Image via Complex Original
SPARTAN soldiers are frequently alone, usually outnumbered, and always in danger of losing their lives. They've got precious few advantages in their endless fight against superior foes: their shielded MJOLNIR armor, their excellent propensity for teamwork, their own resourcefulness—it's a short list. But there's one more big one: an arsenal unlike any other.
What started as a modest but versatile assortment of unique guns in the original Halo blossomed into a massive collection of powerful, colorful, and impossible weapons. We've all got our favorites, like the trusty Battle Rifle or the surprisingly Plasma Pistol. What about the devastating Energy Sword or the clandestine, almost mythical Scarab Gun?
Herein we document our 20 favorite weapons from the Halo universe, spanning all six games released so far in the main shooter series. What are yours?
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Grenade Launcher
Appears in: Halo: Reach
The grenade launcher can take some getting used to, but it packs a punch for those who know how to use it. It does more than simply lob an exploding projectile—if you hold down the fire button, you can determine exactly when the grenade explodes.
Let go of the trigger as the projectile is flying by an enemy's head and they're toast. Even a direct hit may kill another player. And to top it off the grenades let out a burst of EMP, crippling vehicles.
Sticky Detonator
Appears in: Halo 4
The Sticky Detonator essentially took the place of the Grenade Launcher from Halo: Reach; it takes a whole lot of skill to wield, but for talented players it's practically a guaranteed kill.
Instead of holding down the trigger and releasing when you want the projectile to explode (like with the older grenade launcher), you squeeze once to fire and again to detonate. If you time it right you can catch enemies and vehicles in the explosion, but they don't call it the "sticky" detonator for nothing—hit something dead-on and the grenade will stick to them, spelling instant death.
Mauler
Appears in: Halo 3, Halo 3: ODST
The Mauler was a fun new toy for all the shotty aficionados going into Halo 3. Prior to that there was only one shotgun, and it was nice to get something new, even if it was less powerful.
Of course, the Mauler's lack of power was offset by the fact that you could use two at the same time using Halo's old dual-wielding feature. By itself it was useless, but with one Mauler in each hand the results of close-quarters battles were all but predetermined.
Incineration Cannon
Appears in: Halo 4
This Promethean incinerator is an absolute beast. It's even more powerful than the traditional rocket launcher, and it packs an additional surprise in the form of several ancillary projectiles that blossom out from the initial impact point.
So even if your enemies avoid the initial blast, one of the secondary energy wads may well clip them—and it's a one hit kill, no questions asked. It even makes them disintigrate like awesome, and it's killer aginst vehicles too.
Assault Rifle
Appears in: Halo: Combat Evolved, Halo 3, Halo 3: ODST, Halo: Reach, Halo 4
Halo 2 was the only game in the series that didn't feature some variation of the Assault Rifle, and fans of the spray-and-pray Grunt-mower-downer made sure to let Bungie know how unhappy they were about that fact.
It's appeared in every game since then, and though its specifications changed many times one thing is always the same: it's one of the most fun weapons in the series.
Scarab Gun
Appears in: Halo 2, Halo: Reach (maybe?)
The Scarab Gun is one of the worst kept secrets in the Halo universe. It was included at multiple points in Halo 2, and though the designers thought it would take players forever to find it, in reality it only took about a week.
Don't let the Scarab Gun's appearance fool you. It's not easy to get, but once it's in your hands you've got the power of a portable Scarab tank at your disposal. The only thing harder than finding it is using it without killing yourself because there's so much splash damage. But is there really one in Halo: Reach too? We've never seen any hard evidence, but the question remains.
SAW
Appeared in: Halo 4
The SAW was one of the finest additions to Halo 4. At first it seemed like a minor upgrade over the typical spray-'n-pray weapons of Halo, but in reality the SAW is truly overpowered.
Against any standard weapon—Storm Rifle, DMR, Battle Rifle, Assault Rifle, Carbine, etc.—the SAW will win every time. Its damage output is simply unmatched by any other bullet hose in the series, save the heavy machine guns mounted on tripods and on vehicles.
Railgun
Appears in: Halo 4
The Railgun was another great addition when 343 Industries took over for Bungie on Halo 4. A human weapon, the Railgun walks a fine line between standard and power weapon, with long lists of both pros and cons.
It's got a short charge time, but when you do get a shot off it's a one hit kill. The lack of a scope makes it difficult to aim, but even if you miss you can sometimes get lucky with splash damage. And because it takes so much skill to use it even packs a bit of a "wow" factor.
Sniper Rifle
Appears in: Halo: Combat Evolved, Halo 2, Halo 3, Halo 3: ODST, Halo: Reach, Halo 4
The Sniper Rifle is one of the mainstays of the Halo series and an easy choice for power players. One-hit-kill headshots without fail? Two-hit body kills? A massive scope? Sign us up.
When you spot the signature smoke trail that follows the Halo sniper's shot, chances are you'll already dead or running madly for cover. And in the event you meet a player who's mastered the art of the no-scope, you may as well just lay down your controller and go make a sandwich.
DMR
Appears in: Halo: Reach, Halo 4
The Designated Marksman Rifle was Bungie's attempt to replace the Battle Rifle, which was too powerful to allow any other weapons to compete. And although it doesn't dominate the battlefield like the Battle Rifle did before it, the DMR is quite powerful in the right hands.
The single shots provide greater precision than the Battle Rifle three round burst, and the DMR became even better after its reticle "bloom" was fixed. Even in Halo 4, which features both the DMR and the Battle Rifle, it's still the starter of choice for many players.
Spartan Laser
Appears in: Halo 3, Halo 3: ODST, Halo: Reach, Halo 4
The Spartan Laser is one of the most unique weapons in the Halo universe. It packs a massive punch, but it needs significant charge-up time to fire. It also has extremely limited ammo and telegraphs users' positions as soon as they start to use it.
When used with skill, though, it's a force of destruction. Players driving vehicles will bail out as soon as they see that telltale red laser sight, and by then it's usually too late.
Flamethrower
Appears in: Halo: Combat Evolved (PC version), Halo 3, Halo 3: ODST
The flamethrower never saw much use, even in the games it was in, but in the right situation it could prove devastating. And it was just plain awesome to spray liquid fire all over your opponents, even if it slowed you down and painted a massive target on your back.
Plus those shark teeth. You've got to love the decal.
Firebomb
Appeared in: Halo 3, Halo 3: ODST
The incendiary grenade appeared only in the two Halo 3 titles, which featured the most grenades of any of the Halo games. Along with the underrated but slightly underpowered Spike Grenade, it added some new twists to the frag/plasma combo that had been included previously.
The nice thing about the firebomb grenade was that it was completely overpowered: nail someone in its radius and it was practically a guaranteed kill.
Shotgun
Appears in: Halo: Combat Evolved, Halo 2, Halo 3, Halo 3: ODST, Halo: Reach, Halo 4
Good old shotgun. It was both our favorite toy and the bane of our existence in the original Halo, and that has yet to change. Up close the shotty is absolutely devastating, and a talented player can own entire matches using it point-blank against his or her enemies.
But get any further away and you might as well be holding a super soaker for all its effectiveness. Still, most of the time it's a trade-off we're willing to make.
Battle Rifle
Appears in: Halo 2, Halo 3, Halo 3: ODST, Halo 4
The Battle Rifle is one of the most controversial weapons in Halo history. Its three-round burst fire mode is devastating at medium to long distances, its clip is massive, and it was the starter weapon for most maps in Halo 2 and Halo 3.
How is that controversial? Well, the BR was so damn good that it made every other weapon obsolete just by virtue of its existence. If you weren't using the Battle Rifle in Halo 2 and Halo 3, then you weren't competing.
Needler
Appears in: Halo: Combat Evolved, Halo 2, Halo 3, Halo 3: ODST, Halo: Reach, Halo 4
The Needler is not the most powerful gun in Halo, but it may be the coolest. It spews crystal pink projectiles that home in on enemies, exploding once enough have embedded themselves in their flesh.
It's gone through more revisions than possibly any other series mainstay, including a mediocre duel-wielding stint in Halo 2, but the current version in Halo 4 can be positively devilish under the right circumstances.
Energy Sword
Appeared in: Halo 2, Halo 3, Halo 3: ODST, Halo: Reach, Halo 4
So the Energy Sword technically appeared in Halo: Combat Evolved, but it wasn't usable, since it burned up as soon as enemies dropped it. The revelation that you'd be able to use it in Halo 2 was a great moment for Halo fans.
From there the sword dominated million of multiplayer matches. Its presence isn't as large in Halo 4 thanks to a more well-balanced arsenal overall, but the sword can still be a killing machine in the right hands.
Plasma Pistol
Appears in: Halo: Combat Evolved, Halo 2, Halo 3, Halo 3: ODST, Halo: Reach, Halo 4
There are only a handful of weapons that have appeared in every single Halo game to date, but for the most part there's a reason they have. In the case of the Plasma Pistol, it's because they're awesome.
To be fair, the pistol is useless unless you're charging it up. Ever since the first game, you could use it to drain the energy shields of opponents and follow up with a grenade or headshot for a quick kill. Over the years the Plasma Pistol gained the ability to take out vehicles, too, and though it's been nerfed slightly with more easily depleted ammo, it's still our go-to secondary weapon.
Plasma Grenade
Appears in: Halo: Combat Evolved, Halo 2, Halo 3, Halo 3: ODST, Halo: Reach, Halo 4
Like the Plasma Pistol, the Plasma Grenade appears in every Halo game to date. Thank goodness, too—it certainly wouldn't feel as much like Halo without it.
Plenty of games featured grenades before the original Halo, but Bungie's decision to make them always available at a squeeze of the trigger, rather than a separate weapon you had to put away your gun to use, was pure genius. Then they made that grenade stick to enemies, and all was right with the world.
The Original Pistol
Appeared in: Halo: Combat Evolved
Every Halo game has featured a pistol, but none was as devastatingly fantastic as the original pistol in Halo: Combat Evolved. The Assault Rifle had its moments, like mowing down grunts or Flood infector forms, but the pistol was the real star of the show.
With a medium-range scope and ridiculous stopping power, it was the only weapon true Halo players needed. Bungie and 343 subsequently tried to replace it with the Battle Rifle, the DMR, and even a new, more balanced pistol, but while we love what Halo 4 has to offer, we'll always remember the original with the most fondness.