Throughout the Halo series, we have been introduced to some of the most distinctive weapons of the first-person shooter genre. Whether it was the potent pistol of the original Halo, the energy sword of Halo 2, or the spartan laser of Halo 3, each game has featured a variety of ways in which to battle the Covenant. And now with the next chapter in the series, Halo 3: ODST, set to launch in the near future, we wanted to take a moment to explore the game's many weapons, some of which are new and others of which are returning from previous games. We'll provide not only an overview of each weapon, but tips on how to properly wield them as well.

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　　New and Returning Weapons for Halo 3: ODST

　　Auto-Mag

　　Many longtime fans of the Halo series have fond memories of the pistol in the original Halo. It was loud, powerful, and deadly accurate. Some might even say too deadly. As a result, Bungie significantly depowered it in the sequel, reducing its firepower and, most importantly, removing the scope, much to the chagrin of the fans. Bungie attempted to rectify this in Halo 3 with the Magnum, but even that wasn't enough.

　　Thankfully, it's practically back in ODST, in the form of the Auto-Mag. But don't let the moniker fool you--this is the true successor to the original pistol. It's powerful and accurate and retains the scope that made it famous in the first place. It is now a formidable weapon for both close- and long-range combat, enabling you to pull off headshots with ease. Also, it's now equipped with a silencer, making it ideal for stealth kills when exploring the quiet streets of New Mombasa.

　　Silenced Submachine Gun (SMG)

　　Although functionally similar to the SMG in Halo 3, the new silenced SMG is now equipped with a suppressor--like the Auto-Mag--making it ideal for battles in New Mombasa without giving away your location.

　　Though capable of rapid fire, the weapon has a noticeable amount of recoil, resulting in a significant loss of accuracy the longer the trigger is held. Its firepower also isn't particularly strong, but this is mostly mitigated by its large clip, which lets you fire continuously for quite a while before reloading. And since the weapon also reloads quickly, this high-capacity gun makes for an ideal backup weapon.

　　Brute Plasma Rifle

　　The brute plasma rifle returns after its absence from Halo 3. It's functionally identical to the standard plasma rifle, only significantly more powerful, allowing it to rip through enemy shields like a hot knife through butter. There is one drawback--the weapon heats up quickly, so make sure you let up on the trigger periodically to let the weapon cool before it overheats--otherwise, it'll be out of commission for several seconds.

　　Let's just say that knowing which weapons pack the most punch for the right situations will be helpful to you in Halo 3: ODST.

　　Returning Campaign Weapons

　　Assault Rifle

　　This high-capacity automatic rifle can fire up to 32 rounds per magazine before having to be reloaded, but each round inflicts only a small amount of damage. And if you attempt to fire for too long, you'll also lose a lot of accuracy. Therefore, you should fire in short, small bursts, enabling you to hit enemies a good distance away. But on higher difficulty levels, you'll probably want something that does more damage. On heroic difficulty or above, you can use the assault rifle to take out enemy grunts, particularly when they're fleeing, and drones, who have pretty low health. But mostly, we suggest retaining this weapon only until you can find one more useful.

　　Sniper Rifle

　　The sniper rifle is a powerful single-shot weapon that's designed to quickly eliminate foes from a distance, although it can be used at closer ranges. Each clip holds four bullets, and you can hold up to 24 bullets in total. The rate of fire isn't great, but again, this should be a one-shot kill on most enemies. Headshots are important for most weapons, but with the sniper rifle, you really want to learn how to nab them, especially at long range. On heroic difficulty, anything up to and including a jackal should be a one-hit kill, even if you hit them in the body, but brutes and hunters are a bit more resistant. Low-level brutes (the blue ones) will still perish from a headshot, but the upper-level brutes will probably require at least one headshot to knock off their helmets before you can kill them.

　　Shotgun

　　You won't find a shotgun very often, and even when you do encounter it, you probably won't want to use it much on heroic or higher difficulties. While it inflicts plenty of damage at close range, its effectiveness is reduced exponentially the farther away an enemy is. The shotgun is particularly effective when used against unshielded enemies and can be useful for pounding the rear sides of hunters when they turn around. Apart from that, you probably won't want to keep it in your inventory very often.

　　Certain weapons will work better in enclosed areas.

　　Rocket Launcher

　　The rocket launcher is a dependable weapon for dishing out the pain--especially to enemy vehicles--but because the rockets themselves are fairly slow, it's not a weapon you'll use for many situations. Still, it packs quite a punch and is sure to be a highly desired weapon in multiplayer maps, so learn where they spawn and get used to checking the location every once in a while. The launcher can hold only two rounds of ammo at a time, so missing your target can feel like a painful mistake, since the weapon takes a while to reload after firing. Get your shots on target and make sure they stay there by firing at medium to close range, at least when going after vehicles.

　　In multiplayer, you can open fire on stationary vehicles without too many problems or simply use the rocket launcher as an antipersonnel weapon. Its splash damage is wide reaching enough to kill almost anyone nearby. Just like in the classic id Software game Quake, you'll get the best results by aiming at your enemies' feet, not at their bodies. That will increase the likelihood that you'll get them with splash damage, even if you happen to miss them. Don't even bother trying to hit someone unless you can see their feet--no shooting at people on ridges above you. If they move away from you, you'll usually end up missing and wasting one of your precious rockets.

　　Spartan Laser

　　One of the major weapons returning from Halo 3 is the spartan laser, a powerful beam weapon that can toast just about anything in the game in one blow. It's arguably the most powerful handheld weapon in the game, but it requires a lot of skill to use properly--even more than the sniper rifle.

　　Others will work better against groups of enemies.

　　One of the most distinctive features of this weapon is its significant firing delay--it must first charge for five seconds before being fired. The arrow on the aiming reticle moves upward the more it's charged, and when it reaches the top, a wide and very powerful laser will fire, toasting anything in its path. This will be a one-shot kill on any moving target and will also destroy most vehicles except Wraiths or other heavily armored targets. Thankfully, those move so slowly that following up with a second shot shouldn't be an issue.

　　So basically, the spartan laser is a superpowered beam rifle that requires five seconds to charge. The catch is that your target has to be in your view at the end of that countdown. If someone sees you aiming at him, he'll probably duck under cover, which will waste your shot. You can always just let go of the button to stop the countdown, but that will cause the arrow to revert back to its starting position, meaning that you'll have to charge it all the way up again before you can fire. The countdown makes this weapon almost worthless for close-quarters combat in multiplayer, unless you can completely get the drop on an opponent; any decent opponent will close in on you when they see the laser in your hands and will be able to stick you with a grenade or otherwise kill you before you can fire. (In these situations, though, you can always try to use a melee swing; like most big weapons, the spartan deals a heavy punch in melee combat.) Nevertheless, in maps with lots of open space, if you can find a laser (it's pretty rare, as you might expect), you can wreak havoc with it. Try firing it on high-priority targets like the slow-moving flag carrier or a Warthog that's loaded up with your enemies. Since your range is virtually limitless, it's also great for taking out opposing Wraiths or Scorpions that are sitting back and shelling you from afar.

　　Plasma Pistol

　　The plasma pistol is the most basic weapon in the Covenant armory. Each individual bolt inflicts 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 him off by switching to a more powerful weapon, like the Auto-Mag. A charged shot also has light homing capabilities, so it will usually hit an enemy unless he actually tries to dodge 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 supercharged 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 manage to get only a couple of them off before running out of ammo.

　　In many cases, you'll have to contend with enemies that have shields.

　　Carbine

　　As far as light weapons go, the carbine is a decent tool for taking down lightly armored enemies from a distance. There isn't much to say about it. The weapon is quite accurate at practically any range, and you can fire it while scoped. Unfortunately, the carbine inflicts relatively little damage, so you'll need to score a lot of hits 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 during multiplayer matches. If you need to lay down some fire at a distance, and nothing better is available, the carbine makes for a good addition to your arsenal.

　　Plasma Rifle

　　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 deal as much damage against flesh as a bullet-based weapon would, but it will still finish them off quickly, especially if you can find a pair of them to dual-wield in multiplayer. 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

　　The spiker is 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 that pierce your foes and deal damage. The spiker has a high rate of fire and can be dual-wielded in multiplayer, making it the Covenant counterpart to the USNC submachine gun, and it has enough rounds in a clip (40) to fire continuously for five to six seconds without needing a reload. It's a decent weapon, but it requires you to be pretty close to your targets to hit them, due to the spread of gunfire.

　　The Covenant are back, and fortunately, so are their weapons.

　　Needler

　　The needler is back in Halo ODST and is as powerful as ever, at least in the campaign mode. The needler fires small, explosive spikes that will home in on a target if fired in their general direction. These 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. This weapon's firing rate and reload rate are both very fast, meaning that you can unload a lot of damage pretty quickly with it, but you'll also run out of ammo equally fast.

　　The needler is a bit more useful in single-player than in multiplayer, since your enemies are more likely to remain stationary and be easy targets. In multiplayer, you will probably want to use this only 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. The vast streets of New Mombasa will require smart use of weapon swapping to defend.

　　If you must use the brute shot, try to aim down 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 actually dip into a slight arc if fired at extremely distant targets. The brute shot also possesses a mighty blade attachment that will let you kill almost any enemy in one melee blow (except 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 is dropped only by powerful brute chieftains. But if you manage to pick one up, you can swing it into the ground by tapping the right trigger, which will deal damage to all nearby foes. If you manage to hit an opponent with a swing, you'll usually instantly kill him, although of course high-level brutes and hunters will be the exception to this. You can also use this weapon to increase the height of your jump by jumping normally and then immediately swinging the hammer into the ground to give yourself a boost.

　　Beam Rifle

　　The Covenant 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, and if you don't take it easy, the beam rifle will overheat and require a few seconds to cool down before it can be fired again. Apart from that, it's a fine weapon for taking out your enemies from a distance.

　　Mauler

　　The mauler is a simple, single-handed shotgun that can be dual-wielded. However, its firing range has an enormous amount of spread, which means it's impossible to hit anything that's not right in front of you. It also doesn't seem to pack the same punch as other weapons. If you're fighting in extremely tight corridors, the mauler 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.

　　At close quarters, you can always melee.

　　Fuel Rod Gun

　　The heaviest weapon in the Covenant arsenal is the fuel rod gun, which acts as a slightly weaker version of the rocket launcher. When fired, the fuel rods quickly accelerate, but they're still somewhat slow, and when they're still in flight, they can be dodged. What's more, they're easy to see coming, since the projectiles are large and green. Most enemies will have little trouble dodging them if you use this against them at medium distances or longer. That, and the fact that the FRG can hold five rounds of ammo in a clip, makes it best used as an up-close antipersonnel weapon. The splash damage is extensive, but not as high as the rocket launcher's, making it less likely you'll damage yourself with it. You can fire the rounds fairly rapidly to finish off wounded foes without a problem. However, the slow speed of the projectiles makes it difficult to take out moving vehicles unless you're at close range or approaching from behind.

　　Machine Gun Turret / Plasma Turret

　　When you spot a turret in the gameworld, you're able to use it, sure, but that's for plebeians. Real men rip the things right off their moorings, then shove them down their enemies' throats, cleaving their bodies in two. Well, sort of. You can, in fact, rip a turret off its base by pressing the right bumper to use it and then tapping the B button. Some turrets will also be found on the ground, or in the hands of brute chieftains. Using a turret in your hands will let you dish out a lot of firepower, but it will greatly decrease your ability to move, so you'll be easier 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 antivehicle weapon. When you pick it up and aim at a vehicle, it'll instantly lock on so that you can rapidly fire homing missiles at your target. Missile pod shots are quick enough to take down banshees, but they excel when used against ground vehicles.

　　Multiplayer-Only Weapons

　　Battle Rifle

　　Shot to the dome! The battle rifle returns and is as desirable a weapon as ever during multiplayer matches. The USNC counterpart to the carbine, this little guy will let you bust out three shots in a tight grouping with great accuracy at long distances, making it perfect for nabbing headshots.

　　Magnum

　　The Magnum is similar to the pistol, except that it lacks a scope, making it near-useless for long-range encounters. You can still nab headshots with the Magnum, but you probably won't want to use it if you have any better weapons available.

　　Energy Sword

　　The energy sword, long a favorite in close-quarters multiplayer matches, can be found only in ODST's multiplayer mode. 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 maneuver that's bound to the right trigger. The charge is most helpful, especially on smaller maps, since it will let you close in on a target before he sees what's coming. But since this weapon is so powerful, and since it has such short range, wielding this bad boy will make you a priority target in multiplayer. Don't be surprised if it suddenly makes you the center of attention.

　　See you in New Mombasa. Be sure to bring guns.

　　Flamethrower

　　The flamethrower launches 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 ground, 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.