Elites

Summary
The Sangheili, or Elites as the Humans call them, are the iron heart of the Covenant military.

There are a few varieties of the Elite, but all are roughly 8'6" tall and incredibly strong. Their strength allows them to rely on brute force when necessary, but they are quite capable of brilliant battlefield tactics as well. Their natural resilience is augmented by full body energy shielding which recharges when depleted. They wield plasma pistols, plasma rifles, plasma grenades, needlers, carbines, beam rifles, fuel rod cannons, and the formidable energy sword.

In Halo 2, when playing as the Arbiter, it is possible to give friendly Elites all of the weapons the player can wield, excepting the Sentinel Beam. All the human weapons, from the Magnum to the Rocket Launcher, can be given to them.

Culture
Elites consider the other Covenant client races to be below them in all ways. The Elites are the only known race permitted to operate starships within the Covenant, though the crews are always a mix of races.

In the Elite culture, names are considered a privilege. Only things of importance are named. The Elites generally consider humans to be nameless, and resent the fact that humans have assigned the label "Elite" to them, as humans have no standing to be naming things.

Because names are important to the Elite society, each element of the name has a meaning. Elite names are contructed from a series of parts. An example is Ado 'Mortumee. "Ado" is his given name, which is all he had until he was considered an adult. As an adult he earned the right to carry the badge name "'Mortumee". This name is made up of three parts: MOR (an adjectival descriptor, such as "fast", or "deadly"), TUM ( a créche name, basically his family name), and EE (an honorific indicating he is a participant in the military). Most Elites will have names with this kind of construction.

The Covenant military promotion is by merit. A Covenant soldier must succeed to advance. Success is often measured in scalps. A Covenant of "Admiral" or equivalent rank, may have personally slaughtered thousands of individuals.

Rank Structure
Their color-coded ranks, from order of highest to lowest, are:


 * Councillors: Councillors are the political leaders of the Elites, and share power with the Prophets on the Covenant's High Council. Their ceremonial armor is quite distinct, a light blue or silver color with a tall crested helmet. Like Gold and Honor Guard Elites, the Councillors are extremely skilled fighters who favor Plasma Swords. They also possess extra-strong energy shields, similar to those possessed by White "Ultra" Elites. They are primarily encountered in the last level of the Halo 2 game, as allies of the Arbiter. However, they make previous appearances in cinematics and as corpses, and the Master Chief fights one at the very end of the Gravemind level.


 * Honor Guard: The personal bodyguards of the Prophet Hierarchs, the Honor Guard wear distinct, ceremonial red armor, with glowing orange edges which are in some ways a bit similar to the japanese samurai armour. Honor Guard commanders wear the same glowing armor but with white background. An Honor Guard general is seen in High Charity, with a honor guard helmet, ultra armour, and orange spikes. They usually operate in teams of two, with one Honor Guard wielding an energy sword and another dual-wielding plasma rifles. However, in cinematics they are seen carrying double-pointed spears. They are thought to be selected at birth and to devote their lives to protecting the hierarchs.


 * Gold - Zealot Commander/Supreme Commander: The Generals and Admirals of the Covenant army; commanders of battalions, ships, and fleets. Gold Elites are some of the toughest and most skilled Elites. In combat, they are always constantly moving and seeking cover, making it difficult to maintain continuous fire on them. They also run faster than other Elites and the Master Chief, and fire in longer, more accurate bursts. Gold Elites are also equipped with overshields, allowing them to withstand considerably more damage than other Elites. Most Gold Elites fight with Plasma Energy Swords. Unlike other Elites, Gold Elites do not seem to throw any grenades, nor will they ever board a friendly vehicle. In Halo 2, the overshields on Gold Elites are gone, leaving them with only somewhat stronger than standard energy shields and their great combat skills to protect themselves in combat. However, they seem to have a somewhat higher constitution than the rest of the Elites. The current Arbiter in Halo 2 once held this rank before his defeat at Installation 04.


 * White - Ultra: These are the Covenant's colonels, captains just below the golden Zealots in rank. Several white Elite corpses were seen in Halo presumably killed in combat with the Flood, but they do not appear in battle until Halo 2. They command operations, unlike the Zealots who command entire fleets. Ultras commanded the anti-Heresy mission, the retrieval of the Icon, and the Scarab in the level "Metropolis". Like the Gold Elites, the Ultras are extremely skilled warriors. They also possess extra-strong energy shields that can withstand several times as much damage as those possessed by regular Elites, and they can take more physical damage as well. They often fight with heavy or dual-wielded weapons. Many also carry Plasma Energy Swords as their secondary weapon; when enemies get too close, Ultras let out a war cry, drop their currently wielded weapon and pull the sword out for close combat. They are incredibly effective fighters, able to continue in sustained heavy combat long after most elite warriors' shields would have been depleted. They are particularly effective in close quarters combat, where their stronger energy shields and Plasma Energy Sword allow them take down large numbers of enemies rapidly and easily survive. These elites are unmatched in combat.


 * Black/Dark Blue - Special Ops: Covenant Special Forces that are extremely skilled fighters, sent in by the Covenant to accomplish the most dangerous and difficult of missions. Like Golds and Ultras, Black Elites are constantly on the move and never stand still or expose themselves to enemy fire. They also have superior accuracy, fire in longer bursts, and have slightly stronger shielding than regular Elites. They also do not "berserk" when seriously injured, unlike many other Elites. Most notably, Black Elites operate in squads and are extremely skilled and accurate grenade throwers. In Halo, they are the Covenant's elite shock troops, similar to the role played by the UNSC's Orbital Drop Shock Troopers, or Helljumpers. They were assigned to eliminate all Flood on a damaged Covenant cruiser and repair it for immediate departure. They were present when the Master Chief boarded that damaged cruiser to find what was left of Captain Jacob Keyes. They were also present on the Pillar of Autumn just before the first Halo was destroyed by its reactors going critical. In Halo 2, the Arbiter's squad of Special Ops Elites is equipped with Active Camouflage, and use it when needed. In Halo 2, most Special Ops elites have a dark blue armor, showing subtly that they are no ordinary elites without drawing lots of attention a Gold, Ultra, or Red Elite would from enemies in combat. The Arbiter led a squad of dark blue Special Ops elites to crush the Guilty Spark Heresy, and they assist him in retreiving the icon.


 * Light shiny blue/Bronze - Stealth: These Elites are equipped with Active camouflage, making them nearly invisible to the naked eye. The camouflage fluctuates slightly when these Elites fire their weapons or are shot, but they will not become fully visible until they are killed. The drawback of the Active Camouflage is that it disables the Elite's energy shields, making Stealth Elites vulnerable to damage. In Halo 2, however, Stealth Elites are now equipped with energy shields and wear dark brown armor. They are equal in rank to the SpecOps elites, and often brandish energy swords they activate after sneaking up on an enemy. The energy swords, however, cannot be Active Camouflaged, and are easily seen.


 * Light Red - Pilot: These Elites are specially trained to fly Banshees or drive Wraiths. The colour of their armor is very similar to that of the Major Elites, but a shade lighter.


 * Light Blue - Ranger: Some Elites are issued jetpacks and flight suits to protect them from the vacuum of space or to aid them in battle. They dual-wield plasma rifles, signifying they are of relatively high rank. Their helmets completely encase their heads. They are usually seen travelling in small groups of 2-3.


 * Red - Major: This veteran Elite soldier is the physical equal of a SPARTAN supersoldier. They are overall more agile, more accurate, and more aggressive than Blue Elites, and seldom make tactical errors in combat. A single Red Elite can hold his own against an entire squad of marines. In Halo 2, they can often be seen dual-wielding or carrying heavy weapons.


 * Blue - Minor: The most common and least experienced Elite. Blues are still skilled warriors superior to any human marine, but they are somewhat weaker than Red Elites or SPARTANs. Their energy shields are not quite as powerful, and they often make tactical errors such as standing in one place while firing, or rushing forward into enemy fire. They also fire in shorter bursts, and have somewhat less accuracy. Along with Red Elites, they often lead squads of Grunts into battle.

Physiology
Elites have an interesting physical appearance. Their jaw is quadruple-hinged; they have an upper jaw, and then four mandible-like lips which are lined with sharp teeth. Their legs are double jointed so they can jump great distances compared to humans, and their unusually shaped hoof-like feet give them tremendous balance. Their hands have four fingers; two middle fingers and two thumb-like fingers on the outside of the hand for grasping. They have grayish-brown skin and purple-blue blood. It is not known what chemical makes the blood this color, though it is assumed they breathe oxygen because they can breathe the same atmosphere as humans.

Interesting Notes
It should be noted that the higher-ranking Elites have strange glyphs on the backs of their armor. Upon closer examination, these glyphs were found to be directly related to the same strange symbols that have appeared in ancient Forerunner structures found throughout known UNSC controlled space. This is an example of how the Covenant worship, or at least revere, the Forerunners.

The dialog spoken by the Elites of Halo 1 was made by reversing and slowing sound clips of Sergeant Johnson. "Wort wort wort" is the reversed phrase, "Go, go, go!".

Related Links

 * Arbiter
 * Elite Personal Energy Shield