The Halo franchise is known for having some of the most innovative weapons in video game history. It’s hard to talk about Halo without mentioning the Needler, Plasma Pistol, Energy Sword, or the Halo: Combat Evolved Magnum.
As fun as it is to reference Halo’s unique weapon roster, there’s a surprising amount of duds in the franchise. Weapons like the Focus Rifle never got a second chance while some iconic guns were nerfed so hard in future installments that they were deemed detrimental to use. From Halo 2 to 5, here are the ten worse Halo weapons in the franchise. Note that this list does not include weapon variants from Halo 5’s Warzone mode.
10 Plasma Turret (Halo 5: Guardians)
It was hard to pick which Halo game has the worst Plasma Turret. Ultimately, Halo 5: Guardians deserves the title for the worst Plasma Turret solely due to its otherwise excellent weapon sandbox.
For the low cost of your mobility, you gain a weapon that has a limited ammo supply, has worse accuracy than the Storm Rifle, and doesn’t output an impressive amount of damage. Every Halo game with a Plasma Turret has balanced this weapon poorly, but none have as large of a power gap as Halo 5. Avoid this weapon at all costs.
9 Flamethrower (Halo 3)
Originally tied to the PC version of Halo: Combat Evolved, the Flamethrower finally made its way to consoles with the release of Halo 3. As a heavy weapon, the Flamethrower was meant to be a suppressive weapon that would coat entire zones in flame.
The issue is that this weapon is extremely rare and overheats quickly. This weapon deals a surprising amount of damage for a close-range weapon, yet it is only useful during the Cortana mission. In multiplayer, the Flamethrower is outclassed by virtually every weapon in the sandbox.
8 Spiker (Halo: Reach)
You’d be forgiven if you forgot the Spiker was in Halo: Reach. This weapon appears in a handful of campaign levels and maps. Does its uncommon rarity make it good? Absolutely not.
This short-range SMG takes 18 shots to kill a fully-shielded Spartan. For comparison, the Spiker in Halo 3 killed in 13 shots and it could be dual-wielded. It does shred shields somewhat quickly as with most Covenant weapons, yet this gun lacks the utility of the Plasma Pistol in the campaign or the versatility of the DMR or Magnum in multiplayer. There is nothing going for the Spiker in this installment.
7 Shotgun (Halo 2 and Halo 3)
Calling the Shotguns in Halo 2 and 3 nerfed variants of its CE counterpart would be a major understatement. These weapons had their magazines reduced, fire rate cut down substantially, have a longer reload time, and have much less range.
Technically speaking, Halo 3’s Shotgun is slightly better since it has more range than its Halo 2 counterpart, yet both weapons are so terrible in their respective sandbox that both had to be mentioned. They struggle against shielded opponents in the campaign, are less adept at killing Flood as other weapons, and have inconsistent ranges in multiplayer that make these weapons undesirable in most playlists.
6 Assault Rifle (Halo: Reach)
Most Halo: Reach players defend the Assault Rifle for its better accuracy and ability to kill Grunts quickly. This argument falls apart immediately once players realize that they usually spawn with either a DMR or Magnum alongside this gun.
Halo: Reach’s Assault Rifle is easily the worst iteration of an AR in Halo history. Enemy Spartans would die after 16 shots, a fine number in theory. In practice, this is rarely achieved since the gun has so much “bloom” or reduced accuracy when it is fired in full-auto. It fairs even worse inside the campaign, failing to break an Elite’s shields promptly in Heroic or Legendary. The UNSC’s iconic weapon deserved better.
5 Plasma Repeater (Halo: Reach)
To give the Plasma Rifle some competition, Bungie introduced the Plasma Repeater in Halo: Reach as a two-handed variant of the classic Covenant weapon. It is more than capable of shredding an opponent’s shields, although that’s all it is good for.
Firing the Plasma Repeater for too long will cause the weapon to fire much slower unlike its Plasma Rifle counterpart. This overheat mechanic occurs after a second or two of continued use, making this gun useless for finishing off enemies. The Plasma Repeater also fires slow projectiles that prevent it from being a further ranged Plasma Rifle. It also fails as a utility weapon since the Plasma Pistol can also shut down vehicles and can track targets. While it tried its best to dethrone the Plasma Rifle, the Plasma Repeater added nothing to the game’s sandbox.
4 Focus Rifle (Halo: Reach)
Veteran Halo players might remember how strong the Focus Rifle was in Halo: Reach’s beta. This weapon could down a Spartan in less than a second with little issue. It could even destroy vehicles in a couple of seconds. Bungie took the feedback into account and nerfed its damage output in the final game.
Nerfed is an understatement; the Focus Rifle was butchered in the retail version. This weapon’s TTK is 1.3 seconds in multiplayer, a number that seems great until you realize this is a power weapon. Lack of aim assist also makes this weapon ineffective at medium-range engagements. Even with all of these negatives, it might have stood a chance if the DMR didn’t exist. Because of all of these negatives, the Focus Rifle saw virtually no use excluding Custom Game modes. The Focus Rifle has never returned in future installments.
3 Needler (Halo 2)
Combat Evolved’s Needler was arguably a lackluster weapon when compared to other options, having a rather long TTK in the campaign and in multiplayer. At least in that game, the Needler could hit people.
Halo 2’s Needler is one of the most nerfed weapons in FPS history. This weapon’s tracking only works if you are tracking the target on your cursor. Worse than that, this gun saw a rate of fire nerf to 450 rounds per minute, had a higher Supercombine requirement of seven shots, and its explosion radius was drastically reduced. It can be dual-wielded, sure, but that hardly turns this weapon into a competitive option. This weapon also didn’t stand a chance in Halo 2’s hilariously unbalanced campaign.
2 Suppressor (Halo 4)
Many Halo fans would argue that Halo 4’s Suppressor is by far the worst weapon the franchise has seen. Considering this weapon hits its maximum bloom effect after a few bullets and deals almost no damage with each projectile, it’s hard to argue otherwise. Prometheum Knights take four magazines to kill on higher difficulties while Spartans take most of this weapon’s magazine to kill someone at close range. Considering how fast Halo 4’s TTK was, that isn’t much to write home about.
1 Magnum (Halo 2)
Nothing in the Halo franchise is quite as bad as Halo 2’s Magnum. This weapon was fundamentally changed from a hand cannon to a fast-firing sidearm. As a result, this weapon fires much faster but takes 13 bullets to down someone instead of four.
One magazine for this gun holds 12 bullets, which means you are forced to dual-wield, punch someone, or reload the gun to kill someone in every gunfight. That also doesn’t take into account this weapon’s awful accuracy. Any engagement past close range will cause this gun to miss shots. It doesn’t have a scope to compensate for this either. Besides popping a few flood spores in the campaign, there is no situation in Halo 2 where the Magnum can thrive.
