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The Fuel Rod Gun is a Covenant indirect-fire energy mortar with ground and air applications that appears in all three games of the Halo trilogy, although with minor changes in appearance. It is often wielded by higher ranked Grunts, and occasionally by higher-ranked Elites and Brutes. It is known that some versions are equipped with a "dead man's switch" similar to that of the Plasma Sword.(Halo: First Strike) In the later games, it had no fail-safes, allowing the player to pick up the weapon in Campaign. All of the incarnations of this weapon fire bolts of deadly radioactive incendiary gel that explode on impact with targets or surfaces, and some variant are equipped with homing rounds. This heavy weapon is most often wielded by higher ranked Grunts. Unlike many Covenant weapons, most incarnations of the the Fuel Rod Gun fire ammunition that comes in magazines of 5. Up to 25 additional Fuel Rods can be carried for a total of 30 shots. The weapon's projectiles arc due to gravity, unlike the human Rocket Launcher, so one must aim slightly above the target to effectively use the weapon in long range firing.
Appearances
In Halo: Combat Evolved, the Fuel Rod Gun is purple, with a gray muzzle and green energy bar on its left side. It is used solely by Grunts in the Campaign, with only Spec Ops and Major Grunts seen with the deadly weapons. It was impossible to pick up discarded Fuel Rod Guns from enemy corpses in the Halo: Combat Evolved campaign, as there were fail-safes that made the weapons self-destruct with the force of a Fragmentation Grenade, however, with a blast radius of a plasma grenade. These fail-safes were evidently stripped away in Halo PC multiplayer.
In Halo 2, the Fuel Rod Gun has been given a major appearance change, with the body now a shade of yellow and the battery replaced by magazines of 5. This powerful weapon is mostly found on the level The Arbiter, where the Heretic Grunts make extensive use of the weapon. Outside of this level, it is very hard to find, although higher ranked Elites and Grunts will use this weapon against you to great effect. The Fuel Rod Gun is not available in Halo 2 multiplayer due to frame-rate issues.
In Halo 3, the Fuel Rod Gun underwent drastic changes. The blasts are weakened to 65% of their previous strength, to compensate for the cannon's large magazine size, fast rate of fire, and the noticeably lessened distance that the rounds fall en route to the target. Also, when fired, projectiles are affected by gravity at a much higher degree and now need time to ignite after being fired from the cannon and failure to give the rounds proper distance to accomplish this will result in a ricochet if a non-enemy surface is struck at an angle. In Halo 3 it has a slight homing feature on vehicles and is devastating when used against slow moving tanks. In Campaign, if given to a AI controlled ally they will also get the bonus of the weapon's rounds homing in on enemy foot soldiers. Shots from an enemy's Fuel Rod Gun will home on you and your allies to a degree. It becomes increasingly difficult to dodge in higher difficulties. It can still get you if you only try to step to the side.
It is also worth noting that the weapon does not appear by default in any multiplayer maps nor in Matchmaking, and thus is only seen if placed on a custom map using Forge.
Usage
The Fuel Rod Gun is the Covenant analog of the M19 SSM Rocket Launcher. It fires eerie green pulses of deadly radiation that transverse to the target in a parabolic arc. This indirect line of fire makes the Fuel Rod Gun often a difficult weapon to wield. In the PC version, the fuel rod gun is rarely used. It runs as another battery operated weapon, and overheats for a while after five quick shots. Indirect hits will barely be effective, and direct hits are nearly impossible. But, it has the ability to partially stun a hit target, so a bombardment can take out one, but leave the wielder vulnerable for too long to live. Also they are used as a secondary weapon on Banshees, that are called Banshee Bombs. So, this weapon has been labeled as either a noob weapon or a weak weapon. In Halo 2-3, the Fuel Rod Gun was widely changed. Now called the Fuel Rod Cannon, the weapon is gold in color, and can be reloaded. The overheat has also been stripped away. The FRGs projectiles now arc less and track slightly over long ranges, but are also slower in speed.
Furthermore, it was impossible to pick up discarded Fuel Rod Guns from enemy corpses in the Halo: Combat Evolved campaign, as there were fail-safes that made the weapons self-destruct with the force of a Fragmentation Grenade, however, with a blast radius of a plasma grenade. These fail-safes were evidently stripped away in Halo PC multiplayer.
Combat Tactics
Advantages
The Fuel Rod Gun fires fairly quickly, and reloads at a slightly faster rate than the rocket launcher while holding much more ammunition. The Fuel Rod Gun has a limited lock-on ability; its projectile follows targets in the air. While easy to avoid at long range, the 2x scope of the Cannon can allow for an accurate original blast and increased chance to catch the victim in the explosive radius.
The high ammo capacity, rate of fire, and damage of the Fuel Rod Gun makes it a force to be reckoned with.
In Campaign mode giving your allies (Elites especially) the Fuel Rod Cannon gives you a massive advantage over your enemies. On levels like Arbiter and Uprising an Elite with a Fuel Rod Cannon can fire the 5 bolts in quick succession with surprising accuracy. This can easily rip apart a group of foes even on Legendary difficulty. The fact that allies have unlimited ammo makes this valuable as well. This is opposite for giving Grunt allies the Fuel Rod Cannon, however, due to their lack of shields, if they happen to fire a rod too close to themselves. But however, Grunts holding Fuel Rod Gun tend to fire rods slightly more often and "wilder" than Elites.
Other advantages include a ricochet effect at wide angles, while firing parallel to a wall the shots can "skip" off. To obtain an effect the angle has to be obtuse and the person firing must near parallel to the targeted wall, this however does not cause the shell to explode but instead sends it off in a new predictable trajectory. You will not be affected by it ricocheting off the ground because its arc will extremely diminish the effect.
Disadvantages
The Halo:CE Fuel Rod Gun does not have a tracking device like the bolts of the Plasma Pistol (which are semi-homing), and its fiery energy pulses are slow. At long range, you have to aim high and it normally takes multiple bolts to kill a hostile, as a curtain of fire has to be laid down, and the overheating of the Fuel Rod Gun is not conducive to streams of radioactive fire. At short range, however, a single direct or almost-direct hit can take down someones shield , killing an enemy with two hits.
Furthermore, the large size will often obscure one's vision, making it harder to see who's there to kill the wielder of this ungainly weapon.
Appearances
Hunter (Assault Cannon)
The Fuel Rod Gun is the signature of a Hunter, regardless of Halo: Combat Evolved or Halo: PC. They lob green bolts of lethal energy at great distances, and are extremely intimidating, coupled with the physical statures and armor of Hunters. But once they are killed, they cannot be taken by the player - or anyone else - because the gun is directly fixed to the Hunter's armor.
Grunts
The Fuel Rod Gun is also mounted on the shoulders of many Special Operations Grunts in the later levels in either Halo: Combat Evolved and Halo: PC. This is rather remarkable however, considering the hefty weight and bulk of the mortar. Although rare, sharp eyes players may have noticed that some Major Grunts carrying Fuel Rod Gun in Two Betrayals .
Multiplayer Tactics
The Fuel Rod Gun is wieldable by the character only in Halo PC multiplayer, not in Halo: Combat Evolved campaign nor multiplayer, and neither Halo PC campaign.
Being an effective suppression weapon, a common tactic in multiplayer Capture the Flag is to bombard the enemy base from afar with a Fuel Rod Gun. Furthermore, the gunner can fire from a position obscured from enemy view, owing to the indirect-fire properties of the Fuel Rod Gun. Since the view of the targeted area is mutually obscured from the gunner's position (due to having to compensate for the arc and having to aim high), such is unlikely to kill a player, but it is intended to at least deal cover fire for an assault on the flag, and most likely to inflict damage on the flag carrier. Note that the Fuel Rod Gun's splash damage is similar to the ones of a Rocket Launcher. If fired at very close range, the projectile will most likely to harm the player slightly.
An easy way to dodge the blast is simply to sidestep, where as when the user overheats the gun, the opponent will most likely take the opportunity to fight back.
The high ammo capacity, rate of fire, and damage of the Fuel Rod Gun makes it a force to be reckoned with.
Trivia
- When you kill a Grunt with a Fuel Rod Gun in Halo: Combat Evolved, you can´t grab it. Upon its owner´s death, the gun will emit a stream of green smoke then explode after a short delay, making it a hazard for anyone in the immediate area, a Dead Mans' Switch--especially if there are grenades nearby.
- When using the Bump Possession cheat in Halo CE to control a Hunter, holding left click down and repeatedly right clicking allows the controlled Hunter to rapidly fire its Fuel Rod Gun without overheating. Whether this accelerated manner of attack is actually utilized at all in AI controlled opponents' behavioral patterns is unknown.
- There is a discrepancy about how much the weapon actually weighs. In First Strike, Corporal Locklear had difficulty lifting the gun when he attempted to shoulder it. However, Grunts seem to have no problem hefting the gun around in Halo 1, so whether the situation is between the gun's weight or a comparison of Grunts' and Marines' strengths is unknown.
UNSC Remarks
“Those things are scary as hell. Ya hear that weird “whump” sound and even if ya see it comin’ yer transfixed—these big green blobs flying at you throwin’ off sparks!”
“It’s so weird. I don’t know who first called it a fuel rod gun, but it’s kind’a funny. I suppose the projectile is reminiscent of how you might expect to see a nuclear fuel rod depicted in a gee eh cartoon—all glowing green and throwing off sparks.”
“They’re pretty tricky to handle—first off you gotta get over the fact that there is this glowing, green explosive whatever right next to your head; and it’s not like you can req any more ammo for the damn thing—but you can lay down a whole lot’a hurt in a very short amount of time I’ll tell you what.”
“[The Type-33s] have more in common with the ballistic weapon on the Banshee than it does with the weapon that the Hunters carry around—well, not carry around, but you know what I mean.”
“I catch a glimpse of green out of the corner of my eye and then there’s this huge “whoomf” and the ‘hog goes end over end burning with Gaz still at the wheel. I was riding shotty with the em forty-one so I just unlatched and pushed off when we started going up into the air—and there went the ‘hog and Gaz and all our gear cart-wheeling into the ravine.”
Hunters' Assault Cannon
Hunters also brandish a variant of the Fuel Rod Gun, known as an Assault Cannon. In Halo 2 & 3, these shoot out long beams of energy; the Hunters immense strength nullifies the beams' recoil, allowing for accurate and devastating attacks. In Halo: Combat Evolved, their cannons fire explosive bolts like the troop-carried model. In Halo: The Flood, it is revealed that, like all other plasma weapons, the Assault Cannon can overheat. There is no way to take the Hunter's version of the weapon outside of a mod. In Halo: Contact Harvest, it is revealed that the cannons fire incendiary gel, either in bolts or beams, as seen in all the games.
Trivia
- In Halo 3, it takes about 8 shots to take down a Phantom on Normal difficulty, about 3-4 shots at the Phantom's "eyes".
- When you give a Fuel Rod Gun to a Marine, their animation is the same as if they were holding a Rocket Launcher. If you look closely, their left hand is at an angle, just like holding the Rocket Launcher.
- In Halo 2 during Campaign mode (most likely on Legendary), the bolts have a slight homing ability. Only enemies have this ability. If you strafe as the wielder fires upon you, it will turn very slowly into your direction. In Halo 3, it also has a slight tracking ability, but this time it is the player and allies only who get this ability.
- Sometimes in Halo 3 Forge, when you put the Fuel Rod Gun on a map (usually High Ground), the weapon will not appear in game. It is unknown why.
- In Halo 3 if the shot hits the ground shortly after leaving the gun it will bounce like the Brute Shot from Halo 2.
- Most likely due to the Cowbell Skull, a Phantom only takes four shots to kill with a Fuel Rod Gun, even on Legendary.
- In Halo 3, the Fuel Rod Gun ricochets when fired at a 25° angle at any solid surface.
Character Compatibility
- Elites
- Spartans
- Marines (Corporal Locklear wielded one in Halo: First Strike)
- Flood Combat Form (Human) (animation in games but not used)
- Flood Combat Form (Elite) (animation in games but not used)
- Grunts
- Hunters (Assault Cannon)
- Brutes
See Also
References
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