Skull Guide - Guide for Halo 2

                           "Skulls Guide"
                           Written by Spartan3

                           Table of Contents

1. Legal

2. Intro

3. Skulls
  3.1- Grunt Birthday Party
  3.2- Envy
  3.3- Sputnik
  3.4- Blind
  3.5- Black Eye
  3.6- Famine
  3.7- Mythic
  3.8- IWHBYD
  3.9- Thunderstorm
  3.10- Ghost
  3.11- Angry
  3.12- Assassins
  3.13- Unnamed
  3.14- Iron
  3.15- Catch

4. Contact

1. Legal

This guide is written by and therefore property of Spartan3. Any attempts to 
reproduce or sell this is illegal and legal actions will be taken. If this guide is 
seen on any other website, it will be considered plagerism and legal actions will be 
taken.

2. Intro

Skulls are found throughout Halo 2. There is a total of 15 of them all scattered 
throughout various levels. All levels except Outskirts and Heretic have one (Heretic 
has none, Outskirts has two). These skulls do different things to the game. Some 
things are good, some things are bad. Some skulls are so secretive that no one knows 
what they do.

3. Skulls

3.1- Grunt Birthday Party, Ledgendary, Arbiter

Method for finding- Progress throughout the level until you get a banshee. As soon 
as you are in the banshee, fly straight down towards the far side of the bottom of 
the middle structure. You will see two large circular supports and a large connetion 
between the top of those two supports. In between the supports and the large 
connection there is enough space to land your Banshee. You will find a circle of 
dancing grunts, and in the middle of that circle is the Grunt Birthday Party skull.

Effect- Headshots makes enemies explode

3.2- Envy, Ledgendary, Delta Halo

Method for finding- Progress through the level until you come to an area with a 
large central stucture that has a multitude of columns. When you first get into this 
area, you have to go left, and there is a ramp on the left that goes up and then 
back down. Get on this ramp and continue up the wall until you are on the landing 
where there will be (or used to be) some plasma turrets. Follow this landing all the 
way to it's end, and you'll see a door that is blocked off by a large stone. Jump on 
top of the stone, and jump again to get on a thin ledge. Make sure you're up against 
the left wall, and grenade jump up to the top of the wall to your left. Once you're 
on this wall, you'll see that the right wall ends and there is some earth behind it. 
Jump onto the dirt, and follow the stone wall all the way to the top. When you're on 
the top of this wall, you can look down towards the center and you should see two 
cloaked Elites looking towards each other with the Envy skull between them.

Effect- Active Camo takes the place of your flashlight. The camo acts just like 
Arbiter Active Camo

3.3- Sputnik, ledgendary, Quarantine Zone

Method for finding- From the start of the level, turn directly around, and you 
should see a tunnel. Head into the tunnel and go straight until you exit the tunnel. 
Go straight across the open area, and you'll come across a broken pipe tunnel on 
your right. Straight in front of you you should see a small ledge running across the 
wall, above the green pit. Carefully get onto that small ledge and walk all the way 
to the end of the ledge to find the Sputnik skull.

Effect- The force of certain attacks and explosions is increased dramatically. The 
most obvious changes are to frag grenade explosions, rocket explosions, vehicle 
explosions, melee attacks, and plasma attacks from turrets and vehicles. What this 
increase in force means is that objects tend to go flying farther, making for some 
very crazy battles, or for some very nice height when frag grenade jumping. It's 
important to note that weapon damage is NOT changed. Also, when you melee attack an 
enemy from the front, you will hit them so hard it will turn them all the way 
around - giving you the perfect opportunity to get a mortal melee blow in.

3.4- Blind, all difficulties, Outskirts

Method for finding- As soon as the level starts your vision will be blurry. Directly 
ahead of you there is a hallway with a flashing light. Enter the hallway, turn 
around, and look up There will be a horizontal flashing halogen light. Jump to it. 
Then turn right and crouch jump to the roof. Then turn right again and there is a 
long passageway with some ammo, grenades, and the Blind skull.

Effect- There is no HUD or weapons on screen.

3.5- Black Eye, ledgendary, Great Journey

Method for finding- Eventually you have to escort the Sarge who is in a Scarab. 
Follow him along until you see the huge compound in front of you. Directly above the 
door that the Sarge blows open with the Scarab is an angled beam. Land your Banshee 
on this beam and walk to the top of the beam. Look down and to your left and you 
will see a circular angled wall. Jump onto this wall and walk to the top. Walk 
straight along the right-hand side of this area. You will have to jump over a small 
beam in front of you. Continue walking straight until you come to a grassy area. 
Keep walking up the grassy hill and go until you come to the point where can jump 
onto the angled support for the tower meets the grass. Jump onto the support and 
walk up the support. It's a very steep climb, so jumping while you're going up the 
support speeds up the walk some. At the first landing you will see the Black Eye 
skull sitting on a glowing white panel on the floor.

Effect- Your shield does not charge normally. To charge your shields you must melee 
enemies. You can charge your shields into the overcharge range doing this.

3.6- Famine, ledgendary, Oracle

Method for finding- After you get off of the slowly decending elevator, you will 
come to a hallway where you see a handful of dead bodies. Continue into the next 
room, and you will be on the second floor of a room that has a lot of glass windows. 
When you enter this room, look to the right, and find the third pane of glass. It 
should be to the right of a wall that has some flood guts splattered on it. Shoot 
out this window, and the windows directly across the room. If you look below you, 
you will see a platform that has four tall posts. On the far side of the room there 
is a column that is right in between the two windows on the far side of the room. 
Turn on your active camo, and jump to the center platform. Jump on either of the 
posts on the far side of the platform and jump to the column between the windows. 
Make another jump through the window you shot out, and make a left. Walk all the way 
to the end and you'll find four flood elites convulsing on the floor, with the 
Famine skull in the middle of them.

Effect- All found weapons have less ammo.

3.7- Mythic, ledgendary, Sacred Icon

Method for finding- There is a semi outdoor area which has the same type of area 
right next to it. There is a large sentinal in front of each one. Go past this area 
and down the piston and you'll be in a vary dark and dank flood infested area. 
There's a stack of 6 or 7 boxes as you enter the room. Use them to jump up to the 
landing above. There are a handful of alcoves on your right hand side. The skull is 
in the third alcove, floating above a dead human flood. 

Effect- Unknown. Apparently enemies have more health, making them harder to kill, 
but this has not been proven. There is also a rumor that it sets a new difficulty, 
harder than Ledgendary.

3.8- IWHBYD, ledgendary, Outskirts

method for finding- The specifics of this skull are still a bit sketchy. The best 
thing to do is watch the videos showing how to spawn the skull and just keep trying 
until you get it to spawn. The main thing appears to be getting the checkpoint right 
past the pelican that picks up Johnson. This checkpoint spawns the sniper jackals 
in 'sniper alley.' The skull itself is in a room on a balcony. The room contains a 
sniper rifle and sniper ammo, and if you're one of the lucky ones who can get the 
skull to spawn, it will also contain the skull. Picking up the skull teleports you 
to the ground level, and gives you just a Plasma Pistol. You will quickly be 
assaulted by Elites. Some people say that grunts and jackals will also spawn, but 
I've never seen them do so. In my video, 7 waves (not 6, like I said initially) of 
Spec Op Elites come out. Killing the last Elite will have the text for the skull 
flash, meaning that you have to kill all of the Elites to actually finish getting 
the skull. If you die to the Elites, and your checkpoint no longer spawns the skull, 
kill yourself 4 or 5 times to be pushed back one extra checkpoint. The skull should 
spawn for you again, so you can try the fight again.

Effect- Unknown

3.9- Thunderstorm, ledgendary, Cairo Station

Method for finding- After you take out the second room of covenant boarding the 
ship, the game says "Priority Shift". Shortly after this you will go to the armory 
where you will have to take out a couple of Elites. The next room is "Commons B.01". 
Clear out all of the enemies on the ground floor and the Grunts in the far landing 
that are manning the plasma turret. Once you've cleared the room, look towards the 
outside -- literally out into space. You should see the dual tram tracks, and some 
diagonal supports holding up the tram tracks. You'll also note that the diagonal 
supports in the center are close together. One of those supports goes down the side 
of the wall near where one of the glass railings is. You can jump on the post for 
the glass railing and jump up onto the diagonal railing. From here, jump to the tram 
track and follow it all the way down towards the door you originally came in. You 
should see a landing with a trash can. The skull is in/under this trash can. Simply 
walk up to the trash can and hold X to pick up the skull.

Effect- All covenant enemies become spec ops.

3.10- Ghost, ledgendary, Uprising

Method for finding- After the outdoor area with all the ghosts and grunts, there is 
an 'L' shaped room that is seen throughout the level. It is right after the armory 
room that is full of covenant and human weapons. Grenade jump using a jacked ghost 
up to the rafters and it's up there. You can also push a box from the armory room 
into the hallway, and jump on this box. The skull is right above the door, and if 
you hold X down while jumping close enough to the skull you will pick it up, even if 
you're not in the rafters and the skull isn't visible.

Effect- Unknown. Some reports say enemies take longer to notice you or react to your 
presence.

3.11- Angry, ledgendary, Gravemind

Method for finding- Fight all the way through the Covenant city until you reach the 
outdoors. As soon as you are outside, turn right. You will see some Covenant crates 
next to the rock ledge. Jump from the crate to the rock ledge. Walk up the rock hill 
and to your right you will see a large red girder. Jump onto the girder and follow 
it back towards the complex you came from. You will run into an invisible grunt 
weilding a fuel rod. Kill the grunt, and continue to the end of the girder where you 
will see the Angry skull floating above a small grav-lift.

Effect- Grunts shoot much faster, and the Angry skull is the only known skull that 
can be cycled through, allowing you to use the skull as a third weapon.

3.12- Assassins, ledgendary, Regret

Method for finding- Immediately after the gondola ride following the battle with the 
hunters, there will be a building with two turrets on it. Enter the building and 
jump on the square stone block right in front of you. Jump again onto the ledge 
above you. This ledge takes you outside to where the turrets were. You'll want to 
get on the roof of the small room you were just in. There is a broken pillar right 
outside the door that you can jump on which will give you plenty of height to get on 
top of the roof. Using croutch jumps and grenade jumps, follow the right side 
perimeter of the building. Once you have gone as far as you can go you will find a 
small grassy area with two cloaked dancing elites and the Assassins skull.

Effect- All enemies in game are permanently cloaked.

3.13- Unnamed, ledgendary, Armory

Method for finding- At the begining of the level, after you power your shields for 
the first time, the Sarge shows up on an Elevator. Wait in the room until the Sarge 
starts berating you, telling you to get into the elevator. You MUST wait for him to 
say "Would it help if I said please?" Once he says this, get in the elevator, and go 
down to the tram. Get on the tram, and face towards the INSIDE of the building. 
Press up against the glass doors towards the inside of the building. You should 
hold 'X' down, and you should pick up the skull. It's on a stack of green crates, 
near the end of the tram ride.

Effect- It appears to make enemies more aware of your location. However, it's not 
easy to PROVE this theory, however widely held it may be.

3.14- Iron, ledgendary, High Charity

Method for finding- When you enter the final (the second) Gravity Lift, look up. A 
skull will pass through you extemely quickly so you must start holding "X" a bit 
before you actually pass it to grab hold of it.

Effect- When playing co-op, if either player dies the game restarts you at your last 
checkpoint. This effects all difficulties. Normally this only happens on Legendary.

3.15- Catch, ledgendary, Metropolis

Method for finding- Right after you exit from the underground highway, you'll come 
to a large open-air circular room with a handful of Jackal snipers and some Elites. 
The quickest way to get safely to the skull is to get the next checkpoint by jumping 
into the Warthog and letting the marine drive you to the next area. Jump out of the 
jeep and backtrack to the large room, and clear the area. You will see a large semi-
circlular beam going from one of the main platforms that goes from the ground up to 
the top of the two towers. Do a grenade jump at the bottom of this beam and walk all 
the way to the top. Jump over to the ledge of the left tower. Walk to the end of the 
ledge and you will find the Catch skull.

Effect- Enemies always drop 2 plasma grenades, and it appears that all enemies will 
toss more grenades in general.

4. Contact

If you liked this guide or have a question for me, IM me: SMGDude3, or Email me: 
[email protected]  I hope you liked this guide and I will hopefully write more 
sometime soon!