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The following series of articles gives a recap and brings new players up to speed on the weapons, vehicles, abilities, and spawn systems and strategy in multiplayer of Halo: Combat Evolved, Halo 2, Halo 3, and Halo 4. Due to the sheer volume of information, some subjects were chosen according to how much they vary from game to game, to better prepare the player.

One of the biggest things to note when playing Halo 3 is that it is not hitscan. This means that Halo 3 more closely resembles real-life physics, and when firing a weapon upon the enemy from a distance, your bullet does not immediately hit a moving target; you must adjust for travel time by shooting ahead of your target.

Halo 3 Weapons

Halo 3 continues the use of dual wieldable weapons. Following is a list of dual wieldable weapons found in Halo 3, including two new weapons, the Covenant Spiker and Mauler:

SMG

Magnum

Plasma Pistol

Plasma Rifle

Spiker *

Mauler *

Also of note are three objects that can be used in Halo 3 as weapons, for a one hit melee kill: the oddball, the bomb, and the flag.

H3 UNSC Weapons

Battle Rifle

The BR55HB SR (Battle Rifle 55 Heavy Barrel Service Rifle) Battle Rifle is the Halo 3 Battle Rifle, and can be found on every multiplayer map. It is useful for medium to surprisingly long range, and on gametypes without BR starts is a part of any sensible team’s first rush strategy.

Rounds to kill: 4

Range: Medium to long

Magazine: 36 rounds [12 bursts]

Max. ammo: 144 rounds [4 magazines]

Fire Mode: Semi-automatic, 3-round burst

Accuracy: High

Zoom: 5x

MA5C Assault Rifle

The Assault Rifle makes a comeback in Halo 3, with moar power and range, albeit a smaller clip, and is the starting weapon in most playlists. The bullet spray of this rifle becomes less accurate the longer you hold the trigger, which is controlled by using rapid, controlled bursts at anything longer than point blank range.

This weapon does not do more damage to the head than the body, so aim for the largest mass on your enemy.

Range: Short to medium

Magazine: 32 rounds

Max. ammo: 352 rounds [11 magazines]

Fire Mode: Fully-automatic

Accuracy: Moderate to low

Zoom: none

M90A Shotgun

In Halo 3 the shotgun magazine was cut in half, but the kill range was bumped back up, making it lethal at two to three times the range it was in Halo 2.

Rounds to kill: 1

Range: Close to medium

Magazine: 6 rounds

Max. ammo: 36 rounds

Fire Mode: Pump action [Fully-automatic]

Accuracy: high to low, distance dependent

Zoom: None

M6G Magnum

The Halo 3 M6G PDWS (Personal Defense Weapon System)

Rounds to kill: 5

Range: Short to long

Magazine: 8 rounds

Max. ammo: 40 rounds [5 magazines]

Fire Mode: Semi-automatic

Accuracy: Medium-high

Zoom: 2x

Dual wieldable

SMG

In Halo 3 the SMG recieved an upgrade to accurace, range, damage and rate of fire, with a delay before the barrel climbs when spamming the trigger (firing the weapon). It is still more accurate to use controlled bursts when firing this weapon. The SMG continues to be dual wieldable in Halo 3.

Range: Close

Magazine: 60 rounds

Max. ammo: 240 rounds [4 magazines]

Fire Mode: Fully-automatic

Accuracy: Moderate to low [distance and recoil dependent]

Zoom: none

Dual wieldable

99D-S2 Anti-Matériel Sniper

Something of note is because Halo 3 is not hitscan, the contrail on the Halo 3 sniper is also lethal. This means if your teammate walks into the contrail after you’ve fired your shot, you will get a betrayal. I know; I’ve done it and had to prove it with screenshots. See them below it’s stats.

Rounds to kill: 1 headshot or 2 body shots

Range: Medium to long

Magazine: 4 rounds

Max. ammo: 24 rounds [6 magazines]

Fire Mode: Semi-automatic

Accuracy: High

Zoom: 5x/10x

That sniping incident was not the first of it’s kind I’ve witnessed in Halo 3; it appears to be a normal part of the mechanics for Halo 3.

M41 SSR Rocket Launcher

In Halo 3 the Rocket Launcher was given an upgrade, with the M41 HEAT rocket traveling at a greater speed towards your target, and a faster reload and melee time. Unfortunately, it was stripped of it’s vehicle-locking ability.

Rounds to kill: 1

Range: Short to long

Magazine: 2 rockets

Max. ammo: 8 rockets

Fire Mode: Semi-automatic

Accuracy: High

Zoom: 2x

M6 Spartan Laser

Rounds to kill: 1

Range: Short to long

Max. ammo: 5 shots

Fire Mode: Charged, single shot

Accuracy: Extremely High

Zoom: 2x

Fragmentation Grenade

The Halo 3 frag grenade behaves differently than the previous two Halo installations, going back to it’s roots, and will not explode mid-air unless shot. They also began to behave differently in Halo 3, where they will not bounce off sand or snow surfaces. It is also possible to deflect a rocket with a frag grenade blast in Halo 3.

No. to kill: 2

Max. ammo: 4 grenades

Kill radius: 5 metres

Damage radius: 15 metres

Explodes after first bounce once 2 seconds has passed and it hits ground

That’s it for the UNSC weapons, now before we go on to the Covenant weapons, why not check out this Ragdoll physics comparison between the Halo games? Be amused – I was!

All Halo games Ragdoll physics comparison:

H3 Covenant Weapons

Plasma Pistol

Halo 3 marks the change where the plasma pistol could no longer be held in charge mode without draining it’s reserve plasma battery. In Halo 3 every second this Covenant pistol is held in charge mode, the battery is drained by approximately 3%, with the overcharges depleting it by 10%.

Another downgrade to this pistol in this installment is a reduction in lock-on to enemies for the charged shot. And although it charges quicker, it takes longer to cool down.

Range: Short to medium

Max. ammo: 400 [charged shot takes 10%]

Fire Mode: Semi-automatic or charged shot

Accuracy: High

Zoom: none

Reload: none

Dual wieldable

Plasma Rifle

Although the Plasma Rifle is used often at short range in full-automatic mode, it can also be used to ping enemies at a distance with single, controlled shots. Like it’s previous versions, this Covenant rifle is prone to overheating if fired continuously, and will begin to mis-fire when down to 10% energy reserves.

Halo 3’s Plasma Rifle is much more powerful than it was in Halo 2, and has a faster plasma-bullet travel time. Because of this, at certain ranges you may find that you don’t have to lead your shots as much as you do it’s UNSC counterparts.

Shots to kill: 18

Range: Short to medium

Max. ammo: 400 rounds

Fire Mode: Fully-automatic

Accuracy: Moderate

Zoom: none

Dual wieldable

Mauler

Although the Mauler is considered one of the weaker of the close-range weapons, one shot and a melee dispatches your enemy fairly quickly. It is believed the Mauler can sometimes kill in one shot.

Rounds to kill: 2

Range: Very short

Magazine: 5 rounds

Max. ammo: 25 [5 magazines]

Fire Mode: Single shot

Accuracy: High

Zoom: none

Dual wieldable

Brute Spiker

The Brute Spiker is another Covenant assault-type weapon that is best used dual wielded at close quarters. Because it’s bullets are made of solid matter, it’s best paired with a plasma weapon for dual wielding such as the Plasma Pistol or Plasma Rifle, so they can work on your enemy’s shields while the Brute Spiker cuts through armor and flesh.

Range: Short to medium

Magazine: 40 rounds

Max. ammo: 160 [4 magazines]

Fire Mode: Fully-automatic

Accuracy: High to moderate (range dependent)

Zoom: none

Dual wieldable

Needler

In Halo 3 the Needler is no longer dual-wieldable, but it has a higher rate of fire, accuracy, speed and damage per needle. The reticule must be red to track, and although Halo 3 does not support multiple needle combine explosions, when the needles do go, the explosion now is comparible to a plasma grenade, dealing similar damage to anyone near.

Rounds to kill: 7

Range: Short to medium

Magazine: 19

Max. ammo: 49 rounds

Fire Mode: Fully-automatic

Accuracy: High

Zoom: None

No longer dual-wieldable

Type-51 Carbine

Upgrades to the Covenant Carbine for Halo 3 include a better stock of ammo found among multiplayer maps, and a two-magazine start, double what was given in Halo 2 multiplayer.

Shots to Kill: 8

Range: Medium to long

Magazine: 18 rounds

Max. ammo: 90 rounds [5 magazines]

Fire Mode: Semi-automatic

Accuracy: High

Zoom: 2x

Brute Shot

In Halo 3, the Brute Shot does slightly less damage. Unlike in Halo 2 where you can bounce Brute Shot grenades around corners, the Halo 3 Brute Shot grenades explode on impact when they come into contact with a solid object. If they do not hit an object, they explode in approximately three seconds.

The Brute Shot can flip the Mongoose and Warthog.

Shots to kill: 4 or 1 + melee

Range: Short to medium-long

Magazine: 6 grenades

Max. ammo: 18 grenades

Fire Mode: Semi-automatic

Accuracy: High

Beam Rifle

This Covenant sniper rifle like many of their weapons fires energy matter as opposed to projectiles. Regardless, it’s as lethal as the UNSC sniper, perhaps even more so with it’s ability to fire two shots in more rapid succession, although like in Halo 2 it will be useless for a few seconds afterwards from overheating.

Shots to Kill: 2

Range: Medium to long

Max. ammo: 10 shots/charge

Fire Mode: Semi-automatic

Accuracy: Very High

Zoom: 5x/10x

Energy Sword

In Halo 3 the biggest change to the energy sword from Halo 2 is the ability to block incoming sword attacks with another sword. The resulting clash will drain both shields, but neither will die unless one of them gets the better of the other.

Strikes to kill: 1

Range: Close

Max charge: 10 strikes

Accuracy: High

Gravity Hammer

Strikes to kill: 1

Range: Close

Max charge: 20 strikes

Accuracy: High to moderate (distance dependent)

Plasma Grenade

The Halo 3 Plasma Grenade has a shorter time to detonate after thrown than it does in Halo 2 by approximately one second.

Max. ammo: 4 grenades

Kill radius: 4 meters

Damage radius: 12 meters

Explodes two seconds from when it’s thrown

Brute Spike Grenade

Brute Spike Grenades stick to solid objects they’re thown at, flying razor sharp shrapnel in all directions, upon detonation, which can ricochet off hard surfaces and cause further damage.

Max. ammo: 4 grenades

Kill radius: 3 meters

Damage radius: 11 meters

Explodes two seconds from when it’s thrown

Weapons Introduced in Halo 3

Mounted Turret – The mobile 50 caliber turret your Spartan rips off it’s tripod, was seen in Halo 3 first.

The mobile 50 caliber turret your Spartan rips off it’s tripod, was seen in Halo 3 first. Plasma Cannon – This Covenant turret is the Mounted Turrets equivalent.

This Covenant turret is the Mounted Turrets equivalent. Missile Pod – Locks on to vehicles. Drivers are alerted to lock on.

Locks on to vehicles. Drivers are alerted to lock on. Flame Thrower – Takes a second to fire up, but once your victim gets cooking, it takes awhile for the fire to go out. Watch out though, if you step in the puddle of flame, you might go up in smoke, too.

Well, that wraps it up for Halo 3 weapons. Do you have any favorite screenshots from Halo 3 or Halo 4 that have to do with vehicles, glitches, strategy or abilities, or Halo 4 weapons? If so, post a link in the comments and we might use them in upcoming issues of “The Master Chief Collection for Dummies”! If you aren’t already registered, you can log in easily with one of your existing social accounts, including your gamertag.

Until then, have a good week, and see you next episode for more Master Chief Collection for Dummies goodness.

Wat?! You missed “Halo: The Master Chief Collection for Dummies” Parts 1 and 2?!! You can find them here >>

Sources: halo.wikia.com (all weapons seen in this article), strategywiki.org (http://strategywiki.org/wiki/Halo_3/Weapons), halopedia.org (http://www.halopedia.org/dual_wielding)