Plasma Pistol (Dual Wield)

The plasma pistol is the most basic weapon in the Covenent armory, but it's still going to be more worthwhile to you than the default USNC pistol. The plasma pistol fires energy bolts at your enemies, and more rapidly than the pistol does. Each individual bolt does a light amount of damage, making this default firing method useful only against weak enemies like Grunts.
However, if you press and hold the trigger, you can charge the plasma pistol and fire a supercharged burst of energy. This can be used to instantly drop the shields on a target, allowing you to finish them off by switching to another, more powerful weapon, like the battle rifle. This attack has light homing capabilities, so it'll usually hit an enemy unless they actually try to dodge away from it. You can keep the trigger depressed as long as you like, but the longer you hold it down, the more energy you'll drain from the battery reserves. This doesn't result in a super-charged weapon; it just means that you lose ammo. Each charged shot automatically drains 10 ammo from the weapon anyway, so if you can't fire these charged shots quickly, you'll probably only manage to get a couple of them off before running out of ammo.

Carbine

As far as light ranged weapons go, the carbine is a decent tool for taking down distant, lightly armored enemies. There isn't much to say about it: when you fire, a round will quickly travel to your target. The fire is almost perfectly accurate at any range, and you can fire the weapon while scoped. Unfortunately, the carbine does fairly light damage, so you'll need a lot of shots to take down anything hardier than a Grunt. The rate of fire is also somewhat limited, so if you have the choice, you'll probably want to use a battle rifle instead of the carbine. If you need distance fire, however, and nothing better is available, the accuracy of the carbine will be good to have.

Plasma Rifle (Dual Wield)


Another iconic Halo weapon, the Plasma Rifle will be a trusty weapon in the hands of any soldier. It rapidly fires plasma bolts at your targets, causing their shields to fall just as rapidly. It won't do as much damage against flesh as a bullet-based weapon would, but it'll still finish them off quickly, especially if you can find a pair of them to dual-wield. Just keep in mind that firing them for too long will cause them to overheat, and you'll have to wait a few seconds for them to cool down before you can fire again, leaving you quite vulnerable.

Brute Spiker (Dual Wield)

The Brute spiker is something of a baby version of the Brute shot, at least in appearance; it has the same curved blade on the underside. However, it fires in a much different manner. Instead of firing grenades, it fires spikes which pierce your foes and deal damage. It fires rapidly, and can be dual-wielded, making it the Covenent counterpart to the USNC submachinegun, and it has enough rounds in a clip (40) to allow it to be fired for five or six straight seconds without needing to be reloaded. It's a decent weapon, but requires you to be pretty close to your targets to hit them, due to the spread of gunfire.

Needler

The needler is back in Halo 3, and as powerful as ever, at least in the singleplayer campaign mode. One of the big changes in Halo 3 is that the needler can no longer be dual-wielded; you're restricted to one needler at a time now.



The needler fires multiple small explosive strikes that will home in on a target if fired in their general direction. Spikes do a bit of damage on impact, but then explode a few seconds later, causing a great deal more damage to the target and anyone nearby. One of the prime benefits of this method of firing is that you can unload an entire clip of needles pretty rapidly, letting you fire on a Brute before ducking back under cover. Both the rate of fire and reload rate are very fast here, meaning that you can unload a lot of damage pretty quickly, but that you'll run out of ammo pretty quickly.
The needler is a bit more useful in singleplayer than in multiplayer, since your enemies will be more likely to stand still and let you shoot them, while in multiplayer you will probably only want to use this in close-range combat against enemies that have nowhere to hide, which is a situation that won't occur very often. Note also that the needles will burn themselves out after a hundred feet or so, making this weapon useless at long ranges.

Brute Shot

The favored weapons of the Brutes, the brute shot is a portable grenade launcher that can deal explosive damage over a small area of effect when fired. Unfortunately, the area of effect is very small, so you can't expect to take out multiple enemies with this weapon unless you're firing into a group of Grunts. Against larger enemies, brute shot grenades can be useful to blast the armor off of Brutes, but it can be difficult to hit enemies at any decent range due to the slowness of the grenades in the air. If you must use the Brute shot, try to aim downwards at enemies below you to ensure that they have a better chance of taking splash damage from it. Note that although the grenades appear to fly in a straight line, they will actually dip into a slight arc if fired at extremely distant targets.
The brute shot does possess a mighty blade attachment that will let you kill almost any enemy in one melee blow, excepting Brutes themselves. If you find yourself in a melee situation, this isn't a bad weapon to have handy, but keep in mind that firing grenades at short range will damage you as well, since you'll be in the area of effect.

Gravity Hammer

The gravity hammer is a rare weapon, and only dropped by powerful Brute chieftans. If you manage to pick one up, though, you can swing it into the ground by tapping the right trigger, which will cause area-of-effect damage to all nearby foes. If you manage to hit an opponent with a swing, you'll usually instantly kill them, although of course high-level Brutes and hunters will be the exception to this. You can also swing the hammer into the ground and jump immediately before you do so to increase your jump height slightly.

Beam Rifle

The Covenent version of the sniper rifle is the beam rifle. Unlike the sniper rifle, it doesn't use ammo, so it requires no reloading, but it does have a finite number of shots in it (20 if you find a fully-charged weapon). It also can't be fired very quickly; if you attempt to rapid-fire it, it'll overheat and take a few seconds to cool down before it can be fired again. Apart from that, it's a fine weapon; find a distant enemy and send a little love his way if you find one.

Energy Sword




The Energy Sword, long a favorite in close-quarters multiplayer, returns to Halo 3 as good as ever. When you have this weapon equipped, you can kill pretty much anything in one blow, whether you use it with a melee attack (B button) or attempt to use the charge manuever that's bound to the right trigger. The charge is most helpful in multiplayer, especially on the intimate, smaller maps, as it'll let you close in on a target before he sees what's coming. Having the energy sword out and in your hand will put an immediate target on your head, so don't be surprised if you suddenly become the center of attention while wielding it.

Mauler (Dual Wield)

Another new weapon in Halo 3 is the mauler, a simple single-handed shotgun that can be dual-wielded. The spread from the fire here is extreme, making it impossible to hit anything that's not right in front of you. The power level also seems to be lacking compared to other weapons. If you're fighting in extremely tight corridors, then this can be useful to finish off a foe after you drop his shields, but apart from that you probably won't want to bother with it.

Fuel Rod Gun

The heaviest weapon in the Covenent arsenal is the fuel rod gun, which acts as a slightly weaker rocket launcher. When fired, the fuel rods quickly accelerate, but they're still somewhat slow and dodgeable while in the air. What's more, they're highly noticeable when they fly, since the projectiles become large and green when they're in the air. Most enemies will have little trouble dodging them if you fire at range.
That, and the fact that the FRG can hold five rounds of ammo in a clip, makes it best used as an up-close anti-personnel weapon. The splash damage is there, but not as big as the rocket launcher, making you less likely to hit yourself with it, and you can fire the rounds fairly rapidly, letting you finish off wounded foes without a problem. The slow speed of the projectiles makes it more difficult to take out enemy vehicles with the FRG, but if you're close enough or approaching from behind, it's quite doable.

Heavy Weapons


Machinegun Turret / Plasma Turret

When you spot a turret in the game world, you're able to use it, sure, but that's for plebians. Real men gird their loins and rip the damn things right off their moorings, then shove them down their enemy's throats, cleaving their bodies in two.
Well, some of that's correct; you can rip a turret off of its base by pressing RB to use it, then tapping B. Some turrets will also be found on the ground, or in the hands of Brute Chieftans. Using a turret in your hands will let you dish out a lot of power, but it will greatly curtail your ability to move, so you'll be more easy to hit while you wield one. You also won't be able to make a melee attack or throw a grenade until you drop the weapon.

Missile Pod

The missile pod is intended to be your anti-vehicle weapon. When you pick it up and aim at a vehicle, it'll instantly lock on, letting you rapidly fire homing missiles at your target. These are quick enough to take down Banshees, but also excel when used against ground vehicles.

Flamethrower


The flamethrower is one of the rarest weapons in the campaign, only appearing three or four times in the entire game, and being easy to miss at that. It first made its appearance in the Halo canon in Halo 2 for the PC, and now appears on consoles for the first time. As you may be able to tell from the title, this is a flamethrower; it shoots flammable gel a few meters from your position, causing instant and extreme damage to most foes that you manage to hit with it. Unfortunately, since it slows you down so much, it's difficult to use well on mobile enemies. The flames stick around for a few seconds after hitting an enemy or the floor, so you also need to be wary of using it if you think you might be walking through the flames; they'll burn you just as well as your foes.

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