Halo Campaign Evolved: Truth and Reconciliation Skulls & Terminal Locations

Halo Campaign Evolved Truth and Reconciliation Skulls & Terminal Locations are some of the trickiest collectibles in the entire game. This is the third main mission, and it hides three Skulls and one Terminal across two very different zones — the open cliffs outside the Covenant cruiser and the tight corridors inside it. Miss one and you may not get another chance without replaying the mission from scratch.

• TL;DR
• Truth and Reconciliation has 3 Skulls and 1 Terminal to collect.
• The three Skulls are: Iron, Endurance Spec, and Foreign.
• The Terminal is called Inquisitor and sits inside the ship’s prison block.
• Iron is outside near the grav lift. The other two are inside the Covenant cruiser.
• The Foreign Skull is time-sensitive — you must dash through a door before it closes.
• The Endurance Spec Skull requires a tricky multi-pillar jump inside the ship.
• Picking up a Skull permanently unlocks it even if you die right after grabbing it.
• All Skulls can be reviewed anytime in the Collectibles section of the main menu.

If you want to 100% this mission, read the full guide below before you rush through. The order you encounter these collectibles naturally is: Iron → Endurance Spec → Foreign → Inquisitor Terminal.

You can grab the game on Xbox, PlayStation, or Steam. And if you are still early in the game, check our Halo Campaign Evolved beginner’s guide before diving into collectible hunting.

What Are Skulls and Terminals in Halo Campaign Evolved?

Before we jump into locations, here is a quick overview of what you are actually looking for.

Skulls are hidden collectibles that activate gameplay modifiers. Some make the game harder. Some add fun twists. Each main mission has exactly three Skulls, and there are 39 total across the whole game. Once found, they are permanently unlocked and visible in the Collectibles menu.

Terminals are lore entries written in-universe. They give you backstory and classified intel that the main campaign does not spell out. Each mission has one Terminal, for a total of 13 across the game. Finding all of them helps build a much richer picture of the Halo universe.

It is also worth noting that Skulls and Terminals are rarely placed near each other in the same room. You have to look for them separately. A general “explore everything” approach will not be enough — you need a specific plan, which is exactly what this guide gives you.

For a look at how collectibles affect your completion rate, see our Halo Campaign Evolved achievement and trophy list.

Skull #1: Iron — Location and Effect

skull 1 iron location

Where to Find the Iron Skull

This one is found before you ever board the Covenant Battle Cruiser. You will reach a sniper section first. Push through it and keep going until you get to the grav lift area.

Do not step into the grav lift yet. Instead, clear out all the enemies in the area — this includes Hunters, so be ready for a proper fight. Once every enemy is down, walk toward the back of the area, past the grav lift.

Look for the farthest purple turret. Behind it, you will find a tree that looks like a cactus on its left side. Head behind that tree and look over the edge of the cliff. The Iron Skull is sitting on a small ledge just below the top of the cliff.

Drop down carefully and pick it up. Do not panic about dying — once you grab a Skull, it is permanently unlocked even if you fall right after. To get back up, use the branches on the nearby tree to your left to climb back to the main area.

Iron Skull Effect

• Solo: Dying restarts the entire level from the beginning.
• Co-op: Dying resets you to the last checkpoint instead of the full level restart.

This is one of the more punishing Skulls in the game. You probably do not want it active on your first playthrough. For more on how difficulty settings interact with Skulls, see our guide on Halo Campaign Evolved difficulty differences.

Skull #2: Endurance Spec — Location and Effect

Where to Find the Endurance Spec Skull

This is the hardest Skull to grab in this mission. It requires a precise multi-jump across pillars inside the Covenant ship, and you can easily slip and fall.

After boarding the ship, your objective will shift to finding the ship’s brig. Fight through waves of enemies as you push deeper into the cruiser. Once the Hunters in the interior area are defeated, your Marine squad will head down a side hallway and stop at a locked door.

You will need to take an alternate route to unlock that door. The alternate path takes you up to the top level of a large room. Once you are on the upper walkway, follow it all the way around to the far side of the room and look toward the center.

You will see three tall support pillars (sometimes described as purple pillars or support beams) in the middle of the room. There is a purple canister nearby you can jump on first to get height. From there, sprint-jump across each pillar in sequence. You cannot stop — keep moving. The Skull is resting on top of the last pillar. Hold the interact button as you land to grab it before you slide off.

This jump trips up most players on their first attempt. Give yourself a few tries and aim for the pointed top of each pillar as your landing target.

Endurance Spec Skull Effect

• UNSC vehicles cannot be damaged — essentially gives your Warthog and other UNSC vehicles invincibility.

This is a very fun Skull to run in later missions. If you enjoy vehicle combat, pair it with what you learn in our Halo Campaign Evolved all missions list to plan which levels to revisit.

Skull #3: Foreign — Location and Effect

Where to Find the Foreign Skull

This is the most time-sensitive Skull in the mission, and possibly one of the trickiest in the whole game. You only have a brief window to grab it.

After you unlock the door on the lower level (letting your Marines regroup with Master Chief), you will move through several hallways until you reach a large hangar room packed with Covenant reinforcements.

Once you are in the hangar, look for a sealed door on the back right side of the room. This door stays locked until a scripted enemy spawn triggers. You need to kill enough enemies in the hangar so that the game spawns a fresh wave — at which point two Hunters will burst through that back-right door.

The moment that door opens, sprint toward it immediately. You have only a short window before it closes again. If you make it through, follow the corridor inside and look at the ground. The Foreign Skull is sitting on the floor to the left. You do not need to fight — just grab it and exit.

A safer approach: position yourself near the door before the Hunters emerge. Bait them out first so you are not sprinting in while two Hunters are charging at you. Once they come out, slip past them into the corridor.

Foreign Skull Effect

• You cannot use weapons from enemy factions. You are locked to UNSC weapons only — the guns dropped by your Marines.

This skull adds a genuine challenge layer since Covenant weapons are often very useful. For tips on managing different weapon types and loadouts, take a look at our armor and cosmetics guide for more on how your loadout presentation affects gameplay feel.

Terminal: Inquisitor — Location and Lore

Where to Find the Inquisitor Terminal

The Inquisitor Terminal is found during the Rescue Captain Keyes objective inside the ship. You can also grab it after you find Keyes, so do not panic if you miss it on the first pass through the brig area.

Navigate through the interior rooms until you reach a central room with four doors. Each of the four doors leads to a holding cell block — you will know you are in the right area as soon as you see the purple prison cell corridors.

From the entrance door into this central room, turn right and enter the door directly in front of you. Walk down the hallway until you reach an open holding cell room. Inside, you will find a device in the center of the room. Interact with it to deactivate the cell shields.

With the shields down, check the cells along the back wall. Look for the cell that contains a dead Marine — that is your visual cue. The Inquisitor Terminal is inside that specific cell. Interact with it to unlock the lore entry.

What Does the Inquisitor Terminal Contain?

Like all Terminals in the game, Inquisitor expands the lore behind the events you are playing through. It adds classified intel and context that the main story does not directly address. Once unlocked, you can read it anytime from the Collectibles section of the main menu.

Terminals do not affect gameplay — they are purely for story and world-building. But for Halo fans who want to understand everything happening beneath the surface of the campaign, they are well worth tracking down.

For even deeper lore context across the whole game, our Halo Campaign Evolved review guide covers what this game does for the franchise’s overall story.

Tips for Collecting All Skulls and Terminals in Truth and Reconciliation

• Do the Iron Skull first. It is outside the ship, so if you board before grabbing it, you will have to replay the mission.
• Clear every enemy before collecting. Fighting while trying to make precise jumps is a recipe for failure.
• The Foreign Skull has a hard time window. Position yourself near the door before triggering the final Hunter wave.
• Grabbing a Skull is permanent. Even if you die right after picking one up, it is still counted as collected.
• The Terminal needs you to interact with a device first before the cell opens. Do not try to brute-force through the shields.
• Play on a manageable difficulty if you are just hunting collectibles. Some of these spots get very chaotic on Heroic or Legendary.

If you are playing co-op and hunting collectibles together, take note that the Iron Skull’s effect resets only to the last checkpoint in that mode — which is a lot less punishing than the solo version. For full co-op info, check out our guide on Halo Campaign Evolved co-op players.

Frequently Asked Questions

Other Halo Campaign Evolved Guides You Might Find Useful

Looking to go deeper into the game? Here are some helpful reads:

• Halo Campaign Evolved Third Person Guide
• Halo Campaign Evolved Machinima Mode
• Halo Campaign Evolved Pre-Order Bonuses
• Halo Campaign Evolved Steam Artbook Fix
• Halo Campaign Evolved PC Requirements

Truth and Reconciliation is one of the most iconic missions in the Halo series, and its collectibles reward careful players who take their time. With this guide, you should be able to grab all three Skulls and the Terminal in a single run without having to replay anything.