WEAPON SANDBOX: MA40 AR & MK50 Sidekick

Games Halo Infinite
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Since these weapons are both the current default weapons in the game, I decided to make a thread to discuss both of them together as they will inevitably be compared to one another.

The MA40 AR currently has an optimal TTK of 1.25s (3 crit, 12 shield) and a suboptimal TTK of 1.65s (8 body, 12 shield), with an ammo capacity of 36.

The MK50 Sidekick currently has an optimal TTK of 1.1s (1 crit, 6 shield) and a suboptimal TTK of ~ 1.57s (4 body, 6 shield), with an ammo capacity of 12.

Both of these weapons use Smart Link aiming and are effected by bloom / recoil (meaning the optimal TTK is not exactly realistic for each weapon as shots can miss because of bloom).

On the surface, the SK is superior to the AR and it really isn’t close. Sure, the SK requires a little more skill to use than the AR, but it really doesn’t make sense to me that a pistol is THAT much better than an assault rifle (the Sidekick even hits harder than the Commando), especially when the Sidekick’s function is really that of a finisher (“Sidekick”). It shouldn’t be the go to choice of a Tier 1 weapon IMO. I have a couple suggestions for some very minor tweaks that I think could help rebalance these weapons within the Sandbox without changing their identity too much.

  1. MK50 Sidekick: Decrease damage and increase fire rate.

  • This would slightly nerf the Sidekick’s TTK, while further rewarding skill by giving players with a fast trigger finger an advantage. The disadvantages of shooting faster are increased recoil / bloom, while the disadvantage of decreased damage (besides longer TTK which is mitigated by the increased fire rate) is a kill now consumes more ammo (so missing shots will be more punishing). The SK would still have the fastest TTK of any tier 1 weapon, but this would be slightly reduced and require a little more skill. The SK’s function as a finisher would become more prominent as a result of these tweaks IMO.

  • New Optimal TTK: 1.14s (1 crit, 7 shield)

  1. MA40 AR: Reduce ammo capacity to 32.
  • I like the AR in Halo Infinite, but reducing the ammo capacity a bit to the traditional 32 would be a welcome change IMO. This would limit the AR’s potential for multi-kills and also give more function to the Sidekick as a finisher.

These would be some minor tweaks that would improve balance a bit while still staying true to the core gameplay of the weapons IMO. What’s everyone’s thoughts on the AR and SK, do you like this suggestion? Or would you rather see something else done (maybe even nothing at all)?

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The one thing the AR has over the sidekick is ease of use, while the sidekick can kill 15ms faster but not without a bit more skill.

These two are perfect as far as I’m concerned. I originally thought the sidekick needed more aim assist but that really is more of my opinion.

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That’s fair, I agree as well the SK and AR are pretty good as they are.

The tweaks suggested are very minor and wouldn’t change much. In the end the optimal kill for the SK would only be ~ 0.04s longer while the AR would need to reload 4 shots sooner.

The real takeaways from this would be:

  • The AR would be a little bit less of a bullet hose that can clean up multiple enemies, but it would still be effective and easy to use.
  • The SK would be slightly nerfed, but it would still have the most optimal TTK of all Tier 1 weapons.
  • The pistol would take 8 shots to kill instead of 7, which seems a little more realistic lore-wise to me (it kind of irks me right now how the Commando takes more shots to kill than the Sidekick).
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I think those changes would make the game better in all playlists, including ranked. I would like one additional change; I wish the aim assist would be reduced a bit on the AR so increase the skill needed to stay on target. I have no problem with the AR being more effective at range than in other Halos, I just wish it took a bit more skill to keep the reticle on target. Maybe reduce reticle friction a bit.

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I think this is the best starting balance the series ever had

H1 and H5 had much stronger pistols to the point of wondering why even bother using the AR. Every other halo had pretty worthless AR/pistols

I personally want the sidekick more like H5 pistol but im ok with it where it is

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I’m in the opinion to suggest the direct opposite of what you have suggested.

Sidekick:

  • SK Ammo reduced from 12 to 8
  • Damage bumped up
  • Fire rate decreased

This is based off Halo Reach’s Magnum which imo, is the perfect Pistol weapon to date. Very well balanced, has great TTK if landing ALL shots, focuses on precision over spamming.

AR:

  • Ammo increased to 60
  • Damage per shot decreased
  • Fire rate and Bloom increased
  • Starting Reserve 180

This will turn it back into the Suppression weapon it was always meant to be back in CE, as well as its spiritual successor of the SMG. It won’t have as drastic of a dip in accuracy compared to older Halos, but it should take much much more for a player to kill with just the AR.

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You could go this route if you wanted the AR and SK to be like the SMG and the Magnum. Personally, I like the AR and SK as they are which is why I just proposed the small tweaks to make the SK feel more like a pistol while reducing the AR’s ammo capacity slightly to force players to switch to the SK more often to finish kills.

That said, I fully support the introduction of SMG & Magnum weapons (and really they could do different game modes with different default weapons to expirement - like they are already doing with BR slayer). I’m 100% on board with fresh gameplay experiences and content.

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So, I’ve alluded to my position on the AR/SK situation before in the other conversation we’ve had, but before I get into the meat of this topic I wanted to ask you a few questions.

The AR and Magnum/Sidekick are fundamentally different guns from the rest of the sandbox because they represent a fourth tier of power: The Starter Weapon Tier (really more like a Zeroth Tier). Unlike the Plasma Pistol or Mangler, the AR and SK can’t be balanced around rarity because everyone has one, all the time, in every match, at every spawn. This means the guns HAVE to be balanced around their capabilities and stats.

  1. What is your definition of a “Starter Weapon”?
  2. Should a Starter Weapon be good?
  3. Should a Starter Weapon be able to compete with a pick up weapon?
  4. What is your definition of a “TIER 2 Power Weapon”?

I’ll give you my answers for these questions later. I want to hear your response without influencing you in any way.

Finally, I’m going to be using a term called “Margin of Error” a bunch. My personal definition of it is: The amount of rounds you are able to miss [with a gun] and still get a kill without reloading.

  1. What are your thoughts on this definition? And how do you think this applies to the sandbox as a whole?

I think these are questions that are important to have an answer for because they are the core focus of how to balance the AR and pistol.

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I think they both have use cases, AR in close range when your shots will land, Pistols when they’re a little farther away.

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I think a “Starter Weapon” should be a balanced “all-situation” gun, a gun that does not necessarily excel in any particular aspect but is suitable for use in a variety of sitatutions. With respect to the MA40 AR, it definitely meets this criteria.

Yes? “Good” is a bit of a vague word in my opinion. Should it beat the BR at range? No. Should it beat the Commando’s TTK? No (and this is one issue I have with the Sidekick). Should it have shield stripping function like the Pulse Carbine and PP? No. Should it have EMP function like the Disruptor? No. Can it be “good” without being the best at any of the above things? Yes.

Yes, with a TTK of 1.1 - 1.65s (even with the tweaks above having a TTK of 1.14 - 1.65s) these weapons can compete with any pick up weapon.

My definition’s:

Tier 1: Default / Commonly Available

  • The default spawn weapons + the weapons with 30s respawn timers. These weapons generally have longer TTK’s ( > 1.1s), the exceptions being the Sidekick and Drop Combo’s. This is essentially the floor for different types of combat (example the BR has the longest TTK of any ranged weapon).

Tier 2: Controlled Spawns

  • These weapons will not respawn until the weapon is gone or ammo is depleted. These weapons generally have faster TTK’s with respect to their function. Example, SMG’s and Shotguns kill faster at close range. Marksman Rifles kill fast at long range. The Hydra kills vehicles faster than any Tier 1 weapon, the Ravager (still might needs some work) is like a Plasma Pistol with area denial and a faster TTK.

Tier 3: Power Weapon Pads

  • Respawn on a longer timer and it is usually announced by the game. The weapons everyone fights over for control. These all have one hit potential (except the Cindershot which we’ve discussed) or a really fast TTK.

Tier 4: Vehicles

  • I would refer to these as the 4th tier of weapons. Vehicles give players unique advantages / power compared to weapons.

“Margin for Error” with respect to the entire sandbox is something that would take a whole lot of analysis. For example, the Plasma Pistol is amazing but requires you to charge the shot and if it misses you might be dead. The Stalker Rifle has a fast TTK if you hit your headshots but if you miss it’s slow rate of fire could also get you killed. The BR has a very high margin for error, you can get 3 full kills with it before reloading.

Now I think I know where you are going with this. My suggestion to reduce the AR’s ammo capacity from 36 to 32 and to increase the # of shots required for an SK kill reduces the Margin of Error for these weapons.

Currently you can get 2 kills with the AR before reloading, but ammo capacity is reduced to 32 you’re likely not going to (it’s still possible but extremely unlikely with the AR’s accuracy). Going back to question 1, I like this. Like I said, I think a starting weapon should be respectable in all sitatutions without exceling in any specific area. In this case, that area would be multi-kill potential. Now the Sidekick would also have its margin for error reduced if it was an 8 shot kill vs 7, however it is already incapable of getting 2 kills before a reload so not much is changing with respect to multi-kill potential, if anything the only change is it will require more precision (skill). This hasn’t been discussed yet but bloom could be reworked with the SK if damage is reduced as well.

I think reducing the margin for error for both weapons accomplishes a few things:

  • Rebalances the AR as a respectable starting weapon suitable for engaging one enemy directly.
  • Keeps the Sidekick a respectable skilled option, while limiting it’s function to more of a finisher than the go-to weapon.
  • Creates a more paired relationship between the AR + Sidekick by making players switch to their Sidekick to finish enemies when engaging multiple targets.

I don’t want to stray too far off topic, but there are 2 Tier 1 SMG’s I want added to the game that would play directly off of “Margin for Error”:

  1. M7 SMG
  • It would have 60 rounds, giving it a greater margin of error than the AR at the expense of range.
  1. Brute Plasma Rifle
  • The BPR would have a fast TTK, but it overheats very quickly (low margin of error).
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I like how much thought and work you put into this. :slightly_smiling_face:

I feel the most important thing that should happen to the Sidekick is to reduce the rate of fire. The 360 rpm is unrealistic to achieve and unhealthy if you try (from an RSI point of view).

I hope 343 makes it a 6 shot kill instead of 7 shot kill. The TTK can get increased to 1.2 or 1.3 seconds for all I care. I just don’t want to feel pain in my arm for an hour after playing sessions with the Sidekick and AR.

I hate the weapon so much in it’s current form I’m just super happy Team Slayer now has BR starts in 90% of its matches. But ideally I want to love the Sidekick just as much.

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Thanks for taking the time to answer my questions even if they seem a but off-topic.

*Note: When I say “Magnum” I’m jsut using that as an umbrella term for all UNSC sidearms across the games. I’ll specifiy when I’m talking about a specific gun (i.e H:CE Magnum, H5 Magnum or Sidekick (SK), etc).

I think your answer is very suitable for what the AR/Magnum need to be. Highly versatile because they will see the widest variety of action.

My answer would have been: A weapon that is just good enough to defend you from 1 full health spartan. What I mean by this is that the AR & Magnum should perform well against a single enemy, but require help or secondary methods to finish a second enemy.

And example would be: The Halo Reach AR was incapable of killing 2 AFK spartans. It had a 32 round mag and needed over 16 rounds to kill (I can’t recall the exact number and don’t want to use incorrect date, so bear with me). What this meant was that if I wanted to kill both players, I would either have to:

  1. Reload before killing the second spartan
  2. Use a grenade to weaken/kill the second spartan
  3. Switch to my magnum
  4. Kill them with melee after weakening them.

All of these would apply to Reach’s magnum as well.

Basically I think the AR/Magnum, as a starting weapon, should be somewhat reliant on the other aspects of Halo’s combat triangle to deal with more than one enemy. The H:CE AR is great example of this because it actually has a melee buff that lets you punch faster with it than with other guns. So it’s basically design for melee finishers.

Yeah, “good” was pretty vague and not the best choice of words, but you still understood what I was getting at. All I wanted to convey was that, Halo, as a first-person shooter, should NOT have useless/bad guns. Period.

H2/H3 suffered from this greatly.

I also believe a starter should be able to compete with a pick up weapon, especially within its niche. However, the whole point of Halo’s weapons system and power scaling is for players to trade up for more power. Players won’t do this if the gun they start with is stronger than the ones on the map. I believe Halo 5 handled this very well with the AR and Reach handled this well with the Magnum.

While the H5 AR is by no mean “weak” (it’s arguably the strongest one in the series IMO), it is however, very weak WITHIN the Halo 5 sandbox. More specifically, it is the weakest automatic in H5 IMO. All of the other Autos tended to have better behavioral traits that made them more suitable.

  • The Storm Rifle and BPR had increased shield damage (thus getting to the 1 hit melee threshold faster)
  • The SMG performed better in CQC and had more ammo.
  • The Suppressor had tracking and a higher fire rate.

While none of these guns outright beat the AR, they did overall perform better and I found myself almost always trading my AR for one of them.

As for the Magnum, I felt that Halo Reach did a good job of giving you something that could compete with the DMR, but wasn’t really better than it.

  • If you controlled the bloom on both guns, I believe they both equivalent (or at least very similar TTKs). Both killed in 5 headshots and 8 bodyshots. So it wasn’t uncommon for a Magnum-user to kill a DMR-user.
  • The Magnum had an overall faster fire rate, but its bloom made that unreliable.
  • DMR had a stronger zoom (3x instead of the Magnum’s 2x)
  • Finally, the DMR had a larger magazine (Margin of Error)

My definition is more in line with the older games:
A gun that can kill 2 or more people without having to reload.

Obviously this applies to tier-3 weapons as well, however, tier-3’s are usually capable of killing many players (4+), do high damage to vehicles, and can one shot spartans. The Sword & hammer also don’t have to reload.

Yes, Margin of Error applies differently to each gun. To use your example, the PP overcharge has a high margin of error. It gets 1 shot, but if it connects, it’s very powerful. The PP primary fire however also has a high margin of error (needs like 20+ shots) but each shot is also very weak. Hence why the primary fire is seen as borderline useless. The AR and SK also are affected by this idea.

So here’s what’s really freaking cool about Margin of Error:

Margin of Error controls TTK, and Margin of Error can be controlled.

In the case of an automatic gun like the AR, the Margin of Error lies within the gun’s Bloom and Range. The AR is a gun that isn’t going to miss a lot of shots, because it is easy to use. However, if you try to use the gun at long range or don’t properly control the bloom, you will miss more often & your TTK will go up. Now look at the Plasma Rifle, another similar gun. Its MoE is also governed by the same principles, but it also has to deal with slow projectiles, which makes it even hard to use at long range…

…Now, by controlling the gun’s ammo capacity, you control how likely it is for a player to need to reload before getting a kill or two.

In the case of the Sidekick and other precision guns, the MoE is governed by ammo capacity. These are precise guns will only miss if the player misses. By lowering ammo capacity, an overall emphasis on accuracy increase. The more shots you miss, the higher your TTK rises and the likelihood that you have to reload. I actually quite like the Sidekick’s MoE (7|12 & 10|12). It has a really high MoE which is ok for a tier-1 gun and even more acceptable for a starter weapon that you should be looking to trade-up anyways. What I don’t like his how quickly it gets there.

I’m glad you said that. The BR is a gun I think is worth being in the conversation because it is also a starter weapon (Ranked). However, despite is slower TTK in Infinite, the BR is gun that performs very well. So well that it’s a gun that you should almost never trade out. Since your thread is about the AR and SK, I’ll let you decide if you wanna talk about the BR here.

I hope this wall of text made some sense. I wanted to make sure we were on the same page since a lot of my thoughts on these 2 guns use a lot of personal definitions and ideas.

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So it seems we are in agreeance here then that the MA40 AR would be better off with a 32 round magazine instead of 36? I believe in a previous discussion you had mentioned that you liked having more ammo capacity because it gives more room for adjusting damage / fire rate, this is also an option but personally I like the MA40 AR where it’s at so the simplist change fornme would be to slightly reduce ammo capacity.

100% agreed.

I also agree 100%. The MA40 AR should be the floor for automatic weapons (this doesn’t always have to be a floor with respect to TTK, for example the Disruptor is an automatic weapon with it’s own function).

The Sidekick is sort of different in Halo Infinite though. Traditionally, Halo’s Magnums have had a slower fire rate but were good precision weapons. In this case, the Magnum could be the floor for precision weapons. In Infinite however, the Sidekick doesn’t really feel like a precision weapon to me at all because of it’s limited range due to bloom. IMO, the Sidekick is it’s own unique weapon right now. It has the highest TTK of any Tier 1 weapon (using my definition of commonly available here), but it requires more skill to use than the MA40 AR. If you are comfortable with the Sidekick, there might actually be no reason to exchange it for most weapons in the game (until you at least exchange the AR). I actually think this might be ok, after all the Sidekick (by it’s name) is a good secondary weapon with it’s fast swap and finishing ability. I just think it should lend itself to that finishing function (as well as speed), by slightly decreasing it’s effectiveness on it’s own by lowering damage while increasing fire rate.

I actually disagree on the case of the Sidekick being a precision weapon that will only miss if the player misses. The Sidekick is effected by bloom which often leads to shots missing at no fault of the player. In this respect the Sidekick is not really a traditional precision weapon.

I think the (7|12 & 10|12) works if fire rate is limited in favour of precision (more like the traditional magnums), however the Sidekick in it’s current state shreds enemies that are within range that aren’t right on top of you.

What would your thoughts be on adding an M6 Magnum to Halo Infinite? It would have a slower rate of fire, but could add 2x zoom and more damage / precision (it could essentially be the DMR).

  • Can an M6 Magnum co-exist in the Sandbox with the MK50 Sidekick?
  • If so, which weapon would be a better starter weapon? The Sidekick with it’s fast swap finishing function / skill reward or the Magnum with it’s function as a floor precision weapon allowing players to engage enemies at range (which would compliment the AR’s function of a floor automatic weapon with limited range)?

Edit: I just thought of something that I will throw out there. Perhaps both weapons would have their own function in specific game modes? The Sidekick could keep it’s role of standard secondary in 4 v 4 game modes while the Magnum could possibly be the answer to balancing range in BTB. I’ve seen player’s calling for BR starts in BTB, and while I’m personally against that maybe a new precision weapon with a lower ceiling than the BR is exactly what is needed.

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The AR has had 32 rounds before (H3 and Reach) and it seemed to work fine, so I’m not against a smaller magazine. But yes, I’d prefer a larger mag (like CE) since, theoretically, it’s easier to have a magazine that’s too small than one that’s too large. For instance an AR with 15 rounds wouldn’t work very well. Also increasing the ammo doesn’t mean we have to double it. It could just need 40 rounds for instance.

Actually I think increasing the rounds on the Disruptor would help it. You either have to land 6 shots (60%) for the slow DoT kill or 9 shots (90%) for the direct kill. It has other functions that makes up for the lack of damage and MoE. Of course the disruptor has 2 ways it can kill, so that has to be taken into account. And of course the Disruptor is a tier-1, so it shouldn’t really have a high MoE. But that’s off topic.

The reason why I call the SK a “precision weapon” is because of its “Headshot Function”. All precision guns are more valuable when you aim for the head. The SK is no different. Non-precision guns like the AR, Needler, Plasma Pistol and Rockets don’t gain value from headshots.

I agree that the Sidekick doesn’t feel like a precision gun because of the bloom. And that’s because bloom shouldn’t be on precision guns. Any shot you fire from a precision gun should go exactly where you fire it. The machine shouldn’t be deciding your fate. There have been times where I straight up missed a shot but the bloom carried the shot into my enemy’s head anyways.

I don’t think a precision gun has to be long ranged to be a part of the category. The H2/3 Magnums were headshot capable, and were certainly not long ranged guns.

In general I think the Sidekick in on the cusp of being a really good cleanup gun, but it needs some changes to it’s traits. And I think a mix of the Sidekick, H5 Magnum, and H3 Magnum would work.

From the Sidekick:

  • Quick Swap trait – This ability makes it the best gun to have in your pocket and the best gun to combo with the Plasma Pistol.
  • Quick Reload – While not the most game-changing ability, it does give the SK an “always ready” sort of feel. Being able to reload mid fight would be unique.

From the H5 Magnum:

  • Fire Rate – I feel the fire rate of this magnum would be healthier overall and make the gun less spammy.
  • Damage – With a slower fire rate you can also decrease the number of shots needed to kill while still having a slower TTK.

From H3, and it’s more of what the H3 magnum didn’t have:

  • No Zoom – Not having zoom (or at least a weak zoom) would put the Sidekick at the “Precision Gun Floor” by making it a close range gun that player would seek to upgrade.
  • No Bloom – See Above

Another option could be creating a magnum that has really strong headshot power but very weak bodyshot damage so it creates an emphasis on headshot. Think of the Shock Rifle (1|4 & 3|4). Trying to go for bodyshots with that things is a really bad idea.

Yes. I think they could co-exist. In fact the M6 could be the starter pistol while the sidekick is a pick-up with less range but a really fast TTK. Personally, I think that TTK is always going to make it the more valuable gun simply because it just out-kills the M6.

I… don’t really know how I feel about the BTB situation. Generally I’m a BR + AR start guy. I think players should have fighting chance off spawn and in BTB that’s with a mid range weapon. However, Infinite’s BTB has as very good BR. The Commando would be better than the SK, but the Commando really underperforms in my opinion.

I don’t know if I can give you good answer right now, honestly. I’m just not sure yet.

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Sidekick and AR are fine as is. Just remove the bloom.

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The AR and PP actually do critical damage for headshots, but I get your point. I sort of define precision weapons a little differently, more based on a weapons type of aim (Scoped or Smart-Link) than it’s headshot damage (maybe I’m off on this one). Generally speaking, scoped weapons are all precision in the sense that if you can aim you will hit your shot which is why Descope is a thing, without it you likely wouldn’t miss shots in a gunfight. The SK does not have descope, but its bloom prevents it from being a threat over range. So I guess in this case it is a short ranged precision weapon? I should have specified before what I meant by precision weapon.

For better or worse this sort of feels like what 343 was going for with the Sidekick though. I don’t think it was ever meant to be a “Precision Weapon” (no bloom) but rather a skilled short - mid range weapon that can beat the AR. The bloom limits it’s range, however it’s high fire rate makes it effective.

Going back to the Magnum, it might be the answer to this problem, I’d like a Magnum with Zoom (and therefore descope) that had a TTK similar to the BR (but the BR would have more ammo capacity, could be more accurate, and it would be easier to hit headshots with a 3-burst… not to mention the BR’s 3 burst gives it the function of countering other scoped weapons through descope).

I still have no idea whether the Sidekick or the Magnum would be the more appropriate default weapon though, both weapons have a role as a finisher but they have a completely different function after that.

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After some more consideration perhaps the Sidekick is fine exactly where is it… but this is only with bloom.

With an optimal TTK of 1.1s, the Sidekick can consistently beat the AR if you hit a perfect while missing just one shot (which could be due to bloom) will lead to an optimal TTK of 1.25s, the same as the AR’s. Changing the fire rate cap of the Sidekick in favour of decreased damage is not realistic as it would likely just give PC users and modded controllers an advantage.

I could never support removing bloom for the Sidekick in it’s current state, that would make the Sidekick completely OP.

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AR takes zero skill to use. That’s why it’s the default starting weapon for social matches. New players can pick up a controller and immediately not be terrible.

Players who learn to aim and control their shot intervals better with the Sidekick are rewarded with a bit more range. Keep practicing.

Sidekick must stay as-is. I’d be fine with nerfing the AR again in terms of both damage and clip size.

Kind of unrelated, but you did mention it. Commando does need a buff because it loses to the BR, SK, and AR in most situations. They just need to bring it back to it’s technical preview state (7 headshots or 10 body shots). It’s only useful in LSS or if you’re on a social map that doesn’t have the BR.

Your TTK values are off BTW.

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They do, but they shouldn’t be. I don’t think adding headshot damage increase to no precision guns really adds much depth to these guns. Sure you could strive for a headshot, but with the bloom this can’t be a reliable tactic (for the AR). As for the PP, I guess it’s primary fire is precise, but no sane person uses that. And the overcharge doesn’t matter where you hit them, it does the same damage everywhere. The overcharge will kill with a headshot if the target is in unshielded, but I think that’s absurd.

Yeah, precision weapons tend to have scopes, but I think that’s because precision weapons naturally perform better at range. The H5 AR had variants that could have a scope. The scope made them work better at long range, but they definitely didn’t turn the AR into a precision gun.

Yeah, a short range precision gun is what I think the SK ought to be. And if players want some true long range power, they need to drop it for the VK or BR.

BTW I thought some more on your question about BTB BR starts and it forgot that the Campaign has a sidekick variant that functions more like M6 (sorta), maybe that could replace the sidekick but not be a straight up long range gun like the BR?

The word “Finisher” is something we should focus on. What exactly makes a gun work as a “finisher”? Why is the SK good at finishing the fight (haha puns), but not suitable for starting or enduring through a fight?

On the flip side, the Plasma Pistol would be a “Starter”. It’s great for opening up a fight (Shield Break/EMP), but horrible for finishing off an opponent.

So what traits make a gun good (or bad) at starting fights? And what traits make a gun good (or bad) at ending fights?

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Maybe, I just used the following source:

https://www.blueberries.gg/halo/halo-infinite-ttk/

The values aligned with Aozolai’s tests available on youtube as well, so that’s two sources that are aligned… I have seen conflicting data out there though.