Halo: All 8 Covenant Races Ranked By Strength

Halo is a sci-fi video game franchise that, like a lot of different sci-fi games, pits the human race against aliens. This means that there are alien races in Halo, and a lot of them can be seen in the Covenant, which is the group of aliens that the UNSC is in a war with during the earlier parts of the Halo story. And while there are plenty of different aliens in Halo, the Covenant seem to be the most iconic.

But what people should know about the Covenant is that this is not one single alien race because this is a group of religious zealots that are fanatical about their religion and have formed a coalition of eight different alien races under one single banner to oppose the UNSC. In that regard, let’s rank all eight covenant races based on their strength.

Fun fact: Halo used the Filipino language in naming some of the members of the Covenant race, so our Filipino (like myself) readers out there should be able to relate to some of the names used for the Covenant.

8. Prophets (San’Shyuum)

A lot of people out there might be wondering why we ranked the Prophets as the weakest members of the Covenant, even though they are the leaders of that religious group. Simply put, the San’Shyuum, which is their race, aren’t fighters and aren’t really formidable when it comes to battle. They are simply leaders and religious symbols for the Covenant. Take, for example, our political leaders who aren’t really the most capable when it comes to an actual fight but are still ranked at the top of any government.

The San’Shyuum basically embody the worst aspects of the Covenant because they abuse their power and are very selective in how they apply their religious doctrine as long as they believe that the doctrine fits their agenda. This is why they are the worst of the worst in the Covenant, and utterly despicable to the point that they would even betray other Covenant races as long as doing so fits their agenda.

Prophets are not even loyal to one another, especially when you look at how they treat one another in the Halo video game series. As such, we all love to hate them and wish that we could actually fight them in an actual battle. Sadly, you only get to pummel one Prophet in the entire Halo series.

7. Engineers (Huragok)

The Huragok or the Engineers are the unsung heroes of the Covenant because they are very useful when it comes to the Prophet’s mastery over Forerunner technology. That’s because the Engineers were actually created by the Forerunners themselves and are artificial lifeforms that the Forerunners themselves used. And because they are merely tools, the Huragok are generally weak in combat and are usually just in the background working behind the scenes to make sure that the Covenant gets to use Forerunner technology.

That said, the reason why they are unsung heroes is that we don’t usually see or hear anything about them, but they are very useful in the Covenant’s agenda throughout the entire Halo series and are willing to do anything it takes to help the Covenant succeed. As such, while they may not be useful in combat, they are very willing to use themselves as suicide bombers in battle. If not, they often shield their more powerful allies.

6. Drones (Yanme’e)

The Drones, as their names suggest, are actually just drones that are often used as background characters for the Covenant throughout the entire Halo series. Also called the Yanme’e, these are insectoid beings that are physically weak but are still capable of combat for the Covenant, although they are usually the mechanics.

While a single Drone is easy to kill, the difficult part about them is that they are rarely alone. That means that you need to be able to take out multiple Drones whenever you encounter them. On top of that, they are actually skillful when using their favored weapons. This is why you shouldn’t underestimate these Covenant aliens.

5. Jackals (Kig-Yar)

The Jackals seem to be found in the middle ground of the strength aspect of the Covenant because they aren’t the weakest, but they aren’t the strongest as well. They are generally the utility people that aren’t as expendable as the Grunts but aren’t as special as the Brutes or the Elites. However, that doesn’t mean that they are useless.

Called the Kig-Yar, these Jackals are actually quite capable when it comes to battle because some of them are good snipers that can use their beam rifles to snipe you down from afar. And when you increase the game’s difficulty, it is actually easy to die at the hands of a Jackal sniper, and that’s why you should never underestimate these Covenant members.

There are also Jackals that tend to be great at harassing you from closer ranges because they are agile fighters that move quickly enough to use hit-and-run tactics. This means that you might end up struggling to hit and kill them while taking damage from the Jackals in the fight. And while they may not hit hard and are not the best at taking hits, they can still kill you if you aren’t careful.

4. Grunts (Unggoy)

The Grunts, as their name suggests, are the lowest of the low in the Covenant military because they are the expendable members of the group. They are also called Unggoy, which basically means monkey in the Filipino language, and that word actually describes them well enough.

Grunts can look and act like monkeys on the battlefield because they are easy to kill but are quite goofy as well. Their personalities are the most apparent not only because they are the most abundant in the game but also because they simply are the Covenant’s rays of sunshine, at least on the battlefield because they are so easy to kill.

Nevertheless, while the Grunts may be the lowest of the low, a huge group of these dudes can still pose a threat to any player. That means that you shouldn’t really be underestimating these monkey-like aliens. Then again, it’s always fun to shoot down Grunts in the game.

3. Hunters (Mgalekgolo)

The Hunters are literally hunters in Halo. Also called Mgalekgolo (“mga” in Filipino refers to many), they are powerful opponents that use strong long-range cannons to attack you from a good distance. On top of that, they also have shields that they can use for defense and close-range the offense, and that means that they are very versatile opponents in Halo.

But the thing about the Hunters is that they are often deployed in pairs, and that means that they are very difficult to kill because one Hunter is already difficult enough on its own. This is why the Hunters are near the top of the food chain when it comes to ranking the strength of the aliens that belong to the Covenant.

Of course, seasoned players would also know that Hunters are heavily armored and that they only have a few weak spots. This means that you are going to struggle when it comes to killing these enemies in Halo.

2. Brutes (Jiralhanae)

The Brutes are near the top of this ranking for a good reason, and that’s because they are some of the strongest members of the entire Covenant race. They are almost always the commanders of the Covenant on the field and are also at the right hand of the Prophets in terms of their most trusted underlings. And there is also a reason why they are as strong as they are literally brutes that look like the lovechildren of apes and bears.

Probably the only weakness of a Brute is the fact that it isn’t the smartest alien race in the Covenant. Still, the Brutes rely on their animal-like instincts when it comes to battle. Of course, no one wants to be in a fight against an ape and a bear, and that holds true when it comes to Brutes.

As strong as they are, Brutes are not the strongest members of the Covenant because they seem to be less interesting and less powerful than the Elites when it comes to their overall capabilities as fighters.

1. Elites (Sangheili)

There is a reason why the Sangheili are called Elites as they are basically the elite members of the Covenant. They used to be the right hand of the Prophets until the Brutes took over their spot. However, the Elites are still generally the strongest of the strong in the Covenant because they are more flexible and smarter than the Brutes. Of course, the Elites are honorable warriors that value their dignity in battle.

Elites are almost always at the head of any battle because they serve as great commanders that are not only good at leading but are effective at fighting as well. As such, they are very formidable opponents that can use almost any kind of weapon masterfully.

Of course, the Elites are notable for being the only Covenant members using energy swords. As such, they are not only great at killing you using their rifles but are also experts at cutting you down in a close-quarter battle.