1. The Pillar of Autumn
Escape the doomed ship as the Covenant boards
Mission Flow
- Wake from cryo and complete the systems calibration (tutorial section)
- Reach the bridge and take your orders - and a pistol - from Captain Keyes
- Fight through the boarded decks corridor by corridor
- Reach a lifeboat and escape to the ring below
At a Glance
- Enemies: Covenant boarding parties: Grunts, Jackals, blue and red Elites.
- Typical length: ~30-40 min
- Collectibles: 3 skulls, 1 terminal
Skull Locations
Speed LimitDisables sprint
In the room right after you leave the cryo bay: up on the catwalk in the front-right corner - crouch-jump up from the cylindrical container.
MagnifiedAssault rifle magazine increased to 60 rounds
On the way to the bridge, in the room a crewman enters after telling you "the Captain wants you on the bridge ASAP" - on top of the weapon lockers (sources differ on which rack in the row; check the whole line).
PerspectiveSwitches the game to third-person view
On the bridge, after Keyes hands you the pistol, drop down to the observation deck recess below the bridge - the skull sits in the corner.
Terminal
Approach
Cryo bay control/observation room: after entering the opening cryo area, turn left - right side toward the back of the room. See all 13 terminals and their lore →
Legendary Tips
- The plasma pistol overcharge (to strip shields) followed by a pistol headshot is the bread-and-butter Legendary loop from mission one onward (community).
- Shields and health both regenerate in the remake - hit-and-fade tactics through the tight corridors work better than they did in 2001.
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.