Skulls

Halo 3 features 13 hidden “skull” collectables which, once obtained, are added to the Campaign Options screen. When activated, these add a variety of interesting new effects that can have a profound influence on how you play Campaign mode in both single-player and co-op sessions.

Bungie is almost notoriously reticent when it comes to revealing or explaining secrets and undocumented features in its games, and has explicitly requested that we do not disclose the locations of the skulls in this guide. There are 13 skulls in total: one “gold” skull hidden in each of the nine Campaign missions (which are revealed and discussed here), and a further four that are so secret Bungie won’t even let us mention them by name. As a general rule, all skulls are rather well hidden. To find them, you will often need to venture off the beaten path, exploring hard-to-see ledges or reaching ostensibly inaccessible areas. Basically, the secret to skull hunting is to visit areas where there is usually no call for you to set foot, and pay attention to seemingly inconsequential details. If there’s no reason for you to be looking in a particular place, that’s usually an indication that there might, just might, be a reward at the end of that particular platform, precipice or innocuous corner of the map.

Visit the forums at www.bungie.net if you’d like to join the hunt to find all 13 of the secret skulls.

Skull Basics

• Skulls are available in each Campaign mission from the first time you play them.

• Though the challenge varies in each instance, activating skulls makes Halo 3 more difficult.

• Unlike in Halo 2, collecting a skull simply unlocks it, but doesn’t trigger any immediate effect.

• Once found, skulls can be activated at the Campaign Options screen. There is no limit on the number of skulls that can be switched on at any given time, but only expert players should consider activating more than one or two simultaneously.

• Activated skulls add multipliers to points earned during Campaign Scoring sessions. Turn to page 117 to learn more about this feature.

Activating Skulls

From the Campaign Lobby, press x to visit the Campaign Options screen. Initially, you’ll find a wall of 13 blank skull outlines, but these are gradually filled in as you collect each one. To activate a skull, highlight it and then press A to turn it on. However, note that doing so will erase your current Campaign save; a confirmation window will remind you of this fact.

Iron

Location: Sierra 117
Effect: In single-player Campaign sessions, death leads to a penalty of… drum roll… being sent back to the very beginning of the mission (or a Rally Point, if you chose to start at one). In co-op sessions, the death of one player will cause all participants to be returned to the previous checkpoint.

The Iron skull is excellent for adding a little zest to co-op games, especially if you’re playing in a group where everyone is comfortable with Legendary-grade combat and would like to increase the difficulty level. In solo games, its appeal is pretty much limited to those seeking to test their abilities to their limits in Campaign Scoring sessions.
And no, before you even think it, you can’t just revert to the previous checkpoint when things look grim. In solo games, Bungie has actually removed the option entirely.

Black Eye

Location: Crow’s Nest
Effect: You must hit enemies with melee attacks to restore your shield energy. No melee attacks = no shield recharge = death.

When you strike an enemy, the Master Chief’s shield bar will begin to recharge. However, its progress will halt immediately should he sustain damage.
Using the primary trigger-activated attack of the Energy Sword and Gravity Hammer counts as a melee hit.
Naturally, missions that contain protracted vehicle sections that don’t feature enemy infantry (namely Tsavo Highway, The Storm, The Ark, The Covenant and Halo) are not suited to play with the Black Eye skull activated. However, you should note that hijacking vehicles counts as a melee attack, and will recharge the Chief’s shield.
There are two pieces of equipment that you can employ to recharge your shield. The first, naturally, is the Regenerator. The second is the Invincibility device, which restores the Chief’s shield bar once its effect ends.

Tough Luck

Location: Tsavo Highway
Effect: Enemies become much more adept at diving away from grenades and certain other projectiles.

This skull doesn’t mean that you can’t stick opponents with grenades, or harm them when you throw them at their feet – it just makes your foe better at avoiding them.
The most noticeable effect when Tough Luck is active is that Frag Grenades are much less efficient unless you’re fighting in extremely cramped quarters. Plasma Grenade and Spike Grenade tags are still possible, especially at close range.
This skull makes it much harder to use the Needler and charged Plasma Pistol shots.
Tough Luck has no impact on  Hunters and Ranged Forms – but then, these two enemies are hardly distinguished by their dodging ability under normal circumstances.

Catch

Location: The Storm
Effect: Boosts the frequency at which Grunts and Brutes throw grenades by a considerable degree, as well as the number of grenades they drop when they die.

On higher difficulty levels, the number of grenades thrown by both Grunts and Brutes can be utterly insane. The results can be extremely amusing, especially when your Covenant foes accidentally tag their allies in their haste to blow you back to the previous checkpoint.
Just to complicate matters further, your allies will also throw grenades on a more regular basis.
As the number of grenades dropped increases, you will frequently encounter awe-inspiring chain reactions in larger battles.
If you’re playing to survive (and not just to admire the pyrotechnics and spectacular deaths), maintaining a safe distance when you face Grunts and Brutes is of paramount importance.
Catch has no effect on Flood.

Fog

Location: Floodgate
Effect: Deprives you of a tool all good players take for granted: the Motion Tracker.

The Motion Tracker doesn’t even appear onscreen when Fog is active.
If you’re extremely familiar with a mission and the behavior of its inhabitants, activating Fog isn’t a problematic penalty. However, even the best players will miss it during fights against the Flood and in missions that involve vehicular combat.
On the plus side, you now can laugh derisively when Brutes deploy Radar Jammers.

Famine

Location: The Ark
Effect: All weapons dropped by enemies or allies contain much less ammunition or battery power than usual.

This skull makes it really hard to save a number of key weapons for later skirmishes, and forces you to improvise with whatever you have to hand. This is particularly tough if you favor battery-powered Covenant firearms such as the Plasma Pistol, Beam Rifle, Energy Sword or Gravity Hammer.
Famine doesn’t just reduce the amount of ammunition in the weapons you can collect from beside corpses – it also has an effect when you exchange firearms with allies, or collect many “scripted” weapons from preset locations.
Some weapons are exempt from Famine’s hunger for clips, batteries and missiles. Firearms in dispensers (both space crates and Marine cabinets) do not fall under its influence, and certain fixed weapons are arbitrarily excused from its parsimonious rationing. Some turrets can be found with the standard supply of ammunition; others can be cut by half. We don’t have the space to document each instance here, but a little exploration (particularly while under pressure in Campaign Scoring sessions) will reveal which guns, melee weapons and turrets can be trusted to last the course.
It’s a tricky penalty to bear on all missions, but Famine can be especially harsh during fights against the Flood on higher difficulty levels.

Thunderstorm

Location: The Covenant
Effect: “Promotes” Covenant to higher levels in their hierarchy. For instance, a Brute Captain in blue armor would become the superior variety clad in gold armor. In missions that feature Flood, the number of shielded Combat Forms is increased.

Naturally, this skull raises the difficulty level of all missions where you encounter large numbers of Brutes by a notable degree.
Its effect is especially apparent during missions that involve plenty of vehicular combat. As enemy pilots, drivers and passengers are tougher, it takes more shots to stop them.
Thunderstorm is a great choice if you’d like to enliven co-op games. If Legendary alone just isn’t challenging enough, this skull can help tip the balance back in the favor of your enemies.

Tilt

Location: Cortana
Effect: Heightens natural resistances and weaknesses of each enemy type, which means that your choice of weapons requires a great deal of thought and forward planning.

Broadly speaking, Tilt creates a situation where you really must use plasma weapons against shielded enemies, switching to ballistic weaponry to finish them off. Let’s use a gold Brute Captain as an example. With Tilt active, it will take two entire Battle Rifle clips or five Sniper Rifle shots to remove his power armor; once unprotected, a single headshot will suffice to finish the fight. A Plasma Rifle, conversely, will divest him of his power armor within a second, but will take an absolute age to kill him.
Chieftains are an utter torment with Tilt active, as they enjoy a resistance to practically everything. The best weapon you can use against them in many situations is the Beam Rifle, but these aren’t always available.
To survive confrontations against large groups of Brutes, you’ll generally need to use specific weapons. You should aim to have a Plasma Pistol or Plasma Rifle combined with a Magnum, Battle Rifle or Carbine whenever you face them. Needlers still work well, though.
Shielded Combat Forms are also difficult to fight against, especially on Legendary. Use grenade sticks or melee weapons when you face them.

Mythic

Location: Halo
Effect: After Legendary comes Mythic. When this skull is active, all enemies have double the usual allocation of health points.

While you can still knock down Grunts and Jackals with headshots, Brutes provide a much sterner test of your mettle when Mythic blesses them with twice their usual stamina. You’ll see Captains surviving grenade tags, and even rank-and-file Brutes withstanding four melee attacks before they fall.
Combat Forms are made of sterner stuff, making certain staple weapons (particularly the Brute Shot) much less effective against them. They can still be knocked down immediately if you hit the Infection Form embedded in their chests with a precision firearm, though. The shielded variety will be a constant thorn in your side on Heroic and Legendary.
Pure Forms also become much hardier – it’s alarming to see even the weaker Stalker Form survive a grenade tag. The Flamethrower should be your constant companion.
Screams completely lack potency when written down, but on the subject of Ranged Forms under the influence of Mythic we’d like to say “Aaaaargh!”, “Aaaaargh!” and, moreover, “Aaaaaargh!”