Jiralhanae Captain

"Brute military doctrine states that to lead, one must be seen."

- Jiralhanae Captain's mantra

The Jiralhane Captain is a rank for the Jiralhanae serving in the Covenant and the lowest of the three known Jiralhanae captain ranks.

Overview
Jirlhanae Captains in the original Covevnant are a low-tier command rank, commanding groups of infantry but still being subordinate to higher-ranking Captain Majors and Chieftains. Captains are seasoned veteran Jiralhanae, and are more heavily armed and armored than standard Jiralhanae infantry.

Prior to the Great Schism, Captains were identified by either gold helmets or holographic flags attached to their harnesses. After the Jiralhanae were given elevated status in the Covenant military, they were issued with iridescent purple-blue power armor, equipped with energy shields.

Jiralhanae Captains are smarter and significantly tougher than their lesser brethren, and they will hold their ground more often, making them far more effective killing machines. Their combat effectiveness is due to their superior experience in the field and the heavy weapons they carry.

Jiralhanae captains in the Banished operate with a higher level of autonomy than their Covenant counterparts. They often lead large numbers of troops and perform specific missions that smaller warrior-led groups would not be entrusted with. Like in a typical Jiralhanae clan, Banished Jiralhanae captains serve directly under a chieftain. Many ambitious captains keep their eyes on the chieftain's position and are always looking for opportunities to overthrow their leaders. The very best Jiralhanae captains in the Banished are elevated to the position of Warlord.

Armor
The red-violet armor Jiralhanae Captains wear is more resistant to attack than that of the standard Jiralhanae warrior. Prior to the Great Schism, they wore the standard partial body armor of a Jiralhanae warrior, but had a gold helmet or small holographic red flag extending from their back or shoulder. During the Schism, they were outfitted with full-body Jiralhanae power armor with large, similarly-colored headdresses showing their rank instead of the flags. Their helmets prior to the Schism could withstand multiple headshots.

The right shoulder-pad worn by post-Schism Captains is identical to the shoulder pads of regular heavily-armored Jiralhanae Majors and Ultras. The left shoulder, however, is more intricate, somewhat resembling that worn by Tartarus. Captains also wear plating on their forearms, and have heavier thigh armor than regular Jiralhanae.

Jiralhanae Captains serving within the Banished are equipped with a red energy field, along with a helmet and full body armor in the Banished colors. Banished Captains are also equipped with a jump pack that helps them maneuver around the battlefield.

Weaponry
The standard and iconic armament of the Jiralhanae Captain is the Type-25 Brute shot and it is almost exclusively wielded by Captains. Captains are considered to experts at wielding the Brute shot. However, they will uncommonly wield Type-25 Brute plasma rifles or Covenant carbines. They often use weapons such as Type-25 Brute shots, plasma repeaters, concussion rifles, spikers, needle rifles, and even gravity hammers. During the Schism, their range of weaponry expanded, and in addition to the Brute shot, they wield both the Paegaas Workshop Spiker and the. During the Great Schism, some Jiralhanae Captains even used human-made shotguns at times.

Jiralhanae Captains within the Banished have been known to utilize Veporokk Workshop Ravagers, M41 SPNKRs, and MLRS-2 Hydras.

Gameplay
The Jiralhanae Captain sports more defenses than the standard Jiralhanae and is therefore more difficult to engage, especially on higher difficulty settings. Their primary tactics are to bombard an enemy at range with the high-caliber explosive projectiles from the Brute shot and they also sport a ferocious melee attack at close range, making the options available to the player limited when encountering a Jiralhanae Captain.

The safest option is to use the beam rifle from long range, although it takes several headshots to penetrate the thick helmet and skull of the Jiralhanae Captain, although the player may choose to resort to the magnum, Covenant carbine, or battle rifle, those three weapons are effective against Jiralhanae Captains. At close range the energy sword and the shotgun are recommended. A preferable tactic when approaching any Jiralhanae Captain with a shotgun is to put a quick burst into their chest and quickly follow up with a beat-down to the face. This tactic can kill a Jiralhanae Captain (on any difficulty) with efficiency (strictly Halo 3).

They are the only Jiralhanae that when killed can cause Unggoy to go kamikaze.

In Halo Infinite, Banished Captains will fire their Ravagers in an arc, allowing them to hit the player from far away and even when behind cover. Captains with Hydras or rocket launchers will fire straight at the player. Hydra-equipped captains will utilize the lock-on feature at higher difficulties. Captains with Hydras are also equipped with personal energy shields. Captains have a jetpack that allows them maneuver around the battlefield and gain an elevated position over the player. Shooting the jetpack will destroy it. The Captain's helmet can absorb multiple shots before falling off, although it is still faster than relying on body shots.

Jiralhanae Captain vs. Jiralhanae Bodyguard
In Halo 3, Jiralhanae Captains and the common Jiralhanae Bodyguard look similar, (especially in dim lighting), but there are slight differences in their armor color. The Jiralhanae Captains have a violet tinge to the armor, but the Bodyguards have a more indigo color. Furthermore, Jiralhanae Captains power armor is more durable than that of Bodyguards. It can be difficult to tell in the heat of combat and due to the fact that the armor shape is identical for both.

Production notes


In the early development of Halo 3, crimson-colored Jiralhanae Captains were originally going to be used for this position, but were scrapped and replaced with violet coloring during production of Halo 3 and later in the final game for unknown reasons. A render of a red-colored Brute leader can be found in the Halo 3 Instruction Manual and the Bestiarum, and the design used in the form of Lepidus in Halo: Uprising. Tartarus also wore this armor before becoming Chieftain following the First Battle of Harvest.

Jiralhanae Captains assigned to the Banished wear red-colored power armor in Halo Infinite.

List of appearances

 * Halo 2
 * Halo Graphic Novel
 * Halo: Ghosts of Onyx
 * Halo: Uprising
 * Halo 3
 * Halo: Contact Harvest
 * Halo 3: ODST
 * Halo: Evolutions
 * The Return
 * ''Halo: Blood Line
 * Halo: Reach
 * Halo: Broken Circle
 * Halo 2: Anniversary
 * Halo: Last Light
 * Halo Mythos: A Guide to the Story of Halo
 * Halo Wars 2
 * Halo: Envoy
 * Halo: Shadows of Reach
 * Halo Infinite