Sangheili Major

"Station and Salvation both command a heavy price."

- Sangheili Major's mantra

Major is a Sangheili military rank that includes a prevalent Officer subclass. Majors are directly superior to their Minor counterparts.

Background
If a Sangheili Minor proves himself in battle by killing opponents in legitimate combat, in accordance with honorable achievements earned on the battlefield, he is promoted. Sangheili do not think of promotion in the terms humans associate it with; Sangheili Minors who do prove their worth to their commanders ascend to a commanding role. Majors typically command lances of fewer than a dozen soldiers, though some command battalion-sized units. Majors also commonly pilot for ground and air vehicles such as the Type-26 Wraith tank and the Type-26 Banshee attack aircraft, respectively. Majors also sometimes hold second-in-command positions aboard Covenant ships.

Within the Major rank exists the Officer class. Officers are both powerful combatants and capable tacticians, and wear more ornamental armor than other Majors. Like regular Majors, Officers report to their onsite Ultra or, in the absence of an Ultra, directly to their General or Shipmaster. Most Officers have a selection of units under their command, including Sangheili Minors, Unggoy, and Kig-Yar.

Select Sangheili Majors receive the temporary title of Ossoona - "Eye of the Prophet"- directly from a Prophet. The title of Ossoona awards elevated military status and command and is usually only given for a single mission.

Gameplay
Majors are commonly seen in Halo: Combat Evolved, Halo 2 and Halo: Reach on the Heroic and Legendary difficulties. On Easy and Normal, their presence is relatively infrequent. They commonly lead lances of Unggoy, Kig-yar and Sangheili Minors. Equipped with approximately 50% stronger energy shields than their lower-ranked counterparts, Majors are competent and forceful warriors capable of overpowering their opponents, namely UNSC Marines and ODSTs although not necessarily. They are less likely to perform tactical errors when compared to the inferior Sangheili Minors; Majors seek more cover and fire their weapons with a greater accuracy and faster rate of fire, and are also more maneuverable. However, they still make some tactical mistakes, as they tend not to seek cover in many occasions, even with their shields down.

Like the Minors, Majors usually wield plasma rifles, occasionally dual wielding them. In some scenarios, Majors wield carbines and needlers.

Trivia

 * As seen in an early trailer for Halo: Combat Evolved, Sangheili Majors were originally supposed to wield a point defense gauntlets.
 * The Majors' combat harness, referred to as the Sangheili Officer Harness, is available as a Sangheili armor permutation in multiplayer as a reward for buying the Halo: Reach Limited or Legendary editions.
 * It was assumed that the full title was "Major Domo Sangheili", first mentioned in Halo: Ghosts of Onyx, which makes a reference to a "Majordomo Sangheili". However, "majordomo" is a real-world term for the head of a family in an aristocracy. It is more than likely though, that the human term does not apply to the Sangheili and is perhaps another rank within the officer structure. On the following pages Sangheili of the military rank are simply called Majors.

List of appearances

 * Halo: Combat Evolved
 * Halo 2
 * Halo 3
 * Halo 3: ODST
 * Halo: Reach


 * Halo: The Fall of Reach (2010 and 2011 editions)
 * Halo: The Flood
 * Halo: Ghosts of Onyx
 * Halo: The Cole Protocol
 * Halo Legends
 * The Package