Sangheili Field Marshal

"With this sacrament of blood we journey into the Divine Beyond."

- Sangheili Field Marshal's mantra.

A Sangheili Field Marshal is one of the highest Sangheili ranks within the Covenant army and is a member of the Zealot-class.

Role
Field Marshals technically are not a part of the Covenant's conventional forces but instead a subset of the Zealot class of infantry. These Sangheili are charged with the recovery of Forerunner relics and the coercion of species who refuse to submit to the Covenant. Field Marshals' orders supersede all others and they report directly to the fleet's Supreme Commander. Besides leading large-scale ground operations, Field Marshals are known to lead small strike teams comprised of Zealot officers for operations that require both skill and precision to take out key targets to turn the tide of the war/make a key difference.

Halo: Reach
A certain Field Marshall led multiple ground campaigns on during The Battle of Reach. Its first encounter is in the level Winter Contingency when Noble Team investigate the Visegrád Relay. The Field Marshal jumps out of nowhere with two Zealots  assisting it and attacks Noble Team; but its shields collapse due to gunfire and it escapes, the Zealots stay and are killed by Noble 5 and 6.

It later appears again in the level New Alexandria when the Covenant attack the building Noble Team are in. The Field Marshal appears in a Phantom and kills Catherine-B320 with a Needle Rifle as she was running towards the bunker entrance, which causes SPARTAN-B312 to take his/her pistol and fire it at the Field Marshal with the rest of Noble Team firing at it as well, but the Field Marshal then orders the Phantom to retreat and escapes again.

Its final appearance is in the level The Pillar of Autumn when SPARTAN-B312 and Emile-A239 try to get to the UNSC Pillar of Autumn with The Package. The Field Marshal appears at the end of the level leading a squad of Zealots and some Grunts who kill Emile-A239 forcing SPARTAN-B312 to fight his way to and take control of the mass driver. After SPARTAN-B312 kills the last two Zealots and the Grunts, he/she then finally confronts the Field Marshal who is equipped with a Fuel Rod Gun and an Energy Sword. After an intense fight the Field Marshal is eventually killed by SPARTAN-B312.

Appearance
The Sangheili Field Marshal's armor design is similar to that of most other Sangheili warriors during the Fall of Reach. For example, the Marshal's armor is appears to be a combination of a Zealot and a General in terms of aesthetics and overall design. The helmet is nearly identical to the Zealot helmet, save for two spike-like protrusions at the top of the helmet. The core body piece of the armor is identical to the Zealot armor. The shoulder pauldrons are almost identical in structure and shape as the General's, although the ornamentation is blue rather than yellow. Essentially, as with all other Sangheili warriors' appearances during the Fall of Reach, the Field Marshal's armor has tones and hues of dark violets and blues.The armor is an affirmative appearance of Covenant construction. Overall, the Field Marshal's battle attire is less ceremonious and designed for optimum efficiency in battle, while still emulating the traditionally sleek battle armor worn by the Sangheili throughout the Ages.

Trivia

 * If a Spartan (The player in this case) engages a Field Marshal in hand to hand combat, the player will always win, but will be left with no shields. Simply chain melee, and he will die before you. When the Field Marshal loses his shields, he will be stunned, drop his gun, and pull out a sword, time which can be used to melee him twice, and finish him off, or move behind him and perform an assassination.
 * The Field Marshal is probably the strongest enemy encountered in the Reach campaign. Even on Easy mode, he can sometimes withstand a direct Spartan Laser hit.
 * The Field Marshal seems to take roughly four or five times the damage of a Minor, making him comparable in terms of health to a Revenant.
 * On ONI Sword Base, a B.O.B wearing white-coloured Sangheili armor appears when SPARTAN-B312 returns to Sword Base's courtyard. It has randomly white-coloured generated armor, and it is possible for it to be wearing Field Marshal armor.
 * In Halo: Reach, the Field Marshal and Zealots are the only Sangheili classes which cannot be fought in Firefight.
 * On Legendary, and sometimes on Heroic difficulty, the Field Marshal can withstand a direct Spartan Laser hit from a distance, and it can take 2 overcharged Plasma Pistol shots to drain their shields.
 * The armor of a Sangheili Field Marshal is available as an armor permutation for Sangheili players who have reached the rank of Lt. Colonel in Halo: Reach. It is the last armor permutation an Elite character can receive.
 * After its shields are depleted, the Field Marshal will switch from his Fuel Rod Gun to an Energy Sword if the player gets too close.
 * A commonly used way to kill the Field Marshal on Legendary is that after the Zealots are killed use an overcharged Plasma Pistol then switch to a shotgun. With the shotgun, shoot then melee until you down the Field Marshal.

List of appearances

 * Halo: Reach