I want to bring the Plasma Pistol to 343’s attention. Currently it takes 7 shots to break shields when the Sidekick breaks shields in 6 shots.
How does a kinetic weapon do more damage than a plasma weapon against shields? Also why is there no area of effect damage? Also why is the tracking not accurate?
These little things about the weapon only make it good for a charged up shot, up close followed by a melee. Other than that, it’s useless.
Not to mention they stripped its niche by removing the EMP effect by introducing the Shock ammo.
The Plasma Pistol has a lot of work to be relevant again.
Great point. I completely missed this. Plasma weaponry are supposed to be better at stripping shields than Kinetic weapons.
The weapon adds nothing, should just be removed.
It feels like a joke weapon.
In previous halo games, I would charge the plasma pistol to hit my opponent to strip shields and then switch to the magnum or AR and one-shot them dead, it was very satisfying. Now it seems to take forever to charge, and reduced ammo, so yes, they have made the plasma pistol close to useless. In the campaign, it’s still kinda good against Elites. It’s an iconic Halo weapon, why they would wreck it, I don’t know.
There is one other niche use for it and that’s that a Charged Bolt on an unshielded Spartan is a headshot kill, and it has some homing.
Other than that, PP is better off left on the rack.
This is lowkey good in ranked, Overcharged Plasma Pistol+Hold this+Headshot=Kill.
Weapon types are meaningless. The Plasma Pistol got shafted to justify the new shock weapons. For all their talk about giving each weapon a unique roll, all they’ve done is tear apart existing weapons rather than make anything truly new or interesting.
Right now, it’s too biggest perks are:
Maybe they could buff tap fire on the weapon perhaps?
Plasma pistol hasn’t served a purpose since Halo 2. It’s been nerfed into the ground, never to be useful again.
Plasma Pistol was stupidly broken in Halo 2 as well. It tracked waaaay too well in that game, hell I’ve even been hit behind walls with it. Then you know they’ve running a Battle Rifle off hand to finish you off.
It's the best Plasma Pistol since Halo CE.
Now the plasma pistol has been downgraded to just being a charge-up anti-shield weapon and nothing more, at least it is better than the Halo 4 version.
The issue is that they were doing it to the wrong weapons… and not balancing properly as usual.
It could have been fine if PP was still a strong Shield breaker like in previous Halos, which is strange since the Pulse Carbine is a shield popper just fine so why can’t the PP be as well.
I think 343 doesn’t understand sandbox balance at all. Previous Halos was all about first balancing weapons based on the campaign, then putting it into the MP. That’s why PP and Plasma Rifle could exist side by side, because they both had a use in the Campaign, in the hands of the enemy.
In fact, weapons by the enemy usually were projectiles because it was more fun to weave through enemy fire than to take hitscan damage and have to duck behind cover. But of course that goes over 343’s heads because they literally find every way to make Halo a cover shooter.
Light Rifles by Prometheans.
Now putting Shock Rifle in the hands of the Banished.
At least the Covenant Carbine and Commando being its descendent were low damage per shot but high fire rate, that’s why it was balanced well as an enemy hitscan. They can easily adjust the AI to either gun it or shoot slower in order to not force the player back.
Very good and solid point. Changing the weapon brings new challenges to it in general.
Someone watched StandardAce’s short today 
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For real though, the plasma pistol is pretty lacking. Since launch I’ve gotten practice with it and can find it to be niche useful, but it’s not doing well in the sandbox. That’s for sure
Honestly they could just give the EMP back to it,
Increase its hitbox and improve the tracking against vehicles at close range.
Give it the secondary benefit of also Popping the Drivers Shield.
Risk/Reward for getting close to the giant death machine.
It works pretty decently if you noob combo with it, and drop it instead of switching weapons (slightly faster). Though I agree it doesn’t make sense how it’s sharing its niche with too many other weapons now, when it has no use outside of that function.
they buffed the plasma pistol and pulse carbine projectile speeds in season 2. I can actually kill people now reliably. its easy to dodge but its most effective when you catch your opponent unaware or theyre running towards your direction as its hard for them to react in time.