Weapons (gameplay)

For the full list of weapons see Category:Weapons

The weapons from the Halo universe, available in campaign and multiplayer gameplay, handheld, form the basis of First Person Shooter Gameplay within the Halo games.

Origin

A player is allowed to use weapons from many races, such as Humans, Covenant, and Forerunner, often turning the enemy's firepower against them.

Human weapons tend to use bullets, explosives and one that uses a laser, while Covenant weapons are generally plasma or energy based, with the exception of Brute weapons which use spikes or explosives. Brute Covenant weapons and the Covenant Carbine use ammunition. All melee weapons use charge. All weapons run out of ammunition or charge when used extensively and Covenant weapons typically overheat if fired continuously for long periods of time.

To know more about the weapons from each set of races:

UNSC Weaponry	Covenant Weaponry	Forerunner Weaponry
A UNSC Battle Rifle	Two Covenant Plasma Rifles

Gameplay

An extensive array of weapons are available within Gameplay, each operating differently. This allows players to take different approaches and sometimes forces a change in tactics depending on the strengths and weaknesses of each weapon. Each player will also find a weapon to suit his or her tastes, in terms of power, speed, range, kickback or feedback.

Usage

Halo: Combat Evolved limited the number of weapons players could carry to two, forcing them to carefully select their preferred armament. But players can only wield one weapon at a time. Players fight with ranged and melee attacks, as well as a limited number of grenades. Bungie refers to the "weapons-grenades-melee" format as the "Golden Triangle of Halo", which has remained fundamentally unchanged throughout the trilogy. The player character's health is measured in both hit points and a continually recharging energy shield. The energy shield absorbs a significant portion of enemy fire until it becomes depleted, after which the player character will sustain damage, potentially causing death.

Halo 2 introduced new gameplay elements, chief among them the ability to hold and fire two weapons simultaneously, known as "dual wielding".

Halo 3 adds to the series new weapons, and a class of items called Equipment

Halo 3:ODST will add more stealthy weapons, such as the silenced SMG, and the Auto Mag..

Aiming

A few weapons as displayed in-game, with icon and name. Screenshots per weapon are when normal and firing, and when in scope/zoomed view. In Halo 2. (Click to enlarge)

The typical arrow cursor is hidden within gameplay, and replaced with a blue targeting reticule that stays locked to the center of the screen, when in first person and third person views. The reticule turns red when a shot will hit an enemy target, and green for allies.

Many weapons are scoped and have the capability to zoom 2x or 5x into any area, with some long range weapons even capable of reaching up to 10x magnification like the Sniper Rifle. These always show the reticule and continue scoping after shots are fired.

While wielding non-scoped weapons, the player's armor has the capability to zoom, to a minimal extent. These hide the reticule when in the zoomed view, returning to the normal view after every shot, making them inefficient for sniping. However, skilled players can use this in online gameplay to keep a good eye on enemies or destinations.

Types

The types of available weapons follow the basic standards present in real life, Assault, Battle and Sniping.

Grenades are frequently made available, primarily for anti-infantry combat. Some grenades can stick and some grenades are stronger than others.

Melee attacks are always available; if the player is able to get in range of an enemy, that can cause heavy damage. Most times, a single melee attack is sufficient to completely deplete an enemy's shields. These are also used to take control of an enemy Vehicle, by Melee attacking the craft, then planting a grenade to kill its driver.

Heavy weapons such as Turrets are also present within Halo levels, either stationary or mounted on Vehicles. Some turrets can be removed from their stands and used as hand held Support Weapons, but makes the player go slower. Only when driving a vehicle, controlling a Missile pod, controling the Flamethrower, and controlling a turret, does the game switch into third-person view. Some vehicles, such as the Ghost, Scorpion Tank, and Banshee allow the player to control mounted weapons while driving the vehicle. Other multi-occupant vehicles such as the Warthog require the player to remain in the weapon seat to control fire, and driving seat to control navigation.

Explosives and large scale weapons, Missiles, Nuclear, and Halos are usually involved in the storyline of every game, though not usually playable.

Availability

A Covenant weapons cache, holding two Carbines

Within campaign levels, the player's character (Master Chief or The Arbiter) usually begins with two weapons, and often has access to weapons lying around, either near corpses or within weapon caches and stores.

Killed enemies or allies can be robbed of their dropped weapons as well. Halo 2 onwards, allies can exchange weapons with the player when requested, making it unnecessary to kill them only to use their weapons.

Weapons can be reloaded by collecting ammunition or swapping the player character's weapon with a loaded dropped weapon. If the player is already wielding the same weapon, they can swap if the new weapon is loaded or charged more than the wielded weapon.

The Famine skull is a skull that makes dropped weapons have less or half the ammo it should have.

External Links

• How to Snipe in Halo 2 is a wikiHow guide that describes strategies for sniping in Campaign and especially Multiplayer.