Jiralhanae

"Them? What about us? My belly aches, and his flesh is seared just the way I like it."

- A Brute, to Tartarus while dragging the Arbiter to the Mausoleum of the Arbiter after he was branded with the Mark of Shame.

The Jiralhanae (Latin, Servus ferox, meaning "wild slave" ) are a race of monkey-like creatures in the unified conglomerate races of the Covenant. The Humans have termed such warriors Brutes because they are an extremely savage and brutal race in general.

Overview
The Brutes have been around since the time of the destruction of the planet Harvest, but the Sangheili for good reason greatly feared the ambitions of the Brutes and purposefully kept them in low-ranking positions as long as possible. They seem to have high aspirations, and are extremely over-zealous in their belief of the Covenant's Great Journey, mainly due to their blind faith in the Covenant. The plot to have them put into power over the Elites started with their alliance with the Prophet of Truth during the Battle of Harvest and continued to gain headway until the eventual splitting of the Covenant into the Covenant Loyalists and the Elites. They became the Honor Guards of the Prophets after the High Prophet of Regret was slain by the Master Chief, resulting in the removal of the Elites from this traditional role. They protect the Prophets fiercely, mainly due to their blind faith in the Great Journey and the Prophets. They first appeared in the Sacred Icon level, but the only ones seen here are dead bodies. The first level they are encountered is Gravemind. Brutes are of Simian origin. They have thick, gray skin, and are covered with matted, black, tan, or brown fur-like hair. Their large, stocky appearance is most likely due to the gravity on their planet which is about twice the gravity of that on Earth. As they age, the hair will change to a grayish silver color which is a great sign of respect for all Brutes. They have very sharp teeth and sometimes use them as a weapon. Standing nine feet tall, they are immensely strong (to the point of overpowering a SPARTAN in MJOLNIR armor in hand to hand combat) and fight hand-to-hand if they ever lose their weapon. One almost killed Master Chief as though his armor weren't there, which shows how dangerous they can be. The Brutes, with the exception of Tartarus (who perhaps channeled it from Forerunner technology during activation), did not use energy shielding in Halo 2. In Halo 3, all of them are equipped with Power Armor. They speak in deep, gravelly voices when speaking our language, however they often speak with loud roars and grunts. They seem to prefer using weapons from their native home-world rather than the Covenant standard-issue plasma-based firearms. Brute weapons are notable for being highly dangerous and almost always featuring a blade attachment such as the Spike Rifle, Mauler and the Brute Shot. They use simple, brutal weapons with sharp blades, which appeals to their violent nature. Examples of Brute names are Tartarus and Bracktanus. In Contact Harvest, it is revealed that the "us" at the end of their name is an honorific denoting maturity. For example, Tartarus would have been known as Tartar. Oddly, however, in Halo: Ghosts of Onyx, there was Brute Shipmaster by the name of Gargantum, which seems to contradict this rule, although this is never explained why. The Brutes have a hierarchical cultural structure, and are split into tribes called "packs", all led by a single "Chieftain". A Brute Chieftain carries a Gravity Hammer, Fuel Rod Cannon or a Plasma Turret. A Brute Captain carries a Brute Shot. A regular Brute infantryman doesn't have armor that has quite as advanced shielding, and usually carries spike grenades and Spiker rifles. A Brute becomes a pack Chieftain by challenging the current Chieftain to a mortal duel; the victor claims the title after executing the other. In general, Brutes have a pronounced dislike of the Sangheili. They believe that they can protect the Prophets better than them, and the Prophet of Truth used this to begin the Covenant Civil War during the events of Halo 2.

In many military records, Brutes are referred to as 'Bravo Kilos', since UNSC Marines have nicknamed Brutes 'Baby Kongs', a reference to King Kong of 20th century fame.

Anatomy and Physiology
Brutes are a physically imposing enemy to face in combat. Standing at approximately 8-9 feet tall, they tower not only over their human opponents, but are taller than Elites, and are taller than the majority of their Covenant allies. They have thick, grey skin that is resistant to damage.

They are covered in thick, shaggy fur that may offer further protection. It covers most of the body except for the head and the shoulder blades. Brutes exhibit two colorations: brown and grey. This is perhaps an indication of age, since lower ranking Brutes are brown and Honor Guard Brutes and Tartarus himself are gray. In Halo 3, they are seen with shaved faces, which increases the fearful effect they have on opponents. Brutes have mixed red-and-blue blood (on first glance they look completely red, but on closer inspection one would see blue spots in pools of Brute blood. At a casual glance, it appears purple. Brutes resemble a cross between a Neanderthal human and a bear, being taller and more thickset in the torso and limbs than a human.

Heavily muscled and possessed of an animalistic brutality and power, Brutes can rely on close combat to defeat their enemies, even more so than their Elite counterparts. Featuring characteristics Simian, Ursine and alien, their appearance matches their human given name.

Brutes have four digits on each hand including an opposable thumb. As such this allows them to make use of a variety of weapons both of Covenant and human design. Their feet have only two digits on each side. When it comes to ranged conflict Brutes show a tendency to use large, rapid firing, often powerful weapons. This may be indicative of their mentality and an extension of their brutal nature. The many spikes and serrated edges that adorn their race's weapons, vehicles and armor further exhibit this. It is interesting to note that in Halo 2 Jiralhanae can be seen using human M90 shotguns.

Brutes are by no means as mentally slow as they may appear, and are often cunning tacticians. As such they can pilot vehicles, ships and command both land based and fleet encounters with strategic competence, if lacking in artistic flair.

Brutes are known to descend into a highly aggressive berserk killing-rage when all their packmates have been killed. Their incredible physical strength coupled with a dogged self determination to kill their target makes a berserking Brute a force to be reckoned with, powerful enough to occasionally kill Hunters.

Interestingly, Brutes in Halo 2 are almost completely armorless, have small heads, blackish-purplish blood, have suction cups on their feet and are covered with fur, but in Halo 3 they are completely protected by power armour, they are clean shaven, they have a bigger head relative to their body, they have crimson blood and they have no suction cups. One theory is that during the time of Halo 2, the Brutes were not used as much for infantry, and thus required no armor. However, after the Elites were forced from the Covenant, their use in combat skyrocketed, and armor to further protect them was issued.

Culture
Despite their savagery, Brutes have proven intelligent enough to achieve spaceflight and space-faring status, though their warlike nature meant they were quickly collapsed into civil war, forced to climb their way back to their former status, learned nothing from the experience. The Brutes had recently concluded a mechanized war of attrition in which the many master packs fought and pummeled each other back to a pre-industrial state. When the Covenant discovered them, they had just started re-discovering radio and rocketry. Their warrior culture makes them formidable opponents, even for Elites, and they were incorporated into the Covenant. Their warrior culture is apparently patriarchally oriented, with rank measured by success, and success measured in terms of battlefield and sexual prowess. No (noticeable) female Brutes have been seen serving in the Covenant military. Brute names are composed of two parts: the main part, e.g. "Tartar", with "us" added to signify that the individual has been in combat, giving the whole name "Tartarus."

They have a fierce pack culture, which has led to war between the Brute packs before the Ninth Age of Reclamation, which was how space flight was lost to the Brutes in the first place. The pack culture is a close knit affair, with Brutes in a pack being very protective of each other, berserking and mourning over their former pack members if they are killed.

Brutes are obviously carnivores, given their fearsome fanged jaws and propensity for violence. It has been stated that they feed on the flesh of their enemies, such as the Elites they face in battle, and have been seen eating the meat of a "Thorn Beast," apparently considered a delicacy among Brutes. They have once stated they would gladly have devoured the Arbiter, had they been allowed. As part of the Covenant, Brutes were required as a prerequisite to convert to the Prophets' religion of worshiping the Forerunners. Previously, their culture revolved around the worship of totems and idols, but they made swift converts. As it is, the Brutes are now the most fanatical adherents to the Prophet's faith, evidenced by their continued belief in the Great Journey.

Even at a glance, the Brutes are the most primitive members of the Covenant, at least technologically. Though they employ Power Armor, and use a selection of the Covenant's weapons such as the plasma rifle, their native technology is crude, propelling "spike" like projectiles, often fitted with vicious metal blades for melee combat. In Halo: Contact Harvest it states the Brutes had only discovered radio and rocketry when they joined the Covenant. The Prowler incorporates some anti-gravity mechanisms, but the Chopper uses two projectile cannons and an actual "wheel" in its systems.

Homeworld
Doisac is the name of the Brute homeworld. It possesses three satellites: Warial, Solrapt and Teash, and is the fourth planet of the Oth Sonin system. The gravity on the planet was approximately 2.1G while the atmosphere was 1.3 atm. Surface temperature was between -15C to 52C. The estimated population of the planet was approximately 12.5 billion. Its habitat is described as being dominated by magma and magnetism.

Battlefield Tactics
Unlike Elites, who are masterfully skilled tacticians, the Brute combat mentality relies on overwhelming force and firepower to kill its opposition. Most Brute packs encountered in Halo 3 will often consist of 4-6 individuals; the number of each type of individual varies with the difficulty being played. Often these packs will consist of 1 Brute Captain, 1-2 Brute Majors and 2-3 Brute Minors. It can be twice that many if there is a chieftain in command near by. Whilst patrolling, Brutes exhibit a sense of calm and confidence, some have been found testing captured human weaponry whilst in this relaxed state. Once engaged in combat the Brutes hunch into a more ape-like stance and begin firing upon their target(s). Often the target is subjected to a barrage of fire and explosives in excess of what Elites and Grunts can muster.

Brutes rely primarily on their own technology. They are initially found wielding Brute Plasma Rifles to deadly effect. These faster firing variants on the standard Plasma Rifle suit the Brute mentality well. Higher ranking members of the pack (often Captains) are fond of using the Brute Shot allowing a Brute pack to lay down a withering hail of explosive fire on an enemy position. In the later months of the Covenant Civil War, they become much better equipped, with many weapons of their own make such as Spikers and Incendiary Grenades.

Like the Elites, the Brutes can pilot most vehicles including Ghosts, Spectres, Banshees, and Wraiths. Brutes also have the ability to Board vehicles. In Halo 3 Brutes use two new vehicles, the Chopper and the Prowler.

With the advent of the Covenant Civil War, Brute weaponry is more commonplace. The Type-2 Antipersonnel Fragmentation Grenade, more commonly known as the Spike Grenade, is a creation of the Brutes themselves. It is suspected that with their newly found dominance amongst the Covenant Loyalists, the Brute Plasma Rifle has been replaced with the Type-25 Carbine or Spiker. The blades that adorn this weapon are testament to their barbaric nature and their affinity for close-quarters combat.

Brutes are also fond of explosives and will often use all types of Grenades in combat (particularly Spike and Incendiary grenades). They have also been known to use Fuel Rod Cannons, Rocket Launchers, and even Frag Grenades. For some reason, Brutes seem particularly fascinated with human Shotguns, perhaps attributable to the advent of the Mauler into the Covenant ranks. Their skill with the Covenant Carbine, makes them dangerous at mid to long ranges. On higher difficulties in High Charity, Brutes will use Battle Rifles, but this is quite rare, since they regard most human weapons as worthless (despite how effective some of these are against them, an example would be the Shotgun or BR).

The last surviving Brute of a pack will go berserk, charging at its enemies in a blind rage. This may be due to the strong bonds with the members of their pack. A Brute, after calming down from its rage, will sulk and mourn the loss of its comrades, even caress the bodies of the fallen. However, upon seeing its enemy, the Brute will abandon its sulking mood and once again become enraged. This mourning is a rare occurrence, almost never seen in combat, and only when there is a brief lull in the fighting.

Brutes are extremely resilient, and can take enormous amounts of damage. Before Halo 3, they lacked any form of equivalent to the Elite Personal Energy Shield but worryingly they don't seem to need to. As of Halo 3, regular adoption of Power Armor has been cycled into Brute ranks. However, the Power Armor can fall apart, and if you manage to do so, the Brute will charge and try to bite you.

Combating Brutes
When engaging Brutes one should note their incredible endurance. On Legendary mode, even the weakest of them can take massive amounts of damage, similar to a fully shielded Elite or Spartan.




 * M6C Magnum/M6G Magnum - Can be effective at close to medium range once you have removed the helmet to get a quick head shot. It is also very effective when dual-wielded with the plasma pistol. One overcharged shot followed by a headshot is lethal. Note: This does not work on Brute Chieftains or in Halo 2.


 * Shotguns are very effective against Brutes at point blank. It should take two hits or one hit and a melee attack to kill one, though higher ranking Brutes may take up to three or four with Power Armor.


 * Needler - One of the most effective weapons against the Brutes. Filling a Brute with needles until it explodes is a certain way to kill them quickly.


 * Brute Shot - Effective against most Brutes especially if they are mostly alone. Fire grenades while walking forwards to stun it and once close enough you can kill it with a melee attack. Even if you cannot get close enough to melee it you can destroy most of its armor this way allowing for a head shot from a battle rifle or Covenant carbine. Blanketing groups of Brutes with Brute Shot grenades is an effective way to de-armor them before picking them off with a rifle.
 * Melee - Melee fights with Brutes is incredibly risky, even for skilled players, though strikes from behind are instant kills. There is, in fact, an Achievement in the PC edition of Halo 2 for killing a berserking Brute with a melee attack. In Halo 3, melee attacking Brutes is less risky. If you have taken some of it's armor off then a low ranking Brute should die in one hit. However it should not be attempted on high ranking Brutes such as Chieftains. Taking a Brute's armor down completely will make them have a small fit of rage, at close range, while they are doing this, it is possible to go behind them and assassinate them before they can turn around.


 * Plasma Pistol - An overcharged plasma pistol can remove all of a Brutes armor in one hit. A Chieftain's armor (Halo 3) will not fall off completely, but he will still lose his shields and sometimes knocking off his helmet. Plasma Pistols are virtually useless in Halo 2. It is, however, very effective when dual-wielded with the M6G Magnum (Halo 3 only). One overcharged shot followed by a headshot is lethal, or an overcharged shot followed by an immediate melee This does not work on Brute Chieftains.
 * Battle Rifle/Carbine - Another effective tactic against Brutes in Halo 3 is to stay out of range and pummel it with a Battle Rifle or Covenant Carbine. The object here is to first shoot off it's helmet/armor and then make a head shot. Since Battle Rifle ammo can sometimes be scarce, it is a good idea to use weaker weapons like the assault rifle and the plasma pistol to deactivate their shields and save the Battle Rifle ammo for headshots. Groups of Brutes will try to outflank you if you try and stay out of range. It is a good idea to keep moving between cover to stop them from overrunning you.
 * MA5C Assault Rifle - The Assault rifle is quite effective against brutes, taking half a clip to kill a Brute Minor. It should take a maximum of 1 full clip to kill any Brute (besides a Chieftain). Use this weapon at Medium ranges, and fire in bursts to simulate Battle Rifle fire and then once the shields are down switch to a headshot weapon. At close ranges try to melee the brute, do to the balanced of the fire/melee nature of the Assault Rifle.


 * Machine Gun Turret/Plasma Cannon - If available, the hail of damage will rip right through their armor and you can fire indefinitely to keep them in cover while your Marines or co-op players kill the other enemies such as Grunts or Jackals before moving in for the kill on the Brutes. With excessive amounts of Brutes you may need to detach the turret and take it to a more defensible position. Take note that it no longer has unlimited ammunition so suppressing fire is no longer as viable an option.


 * Sniper Rifle/Beam Rifle - Very effective weapon against brutes, with headshots, it is even better. Always aim for the head. Unlike an Elite, sniping Brutes on their body is not that effective, except to remove armor as they can take 2 or 3 shots before dying. Don't try it when they are berserking, for the majority of the shots will be wasted. To fully extend the use of the sniper it is not recommended to use on Brute minors any any other low cleassed Brute, do to the fact that sniper ammunition (or a replacement rifle) is scarce.

Covenant assistance in advances
The Pack culture began to disappear, after the Brutes were incorporated into the Covenant, and the use of weapons was introduced. This advanced the Brutes greatly from their former pack, primitive culture, showing that a lot of the advances that the Brutes made were, most likely, from the Covenant. It is unknown if Brutes gained the power of human speech from the Covenant, as the Brutes did, originally,make peaceful contact with the humans on Harvest, although it is unknown if this contact was through speech. The advances the Covenant made were most likely lost after the events of Halo 3 as, with no one to think for them, the Brutes most likely descended into pack war once again.

Appearances
Chronologically, the first appearance in canon that the Brutes make is in Halo: Contact Harvest, where the Prophets send a Brute-operated vessel, rather than an Elite ship, to capture the "relics" on Harvest: actually the human occupants. The resulting hostilities led to the Human-Covenant War.

After the events at Harvest, the Brutes played an even more reduced role, absent from almost every battle or event in the war. This is possibly explained by their failure to eradicate all the humans on Harvest. They soon began petitioning the High Council for more participation within the Covenant military. They were next seen in Halo: First Strike acting as Temple Guards on the Unyeilding Hierophant. In Halo 2, they began to replace the Elites within the military, eventually replacing them completely after they withdrew from the Covenant, and in Halo 3 they make up the dominant caste among the Covenant armed forces. In Halo: Ghosts of Onyx, Brutes are shown loading human nuclear missiles aboard a destroyer for analysis, but play a relatively minor part.

Published Order
 * Halo: First Strike
 * Halo 2
 * Halo: Ghosts of Onyx
 * Halo: Contact Harvest
 * Halo 3
 * Halo: Uprising
 * Halo: Last One Standing

Brute hierarchy
The Brute species is arranged in a pack society based on a hierarchy determined by viciousness and number of war kills. In Halo 2, Brute ranks were mostly determined by flags on their backs. Ranks in Halo 3 are differentiated physically by armor, equipment, and weaponry:

Trivia

 * The word "Jiralhanae" (지랄하네) is a Korean swear word meaning something in the league of a "stupid aggressive lunatic". It can also mean phrases like "that's bullshit."


 * Brutes were the first Covenant creatures encountered by humanity on peaceful terms; however this did not last long. They are, with the Grunts, the second races encountered, after the Jackals.
 * The ViDoc, Et Tu Brute, shows Brutes wielding energy swords, however they are never seen doing so in the finished game. Et Tu Brute also shows a Brute Minor with a Brute Shot using the corpse of another Brute as cover from which to fire from, which has never been seen in Halo 3.


 * Servus is Latin for slave. Ferox means "headstrong, spirited, courageous, warlike/wild, arrogant, unbridled". In a translation, their name means "headstrong (or other word) slave".


 * In the Halo 3 levels, The Ark and Crow's Nest, you can see a Brute Captain urinating on a wall before he sees you.


 * Brutes prefer their own 'crude' weapons, rather than the standard plasma weaponry of the other Covenant races.


 * In Halo 3, meleeing a Brute Chieftain will stop him from meleeing you for a few seconds as he reels from the blow. If you can continue to melee him, it will kill him. This is an effective strategy if you don't have any Chieftain-killing weapons on you. However, you must be able to get close to him, which is not easy, to say the least


 * In Halo 2, You may occasionally find them wielding shotguns. This is probably because the shotgun's power at close range appeals to the Brute's in-your-face nature. The Brutes use their own primitive technology for the Mauler, their shotguns in Halo 3.


 * Brutes were the first ones to set foot on a human planet of Harvest, and make semi-peaceful contact with humans.


 * Brutes can be seen worshiping on The Ark, or receiving orders from the Prophet of Truth.


 * In Halo: Contact Harvest the Brutes were seen to be extremely religious and blessed food before they ate it.


 * In the bestiarum (Halo 3 Limited edition) there is a red brute minor and also a silver one that is never seen in game.


 * From the Halo 3 limited edition Beastarium, it revealed- [note:Jiralhanae are the only species on record who have achieved space, reduced themselves through internecine war to a preindustrial condition, [clawed] their way back to their normal state, and learned nothing from the experience.]


 * Brutes work in packs. Some pack leaders may choose each member of their pack based on their own preferences.


 * The CMT (Custom Mapping Team) is experimenting with Brutes in Halo: Combat Evolved multiplayer, using Halo Custom Edition.