Kig-Yar Minor

A Kig-Yar Minor is the lowest Covenant Jackal rank.

Rank
They are effectively equal to the UNSC Private or PFC or maybe Lance Corporal. Donning a turquoise shield on their right arm, they occasionally lead a few Grunts into battle. However, they will retreat if their shield is depleted. They are commanded by Major Grunts, Gunner Grunts, Spec Ops Grunts, and Ultra Grunts, so they usually jump out of Spirits or Phantoms first. However they are higher than Minor Grunts. Like Grunts, they are low-ranking in the Covenant hierarchy, and are considered inferior to Brutes, Elites and, Hunters.

Combat
Minor Jackals always carry Plasma Pistols as their standard weapon. They tend to overcharge the pistols, and use their shields to block enemy fire. The best way to kill them is to use a Frag Grenade, but you can use a Pistol, Battle Rifle, Sniper Rifle or any precision weapon, so that you can aim for places on their bodies not protected by shields if you're a good marksman (specifically the shield flank where the hand is). You can also try to flank them where there is no protection and take them out. An overcharged Plasma Pistol will overload their shields as well, but it will eventually recharge. Meleeing them is also effective, but risky and not advisable on higher difficulty settings due to the Plasma Pistol's high rate of fire.

Like all Jackals, except for Sniper Jackals, Minor Jackals carry energy shields. They are vulnerable to the Plasma Pistol or Plasma Rifle. One Shotgun hit to their frail body will kill them.

Also, as soon as you get close enough to a Minor, it will cover its head with its arms, hunch low, and run away. This exposes most of the back, and sometimes the head to fire, but the shield may still remain charged up and protect part of its body.

Appearances
Like Grunts, the Kig-Yar are commonly seen in combat and are engaged as cannon fodder. Because of this, they are seen in almost every level with other types of Covenant forces. They are not allowed to board UNSC ships, because of their pirating nature, so Kig-Yar are never seen in levels concerning Human ships. Minors simply devote their combat time to bombard you on the ground, however. Ironically, they are the Arbiter's allies only on the level Sacred Icon, in which they accompany the Arbiter on a mission to recover the "Sacred Icon", Installation 05's Activation Index; Kig-yar are typically not true followers of the Covenant's religion.