Jiralhanae Captain

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

- Jiralhanae Captain's mantra

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

Description
Brute Captains 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 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.

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.

Equipment
The 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 small holographic red flag extending from their back or shoulder. During the Schism, they were outfitted with full-body power armor with large, similarly-colored headdresses showing their rank instead of the flags.

The right shoulder-pad worn by post-Schism Captains is identical to the shoulder pads of regular 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.

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 Jiralhanae plasma rifles or Covenant carbines. During the Schism, their range of weaponry expanded, and in addition to the Brute Shot, they wield both the Type-25 Spiker and the Type-25 plasma rifle. During the Great Schism, some Jiralhanae Captains even used human-made shotguns at times.

Gameplay
The Brute Captain sports more defenses than the standard Brute 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 Brute 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 Brute Captain, although the player may choose to resort to the magnum, Covenant carbine, or battle rifle, those three weapons are effective against Brute Captains. At close range the energy sword and the shotgun are recommended. A preferable tactic when approaching any Brute 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 Brute Captain (on any difficulty) with efficiency (strictly Halo 3).

They are the only Brutes that when killed can trigger a kamikaze grunt.

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

List of appearances

 * Halo 2
 * Halo Graphic Novel
 * Halo: Ghosts of Onyx
 * Halo: Uprising
 * Halo 3
 * Halo: Contact Harvest
 * Halo 3: ODST
 * Halo 2 Anniversary