In Reach, I don’t really have a favorite (excluding Engineers and Drones as I haven’t faced them yet).
Grunts - Ultra Grunts and their cheap helmets. The fun thing about Grunts is that you can get multiple kills really fast if you get headshots. First Bungie tried giving them a lot of health. Now helmets. Ultra Grunts should be distinguished for their AI, not how long they can stay alive to show off their limited capabilities.
Elites - Elite Minors and Majors ruin fights with their presence. Absurd that their only difference is shield and health (seriously, where’s the variety? All regular Elites throw grenades, all regular Elites do instant kill melees, all regular Elites run at the same speed). Elite Rangers carry weapons that I never pick up. Ultras and Generals is where combat can be fun and engaging
Jackals - Moving shields, overcharge spammers, poor decisions (showing their heads while strafing), inept and easily distracted (you could land in front of one and he wouldn’t see you). Very absurd
Skirmishers - they seem damage spongey, though they stumble from shots to hide it. Focus Rifle seems to work well against them
Brutes - The way they stumble from almost every shot makes it hard to get headshots on them. Inability to assassinate them once spotted is disappointing and absurd
Hunters - Easy to stop them by jumping on one. Absurd how fast they raise their shields if I shoot them while they’re lowering it
If I have to pick up one, I’ll go with Jackals. But I think all of the Covies in Reach weren’t appealing (even more than H3 and H2).
In other Halo games, my least favorite Covies are:
CE - Jackals
H2 - shielded Jackals, Brutes, Heretic Grunts, Ultra Grunts
H3 - Grunts, Brutes
The original Grunty fun was ruined in H2 (H3 added new ones but they’re not close enough and they’re hideous. I’d rather have intermittently sleeping Grunts and Grunts being swatted by Hunters than kamikaze trains).
I have never really liked Jackals. Most balanced in H3 since they did not have bottomless clip overcharge but were too nerfed in long range combat (Jackal snipers already suffer from inaccuracy and inattentiveness. Why do they need those easily spotted goggles?) and their animation was absurd and not smooth.
Brutes are definitely lame.
I fear Heretic Grunts because this collection (which is part of this one) was not easy to do at all. H2 Ultra Grunts gave me nightmares. I felt more safer standing next to an Ultra Elite.
The AI balancing has been very poor in Halo…