Weapons

When the Jiralhanae encountered the Covenant, the Fist of Rukt was simply a stone cudgel of great age and renown, following the tradition of war hammers long held by their people. After Tartarus acquired the Fist by slaying his uncle and Chieftain, Maccabeus, his patron Prophet directed the modification of the weapon to include multiple grav-impellors and an advanced drive system. The Fist of Rukt became the prototype – and archetype – of all gravity hammers. ...

Often used to strategically purge sites rapidly undergoing transformation into Flood control, the Z-390 Incineration Cannon is a shoulder-mounted munitions launcher that fires multiple energy projectiles in undulating streams that decimate anything they strike. Created to topple the nightmarish spore mountains of the Flood, burn their wretched blight beasts from the surface of dead worlds, and annihilate nascent keyminds before they could spread their malignant influence, the Incineration...

During the height of the Covenant, a variety of specialized long-range weapons were occasionally issued to Kig-Yar and Sangheili marksman, though the aliens’ tactical doctrine did not make effective use of their capabilities. This changed during the Human-Covenant War, when human snipers showed how accurate, pinpoint firepower could throw entire armies into disarray. The Particle Beam Rifle patterns were quickly selected as the most tactically optimal and...

The UNSC has used reloadable light anti-tank weapons for centuries. Surface-to-surface rocket launchers in particular have been used in warfare for hundreds of years, but they saw recent popularity during the Covenant War, where heavier firepower became a prerequisite against a superior foe. Without a doubt, the two most popular examples within the UNSC have been Misriah Armory’s M41 SSR MAV/AW (SPNKR), and Chalybs Defense Solutions' M57 Pilum. ...

Capable of using a variety of specialized projectiles, many of which were suitable for use in the early, fragile, orbital habitats and space vessels, it was not until the early 25th century that the UNSC Marine Corps abandoned the Shotgun as the weapon that defined its image as the UEG’s spaceborne force-in-readiness. Though relegated to less-important (or simply less-visible, depending on who you ask) duties with boarding parties and police forces, the Shotgun has never gone out of style or...

Often considered a man-portable cannon rather than a traditional precision-fire weapon, the Sniper Rifle proven track record in neutralizing Insurrectionist and Covenant assets has proven that sometimes an unorthodox approach is the most effective. The key to the Sniper Rifle’s success is its massive 14.5mm round, which fires a high-velocity, armor-piercing, subcaliber dart that can damage even heavily armored vehicles. Against infantry, the round can buckle and collapse all but the heaviest...

Originally issued only to vehicle crews as an emergency weapon, the compact Submachine Gun (SMG) became widely used during the Insurrection. It was particularly favored by paramilitary police units and UNSC special operations units tasked with rooting out rebel units based in orbital habitats and cluttered urban environments. Although the UNSC is currently trialing a replacement, the M7 remains the current production model of the SMG. Cheap, efficient, compact, and extremely...