Unggoy Major

Unggoy Major is a common Unggoy rank of the Covenant Loyalists and Covenant Separatists.

Role
Unggoy Majors are higher in rank than Minors and are slightly more powerful than their lesser counterparts in terms of strength, intelligence, leadership, and morale. They often lead Minors in battle, and sometimes entire Lances when no higher caste species are present. However, even these higher-ranked Unggoy hold no power over any other forces in Covenant society except Jackal Minors.

Appearances
Major Grunts mostly appear leading a squad of Minor Grunts under the leadership of any Elite, even an Elite Minor. They usually appear whenever Minor Grunts do. They are found in almost all the levels in the Halo trilogy where you can find Covenant. In Halo 3, not much changes for Grunt Majors, as they are still lead by the lowest ranks of the highest Covenant society, which at this time are Brutes. They are usually led by Brute Minors to Brute Captain Ultras. They fight alongside Drones, Jackals and even Hunters occasionally.

Description
They are seen in combat as decorated in lucid red-colored armor (similar to their Elite counterparts), contrary to the orange armor of Minor Grunts and are more courageous as well, often staying to fight under conditions that would make their lesser brethren flee. If all their commanders, Sangheili or Jiralhanae, are killed, they will sometimes stand, resist, and fight. However, they still aren't very courageous and can often be observed fleeing along with Minor Grunts, but are more unlikely to go kamikaze than the Minors. They usually fight alongside a combined team of other Unggoy and Kig-yar, and have command over lower ranked Kig-Yar and Unggoy. Grunt Majors are the first enemy to wield the hand-held Fuel Rod Gun in the Halo series. They attacked the player with these deadly weapons after the player had destroyed the first Pulse Generator in the Halo: Combat Evolved level, Two Betrayals. They are also know to wear human equipment on occasion.

Deployment
During combat, Majors are usually the first ones to jump out of the Dropships. They are known to combine their forces in battle often. The Majors will also pair up and fight together with numerous subordinate Unggoy and even Kig-yar or Yanme'e soldiers.

Combat
Major Grunts are only slightly stronger than their lesser cousins, and are easily taken down with a headshot. In Halo: Combat Evolved, Major Grunts could be taken out with a single headshot or a couple of body shots. In Halo 3, they are stronger and may require two body shots on Heroic and Legendary.

Sometimes Minor Grunts will still fight even if the Brute or Elite leading them is dead, if a Major Grunt is around, though this is uncommon. The Major Grunts will sometimes be seen leading a small pack of Minor Grunts by themselves but this is rare. Grunt Majors seem to improve their accuracy slightly in Halo 3. This might be because of the stern and almost fierce influence the Brutes have over the Grunts. Major Grunts also throw Plasma Grenades more often than Minors.