Table of Contents: 0.1: Introduction WEAPONS 1.0 Human Weapons 1.1 M6C Pistol(Magnum) 1.2 BR55 Rifle(Battle Rifle) 1.3 M7/Caseless Sub Machine Gun(SMG) 1.4 S2 AM Sniper Rifle 1.5 M19 SSM Rocket Launcher 1.6 M90 Shotgun 2.0 Covenant Weapons 2.1 Plasma Pistol 2.2 Plasma Rifle 2.3 Needler 2.4 Covenant Carbine 2.5 Particle Beam Rifle 2.6 Brute Shot 2.7 Plasma(Energy) Sword 2.8 Fuel Rod Cannon 3.0 Turrets, Vehicle Based Weapons and Other 3.1 M9 HE-DP Fragmentation Grenade 3.2 M41 LAAG(Warthog Turret) 3.3 M68 Gauss Cannon(Warthog Turret) 3.4 Scorpion Weapons 3.5 Ground Mounted Turret 3.6 Plasma Grenade 3.7 Plasma Turret 3.8 Ghost Cannons 3.9 Banshee Cannons 3.10 Wraith Cannons 3.11 Spectre Cannons 3.12 Shadow Cannons 3.13 Sentinel Beam 4.0 Vehicles 4.1 M12 Warthog LRV 4.1 M12G1 Warthog LAAV 4.2 M808B Scorpion MBT 4.3 Ghost 4.4 Banshee 4.5 Wraith 4.6 Spectre 4.7 Shadow INTRODUCTION: As you hopefully know, Halo 2 is out and you should buy it NOW. In this guide, I'll tell you about the weapons and vehicles new and old popping up in Halo 2. Though many of the things here were in Halo 1, and you may think you know everything about them, they have, in fact, changed. You'll see. 1.0 HUMAN WEAPONS 1.1 M6C Pistol(Magnum): The pistol is disappointingly weak in Halo 2. To start off, there is no zoom. Though the shots are faster, they are WEAK. This weapon does not even compare to the pistol in Halo 1. Also, you can't kill a Hunter with one shot from this baby anymore. Strengths: Fast shooting, faster reload time. Weaknesses: No zoom, overall less powerful than last time. Melee Attack: Faster than last game, otherwise known as, still not good. Dual Wield? Yes 1.2 BR55 Rifle(Battle Rifle): A surprisingly powerful newcomer to the Halo party. This rifle, a bit stronger than the Assault Rifle from last game, shoots in bursts of three and can take down a Grunt with a shot to the head. There is zoom, which is nice for head shots. Strengths: Powerful, fast reload time, zoom, accurate shots. Weaknesses: Not good for clusters of enemies. Melee attack: Medium. Dual Wield? No 1.3 M7/Caseless Sub Machine Gun(SMG): This weapon is not as strong as the Assault Rifle from Halo 1, but has taken its place. It may sound bad at first, but this weapon is a good overall weapon. It's great in close range, but gets less accurate, as with all machine guns, at long range. It does kick upward if you continually fire, which can be distracting, but every weapon has a weakness. Strengths: Fast shot, double SMGs kick butt, fast reload time. Weaknesses: Kicks upward, not as strong as Assault Rifle, low ammo count. Melee attack: Moderately weak. Dual Wield? Yes 1.4 S2 AM Sniper Rifle: The sniper hasn�t changed that much in power from Halo1. Much faster reload time, and has 5x and 10x zoom, instead of 2x and 10x. Strengths: Long range attacking, better zoom, faster reload time. Weaknesses: Bad in close to medium quarters. Melee attack: Good. Dual Wield? No 1.5 M19 SSM Rocket Launcher: Greatly improved since last game. The rocket launcher now has homing capabilities. You now can home in on moving targets, such as Banshees or Ghosts. Other than this, however, not much has changed. But homing makes up for it. Strengths: Homing. Weaknesses: Not much else has changed. Still suicide in close range. Melee attack: Strong Dual Wield? What do you think? NO. 1.6 M90 Shotgun: Still awesome. Surprisingly, nothing much has changed. It does have slower reload time, which stinks, but it's still the best close range weapon out there. Strengths: Can kill an Elite with 2 body shots, or 1 head shot, still best weapon to fight Flood with. Weaknesses: Slower reload time, bad at long range. Melee attack: Good-strong Dual Wield? No 2.0 COVENANT WEAPONS 2.1 Plasma Pistol: It's all a matter of opinion, but I personally love the Plasma Pistol. Halo 2 hasn't changed my views. Now with dual wielding, Plasma Pistols are amazing. It still can over-load easily, and the charge has been weakened(the charge only works on Elites, or in multiplayer now), but Plasma Pistols are common enough that you can easily get two and dual wield, which makes everything better. Strengths: Easy to find, good versatile weapon. Weaknesses: Charge isn't as great, overheats quickly. Melee attack: Weak Dual Wield? Yes 2.2 Plasma Rifle: Used by Elites, this weapon, dualed with anything, is deadly. The Rifle overheats quicker, so to do much damage at all, you need to pair it with a non-overheating weapon. Also, there is now Brute Plasma Rifle, favored by Brutes, of course. It is red, shoots faster, but overheats quicker. Otherwise, it is the same. Strengths: Fast shots, moderate power. Weaknesses: Overheats quicker. Melee attack: Medium Dual Wield? Yes 2.3 Needler: MUCH more powerful than before. To start off, there are 30 rounds per clip. You only need to shoot about six or seven needles into something before an explosion occurs, compared to the almost full clip from last game. When paired with another Needler, it is arguably the best double weapon in the game. Strengths: More rounds, explosion occurs quicker, faster reload time, amazing dual wielding. Weaknesses: Dangerous when grenades are present( multiple explosions may cause death) Melee attack: Good Dual Wield? Of course 2.4 Covenant Carbine: Similar to Battle Rifle, this weapon is favored by Elites and Brutes. It is moderately powerful, and pretty much an all over good weapon. It has 2x zoom, which makes it good at long range. Strengths: Good at long range, powerful Weaknesses: Hard to control at short range, one of the few convenant weapons you have to reload. Melee attack: Medium Dual Wield? No 2.5 Particle Beam Rifle: Basically Covenant sniper. From a 100% battery, you can shoot 18 times before the battery dies, which is pretty good. Because it's sniper, it is horrible at close range. If you fire two shots consecutively, it will overheat, so try to wait a while after each shot. Strengths: Good at long range, 18 shots. Weaknesses: Will overheat quickly, horrible at close range combat. Melee attack: Good Dual Wield? No 2.6 Brute Shot: For its power, this is a surprisingly versatile weapon. It shoots grenades, which are a bit on the weak side. However, these grenades can bounce off walls and the ground, for good 'round-the-corner shots. Has a bayonet on the end, for amazingly strong melee attacks. Favored by Brutes. Grenades are nice for killing groups of enemies. Strengths: Strong melee attack, can take out groups of enemies. Weaknesses: Very limited ammo, only found in later levels, infuriatingly slow reload time(it�s more noticeable in multiplayer). Melee attack: Very strong Dual Wield? No 2.7 Plasma(Energy) Sword: Plain and simple, this is an AWESOME weapon. It has a special lunge attack, which you use when the reticle turns red. This lunge attack is an automatic KO for most anything. Warning: Do not use this against Hunters. It will not do any damage. Stick to Rocket Launchers and Brute Shots for those guys. Strengths: Has fatal attack, overall, very good. Weaknesses: Only close range combat, can�t kill Hunters. Melee attack: Same as normal attack, strong. Dual Wield? No 2.8 Fuel Rod Cannon: PC players already know this weapon, it is the big ol� gun those darned Hunters use. It�s a Covenant version of the Rocket Launcher, without homing. It has 5 shots per clip, which is very good, but unfortunately, this weapon is rarely seen. Strengths: Strong, good ammo clip. Weaknesses: Rarely seen, no homing attack, not in multiplayer. Melee attack: Strong Dual Wield? No 3.0 TURRETS, VEHICLE-BASED WEAPONS AND OTHER 3.1 M9 HE-DP Fragmentation Grenade: Basically, this is the same as last game. You find it a lot in Campaign mode, so be sure to use them. Now the grenades go off faster, which is an added bonus to their power. Their attack range is wider and stronger. Strengths: Wide hit range, faster explosion time. Weaknesses: Often inaccurate, bounces off enemies 3.2 M41 LAAG(Warthog Turret): Nothing has changed since Halo 1. Strengths: Unlimited ammo, good at taking down multiple enemies. Weaknesses: Limited range of fire, not seen often. 3.3 M68 Gauss Cannon(Warthog Turret): This is a huge improvement to the Warthog. This cannon has a slow rate of fire, but can kill an Elite in one shot. The shots can easily blow up moving vehicles, i.e., Ghosts, Banshees, Spectres, etc. This is a personal favorite of the Turret weapons. Strengths: Very strong single shots, vehicle destroying. Weaknesses: Slow rate of firing, not found often, limited range. 3.4 Scorpion Weapons: You only get the scorpion thrice in Campaign mode, but each time is well worth it. The Scorpion itself is much slower than last time, but the weapons have improved. For starters, the machine gun is much more accurate, and the cannon is much faster to reload. Otherwise, it�s pretty much the same. Strengths: Two different weapons work together well. Weaknesses: Machine gun not very powerful. 3.5 Ground Mounted Turret: This is a nice versatile weapon, found often in the game. It is very good against for taking down multiple enemies, but it is a bit slow. Strengths: Very good for taking down Hunters, found often. Weaknesses: Slow rate of fire, limited range. 3.6 Plasma Grenade: Not much has changed, except the explosions are done better. Strengths: Attaches to enemies/vehicles, wide explosion range, sets off chain reaction when near grenades on ground. Weaknesses: Not as powerful as human grenades. 3.7 Plasma Turret(Small): Not found very often, but good. It is similar to the Spectre cannon, but slower. Strengths: Good for taking down multiple enemies. Weaknesses: Not found often. Plasma turret(Big): This is the weapon Phantoms use, and Grunts prefer. Good for pinning down an enemy, strong against everything. Tip: Pull the trigger rapidly to fire faster. Strengths: Found often, strong. Weaknesses: Slow firing rate, no defense from back. 3.8 Ghost Cannons: Refreshingly fast firing rate, but you can�t fire when you�re boosting. The vehicle paralyzing effect from Halo 1 is back again, which is very useful. Strengths: Fast rate of fire, paralyzing shots. Weaknesses: Guns out of commission when boosting, not too strong. 3.9 Banshee Cannons: Basically the same as the Ghost Cannons, only from the air, and a little stronger. Strengths: Aerial advantage( but otherwise same as Ghost) Weaknesses: No boost+gun. Banshee bomb: It�s big. It�s green. It�s a bomb. It�s basically the same from Halo 1. Strengths: See above. Weaknesses: Not in multiplayer, slow firing rate. 3.10 Wraith Cannons: These shots are powerful as they are slow. They�re not as strong as Scorpion shots, and slower, and you have to be able to know how to arc the shots, but that�s beside the point. It works better to fire these in close range, because you don�t have to calculate how to hit your enemies. If you�re good at throwing grenades in the right spot, this isn�t much different. Strengths: Strong, good in close range. Weaknesses: Slow shots, weaker than Scorpions. 3.11 Spectre Cannons: This isn�t too much different from the small plasma cannon, only worse. It�s weak, no protection anywhere else besides the direct front, but it makes a funny sound, and it�s fast. Strengths: Fast firing rate, funny noise. Weaknesses: Weak, bad defense anywhere besides the front. 3.12 Shadow Cannons: This is probably the best weapon in the game, but they had to make it not useful at all. This is like the large plasma cannon, only stronger and faster shooting. How fast? Think Halo 1 plasma rifle fast. The way they made it unhelpful, is that you have to carefully kill the driver and gunner without harming the actual gun itself, and by that time, you�ve killed all the other enemies. Nice going Bungie. Way to ruin my fun. Strengths: Super fast firing rate, strong. Weaknesses: See above. 3.13 Sentinel Beam: This isn�t really human or Covenant, so it got tossed here. This is the weapon that Sentinels use (obviously), and it�s an ok weapon. This is a good weapon against the Flood, because it was designed that way. The most obvious drawback to this, is that it overheats really quickly. Strengths: Good against most enemies. Weaknesses: Overheats quickly, ammo depletes very fast. Melee attack: Strong Dual wield? No 4.0 VEHICLES 4.1 M12 Warthog LRV: Not much has changed since Halo 1. Except now you can � gimp your ride� by shooting your Warthog until pieces fly off and you get that � flaming engine� look that�s so popular these days. And now, Marines can drive! Strengths: Fast, holds one passenger and gunner, unlimited ammo, Marines with driver�s licences. Weaknesses: Passengers can�t zoom in with weapons, one well-placed rocket can blow it up. 4.2 M12G1 Warthog LAAV: Essentially identical to the LRV, only the LAAV has a sexy Gauss cannon. Strengths: Awesome Gauss Cannon, fast, one passenger and gunner, unlimited ammo. Weaknesses: Slow firing rate for Cannon, see LRV. 4.3 M808B Scorpion MBT: Again not much has changed since Halo 1. It still holds four passengers which is useful, only the poor suckers have no defense at all and get picked off pretty quick. The ride has slowed down, which is annoying. This is especially noticeable in Metropolis, where it takes an ungodly amount of time to get through the first half of the level because of the snail�s pace you�re going. Strengths: Strong Cannon/machine gun combos. Weakness: Sloooooow. 4.4 Ghost: Best improvement since Halo 1? Boost. Hands down. It helps so much to get across large areas in Campaign. Only problem being when you boost, you can�t fire. Thankfully, you can immediately stop boosting and resume firing. Strengths: Very quick, fast rate of fire. Weaknesses: No gunfire with boost, slow to brake. 4.5 Banshee: Well, it�s the Banshee. Easily one of the most useful Covenant weapons in the game. It has good shielding and strong cannons, and it flies. How cool is that? Strengths: Aerial attacks, good guns, Banshee tricks!( Somersaults and aerial dodges!) Weaknesses: Can be locked onto by rockets, slow turning time. 4.6 Wraith: It�s nice to finally be able to drive these, but there are a few drawbacks. Somehow, you are unable to use the pretty little plasma machine gun the Covenant are able to use, and if you�re really unlucky while playing multiplayer, your friends and jump on you, bash your lid open, and plant a grenade on your face. Not too fun. Strengths: Great defense, strong plasma mortar. Weaknesses: Hard to arc mortar, no plasma machine gun, slow, bad boost. 4.7 Spectre: This vehicle is simply NOT WORTH DEALING WITH. Find a Ghost for the love of dog. It has slippery handling, bad defense, a single, terrible turret, it�s only found in later levels, and it�s a terribly gaudy shade of fuchsia. Strengths: Few to none. Weaknesses: See above. 4.8 Shadow: Well, you can�t actually drive it. See the Shadow Cannon(3.12) for details on the Cannon. Strengths: ... It has a gun. Weaknesses: The cockpit is too damn small for Master Chief! IN CONCLUSION: Overall, weapons and vehicles in Halo 2 are handy, strong, and easy to use. But there are those disappointing few that can just ruin an entire level for you. It is frustrating that they took out some of the great weapons from Halo 1(MA5B Assault Rifle, I pine for you...), but the good outweighs the bad, I suppose( Plasma Sword... *drool*) Another thing: Marines driving. Funniest thing since rainbow popsicles. They drive like inebriated 16-year-olds, but at least you can be gunner now. So may the force be with you. Let you frag the weak and hurdle the dead. Fight for your right to party. And don�t forget a towel. - booshman