Kig-Yar Sniper

"The only thing worse than Jackals are Jackals with sniper rifles!"

- Marine about Jackal Snipers

A Kig-yar Sniper, also referred as Jackal Sniper, is a highly trained Covenant marksman and one of the uncommon ranks in the Kig-yar rank structure. They were first seen in Halo 2 ' s Outskirts level.

Description
Exceptionally skilled in precision shooting, the Kig-yar Snipers wield the Beam Rifles and Covenant Carbines to great extent as to eliminating long-range targets are usually hidden from enemy's sight. They act as counterparts to the UNSC Marine sharpshooters.

Combat
Generally, Kig-yar snipers are considered as support units to the Covenant forces when engaging an enemy. With their superior accuracy, the Kig-yar snipers can eliminate any enemy from a distance with their long range weaponry. They are known to snipe from hard to reach places such as ledges, cliffs, rooftops, Deployable Lookout Towers and occasionally large branches on trees which provide them a wide view of the battleground and most importantly to conceal their location. Their position are easily revealed when they release fire from their Beam Rifle and Covenant Carbine.

In Halo 3, the Kig-yar Sniper's headpieces emit a faint purple glow and can be seen from a distance, thus giving away the Kig-yar's position. This is an easy advantage since you simply need to search for the purple glow of the headpiece and target the headpiece, usually giving a headshot, and if using a Sniper Rifle or Beam Rifle you simply need to move the targeting reticle slightly and you get a guaranteed headshot. On lower difficulties, the Kig-yar Snipers are commonly seen with Covenant Carbines, though players will encounter some with Beam Rifles. On higher difficulties, they are more commonly seen to wield the Beam Rifle and delivering a one-hit kill to the players regardless where it hits.

The most efficient and effective way in eliminating Kig-yar Snipers is by using a long-range weaponry such as the Sniper Rifle, Battle Rifle, Covenant Carbine and Beam Rifle and firing from afar without having them discovering the player's location. Sidearms with mounted scopes such as the M6C/SOCOM are also exceptional in killing them off, provided that the player aims at the head. Medium-range weaponry such as the Plasma Rifle, the SMG and the Assault Rifle can suppress the Kig-yar sniper, allowing the player to finish them off with a quick melee.

Trivia

 * In a Bungie interview, they stated that Jackal Snipers in Halo 2 were too dangerous and too accurate. To balance the gameplay, Bungie made the Jackals' aim less accurate in Halo 3 than it was in Halo 2.
 * In Halo 2, the Jackal Snipers do not wear helmets, instead wearing a silver combat suit.
 * It is stated on the Bungie site that only battle hardened veterans are selected to become Jackal Snipers. This could suggest that as well as being a special type of rank, Jackal Sniper is an elevated rank either for Jackal Majors (i.e. the next promotion) or in between Jackal Minors and Jackal Majors. However, their duties do not tend to involve commanding other troops.
 * In Halo Wars, an upgrade for Jackal anti-infantry units replaces their weapons with Particle Beam Rifles, implying that all Jackals can become Snipers. In addition, these Jackals do not lose the ability to wear the Jackals' trademark energy shield gauntlets.
 * During the level Sierra 117 in Halo 3, when the difficulty is set to Legendary, the Kig-yar on the ridge that are equipped with carbines on Easy, Normal, and Heroic, will instead be equipped with much more accurate and powerful Beam Rifles.
 * In Halo 3: ODST, in Crater Firefight, Jackal Snipers only appear during the day version (with engineers appearing at night.)
 * In Halo: Reach, Jackal Snipers wield Needle Rifles and Focus Rifles, instead of Carbines and Beam Rifles.