The Five Best Weapons of the Halo: Reach Beta

By Owen Johnson
Tuesday, May 18, 2010 at 10:04 am
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​The time has come where I've logged in enough hours with the Halo: Reach beta that I feel a proper artillery assessment is in order. Due to the nature of this column -- and the fact that there aren't that many guns our there in the beta -- I'll be addressing what I believe to be the five best weapons a combatant can scrounge up. Now this is a bit tricky because in composing an account such as this, it's easy to succumb to bias and simply state one's personal favorite array of weaponry; that is not my objective. I have of course used all of these first-hand, but some guns -- despite their presence in this list -- I won't touch in a match. Why would I ever avoid a gun if it is truly as good as I claim? Well, this is primarily due to the fact that I suck ass with some very good weapons am a gentleman and like to give my opponents a sporting chance.  What we have here is an account -- completely stripped of bias -- of what I've come to see as the best and most deadly tools of destruction that a skilled spartan (or elite!) could wield. 



1. DMR
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The UNSC affiliated M392 DMR, or Designated Marksman Rifle, is one of the more refined guns a player can use out in the field. This single-fire, semi-automatic beauty fires 7.62mm rounds with the utmost accuracy. Boasting a relatively small amount of recoil, a skilled player will put you down at nearly any range with a few quick shots to the dome. 



2. Focus Rifle
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This Covenant affiliated Type-52 Special Applications Rifle, better known as the Focus Rifle, is only used by motherless whores is a very powerful energy based weapon. Sporting the aesthetics of a Covenant adult toy rather than that of a tool of long-range burnery, this puppy offers you the luxury of seeing your enemy up close and personal, with the safety of remaining far from harm. A warning to those who enjoy living: remaining in contact for a few seconds with the beam this gun emits is not conducive to good health.


3. Grenade Launcher
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The UNCS M319 40mm Individual Grenade Launcher, known to its friends as the M319 IGL, is a single-shot launcher of explosive proportions. Reload times are slightly delayed due to the nature of break-action weaponry, but the sheer power more than makes up for it. The grenade will bounce prior to detonating if fired at the ground, but will explode on impact with an enemy (or teammate). It is important to note that in the beta if the grenade doesn't make contact with a sentient life form, it has been known to lay there waiting to explode on a friend or enemy -- this is being referred to as a glitch or bug and could possibly be fixed in the final build. Many Dbags people out there with an affinity for the weapon have been heard indulging their egos by referring to the IGL as the "pro pipe". It is advised that upon coming into contact with one of these members of the community that you either quit out of your current match uttering a snide remark, or begin team-killing immediately. 




4. Shotgun
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​The UNSC M90 Close Assault Weapon System is not your grandfathers pheasant gun. This handsome devil is an 8-gauge Power Hammer pwning, Energy Sword bull-truing son of a bitch. Allegedly one of its few downsides is its ammo capacity -- the poor guy can only hold eight rounds. Let me tell you something, eight rounds in a gun with one-shot-kill potential is NOT a downside, it's a fucking gift. 


5. Plasma Launcher
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​When used properly, the Covenant affiliated Type-52 Guided Munitions Launcher can be the epitome of elegant and effective manslaughter. Based on how long you down the trigger while eyes-on an enemy, the Plasma Launcher will fire anywhere between one and four super-heated plasma bolts. Said bolts -- which closely resemble plasma grenades in both appearance and function -- will track your target and stick to them upon contact. Then, after just enough time for your target to panic and run towards his teammates, it will reduce your enemies into easily digestible mushy goodness.


There you have it, our top choices having experienced their effectiveness as both the giver and the receiver. I apologize for not having awesome video of all the weapons in action, but to be quite honest most of the videos out there are pretty unimpressive. Just a lot of really mediocre people doing really mediocre things with misleading video titles such as "TOTAL PWNAGE MVP". Take it from me, it's not worth your time to watch a "clip" (I use the term very loosely) in which during the course of an entire ten minute match the degenerate guy manages to kill two people within a few seconds of each other.  Anyway, can't wait for the full game to drop this Fall, but in the mean time I'll see you all out there. Oh, and here's a preemptive "go to hell" for those of you who are bound to shoot me with that fucking focus rifle.
Tags: Fisted Reasoning, Halo: Reach, weapons
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