The Plasma Pistol, like the Plasma Rifle, fires directed energy bolts instead of traditional projectile ammunition. This Covenant weapon is capable of quickly firing low-powered shots, or of charging a single high-powered blast which can rapidly deplete energy shielding. This high powered shot makes the plasma pistol a formidable strategic weapon if used in concert with other infantry weapons.

Best considered a kind of airborne infantry, these flying insectile warriors occupy an unusual stratum in the Covenant hierarchy. Drones do not interact with other species except to trade and serve in a military capacity. Their ability to fight on the wing makes them an excellent strategic weapon against ground-based, largely bipedal opponents.

The basic infantry unit of the Covenant, Grunts are dangerous in groups but present little threat individually. Tough, physically strong and capable with a wide range of Covenant hardware, they are a significant military force. However, their discipline is hierarchy reliant and based on the security that comes with strict leadership and strength of numbers. Leaderless, they present significantly less resistance.

Excellent shots, the Jackals seem to be higher in Covenant status if not necessarily rank than the Grunts. They often will be found in defensive positions fighting from behind their distinctive energy sheilds. A well-used shield makes a Jackal a difficult target, but the notch they use to return fire provides a weak spot that can be exploited.

Hunters are incredibly dangerous foes, deployed more like equipment than soldiers. They are brought in by the Covenant for demolition or heavy defense, and always work in pairs. These massive creatures appear to be composed of multiple organisms that exist within the Hunter armor, creating a hive creature in bipedal form. Near-impenetrable armor and a devestating hand-held plasma weapon make Hunter pairs very problematic.

Formerly the ruling military class of the Covenant, the Elites are proud, storied fighters with a long and interesting history. Their recent split from the Covenant is based on differences in religious interpretation of the "Great Journey" but the schism runs deeper than that. The Elites have allied with their former Human foes in part because of a deep-seated resentment of the Prophet rule and in part because they actually understand the scale of the Flood problem.

A shift in Covenant hierarchy after the Elite civil insurrection has put Brutes in a position of military command. Until recently the Brutes played second fiddle to the Elites. With their former superiors gone, the Brutes have wasted no time in applying their pack and Alpha male mentality to their Covenant role. They are powerful, dangerous, and prone to acts of berserker violence.

This disgraced Covenant Commander was stripped of his rank and privilege and forced to don the ancient Armor of the Arbiter. Following this traditional Elite custom, a warrior is sent on a final suicide mission to claim great honor in death.

In the pursuit of this mission, the Arbiter discovered that the Covenant's Great Journey was a lie, and subsequently began a civil war that has shaken the foundations of the Covenant. The Arbiter's people, the Elites, have joined humanity's sturggle against the rest of the Covenant.

The religious and political leaders of the Covenant, Prophets are an elite class of bureaucrats. The theology that they apply to the Covenant species is based on the belief that firing the Halo array will herald, and indeed instigate a "Great Journey" which they appear to believe will result in some kind of sublimation event.

The deluded, possibly insane leader of the entire Covenant civilization, this pontiff is leading his followers down a suicidal path.

The Prophet of Truth intends to activate the Halo array at any cost, and is happy to sacrifice his culture to do so. The Prophet fully believes that he can follow the Forerunners to their mysterious final destination and share their ancient and unlimited power. The Prophet also knows that the secret to this power may lie in the ancient sands of Earth.

The Spectre is a Covenant armored troop transport, most likely comparable in size and capability to the human Warthog Light Reconnaissance Vehicle. It can carry a crew of two (driver, gunner) and two passengers. Supposedly it is not very fast, but it is manueverable. As in the Warthog, occupants are offered little protection by this vehicle.

A version of the Spectre was spotted in the E3 2000 video, but did not make it into the shipping version of Halo 1.

The Covenant Fuel Rod Gun uses radioactive fuel rods as projectiles and has a 2x zoom. It cannot be dual-wielded.

Hunters have this weapon molded into their armor, and in Halo 1 it was also used by SpecOps grunts. It was not availalable in Halo 1's multiplayer mode, but was enabled in the PC version by Gearbox. It is not known if there are any differences in the weapons behavior between Gearbox's PC Halo version and Bungie's Halo 2 version.

The clip holds five rounds.

Hunters are large, and heavily armored units, with Fuel Rod Guns molded into the armor around their right arms, and huge metallic shields that double as a melee weapons on their left.

In Halo 1, a Hunter could be killed by a single sniper or pistol shot to the vulnerable orange fleshy areas that were easy to hit when Hunters were relaxed and standing at their full height, or when their backs were exposed after a melee strike. Word is they will be harder to deal with in Halo 2.

Hunters always travel in pairs.