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%
Charge per Shot: 0.8%
Inventory Charge Capacity: 100%
The first-person view of the Pulse Carbine is shown above. As shots are fired in quick succession, the bar in the upper back will fill up.
The Pulse Carbine is yet another unscoped weapon, meaning it uses the default 1.40x Zoom. This only increases the range at which projectile tracking and aim assist apply.
The Pulse Carbine, like 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.
Ravager
The Ravager is a Plasma Burst Launcher with an alternate Charge firing mode, effective at Close range. The Ravager is a Brute weapon that can be used to quickly take out individual targets or act as an area denial weapon. Like most Brute weapons, melee attacks with this weapon do slightly more damage due to the attached bayonet.
The Burst firing mode fires a three-round burst of relatively quick plasma explosives. Although the blast radius is low, it can quickly kill a Spartan if the projectiles hit them directly. The projectiles experience drop at longer distances, so you may need to aim high to hit your target.
The Charge firing mode fires a single explosive round that does a small amount of damage on impact but causes a large area around it to burn with plasma for several seconds, discouraging enemies from entering the area. As with the Burst firing mode, the Charge projectile drops over distance, so aiming high may be necessary. Firing the Charge projectile instantly overheats the weapon, just like the Plasma Pistol.
Choosing to vent the weapon before it overheats in Burst mode will result in a much faster vent time than automatically venting upon overheat. Unlike the Plasma Pistol and Pulse Carbine, heat will not dissipate over time, meaning it must be vented manually or automatically upon overheat.
The Ravager has the following stats:
Charge to Overheat (Burst): ~33.3%
Charge per Shot (Burst): ~2.22%
Charge per Shot (Charge): ~10%
Charge Depleted per Second (Charge): ~3%
Inventory Charge Capacity: 100%
The first-person view of the Ravager is shown above. As shots are fired and the weapon heats up, the red vents will begin to emit plasma until the weapon is manually vented or overheated and automatically vented.
As with most weapons in the Tech Preview, the Ravager is 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 Ravager can be Charged by holding down the fire button. While Charged, the Ravager slowly drains its battery until it is fired. The bars on either side of the reticle grow thick and turn red once the weapon is Charged, and the vents on the side withdraw slightly into the weapon.
The 1.40x zoom is also available while the Ravager is charged. This increases the range at which bullet magnetism and aim assist apply.
The Ravager has only one animations for venting, but it plays for much longer if it is overheated. It has two melee animations as well, both making use of the bayonet on the front of the weapon.
S7 Sniper
The S7 Sniper is a Power Semi-Auto Sniper Rifle, effective at Long range. The S7 Sniper can penetrate through shields to do additional damage to the unshielded combatant, allowing it to kill a shielded opponent with a single precision shot. Headshots with this weapon kill unshielded enemies in a single hit, regardless of their health.
As a Sniper Rifle, the S7 Sniper has two zoom levels and very little aim assist. If you want to hit your targets, you need to be very accurate.
The S7 Sniper has the following magazine size and reserve ammo capacity:
Magazine Capacity: 4
Inventory Ammo Capacity: 16
The first-person view of the S7 Sniper is shown above. The scope has an indicator near the bottom showing how many rounds are left in the magazine. Each bullet shape represents one round. As in previous Halo games, the S7 Sniper is just as accurate when hip fired as when zoomed, but it has almost no aim assist or bullet magnetism in this mode.
The lower zoom level for the S7 Sniper is a 5x zoom. When zoomed, the reticle gains an outer segmented circle. This is likely a bug, as this outer circle temporarily appears when the S7 Sniper is fired without zoom to represent "bloom". The accuracy of the S7 Sniper is not actually reduced by this bloom; rather, it is a visual trick to show when the next round can be fired. The ammo indicator is visible here near the bottom of the scoped view.
The higher zoom level on the S7 Sniper is 10x, making this the longest ranged weapon in the Tech Preview. When using Hold to Zoom, pressing the Zoom Toggle button will switch between the two zoom levels. On Default controls, this is clicking "LS". The ammo indicator is also visible here near the bottom of the scoped view.
The S7 Sniper has a much longer special reload animation when the magazine is emptied. In many cases, it is best to manually reload after firing 1-3 shots. It has two melee animations as well.
Skewer
The Skewer is a Power Breech-Load Sniper Rifle, effective at Long range. The Skewer, like the S7 Sniper, can penetrate through shields to do additional damage to the unshielded combatant, allowing it to kill a shielded opponent with a single shot anywhere on the body. Headshots with this weapon kill unshielded enemies in a single hit, regardless of their health. Even though the weapon can kill a Spartan in one hit no matter where it strikes, it must be reloaded after every shot, making accuracy very important.
As a Sniper Rifle, the Skewer has two zoom levels and very little aim assist. If you want to hit your targets, you need to be very accurate. Unlike the S7 Sniper, the Skewer is not hitscan, so you need to accommodate for projectile speed and drop when aiming.
Also, like the Ravager, the Skewer does slightly more melee damage due to the attached bayonet.
The Skewer has the following magazine size and reserve ammo capacity:
Magazine Capacity: 1
Inventory Ammo Capacity: 7
The first-person view of the Skewer is shown above. The scope has an indicator near the left showing whether the Skewer has a spike loaded (the small red spike icon). The Skewer, like the S7 Sniper, is just as accurate when hip fired, but it has very little aim assist and bullet magnetism.
The lower zoom level for the Skewer is shown here. While high, this zoom appears to be lower than the zoom for the S7 Sniper. Note that the spike indicator is more easily visible to the left.
The higher zoom level on the Skewer is shown here, although it is lower than the high zoom level on the S7 Sniper. When using Hold to Zoom, pressing the Zoom Toggle button will switch between the two zoom levels. On Default controls, this is clicking "LS". The spike indicator is still visible on the left.
The Skewer only has one reload animation due to it having a Breech-Load firing mode. It has two melee animations as well, both involving the bayonet on the front to show that they do slightly more damage than a normal melee.
VK78 Commando
The VK78 Commando is a Kinetic Auto Tactical Rifle, effective at Mid range. The weapon has a very fast kill time, but due to its high recoil and hard-to-control accuracy, it is difficult to use this weapon properly. The best results come from firing in bursts, aiming a little low so that the reticle walks up to the opponents head in time to land a headshot as their shields break.
The VK78 Commando requires a minimum of 7 shots to kill an enemy Spartan: 6 shots to break the opponent's shield, followed by one headshot. No matter what, if one round from the VK78 Commando hits the head of an unshielded target, it will instantly kill them.
The VK78 Commando has the following magazine size and reserve ammo capacity:
Magazine Capacity: 20
Inventory Ammo Capacity: 120
The first-person view of the VK78 Commando is shown above. The weapon displays how many rounds are in the magazine on a digital readout.
The VK78 Commando has a 3.0x zoom scope, with a digital ammo counter in the top right. Firing fully automatic while zoomed is very hard to control, and this scope is best reserved for semi-auto or burst firing at longer ranges.
Like most other weapons in the Tech Preview, the VK78 Commando has a special reload animation that is used when the magazine is fully emptied. The weapon also has two melee animations.
Summary
The weapon sandbox available in the Technical Preview had a large variety of unique weapons to offer. With each weapon having its own role to fill, it was very fun to switch up my playstyle each time I picked up a new weapon. Here is a summary about the weapons shown in the July 2021 Tech Preview.
All non-melee weapons do increased damage to unshielded targets on precision hits. Shielded targets take the same amount of damage regardless of where they are hit until their shields are broken.
All scoped weapons exhibit descope, where taking damage knocks the player out of zoom. The default 1.40x zoom on most unscoped weapons is unaffected by descope but only increases the range of aim assist and bullet magnetism.
Walking over a plasma weapon that is already in the player's inventory will pull charge from that weapon to recharge the weapon held by the player.
For example, have a Plasma Pistol with 50% battery in one's inventory and walking over a Plasma Pistol with 75% charge will transfer 50% from the one on the floor to the one in the player's inventory. The result will be 100% in the player's inventory Plasma Pistol and 25% in the one on the floor.
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)]". Some categories do not display on all weapons.
For example, the BR75 prompt states, "Tactical Rifle | Burst | Mid".
Most weapons have a longer reload or vent time if the full magazine is fired or the weapon is overheated.
The BR75 is a Kinetic Burst Tactical Rifle, effective at Mid range.
The BR75 fires bullets in a 3-round burst.
It can kill a Spartan in four bursts, provided every round in each burst lands and the final round is a headshot.
It has a scope with a single zoom level, meaning it is affected by descope.
The BR75 has a magazine capacity of 36 rounds and an inventory ammo capacity of 216 rounds.
The CQS48 Bulldog is a Kinetic Pump-Action Shotgun, effective at Close range.
The CQS48 Bulldog fires a group of pellets in a random cone.
It can kill a Spartan in two shots, provided the target is close enough for most of the pellets to strike.
It uses the default 1.40x zoom, which only increases the range of bullet magnetism and aim assist.
The CQS48 Bulldog has a drum capacity of 7 rounds and an inventory ammo capacity of at least 7 rounds, although it is likely a higher multiple of 7.
When no weapon is equipped, the player can still melee with their Fists. Once a weapon has been picked up, however, it cannot be dropped. The only way to use the Fists is to spawn without a weapon, which was only possible in Weapon Ranges in the Tech Preview.
The Gravity Hammer is a Power Melee weapon, effective at Close range.
The Gravity Hammer generates a damaging area of effect when it strikes, knocking back entities outside its kill radius but inside its damage radius.
It can kill multiple Spartans with a single powered swing, provided they are within the kill cone in front of the player.
It does not have any zoom functionality.
The melee attack with the Gravity Hammer uses the same animation as a powered swing, but does the same damage as a regular melee. This is likely a bug or a placeholder animation.
The Gravity Hammer uses 10% of the battery per powered swing and can have up to 100% battery.
The Heatwave is a Hardlight Semi-Auto Shotgun, effective at Mid range.
The Heatwave fires six Hardlight projectiles in one of two firing patterns, depending on the mode.
Rounds fired from the Heatwave overpenetrate (pass through) targets and ricochet multiple times off hard surfaces, allowing it to damage an opponent multiple times or damage multiple opponents.
A minimum of two sets of Heatwave projectiles are needed to kill an enemy Spartan (or one that ricochets in just the right ways).
Pressing the zoom button switches the firing mode between a horizontal line and two vertically stacked triangles. There is no magnification zoom for this weapon as a result.
The Heatwave has a magazine capacity of 8 rounds, reloaded one at a time, and an inventory ammo capacity of at least 16 rounds, though it may be a higher multiple of 8.
The M41 SPNKR is a Power Semi-Auto Launcher.
The M41 SPNKR fires slow-moving rockets with a large blast radius that detonates on impact. Firing at the ground beneath a target or in between multiple targets is the most effective way to use it.
It can kill a Spartan with one indirect shot, provided the Spartan is within the kill radius of the rocket when it explodes.
It uses the default 1.40x zoom, which only increases the range of aim assist.
The M41 SPNKR has a magazine capacity of 2 rounds and an inventory ammo capacity of 4 rounds.
The MA40 AR is a Kinetic Auto Assault Rifle, effective at Mid range.
The MA40 AR fires bullets in a decreasingly accurate way, with accuracy resetting after firing stops.
It can kill a Spartan in 14 shots: 12 to break their shield and 2 precision shots to finish them.
It uses the default 1.40x zoom, which only increases the range of bullet magnetism and aim assist.
The MA40 AR has a magazine capacity of 36 rounds and an inventory ammo capacity of 216 rounds.
The MK50 Sidekick is a Kinetic Semi-Auto Pistol, effective at Close range.
The MK50 Sidekick quickly fires bullets with high accuracy but low bullet magnetism at higher ranges.
It can kill a Spartan in 7 shots: 6 to break their shield followed by a headshot.
It uses the default 1.40x zoom, which only increases the range of bullet magnetism and aim assist.
The MK50 Sidekick has a magazine capacity of 12 rounds and an inventory ammo capacity of 72 rounds.
The Needler is a Kinetic Auto SMG, effective at Close range.
The Needler fires homing needles that cause a Supercombine explosion if enough embed themselves in a target.
It can kill a Spartan with 12 needles, provided the shots arrive close enough to one another to stack and cause a Supercombine.
It uses the default 1.40x zoom, which only increases the range of bullet magnetism and aim assist.
The Needler has a magazine capacity of 26 rounds and an inventory ammo capacity of 78 rounds.
The Plasma Pistol is a Plasma Semi-Auto Pistol with an alternate Charge firing mode, effective at Close range.
The Plasma Pistol Semi-Auto mode rapidly fires fast plasma projectiles that do good damage to shields.
The Plasma Pistol Charge mode fires a tracking EMP shot that instantly breaks Spartan shields.
The Semi-Auto mode can kill a Spartan in 10 shots: 7 to break shields, followed by 3 precision shots to finish them.
The Charge mode can kill a Spartan in 2 shots: 1 to break shields, followed by 1 precision shot to finish them.
It uses the default 1.40x zoom, which only increases the range of bullet magnetism and aim assist.
When using the Semi-Auto mode, the Plasma Pistol expends roughly 0.89% of its battery per shot, taking a minimum of roughly 17% to overheat, provided the weapon is fired at its maximum firing rate.
When using the Charge mode, the Plasma Pistol expends roughly 1.5% of its battery per second while Charged, and it loses roughly 7% of the battery when the Charged shot is fired.
The maximum battery capacity of the Plasma Pistol is 100%.
The Pulse Carbine is a Plasma Burst Assault Rifle, effective at Mid range.
The Pulse Carbine fires slow-moving homing rounds in a 5-round burst.
It can kill a Spartan in 2 bursts, provided all five rounds from one burst strike and break the shield, and all five rounds from the second burst are precision hits.
It uses the default 1.40x zoom, which only increases the range of bullet magnetism and aim assist.
The Pulse Carbine expends roughly 0.8% per shot in a burst and takes a minimum of 20% to overheat, provided the weapon is fired at its maximum firing rate.
The maximum battery capacity of the Pulse Carbine is 100%.
The Ravager is a Plasma Burst Launcher with an alternate Charge firing mode, effective at Close range.
The Ravager Burst mode fires 3-round bursts of explosive plasma munitions that drop over long distances.
The Ravager Charge mode fires a single projectile that drops over long distances and does a small amount of damage on impact. However, it then burns the surrounding area with plasma fire, damaging all targets in the area over time.
The Burst mode can kill an enemy Spartan in one burst, provided the first two shots are direct hits to break the shield and the third shot is a precision hit.
The Charge mode can kill a Spartan with one shot, provided the shot detonates near them and the Spartan remains in the burning area until they die. The burn alone is not enough to kill a Spartan.
It uses the default 1.40x zoom, which only increases the range of bullet magnetism and aim assist.
When using the Semi-Auto mode, the Ravager expends roughly 2.22% of its battery per shot (~6.67% per burst), taking a minimum of roughly 33.3% to overheat, provided the weapon is not vented prior to overheat.
When using the Charge mode, the Ravager expends roughly 3% of its battery per second while Charged, and it loses roughly 10% of the battery when the Charged shot is fired.
The maximum battery capacity of the Ravager is 100%.
The S7 Sniper is a Power Semi-Auto Sniper Rifle, effective at Long range.
The S7 Sniper fires overpenetrating shield-piercing rounds, meaning the rounds can do additional damage to a target after breaking the target's shields and can hit multiple targets with one shot.
It can kill a Spartan in one shot, provided it is a headshot.
It uses two zoom levels: 5x and 10x. Both levels are affected by descope when the user takes damage.
The S7 Sniper has a magazine capacity of 4 rounds and an inventory ammo capacity of 16 rounds.
The Skewer is a Power Breech-Load Sniper Rifle, effective at Long range.
The Skewer fires a shield-piercing spike, meaning it can do additional damage to a target after breaking the target's shields.
It can kill a Spartan in one shot anywhere on the body.
It uses two zoom levels like the S7 Sniper, though with less magnification than the respective levels on the S7 Sniper. Both levels are affected by descope when the user takes damage.
The Skewer has a magazine capacity of 1 rounds and an inventory ammo capacity of 7 rounds.
The VK78 Commando is a Kinetic Auto Tactical Rifle, effective at Mid range.
The VK78 Commando fires powerful bullets with high recoil in a decreasingly accurate way, with accuracy resetting after firing stops. It is highly accurate for the first few shots but becomes harder to control the longer firing continues.
It can kill a Spartan in 7 shots: 6 to break shields, followed by one headshot.
It uses a 3.0x zoom scope, which is affected by descope when the user takes damage.
The VK78 Commando has a magazine capacity of 20 rounds and an inventory ammo capacity of 120 rounds.