Halo Campaign Evolved: The Pillar of Autumn Skulls & Terminal Locations

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Halo Campaign Evolved The Pillar of Autumn has 3 Skulls and 1 Terminal. Here are the exact locations of Speed Limit, Magnified, Perspective, and the Approach Terminal.

Halo Campaign Evolved The Pillar of Autumn is the first main mission in the game. It kicks off Master Chief’s journey aboard the iconic UNSC warship and gives you your first chance to collect Skulls. This mission holds 3 Skulls and 1 Terminal. Two of the three Skulls are easy to miss because they appear very early, before most players even know to look for them.

This guide covers every collectible in The Pillar of Autumn — exact locations, step-by-step instructions, and Skull effects — so you can grab everything in one clean run.

TL;DR — The Pillar of Autumn Collectibles

  • Skull 1 — Speed Limit: At the very start. Turn around from your cryo pod, jump on two containers at the back-left wall, reach the walkway above, find the Skull at the end.
  • Skull 2 — Magnified: In the armory room marked B02L. Look at the third rack of weapons — Skull is on top in the middle.
  • Skull 3 — Perspective: At Rally Point Bravo, after the Keyes cutscene. Go back into the bridge, drop down the ladder between the two pilots.
  • Terminal — Approach: At Rally Point Charlie. After the cryo room with cracked windows, go through the next door, turn immediately left, enter the red-lit room — Terminal is at the far end.
  • Finding all four collectibles unlocks the Clean Sweep trophy/achievement.
  • Grabbing Skull 1 unlocks the Cranial trophy — your first Skull in the game.
  • If you grab all three Skulls here, you will also automatically unlock Campaign Remix and three bonus Skulls: Adaptation, Armistice, and Reload.

Not sure how to turn Skulls on once you have them? See the how to activate Skulls guide for the full menu steps.

About The Pillar of Autumn

The Pillar of Autumn is Mission 1 of the main campaign in Halo Campaign Evolved. It is set aboard the UNSC warship as the Covenant attacks. You start in the Cryo Room, meet Captain Keyes on the bridge, and eventually fight your way off the ship.

This is also the mission where the entire collectible system first opens up. The very first Skull is available within seconds of gaining control. If you know where it is, you can grab it before anything else happens in the game.

The Pillar of Autumn is also one of the best missions to play on your first collectible run. The Skulls are spread across the whole mission — two early, one at the bridge — and the Terminal comes near the end. You can get everything in a single playthrough without backtracking.

For a full list of all missions and how they are structured, see the all missions list. New players should also check the beginner’s guide before diving in.

Skull 1: Speed Limit Location

The Speed Limit Skull is available the moment you gain control of Master Chief. It is sitting on an upper walkway in the starting Cryo Room. Do not leave the room before getting it.

speed limit skull
speed limit skull

How to Get the Speed Limit Skull

  1. As soon as you gain control of Master Chief outside the cryo pod, turn around and face the back of the room.
  2. On the back-left wall, you will see two round containers (cylindrical tanks) with a UNSC logo painted on the wall above them.
  3. Jump onto the two containers. If you are struggling to reach them, try jumping from the nearby computer console to get a better angle.
  4. From the top of the containers, jump up to the walkway running along the wall above.
  5. Walk to the far end of the walkway. The Speed Limit Skull is sitting there on the floor.

Speed Limit Effect: Disables sprint entirely. Master Chief can no longer run. This is a significant challenge modifier that makes combat and traversal noticeably slower. It is one of the Skulls required for LASO (Legendary All Skulls On).

Tip: Wait for a checkpoint to save before grabbing this Skull. The game does not save collectibles instantly — they register at the next checkpoint. If you pick it up and quit right away, it may not count.

Skull 2: Magnified Location

The Magnified Skull is found in the armory room shortly after the Covenant attack begins. A Marine escorts you through the ship toward Captain Keyes, and the Skull is sitting on top of a weapon rack on the way through.

magnified skull
magnified skull

How to Get the Magnified Skull

  1. When the Covenant attacks, you do not have a weapon yet. Follow the Marine leading you through the corridors toward Captain Keyes.
  2. You will pass through a room marked B02L on the wall.
  3. The Marine takes you into the armory — a room with rows of weapon racks in the middle.
  4. Look at the third rack of weapons in the centre of the room.
  5. The Skull is sitting on top of that rack, in the middle. Jump up to grab it.

Magnified Effect: Boosts all Assault Rifle magazines to 60 rounds. This is actually a helpful modifier, not a challenge one. More ammo per magazine means less frequent reloads during combat. A good Skull to run with on harder difficulties.

Skull 3: Perspective Location

The Perspective Skull is found at Rally Point Bravo — at the bridge of the ship, after your cutscene with Captain Keyes. It is in the same general area as a hidden Easter egg from the original Halo: Combat Evolved, so veterans of the series will find it familiar.

perspective skull
perspective skull

How to Get the Perspective Skull

  1. Reach Rally Point Bravo and watch the cutscene where you meet Captain Keyes on the bridge.
  2. After the cutscene, leave the bridge briefly until Master Chief automatically equips his Magnum pistol.
  3. Once you have your weapon, head back into the bridge where Keyes is.
  4. Move past Keyes to the front of the bridge, where two pilots are seated at the controls.
  5. Between the two pilots, you will see a ladder leading down. Drop down it.
  6. The Perspective Skull is at the bottom of the ladder, on the left side.

Perspective Effect: Switches the entire game to a third-person over-the-shoulder camera. This is one of the most popular new Skulls in Halo Campaign Evolved. It completely changes how the game feels to play. If you want to explore this mode in more detail, see the third person mode guide.

This is also the third Skull in the mission. Collecting it will automatically unlock Campaign Remix if you have not already triggered it elsewhere, and award you three bonus Skulls: Adaptation, Armistice, and Reload.

Terminal: Approach Location

The Approach Terminal is the lone Terminal in The Pillar of Autumn. It is named Approach and is found at Rally Point Charlie — significantly later in the mission than the three Skulls. It is easy to walk past if you are not actively looking for it.

approach terminal 2
approach terminal 2

How to Find the Approach Terminal

  1. Progress through the mission to Rally Point Charlie. This section involves moving through the upper area of the ship, including a cryo room with cracked windows.
  2. You will know you are in the right area when Cortana says “It looks like the Covenant wanted to catch you napping.”
  3. Continue through the cryo room and go through the next door.
  4. Immediately turn left through another open door as you exit.
  5. You will enter a small room with red lighting and lots of screens on the walls. This room is directly behind the control room overlooking the starting cryo area.
  6. The Approach Terminal is at the far end of this room. Interact with it to activate it.

Terminals produce a faint bleep and boop sound when you are nearby. Unlike Skulls, they do not emit a whispering or hissing noise, so you need to keep your eyes open rather than relying on audio cues.

Interact with the Terminal using X on Xbox, Square on PS5, or E on PC.

For all 13 Terminal locations across the full game, see the all Terminal locations guide.

All Pillar of Autumn Collectibles — Quick Reference

  • Speed Limit Skull — Rally Point Alpha. Starting Cryo Room. Jump on back-left containers, reach the walkway, end of the walkway. Effect: Disables sprint.
  • Magnified Skull — Rally Point Alpha. Armory room B02L. Top of the third weapon rack in the middle. Effect: Assault Rifle magazines increased to 60 rounds.
  • Perspective Skull — Rally Point Bravo. Bridge. Drop down the ladder between the two pilots. Effect: Enables third-person camera.
  • Approach Terminal — Rally Point Charlie. Upper ship, cryo room with cracked windows. Turn left after the next door, red-lit screen room, far end. Unlocks: Approach lore entry.

Trophies and Achievements Unlocked Here

Collecting all four items in The Pillar of Autumn unlocks the Clean Sweep trophy/achievement (Bronze / 20G). This is the per-mission collectible trophy for the first main campaign mission.

You also unlock additional trophies along the way:

  • Cranial (Bronze / 10G) — Awarded for collecting your very first Skull. The Speed Limit Skull triggers this if it is the first one you have grabbed.
  • The Autumn Leaves (Bronze / 10G) — Awarded for completing The Pillar of Autumn on any difficulty.

If The Pillar of Autumn is where you collect your first three Skulls overall, you will also unlock Campaign Remix and receive the Adaptation, Armistice, and Reload Skulls automatically — bringing your total to six without having to find them individually.

For the complete list of all trophies and achievements in the game, see the achievement and trophy list guide.

Tips for Collecting Everything in One Run

  • Do not leave the Cryo Room before grabbing Speed Limit. It is right there at the start, but it is behind you. Most players walk forward and miss it entirely.
  • The Magnified Skull is on the story path. The Marine walks you right past it. Just look up at the weapon racks as you pass through the armory.
  • Get your Magnum before going for Perspective. You cannot access the bridge area properly until after the Keyes cutscene and the pistol equip sequence.
  • The Terminal is near the end. Plan to go left immediately after the cryo room door. It is easy to overshoot it if you are in a rush to escape.
  • Wait for checkpoints before quitting. Collectibles save at the next checkpoint, not the moment you pick them up. Always let the mission save before quitting to the menu.
  • Use Rally Point select to clean up. If you miss something, you can jump back into any Rally Point you have unlocked without replaying from the beginning. Rally Point Alpha covers the first two Skulls, Bravo covers Perspective, and Charlie covers the Terminal.

Other Mission Skull and Terminal Guides

Working through the full campaign? Here are the guides for every other main mission:

Bonus Missions

More Halo Campaign Evolved Guides

You can get the game on Xbox, PlayStation, or Steam.

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