Tips for completing the Covenant Ordnance Mastery commendaiton
Okay so I’ve been going for the covenant ordnance mastery commendation for awhile now and I’ve just completed my fourth mastered weapon out of six overall. I thought I’d just like to share some tips for people that are also trying to go for this commendation (since the unlock for this commendation is the sweet “stand off” stance). To complete the commendation you need to master the following weapons:
-Gravity Hammer
-Energy Sword
-Concussion Rifle
-Needler
-Beam Rifle
-Fuel Rod Cannon
So far I’ve completed the gravity hammer, energy sword, needler, and beam rifle. I’m working on the concussion rifle at the moment which is probably the hardest weapon to use out of all six. Here’s some tips and methods that I’m using at the moment to master these weapons.
Gravity Hammer and Energy Sword
These two are definitely the easiest weapons to master if you play grifball. Since you spawn with both the gravity hammer and the energy sword, it removes the annoying aspect of obtaining the weapon in the first place. In my experience of playing grifball, most players use the gravity hammer as their main weapon which is a nuisance if you’re trying to get sword kills. It’s not awful however; usually I could get around 30-60 gravity hammer kills per game while getting around 15-25 sword kills per game. This is a pretty quick way to level up the weapons, mine were both maxed within a few hours.
Beam Rifle
This was the second weapon that I went for in the list. I played solely team snipers to get my kills. The beam rifle doesn’t appear in your loadout however, it’ll spawn in a few maps. The beam rifle will not spawn in the gametype “shotty snipers”, so always vote for the gametype “snipers”. Since there’s only one beam rifle on the map, it’ll cause competition to grab the weapon since it’s easier to get kills with it compared to the sniper rifle in my opinion. The beam rifle can get really easy snapshots so I advise that you do that if they’re in close range (killing an enemy while not scoped). Here’s a list of the maps that have the beam rifle and it’s location (remember only under the regular “sniper” gametype):
-Abandon: Back of map in one of the facilities. Right after you go through the bigger orange man cannon lift.
-Haven: back of map on an inclined platform.
-Ragnarok: Ontop of the middle hill.
-Shutout: At the top of the sniper tower.
-Vortex: Main central building to the right of the middle man cannon (facing it). Laying on the ground.
Needler
This one made me rage a bit (can’t imagine how mad I’ll be when I start grinding the concussion rifle). The needler has a sweet spot range that you need to get used to, or else you wont get kills with it. Also you need to get six needles stuck in your target or else the explosion won’t occur. The needles themselves don’t do any significant damage, so you need to get a supercombine. If you’re too far away or too close to the enemy you won’t be able to have the needles track them. If the reticule turns red then you know that the needles will follow the player. Make sure the player is in the open so that the needles won’t be obstructed from the environment. Try to always keep the reticule on the player at all times, I wouldn’t really recommend leading the shots unless your super close the player in which homing needles won’t work. It only spawns with 22 extra needles in the reserve, so be cautious about your ammo. I’ve found that playing team throwdown is a great option. Most maps have one needler, if not two needlers. Here’s a few maps I recommend:
-Dispatch (extraction): There are two needlers in two of the “quadrants” of the map on the ground level. They’re opposite sides of each other. Since you play extraction, many players are occupied with the objective. I’ve played two games on this map and in both games I got 25 needler kills and 3 killing sprees! (I also played the objective too, don’t worry)
-Simplex (anything): There’s a needler on the ground level near the “yellow” section of the map.
-Haven (anything): There are two needlers on this map. On on each side of the map (top floor). The entire map is mirrored with the weapon drops.
-Shutout (anything): In the room with the man cannon, if you go down the long green hallway there will be a needler on the floor. You can also get to this area through the hole in the ceiling above.
Concussion Rifle and Fuel Rod Cannon
The concussion rifle is probably one the hardest weapons to use. Even the pulse grenades were easier than this (mastered that in a few days). Not only is it’s splash damage pretty weak, it’s also a rare weapon. Most players usually skip over it in their ordnances so you don’t see many on the battlefield. I recommend playing team slayer/ big team slayer to get kills. For the concussion rifle and the fuel rod cannon I suggest that you use the ordnance priority and requisition perks so that you have the highest possible chance of obtaining these weapons. I know that the fuel rod cannon will spawn on Exile in big team slayer near the tank side of the map, but besides that I don’t believe that these weapons spawn anywhere else on any of the maps (correct me if I’m wrong).
Ordnance priority will help you get your ordnances faster and requisition will allow you to re-roll your ordnance if you don’t like what you got. I also recommend to play with a friend that also uses the same perks. If he’s kind enough he’ll let you take his ordnances so that you have double the chance to get the weapons that you need.
The concussion rifle has horrible splash damage as I already said. Therefore, you need to directly impact the enemy three times in order to score a kill with it. I believe you receive 12 shots with it (haven’t used it in awhile), so try to make every shot count. The fuel rod gun is pretty powerful and isn’t that troublesome getting kills with it. Just remember that the shots are able to bounce off the ground sometimes. Both weapons’ projectiles follow a parabolic path, meaning that they drop over longer distances. Try to use these weapons in close quarters where you have a solid chance of getting kills.
Here are a few charts I found online that detail the frequency rates of receiving drops from ordnances. Check them out here:
Medium Map Ordnance Frequencies
Large Map Ordnance Frequencies
The rest of it is just grinding to complete the commendations. Try not to get frustrated with the game, take a break if needed. It’s annoying sometimes when you try to only use a single weapon for multiple games in a row. Eventually with hard work and determination you’ll master the covenant ordnance mastery commendation and receive the “stand off” stance. Hope this guide/tips have been helpful to you. Good luck, you’ll need it!