall off and you will see the skull at the end.
Note: There are many other ways in which you are able to jump onto the brown pipe.
Icon: A skull marked with a smaller skull with a bruise under one eye.
Effect: Your Energy Shield will not recharge until you perform a melee hit. The Energy Sword and Gravity Hammer's R-Trigger attacks count as a melee attack. Hijacking also counts as a melee attack.
Trivia: This is the easiest skull to dribble in Halo 3, since you start the level with no weapon, and simply by grabbing the skull before going to get a gun, you can repeatedly press the Y button on the Xbox controller to dribble the skull like a basketball.
In Halo 2, the Black Eye skull could be used to give the player a full 300% overshield, but the recharge effect only worked if you killed an enemy/ally or your coop person with a melee attack. However, energy sword does not count. In Halo 3, simply hitting an enemy with a melee attack will recharge your shield, regardless of whether the enemy dies or not. However you're no longer able to gain an overshield.
Point Multiplier: 1.5x
Tough Luck
Level: Tsavo Highway[1]
Directions:
Note:This is the first time you come across a highway
- Keep battling through to the point where you must fight a group of Brutes, two of which are using Choppers.
- Kill all the enemies, destroy the shield, then continue through until you reach a long, winding bridge. At this point a Covenant Battle Cruiser should fly overhead.
- To your left you will see a series of yellow ladders. Go to the very last one. If you receive a regenerator at the top, you will know it is the correct ladder.
- Jump over or around the large metal bar on the right, then turn to the left.
- Look down and you will see a large, black support below you. Jump down onto it. (note that you have to walk and be standing on the part of the pipe that sticks out slightly with the bolts going through it otherwise the drop is too far and you will die.)
- Walk along to the end of the support, then turn to the left again.
- Now you should be able to see the skull on a cliff across a gap. Jump across the gap on to the cliff, and get the skull.
Note: You can get back to the highway. If you jump back onto the pillar you can carefully walk around the ledge until you reach the grassed area, jump off and up the hill to your right and you will be back on the highway to continue on your way! Alternatively, the player can simply return to the previous checkpoint - though you don't keep the skull, the achievement remains.
Icon: A skull marked with a three-leafed clover.
Effect: Enemies dodge grenades, needles, and vehicle assaults with a greater success rate. However, plasma and spike grenade sticks are still possible at close range, and from behind.
Note: Does not affect Pure Forms
Extra Information: This Skull and Famine seem to increase Kamikaze Grunts.
Point Multiplier: 1.5x
Catch
Directions:
- Battle through to the point where you fight an AA wraith, a handful of Ghosts, and a standard Wraith.
- You should see a silo like building. (See image) On top of this is the skull. Look for the ramp that leads over to the platform where the normal (blue/purple) wraith is dropped.
- There are multiple methods which can be used to get onto the building.
- Possibly the easiest method is to hijack the AA wraith and maneuver it so the back (the part with the plasma mortar, or in this case, fuel rod launchers) touches the base of the silo where the ground rises slightly; then, simply get out. The only problem is that doing this means that an NPC hornet will appear and begin to fire upon the wraith, and the wraith may focus its fire on you, so you will need to work a little quickly. After you get out, the wraith destroys itself as if the pilot was killed due to the killswitch's activation, which 'locks' it in place on the ground. It should stay still while you jump on the back and onto the top of the silo. Keep in mind that this method may seem complex at first glance, but this is due to the writer's tendency to explain things in detail. It is actually much easier than hunting for a deployable cover, coordinating two players, or grenade jumping. (The latter may not apply to particularly experienced players.)
- Grenade jump.
- Park a ghost below, then jump from it onto the building.
- Take a deployable cover, then use it between the red wall and the building. Move out of the way and you can use the cover as a stepping stone.
- On Co-op mode, one player can jump onto the other player's head, then onto the building.
- Drive a Ghost to the foot of the silo, then stick it with a plasma grenade. The explosion of the grenade, coupled with the explosion of the Ghost, gives more than enough height.
- Drive the warthog at the foot of the silo and crouch-jump onto it. Make sure that the warthog is at the wraith-side of the silo before attempting the crouch-jump.
- Drive a ghost against the silo, then take your warthog and drive at it at full speed. The warthog will be at the top of the ghost, allowing you do jump up the silo. This may take a few tries.
- Another way of obtaining the skull (if rather informal) is to pile up a few ghosts and place a deployable cover on them. This should give more than enough room for error once you get on top of it and jump up.
- A longer way for those not proficient in grenade jumping or vehicle maneuvering is to keep the AA-Wraith alive and wait for it to destroy one of the Hornets circling overhead. When the Hornet crashes, take a Ghost (or Warthog) and push it towards the small rise on the dock facing side of the silo. Once there, quickly exit your vehicle and climb up the Hornet until you reach the top of the silo.
- Do NOT destroy the standard Wraith, or the skull will disappear. Do NOT physically damage the normal Wraith (though the plasma turret operator can be sniped safely) in any way or the skull will disappear.
Notes:
- A deployable cover can be obtained by killing the driver of the AA Wraith.
- The campaign must be beaten on Normal difficulty or higher prior to acquiring the skull or it will not appear.
- This may be one of the easiest skulls to work with. Once activated you have to dodge a lot more grenades, as the effect states, but you also get WAY more grenades to work with. The only difficulty with this skull is if you are driving a vehicle and you are charging into an area packed with grunts you have to be really careful not to get stuck because they have been observed throwing up to four plasma grenades in a row.
- Using a deployable cover is optional; you can pile up the ghosts without using a deployable cover.
- The skull will not be there when you first look for it, it's best to get the skull before the standard wraith appears as fast as you can.
Icon: A skull marked with an image of a plasma grenade.
Effect: All AI-controlled units, friend or foe, throw grenades more often, where applicable. It even affects scripted grenades. For example, on the level Crow's Nest, on the part where the Warthog is hit by a Plasma Grenade, it will now be hit by two, three, or even four. The Catch skull has no effect on Flood, as they don't throw grenades. It should be noted that they will throw an unlimited amount of grenades at their enemies. Grunts have been seen throwing more than four in a row, Brutes have been seen throwing upwards of eight in just a short period of time, Elites have had more than nine consecutive grenades, and even Marines throwing up to eleven grenades in campaign. The skull does not seem to increase the number of Kamikaze Grunts. It has been observed that the Marines will sometimes throw grenades with reckless abandon, similar to Halo: Combat Evolved.
Extra Information:This Skull is good to have activated in Flood levels, since the Flood do not throw grenades but instead drop them when killed. Beware: the Grunts are the most affected by this skulls effects.
Point Multiplier: 1.5x
Fog
Level : Floodgate
Directions: At the beginning of the level, you will walk into the destroyed city of Voi. As soon as you enter the city, there is a building with a missile installation on the right. Move to the middle of the road that leads in and left. Take out a weapon with a scope (preferably a battle rifle) and look up and to the right (to the top of the right hand building). Wait for the sergeant to say "All squads, report!" You will see a single Flood combat form on the roof of the building to the right. It will jump across the street above you and a marine will start yelling, "There, over there!". If you are playing co-op, station one person in the middle of the road between the burning building and the building the creature lands on (Check where he goes before reverting to last save.) Kill the flood just before/as it jumps, one person using an assault rifle shooting straight up, and the other player sniping from the slanted light post with a battle rifle. Hopefully, the skull will fall off the right-hand building so you can pick it up. It may come to rest near the bottom of the left-hand building. This should take several tries. If you miss the Flood or the skull is stuck on the building, just restart at the last save.
Another way that takes a lot of skill is to look up at the building and throw a plasma or stick grenade (preferably plasma grenade) at the Flood as soon as it appears. Hopefully the grenade will stick to the combat form and as it jumps it will detonate killing the Flood and making him drop the skull. A way of making this more effective is to "spam" plasma/stick grenades at the Flood as it appears hoping one will stick it. This is generally more effective because if you stick him with one grenade and throw only that one there is the chance of the skull being blown back onto the building the flood just left. However, more than one grenade either on the Flood or on the building the flood left generally helps control the path of the skull so it falls directly to the ground. (This has been known on rare occasions to kill the player if they are underneath the skull and there are three or more grenades stuck to the Flood.)
Note: Look up and to the right just BEFORE entering the city continuing to walk into it. You will see it run to the top ledge of the building, but you have a VERY limited amount of time to shoot the Flood creature, but if you shoot while its still on the roof, the skull will probably stay on the roof. But the first time, if you're unable to shoot them, you will at least have a good idea of where to be looking the second time, and just revert to saved. Tip: you only need one bullet, no matter from what gun to bring the skull down. Since the level is very dark, you may miss the skull being dropped, so search around to find it.
Note: You will have to revert to last save quickly if you miss because after the Marine starts yelling "We're surrounded, Sergeant!" there will be another checkpoint and you will have to restart the mission (if you missed).
Warning: This page states that you must hit the human Combat Form as it jumps. This has occasionally proved to be untrue. Some people have needed to hit it just before it began to jump for the skull to fall where they could claim it. It is also worthy of note that headshotting it with a Battle Rifle seems to help kill it, for obvious reasons. Also, it should be noted that on higher difficulties, there may be more than one Combat Form on the roof. The one you need to kill is the closest human Combat Form.
Icon: A skull marked with a swirl of fog.
Effect: Your motion sensor is no longer active.
Point Multiplier: 1.5x
Famine
Directions: Method A At a point in the level, you will be directed into a fork in the road. Going straight will lead you into a giant bowl-like valley, and going to the right will lead you through a broad sandy road about 40 feet wide. To the left is the bowl with two roads cut into the rock face. Go to the right and drive directly ahead until you hit the rock wall. When you get underneath the platform structure, you will notice some climbable rocks on the right that will lead you to the platform itself. You will notice several beam-like supports alongside the platform. Go to the very last one, at the end of the platform. If you jump up you can see the skull at the end. Align yourself right up to the support. You need to get to the crevice of it, sticking out and away from the platform; the skull can be seen in it. Stick a Plasma Grenade right where the beam-like support and incline meet (on the bottom edge of the incline). Back up, run and jump, aiming a little higher than the skull. You should be just over and a little forward of the grenade when it explodes giving you enough of a boost to reach the skull. (Note: you don't need to back up excessively. The process from the moment you throw the grenade to when you start running towards it should take less than two seconds). - Alternatively you can make it harder on yourself by getting about six feet away from the incline, and throw a plasma grenade to the top of the incline. It will stay there, because the incline rises about three inches before it goes downward. As you throw, begin a jump toward the crevice of the support. If you timed it right, you should be about five feet past the grenade when it explodes, which should give you the boost you need to get onto the support and get the skull. The timing might take a few tries before you get it right. -It is best to do Method A on Normal Difficulty as the grenade blast will take your shields to the brink. Don't be lazy, take care of the two ghosts first.
Directions: Method B A slightly easier way to get the skull is to use a Brute Chopper. Save one from an earlier battle, and then drive it to the part that's underneath some kind of roof (this is where you're going anyways) drive out from underneath it, and you should be making a right turn. To the right, on the rock face, there is a lone boulder on the ground. Drive slightly past it, then turn around, aiming at the bridge, and drive up the steep face. Eventually, you will be at a small gap between the bridge and the rock. on the left "edge" of the rock, you can see a small upwards incline. Using this as a jump, boost off of it and try to land on the bridge. This will probably take a few tries. Once you're on, turn left and drive to the last "pillar" (which contains the skull) hugging the pillar, drive the Chopper as close to the edge as possible. Then just jump on top of the Chopper, and jump into the pillar. Getting the Chopper just right and getting into the pillar takes a few tries, so don't be discouraged if you miss and take a while.
Directions: Method C When killing Brutes in the level pick up a deployable cover and drop it in front of the pillar with the skull and use it as a step to the ledge.
Directions: Method D Play the level on Co-Op with a friend. Both of you should climb up on to the platform. Have your friend stand as low on the incline near the pillar as he can with his back against the pillar. Then your friend should kill you, and when you respawn you will land right on his head, use him to jump up to the platform, grab the skull, and you both get the achievement.
Directions: Method E Yes, another method but this is for those who can't grenade jump for their lives. Quite simple really, just take a bubble shield and at least one fragmentation grenade and go to the ledge. Deploy the bubble shield so that the edge of it is near the edge of the structure. The bubble shield should keep the grenade you throw inside it so right after you throw, jump, and the grenade should give you a sufficient boost.
Directions: Method F One more method. This is for people who know how to grenade jump but by some misfortune use their grenades. Take a brute shot, they're all over the place on this level, and aim it downward but still on the building Take a leap and as you jump fire downward and you will be able to launch yourself to the skull.
Directions: Method G Yet another method. It was found by accident in co-op so it's still experimental. Stand on your friend's head. Then have them grenade jump. At the highest point of their jump, jump over to the ledge. If performed correctly, you should land on the platform.
Directions: Method H On co-op, if you can't find any brute shots, take a fuel rod gun dropped by the grunt heavies on the far side of the big bowl (from the entrance) near the platform, and climb up onto the other platform with the skull on (with your co-op partner) Go to the support on which the skull is and stand on their head and jump and fire down (onto your partner) at the same time and you should easily get onto the support, which you can walk along to get the skull. Note that this does not work as well on solo because the fuel rods just bounce off the slanting floor.
Directions: Method I if you saved the Rocket Launcher from the downed pelican, you can rocket jump by positioning yourself a suitable running distance from the platform with the skull, running at it backward, jumping as you reach the slanted floor and firing a rocket. the blast should be sufficient to propel you to the platform. it may take a few tries to get it without killing yourself and is inadvisable on any difficulty other than Normal for this reason.
Directions: Method J: The Famine skull is in the Ark. You must be on Normal, Heroic, or Legendary. To get the famine skull, after you are escorted to the L.Z., there is an abandoned structure just like the one you were on. To get on it, at the end of the path, there is a rock hill. Climb that or go around by two rocks. NOTE: Vehicles will not get you up there. you must go on foot. At the end of the railings in the left corner, the skull is up there. There are two ways to get up there. One way is to use a deployable cover and jump up there. The second way is to grenade jump. After you have the skull, the effect it has is reduced ammunition from dropped weapons. Be careful!
Directions: Method K- If you still cant seem to get the skull with any of the above techniques, then this should work for you. Play through the level until you and the other marines are in the tanks. On your way back from the landing site, a little ways after you kill the hunters, you will see a rock face to the left. along that rock face, there is a lone boulder on the ground. Drive up and onto the larger rock, just before the bolder, and then continue driving the tank forward until it is just under the edge of the bridge. Get out, (you may have to kill nearby marines to prevent them from moving it) and go take another tank from your allies. drive the tank onto the rock using the method above, but this time drive on top of the parked tank, using it like a bridge. This should, if done correctly, allow you to get the tank onto the bridge itself. Now simply drive the tank over to the skull, park it with the turret against the support beam, get out, jump on the turret, and then jump up to get the skull.
Icon: A skull marked with a smaller skull.
Effect: All weapons that are dropped by enemies or are scripted to spawn on the ground (e.g., near a downed Pelican or group of dead bodies) have halved or reduced ammunition or charge. However, weapons found in cases still have the regular amount of ammo.
Extra Information: This Skull and Tough Luck seem to increase Kamikaze Grunts.
Point Multiplier: 2x
Thunderstorm
Level: The Covenant[1]
Directions: After taking down the first tower there is a part in the level where there are two hornets and you are expected to take one and get to the third tower to take it down. The screen will briefly show "If you want it done right" as you hop into the Hornet. If it does not say "If you want it done right", then no skull will be present. After you get in, start to fly to the third tower. On your way there, you will see the second tower (which was disabled by the Elites). This is also the tower with the Terminal. It looks exactly like the third tower (only without all the land and enemies on it). Fly over to it. You will hear an Elite reminding you that the tower is already disabled. This will confirm you are in the right area. There is a long flat part of the tower that extends out over the ocean (semi-enclosed). There is a very tall ramp that leads up to it. At the end of the extension you will find the Thunderstorm skull. You must get out of your Hornet or Banshee, or the skull will not appear.
You must start from the beginning of this level, disabling tower one then moving outside in order to pick up this skull.
- Restarting from Rally Point Alpha allows you to go to the skull point, but no skull is present
- Starting from Rally Point Beta (with a Tank and Warthog) leads to a fight with two Scarabs, and is beyond the skull pickup point
Icon: A skull marked with a lightning bolt.
Effect: All enemies (and Sangheili allies) are promoted to the highest available rank. The number of shielded Flood elite combat forms is also increased.
Point Multiplier: 1.5x
Tilt
Directions: The skull is at the top of the large circular room where Cortana is screaming for help. When you enter this room you will fall out of a hole in the ceiling, next to a sitting, dead Elite. To the left of the room will be some small, somewhat fungal, growths on the walls. Near this is a rounded pillar. Stand on the pillar and jump to the thin growth outcrops to the left. On many of them you will hit your head on an obstruction above if you are not careful - spoiling the jump; try backing up slightly first. After the first two to the left, turn around and look away from the rock wall - then left ninety degrees for another one with a longish extrusion of Flood material. This one is difficult as your head will hit the wall with jumps from many of the obvious positions. One jump that works is at the tip of this jump, back about 2 feet from the edge, and jumping slightly left (approx one foot) of the tip of the target jump. Another jump that works is; When you get on the the upper outcrop on the left, facing the other outcrop you are jumping to, move as far as you can to the left. Then, jump toward the other outcrop with the extension of flood material. Walk up the extruded Flood tentacle onto the roof of the area where you will find the Skull in a pile of blood and bones.
- Note that underneath the platform you usually walk on are a two to three deployable covers near the terminal with Cortana's message. These can be placed on the pillar and the ledge to make the jumps easier and help you avoid things that can cause your jumps to fail.
- You can also jump on the weapon container. You will then jump to a smaller platform covered in Flood biomass, and then onto what appears to be a Flood tentacle. Finally, you will jump to the purple platform. You should see a human skeleton. The skull is what you're looking for.
Icon: A skull marked with a smaller skull with a hole in its head.
Effect: All enemy weaknesses and resistances double. Example: Brute armor is weaker to plasma weapons and stronger against projectile weapons.
Point Multiplier: 2x
NOTE: Seems to have a similar effect on the player. Immensely increased shield durability observed with this skull active.
Mythic
Directions: At the beginning of the level move forward, hugging the right wall and curving slowly left in the cave up ahead. After about 15 seconds you will see a tunnel opening to the right. Move through this, but still hug the right wall. Part way along an opening (cave) on the right will open up. Move inside turning your flashlight on (up on the D-pad of the controller). Soon you will reach a dead end, and the skull is on the ground, among the rocks.
Icon: A skull marked with a circle with a smaller circle in it
Effect: All of the Covenant you encounter have twice the amount of health.
Point Multiplier: 2x
NOTE: Seems to have a similar effect on the player. Immensely increased unshielded durability in Sierra 117 as well as Marines and the Arbiter observed with this skull active. However, this does not mean that the player should leap into the fray, as even with this increased durability the player will be killed quickly.
NOTE: It has been reported on legendary with this skull on that it can take four or more clips from the Assault Rifle or Battle rifle to kill normal low armoured brutes (The ones with very little armour rather than the full suit ones) if you cant headshot them. This is seen particularly if combined with the thunderstorm skull as the field promotions further increases health and armour.
List of Silver Skulls
Silver Skulls provide no score multipliers when turned on.
Blind
Level: Sierra 117[1]
Directions: In the beginning of the level, you and your troops will come across a waterfall with a Phantom dropping off troops. This is your first contact with any enemies. Kill all of the enemy troops to get them out of the way. Face the water body (lake) and move to the right of the area towards the lake. There is a rock jutting out of the land, and one of the larger rocks extends out over the water. To the right of these rocks there is an old human bunker. The blind skull is at the tip of the rock. There is also a second blind skull on the level Cortana but no bonus is gained for capturing both skulls. Though that is a fun challenge on Legendary.
Icon: A skull marked with an eye with a crossed out pupil. Also, the skull’s eyes are shaded white.
Effect: You lose all your HUD when this skull is turned on. You won’t see your weapons, shield, radar, etc. This could be used for players recording the output from their console directly to a recording devise of their choice and not using the game's theater (Useful for players without a hard drive.)
Grunt Birthday Party
Level: Crow's Nest[1]
Directions: On your way to the barracks (after you view the bomb, and after the flying Drones), you will come across a part in the level where you drop down a hole with fallen rocks at the end. Cortana sends you a message ("you'll be called upon to serve") when you land. Once the message is over, you will find yourself in a wide corridor with open pipes on either side, with Drones flying across every now and then. If you walk to the end of the corridor, there is another large drop (purple pipe with a rotating fan), but do not go down. If you go to the very edge and look down the drop, you will notice a small ledge protruding out a little bit with a green arrow just visible in the middle of it. If you approach the edge very slowly and walk backwards very quickly as soon as you fall (or vice-versa), you will land on the ledge. Behind you (or in front of you if you backed towards the drop and then ran forwards) is the skull.
Note: If walking off the edge does not work for you, take a gravity lift and use it to propel yourself back up to the room underneath the grating after you have jumped down off the edge. Occasionally the skull is not there, this is sometimes because you have to kill all of the drones. Also, the skull may not appear unless you get the other skull earlier in the level.
Icon: A skull marked with a candle.
Effect: Arguably the most popular Skull, if a Grunt is shot in the head with any headshot-capable weapon (such as the Battle Rifle, Beam Rifle, Carbine and Sniper Rifle) or a Magnum, colorful confetti explodes out of it (the explosion causes minor damage to nearby enemies), and a sound clip of children cheering from the game Viva Piñata can be heard in the background. When the Grunt's head explodes, their mask will usually fall off.
Note: If you are playing with any of the skulls active you should have this skull active. It does not increase the difficulty of the game, it actually makes it easier. When you blow a grunt's head off the explosion slightly damages nearby enemies. Groups of three or more grunts, if you kill them quickly, within 3 seconds or so with headshots, will most likely kill any single additional Grunt in the nearby vicinity.
Note: You can set off large chain reactions if you activate Cowbell and Catch in conjunction. First kill Grunts by shooting them in their chests to make them drop their plasma grenades. Do this repetitively until the plasma grenades build up. Next shoot one in the head to blow up their head. This will set off all the built up grenades. Sit back. Watch. Enjoy.
Note: To score massive points, one might wish to master the art of "flicking" the thumbstick so as to spread one's fire when firing the Battle Rifle. It is quite a sight when a player finishes off three Grunts with three headshots (yet firing just once) and getting many multipliers for the act.
Cowbell
Directions: Method A: You must start this level from the beginning - starting from any other point will fail. After defeating the Scarab, grab a gravity lift from the small structure in the center (to the right of the entrance up the large slope), then continue on until you pass the room with a lot of explosive plasma containers. In the hallway after this room, there is a tall section with openings above the turning point of the hall, and the skull is in the top one of the highest of these. Use the gravity lift to get there. The ideal place to deploy it is about 3/4's down-ramp and a little to the left of the middle, facing up-ramp (facing up-ramp will ensure the gravity lift doesn't slip farther down); you should be running down-ramp and jump so your jump-apex is above the gravity lift. You should also be running towards the tall section, aiming towards the middle of the top shelf on the section. If your gravity lift is destroyed, you can always revert to last save since the room containing the skull is a checkpoint. Also if you have difficulty getting there crouch while being grav-lifted. If you don't get the skull at first then keep trying, you will get it eventually.
- Alternatively you can place at the bottom of the ramp and use a Brute Shot jump for extra height.
Directions: Method B: If you are having too much trouble placing the grav lift, it is possible to drive a Brute Chopper into the building (there's one inside the small structure where you battle the Scarab). You can then drive the Chopper to the bottom of the ramp, You can then easily walk right into the opening with the skull.
Directions: Method C: If you are playing on Co-Op, have two of the players grab a gravity lift. One drops his or her gravity lift before the platforms and goes up to the fourth level (One below the skull) and waits for his or her partner to join them. The person still holding their gravity lift stands right on the edge of that platform a drops their gravity lift facing straight down. If you have placed the first one right then they should be in line. stand on top of it, look down, and deploy the gravity lift. One person walks of the edge onto the gravity lift backwards. You should then be suspended above the platform. Just keep pushing forward with the left stick and you should move onto the platform. If not, keep pushing forward with the left stick and when the gravity lift on the floor breaks then you will drop onto the platform.
Directions: Method D: It is possible to get the cowbell without using a friend, brute shot, or Grav-lift. All you need is some jumping skills. You can jump from the ramp to the first platform and then to each platform above.
Directions: Method E: It is possible to get the Cowbell by using a combination of both an explosive crate and a stick grenade. Push the crate down the stairs to the correct location (as above), then stick the grenade on top. Wait approximately one second, then jump (as the grenade explodes, setting off the crate). This will send you sufficiently high to make it to the 4th level. Do not hold down the right "take" button as you do so, as this may negate picking up the skull.
Directions: Method F: A really easy way to get it is to combine Chopper and gravity lift, simply drive the Chopper to the bottom, exit it, jump up on it and throw a gravity lift under it (the gravity lift goes straight through, so just throw it on top of it) and the Chopper will fly up, jump once and walk forward, and you are at the skull.
Directions: Method G: Another way to get the skull is to push some of the bombs in the room before into the hall right beside the openings in the wall. If you do it correctly the bombs will look like a raft. Then, drop a gravity lift (it should fall through the bombs) and ride the raft upward. Jump off at the highest point and you will be at the skull.
Directions: Method H: If you are a good grenade thrower, angle your throw so it hits the ceiling above and lands on the middle of the platform. The skull will then be knocked out so you can pick it up. Works best with a plasma grenade.
Directions: Method I: This strategy is for people who are not good at grenade jumping. Make sure to have a grav-lift before attempting this. In the room with the explosive barrels, get behind a Covenant ammo crate and melee it towards the door. Hit the crate until the narrow edge is able to fit through the door. Continue to melee the crate down the ramp until you have it next to the platforms then jump on top of the crate. Deploy the grav-lift and ride the crate towards the ceiling. Quickly depart once you reach the correct platform, and grab the skull.
Directions: Method J: For this to work, you would need a deployable cover that you could find either killing a brute or near a dead brute. Go to the ledge where the skull is (above) then aim precisely. Get the deployable cover on the spot then get a gravity lift from the little building you faced the scarab. Get a yourself to go on top of the deployable cover, then your friend should have a gravity lift then underneath it which should send it into the air. (you would need 2 players or more for this.)
Note: It is suggested to always couple this skull with the Grunt Birthday Party skull for maximum damage when encountering large numbers of Grunts.
Note: Another possible use for this skull would be to couple this skull with Catch (so that grenade explosions are deadlier and occur far more frequently), creating a greater sense of danger in large firefights.
Icon: A skull marked with a cowbell.
Effect: The force of explosions is increased immensely.
Note: While this makes life more dangerous for you it also makes it a bit easier. Your grenades will obviously be more destructive, but also the force of the explosions from the grunts heads exploding (with the Grunt Birthday Party skull active) will increase as well.
Note: This skull unfortunately weakens your melee attacks.
IWHBYD (I Would Have Been Your Daddy)
Main article: Halo 3: IWHBYD (I Would Have Been Your Daddy) Skull
Level: The Covenant
Directions: In order to get the IWHBYD skull you must play on Normal, Heroic, or Legendary, you must complete the entire mission (eg. do not use Rally Point Alpha) until you reach the final battle scene, where the Prophet of Truth is planning on lighting all seven rings. Once you reach the bridge, battle your way across with the Arbiter and the Flood, neutralize all Covenant, watch/skip the cinematic, and kill all the Flood (this is optional, but makes the procedure much easier). Once the bridge is devoid of enemies, you will have to literally jump through the 7 rings in a complex order. Once you have completed this, the IWHBYD skull will appear at the beginning of the light bridge leading to Truth's podium.
Each number corresponds to the ring you must jump through. The ring at the elevator is 1. The ring next to Truth is 7. The ring with red on it is 4.
Original Sequence order: 1, 3, 4, 6, 7, 5, 4, 6, 5, 4, 5, 3, 4.
However, there is a another shorter sequence order: 4, 6, 5, 4, 5, 3, 4.
Once you have completed the sequence, the skull will appear at the beginning of the light bridge leading to Truth's podium. If you are not sure you got it then look at the rings when you complete the sequence, they will be blinking in sequence. The Halo theme will play as you get the skull, and the rings will stay on brightly and sometimes flash. You must then finish the level, or the skull will not be saved to your profile and you will have to get it again (eg: jump down the blue hole at the far end as per the normal end to the level).
Icon: A skull marked with a double helix (DNA Symbol).
Effect: Unlocks new, often humorous, dialogs for the AI. Such as "THIS IS SPARTA!" or "Who wants ice cream!?" for some marines or "Pie is good" said by some Brutes. Sometimes a Brute may even say "He was my lover!" when you kill a nearby Covenant soldier, and Grunts may say "Stay close to me, Nipple-mate!" to another Grunt when they are suspicious that enemies may be nearby, or "Thank you for choosing Air Blue-Ball" as they go Kamikaze, Elites sometimes make humorous remarks when you exchange weapons or stare at them for long periods of time. Remarks like "I shall name my next child after you" or "I, I, I think you're sexy, too." Another comment from a marine is "So you're gonna take my girlfriend, too?" if you exchange weapons with him.
Notes:
- Be sure to actually jump through the rings, not just go through them
- This skull does not affect the difficulty of the game. It just makes the game a bit more fun.
- If you are doing this level on co-op, only one player can do the sequence. If the other player jumps through a ring while you are in the middle of the sequence, even if it is the next ring, it will mess up and the skull will not appear.
- You only have to go though the last 7 sequence in the pattern but if you go through all of them, you will hear the main halo theme song.
- The whole code makes this song all together B D E G A F# E G F# E F# D E, the last 13 notes of the opening of the Halo Main Theme, where ring 1 is B and 7 is the A above it.
- The shortcut is 7 rings long, which could be a link with Bungie's obsession with the number 7.
Other Skulls
Unknown Skull (Second Blind Skull)
Level: Cortana
Directions: The Unknown skull can be found in the Fusion Core room. First, kill all of the Flood present. Once the room is free of Flood, search the room for some stacked up deployable covers. Make sure you have some grenades (not spike grenades or firebombs) with you. Grab one of the deployable covers and climb one of the pillars that extend from the upper floor. Deploy the cover and climb it. Then, jump to the upper floor. If you can't do it with the deployable cover, throw a grenade on the end of the pillar and grenade jump. It's very difficult to grenade jump but it is possible. If you got the Famine Skull by grenade jumping, you should be able to reach the upper floor in 2-3 tries. When you're up, search around the surface and look down. At some point, you should find the Unknown Skull among some bones. It's above the main door.
Icon: This skull is a second blind skull, so the icon is the same.
Effects: Carrying it throughout the level will make you start the next level with a Spartan Laser and your current secondary weapon.
Note: Obtaining this skull before obtaining the original Blind Skull will make the Blind Skull available on the campaign options screen.
Assassin Skull
The Assassin Skull was found coded inside of the mainmenu.map file in the list of the other 13 skulls.[2]
Description/Clues: "Interred where heroes fall."
Possible Effect: "Overactive camo"
Not much is currently known about this skull or its location
Mythic Skulls
These skulls can be found in the Mythic Map Pack levels that can give you achievements. It is unknown if they have any effects on gameplay.
Orbital Skull
Level: Orbital
Icon: A skull marked with a giant fan, or perhaps an outline of the Quito Space Tether itself.
Location: Above the pit between the two pathways, go up until you see the skull on the ledge. You must drop from forge mode on the ledge beside it, crouch and get it.
Assembly Skull
Level Assembly
Icon: A skull marked with Lekgolo worms.
Location: Near the middle. Between the two pipes connecting the middle to the building. Use forge and fly up there.
Sandbox skull
Level: Sandbox
Icon: A skull marked with a Monitor.
Location: At the right of the sun, between the two towers, there are several ways you can do this, you can build a maze (in Forge, use the parts named "tubes" to build a maze piece by piece while being protected from the boundary lasers!) to the skull, you can use the door shields/blocks as they stop the blasts from the guardians lasers (bubble shields also do this), by going into Monitor mode and holding the door shield/blocks in the way of the guardians fire you can edge back to the boundary (with this method it is recommended that you set up bases on the way with teleporters/respawn points. Also overloading a map with trip mines will stop the lasers from shooting you. Going in Theater mode to ensure it's location will help.
Heretic
Level: Heretic
Icon: A skull marked with the Mark of Shame.
Longshore
Level: Longshore
Icon: A skull marked with a harpooned fish.
Citadel
Level: Citadel
Icon: A skull marked with the symbol of the Citadel.
Trivia
- The Mythic Skulls have gold teeth.
- A Skull's melee power is the same as a regular melee; however, in Oddball, it has enough power to kill with one blow. (For balance issues) The Mythic Skulls take about 10 hits to kill an opponent.
- The Catch Skull affects all grenade tosses, including scripted grenade tosses. For example, instead of the Warthog in Crow's Nest being hit with one or two Plasma Grenades, it will be hit by three or four.
- Halo 3 Skulls also have neural interfaces in the back of them like John-117, Captain Keyes and Lord Hood, a sneaking suspicion that these may be the skulls of high ranking officers, or even Spartans.
- The "I Would Have Been Your Daddy" Skull references to the first chapter of Assault on the Control Room, in Halo: Combat Evolved which shares the same name. The skull name is the same quote from the beginning of the level.
- On any level with the Arbiter, if you kill the Arbiter in a safe spot, and drop the skull very close to him, he might jump up and grab it and use it as a weapon, going into the fight hitting enemies with the skull as he goes.
- Halo 3 skulls are generally easier to get than in Halo 2. They can be found on the Normal difficulty, and are often hidden in simple places which require far less skill and time to reach; examples being the Tough luck, Mythic and Thunderstorm skulls, which only require taking a simple detour rather than a complicated jump challenge.
- In co-op, if none of the players have the skull of that corresponding level, it doesn't matter who gets the skull, all 2-4 players will received the achievement. Note that on the level "Covenant", only the player that completes the sequence will get the IWHBYD Skull.
- Using to mythic skull is sometimes referred to as the level above legendary.