Halo: Combat Evolved Pistol

This article is about the weapon featured in Halo: CE and Halo 5: Guardians. For other uses of the term "pistol", see its disambiguation page.

This article documents its subject as it pertains to the gameplay of the Halo games, rather than the lore.

CE Pistol
Gameplay role
Faction:	Human (UNSC)
Weapon tier (?):	Loadout weapon / Utility weapon
Weapon class (?):	Pistol
Weapon type (?):	Precision weapon
Firing mode:	Automatic
Effective range:	Medium to long
Counterparts:	As a pistol: Human (UNSC) Magnum Sidekick Covenant Plasma Pistol Mauler Banished Mangler Forerunner Boltshot As a utility weapon: Human (UNSC) Battle Rifle DMR Magnum (H5) Commando Covenant Carbine Needle Rifle Banished Mangler Forerunner Lightrifle
Weapon stats
Damage:	Medium to high
Damage type (?):	Kinetic
Projectile speed:	High
Rate of fire:	Medium
Accuracy:	High
Magazine size:	12 bullets
Zoom:	2x magnification

The Pistol, often referred to as the Halo: Combat Evolved Pistol, Halo 1 Pistol, or CE Pistol to distinguish it from later human pistols, is a variant of Magnum first appearing in Halo: Combat Evolved. Despite its appearance as a handgun the Pistol was extremely effective in its role as a mid range weapon, so much so that it outperformed many other weapons both in campaign and multiplayer. It's design and function would be separated into two new weapons for the sequel Halo 2, being the Magnum and Battle Rifle respectively.

Universe and lore

Main article: M6D magnum

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Overview

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Legacy

"In Halo, the pistol behaved more like a rifle than the assault rifle, and the assault rifle behaved more like a submachine gun. Now we have a rifle that behaves like a rifle, an SMG that behaves like an SMG, and a pistol that behaves like a pistol."

— Robert McLees"

The Halo: Combat Evolved Pistol would go on to be a very influential and notorious weapon even amongst other video games. Its power both as a pistol and in comparison to Halo 1's other weapons lead players to both love and hate its overpowered nature. This aspect has been the source of many parodies and internet memes, most of which were on the now shut down Machinima YouTube channel. For Halo 2's development Bungie seeked to remedy these criticisms and have a weapon sandbox with roles better depicted through their visual designs. The Pistol tag was directly used to create the Battle Rifle which served as the sequel's utility weapon, while the Pistol model was used in the creation of the new Magnum.

Counterparts

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• 

  Magnum
  Halo 2, Halo 3, Halo 3: ODST, Halo: Reach, Halo 4, Halo: Spartan Assault, Halo 2: Anniversary multiplayer, Halo: Spartan Strike, Halo Online, Halo 5: Guardians, and Halo: Fireteam Raven

• 

  Sidekick
  Halo Infinite

• 

  Battle Rifle
  Halo 2, Halo 3, Halo 4, Halo: Spartan Assault, Halo 2: Anniversary multiplayer, Halo: Spartan Strike, Halo Online, Halo 5: Guardians, and Halo Infinite

• 

  DMR
  Halo: Reach, Halo 4, Halo Online, and Halo 5: Guardians

• 

  Commando
  Halo Infinite

• 

  Plasma Pistol
  Halo: Combat Evolved, Halo 2, Halo 3, Halo 3: ODST, Halo: Reach, Halo 4, Halo: Spartan Assault, Halo 2: Anniversary multiplayer, Halo: Spartan Strike, Halo Online, Halo 5: Guardians, Halo: Fireteam Raven and Halo Infinite

• 

  Mauler
  Halo 3, Halo 3: ODST, and Halo Online

• 

  Covenant Carbine
  Halo 2, Halo 3, Halo 4, Halo 2: Anniversary multiplayer, Halo Online, and Halo 5: Guardians

• 

  Needle Rifle
  Halo: Reach

• 

  Mangler
  Halo Infinite

• 

  Boltshot
  Halo 4 and Halo 5: Guardians

• 

  LightRifle
  Halo 4 and Halo 5: Guardians

Halo: Combat Evolved and Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary

Pistol
Gameplay role
Counterparts:	As a pistol: Covenant Plasma Pistol As a utility weapon: none
Weapon stats
Damage:	25 (can headshot) 1.5x vs spartan shields
Damage type (?):	pistol\bullet
Projectile speed:	300 wu/s
Max range:	40 wu
Rate of fire:	3.5 rounds per second
Spread (?):	SP: 0.2 to 0.4 degrees MP: 0.2 to 2 degrees
Reserve ammo capacity:	120 rounds (12 magazines)
Tag name (?):	pistol

Main article: First-person shooter

Campaign

The Pistol is the first weapon given to the player, and by extension the first weapon to be usable in a Halo game. It is an extremely effective weapon maintaining usefulness in most situations. It can 1 shot kill any character with an exposed head, does decent damage to shields, and can one shot kill hunters when fired into their exposed backs. The Truth and Reconciliation is the only campaign mission to not feature the Pistol.

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Multiplayer

When playing a default gametype the Pistol is the primary starting weapon for the maps Sidewinder, Hang Em High, Boarding Action, Chiron TL-34, Ice Fields, Death Island, Danger Canyon, Infinity, Timberland, and Gephyrophobia. It is the secondary starting weapon for the map Rat Race, with the Assault Rifle serving as the primary weapon for that map. Otherwise custom game settings can be edited to have the Assault Rifle and Pistol be the starting weapons on any map, which is the setting used with Classic Slayer Pro.

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Halo 2

Main article: Magnum

While not appearing in gameplay due to being fully replaced by the Battle Rifle and Magnum, the original pistol model appears as an easter egg on the multiplayer map Tombstone.

Halo 5: Guardians

Disclaimer: all below statistics are derived from unofficial tools and may be inaccurate

Halo: Combat Evolved Pistol
Gameplay role
Weapon tier (?):	Power weapon
Counterparts:	As a pistol: Human (UNSC) Magnum Covenant Plasma Pistol Forerunner Boltshot As a utility weapon: Human (UNSC) Battle Rifle Halo 2 Battle Rifle DMR Magnum Covenant Covenant Carbine Forerunner Lightrifle
Weapon stats
Damage:	25 (can headshot)
Damage type (?):	bullet_slow
Projectile speed:	3000 wu/s
Max range:	250 wu
Rate of fire:	3.33333 rounds per second
Spread (?):	0 to 3 degrees
Reserve ammo capacity:	120 rounds (10 magazines) 144 rounds with Ammo Mod
Tag name (?):	magnum_h1
Variants and attachments
Halo 5 REQ variant(s):	None

Multiplayer and Warzone

"You’ll have to find ammo as you go. Classic Magnum with increased damage and higher recoil. Infuses the user with nostalgia and increased movement speed."

— REQ description

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Unlock and acquisition requirements

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Skins and cosmetics

The CE Pistol received a few equipable weapon skins in the MCC release of Halo: Combat Evolved.

Halo: Combat Evolved (MCC)

Main article: Skins (Halo: Combat Evolved)

Halo: Combat Evolved for Halo: The Master Chief Collection features weapon skins for all its weapons, including the Pistol. These were added into the game with an update on July 14, 2020, alongside the beginning of Season 2: Spark and the launch of Halo 3 for PC.

Pistol v • d • e
Icon	Name	Description	Unlock requirements
	Default	Default skin.	Unlocked by default
	Desert	Looks very stylish with a poncho.	Series 2, Tier 2 ( 1)
	Great Journey	Don't worry... I know what the aliens like.	Series 2, Tier 14 ( 1)
	Hazard Pay	Safety first!	Series 2, Tier 36 ( 1)
	Woodland	Camping is a legitimate strategy.	Series 2, Tier 41 ( 1)
	Toy Soldier	They're not dolls, they're action figures!	Series 2, Tier 62 ( 1)
	Black Cherry	Get a grip. Shoot from the hip.	Series 2, Tier 91 ( 1)
	Golden	Bling on the ring.	Series 2 Challenge: Trusty Sidekick Defeat 500 opponents with the Pistol in any game mode. The Exchange ( 2)

Production notes

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Trivia

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Gallery

Concept art

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Renders

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HUD icons

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Screenshots

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List of appearances

• Halo: Combat Evolved (First appearance)
  • Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary
• Halo 2 (Easter egg-only)
• Halo Wars
• Halo 5: Guardians