Yeah this makes sense. I think what would make more sense, is adding snipers into their own category. I don’t think the S7 should be a “power weapon”, as that implies a lot more.
Many people would rather pick up the Shock Rifle over the S7 Sniper simply due to having more ammo and better aim. S7 isn’t that impressive, even against vehicles. If it shot anti vehicle rounds, armor piercing rounds, and ricocheted off walls, then yeah, it would be a damn good power weapon.
It doesn’t though.
Nornfang was a good sniper. Could get a multi collateral with that beast of a sniper. Halo 4 and 5 had some very powerful sniper alternatives. A good sniper should pierce through everything, arguably even some walls like other FPS games
I’m not saying the Shock Rifle has a bad TTK, I’m saying that for all intents and purposes, the SR is basically just a better sniper. The only worthwhile downside is that it needs 3 body shots instead of 2, which hardly matter if you’re getting headshots.
In terms of utility, the SR is a much more viable gun in the greater scope of things.
I mean, generally speaking, it’s only really a power weapon in two scenarios.
1: Someone has REALLY good aim.
2: There is a vehicle on the map.
Otherwise, it’s extremely mid. It rewards precision and has a low-zoom scope, so… you really have to stay on target for way longer than any other weapon per squeeze. It’s REALLY tricky to do unless your target is stationary, but it absolutely deserves the headshot kill if you can get it.
But power weapons control the map - no matter the user’s skill. A Sniper rifle doesn’t require amazing aim to get a kill, you just need two body shots or a headshot.
With the Shock Rifle, you NEED a headshot to reasonably get a kill. It is extremely demanding.
I mean, it can be a beast in the right hands (usually not mine). Getting that one-shot is extremely satisfying, honestly more satisfying than sniper head shots. But I do think it really is in the perfect spot right now. In btb it spawns equally on both sides. In arena it is a contested weapon for anyone that has any confidence with it. It is on controlled respawn so it’s not going to be a bunch of shock rifle spam.
If you are not getting consistent head shots then it really is just a tickle rifle that gets you team shot very quickly.
I have just taken to calling all tier two and power weapons “power weapons”.
I mean, that’s what they ARE, even if the game files and devs think otherwise. The shock rifle is a great example, it’s a one shot kill (I mean, if all 3 ticks hit in the shot). That’s always been a major guideline for what makes something a power weapon. The HMG turret and Cindershot are classified as power weapons but don’t get one shot kills.
So, it’s just not that cut and dried, and frankly the difference is just semantics. I made a video about how power weapon classifications work in all the games a while back.
Everything in this game is good anyway. Really the sandbox is more balanced than any other Halo, nothing feels useless or underpowered (except the plasma pistol, and really that’s mainly because of desync).
Because it takes significantly more effort to get effect out of, is only effective at disabling vehicles as opposed to outright destroying them like the Sniper AND doesn’t have the fast TTK or Multi-Kill potential of the Sniper.
You’ll notice all the power weapons generally have extremely fast (usually one hit) TTKs (the Shock Rifle can actually lose vs. the Sniper if they both shoot at the same time) AND high multi-kill potential. The Shock Rifle is very much a slower TTK than the Sniper AND is a one-and-done weapon while the Sniper has the potential to OHK up to four people in a span of a couple of seconds.