Few people knew how big of a cultural cornerstone the Halo franchise would be when the original Halo: Combat Evolved launched on the Xbox, but it’s continued to be Microsofts biggest exclusive and one of the most influential first-person shooters of all time.
While the games’ gripping narrative and memorable campaign characters are two major reasons for the franchise’s success and longevity, there’s no doubt that the slew of remarkable weapons has also helped Halo stick out from its peers. Each game has added some weapons, and each one has taken others away. Some have been nerfed, some rebalanced, and some retooled into something completely different. Through it all, the most memorable weapons have maintained their unique looks and feels.
10 Plasma Rifle
The Plasma Rifle was introduced in the original Halo: Combat Evolved as the Covenant answer to the human Assault Rifle. It’s never been the strongest weapon Spartans could wield, but its unique visual and aural design have made it one of the most recognizable weapons in the Halo franchise.
Unfortunately, it seems as if Halo has moved on from the Plasma Rifle. Halo 4 and Halo 5 replaced this iconic firearm with the more traditional-looking Storm Rifle, and Halo Infinite has combined the Plasma Rifle and Carbine into the Pulse Carbine.
9 Battle Rifle
Halo 2 is one of the highest-ranked Halo games on Metacritic, and the much-beloved sequel introduced several weapons that would become classic fan favorites. While Halo: CE‘s default firearm was the short to medium-range Assault Rifle, Halo 2 fundamentally changed the flow of combat by introducing the powerful Battle Rifle.
Its zooming scope, tighter bullet spread, and increased effective range meant that Halo games required more precision and line-of-sight control than ever before. While Spartans still usually start with an Assault Rifle in casual multiplayer, Battle Rifles are still the default starting gun in ranked modes.
8 Sniper Rifle
Several games feature sniper rifles, but this long-range weapon has always played an important role in the Halo franchise. While players can use it more traditionally in campaigns and Big Team Battle multiplayer matches, the tight maps of standard multiplayer games mean that Spartans can’t camp and pick enemies off.
Instead, to be effective with this deadly weapon, players must master the art of quick-scopes, no-scopes, and frequent movement. Since Halo: CE, the sniper rifle has undergone several visual changes, but it’s been present in every game with largely-unchanged functionality.
7 Gravity Hammer
There are several important plot points to know in Halo‘s lore, and the introduction of the Gravity Hammer is tied to the rise of the Brutes in Halo 2. The Elites were initially the Prophet’s highest-regarded soldiers, but the Brutes replaced them after the Elites failed to stop Master Chief in Halo: CE.
These ape-like beings were much more blunt and aggressive than the elites, and their demeanor is reflected in their signature weapon. The Gravity Hammer is a big, loud weapon capable of taking out enemies in one hit. It also deals splash damage to the surrounding area and can push enemies that survive its strike.
6 Assault Rifle
The Halo franchise has several amazing multiplayer modes, and most of them start Spartans off with the standard Assault Rifle. There isn’t much about this automatic rifle’s functionality that makes it stand out, but it’s the weapons that players are likely to have in their hands the most often.
It’s a well-rounded firearm with a solid clip size that excels at short and medium-range, and its bullet spread hits the sweet spot between restrictively narrow and overly wide. Since its inclusion in Halo: CE, it’s undergone several visual updates, but it’s never lost its bulky silhouette and triangular back panel.
5 Plasma Pistol
Every Halo game since the original has included the Plasma Pistol, and it’s undergone shockingly few changes to its look and functionality. Newer players may brush off this Covenant side-arm due to its underwhelming primary firing mode, but its charged shots are critical for completing campaigns on Legendary difficulty and also have a niche use in multiplayer.
Charged shots fully deplete enemy shields, which opens them up to a single-shot headshot finish. When paired with a precision weapon like the Battle Rifle, this makes for swift takedowns if the player can land their first plasma shot. Charged shots have also traditionally stalled vehicles, but this functionality has been significantly nerfed in Halo Infinite.
4 Rocket Launcher
Except for Halo 4 and small parts of Halo: Reach, every Halo game has started players with the same weapons and equipment. Given that players don’t have load-outs to tweak, multiplayer success has always depended on power-weapon control, and there are few weapons as powerful or fun to use as the various rocket launchers that have appeared throughout the series.
While they’ve sometimes looked different or sported different names, rocket launchers have always all but guaranteed that their wielders can earn a few kills, take out a vehicle, or clear a control point.
3 Pistol (Halo: CE)
Halo: Infinite‘s Sidekick pistol is a powerful ranged weapon, but none of the seres’ handguns have been as memorable as the original Halo: CE M6D. This weapon was one of the first in the series to feature a 2x zoom, but it is best known for its borderline broken power level.
Bungie, the original developer of the Halo franchise, tweaked its damage output in the final moments before the game went gold, and the result was a weapon that could kill any enemy with only three shots to the head. The weapon dominated multiplayer in a way that no gun has since.
2 Needler
The Needler, with its bird beak-like shape and bright pink bullets, is definitely one of the more alien-looking weapons in the Halo franchise. While it started out as a middle-of-the-road novelty weapon, it has had more ups and downs than the other original firearms. Halo 2‘s dual-wielding nerfed them to near-uselessness, but Halo Infinite has tuned them into incredibly potent weapons worth seeking out.
That being said, it’s still a tricky weapon to use well. While its needles’ automatically home enemies, there’s a short delay between when the needles make contact and when they explode.
1 Energy Sword
Several of Master Chief’s best quotes in the Halo franchise see him asking for weaponry, and no weapon is more uniquely Halo than the Energy Sword. The signature melee weapon of the Elites, these dual-bladed weapons are frequently available to use in most campaigns. They aren’t available in every multiplayer map, but they’re a game-changing tool that teams need to fight to control when they are.
Part of what has made the Energy Sword so memorable, in addition to its unique look and sound effects, is that it requires skill to use. Its one-hit kills can clear out a room under the right circumstances, but it can be challenging to get close enough to land hits.
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