Weapons

Weapons from the Halo Universe

Human weapons

The military technology of the humans in the Halo universe appears to be largely unchanged from that of modern-day reality. Human weapons are still primarily based upon ballistics and explosions from chemical reactions. Of course, one has to take into reason the power of these firearms, for they are formidable and effective against an advanced alien race and, though they have less impact on shields and don't have a "battery", they are still (for reasons of balance) stronger than a plasma weapon on unshielded foes. It is also notable that the makers were largely influenced by the types of weapons of a previous Bungie Studios game, Marathon, while basing their design on the general characteristics of today's weapons. Though it may seem odd to think that humans would still be using the same basic weapon technology a half-millennia into the future, consider that all of the technology in the Halo universe is roughly equivalent to today's. The advances made in the game's universe seem to be largely improvements on the devices of today, which is actually not that strange, considering historical precedent. Five hundred years ago, the main weapons were guns and cannons, which are really just primitive rifles and MAC guns. The choice to give humans familiar technology was a deliberate act on the part of Bungie.

Human Comparison

Human Weapon Comparison

Official Designation	Projectile Type	Damage	Range	Accuracy	Rate of Fire	Autofire	Magazine Capacity	Ammunition	Reload Time (Single)	Melee Damage	Scope	Counterpart
M6D Pistol Sidearm	12.7 mm x 40 Semi Armor Piercing	Medium-High	Medium/Long	Medium	High	Yes	12 bullets	132 (12 x 11)	1.5 s	Low	2x	Plasma Pistol
MA5B Assault Rifle	7.62mm x 51	Low	Close/Medium	Medium	Very High	Yes	60 bullets	600 (10 x 60)	2 s	Medium	No	Plasma Rifle
M90 Shotgun	8-Gauge Magnum 3.5 in (89 mm)	Very High (close range)	Low	Low	Low	No	12 shells	36 (3 x 12)	6 s (empty clip)	Medium	No	Needler
S2 AM Sniper Rifle	14.5mm x 114	Very High	Very Long	Very Low	Low	No	4 bullets	20 (4 x 5)	2s	Medium	2x / 10x	Particle Beam Rifle
M19 SSM MAV/AV Rocket Launcher	102mm High-Explosive, Anti-Tank	Very High	Long	Very High	Low	No	2 rockets	8 (2 x 4)	3s	High	2x	Fuel Rod Cannon
M9 Frag Grenade	Shrapnel	High	Long	N/A	N/A	N/A	4 grenades	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	Plasma Grenade

Covenant Weapons

The weaponry of the Covenant is mostly energy based, in contrast to the human ballistic armaments. The mode of operation of many of the weapons is unknown, but most tend to rely on highly charged, slow-moving plasma bursts for damage. Most Covenant weapons do not take ammunition, rather, they rely on batteries, unable to be recharged. As a result, these weapons have to be discarded when the battery wears out. A notable exception to this is the Needler, which instead uses small crystalline splinter projectiles. On average, Covenant weapons cause great damage to shields and significantly less to unshielded organisms; this is to balance the human arsenal, which causes less damage to shields but more to flesh.

Covenant Comparison

Covenant Weapon Comparison

Name	Projectile Type	Damage	Range	Accuracy	Rate of Fire	Autofire	Magazine Capacity	Ammunition	Reload/Cooldown Time	Melee Damage	Scope	Counterpart
Plasma Pistol	Superheated Plasma	Low	Close/Medium	Medium	Medium	No	approx. 200	Battery	4 s	Low	No	M6D Pistol
Charged Plasma Pistol	Superheated Plasma	High	Medium/Long	Homing	Low	No	6	Battery	4 s	Low	No	None
Plasma Rifle	Superheated Plasma	Medium	Short/Medium	Medium	High	YES	approx. 200	Battery	3 s	Low	No	Assault Rifle
Needler	Crystaline Projectiles	Low	Short/Medium	Low (Slight Homing)	High	Yes	30	90 (3 x 30)	1 s	Low	No	M90 Shotgun
Fuel Rod Cannon	Radioactive Fuel Rods	Very High	Long	Medium	Medium	No	12 Rounds	Battery	3s	Medium	2x	Rocket Launcher
Plasma Grenade	Superheated Plasma	High	Long	N/A	N/A	N/A	4 Grenades	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	Fragmentation Grenade