Hello Halo fans! Today I would like to discuss an uncommon yet important weapon topic. I am talking about the plasma pistol in Halo 4. I noticed that it overheats faster than in previous Halo games. However,that is not what offsets me. It is actually the ammo consumption.
In previous Halo games, each plasma shot only cost 1% or 1/4% of the charge. In Halo 4, each shot takes 2% of the charge. This means only 50(or 75 with ammo bonus) shots from a fully charged plasma pistol. If that is not enough, the overcharge now costs 20% instead of the usual 10%. Now I am finding myself constantly running out of charge/ammo when using the plasma pistol.
I would like to hear your opinions on the topic. Once I have a few options, I will put up a poll to see everyone’s opinion.
I prefer the new pistol to the old ones - with the greater consumption of energy means players can’t go on rampages with just a Plasma Pistol/BR combo as easily. If it was left the old way and you now add in the increased weapon swap speed perk, then it’s probably going to be overpowered. It almosts limits the PP to vehicle EMPs, which I think is a good idea.
If anything it needs to be nerfed. Always have an army of silly noobs chasing me around with their plasma pistols whenever i get in wraith/banshee. It is horrible that they spawn with it.
> I prefer the new pistol to the old ones - with the greater consumption of energy means players can’t go on rampages with just a Plasma Pistol/BR combo as easily. If it was left the old way and you now add in the increased weapon swap speed perk, then it’s probably going to be overpowered. It almosts limits the PP to vehicle EMPs, which I think is a good idea.
Well, limiting the use of overcharges seems pretty fair. However, it takes 4 shots to take down shields, so noob combos are not going to stop. I think it is actually faster to pull off 4 shots than it is to get one overcharge hit. Also, successfully taking down a vehicle is also difficult. At best it would take 2 overcharges(First to stop the vehicle, second to overtake it), and that would take roughly half the ammo. So while the extra ammo consumption would be balancing in previous games, it comes off more as an annoying waste with Halo 4’s vast customization options.
> If anything it needs to be nerfed. Always have an army of idiots chasing me around with their plasma pistols whenever i get in wraith/banshee. It is horrible that they spawn with it.
When you call the “idiots” are you referring to teammates or the enemy team?
If teammates then I can see your point, it gets annoying.
> If anything it needs to be nerfed. Always have an army of idiots chasing me around with their plasma pistols whenever i get in wraith/banshee. It is horrible that they spawn with it.
There is a specialization called operator. It severely reduces the effect of EMPs. In a way, the plasma pistol is compensating for that resistance. Also, a whole army? Just aim for people with green glowing hands and keep moving around. Its pretty easy to see who has a plasma pistol if your attentive.
I’ve gotten great runs with vehicles by respecting EMP shots. Try to watch how you drive on a map and deny easy shots against you. On the other side, quite simply, don’t run with charged shot unless you are sure of the shot. If your target gets out of range press (Y) twice to save your shot and avoid recovery time. Play smart and good luck!
Please don’t tell me how to use wraith, i have the 13th most kills in the world with it. Even with the wheelman perk, 2 or more plasma pistol users make it impossible to do anything. And with 6-8 people all spawning with a plasma pistol, and me being their #1 target because i just killed them all, it sure seems like an entire army after me.
I am not talking about teammates all rushing me, calling them idiots may not be very nice, but it is ridiculous that they spawn with them. all jetpacking around with 0 second charge times and shots that are super accurate with massive amounts of tracking, and even hitting the ground nears you stops you from moving.
i have not noticed the plasma consumption but i have noticed that it does not lock on very well bu when it does it still veers off course of the target regardless of distance. Also it appears to do less damage to the opponent, i have yet to get a single kill with a plasma pistol, 1. i rarely use it and 2. when i do use it, it does the mentioned things above
i don’t like how if you overcharge the pistol and then switch weapons to keep from shooting, the pistol is still drained. In the other Halos the pistol stayed charged as long as you didn’t fire the weapon.
The main bolts are nerfed like hell and seem to have increased spread. So like in Halo 2 and 3, the overcharge is the only viable thing.
I’ll never get that versatile plasma pistol I’ve been asking for. 
Versatile = CE plasma pistol = overcharge stun/finisher + main bolt domination
> If anything it needs to be nerfed. Always have an army of silly noobs chasing me around with their plasma pistols whenever i get in wraith/banshee. It is horrible that they spawn with it.
Vehicle scrub identified. Try not using vehicles as a crutch and getting better maybe? If you’re good you wouldn’t need to fly Banshee the whole game to get kills.
> i don’t like how if you overcharge the pistol and then switch weapons to keep from shooting, the pistol is still drained. In the other Halos the pistol stayed charged as long as you didn’t fire the weapon.
halo 1 and 2 it didnt drain. halo 3 and reach maybe odst? did drain it
> Please don’t tell me how to use wraith, i have the 13th most kills in the world with it. Even with the wheelman perk, 2 or more plasma pistol users make it impossible to do anything. And with 6-8 people all spawning with a plasma pistol, and me being their #1 target because i just killed them all, it sure seems like an entire army after me.
With all due respect, if you knew what you were doing you wouldn’t be here ranting.
So which it; it either happens so much you’re having trouble traversing a map with vehicles, or does it annoy you that much the few times you get stalled you come make a post about it?
I don’t think you get to rant about something and at the same time take offense to advice and talk about your sweet runs, it undermines your post.
So we’re clear:
> If anything it needs to be nerfed. Always have an army of silly noobs chasing me around with their plasma pistols whenever i get in wraith/banshee. It is horrible that they spawn with it.
Also, where’s the part of the site that tells you where you rank worldwide. I can’t find leaderboard information anywhere, I’d love to see my own!
I would like to take this time to compare it to the other sidearms. The magnum is headshot capable, and can get a kill without a headshot if the full mag is used. Also, people carry it around frequently, so ammo is plentiful. The boltshot may have a weak semi-auto, but it is still headshot capable. It can also be used as a shotgun in a pinch (not going into detail for obvious reasons). However, the plasma pistol does not get a headshot bonus, nor does it do very much flesh damage. The plasma pistol is mainly a support weapon, and support units tend to stay alive much longer. It doesn’t make sense for a supportive/assistant weapon to run out of ammo so quickly. It makes it incredibly difficult to maintain a defensive position if your assistant weapon is empty.
if there ever was a single thing reach did right that I think most will agree with, its the PP, wish they would have kept it the exact same
that being said it got a nerf cuz its a spawn weapon now, but its still plenty usefull for the old fashioned newb combo or the 3 shot spray and melee. And its devastating against vehicles.
PP is fine IMO
343 logic again: Balancing crap with crap.
Crap Nr.1: Let players spawn with plasma pistols.
Crap Nr.2: Nerf the plasma pistol til it’s a shadow of its former self(but still destroys BTB).
This is just another, completely idiotic idea by 343.
> Please don’t tell me how to use wraith, i have the 13th most kills in the world with it. Even with the wheelman perk, 2 or more plasma pistol users make it impossible to do anything. And with 6-8 people all spawning with a plasma pistol, and me being their #1 target because i just killed them all, it sure seems like an entire army after me.
> I am not talking about teammates all rushing me, calling them idiots may not be very nice, but it is ridiculous that they spawn with them. all jetpacking around with 0 second charge times and shots that are super accurate with massive amounts of tracking, and even hitting the ground nears you stops you from moving.
can i have the plasma pistol traits you made up?
> 343 logic again: Balancing crap with crap.
> Crap Nr.1: Let players spawn with plasma pistols.
> Crap Nr.2: Nerf the plasma pistol til it’s a shadow of its former self(but still destroys BTB).
>
> This is just another, completely idiotic idea by 343.
Even in previous Halo games, the plasma pistol still fit the sidearm category. It is and was only truly useful against shields and vehicles. The basic fire takes down shields in about 4 shots, yet it takes about 6-8 flesh hits to kill. On top of that, its EMP’s homing capability is only good enough to hit slow or extremely close moving vehicles. I wouldn’t even try to use it, unless someone was trying to splatter me or sit in one spot and shoot at me. It simply does not need to nerfed because of its easy accessibility. On top of all this, it is now the only EMP capable weapon, besides the single use pulse grenade.