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Halo 2 Weapon Rankings
Created by Shadow Panther
        See Halo 2 Weapon Statistics Here       Last updated: 11/25/04
  Ammo/ # of Shots Required Time to Operational Times Melee Weapon
Single-Wielded Energy Shields Armor Both Kill Ovr Cl Re Me hits Properties
Weapons Clip Max B H B H B H B H ht dwn ld lee S A ROF Ra Ac Mode Scope
Rocket Launcher 2 8 1 1 1 1 1 1 0.0 0.0 N/A N/A 3.7 1.2 2 1 2.1 VL VH Semi 2X
Shotgun 12 48 1 1 1 1 1 1 0.0 0.0 N/A N/A 7.0 0.8 4 2 1.0 VS VL Semi No
Beam Rifle 2 18 1 1 1 1 2 1 0.3 0.0 0.5 2.9 N/A 0.9 4 2 3.9 VL VH Semi 5X,10X
Sniper Rifle 4 24 1 1 1 1 2 1 0.6 0.0 N/A N/A 2.4 0.8 4 2 2.1 VL VH Semi 5X,10X
Energy Sword Unl Unl 1 1 1 1 2 1 0.8 0.3 N/A N/A N/A 0.8 1 1 1.8 VS H Melee No
Brute Shot 4 16 2 2 1 1 3 3 0.9 0.9 N/A N/A 3.2 1.0 1 1 3.3 L M Semi No
Sentinel Beam 46 200 18 18 12 10 26 26 1.9 1.9 2.7 2.3 N/A 1.1 2 1 17.0 M H Auto No
Carbine 18 90 7 7 7 1 11 7 2.3 1.4 N/A N/A 1.8 1.0 4 2 4.8 L H Semi 2X
Battle Rifle 36 144 12 12 8 1 20 12 2.9 1.6 N/A N/A 1.9 0.8 4 2 6.7 M H Burst 2X
                                           
Dual-Wield Ammo/ # of Shots Required Time to Operational Times Melee Weapon
Capable Energy Shields Armor Both Kill Ovr Cl Re Me hits Properties
Weapons Clip Max B H B H B H B H ht dwn ld lee S A ROF Ra Ac Mode Scope
Needler 30 120 8 8 8 8 8 8 1.6 1.6 N/A N/A 1.5 0.7 4 2 7.7 M H Auto No
SMG 60 240 15 15 10 10 25 25 1.6 1.6 N/A N/A 1.7 0.9 4 2 15.1 S L Auto No
Plasma Rifle 26 400 5 5 13 13 18 18 2.3 2.3 3.4 2.7 N/A 0.8 4 2 7.6 M H Auto No
Brute Plasma Rifle 16 400 5 5 13 13 18 18 4.4 4.4 1.7 2.3 N/A 0.8 4 2 9.6 M H Auto No
Magnum Pistol 12 60 9 9 6 1 15 9 4.6 1.6 N/A N/A 1.6 0.8 4 2 5.2 S M Semi No
Plasma Pistol 15 250 7 7 19 19 26 26 5.8 5.8 1.9 2.0 N/A 0.8 4 2 8.0 M H Semi No
Charged Pistol 1 7 1 1 - - - - - - 0.0 2.2 N/A 0.8 4 2 0.5 M H Chrg No
                                           
Dual Weapon Time to Overheat Cldwn/ NOTES
Combinations Kill Time Reload All tests performed by firing the
Weapon #1 Weapon #2 B H #1 #2 #1 #2 weapons as quickly as possible at
Charged Pistol SMG 0.7 0.7 0.0 N/A 2.2 3.7 point blank range.
Magnum Pistol Plasma Pistol 0.9 0.7 N/A 2.5 3.6 3.2  
Brute Plasma Rifle SMG 0.9 0.9 1.7 N/A 2.2 3.7 The Shotgun can take as many as 8-11
Brute Plasma Rifle Magnum Pistol 1.0 0.4 1.7 N/A 2.7 3.6 shots to kill, depending upon distance.
Brute Plasma Rifle Brute Plasma Rifle 1.0 1.0 1.7 1.7 2.7 2.7  
Plasma Rifle SMG 1.0 1.0 3.4 N/A 2.7 3.7 The "Charged Pistol" is the Plasma Pistol
Magnum Pistol Charged Pistol 1.1 0.1 N/A 0.0 3.6 2.2 charged up, which has been listed
Magnum Pistol SMG 1.1 0.7 N/A N/A 3.6 3.7 separately to show the differences
Brute Plasma Rifle Plasma Rifle 1.1 1.1 1.7 3.4 2.7 2.7 between the two modes.  Charged
Needler Needler 1.1 1.1 N/A N/A 1.5 1.5 shots by themselves can't kill but can
Magnum Pistol Magnum Pistol 1.2 0.7 N/A N/A 4.4 4.4 be useful in combination with other
Magnum Pistol Plasma Rifle 1.3 0.6 N/A 3.4 3.6 2.7 dual-wielded weapons.
Plasma Pistol SMG 1.3 1.3 2.0 N/A 2.0 3.7  
Plasma Rifle Plasma Rifle 1.3 1.3 3.4 3.4 2.7 2.7 All firing times which include the
Brute Plasma Rifle Charged Pistol 1.4 1.4 1.7 0.0 2.7 2.2 Charged Pistol have been configured
Brute Plasma Rifle Plasma Pistol 1.5 1.5 1.7 2.0 2.7 2.0 so that the Charged Pistol is already
SMG SMG 1.5 1.5 N/A N/A 3.6 3.6 charged up before the timer starts.
Magnum Pistol Needler 1.6 1.6 N/A N/A 3.6 1.2  
Needler Plasma Rifle 1.6 1.6 N/A 3.4 1.2 2.7 All dual-wielding "Times to Kill" under
Brute Plasma Rifle Needler 1.7 1.7 1.7 N/A 2.6 1.2 1 second have been highlighted in blue.
Needler Plasma Pistol 1.7 1.7 N/A 2.3 1.2 1.8  
Needler Charged Pistol 1.7 1.7 N/A 0.0 1.2 2.2  
Needler SMG 1.7 1.7 N/A N/A 1.2 3.7  
Plasma Pistol Charged Pistol 1.7 1.7 1.9 0.0 2.0 2.2  
Plasma Pistol Plasma Rifle 1.8 1.8 2.0 3.4 2.0 2.7  
Charged Pistol Plasma Rifle 1.8 1.8 0.0 3.4 2.2 2.7  
Plasma Pistol Plasma Pistol 4.7 4.7 2.1 2.1 2.0 2.0  
Charged Pistol Charged Pistol N/A N/A 0.0 0.0 2.2 2.2  
KEY
Ammo/Energy
Clip: # of shots you can take in rapid succession.  With an energy weapon, this is the number of shots fired quickly until it overheats.
Max: Maximum amount of ammo allowed for that weapon, which includes the ammo in the "clip".
# of Shots Required.
B: Shots to the body anywhere other than the head.
H: Head shots.
Shields: The number of shots it takes to completely reduce a player's shields.
Armor: The number of shots it takes to destroy a player's "armor" (ie. kill a player) once their shields are down.
Both: The number of shots it takes to completely reduce a player's shields and kill them.
Time to Kill: The time (in seconds) that it takes to completely reduce a player's shields and kill them.
Operational Times
Ovrht: How long (in seconds) it takes for a weapon to overheat when fired rapidly non-stop.
Cldwn: How long (in seconds) it takes for a weapon to cool down after overheating.
Reld: How long (in seconds) it takes to reload a weapon.
Melee: How long (in seconds) it takes to complete a melee attack using that weapon.  10 attacks divided by 10 to get the results.
Melee Hits: How many frontal melee attacks are required to take out (S)hields and to destroy (A)rmor (ie. kill the player.)
Weapon Properties
ROF: The rate of fire of the weapon, expressed in number of shots per second.
Ra: The maximum range of the weapon. VL = Very Long, L = Long, M = Medium, S = Short, VS = Very Short.
Ac: The effective accuracy of the weapon. VH = Very High, H = High, M = Medium, L = Low, VL = Very Low.
Mode: How the weapon fires. Semi = Semiautomatic (single shot per trigger squeeze), Auto = Automatic, Chrg = Charged shot.
Dual: Whether or not the weapon can be used in combination with another weapon.
Scope: Whether or not a weapon has a scope and what magnification levels it has.
Weapons
Battle Rifle: A weapon that fires bullets in three round bursts.  Each individual bullet has been counted as a "shot" in this chart.
Beam Rifle: A powerful, energy-based sniper rifle that can overheat when fired too quickly.
Brute Plasma Rifle: A Red Plasma Rifle that fires and overheats faster than the normal Plasma Rifle.
Brute Shot: A grenade launcher that fires some relatively weak grenades.
Carbine: A Covenant semi-automatic rifle, similar in power to the Battle Rifle.
Energy Sword: A powerful melee weapon that can instantly kill with a successful lunge attack.
Magnum Pistol: Fairly weak by itself but deadly in combination with other dual-wielded weapons, especially when taking head shots.
Needler: A Covenant weapon that fires homing needles that are weak individually, but deadly in groups.
Plasma Pistol: An energy pistol that can fire weak individual shots and can be charged up to fire more powerful shots (see below).
Charged Pistol: The Plasma Pistol charged up.  Weak by itself, but can be powerful in combination with other dual-wielded weapons.
Plasma Rifle: The standard Covenant assault weapon.
Rocket Launcher: A deadly, explosive weapon that has the ability to home in on vehicles.
Sentinel Beam: A laser-like weapon that fires a continuous ray which is fairly weak when compared to other weapons.
Shotgun: A deadly weapon up close, that quickly loses its effectiveness at a distance, due to spread effect.
SMG: A rapid-firing machine gun that becomes even more powerful when dual-wielded with other weapons.
Sniper Rifle: A powerful sniping weapon with excellent accuracy.
FAQ
Q: In multiplayer, does the Elite character model have any advantages or disadvantages compared to the Master Chief model?
A: Yes.  Although the Elite deals and receives the same amount of damage with all weapons as the Master Chief, they have differing
melee attack speeds.  In the case of most weapons, the Master Chief has an equal or slightly faster melee attack speed.  However
the Elite model can melee attack faster with the Brute shot (0.7) and the Sentinel Beam (1.0).  The Master Chief can attack
significantly faster with the Plasma Rifle, Brute Plasma Rifle, Shotgun and Needler, attacking 0.4 seconds faster with the former two
and 0.3 seconds faster with the latter two.
Q: Where is the Fuel Rod Cannon?
A: The Fuel Rod Cannon cannot be used in multiplayer, so I did not bother testing it.
Q: Does the Charged Pistol/Magnum Pistol combo really take just 0.1 seconds to kill?
A: Yes, if the Plasma Pistol is already charged, you kill an opponent with one charged shot and one bullet to the head.
Q: How did you determine "fired as fast as possible" for the non-automatic weapons?
A: I wedged the controller between my legs to minimize bounce, which allowed to me fire those weapons as fast as possible.
Q: Why didn't you test at further distances or against moving targets?
A: I'm just one person, and can only test so much. Hopefully, I've provided a solid base of information that people will find useful.
Halo 2 Weapon Rankings © ShadowPanther.net, 2004 - Halo 2 © Microsoft, 2004