Home Gaming Halo 5: Guardians – Skull locations guide

Halo 5: Guardians – Skull locations guide

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Halo-skull

If there’s one thing that Halo fans have always searched for, it’s a greater challenge. Sure, you may be able to finish a game of Halo on the Slayerest of difficulty options, but why stop there? Why not throw a few mutators into the mix, and really challenge yourself? And that’s where skulls come in.

Since the earliest days of Halo, skulls have always provided that extra edge of masochism. Halo 5: Guardians is keeping the tradition alive with a new set of skulls, 15 in total, that’ll push your thumbs to the limit. But you need to find them first.

Reddit has a great guide up, with videos hyperlinked below from Cross Ghost Gaming in the titles. I’ll update the list as soon as the other skulls have been found. Also, spoilers!

Update: The rest of the skulls have been found! Thanks to Redditor Maka91 for this.

Mission 1: IWHBYD

The first skull is pretty easy to find since it’s literally out in the open. After fighting through the first indoor section of the level and re-emerging outside you will eventually find yourself looking at another forerunner entrance inside the side of a mountain where the mission continues.

Off to the left will be a rather large valley/abyss with banshees swarming over it and fighting. Instead of continuing into the structure, simply resume walking forward in the direction you entered the area from and you will find a Lion Kingesque Pride Rock jutting out over the abyss.

Do some clever clamoring and the skull is at the Simba location of that rock.

Skull effect: Rare combat dialog becomes more common

Mission 2: Black Eye

After you go down an elevator you will be greeted by 2 hunters for the first time in Halo 5. After defeating them you will drop down a covered air-vent-type-thing and find yourself in the reactor room of the ship.

Continue to the left wall (from the direction you’re entering from) and climb on top of a large white pipe that runs along the wall. Follow it to the far wall and leap across a small gap and you will find yourself standing on an air vent. Ground pound it and the skull is in the room you land in.

Skull effect: Shields do not recharge until you melee enemies

Mission 3: Iron (Legendary)

This skull can only be attained on Legendary. If you try on any other difficulty, you won’t be able to shoot down the Phaeton.

After getting into the Scorpion, proceed up the hill and take out the beam turrets. You go under a large rock arch way and follow the path to the right. As you move past the big building to the left, you will see a friendly cargo ship appear in the sky in front of you.

A Phaeton will begin the chase it and shoot at it. You must shoot down the Phaeton before it takes out the cargoship. You can do this using the Scorpion’s main gun, or turret, or a combination of both in co-op.

If successful, you will hear the Grunt Birthday Party sound, otherwise reload the last checkpoint.

After taking down the Phaeton, the skull will spawn in 1 of 3 locations, either alongside the fence in the nearby area in between two yellow barrels (this is just before the tower you passed), on top of the roof of the Scorpion bay underneath a yellow barrel, or under the small archway near the entrance of the area close to the bridge next to two metal boxes.

Pick up the skull from one of these 3 locations to unlock it.

Mission 5: Blind

After clearing the courtyard filled with snipers you will get a checkpoint before a large door. When the door opens go inside and jump up on a box directly to the left and look up for a gap in the ceiling. Jump and clamber up into the rafters and crouch walk back into the heating duct. You’ll find the blind skull sitting at the back.

Skull effect: HUD and first-person arms/weapon hidden

Mission 7: Grunt Birthday Party

When you first land on Sanghelios you aren’t greeted by enemies for a while, as you and your team traverse the lush terrain toward your objective.

Eventually you will come to an overhang where you are looking down at your first Covenant combatants of the level, instead of jumping down and engaging them you want to take a sharp right (head to about your 4:30) and follow a couple caves to a nice outdoor picnic spot occupied by a.. special character. The skull is obvious when you arrive.

Skull effect: Head shot a grunt for a surprise

Mission 7: Fog (Cloud?)

This is another skull on the same mission as the last one, Reunion. Except this time it’s at the veeeery end of the mission right before you cross the final forerunner bridge. If you look to your right you will see another forerunner structure about 150 meters along.

Head over there and you will find the Fog skull waiting for you on a silver platter.

Skull effect: Motion sensor is disabled

Mission 7: Grunt Birthday Party

After your first enemy encounter near the downed covenant ship, get on the path above and behind it. Follow the path to the end to find the singing grunt holding a skull. Click the “Punt” prompt, and the skull will replace him after he flies off.

Mission 8: Mythic

After fighting your way up the winding pathway you will get a checkpoint as you exit a cave as covenant ships fly by. As soon as you exit the cave there is a dilapidated sandstone pillar, clamber up it, and jump to the pillar to your right.

Once atop that you must sprint, jump, immediately boost and then ground pound to make it all the way to the farthest platform atop which sits the Mythic skull.

Skull effect: Increased enemy health

Mission 10: Catch

Once on the Kraken, head down and find one of the two Banshee docking bays. You’ll need to find the correct bay, to do so look at the back of the banshees and find the greenlit hall. If it’s to your left, you’re good, if it’s to your right, switch to the other bay.

Once in the correct bay, look up and to the left to spot a small platform in this room. Grab a banshee and fly over to it, get out of the banshee and grab the skull in plain sight.

Mission 12: Cowbell

You’ll enter a large area with a Guardian at the very back in plain sight. Stay on ground level and go as close to the guardian as the map will allow you to, from the edge of this area, look down to spot a metal beam and concrete platform.

Slowly jump down 1 level landing safely on the beam, and then turn around to spot the skull.

Mission 13: Tilt

After the encounter with the Warden Eternal, you’ll find a group of rocks (just to the right as you enter the area after crossing the bridge). You’ll need to do a few crouch jumps & mantle to the tallest point of this group of rocks. Find the skull at the top.

Mission 14: Famine

When you first encounter “The Warden” in a combat setting you simply go to the left and search underneath the platform he spawns on, the skull will be sitting in the middle of the hallway.

Skull effect: Weapons drop less ammo

Mission 15: Tough Luck

After you reach the outdoor area with the giant blue traveller ball make your way to the far back right. If you press down on the D-Pad the area you are looking for is target Gamma. Make your way up the handicap ramp against the right icewall that leads to the burning pelican.

Jump over the pelican and on the other side on an ice ledge you will find the final skull.

Skull effect: Enemies berserk, always dive, and never flee

Last Updated: October 27, 2015

2 Comments

  1. Got my limited edition in my bag at the office. WORK MUST END NOW!!!!

    Reply

    • Hammersteyn

      October 27, 2015 at 18:12

      Awesome feeling that!

      Reply

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