Image: 343 Industries, Xbox Game Studios via HGG
My name is Gibson Vasela. I am a freelance writer who has been playing video games for almost 20 years now. I play all kinds of games, but I especially love immersive sims and RPGs.
Reviewed by Benjamin Barr
One of the most highly anticipated things about Halo Infinite’s release was the campaign. Ever since the disappointing release of Halo 5: Guardians, fans of the series have been desperate for a well-written story with enjoyable gameplay. Today, we’re talking about the gameplay side of things — specifically, the enemies you’ll encounter. We’ll be ranking all the Halo Infinite enemies, from the basic enemy types to the story bosses, based on things like how fun they are to fight and how great their designs are.
All Halo Infinite Enemies, Ranked From Good to Best
As a quick disclaimer, I played through the game on Legendary, so the ranking is based primarily on my experiences with that difficulty. With that out of the way, let’s hop right into the guide!
Halo Infinite | Regular Enemies
First up, let’s go over all of the basic enemies in Halo Infinite. Whether it’s the small and nimble Jackals or the strong and deadly Hunters, everyone will be getting a close examination. We’ll cover how fun they are to fight, what they add to the gameplay, and, to a lesser extent, how well they are designed aesthetically. We won’t be ranking every specific enemy type (such as Jetpack Brutes and Grunt Ultras), just each species as a whole.
7/7
Hunters
To start off, let’s take a look at the Hunters. The Hunters have always been a really fantastic enemy to fight against. They are large, lumbering foes with strong melee attacks and deadly cannons. They are not an enemy to be messed with, and that’s doubly true in Halo Infinite. 343 made these monsters much more difficult to face off against, giving them stronger ranged attacks and melee attacks that are much more difficult to dodge.
You may get a lot of enjoyment out of fighting them on a lower difficulty, but on Legendary, they are a nightmare! It’s incredibly difficult to dodge their close-range attacks without a thruster. It’s also significantly more difficult to hit them in their weak spot now than in previous games, as they get stunned less often and begin to turn around much quicker. Before you tell me to git good, I looked it up online and other people who also played on Legendary difficulty had the same issues as me.
It’s a shame, really, because if we were judging each enemy based on looks and design, they’d be in spot number one for sure. Hopefully, in future Halo games, they will be more like their Bungie counterparts, which were significantly more enjoyable to fight.
6/7
Skimmers
For our next pick, let’s take a look at the Skimmers, one of Halo Infinite’s new enemies. They are a part of The Endless, a mysterious race…faction…I don’t really know. 343 hardly explained them at all during the campaign. They are a flying-type enemy introduced several hours into the campaign. At least, they’re supposed to be a flying enemy — they barely move off the ground! It’s a shame 343 didn’t make them fly around higher and more erratically as the Drones did, as they don’t add much to the game in their current state.
As for how fighting against them goes, I personally think they are fine. They are fun to fight against in small numbers, but in big swarms, they can get overwhelming fast. Also, I do really like their designs. They look really unique and special, with creepy faces. Overall, Skimmers are a pretty mediocre enemy that I wish 343 had fleshed out more, both in their lore and in combat.
5/7
Sentinels
Up next at spot number six, we have the Sentinels! These are Forerunner-type enemies that can be encountered in many of the Forerunner structures on Zeta Halo. They remain largely the same as they did in past Halo games, which is perfectly fine. The Sentinels are a little bullet-spongey if you’re using most weapons, but when using a Sentinel Beam against them, they melt like butter!
These enemies are definitely not bad, I just don’t think they’re as interesting as some of the other ones in the game. And I do wish that there were more variants of Sentinels to shake things up, there really isn’t much variety here for an enemy that shows up very often throughout the campaign. I also like their designs, and seeing them in action makes me so glad that 343 decided to return to Halo’s original art style with this game.
4/7
Jackals
Onto our next enemy, we have another classic returning from the original Bungie games — Jackals! Jackals are a species that works as infantry in the Banished. There are several different variations of this enemy, but the two that you’ll encounter most often are the ones using shields and the snipers. The ones with shields will carry pistols and needlers and will use their shields to protect themselves from damage.
These guys are pretty fun to fight against, as long as you have a precision weapon. All you need to do is shoot their exposed hand to cause them to flinch, then shoot them again in the head to kill them. Then there are the snipers, who weld Stalker Rifles. These guys are very annoying on Legendary. They’re not as bad as the snipers from Halo 2. However, they still fire their rifles incredibly fast, usually fast enough to kill the average player before they have time to react.
3/7
Elites
Taking spot number three when it comes to the basic enemies, we have the Elites! Elites are a fan favorite, and it’s not hard to understand why. They are formidable foes that are intended to be equal to spartans. There is a big diversity of different elite subtypes, with many different ranks and enemy types holding a variety of different weapons and equipment.
The standard elites are pretty fair to fight against, but there are some with cloaks and energy swords. These ones are terrifying in close ranges! They can be pretty frustrating to deal with, but you can counter them with a thruster pack and your threat sensor. Some of them have some really sick-looking armor, and that can really add a lot to the firefights you get into with them.
2/7
Grunts
Onto our next pick, it’s none other than the Grunts! These little guys are without a doubt the weakest and most pathetic enemy type to fight against. That is also why they are one of the most fun to kill! It’s incredibly satisfying to run into a big group of Grunts and start popping them off one by one with a well-placed headshot. They’re not at all annoying to fight, as long as you keep your distance from the suicidal ones.
There is a pretty okay amount of variety with these enemies, with one of my favorites being the new Grunt Mules. They carry with them power weapons that you can pick up and use against their brothers, making them really rewarding to kill. Another great thing about Grunts is how funny they are! They have some of the best dialogue in the game, and it’s always really great seeing them run away in fear once you shoot and kill their commander.
1/7
Brutes
Last but most certainly not least, we have the powerful Brutes! Acting as the core soldiers of the Banished, Brutes are strong and hyper-aggressive enemies that are similar to the Elites but also different in many ways. Most Brutes feature armor that does not regenerate health like the Elites. Instead, once it’s shot off, it stays off for good. Not only is it incredibly satisfying to strip a Brute clean of its armor, it’s also less annoying to deal with, as you don’t have to stress about it regenerating.
There’s a great amount of variety in the different types of Brutes you encounter. Jetpack Brutes (or Brute Captains) are my favorite, and taking them down mid-air is always a blast. There are Brute Snipers that can sometimes one-hit you… But in my experience, they are generally less of a hassle to deal with than the Jackal Snipers mentioned earlier. And can we talk about their designs? Their angry faces and intimidating armor make them look so badass!
Halo Infinite | All Story Bosses
Now that we’ve gotten all of the basic enemy types out of the way, next on this list for all enemies in Halo Infinite’s campaign ranked, we have the story bosses. We will not be discussing any of the optional mini-bosses that you can find in the open world, just the ones that you need to fight to complete the campaign. Like the regular enemy types, they’ll be judged based on things like how enjoyable they are to play against and how they are designed aesthetically.
8/8
Bassus
To start off this list, let’s begin with Bassus. This is a brute that you’ll encounter when trying to shut down an excavation site that’s looking for Forerunner artifacts. He wears Brute Chieftain-inspired armor and wields a big Gravity Hammer for smashing his foes in close range. Bassus is without a doubt one of the most obnoxious enemies to face in the game on Legendary difficulty, and one that many players had a lot of trouble defeating.
He attacks very frequently, and like regular Brute Chieftains, he has the ability to lunge at the Master Chief from a distance. The thing that makes him annoying is that he can lunge at you from an incredibly large distance, often taking you by surprise and giving you little time to react. Even when I was spamming my Grappleshot, he still managed to constantly keep closing the gap between us. And with his large health pool, it can often take players a long while to defeat him on Legendary.
7/8
Escharum
Taking the next spot, we are going to be talking about the boss Escharum. He is the second-to-last boss in the game and the main antagonist of Halo Infinite. Being the leader of the Banished after Atriox’s death, you’d be foolish to expect an easy fight from him. During the first phase of his attacks, he shoots at you with a Scrap Cannon from a distance. It’s challenging, but the battle arena is in close quarters, so it’s not impossible to stay out of the way of his attacks.
It’s just when the second phase begins that things really, really get insane. He switches to a Gravity Hammer like the one Bassus uses. And, just like Bassus, he can lunge at you from a great distance and quickly attack and kill you before you have time to dodge. This second phase was less annoying than fighting Bassus, as you had more opportunities for hiding behind walls so he wouldn’t always have a clear shot at you. But still, killing this guy on Legendary was not easy.
6/8
Adjutant Resolution
Onto our next pick, we have the Adjutant Resolution. He is an advanced AI constructed by the Forerunners. He is similar to a monitor, in the sense that he has some authority on the ring and helps make sure everything is running smoothly. How he does that is by making sure that you’re constantly getting your ass handed to you. His boss fight is frustrating as some of his attacks can almost immediately kill you if you aren’t in any cover.
During his fight, you will constantly be poking your head around cover to deal damage, only to spend the next five seconds waiting for your shields to recharge behind cover so that you can attack him again. It gets repetitive, especially since you’ll die often and have to restart the entire fight again. This boss wouldn’t be so bad if you only had to fight him once, but no. You have to defeat him two times before!
5/8
The Harbinger
Taking spot number five, we have The Harbinger. She is the secondary antagonist of Halo Infinite and the final boss of the game. I have fairly mixed feelings about her. On one hand, you’ll die a lot in this fight and she is annoying to fight against. On the other, once you get in the swing of things and learn the tricks for taking her down, she really isn’t that difficult to kill.
I suppose the main challenge is having to deal with her while also having to kill the Banished enemies that will spawn in during this fight. They will often shoot you and stop your shields from regenerating, which can be deadly if The Harbinger is in the middle of firing one of her attacks at you. I recommend using a Cindershot during this fight — it helped me wear down her health a lot.
4/8
Tremonius
Next one up is Tremonious, the very first boss that you encounter in the game. He is a Brute that uses an energy shield similar to the ones Elites wear. His fight is pretty basic, and there really isn’t a strategy for taking him down. This fight is hardly annoying at all, especially when compared to some of the previous fights. That fact alone stops it from being one of the worse fights in the game.
However, this simplicity is also a weakness. There really isn’t anything special done with this fight, and it doesn’t have as much cinematic flair as some of the other enemies do. Its main purpose is to introduce the player to bosses in the game and get you hyped up to fight the Banished, which it accomplishes well.
3/8
Tovarus and Hyperius
Onto our next boss fight, we actually have two that are a part of the same encounter — Tovarus and Hyperius! These two are deadly assassins sent by the Hand of Atriox to hunt you down and exterminate you. Despite what many people online are saying, I actually don’t find these two that annoying to face off against. They are challenging, yes, but not as frustrating to fight against as some of the others.
The main difficulties that players face with this fight stem from the fact that Hyperius drives a Brute Chopper, which can do a lot of damage to you very quickly. But if you climb onto it with a Grappleshot early on in the fight, you can kick him off and use his chopper against him! This makes the fight noticeably easier. You can also attack each enemy one at a time, using ship wreckages as cover from Tovarus firing his scrap cannon at you, allowing you to more easily kill Hyperius.
2/8
Jega ‘Rdomnai
For the next spot on this list, we have Jega ‘Rdomnai. This character is a close ally of Escharum, and one of his most trusted warriors. He is a deadly and honorable Elite who has been promised a warrior’s death by Escharum, and he is an intimidating foe that gives you a great cinematic before the fight begins. Upon finding the Master Chief, he will cloak himself to be invisible and attack you aggressively with an energy sword. Earlier in the game, there was a similar boss fight with an elite that switched between using a Pulse Carbine and an energy sword.
This fight doubles down on the horror atmosphere that this earlier fight offered. This time, the boss is cloaked 24/7 and only ever uses his energy swords, which makes the experience even more terrifying than before! On one hand, it makes the fight more intense, but it’s also more frustrating to deal with an enemy that is constantly invisible. I did really love the design of this character, and I think that his two red energy swords look really, really sick!
1/8
Chak ‘Lok
Taking spot number one on this list for all enemies in Halo Infinite’s campaign ranked, it’s Chak ‘Lok. This dude is an Elite warrior, whom you may remember from the trailers for the game when he pleasantly welcomed the Master Chief to his tower. Besides being a well-mannered host, he is also a fast and deadly warrior. He attacks using his energy swords, using a cloak to make himself invisible during parts of the fight.
He also attacks using a Pulse Carbine when you are farther away from him. I really enjoyed this fight for a number of different reasons. First is the cinematic opening you get, which several boss fights don’t have. And there’s the fact that the dark atmosphere, combined with him cloaking himself before attacking you with an energy sword, temporarily turns Halo Infinite into a horror game! This horror atmosphere isn’t as well done as the Jega ‘Rdomnai fight, but this boss is still better overall.
This is primarily because he doesn’t attack as aggressively as Jega ‘Rdomnai, and isn’t invisible 24/7. What this means is that the fight was intense and challenging but hardly ever frustrating, which the Jega ‘Rdomnai could be at times on Legendary. This boss totally nailed it on everything that it set out to do. It offers a cool atmosphere, a great introductory cutscene, and a challenging fight that was not overly frustrating.
Join the High Ground
We hope that you enjoyed reading this article for all enemies in Halo Infinite’s campaign ranked! What are some of your favorite enemies to fight in Halo Infinite? Be sure to let us know down below. And make sure to subscribe to our weekly newsletter for more content on all of your favorite shooters.
Happy gaming!
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