Weapons - Technical Preview July 2021
Updated: Feb 9, 2022
The Halo Infinite Technical Preview in July 2021 featured a multitude of weapons for players to try out, many of which are new additions to the franchise. Thanks to the Weapon Ranges, it was also easier to try out all the different weapons than ever before.
Every weapon in the Halo Infinite Technical Preview could do increased damage on precision hits, with the exception of the Fists and Gravity Hammer. This only applied once the target's shield had been depleted, but it was very significant for most weapons, especially the Plasma Pistol. Precision hits with weapons are indicated by red hitmarkers, as opposed to the typical white hitmarkers.
Descope will knock a player out of their zoom whenever they are shot. This applied to all scoped weapons, but it did not apply to the default 1.40x zoom available to most unscoped weapons.
Finally, weapons with a battery or charge level (in percent) automatically refilled when walking over the weapon on the ground or on a weapon rack. For example, holding a Plasma Pistol with 50% battery and walking over another Plasma Pistol with 75% battery will automatically recharge the held Plasma Pistol to 100%, leaving the one on the ground at 25%. The player did not need to manually pick up the Plasma Pistol with the higher battery level as they would have in previous games.
This article contains screenshots of the weapon FPS models and pickup prompts, as well as short videos showing the animations while using each weapon. I have also included a list of relevant stats for each weapon. The following sections are included in this article:
Note that there is a visual color issue with the videos due to the way they were rendered. While I do intend to fix this issue eventually, this will not happen until after the Customization section has been restructured, which may take some time.
For an excellent video containing all of these animations and more in true color, please watch Hectorlo's Weapon Animation Compilation on YouTube.
BR75
When viewing the weapon pickup prompt for a few seconds, additional details appear underneath the weapon name. These details are in the following format: "[Weapon Type] | [Firing Mode(s)] | [Range(s)]".
The BR75 is a Kinetic Burst Tactical Rifle, effective at Mid range. The weapon fires in a three-round burst and is most well known for being able to kill enemy Spartans in four bursts, provided all rounds from each burst land on the Spartan and the final round in the fourth burst is a headshot. No matter what, if one round from the BR75 hits the head of an unshielded target, it will instantly kill them.
The BR75 has the following magazine size and reserve ammo capacity:
Magazine Capacity: 36
Inventory Ammo Capacity: 216
The inventory ammo capacity, in particular, is quite exciting. Historically, this value has been 108, meaning players could only store three additional Battle Rifle magazines in their inventory. The increase to 216 allows players to hold up to six additional BR75 magazines in reserves, making it much harder to run out of ammo for the weapon in Campaign.
The first-person view of the BR75 is shown above. The weapon displays how many rounds are in the magazine on a digital readout. The reticle is very similar to its Halo 2, Halo 3, and Halo 3: ODST (MCC) appearance.
When zoomed in, the BR75 uses Smart-Link to super-impose the scope view on the player's HUD, much as it was in Halo 2, Halo 3, and Halo 3: ODST (MCC).
Nearly every weapon in the Tech Preview has a separate animation for reloading when the magazine has been fully emptied. Additionally, most weapons have two different melee animations. This video shows all of these animations for the BR75.
CQS48 Bulldog
The CQS48 Bulldog is a Kinetic Pump-Action Shotgun, effective at Close range. The weapon fires more quickly than the Tactical Shotgun from previous games, and it has a higher range. However, it does not have as much stopping power, and it cannot kill a Spartan in one-hit. If the player desires, they can fire the CQS48 Bulldog at its fastest firing right by holding down the fire button, but this will invariably result in reduced accuracy compared to pressing the button for each shot.
The CQS48 Bulldog has the following drum size:
Drum Capacity: 7
Because the CQS48 Bulldog was a Tier 2 weapon, there was no way to determine the inventory ammo capacity for the weapon. We know that players can hold at least 7 rounds in their inventory, and it is possible that this number is 14 or higher. Whatever the case, the inventory ammo capacity must be a number evenly divisible by the drum capacity, 7.
The first-person view of the CQS48 Bulldog is shown above. The reticle is circular, but with notches in each of the four corners that can expand to show reticle bloom.
The CQS48 Bulldog does not have its own scope, so the default 1.40x zoom is used instead. This increases the size of the reticle since scope-less weapons do not become more accurate when zooming in. The only benefit to zooming in is that you can gain the benefits of bullet magnetism and aim assist at slightly longer ranges.
The CQS48 Bulldog, like the BR75, has separate animations for reloading depending on whether the drum was fully emptied. It also features two melee animations.
Fists
When starting a Weapon Drill, the player initially starts with no weapons equipped. Surprisingly, they can still attack things with the melee button. While I did not record any screenshots or clips of the Fists in action, Hecterlo did in his Weapon Animation Compilation on YouTube.
The clip of the Fist melee animations can be seen on YouTube here. Due to the nature of YouTube Clips, I am unable to embed it in this article.
There are two melee animations for the Fists. Once a player picks up a weapon, they cannot drop it to return to using their Fists, so this was only available in Weapon Drills during the Tech Preview.
Gravity Hammer
The Gravity Hammer was the only weapon unavailable in the Weapon Drills. It is a Power Melee weapon, effective at Close range. Since it is a Melee weapon, it has no firing mode in the extended pickup prompt. The weapon does not need to directly strike an opponent to do damage. In fact, it has a much larger damage and kill radius than Gravity Hammers in previous games, made possible by its much longer swing time before dealing damage.
The Gravity Hammer has the following ammo stats:
Charge per Powered Swing: 10%
Inventory Charge Capacity: 100%
The first-person view of the Gravity Hammer is shown above. The reticle is similar in appearance to how it was in Halo 3, Halo 3: ODST, Halo: Reach, and Halo 5: Guardians.
Unlike most other weapons in the Tech Preview, zooming in with the Gravity Hammer does nothing, so its lunge range cannot be increased.
The Gravity Hammer animations are shown in the above video. Since the weapon does not have a magazine or overheat mechanic, there are no venting or reload animations.
Unlike most other weapons, there is only one Gravity Hammer melee animation, which is identical to the powered slam animation. This melee animation not only takes longer to perform than other melee animations, it also does not do damage until well into the animation.
Since it does about the same amount of damage as melees from other weapons, there is no reason to melee with the Gravity Hammer. In fact, it is likely a bug or placeholder animation until they can add the proper, faster melee animations that are seen on Gravity Hammers in previous games.
Another interesting feature of the Gravity Hammer is its ability to knockback targets if it doesn't kill them. In this video, I use the Gravity Hammer to injure a leaping Spartan without immediately killing them. This impact pushes them backward enough to fall off the cliff to their death.
Heatwave
The Heatwave is a Hardlight Semi-Auto Shotgun, effective at Mid range. Each shot from this weapon consists of six individual Hardlight projectiles that ricochet off surfaces several times before expiring. The projectiles overpenetrate targets, dealing damage to everything they pass through.
The weapon also features an alternate firing mode, switching the firing pattern from a horizontal line to two triangular groups of three stacked vertically. In this firing mode, the weapon fires slower, but more shots are likely to strike a single target.
Reloading the weapon occurs one round at a time, and the reload animation can be interrupted at any time to continue firing with however many rounds are currently loaded.
The Heatwave has the following magazine size:
Magazine Capacity: 8
Because the Heatwave was a Tier 2 weapon, there was no way to determine the inventory ammo capacity for the weapon. We know that players can hold at least 16 rounds in their inventory since players can refill an empty Heatwave from its Weapon Rack. Whatever the case, the inventory ammo capacity must be a number evenly divisible by the magazine capacity, 8.
The first-person view of the Heatwave in its default firing mode is shown above. The reticle has six dots, showing where each of the six projectiles will go when fired.
Pressing the Zoom button switches the Heatwave into its alternate fire mode. In this mode, the six dots rearrange to form two vertically stacked triangles. Again, each dot represents where a projectile will go once the weapon is fired. On the weapon itself, the two "wings" on either side of the barrel retract inward in this firing mode.
As mentioned previously, the Heatwave reloads one round at a time in a looping animation. If desired, the reload process can be interrupted at any time to continue firing. Switching the firing mode plays a short animation where the "wings" on the sides of the barrel extend (for default) or retract (for alternate). The Heatwave also features two melee animations like most other weapons.
M41 SPNKR
The M41 SPNKR is a Power Semi-Auto Launcher. Due to the nature of the weapon, it does not have one particular effective range and can be used at most ranges, depending on the type of target. The weapon fires slow-moving explosive rockets that detonate on impact with anything. These rockets have a considerably high blast radius and can kill nearby enemies without a direct hit, so best practice is to aim for the enemy's feet.
The M41 SPNKR has the following magazine size and reserve ammo capacity:
Magazine Capacity: 2
Inventory Ammo Capacity: 4
The first-person view of the M41 SPNKR is shown above. The reticle appears as it did in every previous FPS Halo game except for Halo 4.
Unlike in previous games, the M41 SPNKR does not have its own scope and instead uses the default 1.40x Zoom available to most non-scoped weapons.
The M41 SPNKR does not appear to have a special reload animation when both rockets have been fired. The animation is identical whether one or both rockets have been fired. It does, however, offer two distinct melee animations.
MA40 AR
The MA40 AR is a Kinetic Auto Assault Rifle, effective at Mid range. This weapon is a classic Halo weapon, featured in every FPS Halo game except Halo 2. In Halo Infinite, this weapon has become a viable option for taking down opponents, particularly when coupled with its ability to do additional precision damage to unshielded enemies.
The MA40 AR has the following magazine size and reserve ammo capacity:
Magazine Capacity: 36
Inventory Ammo Capacity: 216
The 36-round magazine capacity was originally seen in Halo 5: Guardians as a way to make the Assault Rifle slightly more effective, increasing the likelihood of earning a kill before the user had to reload the weapon.
The first-person view of the MA40 AR is shown above. The reticle appears as it did in Halo: Reach, Halo 4, and Halo 5: Guardians. Firing in bursts will result in greater accuracy than firing in fully automatic, but the overall firing rate will be reduced. The number of rounds in the magazine can be seen on the weapon's readout, and the small arrow above this number functions as a compass.
Since the MA40 AR does not have a scope, it uses the default 1.40x zoom available to most unscoped weapons. This only increases the range at which bullet magnetism and aim assist apply.
As with the BR75, the MA40 AR has a special reload animation if the magazine has been fully emptied. Additionally, it has two melee animations.
Unfortunately, there were some issues with this particular video recording that cause some strange jumps and brief moments without sound. Since these issues are with the source recording itself, they cannot be fixed in the future.
MK50 Sidekick
The MK50 Sidekick is a Kinetic Semi-Auto Pistol, effective at Close range. This weapon is not the Magnum, which has been seen in all FPS Halo games since Halo: CE. Rather, it is a new offering that is most similar to the Gunfighter Magnum in Halo 5: Guardians. Like the BR75, landing a headshot on an unshielded enemy will instantly kill them. It takes a minimum of 7 shots to kill a fully shielded enemy Spartan: six to break the shield followed by one headshot.
The MK50 Sidekick has the following magazine size and reserve ammo capacity:
Magazine Capacity: 12
Inventory Ammo Capacity: 72
The first-person view of the MK50 Sidekick is shown above. The iron sights on the weapon, while having no functional use in-game, are lit up in red.
The MK50 is yet another unscoped weapon, meaning it uses the default 1.40x Zoom. This only increases the range at which bullet magnetism and aim assist apply.
The MK50 Sidekick also has a special reload animation if the magazine has been fully emptied. It has two melee animations as well.
Needler
The Needler is a Kinetic Auto SMG, effective at Close range. As in all previous FPS Halo games, the Needler fires a stream of homing needles at its target. If enough needles embed themselves in a target, a supercombine explosion will occur. This will immediately kill a full shielded enemy Spartan and damage those around them.
The Needler has the following magazine size and reserve ammo capacity:
Magazine Capacity: 26
Inventory Ammo Capacity: 78
The first-person view of the Needler is shown above. The needles poking out of the top of the weapon will shrink into the weapon as it is fired. Additionally, there is now a dot-based ammo counter on the back of the Needler. Each lit dot represents one round in the magazine.
The Needler is an unscoped weapon, meaning it uses the default 1.40x Zoom. This only increases the range at which needle homing and aim assist apply.
For the first time in a Halo game, the Needler has a special reload animation if the magazine has been fully emptied. It has two melee animations as well.
Plasma Pistol
The Plasma Pistol is a Plasma Semi-Auto Pistol with an alternate Charge firing mode, effective at Close range. The Plasma Pistol is primarily used as a shield-stripping weapon.
The Semi-Auto firing mode fires quick plasma projectiles that do higher damage on shield hits and unshielded precision hits.
The Charge firing mode fires a slower tracking projectile that instantly depletes a Spartan's shields and does more damage in general, although with a much slower firing rate. This is due to the need to charge and vent the weapon before and after firing.
Choosing to vent the weapon before it overheats in Semi-Auto mode will result in a much faster vent time than automatically venting upon overheat. The player can also wait for the heat to slowly dissipate over time.
The Plasma Pistol has the following stats:
Charge to Overheat (Semi-Auto): ~17%
Charge per Shot (Semi-Auto): ~0.89%
Charge per Shot (Charge): ~7%
Charge Depleted per Second (Charge): ~1.5%
Inventory Charge Capacity: 100%
The first-person view of the Plasma Pistol is shown above. As shots are fired or the weapon is charged, the circular indicator on the back will fill up. The reticle itself is similar to the Halo 5: Guardians version, but with the three lines fully inside the outer circle.
The Plasma Pistol is also an unscoped weapon, meaning it uses the default 1.40x Zoom. This only increases the range at which bullet magnetism and aim assist apply.
The Plasma Pistol can be Charged by holding down the fire button. While Charged, the Plasma Pistol slowly drains its battery until it is fired. The reticle also rotates 180° around, and the outer circle becomes thicker. The indicator on the back of the Plasma Pistol fills with a red bar.
The 1.40x zoom is also available while the Plasma Pistol is charged. This increases the range at which the Charge shot can home on an enemy.
The Plasma Pistol has two animations for venting: one that plays when manually vented and one if it is overheated. It has two melee animations as well.
Pulse Carbine
The Pulse Carbine is a Plasma Burst Assault Rifle, effective at Mid range. Rounds fired by the Pulse Carbine are slow, but they home in on targets within range. One five-round burst from the Pulse Carbine can strip an enemy Spartans shields, and if all five rounds in the next burst strike that opponents head, the extra precision damage will kill them. Although it can be fired as fast as possible by holding down the fire button, tapping the fire button for each burst will result in greater accuracy.
Choosing to vent the weapon manually before it overheats will result in a much faster vent time than automatically venting upon overheat. The player can also wait for the heat to slowly dissipate over time.
The Pulse Carbine has the following stats:
Charge to Overheat: 20%