Halois full of combat challenges. As Master Chief (or any other playable characters), it’s your job to use the ‘golden triangle’ of firearms, grenades, and melee to take down your enemies. Although not common toHalo, those enemies include a number of ‘bosses’.
In this article, I’m ranking the fifteen strongest bosses in theHaloseries. To be eligible for this list, enemies must be main characters, essential to the plot, andyoumustactually fight them - directly - in combatin an officialHalogame.
Halo: 10 Best Spartans, Ranked
The Halo Universe has Spartans to thank for its safety and protection. Here are the best of the best.
That means I’m excluding Atriox, who you never actually fight outside of a cutscene, and Cortana, who only attacks via others. Generic Banished lieutenants fromInfinitealso don’t qualify as ‘main characters’ unless they’re part of the central plot.
As for what makes an enemy ‘strong’, perhaps allHaloplayers have a different perspective. I’m simply going to rank them based on how hard it was for me to defeat them. That doesn’t always mean they have a lot of health or shields; sometimes it’s just down to their raw skill. Or how scary they are.
Naturally,Halospoilers follow.
15The Didact
At the end ofHalo 4, Master Chief finally faces off against the Didact. As far as you’re concerned, this is humanity’s main existential threat. After all the build-up chasing this Forerunner general across Requiem, it’s finally time for the boss fight to end all boss fights.
As I approached this final showdown, I remember feeling worried. I’d really struggled to defeat a few of the earlier bosses, like the (endless) Warden Eternals. I was expecting this fight to take me a few hours of frustration, too.
But then, as it turns out, defeating the Didact is dead easy. It all happens in a cinematic QuickTime Event. Press a couple of buttons when you’re told and enjoy the very well-crafted (yet very short) cutscene.
In gameplay terms, it was kind of disappointing. The Didact ranks low on my list because, although he’s strong, the actual fight mechanics far from live up to all the hype built up throughout the campaign.
14343 Guilty Spark
Master Chief has finally done it. He andCortanahave made it into the center of the ring with their trusted friend, Sergeant Johnson, and their guide, 343 Guilty Spark. Spark has been with you the entire time, across three games. And then things take a turn for the shocking.
343 Guilty Spark betrays the UNSC and kills your old friend, Sergeant Johnson. It’s one of the hardest-hitting betrayals in the entireHaloseries. And now, Master Chief has to fight for his own life.
There was a lot of potential for a really difficult boss fight here, but in the end, it’s basically impossible to fail. You turn, pick up the Spartan Laser dropped by Sergeant Johnson, and defeat your foe with little more than two or three semi-scripted blasts.
I put 343 Guilty Spark here because he is actually a strong boss (health-wise). It is also possible to miss your shots and run out of ammunition or, if you stand stock still, get killed by Spark’s laser beam (both of which mean restarting from the last checkpoint). Although it’s easy, panicking or getting cocky can still mean failure.
13Prophet of Regret
You reach the Prophet of Regret, a key Covenant cult leader orchestrating humanity’s destruction, midway throughHalo 2. Up to this point, Master Chief had been battling through endless waves of Covenant in an old Forerunner temple.
He’s just sitting in his floating chair (sorry, ‘gravity throne’), shouting orders. With no weapons as such, the Prophet of Regret doesn’t come across as a difficult boss to defeat. But the endless waves of Honour Guards and energy blasts make things rather challenging if you don’t stay mobile.
In principle, it’s pretty simple to take him down. Dual-wield plasma rifles to take down the Honour Guards. ‘Board’ Regret’s gravity throne and spam the melee button to smack him. Repeatedly. And that’s it!
The Prophet of Regret doesn’t rank too highly because, although the fight might be tricky, it’s more quirky than challenging. It is important story-wise, but once you figure out the melee trick, it’s all over in a flash.
12Adjutant Resolution
Halo Infinite
You face Adjutant Resolution a few times inHalo Infinite. However, the first real fight happens in a Forerunner structure guarding the Conservatory.
Adjutant Resolution hovers above you and uses laser beam cannons, and summons support drones to keep you busy. Keep focused, though, and you’ll stay on top of things.
Keep hitting his arms to disable his weapons, and stay behind cover to avoid the laser beams. When he’s stunned, target the exposed core. Use shock weapons or Skewer shots to take him down even faster.
The most significant danger from Adjutant Resolution is his mobility, but once you learn his pattern, this doesn’t make much difference. It’s a cool fight, but not brutal. In fact, I think it’s supposed to be more humourous than anything else.
11Sesa ‘Refumee
During the Arbiter campaign inHalo 2, you’ll explore a heretic base floating above Threshold. Here, you meet Sesa ‘Refumee, an Elite zealot turned rebel, fighting against the Covenant lies about the rings.
The Prophets task the Arbiter with taking him down. The irony here is you’re actually fighting someone who has learned the truth, and the Arbiter ultimately switches sides, learning that Sesa ‘Refumee may have been right all along.
Sesa ‘Refumee isn’t exactly tough, but he uses drones that produce holograms, so it’s hard to pin him down. Ignore the illusions, stick behind cover, and wait for Sesa to decloak. Then, hit him hard. He doesn’t take many hits to kill.
Sesa lands here on my list because it’s more like fighting a generic Elite than a ‘boss battle’. It’s atmospheric and deeply moving from a plot point of view, but not particularly punishing. He isn’t exactly an excessively strongHaloboss.
10Merg Vol
Halo: Spartan Assault
Merg Vol is the Elite Zealot you meet as the final Covenant leader in Draetheus V. Before meeting him, you have to fight through massive amounts of Covenant resistance.
He’s one of Halo’s stronger bosses (even though he isn’t in the mainstreamFPS Xbox games) because of sheer firepower. You’ll have to find a way past his heavy shields, explosive attacks, and the fact that the fight is in a confined space with an awful lot of reinforcements coming at you all the time.
Halo Infinite: 10 Best Weapons, Ranked
Which weapon is king of the legendary Halo gun duel?
Win by being mobile. Manage your position, and don’t waste power weapons on the infantry waves. Burn through Vol’s shields before he closes the gap, because those dual energy swords pack a punch.
Although he’s a strongHaloboss, I found him beatable if you can maintain that discipline. If you had to fight him in a mainstreamHalogame, he’d probably be really difficult, butSpartan Assault’s top-down style limits how threatening he can really be.
9Tremonius
Halo Infiniteis littered with campaign boss fights, and Tremonius is the first. You meet the Brute shortly after unlocking the open-world segment.
Tremonius is heavily armored and has a powerful Hydra missile launcher. With limited equipment and weaponry available this early on, that Brute aggression is a definite point of concern.
As such, the way to defeat him is to make full use of the Grappleshot. Use cover, pick up shock coils, never stay still, and never back yourself into a corner! After a little while, you’ll start to notice his patterns. Adapt to these, and things become much easier.
Tremonius sets the tone forHalo Infinitewell, but he is, ultimately, nothing more than a warm-up boss, teaching you the ropes for the more difficult enemies yet to come.
Next up, I haveanother Brute fromHalo Infinite, Bassus. He’s got the gravity hammer, and the lead-up is filled with audio logs meant to psych you out.
Of course, Bassus’ gravity hammer is the real danger here. If you let him get close enough, he’ll kill you in one. He’s also pretty strong and fast.
But this isHalo Infinite, and by now, you have the Grappleshot. That makes things much easier. Lure him into explosives or drop shields to wear him down and finish him off with weapons as usual.
Bassus is stronger than Tremonius, but if you’re quick with the Grappleshot, he’s pretty easy to outmaneuver. Don’t get me wrong; he’s still tough. Maintain discipline, and you won’t have any problems.
7Chak ‘Lok
Ugh, this section made me jumpy! Chak ‘Lok is an Elite assassin. He ambushes you in a dark and claustrophobic prison chamber where he’s just sadistically tortured and killed captured UNSC soldiers.
Chak ‘Lok’s cloaking ability does genuinely make him scary, and the close quarters and darkness play into his energy sword advantage.
The first key here is to keep your head. Don’t just run around screaming and wasting your ammunition (like I did). Rely on the Threat Sensor to track him and use plasma or shock weapons to drain his shields when he reveals himself.
Chak ‘Lok takes this spot because he’s a creepy, clever, and pretty generally strongHaloboss. He tests your awareness and how effectively you can use your equipment. Compared with some later entries, though, he’s not too overwhelming.
6The Harbinger
The Harbinger is the final boss inHalo Infinite. You don’t really know anything about her apart from the fact that she’s the mastermind behind the Endless.
Your main challenge here is that teleportation. She’s fast, too, and summons steady waves of Banished reinforcements. The combination of these things is what makes The Harbinger such a difficult enemy.
Focus on crowd control first, and when you have a break in the surrounding action, turn your sights to The Harbinger. Use shock weapons and grenades to inflict maximum damage before she teleports again.
This fight is actually more about managing the surrounding chaos than dueling her directly. If you’re good at dealing with enemies in generic gameplay, you shouldn’t have any major problems in this fight - as long as you have good aim.
