Jiralhanae Chieftain

"The hopes of all the Covenant rest on your shoulders, Chieftain."

- Prophet of Truth

The Brute Chieftain is a Covenant rank for the Jiralhanae (Brute) race, the highest in the Jiralhanae hierarchy. In Halo 2, there was only one, Tartarus, who was killed by the Arbiter and his Sangheili allies on Delta Halo. He used a powerful gravity hammer called the Fist of Rukt.



In Halo 3, they will command a "pack" of lesser Brutes, and will enforce the pack-like mentality. In the Halo 3 video documentary "Et Tu, Brute?", there are multiple Brute Chieftains seen, although probably not as high as Tartarus, who was believed to be the highest of the Jiralhanae. They wear very elaborate gold or red Power Armor (which is stronger then usual and impervious to sticky grenades and needler needles), breast-plates, and an even more intricate headdress. A Chieftain was seen wielding an Energy Sword, however they rarely if ever use them.  The Brute Chieftain may hold a rank similar to the Alpha Jiralhanae or the Elite Zealot.

Brute Chieftain (Armor)
This type of Brute Chieftain relies on heavy firepower weapons like the Fuel Rod Cannon, and Portable Plasma Cannon to crush their foes. Their ornate, bronze armor is the most powerful and durable of the Brutes' Power Armor. Their armor cannot be stuck by sticky grenades or Needler needles.

Brute Chieftain (Weapon)
These Brute Chieftains are clad in ornate red and black armor. Whilst it cannot take as much damage as the bronze armor worn by Armor Chieftains, it allows greater speed and mobility. On Normal they will carry and occasionally use the Flare. On Heroic and Legendary they carry and almost always use the Invincibility power-up. They wield the Energy Sword and Gravity Hammer. These chieftains seem to be even more skilled with a hammer than Tartarus himself, and their Power Armor cannot be stuck by sticky grenades or Needler needles.

Tactics
It is advised to never charge a hammer wielding Chieftain, as it is almost always a one hit kill.

A hammer-wielding Chieftain is prone to utilizing the invincibility power-up while charging at you.

Also a good tactic is to shoot its helmet/headdress off and shoot it multiple times in its head.

A good way to kill a Chieftain is to use Cloaking and assassinate them. This way you are unharmed, but you can also pick up their Invincibility, since they did not have time to activate it.

A full clip from a M6G pistol in it's head will kill a Chieftain on Normal difficulty.