Covenant Weaponry
From Halopedia, the Halo Wiki
- See also: Development of Covenant Weapons
The Covenant boast a large arsenal of weapons: Most of them plasma-based. Most of the Covenant's weaponry uses a form of magnetic channeling that the Human race has only applied in the MAC gun aboard starships and the Warthog-mounted M68 Gauss Cannon and the M99 Sniper Rifle.
Plasma-based weaponry is very effective against energy shielding and body armor. The amount of shots that can be fired tends to be very high, but power cannot be recharged and by firing many or powered shots in a short duration can cause the weapon to overheat, which reduces energy efficiency as well as forcing a temporary cooling period in which the weapon cannot be fired. Once the plasma reserves are used up, the weapon is useless.
[edit] Native Covenant Weapons
[edit] Type-51 Carbine
The Carbine is a high-powered midrange projectile weapon. While using a similar mechanism to the Fuel Rod Gun in that it fires explosive radioactive ammunition, the Carbine is more of a medium-high range rifle than anything else. It could be seen as an answer to the Human BR55 Battle Rifle. However, it only fires one shot per squeeze of the trigger. This could be the reason why there is a rival weapon. While its origins remain unconfirmed, it is sufficiently different from most other Forerunner and Covenant weapons that it can be assumed to be an Elite design. However, its capabilities as a weapon depend heavily on the wielder's accuracy; six or seven head shots can kill an Elite, but body-shots are barely half as effective. It is the primary weapon of Heretic Elites. This weapon is sometimes used by Jackals in Halo 2 and Halo 3 as sniping weapons.
[edit] Type-33 Light Anti-Armor Weapon
The Fuel Rod Gun, is used by the most of the Covenant species. It is carried on the shoulders of many SpecOps Grunts and a modified version is directly attached on the right arm of Hunters. [1] The FRG from Halo: Combat Evolved fires a blast of plasma in an arc, exploding like a mortar. The Fuel Rod Gun, is also not player usable in Halo: Combat Evolved, but is usable in Halo: Custom Edition for mutiplayer combat. While the Hunter weapons in Halo 2 did use fuel rods, it was as a source of energy rather than as ammunition. These weapons can also be mounted on ships. An example is the Banshee in Halo: Combat Evolved, Halo 2 and Halo 3, which fires an explosive plasma projectile following an arc. It's a good weapon in the hands of a expert, but their is a draw back, when fired the projectile can bounce off an object if you fire too close and the projectile is slow compared to the human jack hammer rocket launcher. And since it is slow make sure you shoot about 2 to 3 rounds at a target. Then watch it sort of track the target. The tracking system is good until you fire at a fast moving target then you have a problem. For some reason, or another the tracking system can hit a slow target or one off guard, but at a fast moving target or one that dodged it can't follow the movement and it would just miss. The fuel rod gun has a 5 round clip loaded from the top and the shots, when fired, don't turn to plasma shots immediately but after a few seconds then turn into plasma. It's possibly a safety precaution in case of a misfire towards an object very close to the user, since this would cause the user to explode.
[edit] Type-1 Energy Weapon/Sword
Favored by Elites, the Energy Sword is one of the most powerful weapons, in the trilogy. It was called the Plasma Sword in Halo: Combat Evolved. While the blade is composed of plasma, the sword's hilt is a magnetic field generator which projects two envelopes of magnetic energy, which contain the sword's plasma. Because the sword is plasma, held in place by a magnetic field, energy swords cannot cut through each other because plasma cannot cut through plasma and the magnetic fields would repel at extremely close range. In this manner, the sword's blade is both an "energy" and a "plasma" sword. As seen in Halo: Combat Evolved, only the Elites bear the sword and the Elites who bear them are usually Zealot Elites (Halo 1) or Ultra Elites (Halo 2). One hit from an Energy Sword in Normal difficulty and above can instantly kill a player. In Halo 1, the Master Chief cannot pick up an Energy Sword, as its self-destruct failsafe engages when it is dropped; however, in Halo 2 and Halo 3, both the Master Chief and the Arbiter can pick it up and use it. It has a fatal lunge attack, which will kill a normally shielded opponent on contact. The energy sword is three ft long. In some animations, pictures, and the Halo Graphic Novel of Elites with two swords either just activate the swords, already got them out, or tearing Flood from the Graphic Novel to pieces.
 Energy Sword in Halo: Combat Evolved. |
 Energy Sword in Halo 2. |
 Energy Sword in Halo 3. |
[edit] Type-33 Guided Munitions Launcher
Based on a Jackal melee weapon, the Needler uses a small, football-shaped crystal that seems to function as the "clip". In Halo: Combat Evolved, the spikes have a sort of a bluish glow, while Halo 2 and 3 have pink.[2] The Needler was in all the Halo games, but in Halo 2 it was dual-wieldable, while in Halo: Combat Evolved and in Halo 3 the player can only wield one. It was removed from being dual-wieldable in Halo 3 because it was too powerful. The Needler fires semi-homing crystal shards that explode approximately two seconds after they come in contact with an organism or ten seconds after being launched and ignore most forms of personal energy shielding. The ammunition will also bounce off walls, filling the air with projectiles. While one explosion produces fairly light damage, several crystals exploding in succession can multiply the damage to fatal amounts. The Needler seems to be a modified version of an Enforcer's weapon and may have been directly reverse-engineered from it. It is the primary weapon of Heretic Grunts, a wise decision given their limited supplies and the weapon's usefulness against shielded enemies, though sometimes Covenant Grunts used the Needler. Several variants have been noted. Some are rifle-like, requiring two hands to carry, while others are light enough for one-handed use. In Halo: CE the Needler was slow to start firing but then it becomes faster. In Halo 2 it was fast the whole time. Then in Halo 3 it shoots so fast it takes only a few seconds to empty a clip. The Needler also has an extremely fast reload. The capacity of one clip in Halo: Combat Evolved was 20, in Halo 2 it was 30 and in Halo 3 it is 19. The needles explode faster in each sequel.
[edit] Type-25 Directed Energy Pistol
The Plasma Pistol is normally used by lower level units such as the Grunts, Drones and Jackals. Elites are also mentioned several times in the books to use them. The weapon's primary mode is a semi-auto single burst in which it fires small plasma orbs. However, the trigger can be held to charge the weapon to varying degrees, including an overloaded state. This mode allows the weapon to fire a powerful semi-homing burst of plasma which is far more effective against energy shielding, normally bringing it down completely. The pistol then temporarily stops working as it dumps excess heat from its plasma core. One overload shot will generally destroy a Sentinel. The plasma reserves will drop much faster when constantly overloading bursts. Three models of the plasma pistol have been observed in the series. One can quickly fire powerful semi-automatic bolts, but overcharges are inaccurate and slow-moving. Another model is weak to the point of uselessness in semiautomatic mode, but its overcharge is dangerously accurate, although it does little harm to organic objects. The third is a balance between the two, firing fairly damaging bolts at a decent rate. Its overcharge does considerable damage to electrical systems, and can actually disable vehicles for a short period of time. The downside: as long as the pistol is overcharged, its plasma reserves will drain (only in Halo 3). On the other hand, use this against highly shielded enemies and you're likely to succeed. In Halo 2, an easy way to kill enemies is to let out a charged bolt at the enemy to kill his shields, then use a Battle Rifle to finish him off. It can be done in Halo 3 as well, but not so often as the plasma bolt no longer follows the target, as it did in Halo 2.
[edit] Type-25 Directed Energy Rifle
Due to its large size, the Plasma Rifle is normally only used by the Elites, although you may give it to Grunts in Halo 2. The plasma rifle has two rates of fire; semi-auto and full-auto. Semi-auto fires single bolts, and allows the weapon much more time to cool. Full-auto is activated if the trigger is held, increasing the rate of fire but drastically reducing accuracy. Like all plasma weapons, it will overheat after several shots are fired in succession, and be useless once the plasma is used up,(aside for it being used as a club) and needs to be recharged at a recharge station mentioned in the books, although there is no evidence that there are any in the games. Some variants appear to affect the nervous system of the target, effectively stunning an enemy who is continuous attacked. This is a primary weapon to Elites. In Halo 2 & Halo 3 sometimes the Elites will use either dual-wield them, and if an Elite or Brute has one then a Flood will have it when they are infected. The cooling system is bad in Halo CE because you fire fast but it takes about ten seconds to fully cool down. In Halo 2 it is more powerful and dual-wieldable. In Halo 3 you can do the same as in Halo 2 but the gun fires and cools down more quickly but it still will overheat after extended firing. When against enemies one of the best ways to kill them is with a dual plasma rifle, or by meleeing them in the back. This is also a great weapon when going up close and personal.
[edit] Type-1 Antipersonnel Grenade
The Covenant Plasma Grenade is one of the more clever weapons in the game. The grenade has an unknown internal mechanism which enables it to distinguish between scenery and opponents. Furthermore, once activated, its outer layer converts to plasma, enabling it to fuse to whatever it impacts. This horrifying effect makes it both a deadly and dreaded weapon. It has a three-second fuse before detonation, so once one has been stuck they can either charge the throwing player to attempt to catch them in the blast, or finish off the thrower of the grenade using their weapons, but will still die afterwards (altered multiplayer traits notwithstanding). The plasma grenade has a tendency of blowing up other grenades around it.
[edit] Type-50 Sniper Rifle System
The Particle Beam Rifle or Beam Rifle is the Covenant equivalent of the S2-AM Sniper Rifle. The Beam Rifle has scope ranges of 5X and 10X. Although it is not plasma-based, it has an advantage over the Human Sniper Rifle as there is no manual reload. However, the corresponding disadvantage is that it overheats after 2 shots in quick succession and must cool down before continued use. With a unique scope that is different from the human sniper rifle, it is as accurate as the human equivalent. It can fire up to 20 successive shots. Shots that overheat the weapon use up slightly more of the battery, so overheating the weapon will result in fewer shots. While generally only used by Jackal Snipers, some Special Ops Elites have been known to use the weapon. It should also be noted that in Halo 3 Brutes have been seen wielding this weapon.
[edit] Shade
The Shade is a stationary gun turret, manned in third-person like a vehicle. It is mostly used by heavy Grunts. The Shade's consist of a stand and a floating mobile turret-like seating with control systems to its gun. The gun fires three fairly slow, high powered bolts of plasma which can travel long distances before cooling. Extremely effective against most opponents, but can be risky to use against large numbers of enemies. This is found in Halo: Combat Evolved with a open top and bipod and Halo 3 with the closed ball. Both versions have a small round gravity lift which keeps the seat off the ground.
[edit] Type-52 Directed Energy Support Weapon
The Plasma Cannon comes in two variants: Portable and Stationary (Shade). Portable Plasma Cannons are light and compact. Gunner and Special Ops Grunts often carry them into battle on their shoulders. When they enter combat, they deploy the Cannon and use its high-energy plasma to lay down suppressing fire. However, the Cannon cannot be repacked and carried away once it has been used. It bears a strong resemblance to the plasma cannons mounted on the Ghost and to the Wraith plasma cannons. But if one is nearby then it would be a good idea to get on it and tear it off if there are a lot of attackers around. In Halo 3 the player can rip the turret from its stand to use as a support weapon, albeit with limited ammo and decreased accuracy. It is not on any map by default.
[edit] Brute Weapons
[edit] Type-2 Antipersonnel Fragmentation Grenade
Better known as the Spike Grenade, the Type-2 AP FG is a high-powered grenade packed with high-explosive. Bearing a slight resemblance to the German "Stiel-Handgrenate", but with a large amount of spikes on it, the spike grenade is much more deadly. Like the plasma grenade, the spike grenade is able to adhere to enemies and vehicles, but unlike the plasma grenade, the spike grenade will stick to any surface, by virtue of the massive spikes that give it its name. After roughly two seconds, the grenade will explode in a cone-shaped blast, launching nail-like shrapnel at lethal speeds. This a good grenade for ambushes as it sticks to walls
[edit] Type-25 Grenade Launcher
The Brute Shot is a rocket-propelled grenade launcher exclusive to the Brutes. Two variants of it have been observed: one has a four-grenade clip, and its grenades ricochet off angled surfaces, becoming unpredictable and deadly. The other has a larger clip, and its grenades move faster, exploding on impact. While the two are so different in usage and power as to be different weapons, they are nearly identical to the untrained eye. This can also be counted as an anti-vehicle weapon and a "replacement" for a shotgun.
[edit] Brute Plasma Rifle
Similar to the Plasma Rifle; however, the Brute Plasma Rifle differs in several ways. It is red as opposed to the blue on the normal Plasma Rifles, it has a quicker rate of fire at the cost of overheating much more quickly, and it makes a slightly different firing sound. Its damage is the same as the Plasma Rifle, however, the accuracy is a lot worse than the Elite's version. The Brute Plasma Rifle was used by the Brutes under close watch by the Elites. It was replaced in Halo 3 by the Brute Spiker, possibly because it was too similar to the regular Plasma Rifle.
[edit] Type-25 Carbine
The effective replacement for the Brute Plasma Rifle. The Type-25 Carbine, is better known as the Spiker or Spike Rifle. The reason for this is easily apparent: instead of plasma or bullets, the weapon fires six-inch-long red hot spikes at a rapid rate. They cool like regular metal. A single well placed round can easily kill an unarmored human (as read in Halo: Contact Harvest). Although its primary use is suppression, similar to its UNSC counterpart, the M7 SMG, it is also a respectable weapon in its own right. While almost always used by Brutes due to its heavy weight, some Jackals have been known to use the weapon as a midrange rifle. It was also wielded by the Prophet Truth during a cut scene in Halo 3 in which Truth killed Miranda Keyes with the Spiker and Sergeant Johnson was forced to activate the rings. Like the Brute Shot, the Spiker features a bladed melee attack, in this case utilizing two knife-like blades attached below the barrel. When dual-wielded with the SMG, it is an ultimate combo. It also beats the Assault Rifle.
[edit] Type-2 Energy Weapon/Hammer
The Gravity Hammer is a weapon wielded by Chieftain Brutes. It is something of a rank symbol, similar to the Energy Sword for Elites; only the most important Brutes are permitted to wield Hammers. Although unusable in Halo 2, the Gravity Hammer is a full-usable weapon in Halo 3, although it differs from Tartarus's Fist of Rukt. Unlike the target-specific sword, however, the hammer does area-effect damage, harming or even killing multiple enemies at once. The hammer has not always had the ability to distort gravity, for in Contact Harvest the hammer was only made of stone and could only be used as a blunt weapon. The "modern" hammer can distort gravity to some extent, repelling grenades, rockets, and even vehicles with a single blow but it must timed just right
[edit] Type-52 Pistol
The Mauler is a Brute weapon, a mixture of revolver and a shotgun. While similar in theory and function to the UNSC M90 Shotgun, the Mauler is a lighter weapon that only requires one hand to wield. This means that stronger soldiers, in particular Spartans, can dual-wield the weapon to great effect. The Mauler shots do about half the damage of the human shotgun. A double-shot from a dual-wielded Mauler, or a shot and a quick melee, will kill an opponent with normal shields. It fires a spread-shot blast, and as a result has an extremely short range. A curved blade on the bottom allows for a potent melee attack. Maulers have a orange glow at the mouth of the gun, so try to take it out only at close range as enemies will tend to back off when they see you holding one, unless the have a more powerful weapon, such as the Shotgun or Energy Sword.
[edit] Type-3 Antipersonnel/Antimatériel Incendiary Grenade
The Type-3 AP/AM IG, better known as the Firebomb, is a weapon apparently exclusive to the Brutes. A glowing orange cylinder, the Firebomb explodes on impact, releasing flaming explosive gel from its insides. This gel, which burns at over twenty-two thousand degrees Celsius, will quickly burn out, but anyone foolish enough to stand in the initial, eight-foot blast radius (or brave the flames it leaves behind) will easily be consumed by the extreme heat. You can, as with every other type of grenade, hold only two of these. This weapon works like a miniature napalm bomb.
[edit] Other Weapons
[edit] Assault Cannon
These weapons are mounted on Hunters, and fire devastating beams of green ignited fuel like the normal Fuel Rod Cannon, and do tremendous damage. In Halo: CE Hunters have a shot version that is more like a bullet, not a beam. In Halo 2 however, the Hunters have Assault Beam Cannons that shoot beams. In Halo 3 the "beam" is actually more like a hose, and resembles a miniature Scarab Beam.
[edit] Gravity Cannon
Similar to the modified Assault Cannons integrated into the Hunters' armor, the gravity cannon fires a continuous beam for a few seconds, rather than single energy projectiles. It is reddish-gold instead of green like that of a Hunter. It is more powerful than a Fuel Rod Gun as well. Not much more is known about this weapon, except that it has only been used by Prophets, mounted into the throne-chair.
[edit] Energy Garrote
One of the Elites' special stealth weapons is the energy garrote. It is a small, two-piece cylinder that splits apart in the middle. A green energy arc appears between the two cylinders and is used to choke and burn an enemy quietly from behind. This can be considered a form of assassination.
[edit] Energy Cutlass
Jackal privateers were known to employ short, crystalline blades as a melee weapon. It was also used by other various Covenant forces. The pink, glass-like blade would explode when jammed into a target, much like the ammunition of Needlers, and was used in a manner similar to a machete. One could throw the cutlass into a target, and it would explode moments later.
[edit] Plasma Mortar
These stationary plasma mortars are the heavy siege weapons that the Covenant sometimes employ during invasions. Plasma mortar launchers are also equipped on Wraith tanks and on Covenant Air Artillery.
[edit] Energy Tether
Covenant soldiers have been known to use energy rope-like tethers to climb and descend steep surfaces.
[edit] Covenant Bomb
The Covenant employ large anti-matter bombs to destroy large targets and structures. The bomb is 3.21 meters long and covered in large "spines" that are presumably used to help keep the bomb lodged in the target long enough for it to explode. It is known by Bungie as "The Giant Covenant Space Pickle."
[edit] Energy Stave
This stave is mainly wielded by Honor Guard Elites. It glows a reddish-orange color and appears to be purely ceremonial in nature, as no Honor Guard has ever been seen actually fighting with it. There has been speculation about the possibility of the blades on these weapons being energy based like the energy sword; however, as mentioned before, the pike has never been observed in combat, and so these theories remain unproved.
[edit] Trivia
- Most Covenant weapons have the disastrous behaviour to betray their owners when he or she is using the active camouflage.
- The majority of the Covenant weapons are more effective against shields than armour.
