Halo: Combat Evolved/Multiplayer

Halo's multiplayer component is widely regarded as the better part of the game, and is the part that helped Halo become really popular. This section will explain basic strategies, weapon strategies and info, and possibly map and gametype strategies.

Basic Information
The Mac and PC versions support full online play straight out of the box. Originally the Xbox version only supported LAN and splitscreen battles, but Gamespy Arcade's Xbox Tunnel service later rectified this; it allows full online play by making the Xbox think all players are actually connecting to each other through a LAN. Whether this program works with the Xbox 360 is unknown.

Weapons
The weapons are the same ones in the single player game, with the exception of the pc version's flamethrower. The all respawn on the maps in preset places.

Melee attacks
All weapons deal a certain amount of melee damage, the size of the weapon determining the damage they deal. The rocket launcher and battle rifle deal especially effective melee damage (and in the rocket launcher's case this is the safest attack to use at close range). Melee attacks kill instantly when dealt from behind(?), so if you happen to sneak up on an enemy you can kill them with a quick smack to the back of the head. Planting a plasma grenade on them is also a viable option.

Plasma Pistol
The default starting weapon. Has two firing modes, little semi-auto bolts of plasma and a charged up shot. The charged shot homes in slightly and will take out a sheild in one hit. The charge shot can be useful in close range in combination with a pistol. Charge up, hit them to take out their sheilds, and switch to the pistol and hit them in the head for the kill.

Human Pistol
The default starting weapon on some PC/Mac-only maps. It does an impressive amount of damage but fires at a reduced speed. Its alternate fire button displays a 2x sniper crosshair, allowing for easier headshots. Its sheer power allows a player with depleted shields to be taken down in a single hit, or at the very least seriously wounded. At long range it is not as efficient as a sniper rifle but still packs a punch. Many players choose to keep this weapon on them until they can get their hands on a sniper rifle.

Battle Rifle
The weapon of choice for mid-to-close-range combat, the Battle Rifle makes up for its mediocre damage with a fast rate of firing. All but useless for distance combat but perfect for raiding bases. It takes approximately a clip and a half to take down another player, not counting melees to the face between bursts.

Sniper Rifle
The camper's weapon of choice, the sniper rifle's high damage and 8x zoom allow picking off targets across the entire map. Because of this it is easy to rack up cheap kills by targeting known spawn points and taking down players the moment they spawn.

Rocket Launcher
The rocket launcher deals an immense amount of damage, making it the weapon of choice for taking down vehicles (and especially Banshees). It fires slowly, which means you need to fire just in front of a target to hit it. Its area-of-effect damage makes it a bad choice for any situation where you or your teammates will also be taken out in the explosion. The small amount of rockets able to be loaded at one time means conserving ammo is a must.

Frag Grenade
The frag grenade deals a good deal of damage, can be thrown for quite long distances, and will also bounce and roll into place after throwing, making it easy to toss a few into the heart of the enemy base before rushing in. It also is small, silent after landing, and dull-coloured, meaning players might not notice it until it's too late. The downside is that its three-second timer means they can run out of range if they do notice it.

Plamsa Grenade (aka Sticky Grenade)
Many consider the plasma grenade far superior to the frag grenade. While the plasma grenade glows brightly and hisses loudly once thrown (making it easier to notice and avoid) it makes up for this by sticking to whatever it is thrown at, both onto the environment as well as players and vehicles! This makes it perfect for dealing some guaranteed damage to another player--while they can easily run out of range of a frag grenade, a plasma grenade stuck to their chest is inescapable.

Once stuck with one players often calculate that they won't survive the blast so rush suicidally into the nearest danger zone, hoping to take their attacker (or another foe) with them. If you're going to die anyway you might as well do this, and if you've just stuck a grenade on a weakened foe yourself be sure to get out of range (or reverse while shooting them to ensure they die before reaching you).

Flamethrower (Mac/PC only)
This immensely powerful weapon is found on a few maps. It has fairly short range but deals a large amount of damage. 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). This can actually be used as an advantage, as an opponent may not know whether they're out of range of the flames or not. To balance its power the flamethrower quickly runs out of fuel, so be careful when using it. The flamethrower also seems to deal a small amount of burning damage, so firing in bursts may actually be more efficient.The best strategy against a flamethrower-wielding player is simply to stay out of range and wear their shields down. Watch out especially for players using them from the side seat of a Warthog.