**Halo 3 in MCC: The Ark's two skulls and three terminals**

**Halo 3 in MCC: The Ark's two skulls and three terminals** *Mission-route spoilers.* There are five stops here, and the one thing worth remembering before anything else is the gravity lift. Cowbell is late inside the building. Its convenient lift is outside in the Scarab battlefield. Carry it with you rather than reaching the skull and realizing what you left behind. Use **Normal or harder from Mission Start** for the skulls. Terminals do not require that difficulty, but Normal lets you do both kinds of collectible together. This is Halo 3 in MCC; there is no Anniversary graphics toggle involved. **Terminal 1 — Rising Waters** After the first Hunter pair, follow the uphill cliffside path into the Forerunner passage. Immediately inside, take the **doorway on the left**, opposite the purple holographic panel. The terminal is in that side room. This is before the crashed-aircraft and long vehicle section. If you're already meeting the vehicles outside, you have passed the doorway. Interact with the terminal and let its display progress rather than backing away the instant it opens. Return to the main passage afterward. **Famine — the elevated beam** The skull sits at the end of a support on the large elevated structure over the sandy canyon. You pass this general area during the vehicle travel and return after receiving the Scorpions. At the structure, use the rocks against the cliff at one end to climb onto the upper platform. Walk along it toward the **last projecting support at the far end**. Look into the triangular recess out on that support: the skull is there, not on the main walkway beneath your feet. A normal jump from the flat platform isn't enough for the usual approach. A deployable cover placed as a step at the base of the support is a documented option. Position it so it stays on the platform rather than sliding off, climb onto it and jump into the recess. A co-op partner can also provide a boost. The traditional alternative is a grenade-assisted jump toward the recess. Begin with full shields, place the grenade at the base of the incline, then time the jump so its blast boosts you toward the ledge. It can kill you or throw you past the target, so don't present it to yourself as a guaranteed safe jump. On a collection run, spending a little longer arranging a stable step is preferable to repeatedly gambling with a low-shield blast. Pick up the skull and confirm **Skulltaker Halo 3: Famine**. The dangerous part of returning is the drop: descend toward the rocks you climbed rather than stepping blindly off the far edge. **Terminal 2 — Inundation** Later, once the tanks reach the Forerunner wall, enter the control area on foot and extend the **light bridge**. Then turn around from the bridge switch. The terminal is behind you against the wall. Activate the bridge first; the terminal is not accessible in the same way before that step. This stop is distinct from the first interior side room, and it is before the Scarab battle. **Collect a gravity lift at the Scarab battlefield** In the central structure in the sandy Scarab arena, take a portable gravity lift. Clear nearby enemies before searching, especially the dangerous occupants on harder settings. Keep the lift as you climb toward the main entrance and enter with Guilty Spark. Don't exchange it for a tempting piece of combat equipment if Cowbell is still on your list. Nothing about the skull requires the lift to be activated in the Scarab arena; you are carrying it to a later room. **Terminal 3 — Before the Fire** Pass through the sleeping-Grunt room and the connecting corridors. You'll arrive on the upper side of a room containing plasma batteries and a patrolling Grunt, with a ramp descending beside you. Go down, turn back toward that ramp and look **underneath it**. A concealed doorway leads to the terminal. This is below the route you arrived on, not a panel at the end of the next corridor. Read it, then return to the normal exit. **Cowbell — the highest compartment** After the plasma-battery room, enter the tall corridor with a descending ramp and stacked openings above its turn. Cowbell is in the **highest compartment**, behind the vertical energy feature. Deploy the gravity lift on the descending ramp so its push carries you toward that high opening. A useful starting placement is toward the lower portion of the ramp, slightly left of center, with the equipment placed while facing uphill so it is less likely to slide farther down. Run and jump through the lift's push, aim into the top compartment and crouch as you enter if the lip catches you. If the placement fails, don't keep using up equipment without checking your recovery. Reverting helps only if your available checkpoint still has the unused lift. Otherwise you may need to return for another while the route remains available, or replay from the beginning for a reliable skull spawn. Pick up **Skulltaker Halo 3: Cowbell** and continue toward the Cartographer. Your checklist for this mission is two skulls and three terminals—not five skulls, and not the complete campaign terminal set.