Stealth Sangheili

The Stealth Elites is a Sangheili rank of the Covenant, and later, the Covenant Separatists.

Roles
Not to be confused with Special Operations Elites, these Sangheili Stealth soldiers are the assassins and spies of the Covenant Army Special Warfare Group.

The use of their active camouflage makes them experts at ambushing enemies in tight quarters. They are usually equipped with Energy Swords or Plasma Rifles, and are seen commanding Grunts similarly equipped with active camouflage.

While they possess Active Camouflage, their defensive capabilities are lower than those of other Elites due to the weakness of their personal energy shields. Early on in the Human-Covenant War, Stealth Elites had no Energy Shields, relying only on their stealth and weapons to accomplish their complicated missions. This was later rectified, but the Stealth Elites' newly gained Energy Shields were weak, causing any Sangheili who held the rank to still rely heavily on stealth and quickness.

Combat
Stealth Elites are usually armed with Plasma Rifles, either single-wielded or dual-wielded. Frequently, these soldiers are allowed to carry and use Energy Swords. They often lie in wait in order to ambush their enemies. They are also far less prone to tactical mistakes, such as not charging directly into a fight and taking cover more often. Their agility and Active Camouflage make them difficult targets to hit, and they often attack in pairs, much like Hunters.

The best way to combat a Stealth soldier in Halo: Combat Evolved would be to take advantage of their lack of shields. The M6D Pistol and the SRS99C-S2 AM Sniper Rifle will kill them with a single shot to the head, though it can be difficult to land shots, due to the Sangheili's agility and camouflage ability. The sniper rifle's night vision makes this easier because it makes them quite visible. The MA5B is very effective at close range, as its ability to fill the air with a large number of projectiles reduces the need for accurate aiming, and allows you to find the Sangheili easier while they are still camouflaged. Explosives are also extremely effective when trying to flush them out of hiding or from behind cover, or to damage them.

In Halo 2, use head shot-capable weapons such as the SRS99C-S2 AMB Sniper Rifle, M6C Magnum Sidearm, BR55 Battle Rifle, or the Covenant Carbine. Their relatively weak shields can be broken easily by these weapons, and like any other Sangheili soldier, they can be killed by a single headshot while unshielded. Marksman weapons such as the Sniper Rifle can kill them with a single headshot even when fully-shielded depending on difficulty you're playing on. The shotgun is very effective when combating a Stealth Elite in a close quarter’s environment.

Stealth Elites appear frequently in the Halo 2 campaign and mainly the level Outskirts on Legendary, though they also appear in the underwater structure in the level Regret, and on Gravemind.

Armor and Shields
These Sangheili are clad in armor that comes in several different variations. They are a specialty class, like Rangers, and are suited for stealth operations.

During and prior to the Battle of Installation 04, their armor was a light blue or gray color, depending on the lighting, and had a Forerunner emblem on the back. However, this armor system did not allow for use of a Sangheili Personal Energy Shield, allowing for a quick and easy kill if you know where they are.

During the Battle of Earth and the Battle of Installation 05, these Stealth soldiers received updated and improved armor. The color was changed from a grayish tone to either a brown or silver/steel color. In addition, the designers added in personal energy shields for increased survivability. The shielding system worn by Stealth Elites is significantly different from any other armor system worn by the Sangheili. Stealth Elites' shields recharge incredibly quickly, much faster than any other shield system seen in use in the Halo universe (including the shielding systems of Elite combat harnesses, SPARTAN power armor, and Brute power armor). Additionally, Stealth Elites appear to have almost twice as much health as a standard Minor Elite. On the downside, these shields are noticeably weaker than those worn and used by Sangheili Minors, with almost 50% the shield strength of a Minor Elite's shields.

Halo Wars
In a Halo Wars trailer, Stealth Elites attack a Marine squad called Blue 5. The last two survivors of Blue 5 tried to escape, but both were shot in the back by plasma bolts, presumably from a Plasma Rifle. One of the two Marines survived and began to crawl away from the Elites, but one of the Sangheili warriors stabbed him with his energy sword. He then picked up the Marines dead body, growled, and tossed it away. When Marine team Blue 6, armed with Scorpion Tanks, Warthogs and Battle Rifles, got to the Stealth Elites' position, Blue 5 was already dead. A huge battle broke out. The trailer ended with the leader of SPARTAN Group Omega saying "If they want war, we'll give 'em war!"

Stealth Elites are also seen throughout Halo Wars campaign. Their invisibility makes it impossible for the player's units to see them. The Elites invisibility ends when they take a certain amount of damage. They use energy swords. It was once speculated that they would be the unique unit of Ripa 'Moramee, although this was later proven to be untrue. Despite wearing silver armor in the previous Halo games, in Halo Wars, they appear with white armor.

Trivia

 * The silver colored Stealth armor systems have shields that are slightly weaker than those of the brown armored systems. This could possibly mean that the silver-armored Sangheili are Stealth Minors and the brown-armored Sangheili are Stealth Majors.
 * In the programming of Halo: Combat Evolved and Halo 2 it shows Stealth Sangheili subdivided into Minors and Majors in the levels which they occur in.
 * In Halo 3, instead of fighting Sangheili Stealth specialists, you fight Jiralhanae Stalkers which nearly have the same role as their Sangheili counterparts except for the fact that the Stalkers protect their pack's Chieftain.
 * The Sangheili of this expertise do not appear during the events of Halo 3, though it is still possible that some of these soldiers still fought during the Battle of Voi and the Battle of Installation 00. It's also possible that some of these Sangheili were absorbed into the Covenant Separatist Special Operations groups during the Great Schism.
 * In the last level of Halo: Combat Evolved, The Maw, there are some Combat Forms with their Active Camouflage still working. This means that they are likely infected Stealth Elites. However, they do not carry weapons.
 * Stealth Elites are not to be confused with Ossoonas, who also employ the active camouflage. Ossoonas are meant to spy on the enemy without participating in the fight unless spotted, while Stealth Elites are for combat purposes.
 * Stealth Elites mainly show up in Halo: Combat Evolved, but some Stealth Elites are seen in Halo 2, and are then replaced by Brute Stalkers in Halo 3.
 * Stealth Elites are not the only Elites that can use Active Camouflage. They are the only ones who have the dedicated role of attacking by stealth in a combat situation so they are trained specifically for it. Special Operations Elites also use Active Camouflage, as can the Arbiter, but unlike the Arbiter's, Spec-Ops Elites and Stealth Elites' camoflauge can last as long as they want.
 * Among the scattered bodies of Elites that can be found throughout the playable sections of New Mombasa in Halo 3: ODST, there are bodies that wear gray armor, similar to that of Stealth Elites.