Plasma hasn’t been the most powerful damage type in Halo, but it’s always had its niche uses. Unfortunately in Infinite though, it’s just not proving to be unique or effective in any capacity and I think that’s a bit of a shame.
There are people pointing fingers at the Plasma Pistol for not being able to EMP, the Plasma Grenade for not really having a noteworthy place in the sandbox between frags and spikes, and the Pulse Carbine for just being so bad. So very very bad. And I’m in agreement, each of these weapons either need to get buffs, be completely reworked, or have other weapons that are doing the same thing be reworked around them.
First we should define what makes plasma unique in Halo sandbox, that’s to say the traits that make Plasma play how it does. And I’ve got three: Leading shots, high damage to technology (shields, and machines), and team support. But alongside these three pillars they, like all other weapons should be capable of standing on their own two feet.
Right now, the Ravager is the only weapon in the Plasma arsenal that actually ticks all three of these boxes. The grenades reward shot leading, it does respectable damage to vehicles (machines), strips shields very quickly, and can support the team with a large damage zone that is pretty darn effective in team fights. It also does a ton of damage in its own right, making it very deadly to encounter in CQC, and being able to set up a pretty effective noob combo combining overcharges with a bullet firing weapon.
The Plasma Grenade does reflect shot leading, by rewarding players with an instant kill stick, and it messes up shields and vehicles no problem. It even has a team support mechanic, being the only weapon that launches power items off their pads. But I feel like the Spike grenade just does too much of the same thing and should be looked at for a rework (maybe from “plasma grenade that shoots shrapnel” to more of a proximity Tripmine that seals off areas temporarily?)
The Plasma Pistol does reward leading shots… But that’s it. It doesn’t do a lot of damage to shields and has lost its only anti-machinery/team support function. So the best ways to address this would be to give it a significant overall damage buff for semi-auto fire, and to make it do more vehicle damage overall. EMP belongs to shock now and that’s okay. But what if an Overcharge chunked vehicles for big damage (crippling thrusters and at least two tires in a single shot), and instantly drained the shields of all passengers? That gives it anti-vehicle utility again without just stealing EMP back from shock weapons. As for its damage buff. We don’t have a Plasma Rifle, Repeater, or Storm Rifle this time. Which means the PP finally doesn’t need to be the “weaker” version of them anymore. It can actually have a decent semi-auto killtime, something like 2-3 shots to drain shields, and 4 to finish the kill (headshots that is, 6-8 body) would keep it from feeling stuck as an overcharge or bust weapon.
Finally the Pulse Carbine. It does do significant shield damage, though I think it could stand to do more damage to vehicles. And it’s ability to do that significant shield damage makes it decent enough as a support weapon during teamfights. What really irks me is that instead of leading your shots, it focuses entirely on a janky tracking system that removes all player agency in whether or not your shots land. It’s extremely inconsistent and unlikely to actually be useful in most encounters, even within its “sweet spot” range the shots move slowly enough for enemies to just dip behind a box or something. Drop the tracking, speed up the projectiles just enough to make leading mid-range targets realistic with practice, and call it a day. We finally have a decent ranged Plasma weapon, let us actually use it like it’s a Plasma weapon. Let us focus on stripping shields for teammates to clean up, but also use our skill and practice to land that clean 2 burst on our own terms, with our own shot placement.
Anyway, that’s how I feel Plasma weapons need to be addressed in Infinite. The only ones I haven’t mentioned here are the Stalker Rifle and Sword, but that’s because I haven’t got any hands-on experience to go on. I don’t really know any way to apply team support to a Sword? But it can definitely deal heavy vehicle damage if they want it to, 4’s did, and maybe they can apply leading your target to the lunge, by making it lunge wherever you’re aiming as opposed to being a lock on mechanic IDK yet. For the Stalker I just know at the very least leading targets isn’t a thing and it’s starting to look more like a DMR than anything else… So I’m kind of leaning towards it probably being powerful but not really reflecting Plasma well as a damage type or being all that unique which is a shame. I am loving this game so far and just want to see it succeed in every way imaginable, it would be a shame if these weapons remain as-is and never get the attention they need to shine. Thanks for reading my big essay on weapon balance for the least popular damage type in Halo.