Pulse Carbine

This article documents its subject as it pertains to the gameplay of the Halo games, rather than the lore.

Pulse Carbine
Gameplay role
Faction:	Covenant, Banished
Weapon tier (?):	Pickup weapon
Weapon class (?):	Assault Rifle
Effective range:	Close to medium
Counterparts:	Human (UNSC): Assault Rifle Covenant: Plasma Rifle Plasma Repeater Storm Rifle Forerunner: Suppressor
Weapon stats
Damage:	Low
Damage type (?):	Plasma
Projectile speed:	Low
Rate of fire:	Medium
Accuracy:	Medium
Variants and attachments
Halo Infinite variant(s):	Rapidfire Pulse Carbine

"Burst-firing plasma weapon effective at close to medium range. Projectiles track targets."

— In-game description

The Pulse Carbine is a Covenant assault rifle first introduced in Halo Infinite. Effective at close to medium ranges, it fires a burst of three projectiles which are capable of homing onto targets, dealing moderate plasma damage on impact.

Universe and lore

Main article: Erudo'ma'keth-pattern pulse carbine

The Erudo'ma'keth-pattern pulse carbine is a weapon developed by the and used by the military forces of the Covenant empire. After the empire's fall, production of the weapon resumed by the Elite Lodam Armory, and is now used by post-Covenant factions including the Banished.

Overview

The Pulse Carbine is a weapon first introduced in Halo Infinite as a successor to the Plasma Rifle, Plasma Repeater, and Storm Rifle. It appears in both campaign and multiplayer, and is relatively common in both due to its comparatively low power. The Pulse Carbine is more reliable at close and medium range, but is difficult to use at longer ranges due to the limited targeting range of its homing ability.

Unlock and acquisition requirements

In multiplayer, the Pulse Carbine is a pickup weapon that can be found in certain weapon pads. Whether or not the Pulse Carbine spawns is up to chance, as its weapon pads may offer an Assault Rifle instead, depending on the random weapon pad configuration generated at the start of the match.

Variants

Rapidfire Pulse Carbine

Main article: Rapidfire Pulse Carbine

The Rapidfire Pulse Carbine is an improved version of the Pulse Carbine, featured in the Halo Infinite campaign and multiplayer. The Rapidfire variant of the pulse carbine differs from the standard design pattern in one major way—as its name suggests, it has an increased rate-of-fire. The outer carapace has a silver-white coloration, as opposed to the purple of the standard pulse carbine.

In campaign, the Rapidfire Pulse Carbine is a legendary weapon awarded to the player after defeating the High Value Target, Inka 'Saham. The weapon can be acquired at any Forward Operating Base.

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  A Spartan wielding a Rapidfire Pulse Carbine.

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  A first-person view of the Rapidfire Pulse Carbine.

Counterparts

Throughout the Halo franchise, there have been several weapons similar in role to the Pulse Carbine.

UNSC

The UNSC has one specific weapon which is very similar in power and accuracy to the Pulse Carbine. The Assault Rifle is present in almost every Halo game and shares the Pulse Carbine's low accuracy and moderate damage. However, due to the many variations of the Assault Rifle seen throughout different Halo games these similarities may differ greatly from game-to-game.

Covenant

The Pulse Carbine is an obvious successor to the Plasma Rifle, Plasma Repeater, and Storm Rifle sharing a similar visual design, firing mode, and popularity among its users. All three share the fact that they are plasma based weapons with Covenant origins which deal moderate damage and are used primarily by Elites.

Forerunner

The only Forerunner weapon currently seen in game which resembles the Pulse Carbine is the Suppressor found in Halo 4 and Halo 5: Guardians. Both weapons are automatic and effective at close to mid range combat but are otherwise very different.

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Gameplay

Advantages

• Homing ability
• Has built in heat dissipation meaning that the user doesn't need to vent as often as some other plasma based weapons

Disadvantages

• Useless at long ranges due to low accuracy
• Fairly slow rate of fire; time between shots is relatively long
• Low damage output

Tactics and strategies

• Effective in tight, close-quarter environments
• Can be combined with a melee to kill enemies quicker
• Almost useless when fired from longer ranges; close the distance first, or use a different weapon
• Sometimes useful for defending zones in objective modes, as enemies are forced to come into the zone to capture it

Production notes

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Gallery

Concept art

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  Early concept art exploration for Halo Infinite of a "Covenant rifle" that would eventually become the pulse carbine.

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  More early concept exploration of the pulse carbine.

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  More early concept exploration of the pulse carbine.

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  More early concept exploration of the pulse carbine.

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  More early concept exploration of the pulse carbine.

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  Concept art approaching the final design.

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  Finalized concept art of the pulse carbine.

HUD icons

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  Halo Infinite HUD icon for the weapon.

Screenshots

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  A Sangheili Mercenary wielding a pulse carbine in a pre-release build of Halo Infinite.

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  First person view of the pulse carbine in Halo Infinite.

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  A Spartan holding a pulse carbine in the A New Generation trailer.

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  Three Covenant Jiralhanae, including a Chieftain, wielding pulse carbines during the Battle for Earth.

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  A Spartan wielding a pulse carbine, next to its wall mount.

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  A pulse carbine being fired, close to an overheat.

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  A pulse carbine cooling down on its own.

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  A pulse carbine venting.

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  A Spartan holding the pulse carbine on Live Fire.

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  The pulse carbine venting.

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  A Jiralhanae warrior fires a pulse carbine.

List of appearances

• Halo Infinite (First appearance)