List of Halo: The Master Chief Collection medals

Medals are preset rewards or bonuses given in all modes of Halo: The Master Chief Collection when players perform specific actions. These usually involve the killing of enemies or rival players. Players can view their Medal Chest in the career menu; they do not appear on Halo Waypoint.

There are two main sets of medals awarded in the Collection. One set of 31 medals is awarded in the six campaigns of the Collection; every medal in this set can be earned in any campaign.

The other far larger set of 280 medals is awarded in multiplayer matches. These medals are not necessarily awarded in every game; though many are, many others which are awarded for certain weapons or game modes appear in only some or even just one game. In the Medal Chest, each medal's description is accompanied the logos of the six multiplayer modes (Halo: Combat Evolved, Halo 2, Halo 2: Anniversary, Halo 3, Halo 4 and Halo: Reach); whether a medal is lit up or darkened denotes whether it appears in each mode.

Graphically, the medals appear in the same manner as those in Halo 4. Every medal which appeared in Halo 4 returns in the exact same form. Medals which only appeared in earlier games return with an updated appearance. Halo: CE, Halo 2 and Halo 2: Anniversary feature several medals not in their original games, as well as some all-new medals which have never appeared before in any game. Halo 3 and Halo: Reach multiplayer award only those medals which appeared in the original game. There is also a quirk by which during Halo 3 and Halo: Reach multiplayer matches all medals appear in their original form, as they did on the Xbox 360; in the post-match carnage report, however, the medals are displayed in their updated form. The sole exception to this rule is medals which are exclusive to Halo: Reach; these medals appear in their original form, both in the post-game carnage report and in the Medal Chest.

In the April 2022 update to MCC, a large variety of medals from other Halo titles were added to Halo 3 in a “Unified Medal Display”. This gave players the option to view and earn the newer medals that appeared in Halo: CE and Halo 2 multiplayer in Halo 3 as well. This also came with an option to enable the original medal displays in those games or disable medals entirely. Halo 3 also gained an option called “Original+” which enables the original multiplayer medal display along a few medals that only appeared in Halo 3’s campaign: Supercombine, Headshot and Assist. XP from any medals earned in multiplayer matches will still apply no matter what medal display is enabled.

Trivia
For the first four games in the Collection, the 31 campaign medals represent a significant addition, as only Halo 3 featured campaign scoring, and even then awarded only eight unique medals. The Halo 3: ODST campaign also awards this same set of medals, however this actually represents a reduction in the number of medals from the original Xbox 360 game, which featured 36 medals. Eight medals (Hammer Spree, Dream Crusher, Stick Spree, Sticky Fingers, Incineration, Laser Kill, Vehicle Jack and Assist) are omitted, while only three (Be the Bullet, Buck Wild and Sunday Driver) are added.

The reduction in Halo: Reach is even more extreme, with the number representing less than half of the 64 medals that could be awarded in that game's campaign. In addition to losing seven of the medals lost by ODST (save for Incineration), Reach also loses Inconceivable, Unfrigginbelievable, Corrected, Wrecking Crew, Sword Spree, Slice 'N Dice, Cutting Crew, Laser Spree, Red Menace, Sunburst, Assist Spree, Sidekick, Second Gunman, Wheelman, Wheelman Spree, Road Hog, Road Rage, Skyjack, Kill from the Grave, Sniper Kill, Assassin, Yoink, Close Call, Rejection, Protector, and Firebird.