Cut Halo 3 weapons

This page discusses elements of deleted material and cut content. Some information on the page is sourced from game files and may not be verifiable through external sources. Where possible, such information should be clearly-marked and replaced with a proper external source as soon as one is available.

This article is part of a series on
Halo 3 cut content

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Cut content

Cut enemies and NPCs
Cut dialogue
Cut levels
Cut vehicles
Cut weapons
Cut equipment

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Development

Halo 3 development
Concept art
Design documentation
Storyboards
Title Updates
Halo 3 Beta
Original script

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To check out cut content for other Halo games, see here!

v • d • e

During the production of Halo 3, several weapons were concepted and implemented - though ultimately cut for various reasons.

UNSC

Missile launcher

During the game's development, it seems that a second rocket launcher was intended for inclusion. Several pieces of concept art for this weapon can be found in The Art of Halo 3, showcasing multiple rocket launcher designs reminiscent of the anti-air rocket launcher cut from Halo: Combat Evolved. One of these concepts is famously known as the "G4H-DuSH", derived from the L33t speak for "gah-dush", an onomatopoeia of the sound a rocket makes when it is launched or detonates.

An image posted by Reddit user "sneakyfellow" showcases a weapon resembling these concepts in the Halo 3 Alpha, though no details are known of its in-game operation. Given its resemblance to the anti-air rocket launcher, it is possible this weapon was eventually superseded by the missile pod.

A later leak of the Halo 3 Alpha showcases some more gameplay of this weapon. Referred to in-game as the Missile Launcher, the weapon is an untextured model. It has a fully-realised HUD and carries one rocket, before needing to reload. The weapon fires a single missile with a fair degree of drop.

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  Concept art for the "G4H-DuSH".

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  Concept art for the rocket launcher.

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  Concept art for the rocket launcher.

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  A picture of the rocket launcher in the Halo 3 Alpha.

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  The missile launcher on the ground inside a base on Valhalla.

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  A Spartan holding the missile launcher.

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  A view of the missile launcher in first-person.

Covenant

Excavator

The Excavator is a weapon found in early beta builds of Halo 3, and can be found in the Et Tu, Brute? ViDoc wielded by Brutes. The weapon is an early version of the Mauler found in the final game; the original design and concept for the Mauler was based on the Excavator weapon cut from Halo: Combat Evolved. The weapon can be found in the Halo 3 Beta.

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  A Brute wielding the Excavator in Et Tu, Brute?.

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  The Excavator in the Beta.

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  The Excavator held in first-person - note the transparency effect on the gun.

Forerunner

Guardian eye

In early production, the planned Guardian Sentinel in the titular Guardian Forest level was to have a unique weapon of its own. In the planned encounters, players would have been able to hijack the Guardian and rip out the Sentinel's eye, using it as a powerful weapon. Little is known of this weapon's planned function.

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  Near-final concept art for the Guardian Sentinel, with its distinctive red eye prominently-featured.

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  A model of the Guardian featured on Epitaph.

Equipment

Alongside the various cut weapons, a number of equipment items were cut or significantly altered prior to release.

Bomb

The bomb used in the Assault gametype appears in the Beta, similar in purpose to the trip mine. The bomb can be picked up and thrown as an equipment, at which point it will roll along the ground while beeping and flashing red. The beeping escalates in frequency, ultimately resulting in an explosion.

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  The bomb in the March 2007 beta.

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  The bomb in the March 2007 beta.

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  The bomb in the March 2007 beta.

Covenant trip mine

Found in the files of the Halo 3 Beta, this early version of the TR/9 trip mine boasts a distinctly Covenant themeing as opposed to the aesthetic found in the final game. The metal and lights on the mine have a blue/purple hue rather than the brown-orange seen in the final game. The files in the Beta only have a model and texture, with no associated gameplay functions.

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  The Covenant tripmine in the Halo 3 Beta.

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  The Covenant tripmine restored into Halo 3 via the use of modding.

Bubble shield

Various early forms of the bubble shield can be found in early builds and trailers. One of the most notable can be found in the Starry Night trailer, thrown to the ground by John-117 to avoid incoming plasma mortar fire. This model seems to be based upon the version found in the March 2007 Beta build of Halo 3, shown below.

Another, model of the bubble shield found in ViDocs and the multiplayer beta appears to use a similar design to the radar jammer and power drain, except yellow. This bubble shield is capable of rolling along the ground, pulling the shield with it.

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  A closeup of the bubble shield model in Starry Night.

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  The Starry Night bubble shield in use.

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  The bubble shield pickup in the March 2007 beta.

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  The active bubble shield pickup in the March 2007 beta.

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  The active bubble shield pickup in the March 2007 beta.

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  An early bubble shield in the multiplayer beta.