USNC Weapons

Assault Rifle

This high-capacity automatic rifle can fire up to 32 rounds per magazine before having to reload, but each round does a fairly small amount of damage, and if you attempt to fire for too long you'll also lose a lot of accuracy. In short, small bursts, you can hit enemies a good distance away with the assault rifle, but on higher difficulties, you'll want something that does more damage. On Heroic or above, you can use the assault rifle to take out enemy Grunts, particularly when they're fleeing, drones, who have pretty low health amounts. But mostly, we suggest only retaining this weapon until you can find one more useful.

DMR

The Designated Marksman Rifle--DMR for short--is designed to replace the battle rifle from the previous games. It is powerful at both long and medium range, able to disable a target's shielding with only four shots, and able to instantly eliminate unshielded enemies with a lone headshot. It's perfect for making long distance quick kills.

You can burn through ammo relatively quickly if you use it on tougher enemies or against large groups, but if you can set the terms of an engagement, firing on your foes from a distance and use cover to hide, this will be your best friend for a large portion of the game.

Grenade Launcher

The Grenade Launcher is one of the most powerful weapons in the game. While at first it might only seems like a frag grenade with a clip, its true power comes from its secondary fire ability. The grenades released from the launcher can be detonated manually, allowing you to either make quick explosions or set up traps. The manual detonation also releases an EMP blast that will disable shields and vehicles for a short time. This makes it an incredible weapon for taking out powerful turrets or tanks, and is great for supporting any allies.

Magnum

The pistol was once considered to be a very powerful weapon in the multiplayer version of the original Halo, thanks to its great accuracy and ability to get headshots from a distance with its scope. In Halo 3, however, the scope has been removed (you can zoom in while aiming, but your targeting reticule is removed and you leave the zoom after firing once), and the ammo capacity has been dropped to eight rounds. You can still nab headshots with the pistol, but you probably won't want to use this if you have any better weapons available.

Rocket Launcher

The rocket launcher is a dependable method of dishing out the hurt, especially to enemy vehicles, but the speed of the rockets is a concern; they're fairly slow, if not quite as slow as the fuel rod gun charges seem to be. That said, they pack quite a punch, and this is sure to be a highly desired weapon in multiplayer maps, so learn where they spawn and get used to checking the location every once in a while.

The launcher can only hold two rounds of ammo at a time, making each miss somewhat of a harsh penalty, since it takes a while to reload after firing the weapon. Get your shots on target and make sure they stay there by firing at close range, at least when going after vehicles. In multiplayer, you can fire on vehicles that are stationary without too many problems (perhaps from a distance when you see an enemy about to enter them), or simply use the rocket launcher as an antipersonnel weapon. Its splash damage will be good enough to kill almost anyone if you manage to hit close enough to them. Just remember the old Quake rule: aim at their feet, not at their bodies. That'll increase the likelihood that you'll get them with splash damage, even if you happen to miss them. Don't even bother trying to hit someone unless you can see their feet; i.e. no shooting at people on ridges above you. You'll miss 99% of the time if they move away from you, and you'll simply waste a rocket.

Shotgun

Halo Reach's Shotgun has gone through a big overhaul from its Halo 3 counterpart. The gun's rounds are much stronger and clustered tightly. It can instantly destroy enemies at close range, or damage multiple targets from mid way. It's an excellent choice if you want to fight your enemy head on and a stronger melee weapon--such as the gravity hammer--is not available. It makes for a great secondary firearm to supplement a powerful primary weapon.

Because you'll be more vulnerable the closer you are to an enemy, be sure to only resort to the shotgun when you have ample shielding and health.

Sniper Rifle

The sniper rifle is a powerful single-shot weapon that's designed to quickly and permanently eliminate foes that are far away from you, although of course it can be used on enemies close to you with devastating results as well.. You can fit four bullets into a clip, and can hold 24 bullets in total. The rate of fire isn't great, but again, in general, this should be a one-shot kill on most enemies.

Headshots are important for most weapons, but with the sniper rifle, you really want to learn how to nab them, especially at long range. On heroic difficulty, anything up to and including a jackal should be a one-hit kill, even if you hit them in the body, but Brutes and hunters will of course require more hits. Low-level Brutes (the blue ones) will still die in one hit from a headshot, but the upper-level Brutes will probably require at least one headshot to knock off their helmets before you can kill them.

Spartan Laser

When you pull the trigger on the Spartan laser, nothing happens. It'll take five seconds or so for the weapon to charge itself completely; check the aiming reticule, and look for the small arrow to rotate from the bottom to the top. When it does reach the top, a wide and very powerful laser will shoot out, toasting anything in its path. This will be a one-shot kill on any moving target, and will also one-shot most vehicles excepting Wraiths or other high-armor targets; these move so slowly, however, that they'll be easy to shoot twice.

So basically, the Spartan laser is a super-powered beam rifle that requires five seconds to charge. The catch is that your target has to be in your view at the end of that countdown; if someone seems you aiming at them with a Spartan, they're pretty sure to duck under cover, which will waste your shot. You can always just let go of the button to stop the countdown, but that will cause the arrow to revert back to its starting position, meaning that you'll have to charge it all the way up before you can fire again.

The countdown makes the Spartan basically worthless for close-quarters combat, unless you can completely get the drop on an opponent; any decent enemy will close on you when they see the laser in your hands, and will be able to stick you with a grenade or otherwise kill you before you can fire. (In these situations, though, you can always try to use a melee swing; like most big weapons, the Spartan deals a heavy punch in melee combat.) In open maps, though, if you can find a laser (it's predictably rare), you can wreak havoc with it. Try firing it on high-priority targets like the slow-moving flag carrier or a Warthog that's loaded up with your enemies. Since your range is virtually limitless, it's also great for taking out opposing Wraiths or Scorpions that are sitting back and shelling you from afar.

Mounted Machinegun

When you spot a turret in the game world, you're able to use it, sure, but that's for plebeians. Real men gird their loins and rip the damn things right off their moorings, then shove them down their enemy's throats, cleaving their bodies in two.

Well, some of that's correct; you can rip a turret off of its base by pressing RB to use it, then tapping B. Some turrets will also be found on the ground, or in the hands of Brute Chieftans. Using a turret in your hands will let you dish out a lot of power, but it will greatly curtail your ability to move, so you'll be more easy to hit while you wield one. You also won't be able to make a melee attack or throw a grenade until you drop the weapon.