Skulls

Skulls are in-game modifiers present in *SPV3*. Much like in the official *Halo* games, they exist to modify aspects of gameplay, generally making it more difficult but without necessarily changing typical elements, such as enemy or player durability. Like in official games, they have the appearance of a normal human skull without the jawbone.

*SPV3*'s Cross-Map Unlock system is essentially the opposite of Skulls; both are optional, but Skulls impede players, whereas Cross-Map Unlocks serve only to aid players.

Through the years, *SPV3's* Skulls have become notorious to players of the mod, as they arguably offer more drastic effects than the skulls in the official *Halo* games. Unlike other *Halo* games, *SPV3's* Skulls are available on any difficulty.

## Overview

Skulls have been a part of *SPV3* since it was first released in 2016. As they have always been integral parts of the gameplay in the official games for veteran players, its no surprise that Skulls were brought into *SPV3* by the SPV3 Dev Team.

At first, they were presented in the same manner as their original appearance in *Halo 2*, as findable Easter eggs within missions, and they had to be picked up to be activated. They could also be used as melee weapons, but added no additional damage. Found Skulls could be accessed in the pause menu after discovery, and be turned on or off for the following levels.

Despite their popular reception in the first releases, the developers removed Skulls from *SPV3.2*. At the time, the modders reasoned that this was done to enable further memory space for more changes that were planned.

When *SPV3.3* was in development, the SPV3 Dev Team revealed that Skulls would be returning to the mod. Masterz1337 explained that they were omitted because they were to be heavily reworked to be more unique and suited to the mod, but also because they were to play a large part in the then-upcoming Firefight mode. The modders found it best to remove Skulls altogether from *3.2*, as they knew they were going to be completely redone anyway. Unlike their previous appearances, for campaign they are presented in the same way as *MCC*, and are selectable from the main menu before gameplay is initiated.

## Gameplay

*SPV3.3* has a myriad of Skulls available to players, many of which are original creations of the SPV3 Dev Team, and are unique to the mod. Whereas official games skulls can add details such as extra lines of dialogue, *SPV3's* Skulls affect only the gameplay and can seriously test the most seasoned of players.

### Campaign Skull List

These Skulls are selectable from the Skull list when choosing a level to play in campaign. Like in *MCC*, they can be combined in any way, shape or form to produce unique gameplay experiences. They are available for all difficulties and are as follows:

### Firefight Skulls

Firefight uses some Skulls from the Skull list above. Skulls like Fog and Spite function identically to their appearance in campaign. Tyrant uses even more Skulls from the list above, however, some Skulls are exclusive to Firefight.

These particular Skulls cannot be selected manually in the game. They are randomly activated depending on the players choice of Skull configuration. They are as follows:

 Galvanized
 Rage
 Mythic

\*The Jeb effect of Budget Cut won't affect weapon drop unlocks in Firefight.

### Findable Easter Egg Skulls

Pre *SPV3.2* had all Skulls available as findable Easter eggs that were hidden throughout the levels in Campaign, as they were in *Halo* games before the release of *MCC*. When Skulls returned in *SPV3.3*, they are now all presented in the Skull list menu before the game is launched, except for Firefight.

However, two Skulls from the initial release of *SPV3* were retained in the game and can still be found and activated as such in *SPV3.3*. These Skulls only need to be picked up once for the effects to be activated. Like before, they can also be used as a melee only weapon, but they offer no additional damage. Unlike the other Skulls, the two findable Skulls only appear on Legendary or Noble.

They are as follows:

 Mantis

## Trivia

* In the Skull list menu, the Keyes Skull is shown with the Marathon logo on it.
* Players can turn on Photo Mode in the game launcher menu along with the Blind Skull to give the Skull the same effect it has in official *Halo* games.
* In wave 1 of Firefight, if the Budget Cut Skull is turned on, the HUD and pause menu will incorrectly identify it as the Pin-Not-A Skull. The announcer will address it correctly as the Budget Cut Skull however.
* In earlier *SPV3* builds, the Mantis Skull was was also hidden in the levels Halo and The Silent Cartographer: Evolved. Its was removed from them later on to enable memory space for other features.
* Since earlier builds, the Moon Skull has been moved slightly. It used to be in the same general area, except it was through a nearby door from its current location. It was through the door, round the corner and perched on the wall. Ironically, the door to its previous home is still open for the player to explore, despite containing nothing anymore.
* In The Pillar Of Autumn, if the Moon Skull is picked up, its effects are turned off automatically when the player reaches the oval elevator from The Maw for the rest of the mission. Otherwise, the player could easily escape the games boundaries inside the elevator shaft and cause functionality problems. Even if the player brings the Skull with them to the elevator, the low-gravity effect will still be deactivated when the lift is boarded. Furthermore, once the checkpoint at the top of the lift is reached, the Moon Skull will despawn, whether it is in the players possession or not.