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Gameplay

Magnum

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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.
Magnum
H2A M6CPistol.png
Gameplay role

Faction:

Human (UNSC)

Weapon tier (?):

Tier-1 Loadout / Dual wield weapon

Weapon class (?):

Pistol

Weapon type (?):

Kinetic Precision weapon

Firing mode:

Semi-automatic

Effective range:

Close to medium

Counterparts:

Human (UNSC)
Sidekick
Covenant
Plasma Pistol
Mauler
Banished
Mangler
Forerunner
Boltshot
Weapon stats

Damage:

Low to medium

Projectile speed:

Medium to very high

Rate of fire:

Low to high

Accuracy:

Medium to very high

Magazine size:

Varies

Zoom:

Varies

Variants and attachments

Standard variant(s):

 
CE Pistol
Halo 1 pistol.png
Gameplay role

Faction:

Human (UNSC)

Weapon tier (?):

Tier-1 Loadout / Utility weapon

Weapon class (?):

Pistol

Weapon type (?):

Kinetic 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
Commando
Covenant
Carbine
Needle Rifle
Forerunner
Lightrifle
Weapon stats

Damage:

Medium to high

Projectile speed:

High

Rate of fire:

Medium

Accuracy:

High

Magazine size:

12 bullets

Zoom:

2x magnification

 

The Magnum is a human precision weapon featured in most major Halo games, starting with Halo 2. A successor to the Halo: Combat Evolved Pistol, it has gone through a wide variety of changes from game to game resulting in a few weapon variants as well. What remains consistent is its role as a human pistol capable of performing headshots and featuring either dual wielding or a scope. It is a predecessor to Halo Infinite's Sidekick. 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: M6 Series
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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.[1] 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.[2][3]

Notable Variants

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Counterparts

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Pistols

Utility Weapons

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 health

Damage type (?):

pistol\bullet

Projectile speed:

300 wu/s

Hitscan range (?):

10 wu

Max range:

40 wu

Rate of fire:

Tag: 3.5 rounds per second

Runtime: ~3.33 rounds per second

Spread (?):

SP: 0.2 to 0.4 degrees
(0.2 degrees min error)

MP: 0.2 to 2 degrees
(0 degrees min error)

Reserve ammo capacity:

120 rounds (10 magazines)

Tag name (?):

pistol [4]

 
Main article: First-person shooter

The term Magnum never appears in Halo: Combat Evolved, instead featuring the CE Pistol. The Pistol serves a completely different gameplay role from the Magnum, behaving more like a rifle than a sidearm. Despite the actual term magnum referring to a type of pistol, later appearances would retroactively classify the Pistol as a variant of Magnum. The Magnum would remain the typical human handgun of the Halo game series, even adopting traits from the CE Pistol, until being replaced by the Sidekick in Halo Infinite.

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 skin. The Truth and Reconciliation is the only campaign mission to not feature the Pistol. The Pistol is noticeably ineffective against Sentinels, especially those with energy shields. Unlike later games headshots have no effect on the Flood, if a combat form appears to die from a single hit it is actually feigning death and will stand back up again.

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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, paired with the Assault Rifle taking the place of primary weapon. 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. It is capable of killing a fully shielded player in three shots to the head or five body shots.

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Changes from Multiplayer to Campaign

  • Minimum error increased from 0 to 0.2 degrees.
  • Error angle (max) decreased from 2 to 0.4 degrees.
  • elite energy shield damage multiplier decreased from 1x to 0.8x.

Damage Modifiers

dirt sand stone snow wood metal (hollow) metal (thin) metal (thick) rubber glass force field grunt hunter armor hunter skin elite jackal jackal energy shield engineer engineer force field flood combat form flood carrier form cyborg cyborg energy shield armored human human sentinel monitor plastic water leaves elite energy shield ice hunter shield
0 0 0 0 0 0.25 0.25 0.25 0.25 4 0 1 0.2 1 1 1 0 2 0 1.5 1.5 1.5 1 1 1 0.2 0 0 0 0 0.8 0 0

Halo 2 and Halo 2: Anniversary

Magnum
 
Gameplay role

Weapon tier (?):

Dual wield weapon

Effective range:

Close

Counterparts:

Covenant
Plasma Pistol
Weapon stats

Damage:

SP: 8 (can headshot)

MP: 5.5 (can headshot)

Damage type (?):

bullet_slow

Projectile speed:

400 wu/s

Hitscan range (?):

~26.67 wu

Max range:

40 wu

Rate of fire:

0.1s fire recovery time
(10 rounds per second)

Spread (?):

0.25 to 1.5 degrees

Magazine size:

12 rounds

Reserve ammo capacity:

48 rounds (4 magazines)

Melee damage (?):

strike_melee

Tag name (?):

magnum [5]

 
Main article: First-person shooter

Campaign

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Multiplayer

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.

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Changes from Halo 2 to Auto Update 2

  • Damage decreased to 5.5.

Halo 3

Magnum
 
Gameplay role

Weapon tier (?):

Dual wield weapon

Effective range:

Close

Counterparts:

Human (UNSC)
Automag (MCC)
Covenant
Plasma Pistol
Weapon stats

Damage:

15 (can headshot)
dual: 0.7x (10.5)

Damage type (?):

bullet_slow

Projectile speed:

180 wu/s

Hitscan range (?):

12 wu

Max range:

40 wu

Rate of fire:

0.4s fire recovery time
(2.5 rounds per second)

Spread (?):

0.5 degrees
dual: 0.5 to 1 degrees

Magazine size:

8 rounds

Reserve ammo capacity:

40 rounds (5 magazines)

Melee damage (?):

strike_melee

Tag name (?):

magnum [6]

Variants and attachments

Standard variant(s):

 

Campaign

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Multiplayer

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Halo: Reach

Magnum
 
Gameplay role

Weapon tier (?):

Default: Loadout weapon

Anniversary: Utility weapon

Firing mode:

Default: Semi-automatic

Anniversary: Automatic

Effective range:

Close to medium

Counterparts:

Default:

Covenant
Plasma Pistol

Anniversary:

Human (UNSC)
DMR
Covenant
Needle Rifle
Weapon stats

Damage:

Default
17.5 (can headshot)
does not pierce shields
Anniversary
26.25 (can headshot)

Damage type (?):

bullet_slow

Projectile speed:

3000 wu/s

Hitscan range (?):

200 wu

Max range:

100 wu

Rate of fire:

Default
0.19s fire recovery time
(~5.26 rounds per second)
Anniversary
0.285s fire recovery time
(~3.51 rounds per second)

Spread (?):

Default
0.6 to 4 degrees
Title Update 1
0.6 to 3.4 degrees

Magazine size:

8 rounds

Reserve ammo capacity:

40 rounds (5 magazines)

Zoom:

2x magnification

Melee damage (?):

strike_melee

Tag name (?):

magnum [7]

 

Campaign and Firefight

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Multiplayer

With the release of Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary and the Anniversary Map Pack for Halo: Reach, anniversary gametypes were added which featured a rework to the Magnum in an attempt to replicate the gameplay and balancing of Halo: Combat Evolved's Pistol. The Magnum was made fully automatic, its rate of fire was lowered, and could now kill a spartan in 3 headshots or 5 body shots. These changes were built off of the existing Title Update settings such as the reduction to max spread, although due to the new lower firerate the anniversary Magnum is even more accurate when compared to the title update Magnum or even the original Halo: Combat Evolved Pistol.[8] Finally the projectile velocity, magazine size, and reserve ammo count remained unchanged. This makes the anniversary Magnum easier to use than the Halo: Combat Evolved Pistol but with half the killing potential per magazine.

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Changes from Halo: Reach to Title Update 1

Changes from Title Update 1 to Anniversary Settings

  • Changed firemode to automatic.
  • Increased damage to 150%.
  • Increased fire recovery time to 150% (decreased firerate to 67%).[8]

Halo 4

Magnum
 
Gameplay role

Weapon tier (?):

Loadout weapon

Effective range:

Close to medium

Counterparts:

Covenant
Plasma Pistol
Forerunner
Boltshot
Weapon stats

Damage:

Default
15 (can headshot)
does not pierce shields
Tuning
17.3 (can headshot)
does not pierce shields

Damage type (?):

bullet_slow

Projectile speed:

3000 wu/s

Hitscan range (?):

200 wu

Max range:

250 wu

Rate of fire:

0.2 fire recovery time
(5 rounds per second)

Spread (?):

0.15 to 1.75 degrees

Magazine size:

8 rounds

Reserve ammo capacity:

32 rounds (4 magazines)
40 rounds with Ammo Mod

Zoom:

2x magnification

Melee damage (?):

strike_melee

Tag name (?):

storm_magnum [9]

Variants and attachments

Standard variant(s):

 

Campaign and Spartan Ops

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Multiplayer

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Changes from Halo 4 to Weapon Tuning Update

  • Damage increased to 115%.[10]

Halo 2: Anniversary multiplayer

Magnum
 
Gameplay role

Weapon tier (?):

Loadout / Dual wield weapon

Effective range:

Close to medium

Counterparts:

Covenant
Plasma Pistol
Weapon stats

Damage:

7.25 (can headshot)
does not pierce shields

Damage type (?):

bullet_slow

Projectile speed:

400 wu/s

Hitscan range (?):

~13.34 wu

Max range:

40 wu

Rate of fire:

0.1s fire recovery time
(10 rounds per second)

Spread (?):

0.5 to 1.5 degrees
dual: 0.7 to 1.6 degrees

Magazine size:

12 rounds

Reserve ammo capacity:

48 rounds (4 magazines)

Melee damage (?):

strike_melee

Tag name (?):

h2a_magnum [11]

Variants and attachments

Standard variant(s):

 

Multiplayer

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Changes from Magnum to Survivor Magnum

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Halo 5: Guardians

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

Weapon tier (?):

Tier-1 Loadout / Utility weapon

Effective range:

Medium

Counterparts:

As a pistol:

Human (UNSC)
CE Pistol
Covenant
Plasma Pistol
Forerunner
Boltshot

As a utility weapon:

Human (UNSC)
Battle Rifle (Halo 2)
DMR
CE Pistol
Covenant
Covenant Carbine
Forerunner
Lightrifle
Weapon stats

Damage:

17.5 (can headshot)
does not pierce shields

Damage type (?):

bullet_slow

Projectile speed:

3000 wu/s

Hitscan range (?):

100 wu

Max range:

250 wu

Rate of fire:

0.28 fire recovery time
(~3.57 rounds per second)

Spread (?):

0 to 0.6 degrees

Magazine size:

12 rounds

Reserve ammo capacity:

48 rounds (4 magazines)
60 rounds with Patrol Case

Zoom:

2x magnification

Melee damage (?):

strike_melee

Tag name (?):

magnum

Variants and attachments

Standard variant(s):

Halo 5 REQ variant(s):

Attachments:

 

Campaign

All members of Blue Team and Fireteam Osiris, with the exception of Olympia Vale (who uses a plasma pistol) outside of the mission Osiris, spawn with a Magnum as their secondary weapon.

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Multiplayer and Warzone

Warzone features the Extended Magazine variant, which increases the magazine size to 24 rounds and increases reserve ammo accordingly.

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Changes from Halo 5: Guardians to Weapon Tuning Update

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Unlock and acquisition requirements

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  • Magnum REQ card.

Variants

Gunfighter Magnum
Main article: Gunfighter Magnum

"Lightweight competition pistol carried by Spartan operators who prefer a no-frills backup firearm. Quick draw Magnum with fast-reload magazines. Iron sights only, no Smart-Link module is attached."
— REQ description

The Gunfighter variant removes the smart-scope feature and features a faster fire rate.

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Tactical Magnum
Main article: Tactical Magnum

"Whisper-quiet tactical pistol loaded with armor-piercing rounds, tailored for Spartan force reconnaissance missions. Match grade Magnum with integral baffle-free suppressor and full-VISR Smart-Link."
— REQ description

The Tactical variant features a silencer and 2× smart-scope, which makes it similar to the automag from Halo 3: ODST and the MCC release of Halo 3.

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Whispered Truth
Main article: Whispered Truth

"Let the lady talk. Mythic Magnum machine pistol with burst fire and integral Silencer. Wielding the Whispered Truth increases movement speed."
— REQ description
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Halo: Combat Evolved Pistol
Main article: Halo: Combat Evolved Pistol

"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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Halo: Spartan Assault and Halo: Spartan Strike

Magnum
Gameplay role

Weapon tier (?):

Secondary standard weapon

Firing mode:

Automatic

Effective range:

Close

Weapon stats

Damage:

High

Rate of fire:

Low

Magazine size:

40

 
Main article: Twin-stick shooter

"Short-ranged standard UNSC sidearm."
— Halo: Spartan Assault loadout description[12]

Campaign

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Unlock and acquisition requirements

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Halo: Fireteam Raven

Magnum
Weapon stats

Magazine size:

25

 
Main article: Halo: Fireteam Raven

Campaign

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Skins and cosmetics

Halo 4

Main article: Weapon skins (Halo 4)
Magnum
v • d • e
Icon Name Description (MCC) Unlock Requirements (Halo 4) Unlock Requirements (MCC)
Default Default Skin applied. Unlocked by default Unlocked by default
 
 Static (STC) Customized with the STATIC skin. Reach Operator    Unlocked by default
 
 Combustion (CBN) Customized with the COMBUSTION skin. Purchase the Champions Bundle or Steel Skin Pack. Series 4, Tier 9 (  1)
 
 Indigo (IND) Customized with the INDIGO skin. Purchase the Champions Bundle Series 4, Tier 6 (  1)
 
 Flare (FLR) Customized with the FLARE skin. Purchase the Champions Bundle Series 4, Tier 28 (  1)
 
 Edgework (EWK) Customized with the EDGEWORK skin. N/A (MCC-exclusive) Series 7, Tier 13 (  1)
 
 Blood (BLD) Customized with the BLOOD skin. N/A (MCC-exclusive) Series 7, Tier 24 (  1)
 
 Pixel (PXL) Customized with the PIXEL skin. N/A (MCC-exclusive) Series 7, Tier 79 (  1)
 
 Maw (MAW) Customized with the MAW skin. N/A (MCC-exclusive) Series 7, Tier 81 (  1)

Halo: Combat Evolved (MCC)

Main article: Skins (Halo: Combat Evolved)
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)

Halo 3 (MCC)

Main article: Skins (Halo 3)
Magnum
v • d • e
Icon Name Description Unlock requirements
Default Default skin. Unlocked by default
 
 Hunter’s Blood Well armed. Well armored. Series 3, Tier 1 (  1)
 
 Blue Heaven Reach for the sky. Series 3, Tier 22 (  1)
 
 Sharpshooter The bite stuff. Series 3, Tier 31 (  1)
 
 Golden Bling on the ring. Series 3, Tier 44 (  1)
 
 Tech Camo Bravo Gunner's seat, please. Series 5, Tier 40 (  1)
 
 Hazard Pay Safety first! Series 5, Tier 57 (  1)
 
 OGX Used on a select target audience. The Exchange (  3)

Halo 5: Guardians

Main article: List of REQ cards/Weapon Skins

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

Sources

  1. ^ YouTube - FiveLetterNames, Master Chief War Halo 3 Machinima: 9:22
  2. ^ The Art of Halo, page 103
  3. ^ Twitter, Jaime Griesemer (@32nds): "@haileyx24 @MaxHoberman After Halo 1 shipped everyone loved the Pistol but it didn’t make sense that it was more powerful than any rifle. So during H2 prepro I clicked ‘save as’ on the “pistol” tag and called it the “battle rifle” and the artists built a new model." (Retrieved on Jan 27, 2023) [archive]
  4. ^ Halo: Combat Evolved Editing Kit, game file tags\weapons\pistol\pistol.weapon
  5. ^ Halo 2 Editing Kit, game file tags\objects\weapons\pistol\magnum\magnum.weapon
  6. ^ Halo 3 Editing Kit, game file tags\objects\weapons\pistol\magnum\magnum.weapon
  7. ^ Halo: Reach Editing Kit, game file tags\objects\weapons\pistol\magnum\magnum.weapon
  8. ^ a b Halo: Reach Editing Kit, game file data\multiplayer\megalo\tu1_classic_gametypes.txt
  9. ^ Halo 4 Editing Kit, game file tags\objects\weapons\pistol\storm_magnum\storm_magnum.weapon
  10. ^ Halo 4 Editing Kit, game file data\multiplayer\megalo\weapon_params.txt
  11. ^ Halo 2: Anniversary Multiplayer Editing Kit, game file tags\objects\weapons\h2a_magnum\h2a_magnum.weapon
  12. ^ Halo: Spartan Assault, Loadout description

v • d • e
 
Weapons by faction
For a complete list, check out our weapons category.
v • d • e
 
List of weapons by game title

v • d • e
 
Halo: Combat Evolved
Flag • Skull
Italics indicate weapons only appearing in the PC, Custom Edition, and Master Chief Collection releases of Halo: Combat Evolved.
v • d • e
 
Halo 2
Bomb • Flag • Skull
v • d • e
 
Halo 3
Bomb • Flag • Skull
Italics indicate weapons added to the Master Chief Collection release of Halo 3.
v • d • e
 
Halo: Reach
v • d • e
 
Halo 4
Bomb • Flag • Skull
v • d • e
 
Halo 2: Anniversary multiplayer
Bomb • Flag • Skull
Italics indicate weapons not appearing in the original Halo 2 multiplayer.
v • d • e
 
Halo 5: Guardians
Flag • Ball • Skull

v • d • e
 
REQ Weapons
Common
Uncommon
Rare
Ultra Rare
Legendary
Mythic
Italics indicate weapons released post-launch.
v • d • e
 
Halo: Spartan Assault
Standard
Italics indicate weapons exclusive to co-op.
v • d • e
 
Halo: Spartan Strike
Standard
Upgraded
v • d • e
 
Halo: Fireteam Raven
Ammo
Infinite Ammo
For a complete list, check out our weapons category.
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