Kig-yar Sniper

Jackal Snipers are newer rank additions for the Jackals of the Covenant. Unlike standard infantry Jackals, Jackal Snipers do not carry Jackal Personal Arm Shields. They wield long range weaponry, serving as the Covenant's answer to UNSC Marine sharpshooters.

Jackal Snipers are very different from all the other types of Jackals. Jackal Snipers do not carry energy shields but instead they use both hands to man the beam rifle or a carbine. The Covenant Beam Rifle is a very powerful sniper weapon; it may take your shields down in Easy or Normal but in Heroic or Legendary, the Beam Rifle may only take one shot to end the life of the player. Jackal Snipers are not like the regular Jackals; they do not keep shooting if you are close, but instead drop their Beam Rifle, they draw out a Plasma Pistol, and retreat.

Killing Jackal Snipers


The best way to kill a Jackal Sniper is to use either a Beam Rifle/Sniper Rifle, MA5C Assault Rifle, or a M6C Magnum Sidearm for an instant kill. The Battle Rifle and the Covenant Carbine also delivers an instant head shot kill. Also you can throw a plasma grenade on it.

Unlike all other Jackals, these guys are slow but have compact bodies. The Beam Rifle has to be the best weapon on them. One shot, one kill. Be sure to take cover as they can kill you with a single shot. Switch to an automatic weapon such as the Plasma Rifle or the SMG and blow away any retreating Jackals. But on Legendary, and sometimes even Heroic, jackals can be moderately to extremely hard to counter-snipe. Most weapons will be completely useless unless several rounds are fired into the body, but head-shots are always instant kill. If you can ever use a sniper rifle or beam rifle against them, it is recommended you do so.

Jackal Snipers often snipe from well covered Gravity Platform positions. In these cases, it may often be best just to destroy the platform, or if you don't have sufficient firepower, to try to go up the gravity lift and engage the Jackal in close quarters combat.

Appearances
Jackal Snipers appear commonly in Halo 2 and Halo 3, and can be quite annoying or dangerous if you are playing on higher difficulty levels. What they lack in their physical power they easily make up in their precise aim and speed. Like most covenant species they resemble an animal. Most fans think that the Jackals look very bird-like.

Trivia

 * In the level Outskirts, there is a Jackal Sniper in a tower that when killed, an "invisible Jackal Personal Arm Shield" collapses, and you can see the tell-tale blue electricity and noise.
 * In Halo 3, the Jackal Snipers wear helmets with a personal scope attached to the left eye. This scope shines a purple light that actually gives the snipers position away.
 * In a Bungie interview, they stated that Jackal Sniper in Halo 2 were too dangerous and too accurate.
 * On Delta Halo there is a jackal sniper that wields a plasma rifle, just before you go into the sanctuary.