Main Thread: https://forums.halowaypoint.com/t/an-expanded-and-reimagined-halo-infinite-weapon-sandbox/540009
STALKER RIFLE
The Stalker Rifle fires precision superheated plasma, but instead of dealing DoT (like other superheated Plasmas) it is capable of bleed through damage allowing for a head shot kill on a shielded enemy.
ANALYSIS
- Optimal TTK: +1.00s (2 shield, 1 crit)
- Suboptimal TTK: +1.65s (3 shield, 2 body)
- Fire Mode: Semi-Auto (~180 RPM)
- Ammo: Plasma (Red), 7 bolts
- Range: Mid - Long (Projectile Lag), 3x & 6x Zoom (Descope)
- Notes: Bleedthrough plasma damage.
VARIANT: PARTICLE BEAM RIFLE
Basically just the classic Beam Rifle, which deals more damage like a sniper rifle but can overheat in 2 rapid shots.
VK78 COMMANDO
The Commando, in its current state, does not really have an identity. The BR75 has more precision for range, the Sidekick hits harder, the AR is full auto and easier to use. It’s like the Commando tries to take parts from all three of these weapons but fails to actually have its own identity or role. IMO the Commando would make much more sense to me if it was repurposed as a Tier 2 UNSC tactical rifle.
Buff damage to 7 shots to kill instead of 8 and make it a counterpart to the Stalker Rifle. The interesting dynamic between the two is the Stalker Rifle has projectile lag while the Commando has Bloom, otherwise they would perform quite similarly.
ANALYSIS
- Optimal TTK: +1.00s (6 shield, 1 crit)
- Suboptimal TTK: +1.55s (6 shield, 5 body)
- Fire Mode: Automatic (~420 RPM)
- Ammo: Kinetic (Ballistic), 20 Rounds
- Range: Mid, 2x Zoom (Descope, Bloom, & Recoil)
- Notes: Automatic precision rifle.
VARIANT: VK78 DMR
With the BR, M6 Magnum, Stalker Rifle, Carbine, Refractor and Commando already proposed as ranged precision weapons… the DMR is truly redundant. That said it would make for a nice variant.
With the M392 Bandit being introduced I have to say I would have preferred the traditional DMR instead, maybe the Commando could have been tweaked to remove the zoom and focus on the CQC instead, in which case the Bandit could have been a variant of the Commando. I’m not a fan of the Bandit’s identity at all.
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Been waiting for you to get to the Stalker Rifle. I’m totally on board with the Beam Rifle being a variant for it too. However, I think the stalker rifle is a bit plain for a covenant gun. Sure it break shields quickly, but that doesn’t really mean anything on a long-range gun with headshot capability. Ex: The Plasma Rifle/Pistol are both good at breaking shields, but you have to switch to a head shot capable gun or use melee to finish them off quicker (the SR really puts you in the position to melee). The Stalker Rifle bypasses that. And maybe that’s the point, but it kind of boring.
I may have said it before, but I’d be more interested in Carbine/Beam Rifle hybrid.
#The Beam Carbine (for lack of a better name)
It takes the gimmick of the Light Rifle (which was genius by 343) and applies it here. Basically hip fire is the the Covenant Carbine we know and love, but it’s plasma based and uses a battery. When scoped in, it fires like a Beam Rifle. 1 shot headshot, 2 on the body. However, the heat is higher, so a single shot leads to an overheat (both fire modes share the same heat). This will put an emphasis on headshots and balance it to the tier-3 S7 Sniper which simply would have a bigger magazine comparatively.
I think the ability to change fire modes/have quirky alternative uses is something that covenant and Forerunner guns should really strive for. Obviously it’s not a requirement, but I feel that’s strong way to have them keep up with UNSC weapons, especially since plasma and hardlight are supposed to be stronger in the lore.
I think Stalker Rifle is ok overall, but I was quite dissapointed at first as it is essentially just the Light Rifle but less interesting considering it only has one fire mode.
The Refractor (aka hardlight sidearm using the same concept as the Light Rifle) was my take on getting the Light Rifle reintroduced back into Halo Infinite.
This is interesting in theory, however an issue I see with this is how would you balance this weapon in the sandbox? The Carbine is a Tier 1 weapon while the Beam Rifle would typically be a Tier 3 power weapon.
The best thing about this concept in my opinion would be how functional it would be to get a body shot with the beam rifle fire and then finish an enemy with a carbine spam headshot. That’s a cool feature for a sniper rifle IMO.
My go-to is always ammo. Too powerful? Limit how much players can fire it.
Maybe the zoom-fire uses up 20% of the battery. And like I said, a bodyshot would break shields, but that would force an overheat, so you’d have to fallback to a secondary weapon. Again, forcing headshots. Also, the Carbine was typically a pretty long ranged weapon, but now you have to hip fire it if you want the rapid DPS, so that cuts down on range and scenarios where it would be effective.
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