Halo's animation system allows for very detailed weapons, with moving parts and realistic animations. They will also feature real-life behaviors like a strong kickback and the need to reload magazines of ammunition. Weapons can be used in combination with grenades, and can also be used as clubs to bash enemies for a silent takedown. Human weapons use traditional ammo, requiring magazines that must be scavenged from the battlefield. Covenant weapons are energy-based, but tend to overheat if used for long periods, requiring some time to recover.Because you have enabled spoilers, these entries have additional offensive and defensive gameplay tips.

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	M6D Pistol: A small, slow-firing human pistol. When used in the game it has a long-range "scope" effect suitable for sniping. A pistol magazine is 12 shots; you can carry up to 20 spares (a total of 252 rounds). Offense: Aim for the head. The pistol is most accurate when firing single shots at a time. Defense: A zoomed-in pistol user has trouble seeing his immediate surroundings. The pistol takes a relatively long time to reload, and only holds 12 shots.
	MA5B Assault Rifle: This machine gun has a variable rate of fire, which is controlled by the Xbox's pressure-sensitive buttons. It has a built-in ammo usage display, as well as a rudimentary compass (it shows the direction to the gas giant Threshhold). A magazine holds 60 shots, and you can carry 10 spares - a total of 660 rounds. Offense: The AR is most useful at short to medium range. Firing in short, controlled bursts is more accurate than holding down the trigger. The AR has a pretty fast melee attack. Defense: Retreat to reduce the number of hits you take.
	M19 SSM Rocket Launcher: This rocket launcher is designed to take out large, hardened targets like bunkers or big tanks. It has two barrels, and can fire two rockets in rapid succession before it must be reloaded. This behavior is suspiciously similar to that of the rocket launcher from Marathon. It has a 2x zoom available. You can hold a maximum of 6 spare rocket packs (a total of 14 rockets, counting the loaded 2). Offense: Aim for the floor or wall near an enemy. You'll catch him in the blast even if he dodges. Don't try to use the RL to hold a position, it doesn't work well against charging foes. Defense: Remember that the RL can get off two shots in about two seconds, and then takes several seconds to reload. Time your moves to take advantage of this.
	S2 AM Sniper Rifle: This high-powered rifle can zoom in on its target, with a blurry depth-of-field effect. It is capable of penetrating "thirteen feet of meat and bone", according to the Halo Updates. It has a 2x and 10x zoom, and a night vision mode. There are 4 rounds per magazine, and you can carry 6 spare magazines (30 shots total). Offense: You don't have a lot of shots, so aim carefully and make every one count. Be ready to squeeze off an extra shot or two if the target survives the first one. Don't try to follow targets, steady your aim and wait for something to walk into the crosshairs. Defense: The sniper rifle doesn't provide any aiming assistance. Keep dodging around. The trails left by sniper rounds are a dead giveaway for the sniper's location.
	M90 Shotgun: The shotgun was originally equipped with a built-in flashlight, but now that flashlight is built into the Cyborg's armor. Offense: The shotgun works best at short range, but is almost useless beyond that. Reloading the shotgun takes a very long time, but you can interrupt and use the weapon immediately by pulling the trigger. Defense: The shotgun has a slow rate of fire. If you survive the first hit, you have a small window during which your enemy is defenseless. The shotgun is ineffective at long range.
	Grenade: Handheld explosives. There are two types of grenade: Human fragmentation grenades, which explode, and Covenant plasma grenades, which emit a glowing blue blast and have a nasty way of sticking to targets. Offense: Frag grenades have a fuse of about 1 second, plasma grenades take 3. Like all plasma weapons, plasma grenades work best against energy shields. A stuck-on plasma grenade will take out just about anything (but this can backfire if they stay calm enough to charge you). Defense: Plasma grenades are easy to spot on the ground because of their blue glow. Frag grenades make a distinctive "bink" when they land. It is possible to survive a plasma grenade stuck to you (barely) if you are at full health and shields. Grunts and marines will usually yell a warning when they throw grenades.
	Energy Sword: This Covenant weapon glows blue when activated, and shows its two-pronged structure through the blue nimbus that surrounds it. Offense: This weapon cannot be used by the player, it always shatters when its owner is killed. :( Defense: The energy sword will kill anything with one hit. Kill the wielder before he kills you.
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	Fuel Rod Gun: This gun fires powerful bolts of plasma, which explode on impact. It is used by Hunters, the Banshee, and, later in the game, the Grunts. Offense: This gun can only be used by a player as part of the Banshee, see the Vehicles section for more information. Defense: The relatively slow-moving projectiles can be dodged, if you spot them soon enough. Use cover effectively, and remember that Hunters are good at nailing you even if you're just out of sight. Killing a Grunt carrying this gun will cause it to explode. It's not as strong as a grenade, but it can easily kill any other Grunts nearby.
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	Energy Pistol: This weapon fires a stream of energy bolts, and can also be "overcharged" to produce a much larger blast. It is not automatic, and can overheat (requiring a cooldown period). It cannot be recharged, but it holds about 100 small shots or 8 fully charged bolts. Offense: Fully charged bolts are very slightly guided, enough to guarantee hits on distant enemies who haven't spotted you yet. Use the charged shot to take down an enemy's shield, then finish him off with bullets. This weapon has the fastest melee attack in the game. Defense: After firing an overcharged bolt, or firing too rapidly for too long, the weapon must cool down for about two seconds. Use this to your advantage.
	Energy Rifle: Like the pistol, this gun can overheat in use, and cannot be recharged. Unlike the pistol, it is automatic, and holds 100 shots. It has no overcharge mode. Offense: This weapon is extremely accurate, and good for taking down shields. Fire in bursts to prevent overheating. The weapon is capable of firing very rapidly for a few seconds, after which it must cool down. Defense: This weapon will take down your shield very rapidly, but it doesn't hurt your armor that much.
	Needle Gun: This nasty weapon shoots a rapid stream of small darts or needles, which stick into a target and explode a few seconds after impact. Needles can track their target. Offense: Elites aren't too good at dodging needles at very long range. If you get enough needles into someone ("enough" can vary quite a bit), you will get a purple explosion that does a great deal of damage. If you get a TON of needles into someone, you get a string of purple explosions that can kill a Yellow Commander outright. The Needler works great against charging enemies. This weapon has a very slow melee attack. Defense: Run in figure-eights to throw off the needles' tracking systems. If a large stream of needles is heading your way, hide behind something until you hear them hit the other side. Individual needles don't hurt too much, so you can shrug off a few hits while going toe-to-toe with a needle wielder.