Cut Halo 2 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 2 cut content

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Cut content

Early script
Cut dialogue
Cut enemies and ambient life
Cut equipment
Cut gamemodes
Cut levels
Cut vehicles
Cut weapons

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Development

Halo 2 development
Concept art
Design documentation
Storyboards
Title updates
E3 campaign demo
E3 multiplayer demo

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

v • d • e

During the development of Halo 2, a number of weapons were cut from the game's release.

Human

Flamethrower

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Also found in the Halo 2 beta, the M7057 flamethrower first cut from Halo: Combat Evolved and later featured in Halo PC was similarly cut from Halo 2. The weapon was rebuilt by Robert McLees for Halo 2 based on the original Combat Evolved model, and was remarked upon as the most difficult to model to rebuild, based on the most difficult model to build in the first game.

The weapon was eventually realised in Halo 3.

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  The Flamethrower on Lockout.

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  The pickup text for the Flamethrower has only placeholder text.

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  The flamethrower, as held in first-person.

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  The flamethrower, as held in first-person.

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  The flamethrower firing in first-person.

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  A Spartan holding the flamethrower, as viewed from behind.

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  A Spartan holding the flamethrower, as viewed from the side.

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  A Spartan holding the flamethrower in the Cutting Room Floor behind-the-scenes documentary included in the Halo 2 Collector's Edition.

Flashbang grenade

Halo 2 design documents reference a Flashbang grenade, as intended for inclusion in the game. A later change note from October of 2002 notes that to make standard frag grenades more useful outside of damage dealing, the grenades would gain the ability to blind and stun enemies. Max Hoberman speculated that this detail may have been intended for the game's campaign, as opposed to the multiplayer.

General-purpose machine gun (GPMG)

Although the M247 general purpose machine gun is featured in-game as a fixed turret, the general purpose machine gun (GPMG) was seemingly intended to also be available for use as a weapon in first-person. In the launch build of Halo 2, strings in the game files referenced the GPMG such as picking up and switching to the weapon. The weapon was not seen physically until the release of Halo 2 on PC as part of Halo: The Master Chief Collection, when the GPMG was added to the game's shared directory, allowing it to be spawned in and used via modding.

The GPMG is complete with firing, reload and melee animations, sound effects and firing particle effects, and features an altered model including a removable magazine and a buttstock not found on the original machine gun model.

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  The GPMG on the ground.

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  The GPMG in first-person.

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  Firing the GPMG.

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  Reloading the GPMG.

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  Meleeing with the GPMG.

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  A passenger in a Falcon shooting the GPMG.

Machine gun turret with grenade launcher

In early concept art and builds of Halo 2, the M247 machine gun was attached with an over-barrel grenade launcher. The weapon's texture states that the launcher fires a 20mm grenade, though The Art of Halo: Creating a Virtual World (likely-erroneously) claims that the weapon is a 25mm launcher.

The model file for the turret was recovered by the Digsite project, and used as a basis for making the weapon functional in the retail build of Halo: The Master Chief Collection - though in the original Halo 2 this weapon was purely a nonfunctional prop.

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  Concept art of the M247, showing the grenade launcher.

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  An image of a Marine using an M247 GPMG with the grenade launcher attachment.

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  The restored GPMG with 20mm launcher, given functionality by Digsite.

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  Master Chief firing the now-functional grenade launcher.

Silenced SMG

At one point in the development of Halo 2, the Suppressed SMG was intended for inclusion. The weapon features unique firing sound effects and particle effects alongside a suppressor on the barrel, though otherwise appears to inherit all the properties of the basic M7 SMG. The M7S would later make its in-game debut in Halo 2 for Windows Vista as a weapon spawn on the map Example, before being prominently featured in Halo 3: ODST. The later release of Halo 2: Anniversary would see the Suppressed SMG included in the game's updated multiplayer component.

The release of Halo 2 on PC in The Master Chief Collection similarly added the Suppressed SMG to the game files, allowing it to be used through the use of modding.

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  The Suppressed SMG, as it appears in The Art of Halo: Creating a Virtual World.

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  Dual wielding the Silenced SMG (left) and the regular SMG (right).

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  The Suppressed SMG in-game in The Master Chief Collection.

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  The Suppressed SMG in an early build of Halo 3 running on the original Xbox, inside the original draft for the level Cortana.

Covenant

Blamite harpoon

Mentioned in Halo 2 design documentation briefly, the "blamite harpoon" was a presumably-Covenant weapon. Little is known of its operation, save that it was to use Blamite as its primary attack method. Max Hoberman discussed his affinity for the harpoon gun cut from Combat Evolved and his want to bring it back - indicating this may have been an evolution on that concept.

Brute Grenade

The Brute Grenades were a grenade type intended for use by Jiralhanae troops during the game. Based on a potential design for incendiary grenades, they were modelled to some degree during the game's development, though ultimately cut. They would later return in Halo 3 as the spike grenade. This weapon is one of many recovered and restored to functionality by the Digsite project.

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  Concept art for an incendiary grenade; the first design was adapted to include spikes.

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  The grenade on the floor.

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  Master Chief throwing the grenade.

Disintegrator

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A Covenant counterpart to the UNSC Flamethrower, the Disintegrator is featured in the Halo 2 Beta and can be spawned via modding. The weapons is untextured and fires flame-like particle effects - though in third-person the effects are more akin to a kind of red plasma. The weapon appears to have a cooldown bar of some kind around the reticule, though this is nonfunctional in the beta.

Sound effects for the Disintegrator can be found in the retail build of the Windows Vista port of Halo 2. Located in the sound\weapons\hunter_cannon\hunter_cannon_loop\z_disintegrator_fire\ path, they seem to indicate the Disintegrator was intended to be used by a similarly-cut variant of the Hunter enemy type. The weapon was included in Max Hoberman's Halo 2 multiplayer design documentation.

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  The Disintegrator.

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  The Disintegrator in first-person.

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  The Disintegrator firing in third-person.

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  Like the flamethrower, the Disintegrator only has placeholder pickup text.

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  A Spartan holding the Disintegrator.

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  The HUD icon for the Disintegrator, still remaining in the files of Halo 2.

Plasma mortar

This weapon is a plasma mortar seemingly based on the Japanese Type-89 "knee mortar" from World War II. The model itself was recovered and released in a mostly-unfinished state by Digsite, with the model itself based on the older Combat Evolved gravity wrench design.

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  The model for the plasma mortar.

Forerunner

Several Sentinel weapons were seemingly cut from Halo 2. All these weapons bear icons with similar designs, depicting a Sentinel beam and a small icon next to it, to denote the specific variant.

Sentinel Needler

" The needler sentinel that was cut from the game dropped a sentinel arm weapon (identical in appearance to the beam weapon) that shot small red needles. It even had its own unique sentinelly, needly crosshair and pickup image."

— David Candland speaks out about the Needler Sentinel.

During earlier stages of Halo 2, the game was intended to include a Needler Sentinel as an enemy. This Sentinel variant was to be armed with a unique weapon, visually identical to the Sentinel beam, that shot small red needles, possibly similar to the shard cannons employed by Enforcers. The weapon was to have its own unique crosshair and weapon pickup icons, which remain in the files of Halo 2 Vista alongside pickup text strings referencing the gun.

This Needler Sentinel enemy has little to do with the Needler Sentinel enemy included in Halo 2, which was the result of an oversight by Bungie staff.

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  The crosshair icon for the Sentinel Needler.

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  The HUD icon for the Sentinel Needler.

Sentinel Grenade Launcher

Similarly to the Sentinel Needler, Halo 2 game files mention a "Sentinel Grenade Launcher" in the text pickup strings. Some unused HUD icons remain in the files for the weapon, though little is known of its intended function or purpose. This icon is also used in the default placeholder pickup strings for the General Purpose Machine Gun weapon.

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  A weapon crosshair in the game files, likely corresponding with the Sentinel Grenade Launcher.

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  The icon for the Sentinel Grenade Launcher in the HUD.

Sentinel Enforcer Charged Bolt

Little is known of this weapon, save for its name. Some unused HUD icons (shown below) likely correspond with the weapon.

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  The presumed crosshair for the charged bolt.

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  The presumed HUD icon for the charged bolt.

Miscellaneous

A number of weapons were discussed by Max Hoberman and Andy Dudynsky during the Halo 2: Artifacts series; these weapons were only listed briefly, and thus there are few details on them.

EMP mine

The "non-lethal EMP mine" is a weapon described in the Halo 2 design documentation. It was presumably to act as a Mine, capable of causing an Electromagnetic pulse without physically damaging its surroundings.

Gravity rifle

The "gravity rifle" is a weapon referenced in Halo 2 design documentation. Little is known of its function or affiliation. Presumably, it was to be based on a weapon of the same name cut from the original Combat Evolved.

Explosive charges and mines

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Satchel charges are mentioned in Halo 2 design documentation. Little is known of their intended function. They were later included in an art piece done by Lorraine McLees for the gallery section of the Halo Graphic Novel (featured below), featuring John-117 surrounded by a menagerie of weapons from Halo: Combat Evolved and Halo 2.

Satchel charges are referenced in the final game's level Outskirts, during a section in which Sergeant Johnson orders a Marine to "get a satchel on the gate!" However, before this can be done, two Hunters instead break through the gate.

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  The satchel charges can be seen in this image, underneath the barrel of the machine gun on the left.

Shredder

The "shredder" is a weapon referenced in Halo 2 design documentation. Little is known of its function or affiliation.

Sniper rod

The "sniper rod" is a weapon referenced in Halo 2 design documentation. Little is known of its function or affiliation.