Grenade Launcher
The Covvies don't get to have all the ridiculous fun, though. The Spartans will be rolling into battle with the Grenade Launcher. This sucker fires standard frag grenades, but with a couple added bonuses. First, just like all frags in the Halo: Reach beta, they'll do a small amount of contact damage when they hit an enemy. Probably feels like stepping in front of a ball machine at the batting cage. Thump.
But the Grenade Launcher does another trick, too. Fire it normally to launch a 'nade and watch it bounce around before a timed explosion. Or, you can hold the trigger down when you fire. It'll hang out wherever it comes to rest, waiting for you to release the trigger and blow it. This is great for sabotaging vehicle paths or terrorizing teams at score points in games like Stockpile. As if that weren't enough, these little insta-mines also throw off an EMP blast when they detonate, popping shields as they go.
Magnum
For some, the DMR will remove them a bit too far from the action. In that case, reach for your trusty sidearm. The Magnum is back and better than ever. Give it a quick squeeze and you'll get all teary for the days of Halo: Combat Evolved. But wipe away those tears. There's no crying in Team Slayer. The Magnum will give you a kill in just five shots – four to the body, one to the head. It fires faster than the DMR, but it's only really effective at close range, and shooting too quickly will throw off your aim.
It's a bit tricky, but if you can get the pacing down, people will be cursing you for your close-quarters kills. While you're at it, make sure to melee with the Magnum when the opportunity presents itself. In my opinion, it's got the best weapon-melee animation in the entire beta.
Designated Marksman Rifle
I personally have a bit of a love-hate relationship with the Battle Rifle from Halo 3. Basically, I love to hate it. Yeah, yeah, that probably means I don't know how to use it. But I don't know how to use a curling iron either, but that doesn't mean I need to learn how. The BR was a jack of all trades and master of none. Janky up close and lacking at range. Luckily, the BR is out of the Reach beta in favor of the Designated Marksman Rifle. Oh, yes.
The DMR can be a lean, mean headshot machine if you know what you're doing. It's a bit unwieldy at close range, but at mid-to-long range it's deadly. Like the Magnum below, the DMR takes five shots to kill (make sure the last one nails the noggin). And thanks to its dampened recoil, it feels just like shooting womp rats back home. Slow and steady wins the race.
Focus Rifle
Just look at that gun for a second. If that doesn't look like a dangerous-ass alien weapon to you, then you are going to be useless in an alien invasion. To me, this is one of the coolest looking guns Bungie has ever designed. It looks like a crocodile snout crossed with one of those Dyson vacuum cleaners. Scary stuff, that. But it's not all looks. This thing backs up its evil exterior with some mean machinery.
You know those Forerunner Sentinel lasers from past Halo games? Well, the Focus Beam crosses one of those with the Covenant Beam Rifle favored by Jackal snipers. So it has the accuracy of a sniper rifle, the searing power of a continuous laser beam and, as an added bonus, a bit of a stun effect when it hits. It's truly terrifying to see this beast burning across the map. Great for picking Jet Packers out of the air, though. Flyboys, you have been warned.
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Plasma Repeater
This one's interesting. According to Bungie, the Plasma Repeater is the Covenant answer to the UNSC Assault Rifle and essentially replaces the Covenant Plasma Rifle of old (which never really looked like a rifle to me anyway). Oh, and before you start crabbing at me about "old" and "new," let's get the timeline business out of the way now. The game takes place in 2552, just after the fall of Reach, right before the events of Halo: Combat Evolved. So the weapons I'm calling "new" are new to the Halo series and not necessarily to the Halo universe timeline.
Anyway, the mechanics of the Plasma Repeater are simple. Fire it too quickly for too long and it will start to overheat, which slows its rate of fire. Hit the reload button to vent it and get back to full speed. It will never stop completely, no matter how hot it gets, but you'll definitely want it operating at full capacity, so keep your eye on it.
Needle Rifle
The Needler is a classic Halo weapon, and it's back in Reach. But now it has a big brother. The Needle Rifle is a slower, more accurate version of the Covenant sidearm that fires translucent pink shards of crystalline death. The old Needer was a brute-force weapon that was at its most dangerous when it fired full clips of explosiveness into enemies.
Like the UNSC's Designated Marksman Rifle, the Needle Rifle can pull off headshots and long-range kills. But it can also use its little brother's explosive capabilities. Bury enough chards in your opponent, and he'll eventually explode, cursing you as he goes. This one's a bit tricky to get the hang of, especially if you're used to the pace and feel of the single-handed Needler. But it's worth playing with, because the accuracy of a rifle combined with the chaos of exploding crystalline shards is just too much fun to ignore. 
Plasma Launcher
Oh, Plasma Launcher. How have I lived this long without firing you? There are going to be a lot of people who claim that the Plasma Launcher is nothing but a noob tube that breaks the game. And you know what? They might be right. But that's what the Halo: Reach beta is all about – finding the right balance for multiplayer. But seriously, this thing is ridiculous.
It launches up to four plasma sticky grenades at once, depending on how you choose to fire it. Shoot them off in quick succession to paint a target-rich environment, or hold down the trigger and release it after all four grenade icons light up on the weapon's HUD to nail some poor enemy or vehicle with your entire payload at once. The grenades track their targets ever so slightly, too, so be very, very careful when you see it pointed at you. Better yet, kill the guy who has it and take it from him.
Assault Rifle
If the Halo: Reach beta is a delicious home-cooked meal, than the Assault Rifle is the meat and potatoes. It's the go-to-gun when you're in close and don't feel confident about your Magnum skills. Not terribly powerful but not particularly weak, the AR is your best friend in a pinch.
I use controlled bursts with the AR, mainly because it makes me look cool. But if you want to go in with your gun blazing, be my guest. Just be warned that the AR in the Reach beta is tilted more toward accuracy than firepower, so you might come up short when the jumping around and shooting starts. Oh, also, it has a really awesome stripe on it. That really shouldn't excite me as much as it does. I could have left this one out of the lineup because it hasn't really changed all that much from Halo's past. But it's just so…. solid. Gotta mention it. And say goodbye to one mag kills. using the entire mag on a guy will almost kill him, but you need those next few shots to kill him. |
