Halo 3: Improvement Techniques 12.) Weapon Rankings

This week's blog isn't going to deal with any new skill set or methodology to killing. Today we're only concerned with the power rankings of weapons.

By now I hope you've gathered you should always, as fast as possible, pick up a secondary weapon. There are two main reasons for this. If you run out of ammo, you now have a secondary weapon to finish off kills. This is helpful because it is quicker to switch weapons than to reload. Grabbing a secondary weapon also gives you the ability to change tactics by switching weapons if the situation dictates it is neccessary. I'm not listing equipment, turrets or grenades.

Here is the power ranking of weapons on map from least useful to most useful and why:

1.) Pistol---The pistol is the new needler. This is the weapon most anyone will avoid picking up because every other weapon will destroy a pistol in almost any circumstance. It is slow to fire, not extremely accurate, and has a small clip. By itself, it seems to only be able to kill someone if you are right next to that person, and the only way you'd be able to actually win a battle like that is if your opponent is a blind ignoramous. This weapon is moderately useful if dual wielded with either the plasma pistol, or the plasma rifle, but there are much better combos available. The pistol is by far the secondary weapon of last resort.

2.) Plasma Pistol-- This gun is actually weaker than the pistol when it comes to individual shots, but its versatility makes it head and shoulders a better weapon than its human cousin. The Plasma Pistol (PP) has a power charge that can disable vehicles and remove shields with one well placed shot. A PP user can charge an opponent and hit him with full charge for a garunteed beatdown, use a human projectile weapon in conjunction with the plasma charge for a quick headshot kill, throw a grenade on someone hit with the plasma charge for a quick kill, or disable a vehicle like a ghost for a quick attempt at a stationary target. The versatility of this weapon is the only thing that makes it more worthwhile than the pistol, but it isn't as powerful as it used to be because it is not the only thing that stops vehicles, and the lock on power of the PP is much weaker than it was in H2

3.) SMG -- The SMG is probably one of the most useful close-quarters weapon. By itself, it only takes half a clip to kill someone up close and absoltuely destroys the AR in close combat. Add another weapon in conjunction with it via the dual wield option, like a plasma rifle or pistol and it can turn into a devastatingly quick killing weapon. The reson it is so low in the ranking is because it is extremely limiting. It is hard to find areas where you can corral an enemy into staying close enough for you to kill him with the SMG, and since the AR is a more effective weapon at medium range and because the AR is the default weapon, you'll be hard pressed to find people willing to run into your killing radius.

4.) The Needler-- The Needler is only ranked higher than the SMG because of its lock-on targeting ability. True, the lock on isn't effective at close or long range, but the sheer numbers of needles it spits out makes it sometimes hard to dodge all but the 4 needed to kill you. If the Needler was still a dual wieldable weapon, it would rank much higher on the list. The fact it isn't severely limits the effectivness of this weapon. I'd still pick it up if I needed a secondary weapon though.

5.) The Mauler-- The mauler, or mini-shotgun, is limiting, but still a nice powerful secondary weapon. If dual-wielded, a double shot of the mauler is as strong as the shotgun. The only problem is you don't have the optioon to beatdown as fast if you somehow missed with your shots. The Mauler is slow to shoot, and its range is even shorter than the shotgun. By itself, one shot from the mauler and a quick beatdown is an almost garunteed kill, but it doesn't deserve to be ranked above the big boys like the sword, shotgun or hammer.

6.) The Sword-- I know you're probably thinking, "Why is the sword ranked so low?" Because it is so limited, I say. You have to be in close to use it, and it tends to be a beacon for grenades when you whip it out. (whipping it out is illegal in all 50 states) I would never in a million years pass up the opportunity to carry the sword, but I would drop my AR in a hurry for better ranged weapon if I grabbed the sword. Having an AR and a sword is redundant. One is better close up than the other, and the other is useless from a distance which makes it easier for you to be picked off should you be carrying the sword and the AR. The sword also almost forces you to become a camper extraordinaire If you wish to keep using it. It is very useful in Koth Games though, and if all ranked games were Koth games, the sword would be ranked as probably one of the top 3 weapons to have.

7.) The Spiker-- The Spiker is essentially a cross between the SMG and the Needler. It is essentially an SMG that fires needles that don't track. So why is it ranked higher than the SMG, or even the sword? Because it has no noticeable disadvantage at medium ranges like the previously mentioned weapons. The spiker can kill easily at medium range. It may be more difficult to aim than most other dual wield weapons because the projectiles it shoots are noticably slower than most other weapons, but the ability to aim it is a human factor, and can be overcome. If you use the spiker efficiently, you can kill an AR user at medium distance sometimes, and if you are dual wielding them, they become even that much more formidable. If you don't believe me, try it and see. Face off an SMG user and a spiker user and keep moving away from each other. The Spiker user will win every time. Do the same with an AR user and the result turns into a 50/50 split of who dies.

8.) The Plasma Rifle-- This is probably my secondary weapon of choice. I like to run around with this and a BR, and this combo of weapons makes me hard to kill in almost any situation. Why? Because at any range, the plasma rifle (PR) only takes 3 shots to completely take down someone's shields. If I were up close, I'd shoot someone three times with a PR and beat them down. In fact, my stats on bungie say i've only got 1 kill attributed to the PR, but that is kind of misleading. This is so because I only use the PR to take down shields. I get the kill via a swift beatdown. If I can't beat someone down because they move out of range, I switch my weapon to my BR or AR and head shot them to death. When I have the PR, I'm only leary of attacking someone with the shotgun, sword or the hammer, and I have even killed people with those weapons using only a simple PR beat down combo.

9.) The Hammer-- The hammer is essentially a sword without lock on targeting, but with a much larger blast radius. This is the only reason it is better than the sword. The same reasons the sword was ranked so low are the same reasons this weapon is not ranked higher.

10.) The Shotgun-- I would rather have a shotgun than a sword or hammer anyday. Why? Because it is still an instant, up-close kill, and it has the added bonus of still inflicting damage to someone even if they aren't right next to me. Should I need to, I can shoot someone 3 times at short-medium distance and still come out on top. It also isn't a huge beacon for everyone on the map to see when I am running around with it. I've noticed people are much more likely to charge me and die if I'm holding the shotgun than the hammer or the sword. A person sees the sword or shotgun, they automatically think, "I'm not going in there." They see the shotgun, they think they have a chance. They don't if the person using it knows what he/she is doing. I'll drop the hammer or the sword for the shotgun anytime. This is probably a controversial ranking, and people can certainly argue its placement, but for me, a shotgun is instant death for anyone coming after me.

11.) The AR-- You spawn with it, so it is hard to decide where to rank it, but I'll place it near the middle. I'm placing it higher than the close range beat-em-up guns because I'd rather have the option of not sitting still to get a kill, than camping some corner and waiting for a n00b to run in front of me. If I have a battle rifle and a pistol, you better believe I'm dropping that pistol for the AR fast. The AR is the jack of all trades in Halo 3. It is niether great nor bad, it is merely adequate. And sometimes adequate does quite nicely.

12.) The Brute Shot (BS)-- The Brute shot is not really a weapon I run for all that often. It isn't a killing machine, but it does wreak havoc quite nicely. If I wanted to put a hurting on a group of enemies and quick, I'd grab this bad boy and shoot pell mell trying to damage as many shields as possible. On hit from this bad boy hurts, but you'll notice it is hard to direct its fire with any great accuracy except up close. It is a great assist weapon. Damage shields and let your teammates take out the casualties with precision weapons. Up close though, the BS is almost better than the shotgun, sword, or hammer. If you catch someone trying to charge you with a close range weapon, the BS will make quick work of them, and you should come out on top.

13.) The Carbine-- I love this gun, but its small clip and extremely limited ammo make it hard to justify having for too long, otherwise you'll end up searching the map for more ammo within 30 seconds of picking up the weapon. Good at long range, but somehow not as easy to control at medium distances, the carbine is probably the weakest of the scoped weapons in my opinion.

14.) The Battle Rifle (BR)-- The BR is probably the best distance weapon not counting the sniper rifles. This is because you can kill three people with it without having to reload, you can dictate play by keeping your distance and still holding the advantage and when you pick one up you're pretty much set for ammo for at least a good 2 minutes. It isn't as accurate as the carbine, but the difference is negligible and hardly noticed. This is almost always one of the first weapons I run for on a map, and I can't see that changing anytime soon.

15.) The Human Sniper (HS)-- This is probably the easier of the 2 snipes to use. You always know you only have 4 shots per clip, and you only have 2 extra reloads when you pick it up for a total of 12 shots. From a distance the snipe can make or break a game, and up close, for those who know how to use it well, it can be devastating. There is nothing wrong with this weapon, but in my mind, the covie snipe is much better.

16.) The Covenant Sniper (CS)-- One shot, one kill, but good luck shooting more than 3 shots in a row with it. Its penchance for overheating makes it not as reliable as its human counterpart. But...big but here....If you can pace yourself with this weapon, you can go on quick sprees. What really sells me on this weapon more than the HS, is the fact it starts off with more available ammo than the HS (each shot if paced correctly is only 5 energy points from its 100 total energy.) It has 20 shots in it if you use it correctly. It is also a silent snipe. Use the HS and you're pretty much advertising your location to anyone and everyone. The CS is much harder to hear and locate. You almost have to see the sniper beam to know where a shot came from. I'd rather have this sniper rifle any day of the week.

17.) The Rockets-- Still probably the most fought over weapon on a map. This is probably because the n00b factor with this gun is very high. Just point and shoot and unless you are still in diapers and drooling, you'll probably get a kill. Nothing can really be said that detracts from the power of this weapon except it's slow reload time and limited ammo.