Halo 5 Guardians Guide: Collectibles, Intel, Skulls, Armor, Boosts And Mods

Halo 5: Guardians is the latest installment in Microsoft’s long running, flagship first person shooter franchise. The new entry is a return to form for the series, which has stumbled a bit in the last few years- featuring an epic multiplayer mode, that is sure to become a mainstay of the eSports scene, and a new single player campaign that pits series protagonist Master Chief against Agent Locke for reasons unknown, it is a must own for fans of the Halo franchise.

As with all Halo games, there is a lot to do in Halo 5. The single player campaign alone is littered with things for you to hunt down. Use this guide to hunt down all of them, and to ensure you get to see and do everything that there is to see and do in Halo 5: Guardians. The world will see you for the Halo 5 master that you are yet.

COLLECTIBLES

ALL UNIQUE WEAPONS:

Picking up the Unique Weapons scattered throughout the Halo 5 campaign is advisable. Unique Weapons appear on the ground with a blue outline- simply walk up to them and pick them up by pressing B. The game autosaves as soon as you pick up the Weapon, so if you are replaying a mission to get a Weapon (which you almost certainly are- chances are you missed picking up the Weapons on the first go), you don’t actually have to play the mission through to the end. Once you pick the Unique Weapon up, you can just quit, and the Weapon will be saved.

Spartan Locke can use his armor to ping for nearby collectibles, which will then be pointed out on your HUD. So in his missions, it’s a bit easier to be able to track down the hidden collectibles, including the Unique wWeapons, than having to scour the level.

Picking up these Halo 5 special weapons will give you access to the Halo 5 weapon variants in the Requisitions menu for Customization of “Halo 5 Weapon Skins.” A full list of each of the Unique Weapons, as well as a short description, follows:

List of Unique Weapons

Pool of Radiance: A weapon once banned from use on the battlefield due to how unstable and dangerous it is, the Pool of Radiance is an advanced Fuel Rod Cannon that fires unstable projectiles which leave a dangerous residue in their impact area.

Typhon: The Typhon is an improved Hydra Launcher with upgraded recoil compensation, warhead damage, and reload speed. For many players, this will be the perfect Halo weapon.

Echidna: The Echidna is an advanced Hydra Launcher load with experimental EMP warhead capable of temporarily disabling enemy vehicles, courtesy of Chalybs Defense’s many R6D projects.

Krith’s Left Hand: Reclaimed from the notorious Kig-Yar Pirate King’s personal vaults by the previous Arbiter, Kirth’s Left Hand is a high energy weapon that can wreak devastation with each pull of the trigger. It is an advanced Beam Rifle that fires a burst of energy, leaving nothing in its wake.

Twin Jewels of Maethrillian: This is an advanced Binary Rifle modified with the dual beam emitters that enhance the rifle’s anti-armor utility. Against larger, armored foes, this weapon is essential.

Retina of the Mind’s Eye: The name is of course a reference to a very popular parlance in science fiction media. The core of this ancient weapon holds a shackled mind Improved Binary Rifle upgraded with additional magazine capacity. If you feel like you don’t want to waste precious seconds on the battlefield reloading, this weapon is the way to go for you.

Didact’s Signet: Made by the Didact’s own hand to reward his most elite Prometheans, the Didact’s Signet is an advanced Scattershot that fires fast-moving long-range projectiles with stronger homing behavior in case of a ricochet.

Loathesome Thing: The Loathsome Thing isn’t all that loathsome- unless you happen to be on the receiving end of it. It is an improved Scattershot with increased damage, faster rate of fire, and extended magazine.

Lawgiver: Improved Shotgun with increased damage, accuracy, and rate of fire.

Blaze of Glory: Just as the name implies, the Blaze of Glory is, in fact, awesome. It is an advanced Shotgun with a Forerunner mechanism to enable the firing of fast-moving hardlight projectiles with extra range and anti-vehicle effect. Reloads with a single shell.

End of the Line: An improved Sniper Rifle with reduced recoil; that said, the emphasis on faster rate-of-fire reduces the damage this gun can deal.

Arrow of Time: An advanced Sniper Rifle with extended magazine and heavy-duty cyberlink that prevents descope. But nothing is perfect- the weapon does have extra recoil to compensate for.

Closed Fist: The Closed Fist is the left hand of Endurance-of-Will, the Didact’s loyal lieutenant. It is an improved Boltshot with an extended magazine and a faster rate of fire.

Open Hand: The Open Hand is the right hand of Endurance-of-Will, the Didact’s loyal lieutenant. It is an advanced Boltshot that fires a swarm of tracking bolts with each press of the trigger.

Heartseeker: A Forerunner weapon, the Heartseeker is an advanced Incineration Cannon that fires tracking energy charges.

Talon of the Lost: Sangheli miners and engineers continue to discover amazing new properties of the Subanese crystals used in Needler ammunition, and the Talon of the Lost is a tangible yield of these experiments. It is an advanced Needler that fires carefully calibrate shards that can embed themselves in armor.

Hailstorm: A classic design, the Hailstorm is an improved Needler which fires fast-moving crystal shards that exhibit strong homing behavior.

Scourge of Fire: Modifying design patterns to enhance their performance was once considered apostasy. Improve Plasma Caster that fires two plasma bolts per shot and does not overheat.

White Scar: The White Scar is an advanced Plasma Caster that fires modified bolts set to proximity detonate if hipfired, and which have a needler fragmentation effect.

Whiplash: An improved Railgun featuring a faster charge cycle, multiple shots per magazine, and projectiles fitted with proximity airburst fuse.

Ad Victoriam: An improved Rocket Launcher that fires two additional missiles in a “V” pattern with each shot, all of its three missiles can be laser-guided when using Smart-Link and feature an airburst proximity fuse.

High Five: Yes, there actually is a weapon called High Five, and yes, it is every bit as awesome as the name implies. Advanced Rocket Launcher loaded with experimental submunition ammo. Each shot unleashes five Hydra mini missiles that lock-on to ground and air targets.

Appetite for Destruction: With an Appetite for Destruction, you can raze everything to the ground. Improved SAW fitter with a high capacity drum magazine- as the name implies, nothing is left standing in this weapon’s wake, if it is used properly.

The Answer: Advanced SAW with slightly lower rate of fire, but each projectile has a proximity-fused high explosive warhead.

ALL MISSION INTEL AND SKULLS:

Why bother with the Mission Intel? Because it is fun! Because it gives you more challenge per mission! Because you can learn more about the story this way! And perhaps, most importantly, because you get a whopping lot of Gamerscore points by hunting all of it down.

Finding all 117 Mission Intel locations and picking them up will help unlock the following Achievements:

“Conspiracy Theory” (10 Gamerscore / Silver Trophy) — Found and claimed one piece of Intel.
“Hunt the Truth” (40 Gamerscore / Silver Trophy) — Found and claimed all Intel.

The Skulls, on the other hand, provide you with a unique sense of challenge that you otherwise will not get in Halo 5’s campaign. Activating Skulls will enable special effects and difficulty increasing effects in the Campaign. There are thirteen different Skulls to track down.

List of Skulls And Their Effects:

Grunt Birthday Party Skull: The iconic Skull from Halo 3 returns- scoring a head shot on a Grunt will cause it to explode in a shower of confetti.

Iron Skull: Increases Difficulty by adding more Death conditions, and messing with Checkpoints. You cannot be revived, and you cannot revive squad mates. In solo mode, if you die at any time you will have to restart the mission. In co-op mode, the death of one player will cause all players to reset to the previously obtained checkpoint.

IWHBYD Skull: Rare combat dialogue (often funny) becomes more common.

Mythic Skull: Enemies have increased health.

Thunderstorm Skull: All enemies gain a rank from where they usually would be. So normal Elites will be upgraded to Captain Elites, for example.

Tilt Skull: Enemy resistances and weaknesses are increased.

Tough Luck Skull: Enemies always go berserk, meaning they dodge/avoid weapon and grenade attacks much easier. They also always dive out of the way, and never flee. Good luck taking all of them down.

Black Eye Skull: Shields do not recharge upon taking damage. Shields only regenerate in melee combat.

Blind Skull: The HUD is turned off.

Catch Skull: Enemies throw and carry more grenades than usual.

Cowbell Skull: The acceleration of objects effected by explosions is increased.

Famine Skull: Weapons dropped by enemies or picked up in the level will have half the ammo that they would usually have.

Fog Skull: Your motion sensor is disabled.

Intel isn’t hard to track down- it shows up as data tablets in the level, usually with a bright blue screen. Just walk up to it and press B to pick it up (as with the weapons, Locke can track Intel on his radar with a ping). Once you pick it up, it’s saved automatically, so you don’t have to play through to the end of the mission.

Skulls show up on the ground as black, burned human skulls. Twelve of the thirteen Skulls listed above will show up on any difficulty, and all you have to do is walk up to one and Press B to pick it up. As always, Locke can track them with his radar, and as always, they are automatically saved, so you don’t need to complete the mission. With that said, the Iron Skull only shows up on Legendary Difficulty- so keep that in mind.

Skulls can be activated in the New Game Setup section.

CHEATS AND TIPS

UNLOCKING REQUISITIONS:

The Requisitions system is new to Halo 5, and it is more than just microtransactions, contrary to whatever popular discourse might have you believe. It’s basically pretty simple: The REQ system rewards you for the time you spend playing Halo 5’s multiplayer modes- Arena and Warzone.

REQs are basically cards that influence your gear and weaponry, and can be earned by everybody in the game- while, yes, they can be paid for, that’s just to speed the process up. Think of it like the Ultimate Team mode in EA Sports games. It’s extremely easy to earn them in game.

Free REQ Pack: Everybody can start off with a free REQ pack. Grab your free “Promotional REQ Pack” that includes the Assault Rifle Vengeance Weapon Skin, by watching all the videos on this official Xbox.com page.

There are over a thousand different unique REQ cards to collect at launch, and more will be added in the coming months. REQ cards enable Microsoft to add more content to the game with time without having to worry about bigger updates each time, and they ensure that the metagame remains dynamic, continuing to evolve with time as more and more REQs are introduced.

Here is how they work:

REQ Points: Players will earn REQ Points after each match in Arena or Warzone matchmaking, which can then be redeedmed for REQ Packs containing a variety of Requisition Cards (REQ Cards).

REQ Cards: Varying in type and rarity, REQ Cards offer a massive variety of items including single use items and permanent items. REQ cards can be viewed as the ‘physical’ and ‘tangible’ manifestations of the REQ. There are three different kinds of REQ cards:

Requisition (REQ): An unlockable item. It may be a weapon, armor, skin, assassination animation, and more.

PERMANENT REQ CARD ITEM TYPES (WARZONE)
Loadout Weapons, Armor Mods & Certifications.

PERMANENT REQ CARD ITEM TYPES (WARZONE AND ARENA)
Weapon Skins, Assassinations, Stance, Armor, Emblem, Visor & Helmets

SINGLE USE REQ CARD ITEM TYPES (WARZONE AND ARENA)
Single Use: In Warzone, some REQ Cards are one-time use cards that disappear after they have been accessed. These are typically powerful cards. Types of REQ Cards that are single use are: Power Weapons, Vehicles, Boost & Power Ups.

REQ cards come in different rarities- think of these as analogous to the rarity of the loot that you collect in Destiny:

Common
Uncommon
Rare
Ultra-Rare
Legendary
Mythic

That’s not all, either- each REQ card has an energy level, that must be earned over the course of a match, before you can ‘redeem’ that REQ. So basically, a higher powered weapon will need more time to charge, and can probably only be redeemed in the later stages of a Warzone match. To be clear, this recharge time is not affected by microtransactions at all- it’s a game balancing mechanism, and it is universal to all REQs, no matter how you get them (though of course, the recharge time varies according to the type of REQ you are using).

REQ Packs: REQ Packs contain REQ Cards, and come in multiple varieties:

Gold: Contain a large number of REQs ranging from Uncommon to Legendary. Players are guaranteed two new permanent REQs.

Promotional: Promotional REQ Packs are available through various promotions, often containing pre-determined rewards, such as those available by pre-ordering Halo 5: Guardians, and are available in two variants: Promotional and Advanced Promotional.

Silver: Silver REQ Packs include Common to Rare REQs with the added value of two new permanent REQs, if available.

Bronze: Bronze REQ Packs include Common, single use REQs. May also unlock a new permanent REQ, if available.

Premium REQ Packs provide players with a large number of REQs with an increased chance at receiving higher levels of rarity and more permanent REQs, if available.

Supply: Supply REQ Packs can be obtained by purchasing select Halo licensed products at retail and are offered in three levels: Basic, Intermediate, and Advanced.

Each pack contains a wide array of items. REQ Packs can be purchased with REQ Points earned for free in-game, or with real-world money (this is the microtransactions portion of Halo 5). A portion of the money each REQ Pack is purchased with will go towards the Halo World Championship prize pool.

REQ Store: Players can access the REQ Store from the Spartan Hub, which will allow them to acquire REQ Packs. You can purchase REQ Packs here, either with REQ Points, or with real money.

REQ Collection: The REQ Collection allows players to view the full suite of available REQ Cards., letting players see not just the cards they own, but also those that they are yet to unlock. Additionally, player scan sell individual single use REQs back into the system for REQ Points they can then use to unlock additional REQ Packs. Think of it like Valve’s Trading Cards on Steam, basically.

MULTIPLAYER:

Halo 5: Guardians moves away from the Call of Duty-esque multiplayer trappings of Halo 4, and moves back to provide players with a fast paced, highly competitive and balanced multiplayer mode. If you have casually played multiplayer shooters like Star Wars Battlefront, Battlefield, or Call of Duty, Halo 5’s multiplayer may come as a shock to most of you- it is a very different beast, far closer to PC multiplayer shooters than anything else. However, thankfully, we have your back. In this section of the guide, we list out some basic tips so you can find your feet in Halo 5’s multiplayer:

Specialize: Halo 5’s multiplayer matches require multiple players filling different roles in a team- not everyone can go and just shoot about everyone and everything in sight, like in Call of Duty. Specialize in a kind of weapon and role, and if you are playing on a team where someone else does it better than you, just let them fill that role, and you can fall into a secondary role. On that note, make sure you don’t specialize in only one role- be versatile enough that you will always be useful to your team.

Pushing and Turtling up are extreme offensive and defensive strategies, respectively. When you Push, you push the enemy team all the way back to their base, then assault them relentlessly. Turtling up has you retreat to your base, and defend it from enemy fire, letting them walk themselves into a position of weakness as they try to take you out.

Communicate: Halo 5’s multiplayer is exacting, and requires teamwork and coordination. Communication with voicechat is a must, although you can’t go on and on droning- that can be distracting too. And make sure you keep track of where your team members and enemies are, by keeping an eye on the motion tracker. Also make sure you use the universal Call Outs.

Flanking: There is a reason that a Two Front War is such a popular technique. Your enemy can only focus on one of you, so if you and another team member can accost him from two different sides, you’re sure to take him out- and even if he takes one of you out in the process, that person will get an Assist anyway.

Power positions are higher ground, which can be fortified and get you a vantage point. Try and get to one, if that’s what your team role is, but make sure you’re not so obsessed with getting there that you are leaving yourself open to enemy fire.

Hot Spots and Bottlenecks: Each map has Hotspots, which are areas where most of the activity is concentrated, and Bottlenecks, which are narrow areas which you can use to your advantage. Familiarize yourself with these, and ensure you make good use of them. Bait your enemies to Bottlenecks, and take them out.

ARMOR, BOOSTS, AND MODS:

Armor and mods are actually pretty central to Halo 5’s multiplayer mode- you won’t make much headway without them, particularly since other players will all be using them. This section of the guide will help you get a handle on these:

Armor mods are activated using REQ terminals in the game. You need to be at the right REQ level before you can use these. Activating these gives you a slight advantage over your opponents. These mods include:

Speed Booster: Increased movement speed and jump
Splinter Grenade Expert: An extra Splinter Grenade
Upgraded Shields: Improved shield
Advanced Sensors: Motion Tracker becomes available with Smart-Link
Auto-Medic: Increased HP recovery and shield recharge rate
Frag Grenade Expert: An extra frag grenade
Increased Strength: Increases the melee damage that you deal
Plasma Grenade Expert: nets you an extra Plasma Grenade
Reflex Enhancers: Decreases the cooldown on thruster evade
Upgraded Thrusters: Decreases cooldown on thruster evade

Power ups also grant you a temporary advantage over enemies. In Arena modes, they are activated from a fixed Spawn location. In Warzone, you need to use REQ terminals.

Damage Boost I: Increases the damge dealt by player for a short duration of time
Damage Boost II: Increases the damge dealt by player for a short duration of time
Damage Boost III: Increases the damge dealt by player for a short duration of time
Active Camo I: Camo provides optical masking and increased movement speed. Offensive maneuvers such as shooting and attacking, however, nullify its effects.
Active Camo II:Camo provides optical masking and increased movement speed. Offensive maneuvers such as shooting and attacking, however, nullify its effects.
Active Camo III: Camo provides optical masking and increased movement speed. Offensive maneuvers such as shooting and attacking, however, nullify its effects.
Speed Boost I: Increases movement, reloading, assassination, and weapon switch speed
Speed Boost II: Increases movement, reloading, assassination, and weapon switch speed
Speed Boost III: Increases movement, reloading, assassination, and weapon switch speed
Overshield I: Grants players an extra layer of overshield which does not regenerate
Overshield II: Grants players an extra layer of overshield which does not regenerate
Overshield III: Grants players an extra layer of overshield which does not regenerate

Boosts are activated before a match starts, and again, these give you an advantage in the game. However, each boost has some requirements that must be met before it can be used. Below is a list of all Arena and Warzone mode boosts, as well as the pre-requisite requirements:

Arena Mode Boosts

Arena XP Boost: Complete an Arena Match to acquire the XP reward
Arena XP Boost: Complete an Arena Match to acquire the XP reward
Arena XP Boost: Complete an Arena Match to acquire the XP reward
Arena XP Jackpot: Finish an Arena game to claim a randomized XP reward
Arena RP Boost: Complete an Arena Match to acquire the RP reward
Arena RP Boost: Complete an Arena Match to acquire the RP reward
Arena RP Boost: Complete an Arena Match to acquire the RP reward
Arena RP Boost: Complete an Arena Match to acquire the RP reward
Gambit: Assist: Rank in the top 50 percent for Assists to claim your XP reward. A higher rank in the game nets you more XP.
Gambit: Medal Count: You need to rank in the top 50 percent for Medal Count to acquire an XP reward
Gambit: Spartan Kills: You need to rank in the top 50 percent for Spartan Kills to acquire an XP reward
Mission: Victory: Win an Arena game to claim your XP reward
Mission: Victory: Win an Arena game to claim your RP reward
RP Jackpot: Finish an Arena game to acquire a randomized RP reward

Warzone Mode Boosts

Gambit: AI Kills : Rank in the top 50 percent for AI Kills in order to acquire an XP reward
Gambit: Assist: Rank in the top 50 percent for Assists in order to acquire an XP reward
Gambit: Medal Count: Rank in the top 50 percent for Medal Count in order to acquire an XP reward
Gambit: Spartan Kills: Rrank in the top 50 percent for Spartan Kills in order to acquire an XP reward
Mission: Victory: Win a Warzone game to acquire the RP reward
Mission: Victory: Win a Warzone game to acquire the XP reward
Warzone RP Boost: Complete a Warzone game to acquire the RP reward
Warzone RP Boost: Complete a Warzone game to acquire the RP reward
Warzone XP Boost: Complete a Warzone game to acquire the XP reward
Warzone XP Boost: Complete a Warzone game to acquire the XP reward
Warzone XP Boost: Complete a Warzone game to acquire the XP reward
Warzone XP Boost: Complete a Warzone game to acquire the XP reward
Warzone RP Boost: Complete a Warzone game to acquire the RP reward
Warzone RP Boost: Complete a Warzone game to acquire the RP reward
Warzone RP Jackpot: Finish a Warzone game to claim a randomized RP reward
Warzone RP Jackpot: Finish a Warzone game in order to acquire a randomized XP reward
Mission: Boss Kill: Kill a Warzone boss and complete the game
Mission: Boss Kill: Kill a Warzone boss and complete the game

WARZONE:

Warzone is a brand new multiplayer mode in Halo 5: Guardians, and it is awesome. It might actually be single handedly responsible for Halo 5’s multiplayer being as good as it is- the best in a series known for amazing multiplayer.

Warzone works quite differently from other multiplayer game modes in Halo. Warzone is dynamic, fast paced, frenetic, and with multiple shifting objectives all around the matches. But winning it is deceptively simple. Essentially, you have two ways to win a Warzone match:

You team earns 1000 VP before the other team does
The enemy team’s Central Base Core is destroyed

Number 2 is pretty straightforward, but earning VP can throw people off. It shouldn’t, it’s actually pretty simple. VP can be earned in multiple ways:

Capturing Bases
Holding Bases
Defeating AI-controlled Bosses

In addition, remember the following:

Secure your home base at the beginning of each match. Take out all the AI enemies that infest your Home Base at the beginning of the match. Once secured, it is always best to leave at least one human player on the Base- he can defend it, and hold the enemy team at bay.

Central Power Core: Once you capture all three bases, the enemy’s Home Base is open to you. Conquer it to destroy the Central Power Core, which can be attacked with any rapid fire weapon. However, be careful! The entire enemy team is returned to the home base once this happens, so you’ll be under heavy fire from all sides. Careful coordination and preparation is a must.

Bosses: Warzone has a very MOBA-esque element- bosses spawn throughout the map periodically, and taking them out nets you a lot of VP. There is a catch, however- the team that dealt the killing blow to a boss earn all the VP and credit. Basically, what this means is, even if you dealt all the damage to the boss, but a member of the enemy team dealt the killing blow, the enemy team is the one that gets VP from killing the boss. Don’t get complacent!

Use REQs: As you play the match, you will have enough energy to activate your REQ cards. Use the terminals spread throughout the map to activate any REQ card you are holding. It is always best to do this while you have someone to watch your back, as you are pretty vulnerable to be offed by an enemy otherwise.

Capture Bases: Capturing bases is the heart of Warzone- it is what nets you the most VP. Each base starts out as neutral, held by AI controlled enemies. Take them out, conquer a base, and if it is strategically positioned, make extra effort to hold it.

The Summit Map: Arguably the best Warzone map, Summit requires you to be thoroughly familiar with it. Here are some tips so that you are not lost on it when you play:

When the match starts, you will be in the Fortress. If you push straight on, you will be met with heavy resistance. The wise thing to do here is to use the accelerator pad on right side and enter from the Eastern Fortress Balcony. Alternatively, you can also try the Western Fortress Balcony.
When you move from the Fortress to the Armory, make sure to keep an eye out for enemy vehicles.
If you secure the perimeter from the East Balcony, you should be able to secure the Armory far more easily.
Place a sniper on the Supply Yard and make sure to have some vehicles roaming around the area. If you are forced to fall back, make sure there is someone watching the rooftop as it is the most suitable position to invade.
You need three players to destroy the Central Power Core- make sure to not have any more, since you will need all the other soldiers defending the ones who are taking the Core out.
Consider using grenades and vehicles.
Don’t use vehicles to secure the Base- instead, use them to patrol.
Acquire high ground here, and defend your teammates, as well as yourself.
Watch the 3 entrances on the south side,and also the ones in the basement and the Cargo Deck. It is crucial to pin enemies at the Cargo Deck by moving through the Outpost and Tunnel and flanking them at Fortress Balcony.

The Dispatch Map is the second Warzone map, and it requires high, demanding, exacting strategy. Here are some tips so that you are not lost on it when you play:

In the garage, try moving to the second floor, or the roof- it gives you a vantage point to work from.
Although difficult, try and hold enemies at a long-range from Deck.If you have a Wraith or a Scorpion in the Tunnel, you can avoid getting flanked by the opponent.
Use vehicles to invade the enemy Central Base- they will draw attention, and give you precious time to attack the Core.
In the armory, lanking the enemy via the Tunnel Storage and then to the Armory Deck using a Spartan Charge.
Make sure that you leave something to protect the Tunnels as it is the only vehicle entrance.