Skulls are the most important collectable you'll be searching for during your quest through Zeta Halo in Halo Infinite. They're so, so easy to miss and if you're not keeping an eye out at all times you've probably missed a few already. It's a pain to find all the Halo Infinite skull locations if you aren't constantly vigilant. There are a lot of skulls in the open world, as well as a few in missable missions.
Not to worry, though. We've put together a handy list of all the skulls in Halo Infinite. They're a real pain to find - even when they're highlighted on your map skulls can be difficult to spot. So, here's some actually good advice on what to do and how to find the skulls in Halo Infinite.
Halo Infinite Skulls Interactive Map
Below, you can find MapGenie's entire Zeta Halo installation, with all the skulls helpfully highlighted so you can spot them more easily. However, if you need more specific tips, read on to find out more about how to actually get all the individual skulls.
1: How to Get the Boom Skull
Effect: Behold, the Temple of Boom. Doubles explosion radius.
The Boom skull can be missed if you complete its campaign mission without grabbing it. It's collectable in mission 1, and at the moment you can't return to it.
You'll reach a two-levelled room with a few brutes and grunts in it. You'll be able to clearly see the up and downstairs area. Clear the room.
Head up to the second floor and look for the ascending platforms.
Hop onto the middle one (the other two will kill you), and hop off when it stops to get your first skull of the game. Jump off between platform ascensions to get out of there.
Think that was an overly-complicated, slightly irritating location for a collectable to be hidden? Well, you ain't seen nothing yet.
Also, if you enter the room with two big holograms of Atriox by a door, turn back - you've gone too far and the level will lock you out of obtaining the skull.
2: How to Get the Cowbell Skull
Effect: Because we needed more Cowbell. Acceleration from explosions is increased.
This is another skull that can be missed if you don't get it the first time around. It's also one of the most annoying ones to obtain. You can do it, though.
Go through the level as normal, and watch the cutscene in which Master Chief collects The Weapon. Immediately after this, you’ll be sent up an elevator with voices in your head. You'll be sent into a room that looks like this:
Clear the room and look backwards and up past all the pillars. Press down on the D-pad to scan, and you should be able to spot the tiny outline of the skull right at the top in the middle of the room.
Thankfully there's a checkpoint here. You'll need some precise (and somewhat lucky) grappling to get up here. Here's how I did it.
Go to the first level of the first pillar from the entrance. Then grapple onto the upper level of the second pillar. Then, carefully grapple up to the top middle area. It'll need a solid jumping start and the exact, perfect angle. Is it worth it? Who knows.
3: How to Get the IWHBYD Skull
Effect: Did they really just say that? Rare combat dialogue becomes more common
This skull can be found at The Tower, one of the first main objectives you'll be sent to in the main story. For it, you'll want to have an upgraded Grapple, as it'll help you big time as you attempt to hook your way up The Tower.
Get yourself on top of one of the giant slopes leading up to the top of The Tower. The skull is outside, on the summit, so that's your goal.
Then, grapple so you're standing on these slanted bits facing towards you.
It's then a matter of grappling using a combination of the metal bars hanging down and the ones right up on the roof of The Tower.
This can be a frustrating one, but there's a small ledge just before the top that you might end up landing on if you're close, at which point it's just a matter of grappling up one last time. Once you're up, the skull is in the middle of the roof.
4: How to Get the Blind Skull
Effect: Great for shooting photos, bad for shooting enemies. HUD and weapon do not display onscreen.
This one is an absolute doozy. If you're far enough into the game to have unlocked the Wasp, it'll become a whole lot easier. The Blind skull can be found between the two mountains on the far southwest side of the map.
Climb either mountain until about halfway. If you look down from here, you'll see a bunch of dead Spartans in blue goop. In the image below, you can see it faintly on the bottom left-hand side.
Jump down to where the blue goop is, and hide from the ship that'll shoot at you for a few seconds. This shows you're on the right track.
Follow the goop trail to see a light across the chasm and grapple towards it.
From there, look for another light and go towards it. You might be able to spot an M41 SPNKr on the ledge.
There you have it! The Blind skull will be sitting there on the ledge.
5: How to Get the Fog Skull
Effect: They could be anywhere. Disables motion tracker.
The Fog skull is one of the best-hidden ones in the game for me. It's alright though, I suffered so you don't have to!
This skull can be found to the west of FOB Alpha.
Approach it from the south side so you're at the very bottom level. There are a few enemies camped here on the way. This is what the route should look like once you're past those enemies.
Pop around the corner and you'll see a little blue doll on the ground.
Look up and press the down arrow on your D-pad to scan. You should see a bunch of gear directly above you - the skull is there. It'll also be available to set a waypoint on your map, but don't do this - the waypoint is inaccurate.
Jump across to the next platform and use your upgraded Grapple Shot to go up to the target. It’s a tough swing but easier than the IWHBYD skull from The Tower - just make sure your Grapple Shot has the shorter cooldown upgrade and you're patient with it.
The skull is here, next to a pile of armour. If you look down from the ledge, you can see the position of the blue doll, so you have a bit more information about where you are and where you need to be.
6: How to Get the Catch Skull
Effect: Hold these for us. Enemies throw and drop more grenades.
The Catch skull is much more of a challenge in combat than anything else.
Found at the very top of the map, west of Outpost Tremonius, you'll want to get onto the skull's mini-island using a Wasp or an upgraded Grapple Shot.
In the middle of the chasm, there'll be a tree stump with a skull in it, guarded by two hunters. They're really tough to kill, so be extremely patient with it.
If you want a bit of advice, Jake's how to kill hunters guide will be a real treat for you.
My strategy for this skull was to take out the guard brutes on the mountains above first. You don't want to be scrapping hunters down below while your enemies are sniping down at you.
From there, I rained fire down on the hunters from above - you don't want to face them in close-quarters. The Disruptors dropped by the guard brutes were really handy, as once you hit a few shots the hunters will start taking lingering electric damage - an absolute treat for you. It'll take a long ol' time, but keep plugging away and avoid getting too close to make sure the hunters are dead.
Then, all you need to do is hop down and grab your reward!
7: How to Get the Thunderstorm Skull
Effect: Promotions for everybody. Upgrades the rank of most enemies.
The Thunderstorm skull is one of the easier ones to get, provided you have a Wasp or an upgraded Grapple Shot.
North of FOB Juliet and just west of the Beacon, there's a giant mountain you can climb up.
If you go right to the top, you'll find a dead human sniper and a USNC audio log.
Look towards the Beacon and carefully climb down the hill. You'll see a dead brute and a couple of dead grunts. The pillar you're aiming for is the one where my crosshairs are in the below image. It might be a bit of a weird one since the skull cannot be seen, but it pops into view when you look down your sights.
Jump down to the pillar - you might have more luck jumping to the pillar below it and then grappling up. Then, just grab the skull.
8: How to Get the Black Eye Skull
Effect: Better get punchy. Your shields only recharge when you melee enemies.
If you head south-east from FOB Juliet or north-east from FOB Kilo, you'll find yourself at a lovely little river with a waterfall.
There are dead brutes littering the ground as you approach this waterfall.
Wander towards the waterfall and start scanning - you'll need to do the classic video game thing of finding a way behind that waterfall.
The opening is just over halfway up and on the right side of the waterfall as you're facing it. It'll be obscured by water, but there is a faint red light coming out.
Crouch down, go inside, and the skull will be ominously perched atop a stake.
9: How to Get the Famine Skull
Effect: I'm out! Weapons dropped by enemies have half the ammo they normally would.
This is a skull that might have to wait until later on in the game. It's situated on an island detached from the rest of Zeta Halo in the far eastern side of the map, just south of a beacon.
I've got a Wasp from a FOB, but if you're struggling with gaining enough Valor for that at the moment, never fear. You can steal Banshees from nearby enemies - I was attacked by enemy Banshee aircraft when taking over FOB November just to the west of the skull.
Here's the island you're looking for. My Wasp is facing north towards the Beacon.
This one might be harder than you'd expect to spot. Fly towards the east side of the island and look for the first hexagonal ledge from the top of the rock. There should be a golden elite enemy dead on the ground. My crosshairs are pointed at it in the screenshot below.
Just land your aircraft and grab the skull from his cold, dead hands!
10: How to Get the Mythic Skull
Effect: Because it wasn't hard enough. Enemies have increased health.
The Mythic skull can be found during the campaign mission The Command Spire. It and the final two skulls in this guide can be missed if you don't grab it during the campaign mission it's in, so pay close attention.
You get to the mission immediately after completing the Nexus mission - there's no gap.
Go through the level until you start seeing rooms with ascending hexagonal pillars, there to rebuild Zeta Halo. If you're going through rooms like this, you're on the right track.
Soon after, you'll reach a gravity lift.
Ascend, and you'll exit in a much bigger room with pillars travelling from side to side.
Clear the room, and keep walking along, following the pillars as they go through the light. More enemies will show up as the pillars turn to the right.
Kill them off, and then look upwards. Here's where you want to get to. You can do this by grappling up onto the pillars before they turn, and then grappling up onto the ledge above.
Look below! Now I'm up there looking down on the room I was just in.
Grapple upwards again to another ledge above. Once you're standing there, you should be able to find a blue door in the room.
Head down the corridor and there you have it! The Mythic skull.
If you've cleared the large room and are about to go into a teleporter, turn back. You're in the room - just head back, follow the instructions and find the skull.
11: How to Get the Grunt Birthday Party Skull
Effect: Maybe it's the methane? Grunt headshots lead to glorious celebrations.
This mission comes directly after the previous story mission. No rest for you! It's a tough skull to get as well, but we'll manage.
Go through the level as normal until you get to the large room with the light bridges connecting the terminal in the middle. Access the relay after clearing the path of enemies.
You'll get shouted at by bad guys in a cutscene, and then your quest begins for the skull. Head back towards the door through which you entered the room.
Look to the right and you'll spot a blue door.
Use your Grappleshot to swing across the gap from here - it's easy enough if you use the wall and aim above your head. Go through the door and grab the Power Seed from the terminal.
Head back, and do the same thing. Swing across from next to the door your progression waypoint is. Go through the opposite door and find a terminal in the back-right side in which to plug the Power Seed.
Continue the mission as normal for the moment.
You'll get to a bit of the mission where The Weapon and Master Chief start talking about a new Banished structure they're protecting, and they look at it out of the window. Here's where you have to focus again.
There's a fork in the road - pick either one of the two routes. When they converge, you'll get to a room with symmetrical pillars.
Do you see that window at the top? It's open! Clear the room of hostiles and enter with care.
There are four invisible elites to kill, so use your Threat Sensor to take them out - they're surrounding the skull in this room.
Don't let them get too close with their Energy Swords! If you can keep track of them though, they go down pretty quickly to the likes of a Sentinel Beam.
Then, just grab the Grunt Birthday Party skull from the ground.
If you activate the gravity lift and Cortana starts talking to Leonidas as a hologram, you've gone too far and should turn back before you miss the skull.
12: How to Get the Bandana Skull
Effect: We did say Infinite. Grants unlimited weapon ammo and grenades, and removes equipment cooldown.
Almost there! Let's get that final skull, then we can all sit back and relax, activate all 12 skulls and start another playthrough.
This comes in The Silent Auditorium mission, directly after the confrontation and story stuff that goes on with Escharum.
We're close. Remember, you can't get the Bandana skull outside of this mission, so you have one shot.
This one is quite simple, as long as you remember this: don't kill Sentinels at all during the search for the Silent Auditorium. It's tempting, I know, but just leave them alive. When you get into the room below, it'll be hard to avoid, but use your Grappleshot to leap around past them.
Continue through the level as normal and wait until Adjutant Resolution starts talking to you. Follow on through and construct the light bridge seen below. If the door isn't coloured blue, you've unfortunately accidentally hit a Sentinel and will need to restart the level.
There are no further hazards! Just hop up onto the platform in the middle of the room and grab the final skull.
That's it for the Halo Infinite campaign mode skull locations! Hopefully, I've provided some genuinely useful tips for you to find them - the Halo Infinite skulls can be super tedious. While you're here though, why not learn a bit more about the Halo Infinite campaign? We have info on how long it takes to beat Halo Infinite, as well as handy advice on how to gain more Valor.