Skirmish

Skirmish is a mode on Halo Wars which allows the player to battle against other opponents, either human or A.I., on various maps and under a variety of conditions. The player can select the number of opposing A.I teams, Leader types, modes, difficulty levels, and the map. Skirmish may be in Standard or Deathmatch mode.

Teams
There are three Leader types for the UNSC and the Covenant. They can be chosen from the Leader Selection Menu for yourself or for A.I. opponents by selecting a slot on the Alpha or Bravo Team. Also a random team Leader or both random can be selected.

The leaders you can pick from are Captain Cutter, Sergeant Forge, and Ellen Anders for the UNSC. Or the Arbiter, Brute Chieftain, and the Prophet of Regret for the Covenant.

Each character you pick has his/her own special abilities, upgrades.

Captain Cutter

 * Leader Power: MAC Blast
 * Unique Unit: Elephant(mobile infantry trainer).
 * Super Upgrade: ODST, (Marines can upgrade to ODST troopers and then drop from orbit anywhere on the map)
 * Economy bonus: His bases start with more building sites

Sergeant Forge

 * Leader Power: Carpet bomb.
 * Unique Unit: Cyclops(repairs and heals buildings).
 * Super Upgrade: Grizzly- a different, superior version of the Scorpion tank.
 * Economy Bonus: All supply pads on his bases start out as Heavy supply pads.

Professor Anders

 * Leader Power: Cyro bomb (freezes enemies in place)
 * Unique Unit: Gremlin
 * Super Upgrade: Hawk (a laser beam upgrade added to the Hornet).
 * Economy Bonus: Cost and Research time for unit upgrades reduced by half.

Prophet of Regret

 * Unique Unit: Elite Honor Guard
 * Combat Upgrades:
 * Blessed Immolation: Upgrades to fuel rod cannons for damage increase
 * Ancestral Perversion: Dual protector unit hover near the Prophet and defend him
 * Divine Absolution: Upgrades chair so Prophet becomes a full-fledged flying unit
 * Special Upgrades:
 * Regret's Sentence: medium cleansing beam which does more damage
 * Regret's Doom: Large cleansing beam for increased damage
 * Regret's Condemnation: increased damage of beam

Brute Chieftain

 * Unique Unit(s):
 * Brutes
 * Brute Chopper
 * Combat Upgrades
 * Inheritance: adds passive stun ability to normal attacks
 * Birthright: Chieftain can pull enemies closer to him during combat.
 * Destiny: adds an area of effect (AOE) stun to Gravity Hammer.
 * Special Upgrades:
 * Tsunami: Increases vortex damage and AOE.
 * Hurricane: Increases vortex damage and AOE.
 * Singularity: increases vortex damage and AOE.

Arbiter

 * Unique Unit: Suicide Grunt
 * Combat Upgrades:
 * Fiendish Return: Arbiter armor reflects a portion of incoming damage back to the attacker.
 * Vicious Blades: Adds damage to attack and increases damage reflected.
 * Ghastly Vision: Permanent cloak enabled and damage reflection increased.
 * Rage Upgrades: (Rage only applies to the Arbiter when he is the leader)
 * Defiant Rage: Health partially restored with every inflicted fatality.
 * Spiteful Rage: Rage mode costs less to maintain.
 * Blinding Rage: Rage damage massively increased, also increases the power of nearby allies.