10. The Maw
Destroy the ring - and outrun the explosion
Mission Flow
- Climb back aboard the crashed Pillar of Autumn
- Reach the bridge - Guilty Spark blocks Cortana's self-destruct
- Manually destabilize the four engine cooling systems
- Race the timer in the Warthog to the extraction point, with a Banshee finale
At a Glance
- Enemies: Flood, Covenant remnants, and Sentinels in a three-way fight; rocket-wielding Flood in the engine room.
- Typical length: ~45 min
- Collectibles: 3 skulls, 1 terminal
Skull Locations
Stowed ReloadYour holstered weapon reloads automatically
In the cryo bay area: on top of the pillar in the far corner.
BoomExplosion radius doubled
In the engine room: find the crates on the broken walkway, cross them to the narrow ledge beyond.
ThunderstormMost enemies are promoted to higher ranks
During the Warthog run: the serpentine stretch has two shortcut tunnels - take the second; the skull sits mid-tunnel.
Terminal
Arrival
In the Pillar of Autumn's mess hall (room B03L from mission 1), between the vending machines. See all 13 terminals and their lore →
Legendary Tips
- The final Warthog run is on a strict timer: hold the center line, never stop to fight, and remount instantly if you flip (community).
- Rocket Flood one-shot you on Legendary in the engine room - clear each platform at range before jumping (community).
- Regenerating health gives the escape run a little extra forgiveness in the remake.
Attempting LASO? Read the 17-skull LASO guide first.
Sources: skull locations cross-checked from DayOne, Push Square, and TheGamer guides (July 2026); terminals from Halopedia and Pure Xbox; remake changes from the official PlayStation Blog feature. Tips marked (community) come from player reports and may predate patches. Mission lengths are estimates. Last updated July 28, 2026.