Weapons (gameplay)

For the full list of weapons see Category:Weapons

The weapons from the Halo universe, available in campaign and multiplayer gameplay, handheld, form the basis of First Player Shooting Gameplay within the Halo games.

An extensive array of weapons are available, each operating differently. This allows players to take different approaches and sometimes forces a change in tactics depending on the strengths and weaknesses of each weapon. Each player will also find a weapon to suit his or her tastes, in terms of power, speed, range, kickback or feedback.

Usage

All weapons have the capability to Zoom once into any area, some sniping rifles even allowed two magnification steps. Some weapons exit the scope mode after a shot is fired, making them inefficient for sniping.

Halo: Combat Evolved limited the number of weapons players could carry to two, forcing them to carefully select their preferred armament. But players can only wield one weapon at a time. Players fight with ranged and melee attacks, as well as a limited number of grenades. Bungie refers to the "weapons-grenades-melee" format as the "Golden Triangle of Halo", which has remained fundamentally unchanged throughout the trilogy. The player character's health is measured in both hit points and a continually recharging energy shield. The energy shield absorbs a significant portion of enemy fire, after draining and hurting the player character thereafter, potentially causing death.

Halo 2 introduced new gameplay elements, chief among them the ability to hold and fire two weapons simultaneously, known as "dual wielding".

Halo 3 adds to the series new weapons, and a class of items called Equipment

Types

The types of available weapons follow the basic standards present in real life, Assault, Battle and Sniping.

Grenades are frequently made available, primarily for anti-infantry combat.

Melee attacks are sometimes available, if the player is able to sneak up behind an enemy up close, undetected.

Heavy weapons such as Turrets are also present within Halo levels, either stationary or mounted on Vehicles. Some turrets can be removed from their stands and used as hand held Support Weapons.

Explosives and large scale weapons, Missiles, Nuclear, and Halos are usually involved in the storyline of every game, though not usually playable.

Factions

The player is allowed to use weapons from either of the two primary factions, Human or Covenant, often turning the enemy firepower against itself. The third faction, Forerunner, has a limited number of weapons throughout the trilogy usuable by players.

Human weapons tend to use bullets, explosives and lasers, while Covenant weapons are generally plasma or energy based (with the exception to Brute weapons). All weapons run out of ammunition or charge when used extensively.

To know more about the weapons from each major Faction:

UNSC Weapons	Covenant Weapons	Forerunner Weapons
A UNSC Battle Rifle	A Covenant Plasma Rifle

Availability

A Covenant weapons cache, holding two Carbines

Within campaign levels, the player's character (Master Chief or The Arbiter) begins with two weapons, and often has access to weapons lying around, either near corpses or within weapon caches and stores.

Killed enemies or allies can be robbed of their dropped weapons as well. Allies can exchange weapons with the player character when requested, making it unnecessary to kill them only to use their weapons.

Weapons can be reloaded by collecting ammunition from, or swapping the player character's weapon with a loaded dropped weapon. If the player is already wielding the same weapon, they can swap if the new weapon is loaded or charged more than the wielded weapon.