Weapon Ranking (Halo: CE Campaign)

Games Other Halo
1

Hello. I am going to be giving my personal ranking for the eight weapons obtainable in the Halo: CE Campaign, worst to best. They will be ranked on how well they perform against enemies. I am sure that this topic has been discussed before, but I am rather new to the community and wanted something to talk about. You are free to give your own personal ranking of the weapons below. (The Flamethrower, Fuel Rod Gun, and Grenades are not included.)

Worst

  1. The Needler

I believe that the Covenant Needler is the worst weapon in the Halo: CE campaign because of its damage delay. I don’t like have to fire shots at an enemy and have to wait for them to be damaged. I can see how some people may like it though, because it provides a unique play style. I am not a fan, however. The Needler is the only weapon on the list I truly do not enjoy using.

  1. The Assault Rifle

The worst UNSC provided weapon in my opinion is the Assault Rifle. Whenever I am trying to take down an Elite, it feels like it takes so long for them to die. I can understand this because it is one of your starting weapons (along with the Pistol of course), and is great for taking out weaker enemies, like Grunts and Jackals. This list is not really based on looks, but I really do like the appearance of the Assault Rifle, and I am pretty sure it is one of the most recognizable weapons in the Halo series. I do not have anything against the Assault Rifle, it is just that prefer other weapons.

  1. The Rocket Launcher

This is the first weapon on the list that I feel people will disagree. While it does feel great using the Rocket Launcher against the more powerful Elites, huge groups of Grunts, and powerful vehicles like the Wraith, I do not really like the Rocket Launcher. I feel like it is a weapon I can only use for certain situations because of its ammo limit of 10, and I feel like I am somewhat wasting a weapon slot when carrying it. I totally understand if people disagree with me on this one.

  1. The Plasma Rifle

The Plasma Rifle is a powerful weapon in my opinion, but there is one thing holding it back, and that is the overheat function. I may just be using this weapon wrong, (if I am please tell me) but when I am fighting enemies I can usually get some constant hits on enemies, but the weapon then overheats. I basically use it like an Assault Rifle, because that is what it feels like to me. If I am using it wrong, or if I should fire it in bursts, let me know. The intended play style could affect where the Plasma Rifle ranks.

  1. The Plasma Pistol

My favorite Halo: CE Covenant weapon is the Plasma Pistol for a good reason. I love the charged shot. It is very useful in my opinion. If you need to take out a Jackal’s sheild, you can do that. If you need to kill an Elite, but do not have much ammo for your weapons, use a Plasma Pistol. The Plasma Pistol is so common that you are almost guaranteed to fight 3-4 enemies per battle that are equipped with it. It almost seems like you have a never-ending amount of ammo when you use this gun. If you are running low, just pick up another one.

  1. The Sniper Rifle

I am sure this is a favorite of many, and I really enjoy the Sniper Rifle too. It just feels so satisfying to snipe an unexpected Elite in the head as he walks into your cross hairs. This definitely feels like a more rare weapon than others in the campaign, and for good reason. You can use this on basically any Covenant enemy (Hunters if you time it right) a downside for me is that, like the Rocket Laucher, I always feel a little scarce on ammo, but this could just be a problem on my part.

  1. The Halo: CE Pistol

This is without a doubt the most memorable weapon from Halo:CE. It is almost always in the top 2, if not the best, in ranking lists like these, and it is just because of how powerful it is. you get 132 bullets, if I am not mistaken, with this thing and you always have spare bullets. The Pistol is pretty much useful for any scenario. The added 2x zoom is great, and the melee is awesome for enemies that get too close to you. Also, you start of the game with the Pistol, which makes it even better. You should almost always use the pistol.

  1. The Shotgun

I have always liked shotguns in video games. But the Halo: CE Shotgun brings it to another level. There are so many things I love about the Shotgun. First off, I love the reload animation. I just feels so satisfying to me. Also, the Shotgun is easily the best weapon to use against the flood. Throughout the entire second half of Halo: CE, I always had a Shotgun with me. To me the Shotgun actually has a pretty fast fire rate for the amount of damage it gives off. The individual shell reload of the Shotgun also gives a unique play style I love so much. It encourages you to get close to the enemies, and you do not have to worry about reloading, because all you have to do is evade the enemy for a second or two, and then fire. The Shotgun is definitely the best weapon in my opinion.

(This took a long time to type! If there are any mistakes I am sorry.)

2

Hmm, I’d have agree with you on everything except for one thing… the plasma pistol is the best… of all. My love for the plasma pistol is more so than any other gun lol.

4

The Plasma Rifle and the Plasma Pistol have around the same power when used as main damage dealers, the only thing better with the PR may be the range I find it better to hit moving targets (also automatic fire) , it’s not very rare even if less common than a PP.

The Needler is able to inflict a lot of damage and unlike other Halos from Bungie the supercombine can seriously damage people close to the target but the real trick is the tracking range, it is good, better than what the A.I. deploy against the player in fact (except the Fuel Rod Gun and the Wraith) . The beginning of Two Betrayals is a good place to test the Needler if you can find one because the 2 starting weapons have trouble to deal with those Elites.

The Assault Rifle is just overshadowed by the PR and PP (damage dealer thing) , using that gun on purpose is a self-imposed challenge but no weapon except the powerful ones can remove the fact it’s a stealth Elite killer. You can kill Legendary Elites with the AR but it’s not going to be straight unless you rush one, they like to melee an enemy close enough and this is a big flaw because it’s easy to avoid… then you unload/melee.

The Shotgun can deal with enemies at medium range (what the last two missions are mostly) and the Pistol do the parts where you need accuracy. Shotgun + utility is a thing, Shotgun first, utility second is Combat Evolved only.

The Rocket Launcher case is common with many video games about the ‘wasted weapon slot’ part but it’s simple to go around.

The Sniper Rifle only have 3 missions to shine, go and play Assault on the Control Room without using vehicles because it’s the only good reason for the RL and the SR to exist in the mission… seriously the Scorpion can deal with everything outside and there is a lot of rocket and sniper ammo at the same time.

5

> 2533274964556797;4:
> The Plasma Rifle and the Plasma Pistol have around the same power when used as main damage dealers, the only thing better with the PR may be the range I find it better to hit moving targets (also automatic fire) , it’s not very rare even if less common than a PP.
>
> The Needler is able to inflict a lot of damage and unlike other Halos from Bungie the supercombine can seriously damage people close to the target but the real trick is the tracking range, it is good, better than what the A.I. deploy against the player in fact (except the Fuel Rod Gun and the Wraith) . The beginning of Two Betrayals is a good place to test the Needler if you can find one because the 2 starting weapons have trouble to deal with those Elites.
>
> The Assault Rifle is just overshadowed by the PR and PP (damage dealer thing) , using that gun on purpose is a self-imposed challenge but no weapon except the powerful ones can remove the fact it’s a stealth Elite killer. You can kill Legendary Elites with the AR but it’s not going to be straight unless you rush one, they like to melee an enemy close enough and this is a big flaw because it’s easy to avoid… then you unload/melee.
>
> The Shotgun can deal with enemies at medium range (what the last two missions are mostly) and the Pistol do the parts where you need accuracy. Shotgun + utility is a thing, Shotgun first, utility second is Combat Evolved only.
>
> The Rocket Launcher case is common with many video games about the ‘wasted weapon slot’ part but it’s simple to go around.
>
> The Sniper Rifle only have 3 missions to shine, go and play Assault on the Control Room without using vehicles because it’s the only good reason for the RL and the SR to exist in the mission… seriously the Scorpion can deal with everything outside and there is a lot of rocket and sniper ammo at the same time.

Thanks for the info about the plasma weapons. Using the Needler and Assault rifle together could be a pretty interesting challenge for me to do, as they are my least favorites. I did notice how powerful the Scorpion was…I do not think I even used the Sniper Rifle!

6

> 2535427121410218;5:
> Thanks for the info about the plasma weapons. Using the Needler and Assault rifle together could be a pretty interesting challenge for me to do, as they are my least favorites. I did notice how powerful the Scorpion was…I do not think I even used the Sniper Rifle!

I don’t feel like it’s a lot harder to kill an enemy with one weapon as a result I don’t really care if I use the pistol or the rifle. They are okay.

You have a tank and you can kill everything with until you are blocked by some pipes, the Scorpion isn’t really overpowered just making any weapon on the ground not needed at the moment.

  • I see… Assault Rifle at close range and Needler for everything else as long the needles chase after targets, can work I think I want to try that.
7

> 2533274964556797;6:
> > 2535427121410218;5:
> > Thanks for the info about the plasma weapons. Using the Needler and Assault rifle together could be a pretty interesting challenge for me to do, as they are my least favorites. I did notice how powerful the Scorpion was…I do not think I even used the Sniper Rifle!
>
> I don’t feel like it’s a lot harder to kill an enemy with one weapon as a result I don’t really care if I use the pistol or the rifle. They are okay.
>
> You have a tank and you can kill everything with until you are blocked by some pipes, the Scorpion isn’t really overpowered just making any weapon on the ground not needed at the moment.
>
> + I see… Assault Rifle at close range and Needler for everything else as long the needles chase after targets, can work I think I want to try that.

I may try the challenge as well once I finish the campaign.

8

> 2535427121410218;7:
> I may try the challenge as well once I finish the campaign.

I just completed Assault on the Control Room on Legendary with Assault Rifle and Needler (plus any grenade type and no vehicles allowed) , all enemies dead.

Probably as much Plasma Grenade kills as the Assault Rifle, the poor Needler was the second least used weapon but the A.I. is sometimes less likely to avoid needles (if you can shoot without being shot in return) .

Many times I tested the tracking range again and the needles can explode before hitting the target + the times it takes for an enemy to die is killing the Needler, within the attack range of the enemy of course.

9

> 2533274964556797;8:
> > 2535427121410218;7:
> > I may try the challenge as well once I finish the campaign.
>
> I just completed Assault on the Control Room on Legendary with Assault Rifle and Needler (plus any grenade type and no vehicles allowed) , all enemies dead.
>
> Probably as much Plasma Grenade kills as the Assault Rifle, the poor Needler was the second least used weapon but the A.I. is sometimes less likely to avoid needles (if you can shoot without being shot in return) .
>
> Many times I tested the tracking range again and the needles can explode before hitting the target + the times it takes for an enemy to die is killing the Needler, within the attack range of the enemy of course.

Awesome! I had a tough time with Assault on the Control Room, so you are probably a really good player. It is interesting how the needles can explode before reaching a target. Sorry for the late reply. I was having some trouble with my account yesterday.

10

> 2535427121410218;9:
> Awesome! I had a tough time with Assault on the Control Room, so you are probably a really good player. It is interesting how the needles can explode before reaching a target. Sorry for the late reply. I was having some trouble with my account yesterday.

Combat Evolved isn’t a difficult game and several attacks aren’t one-hit kill on Master Chief or as deadly as they are in other Halos, I even ate an attack from an assault cannon (the main weapon of Hunters) during my playthrough and survived with one square of health, at this point i wasn’t exactly at full health (the very same attack one-hit the player on Normal in Halo: Reach) .

The Plasma Grenade always knock the shields in one hit and the Elites themselves are more likely to die from one (nearby, not stuck on them) .

Only the unusable sword and the Plasma Pistol have the ability to one-shot shields.

11

> 2533274964556797;10:
> > 2535427121410218;9:
> > Awesome! I had a tough time with Assault on the Control Room, so you are probably a really good player. It is interesting how the needles can explode before reaching a target. Sorry for the late reply. I was having some trouble with my account yesterday.
>
> Combat Evolved isn’t a difficult game and several attacks aren’t one-hit kill on Master Chief or as deadly as they are in other Halos, I even ate an attack from an assault cannon (the main weapon of Hunters) during my playthrough and survived with one square of health, at this point i wasn’t exactly at full health (the very same attack one-hit the player on Normal in Halo: Reach) .
>
> The Plasma Grenade always knock the shields in one hit and the Elites themselves are more likely to die from one (nearby, not stuck on them) .
>
> Only the unusable sword and the Plasma Pistol have the ability to one-shot shields.

I used the plasma grenade/pistol tactic to deplete the gray elite shields on the Maw. It actually worked pretty well. Those invisible sword elites can be deadly.

12

Stealth Elites don’t have shields, they seem to have a better chance with Plasma Grenades too.

13

One of the great things about CE is that while you can rank the weapons from best to worst, all of them are at least decent and I don’t mind using any of them. Later Halo games certainly introduced some terrible weapons that I never use in campaign or MP. I think most of the weapons introduced in Reach were junk.

14

I honestly do love the pistol, and really however, ! believe the best quality of many weapons is its melee attack, after all, it 3 hits elites, and 1 hits jackals, which cannot defend against melee attacks. However, I just have one wish… That you could have dual pistols.

15

If you’re finding difficulty with the Plasma Rifle, trying pacing your shots. Fire a continuous stream, then start firing slower so it cools down while keeping steady fire. When it’s completely cool, you repeat the process. Always fire in bursts, except when enemies are in your face (but not enough for melee of course). It’s the 3rd or even 2nd best weapon against the Flood, not counting the Rocket Launcher. It melts through them like a knife through butter.

16

Well, swap the magnum with shotgun. Then I can 100% agree with this list, in legendary or multiplayer, I usually cant get close enough without getting shot down by a pistol, or in the campaign I can’t use it cause I’m one punch to everything. (Except the flood of course)

17

> 2535408231059929;14:
> I honestly do love the pistol, and really however, ! believe the best quality of many weapons is its melee attack, after all, it 3 hits elites, and 1 hits jackals, which cannot defend against melee attacks. However, I just have one wish… That you could have dual pistols.

I do agree with you that the melee is great (it is my favorite melee animation by far) and dual-wielding pistols would be awesome. Hopefully, dual-wielding will return in Halo Infinite.

> 2533275010817669;15:
> If you’re finding difficulty with the Plasma Rifle, trying pacing your shots. Fire a continuous stream, then start firing slower so it cools down while keeping steady fire. When it’s completely cool, you repeat the process. Always fire in bursts, except when enemies are in your face (but not enough for melee of course). It’s the 3rd or even 2nd best weapon against the Flood, not counting the Rocket Launcher. It melts through them like a knife through butter.

Thanks for the advice! I have certainly gotten better at using the Plasma Rifle, but have not tried using that tactic yet.

> 2533274975244351;16:
> Well, swap the magnum with shotgun. Then I can 100% agree with this list, in legendary or multiplayer, I usually cant get close enough without getting shot down by a pistol, or in the campaign I can’t use it cause I’m one punch to everything. (Except the flood of course)

Yeah, the magnum is pretty great. I just think the shotgun is really fun to use against the flood.

18

The plasma rifle can be single shot really fast and burst fire works really well also also. When it is overheating you can punch throw grenades or switch weapons. The heat vents no matter what you do. No need to wait. It has strong bullet magnitism and hurts health a bit better than the plasma pistol. It’s a good weapon against anything but not the best at anything. It is much better than the ar except againsst vehicles and camo elites.

19

> 2535427121410218;3:
> > 2535447887837444;2:
> > Hmm, I’d have agree with you on everything except for one thing… the plasma pistol is the best… of all. My love for the plasma pistol is more so than any other gun lol.
>
> The Plasma Pistol is pretty great. Thanks for sharing your opinion!

But the Pistol of the UNSC is OP!

20

> 2533274849645270;18:
> The plasma rifle can be single shot really fast and burst fire works really well also also. When it is overheating you can punch throw grenades or switch weapons. The heat vents no matter what you do. No need to wait. It has strong bullet magnitism and hurts health a bit better than the plasma pistol. It’s a good weapon against anything but not the best at anything. It is much better than the ar except againsst vehicles and camo elites.

Thanks for the info. Those are definitely good options to counter the overheat.