Jiralhanae

The Brutes, or Jiralhanae by their own name, are the newest race of the Covenant and have high aspirations. 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, and protect the Prophets fiercely. They first appeared in the Sacred Icon level, but the only ones seen here are dead bodies. The first level you encounter them alive is Gravemind.

They have thick, gray skin, and are covered with matted, brown or white fur-like hair. They have very sharp teeth and sometimes use them as a weapon. They are immensely strong (to the point of overpowering SPARTANs in MJOLNIR armor in hand to hand combat, at least in raw strength) and fight hand-to-hand if they ever lose their weapon. The Brutes, with the exception of Tartarus, do not use energy shielding, as they are strong enough to withstand massive amounts of damage.

They seem to prefer to use a weapon called the Brute Shot that fires high-velocity grenades and has a long blade on the underside of it, which they use for melee attacks in close range. They have their own version of the Plasma Rifle as well. The Brute Plasma Rifle is red (rather than blue), fires red bolts of plasma, and fires at twice the normal rate of fire. All of these advantages are offset by the Brute Plasma Rifles tendency to overheat much faster.

Examples of Brute names are Tartarus and Bracktanus.

The Brutes have a primitive cultural structure, and are split into tribes called "packs", all led by a single "Chieftain". The way a Brute moves up in rank or stature is unknown, but it is probably similar to that of the Elites.

Brutes have a pronounced dislike of the Elites. 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

Ranks
Known Brute ranks include:


 * Brute Minors are only seen in Halo 2. They have no armor, wield basic weapons, and are the lowest rank of Brute before the Elites left the Covenant. After the Brutes became the primary command race of the Covenant, they all started wearing armor, and "naked" brutes in combat will apparently not be seen any longer.


 * Brute Regular/Majors are the lowest rank shown in the Halo 3: ViDoc "Et Tu, Brute?". They have a basic set of blue armor, and in the video he wields a handheld gun, a Brute Spiker, equipped with a short scythe.


 * Brute Captains are signified by the flag mounted on their shoulder, and wield Brute Shots more often than other weapons. In the Halo 3: ViDoc "Et Tu, Brute?" the Brute Captain dons purple armor and wears a more pronounced headdress.


 * Brute Honor Guards have recently taken the place of the Elites as the protectors of the High Prophets. Since the job was formerly held by Elites, most of the ceremonial combat armor does not fit.  Thus, they only wear the helmets.  They wield honor guard "spears" in cutscenes, but revert to brute plasma rifles for combat.


 * Alpha Jiralhanae/Brute Chieftain Brutes are hightest in the Brute hierarchy. In Halo 2, the Chieftain of the Brutes, Tartarus, was the highest Brute Commander in the Covenant Army. Since he was killed by the Arbiter, there has not been a Chieftain assigned to his position. In the Halo 3 ViDoc "Et Tu, Brute?",the are more Brute chieftains seen, and they are stated to wear very elaborate gold or red armor, breast-plates, and an even more intricate headdress. They seem to wield the Fist of Rukt, the gravity hammer similar to the one used by Tartarus. Ocassionally, they even use energy swords and a plasma cannon.

Combatting Brutes
It has been noted that Brutes always move in groups, and if all but one are killed, the last Brute will drop its weapon and charge for the attacker, attempting to draw near and crush the target in unarmed combat. This tactic is known as "berserking". It has been noted that on Normal, only about 4 or 5 hits from a berserking Brute are necessary to drain shields completely. The Brute's attack speed is nothing to laugh at either. On rare occasions, berserking Brutes have even been known to overpower and kill Hunters.

Brutes have incredible endurance. On Legendary mode, even the weakest of them can take massive ammounts of damage.

The Needler is one of the most effective weapons against the Brutes. Fill a Brute with needles until it explodes and that should take out the Brute quickly.

Melee attacking Brutes is incredibly risky, even for skilled players, though strikes from behind can usually kill with one blow.

Another effective weapon for dealing with brutes is the Carbine. One or two headshots are quite useful; the first for dealing with the chrome helmets they are known to wear and the second to deliver the death blow. Even if the Brute is beserking just keep your aim on its head and continue to fire while walking backwards to avoid melee combat.

Although never has the hieght of a Brute been officialy said. But from examaning them in combat they are a bit taller than Elites and are probably about 9ft tall.

Using the Brute shot or the Energy Sword is the best way to melee a Brute. Most human weapons are highly effective against them. They are similar in difficulty as Elites.

Shotguns take 2-3 shots against Brutes, due to their tough hide.

The Battle Rifle is very effective against Brutes if used in a similar manner as the Covenant Carbine. Players will rarely get the chance to try this, however, as High Charity is the only level in which you encounter both. On the last level, only Johnson can take down Tartarus's shield because he's the only one with a Beam Rifle, and you can't trade weapons with him but you can take one beam rifle in the journey before the scarab. It also can take down Tartarus's shield.

Best way to fight Tartarus: Take a beam rifle and an energy sword. It is better to do the Ulimited energy sword trick. When you want to fight Tartarus, shoot him then use the energy sword to attack him. Repeat this and he should fall quickly. It is very hard to do this on lengendary as he is almost invincible and he could kill you in one shot.

Weapons Used

 * Plasma Rifle
 * Brute Plasma Rifle
 * Carbine
 * Brute Shot
 * Battle Rifle (On the level High Charity, when playing on legendary. However, this is quite rare)
 * Shotgun
 * Plasma Grenade
 * Plasma Cannon
 * Gravity Hammer (Only wielded by Tartarus, but will return in Halo 3)
 * Spiker (Halo 3 only)
 * Spike Grenade (Halo 3 only)
 * Energy Sword (Halo 3 only)

Trivia

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


 * In a new documentary by Bungie, ViDoc: Et Tu Brute, Brutes seem to have green blood instead of dark blue. This floresent green blood might also be a spark when the bullets hit the armor because you can see there dark blue blood splat on the floor after he shot them.


 * In Halo 3 the Brutes now seem to have energy sheilds.