Post by {AB}Sweeper on Oct 23, 2006 12:39:01 GMT -5
this is the follow on to "never fear, multiplayer help is here"
Covenant Weapons
Plasma Rifle
The Covenant plasma rifle fires a blast of energy at an enemy. It can fire a single blast by clicking the mouse button, or can fire in automatic mode by holding the button down for a second.
It is a great weapon, doing excellent damage against Covenant troops, although it is less effective against Humans or Flood. It is much more accurate than its UNSC counterpart, the assault rifle, and its shots can stun an opponent, slowing them down momentarily.
There are a couple of drawbacks to the plasma rifle. It is alien technology, and UNSC forces aren't entirely certain how to operate it. As a result, it cannot be reloaded. Once the energy reserves that were in it when you found it are used up, it becomes a useless piece of scrap. Furthermore, it is prone to overheating. If you fire it rapidly for more than a few seconds, the plasma rifle will overheat, deactivating itself until it has cooled. In the middle of a firefight, this can be a bad, bad thing.
Because of the limited ammo supply in the plasma rifle, you should grab a new one every chance you get.
Plasma Pistol
A smaller version of the plasma rifle, the plasma pistol might seem like an ineffective weapon at first, but it does have some charms all its own.
The regular, primary fire is almost useless. It fires slowly, the plasma moves slowly, and doesn't do much damage. You can, however, by holding down the attack button for a few seconds, create an overcharged ball of plasma that will home in on its target. Doing this seriously drains the pistol's ammunition, but the bolt will do serious damage to the shields of an Elite or Jackal, and can take down a Sentinel in with a single shot. If you like melee attacks, the plasma pistol allows you to swing very rapidly, great for whacking a bunch of Spores.
Like the plasma rifle, this weapon cannot be reloaded, which is why the energy drain from the charged shot is such a big drawback.
Needler
The needler is a Covenant weapon that fires a fully automatic barrage of tiny, explosive projectiles. The projectiles have a limited homing ability, making them particularly deadly against stationary or slow targets, and give an advantage against enemies that tend to dodge fire from other weapons.
The needler, unlike most other Covenant weapons, can be reloaded via a traditional magazine. This helps to ensure that it remains useful. Its projectiles are fairly weak, and cannot penetrate most armor. This makes the needler almost completely useless against Hunters, Jackals, and vehicles.
Fuel Rod Gun
The fuel rod gun is only available to the player in multiplayer mode (again, PC version only), although you will have seen it quite often in the single-player campaign; it is the weapon carried by Hunters and by some Black Grunts.
It has only one fire mode, lobbing an explosive ball of plasma a great distance with a curving trajectory. This is not a close-combat weapon, as the splash damage can hit the person firing as well as their enemies. Think of the fuel rod as you would a mortar; as a great, indirect fire, support weapon.
The fuel rod gun is a fantastic long-range defensive weapon. You can easily cover a bottleneck leading to your base from a safe distance.
Having a person with a fuel rod gun at your base in a team game can make it difficult for your opponents to approach. The curving trajectory means that a shooter can remain behind cover and still make a canyon or pass an explosive deathtrap. It can fire five shots in quick succession (at which point it overheats and becomes useless for a few seconds).
The biggest problem is the same one that applies to other energy weapons in Halo. It cannot be reloaded, and must be discarded when empty. Still, you can get thirty or so shots out of a fully-charged gun.
Plasma Grenade
Plasma grenades are balls of plasma that can be thrown just like a regular fragmentation grenade, exploding a few seconds after it lands. The resulting explosion is extremely effective against Covenant troops.
Most Covenant troops will actively flee a plasma grenade if they notice it, making it extremely effective for flushing enemies out of cover. Its long fuse (three seconds) and the tendency of enemies to flee make it a challenge, at times, to hit enemies. Luckily, both Elites and Grunts (as well as Flood Warriors) drop plasma grenades regularly, allowing you to use lots of them and not worry about running out.
The one big advantage of the plasma grenade over the UNSC equivalent is its ability to stick to targets. It will bounce off of walls like any other grenade, but will stick to an enemy or vehicle, doing a ton of damage when it goes off. Be careful, though, as some enemies will charge you when you get too close. If they have a grenade stuck to them, you may share their fate. It is also worth noting that plasma grenades flung by enemies can stick to you, and will normally always kill you when they go off; there is no way to remove the grenade once it is stuck
Covenant Weapons
Plasma Rifle
The Covenant plasma rifle fires a blast of energy at an enemy. It can fire a single blast by clicking the mouse button, or can fire in automatic mode by holding the button down for a second.
It is a great weapon, doing excellent damage against Covenant troops, although it is less effective against Humans or Flood. It is much more accurate than its UNSC counterpart, the assault rifle, and its shots can stun an opponent, slowing them down momentarily.
There are a couple of drawbacks to the plasma rifle. It is alien technology, and UNSC forces aren't entirely certain how to operate it. As a result, it cannot be reloaded. Once the energy reserves that were in it when you found it are used up, it becomes a useless piece of scrap. Furthermore, it is prone to overheating. If you fire it rapidly for more than a few seconds, the plasma rifle will overheat, deactivating itself until it has cooled. In the middle of a firefight, this can be a bad, bad thing.
Because of the limited ammo supply in the plasma rifle, you should grab a new one every chance you get.
Plasma Pistol
A smaller version of the plasma rifle, the plasma pistol might seem like an ineffective weapon at first, but it does have some charms all its own.
The regular, primary fire is almost useless. It fires slowly, the plasma moves slowly, and doesn't do much damage. You can, however, by holding down the attack button for a few seconds, create an overcharged ball of plasma that will home in on its target. Doing this seriously drains the pistol's ammunition, but the bolt will do serious damage to the shields of an Elite or Jackal, and can take down a Sentinel in with a single shot. If you like melee attacks, the plasma pistol allows you to swing very rapidly, great for whacking a bunch of Spores.
Like the plasma rifle, this weapon cannot be reloaded, which is why the energy drain from the charged shot is such a big drawback.
Needler
The needler is a Covenant weapon that fires a fully automatic barrage of tiny, explosive projectiles. The projectiles have a limited homing ability, making them particularly deadly against stationary or slow targets, and give an advantage against enemies that tend to dodge fire from other weapons.
The needler, unlike most other Covenant weapons, can be reloaded via a traditional magazine. This helps to ensure that it remains useful. Its projectiles are fairly weak, and cannot penetrate most armor. This makes the needler almost completely useless against Hunters, Jackals, and vehicles.
Fuel Rod Gun
The fuel rod gun is only available to the player in multiplayer mode (again, PC version only), although you will have seen it quite often in the single-player campaign; it is the weapon carried by Hunters and by some Black Grunts.
It has only one fire mode, lobbing an explosive ball of plasma a great distance with a curving trajectory. This is not a close-combat weapon, as the splash damage can hit the person firing as well as their enemies. Think of the fuel rod as you would a mortar; as a great, indirect fire, support weapon.
The fuel rod gun is a fantastic long-range defensive weapon. You can easily cover a bottleneck leading to your base from a safe distance.
Having a person with a fuel rod gun at your base in a team game can make it difficult for your opponents to approach. The curving trajectory means that a shooter can remain behind cover and still make a canyon or pass an explosive deathtrap. It can fire five shots in quick succession (at which point it overheats and becomes useless for a few seconds).
The biggest problem is the same one that applies to other energy weapons in Halo. It cannot be reloaded, and must be discarded when empty. Still, you can get thirty or so shots out of a fully-charged gun.
Plasma Grenade
Plasma grenades are balls of plasma that can be thrown just like a regular fragmentation grenade, exploding a few seconds after it lands. The resulting explosion is extremely effective against Covenant troops.
Most Covenant troops will actively flee a plasma grenade if they notice it, making it extremely effective for flushing enemies out of cover. Its long fuse (three seconds) and the tendency of enemies to flee make it a challenge, at times, to hit enemies. Luckily, both Elites and Grunts (as well as Flood Warriors) drop plasma grenades regularly, allowing you to use lots of them and not worry about running out.
The one big advantage of the plasma grenade over the UNSC equivalent is its ability to stick to targets. It will bounce off of walls like any other grenade, but will stick to an enemy or vehicle, doing a ton of damage when it goes off. Be careful, though, as some enemies will charge you when you get too close. If they have a grenade stuck to them, you may share their fate. It is also worth noting that plasma grenades flung by enemies can stick to you, and will normally always kill you when they go off; there is no way to remove the grenade once it is stuck
