Sulok-pattern beam rifle

Beam Rifle redirects here. For the version introduced in Halo 4, see Type-27 beam rifle. For other uses of the term beam, see here.

Template:Weapon Infobox

"As soon as the first guy goes down with blood and steam whistling out through the neat new hole in their head, you know you’re in for a long, miserable game of ‘where the foxtrot did that come from.'"

— Unknown UNSC serviceman

The Type-50 Sniper Rifle System,^[1] otherwise known as the Particle Beam Rifle or simply Beam Rifle, is a Covenant long-range weapon and the counterpart of the UNSC SRS99 series sniper rifles. It is also the successor to the earlier Type-27 Special Application Sniper Rifle. The weapon has a variety of nicknames including PBR,^[2] PB and Covenant Sniper.^[3]

Design details

A Particle Beam Rifle.

The Type-50 SRS is a battery-powered directed energy weapon that fires ionized particle beams.^[3]^[4] The battery for the weapon has enough charge to fire ten shots. The muzzle velocity of the weapon is 3657 m/s (12,000 f/s)^[1], with a maximum effective range of roughly 1,500m (4900 ft)^[1]^[3] When firing, the weapon has a near-silent and negligible muzzle signature, and inflicts wounds comparable to the 14.5×114mm round fired by the UNSC's SRS99 series of sniper rifles,^[1] capable of instantly killing a target.^[3] The beam rifle has a barrel length of 82.55 cm (32.5 in.) and an overall length of 160.4 cm (63.2 in.), weighing in at 18 kg (39.6 lbs).^[1]^[2]^{[note 1]}

The Type-50 has little recoil when firing. The mechanism by which the beam rifle functions is unknown to the UNSC, but accounts for the weapon's drastically different properties. The scope of the beam rifle is capable of a 5x or 10x zoom, but has the potential to induce slight nausea in humans who try to use it.^[1] The round section in front of the hand guard and trigger area of the weapon appears to contain the Type-50's "ammunition"; after the weapon has completed its firing sequence, the section rotates presumably to "chamber" another "round".

One variant of the weapon, employed during the Battle of Installation 05, is capable of a battery capacity of 18 shots.^[5]

Variants

T-50α: Kig-Yar snipers assigned the Fleet of Particular Justice displayed uncharacteristic bravery in their valiant defense against the Flood onslaught on Installation 04. This Alpha variant of the T-50 is an improved Beam Rifle with faster rate of fire and increased hipfire accuracy.^[6] It is classified as an Ultra Rare REQ and can be summoned in Warzone at Level 6 energy while giving 150 REQ points if sold.^[7]
T-50δ: The Prophet of Truth employed an elite team armed with powerful master-crafted weapons to hunt down his political enemies during the Great Schism. The T-50 Beam Rifle's Delta variant creates an unstable gravimetric vortex at point of impact.^[6] It is classified as a Legendary REQ and can be summoned in Warzone at Level 7 energy while giving 200 REQ points if sold.^[7]

The T-50α variant in Halo 5: Guardians.
The T-50δ variant in Halo 5: Guardians.

Operational history

The T50 was employed throughout the Human-Covenant War alongside its Type-27 brother, though the Covenant made little distinction between variants.^[4] They were typically primarily employed by Sangheili and Kig-Yar snipers, raiders and scout-executors.^[6]^[8] It was employed during the Harvest campaign, Battle for Arcadia and Battle of the Etran Harborage in 2531.^[9] However, the weapon would remain a rarer sight throughout the war and Covenant tactical doctrine did not typically make the full use of the capabilities of Beam Rifles. However, as the war with humanity continued, human snipers showed the Covenant how pinpoint, accurate firepower could lead armies into disarray. This prompted a change in the final few months of 2552^[1], with the Beam Rifle becoming selected as the most tactically optimal and ecclesiarchy-blessed of the various Covenant analogues of the human SRS99 and put in an elevated production priority.^[4]

The UNSC were unaware of the Beam Rifle's new precedence within the Covenant doctrine, unknown as to whether the change was spurred by a new direction in doctrine or local unit organisation.^[1] The Fleet of Particular Justice's Kig-Yar snipers employed the Type-50 Alpha beam rifle during the Battle of Installation 04 in September 2552^[10], while shortly later the Prophet of Truth deployed an elite team armed with the Type-50 Delta beam rifle to hunt down his enemies during the Great Schism in October 2552.^[6]^[11]

During the Battle for Earth, the Type-50 would be employed by Kig-Yar snipers operating in New Mombasa^[12]^[13], particularly during the night-time.^[14] During the Second Battle of New Mombasa, Snipers would operate the T50 to great effect. During this battle, J-011-422 did not discard his point-defence gauntlet like most snipers did.^[15] By the time of the Battle of Voi and later Battle of Installation 00, Jiralhanae troops had replaced the Sangheili in operating the beam rifle.^[16] Following the end of the war and the loss of High Charity, beam rifle production slowed but did not stop. Though costly to create, manufactories on Sanghelios, Hesduros, Eayn, and other developed colonies continue to produce the weapon.^[4] The weapon is employed by several Covenant remnants, including Vata 'Gajat's mercenary group.^[17]

At some point, the weapon was one of many subjects of the UNSC report Machines, Materiel and Munitions from the Human-Covenant Conflict, 2525 - Present. By this time, the UNSC did not yet know of the weapon's maximum effective range (awaiting procurement of working examples for investigative purposes) and cartridge type (pending negotiations with the Swords of Sanghelios).^[1]

Gameplay

Advantages

Similarly to the SRS 99 AM sniper rifle series, the Type-50 is excellent at picking off enemies at great distances. Its pulses are very useful at passing through any type of material, armored or non-armored; this makes the particle beam rifle's overpenetration ability much more effective at killing a wide range of enemy infantry. As the beam passes through the body at nearly the speed of light, the particles transfer their kinetic energy to the atoms in the molecules of the target area. Upon impact, the area is rapidly superheated, cauterizing the wound at the same time - a direct hit on skull area of a target will be killed instantly, and body shots depending on the area will be fatal in most cases. A rare non fatal strike to a target can also cause radiation damage, and will require additional treatment, and near misses can produce second or third degree burns to light armored targets. The beam rifle's relative silence, as opposed to the sniper rifle's loud bang, gives it a bit of a stealth advantage; however, this is compensated by the greater visibility of the Type-50's beam. In the context of the Halo games, the particle beam rifle's strength and lethality are weakened for the sake of gameplay.

Disadvantages

While the Type-50 SRS excels at material penetration, in the games, the particle beam rifle does not have much difference than its UNSC counterpart, although in canon it is much stronger.^{[citation needed]} The Type-50 is also unable to perform rapid shots in quick succession - after two shots are fired within a second of each other, the weapon will overheat and will shut down to prevent damage to its internal components, temporarily rendering the weapon useless. The particle beam rifle can only fire 18 shots before the battery is used up and the weapon must be replaced. Like its human counterpart, the particle beam rifle is ineffective at close range combat unless its user is skilled at close range combat with the sniper rifle. The beam of purple light produced from the beam rifle is very easy to see, but somewhat quicker at dissipating compared with the Sniper Rifle, as a sniper's position is more likely to be compromised because of this, requiring the sniper to relocate quickly before being detected.

Changes

Changes from Halo 2 to Halo 3

The weapon's energy barrel can now be clearly seen.
Coloring has been changed to a brighter shade of purple.

Changes from Halo 3 to Halo 2: Anniversary

The T-50 SRS is available only in the campaign, while its older T-27 SASR counterpart is a multiplayer-only weapon instead.
The weapon now has a more angular design and appears much thicker on the front.
- The front now also has several pairs of blue lights.
The round section carrying the weapon's "ammunition" now has multiple lights, colored pink and turquoise.
The coloring is now an even stronger shade of purple.

Changes from Halo 2: Anniversary to Halo 5: Guardians

Mirroring the T-27 SASR in Halo 2: Anniversary, the T-50 SRS is now available only in multiplayer, while the T-27 SASR is available both in campaign and multiplayer.
Shots now deplete 10% of the weapon's battery instead of 5.56%.
The weapon is now more similarly colored to the Halo 5: Guardians version of the T-27 beam rifle.
Overheating animations have been altered.
It is classified as a Rare REQ and can be summoned in Warzone at Level 6 energy while giving 100 REQ points if sold.^[7]

UNSC remarks

“Makes less noise than a Battle Rifle; has less felt recoil than an M6; is at least as accurate as 99 AM of them—it’s big and heavy and the balance is weird but I can’t wait ‘til I get my hands on another one.”^[1]
“It’s deadly accurate. The scope is a little hard to take though—made me nauseous when I first figured out how to engage it—it’s useful enough and easy to understand. Still hurts my eyes though.”^[1]
“Maybe with the Elites on our side we’ll finally find out how to reload or recharge these weapons or whatever… I have a feeling we shouldn’t start holding our breath anytime soon though.”^[1]
“Not as much recoil as the ninety-nine but then again the mechanism is entirely different—don’t worry about the machine; a steady hand, breath control, and patience are the key to success with either one.”^[1]
“The Type-50 SRS is not completely silent nor is it invisible. Jackals may be superb marksmen and they’re very sneaky, but that doesn’t make them excellent snipers—they’re a little too bloodthirsty for that”.^[1]

Disrepancies

Sources regarding the length of the Type-50 SASR are inconsistent. The Bungie.net page on the weapon and the Halo Encyclopedia 2009 edition both give a length for the weapon as 160.4cm (63.2 in)^[1]^[2], while the 2011 encyclopedia and Halo 3 in-game model both suggest 160.3cm (63.1 in).^[3] In-universe, it is likely that this simply implies two variants catalogued by the Covenant as the same weapon.

Furthermore, the details for the models of beam rifle found in Halo 2, Halo 2: Anniversary and Halo 5: Guardians are presently unknown. The Halo 3 Instruction Manual additionally describes the beam rifle as having an 18 shot capacity like that featured in Halo 2, when the weapon in-game in fact has a maximum capacity of 10.

Trivia

In the Halo 2 campaign mode on Legendary difficulty, the Beam Rifle can kill you in one hit, no matter where it hits. This can be very frustrating, especially in the levels Outskirts, Metropolis, Delta Halo, Uprising, and The Great Journey, which actually makes Sniper Jackals the most dangerous enemy in the game. Regardless of where you are hit, whether it is in the foot or the head it is fatal in one shot, even though your allies (marines or elites) can survive 2 or 3 hits.

Gallery

Normal gallery

The Type-50 particle beam rifle before Halo 2's release, considerably larger than the finalized version.
A profile view of the particle beam rifle in Halo 2.
A Special Operations Sangheili using a particle beam rifle in the heretics' base.
A Kig-Yar Sniper holding a particle beam rifle during the Battle of Mombasa.
A Kig-Yar Sniper holding a particle beam rifle on Installation 05.
A Sangheili firing a particle beam rifle on Zanzibar.
The particle beam rifle's scope in Halo 2.
A render of the particle beam rifle in Halo 3.
The particle beam rifle in Halo 3.
A Kig-Yar Sniper wielding a particle beam rifle in Halo 3.
Closeup of a Kig-Yar Sniper aiming a particle beam rifle.
First-person view of the particle beam rifle.
The particle beam rifle's scope, 2× zoom.
The particle beam rifle's scope, 8× zoom.
The particle beam rifle in Halo 3.
The beam rifle model used in Halo Wars.
Concept art of the beam rifle in Halo 2: Anniversary.
Concept art of the beam rifle in Halo 2: Anniversary.
Type-50 particle beam rifle render in Halo 2: Anniversary.
John-117 holding the beam rifle in Halo 2: Anniversary.
First-person view of the Type-50 particle beam rifle in Halo 2: Anniversary.
The T-50's 5× zoom.
The T-50's 10× zoom.
The Type-50 Beam Rifle in Halo 5: Guardians.
First-person view of the T-50 beam rifle in Halo 5: Guardians.
The T-50's 5× zoom.
The T-50's 10× zoom.
The T-50 overheating.
A Centurion-clad Spartan-IV with an overheated T-50 on Fathom.
First-person view of the T-50 Beam Rifle Alpha.
A Fenrir-clad Spartan-IV using a T-50 Alpha and Delta on Prospect.
A T-27 beam rifle in comparison to a T-50 beam rifle in Halo 5: Guardians.
A Venator-clad Spartan-IV and a Decimator-clad Spartan-IV using a T-27 and T-50 beam rifle on Molten.