Okarda'phaa-pattern plasma rifle/Gameplay

Campaign

• In Halo: Combat Evolved, it is good to carry the M6D magnum as a secondary weapon. Use the Plasma Rifle to take down Elite or Jackal shields, and use the pistol to secure headshots on unshielded opponents, Grunts and Hunters. However, an Assault Rifle works better on Flood-based levels.
• In Halo 2, dual-wielded Plasma Rifles work extremely effective against a Hunter's back. It seems to stop and "stun" a Hunter from using its back melee on the player. This is very useful on higher difficulties.
• In Halo 3 Campaign, plasma rifles work the best against the Flood. Dual-wielded Plasma Rifles work as well as the Brute Shot over longer ranges and pick off more distant Forms, especially Ranged Forms and Combat Forms. By zooming in, and looking at the bottom of the heads-up display, one will see red numbers indicating their distance - Plasma Rifles works best against hostiles within 50 meters. Opening short bursts of fire will immobilize them easily, as they flinch and cease fire when being shot.

Multiplayer

In all of the Halo games, plasma-based weapons such as the Plasma Rifle are the best weapons to deplete the enemy shields, especially overshielded players. Although its range limits the weapon to close-quarter and medium range firefights, if used properly a player can quickly dispose of a distant enemy. It is recommended that players use the Plasma Rifles first to eliminate the opponents' shields and finish them off with a human weapon such as the Assault Rifle, Battle Rifle or SMG. In Halo: Combat Evolved, the Plasma Rifle has the ability to stun opponents, enabling players to quickly incapacitate their opponents quickly with a quick melee when close-by. In Halo 2 and Halo 3, dual-wielding increases the combined rate of fire and damage.

• In close-quarters, like all other weapons, it is preferable to just take out the opponent's energy shield with a few rounds, followed by a melee attack.

• Like all plasma-based weaponry, it is great against shields, but it takes a slightly longer time to take down an unshielded opponent compared with ballistic weapons like the Assault Rifle.

• In Halo 2 and Halo 3, dual-wielding in conjunction with a weapon that does high flesh damage (i.e. SMG or Mauler) can be very effective if the Plasma Rifle is first used to deplete the target's shields, followed by the next weapon used to secure the kill. Keep in mind that accuracy of both dual-wielded weapons will be reduced.