This feels accurate.
I think there is this misguided idea that all the weapons need to have their power curve stomped flat.
Where “Theoretically” all weapons of a specific class should function within their given range.
Not all weapons needs to be on all maps, or even made useful on all maps.
The game should never feel the need to “add randomness” by adding the shock pistol/rifle on maps they serve no purpose on.
The result of this power curve stomping leads to remarkable bad weapon balance and over all weapon sandbox design.
Plasma Pistol should drain shields in 3 shots, and finish with 3 headshots or 6 body shots.
This would bring it more in line with the TTK it had in Halo Reach and 4, where it drained in 3 shots, but took 7 more to kill. In both those games it also fired significantly faster, so Infinite’s only needing 6-9 to kill would be pretty level with it. A little faster for headshots, but also a little weaker for body ones.
It would also still kill slower than other weapons that don’t have a support niche, like the Sidekick and Commando, but would kill fast enough to reward your practice leading shots with a slightly faster headshot ttk than an AR.
This would also basically give us a Plasma Rifle without actually adding the Plasma Rifle to the game. A traditional Plasma weapon capable of dealing lethal damage at mid-close range is sorely missed right now. It’s an archetype we’ve never not had, and that archetype has been filled, or at least shared by the Plasma Pistol before. (Specifically in Reach and 4)
It’s not a traditional Plasma weapon. It’s a grenade launcher. With more in common with the Brute Shot and Plasma Caster than your usual plasma weapons.
When I say traditional Plasma weapon, I mean akin to the PP, PR, BPR, and Storm Rifle. Or the primary weapons on a Ghost or Banshee. Where it fires straight-flying bolts with the goal of leading shots to land direct hits. And is a “common” tier weapon.
That’s why I don’t think of the Pulse Carbine as traditional plasma either. It’s close, and should be reworked into one honestly, but it’s complete reliance on a janky tracking system that hardly even works within its weirdly specific range kind of pushes it away from one.
The Reach Needler did “mid range and mid range only” way better than the Pulse Carbine does. Though admittedly the Pulse Carbine still does it better than the CE Needler. I don’t think any weapon has ever been as bad in PvP as the CE Needler is.
(My solution to keeping the Pulse Carbine’s niche as a mid range weapon that performs poorly up close, without relying on tracking is to have the projectiles speed up as they travel through the air, so up close they are too slow to reliably hit, but they reach a speed that gives them a consistent feeling “leading” at a distance)
Which is neat if not for the fact there are like 3 more easily obtainable weapons that can headshot and secure the kill much easily because they are hitscan and you spawn with 2 of them depending on game mode. At the cost of 1 ammo instead of 20% Battery.
It used to be a good weapon and paired with the BR was deadly but in Infinite it honestly doesn’t do anything from short range onwards. You have to be very close to ensure you hit someone with it and even then it’s woefully under powered.
I never pick it up and if I spawn with it I drop the weapon entirely.
Its got a pretty clear niche as the noob combo still shreds and its charge still the most reliable shield strip in the game.
I personally dont hate. Not my fav version to be sure. But the removal of emp was a good choice imo.
343 butchered the use of the plasma weapons JUST SO THEY COULD GIVE IT TO THE KENETIC WEAPONS.
plasma pistol? remove its emp, and give it trash tracking, esentially making it an close range noob combo. then give said emp and good effects to the new weapons, the repulser, to make it SEEM like you’re re-inventing the wheel. and then make the mangler to make the noob combo of the plasma pistol useless and redundant