Type-31 needle rifle

The Type-31 Rifle, also known as the needle rifle, is a Covenant infantry weapon. It is commonly used by Sangheili, Jiralhanae, and Kig-Yar, particularly Skirmishers.

Design details
The Type-31 Rifle fires unconventional, long and razor sharp projectiles made of blamite. The projectiles detonate several seconds after coming to rest in soft tissue. The rear end of the weapon appears to be on a hinge, indicating it may be able to collapse into a more compact form.

The needle rifle is a fully automatic, short- to medium-range rifle, similar in many respects to the Covenant's Type-51 Carbine. Unlike the needler, the needles do not "home", or track on the enemy. They fire in a straight line at high velocities, similar to the M392 Designated Marksman Rifle. Rounds travel much faster than that of the needler, leaving the needle rifle's only destructive similarity to the needler being the individual/collected needle explosion.

The reload process for the needle rifle is very similar to that of the Covenant carbine. The scope for the weapon acts as a hatch, which flips open to expose a small canister that ejects upon opening, and a new canister is inserted by the user. The only difference between the reloads for the Carbine and the needle rifle is that the canister for the Carbine is not covered by any sort of hatch, which in the case of the needle rifle is its scope. This reload process implements another difference from the needler, which actually summons new needles from the inside of the weapon through the operation of what is suspected to be an internal mechanism.

Gameplay
Compared with its counterpart, the M392 Designated Marksman Rifle, the needle rifle trades in damage per projectile for a faster firing rate, lower recoil/reticle bloom, and larger magazine size, and also has the ability to kill an unshielded enemy with three needles, which will detonate no matter where they hit. The needle rifle still retains the ability to kill an unshielded enemy with a headshot. Although most use it as a semi-automatic weapon, the needle rifle is in fact a fully-automatic weapon, and will fire continuously when the trigger is held. Its rate of fire is rather low, however, and it suffers from reticle bloom. Few players actually make use of its fully-automatic function.

The needle rifle is incredibly effective against Brutes. As most do not possess shields in Halo: Reach, they can be killed in three shots with a supercombined detonation. Enemies in Campaign and Firefight are extremely cautious when the needle rifle is used against them, regarding its projectiles as if they were explosives. Grunts dodge them the same way they dodge plasma grenades, Brutes will frequently dodge or use Armor Lock when shot at, and Elites will evade constantly even if their shields are at full strength. This quality makes it a somewhat ineffective long-ranged weapon unless one finds oneself able to fire into a crowd of enemies. Noble Team members will also react to enemies using needle rifles by Armor Locking, despite the fact they are invulnerable.

The needle rifle will take out a Spartan's shield in Multiplayer with 6 rounds, 2 more than the 4 rounds required by the DMR, but does "bonus damage for headshots." Three needles in an unshielded target will cause a supercombine detonation, similar to the needler, killing the victim. Thus, in most SWAT game types, this weapon is not present due to the fact that it can kill an enemy quickly without the requirement of a headshot.

Trivia

 * The scope of the needle rifle has a hash-mark compass. To the right of the scope, it also features a symbol which turns red when the crosshairs are aimed at an enemy.
 * Kat-B320 was killed by a needle rifle shot to the head. Unusually, the round went straight through her helmet instead of sticking and detonating on the surface.
 * Killing an opponent with a supercombine of the needle rifle's needles will grant the player a Needle Kill Medal.
 * During the Halo: Reach Beta, the needle rifle had an 18 round magazine. This was increased to 21 rounds (to match the three round increase in the DMR's magazine size) for the final game, but the render of the weapon wasn't updated, so a fully loaded needle rifle will still only show 12 needles sticking out.

List of appearances

 * Halo: Reach
 * Halo: Glasslands
 * Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn