Halo: Combat Evolved/Weapons

Pistol
Your first weapon, issued to you by Captain Keyes on the Pillar of Autumn. This is a fairly powerful weapon (two headshots equals a kill) with a decent clip size, average ammo availability, and the ability to zoom. You'll want to keep this one on you at all times unless you need the weapon slot for something else (like the rocket launcher). The pistol's melee attack is rather slow but accuracy is excellent.


 * Clip size: 12 rounds
 * Max. ammo: 120 rounds
 * Zoom: 2x
 * Reload time: ~1.8 seconds

The pistol is one of the most combat-effective weapons in Halo. This is unusual because in most first person-shooters the pistol is a weak, last resort weapon. Three shots to the body is all that is needed to kill a Spartan. Two shots anywhere on the Spartan, and a final shot to the head will garner an instant kill. Five shots to the body will also deliver a similar effect. The pistol has a scope with a 2x zoom, 12 rounds per clip, and a maximum ammo of 120 bullets plus the clip already in the gun. The pistol is ranged weapon, meaning that any shots outside of it's maximum range do absolutly nothing, other than having the muzzle flash, giving your position away. It's bullets can reach out to roughly the distance between the two teleporters of Blood Gulch. When firing at a far target, remember to slightly advance your cross hair against the target, as the bullets take time to travel to the target before it hits the target. When the bullet reaches the target, the target's position may have changed so much that the bullet hits an unintended spot instead of the target, so it must be accounted for by the advance in your cross hair. A pistol is not the best long range weapon (see the sniper rifle), but it is very useful in mid-range combat. The pistol is *the* gun for any skilled player, so spend lots of time practicing the pistol as your main weapon of choice. A couple training tips: When fighting with a pistol, you must force yourself to aim at only the head of your target. Getting into the habit of shooting nothing but head shots will allow you to kill quicker. One of the largest factors of pistol accuracy is whether or not you are using semi-automatic mode. Holding the trigger down activates semi-automatic mode, meaning as long as you have the tigger held down, the pistol will shoot for you. Initially, it seems to make aiming slightly easier, but in reality it can't serve any compromise since semi-automatic mode greatly degrades the accuracy of your shots. In other words, never hold down the trigger on a pistol to fire, otherwise your shots' accuracy will vastly impair your ability to hit a target.

Assault rifle
Your other first weapon, a rapid-firing rifle that holds 60 bullets, is not terribly accurate, and isn't too powerful either. Really only useful in the later levels or against smaller enemies like Grunts. The reload time is long, so don't charge into battle with a half-empty clip. This weapon is more useful on Legendary difficulty, where the Plasma Rifle overheats very quickly. Accuracy improves greatly if the weapon is fired in short bursts, rather than continuously. It's melee attack is fast and has a decent range.
 * Clip size: 60 rounds
 * Max. ammo: 600 rounds
 * Zoom: None
 * Reload time: ~2.7 seconds

The assault rifle is one of the main starting weapons in Halo (besides the pistol). Assault rifles come with 180 rounds out of the box, 60 rounds in each clip, and a maximum total of 600 carriable rounds. In spite of assault rifles being one of a default weapon on most maps, it isn't widely appreciated among Halo players since it's accuracy is exponentially impaired when shooting at a target farther than 5 meters away, leading to most people not using it often for that reason. However, the assault rifle has a notable reputation of being a handy sidekick in finishing short range skirmishes quickly. In the event you deplete an enemy's shield and need one more shot to finish it but for some reason don't have that shot from the first weapon, simply move into short range with the enemy and finish it off with chest shots from the assault rifle. Concerning accuracy, the assault rifle's accuracy can be improved by firing in short bursts rather than all at once (hence turning off semi-automatic mode), but you shouldn't need to attempt decent accuracy with the assault rifle in the first place. Generally, you'll always want to have this weapon around if you have no other short range weapon in reach (not that you have a choice.)

Shotgun
You only get this in the later levels, but it's a great weapon capable of taking many enemies down with one well-placed shot. It doesn't work too well over a distance, but the ability to eliminate Covenant Elites with a point-blank shot to the head is much welcomed. It is also very useful against the Flood, especially the combat forms.


 * Clip size: 12 rounds
 * Max. ammo: 50 rounds
 * Zoom: None
 * Reload time: Varies

The shotgun is a remarkable close ranged weapon that deals a powerful blow to all those within it's devastated path. You'll basically want this weapon around when you're going to infiltrate a base or kill off a warthog abuser. Four shots to the body and two shots to the head will win an immediate kill from any unshielded opponent. Each shotgun comes with 12 rounds of ammo, has a 12 round maxiumum carrying capacity, and can hold up to 50 projectable rounds at once, meaning your use of a shotgun isn't hampered by constantly worrying about it's ammo running out when decently loaded. Usually, you'll want to keep 24 rounds of shotgun ammo around, as you'll find that the 12 rounds that come with it initially is very limiting. The most distinguishing aspect of the shotgun is it's reload mechanism: unlike other weapons, you can interrupt a shotgun while it's reloading and still benefit from the rounds loaded during the reload animation. The plasma pistol can be used side by side with the shotgun; simply charge a shot at an opponent to take down it's shields and finish it off with the shotgun. With lots of room for innovation, the shotgun can serve in many critical circumstances where you or your opponent is low on health and you need a quick kill. On most maps the shotgun can be found, notably on small and closed-off maps such as Derelict. Always try to aim at the head with when shooting at an opponent with the shotgun, as it will conserve hard-to-find ammo and finish off with a faster kill. Avoid using the shotgun with more experienced enemies who won't come in close range with you, as the shotgun is nearly useless when firing at a target more than 10 meters away. The shotgun has excellent melee accuracy and decent melee speed.

Rocket launcher
This one's great for taking down Covenant tanks, Hunters, or large groups of enemies. It also zooms and locks onto vehicles. It is commonly known as the "Jackhammer". The rocket launcher's melee attack is slow and the accuracy is excellent once you consider the time it takes the rocket to reach it's target.


 * Clip size: 2 rounds
 * Max. ammo: 8 rounds
 * Zoom: 2x
 * Reload time: ~3 seconds

When you initially pick up a rocket launcher, it comes with one "pseudo-clip" of 2 rockets, one extra pseudo-clip, and a maximum capacity of 8 rockets. The rocket launcher deals an immense amount of damage, making it the weapon of choice for taking down vehicles, shielded enemies, and groups of enemies. The projectile moves fairly slowly, which means you need to advance your cross-hair against your target relative to their speed and distance to get a good hit (see pistol for cross-hair advancing.) However, it's rather large blast radius can make the rocket launcher a bad choice for a situation where you or your team mates will also be taken out in the explosion. Because there are only two rounds in one psuedo-clip of a rocket launcher, you must be extremely conservative with your ammo. The rocket launcher's projectile travels about 10 mph faster than a warthog, meaning with wise foresight a rocket can catch up to a warthog on the run. The rocket launcher is a great suprise attack to vehicles as, once close enough, can be struck with the rocket launcher, winning an instant kill. Remember that if the enemy sees you targeting them with the rocket launcher, quickly change weapons and try to close off the distance between your and your enemy until you are close enough to get an accurate shot. There is no sense in walking around with your rocket launcher out, as doing so blocks about 20% of your screen when changing weapons only takes a second. The rocket launcher can be utilized to force the enemy to move in a certain direction. For example, if you fire to the left of an enemy, you can safely assume he will move to his right to avoid the projectile, where you can throw a grenade to the opponent's left, and finish him with a pistol. Combined with an invisibility shield, the rocket launcher is a deadly sabotage and ambush tool.

It's good against all enemies at long range, and is especially useful for taking down the pesky Hunters. The easiest way to kill other enemies is to aim it at the ground near them. For Hunters, just aim at their heads.

Sniper rifle
A very powerful weapon for skilled sharpshooters. Quite nice for dealing with Elites, but only over a distance. Not suited what so ever for close-range combat. It also has a night-vision scope, which you can enable by turning on your flashlight while zoomed. It is virtually useless against the Flood, since the bullet only passes through their body. It's melee attack is average and is the most precise gun, in terms of shot accuracy, in the game.


 * Clip size: 4 rounds
 * Max. ammo: 40 rounds on Xbox, 24 rounds on PC
 * Zoom: 10x
 * Reload time: ~2.5 seconds (slightly more if empty)

With a two-shot body kill and one shot head kill, it's undisputable that the sniper rifle is an unbelievably powerful weapon. The sniper rifle fires semi-automatically and is fed from, at maximum, four clips. Each sniper rifle comes with three clips of ammo, four rounds in each clip, totaling at 12 projectable rounds out of the box. The sniper rifle has two levels of zoom, 2x and 8x (10x on xbox.) However, the sniper rifle is no perfect weapon. Unlike the pistol, the sniper rifle's projectiles are jet-propelled to arrive instantaneously on target. That's good, right? Only half of the time. Those jet-propelled rounds leave a grey line of smoke behind their paths, which easily gives away your position to the opposition. Always use the rounds conservatively, as sniper rifles respawn very slowly and are sought after by all of your team mates and enemies. Also remember to bring a ranged weapon such as the pistol with you, because in the event you run out of ammo in the middle of Blood Gulch with only an assault rifle, shotgun, or other short-ranged weapon, any idiot with a pistol can make short work of you if they keep their distance. Remember to always aim at head level. Not only does a head shot save ammo and boost your morale, but it also helps to keep your position from being revealed to the deceased. The cross-hair advance principle that applies to the pistol also applies here. Just because the round appears to travel at the speed of light, that doesn't mean you don't need to advance your cross-hair against a moving target (read pistol for information on cross-hair advancing.)

Flamethrower
Good for clearing out trenches, around corners, or indoors. This weapon is only available in the PC/Macintosh versions of the game, and only appears in multiplayer. Be warned that this weapon can overheat. Do not run forward while using this weapon, or else you may run into your own flame and kill yourself with it. Instead, use it running backwards to lure them into the flames. Use ammo conservatively with this weapon.


 * Clip size: 100 units
 * Max. ammo: ?? units
 * Zoom: None
 * Reload time: ??

The flamethrower is not all that effective but can be useful in some rare situations. You will almost never find yourself in need of a flamethrower on spread-out maps where you're doing scouting work (unless, for example, you're camping your team's flag or camping a teleporter.) The flamethrower comes equipped with 100 flames per canister and two canisters per package. To put the amount of ammo provided in perspective, the flamethrower will run out of ammo approximately 6 seconds after holding the trigger constantly (minus the cool down period, when it overheats.) This immensely powerful weapon is found on only a few maps. It has fairly short range but deals a large amount of damage to those who come in contact with it's flames. At close range, 2 seconds of constant flaming will kill an unshielded enemy. Keep in mind the flames emanate out of the device with a delay, so if the weapon is swept in a direction the flames' maximum range won't catch up with the new direction until a second or so later. Because of this complexity the flamethrower's bursts may appear invisible on servers with lag (perhaps why it was cut from the Xbox version), however this can actually be used as an advantage as an opponent won't know whether they're out of the range of the flames. The flamethrower also seems to deal a small amount of burning damage, so firing in bursts may actually be more efficient. To avoid a flamethrower-wielding player, simply stay out of range and head for the walls in an attempt to make your opponent's flames bounce off the wall and wear their own shields down. Take caution when a passanger on a warthog is equipped with a flamethrower, as it's oddly enough an effective driveby weapon. In most circumstances, it can be a straight answer to battling incoming warthogs.

Plasma pistol
The most common Covenant weapon, very handy in a pinch, and excellent for taking out shielded foes (especially Elites). Holding the fire button will charge the weapon and deliver a very powerful homing shot, which will take out the Elite's and Jackal's energy shields with one hit. Be warned that this weapon can overheat. The plasma pistol is the fastest weapon to switch to. Melee speed is excellent and accuracy is average.


 * Max. ammo: 100 cells
 * Zoom: None
 * Reload: None

The plasma pistol, although with weak looks and is often overlooked, can rip through overshields very quickly. It has two firing modes: little semi-auto bolts of plasma and a charged up shot. Overcharged shots are charged by holding the trigger for a second, and firing them by releasing the trigger. In theory, if there were five overshielded Spartans on a tank, one overcharged bolt of the plasma pistol on the tank would take out all of their shields and then a quick spray of assult rifle would finish each and every one of the Spartans instantly. Overcharged shots move slower than normal plasma bolts but slightly home in on their target. Overcharged shots overheat the gun once firing them, leaving your time for another shot hindered by 2 seconds. They easily hit an unsuspecting person, but can be easily dodged if seen. Keep in mind overcharged shots can quickly deplete the battery of the plasma pistol, so overcharge your shots only when necessary. On the other hand, semi-automatic bolts can by fired by a plasma pistol simply by pressing the trigger repeaditely. When the Plasma Rifle's semi-automatic bolts hit a target, they stun the target for a short period of time, which can be useful if you are chasing an opponent and, once stunned, wish to melee the target on the back. Semi-automatic mode also suffers from overheating, as shooting a plasma rifle too quickly will also cause it to overheat.

An overcharged plasma pistol shot can deal a lot of damage to a vehicle and it's passengers.

Plasma rifle
Another common Covenant weapon. You'll usually find this on Elites, sometimes on Grunts. It's not quite as good as the Plasma Pistol, in that it fires slower and cannot be charged. However, the Plasma Pistol requires much attention by the player to achieve its higher firing rate, so the Rifle is more useful in situations where you need to concentrate on moving around. Be warned that this weapon can overheat.


 * Max. ammo: 100 cells
 * Zoom: None
 * Reload: None

Being another failure like the needler, the plasma rifle is a weak and usually inaccurate semi-automatic midrange weapon. It can be commonly found in the hands of covenant in campaign mode. The flipside of the plasma rifle hints at it's rather outstanding melee capability; the plasma rifle's melee speed and accuracy are both excellent.

Needler
The last common Covenant weapon and the only one that needs reloading. This weapon shoots slow homing "needles" that will explode after a short while of being stuck in something (or someone). It's not terribly useful and you'll probably only want it if you're out of ammo for everything you've got. The melee attack is the slowest in the game. However, on legendary mode, this weapon becomes a necessity against the fiendish elites, as it will home in and kill them if enough rounds are fired.


 * Clip size: 20 rounds
 * Max. ammo: 80 rounds
 * Reload: ~1.5 seconds
 * Zoom: None

One interesting thing to note is that the needler is the one weapon that isn't on Blood Gulch since all other weapons in Halo can be found on Blood Gulch. The needler is an odd weapon that doesn't have much use in the multiplayer world of Halo, and is found much more useful in campaign mode. Due to the needler's slow-travelling projectiles and having to go extra lengths to obtain a needler, it really hasn't received much attention anywhere else besides campaign mode. Generally, you'll never want to use this weapon unless you're on Battle Creek or some other closed-off map.

Fuel rod cannon
A battery-powered mortar launcher that is great for taking out players in vehicles, or shooting over obstacles. This weapon is only available in the PC/Macintosh version of the game, and only appears in multiplayer. Be warned that this weapon can overheat.


 * Max. ammo: 100 cells
 * Reload: None
 * Zoom: None

Frag grenade
One of two types of grenades you can find. These will bounce around corners and explode in a fairly large radius, killing whatever happens to be near.


 * Max. ammo: 4 grenades
 * Detonation radius: ~8 metres
 * Timer: 2 seconds (starts on first bounce)

Plasma grenade
The Covenant's answer to frag grenades. These are about as powerful as Frags, but they don't bounce as much and will stick quite easily to enemies and friends alike if hit directly with them.


 * Max. ammo: 4 grenades
 * Detonation radius: ~8 metres
 * Timer: 3 seconds (starts on throw)