Halo Campaign Evolved Boarding Action Skulls & Terminal Locations

TL;DR

Boarding Action is the first bonus mission in Halo Campaign Evolved.
There are 3 skulls to find: Malfunction, Johnny Ammo Seed, and Leadhead.
There is 1 terminal called The Path.
None of these collectibles are missable — you can replay via chapter select.
Finding all 4 collectibles unlocks the Souvenirs achievement.
Each skull acts as a gameplay modifier once collected.

Halo Campaign Evolved Boarding Action Skulls & Terminal Locations are some of the most asked-about collectibles in the game. Boarding Action is the first of three bonus prequel missions, and it hides three skulls and one terminal across its linear path. Miss one and you will have to replay the mission — so this guide walks you through every location in the exact order you will hit them during a natural playthrough.

If you are playing on PC via Steam, Xbox, or PlayStation, this guide works for all versions. Let’s get into it.

Table of Contents

About Boarding Action in Halo Campaign Evolved

Boarding Action is the first bonus prequel mission in Halo Campaign Evolved. It is set before the events of the main campaign — before Cortana enters Master Chief’s suit. Sergeant Johnson plays a major role throughout the mission, and you will fight your way through a Covenant ship called the Triumph of Tolerance.

The mission has a fairly linear structure, but the skulls and terminal are tucked in spots that are easy to walk past. Good news though — none of these collectibles are permanently missable. You can jump back in via chapter select at any time. Collecting all four in Boarding Action unlocks the Souvenirs achievement.

Want to know what other missions look like before jumping in? Check out the full Halo Campaign Evolved all missions list for a breakdown of every level in the game.

All Boarding Action Skull Locations

There are three skulls hidden in Boarding Action. Each one works as a gameplay modifier once collected. You can turn skull effects on or off when selecting a mission from the main menu. Here is where to find all three.

Skull 1: Malfunction Location

malfunction skull

The Malfunction skull is found early in the mission, right after you deal with two heavily armoured white Hunters. Once both Hunters are down, Sgt. Johnson will activate the grav lift. Do not follow him into the grav lift yet.

Instead, face the grav lift and turn right. Head down the path on your right and go through the stairs. This leads you to a Covenant dropship area. On the right side of the Covenant ship, there is a door you can enter. Go through that door and you will find a mountable turret inside. Head past the turret toward the bridge. The Malfunction skull is sitting in the middle of the floor on the bridge.

What the Malfunction skull does: Every time you respawn, a random element of your HUD disappears. This makes for a trickier, more unpredictable experience on Legendary.

Skull 2: Johnny Ammo Seed Location

Progress through the mission until you reach an area that looks like a training ground. You will know you are in the right place when you see four tree-like pillars, a sand pit in the middle, and weapons scattered around the floor. Clear out any Covenant in this area first.

Once the enemies are dead, head up the stairs and follow them around to the back of the room. At the top you will find two doors — one on the left and one on the right. Take the left door.

As soon as you go through the left door, you will be ambushed by an Elite. Deal with it quickly. After the Elite is down, look to the right side of the room. There is a ledge there, and the Johnny Ammo Seed skull is sitting on the ground on that ledge.

What the Johnny Ammo Seed skull does: When you reload a weapon, you lose whatever ammo was left in the magazine. Think twice before reloading mid-fight.

Skull 3: Leadhead Location

The Leadhead skull comes later in the mission, when your objective is to reach the upper decks of the Triumph of Tolerance. You will eventually clear a large room full of Covenant enemies. Once they are all dead, Sgt. Johnson will start working on the grav lift to reach the upper decks.

Before going up the grav lift, face it and look for the door in the back-left corner of the room. Go through that door and follow the corridor all the way to the end. The Leadhead skull is waiting for you there.

What the Leadhead skull does: Headshots no longer deal extra damage and can no longer score instant kills. This is a big deal on higher difficulties where headshots are essential for dealing with Elites efficiently.

For more on how skulls work across every mission, see our guides for other levels like The Silent Cartographer skulls & terminal, 343 Guilty Spark skulls & terminal, and Assault on the Control Room skulls & terminal.

Boarding Action Terminal Location: The Path

There is one terminal in Boarding Action, and it is named The Path. You will find it right after collecting the Leadhead skull, so it makes sense to grab both in the same trip.

After picking up the Leadhead skull, go back to the grav lift and ride it up to the upper deck. As soon as you land, immediately turn around. Do not follow the objective marker yet.

You will see two doors in the back-right corner area of this circular room. Enter the correct back-right door — it is the one closest to where you landed — and the terminal is right there on the right side of the room as you walk in. It has a glowing red light, which makes it a bit easier to spot once you know where to look.

Interacting with it unlocks a lore data entry called The Path in your collectibles menu. It adds context to the prequel story and the events happening before the main campaign.

Terminals are larger than skulls and glow red, so they are slightly easier to spot — but only if you know which room to enter. All 13 terminals in the game, one per mission, need to be found to unlock the Lore Have Mercy achievement and to fill out the full lore log.

What Happens After You Collect All Boarding Action Collectibles?

Once you collect all three skulls and interact with the terminal in Boarding Action, the Souvenirs achievement unlocks. This is tied specifically to this bonus mission, similar to how the other two bonus missions have their own collectible achievements.

The skulls you collect also become permanently available as gameplay modifiers. You can toggle them on or off at the mission select screen whenever you replay a level. Some players stack multiple skulls on Legendary for extra challenge and better score multipliers.

Looking to make the most of your run? Check out the Halo Campaign Evolved difficulty differences guide to understand how each difficulty level changes the experience, and the full achievement and trophy list to plan your completion route.

Tips for Collecting All Skulls and the Terminal in One Run

You do not need to collect everything in a single playthrough. The game saves your progress on each collectible the moment you pick it up — even if you die or quit the mission right after. That said, here are a few tips to make the run smoother.

Do not use the grav lift until you have Skull 1. The Malfunction skull is found before the first grav lift section. Follow the right-side path to the Covenant ship first.
Clear enemies before exploring. The Johnny Ammo Seed skull room has an Elite ambush. Get rid of enemies first so you can search safely.
Skull 3 and the terminal are in the same area. Grab Leadhead before going up the grav lift, then get the terminal right after landing on the upper deck.
Look for the red glow on terminals. Terminals have a small glowing red light that stands out slightly in darker rooms.
Listen for the audio cue on skulls. Skulls emit a faint hissing or whispering sound as you get closer to them.

If you want to play through the mission in co-op, find out exactly how many players co-op supports in Halo Campaign Evolved. Playing with a friend on Legendary makes some of the trickier combat sections much more manageable.

All Skulls in Boarding Action: Quick Reference Table

Here is a quick summary of all collectibles in the Boarding Action mission.

Skull 1 — Malfunction: Found past the Hunters, through the Covenant ship door, on the bridge floor. Effect: a random HUD element disappears on each respawn.
Skull 2 — Johnny Ammo Seed: Found in the training ground area, through the left door at the top of the stairs, on a ledge to the right. Effect: reloading loses remaining magazine ammo.
Skull 3 — Leadhead: Found before the second grav lift, through the back-left corridor in the Covenant room. Effect: headshots deal no bonus damage and cannot instantly kill.
Terminal — The Path: Found after riding the second grav lift, in the back-right room on the upper deck. Unlocks a lore entry called The Path.

Other Skull and Terminal Guides for Halo Campaign Evolved

Boarding Action is just one of thirteen missions with skulls and a terminal to find. If you are working toward full completion, here are the guides for every other mission.

You may also find these guides useful as you work through the game: