CE:Pistol
From Halopedia, the Halo wiki
| Pistol | |
|---|---|
  The Pistols in Halo: Combat Evolved (top) and Anniversary (bottom). | |
| Gameplay role | |
|
Faction: |
|
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Firing mode: |
Automatic |
|
Effective range: |
Medium |
|
Counterparts: |
As a pistol: As a utility weapon:
|
| Weapon stats (as of June 2021 MCC patch) | |
|
Damage: |
25[Note 1] |
|
Projectile effects: |
Headshots |
|
Projectile speed: |
300 wu/s |
|
10 wu | |
|
40 wu | |
|
Rate of fire: |
3.5 rounds per second[Note 2] |
|
SP: 0.2 to 0.4 degrees MP: 0.2 to 2 degrees[Note 3] | |
|
Magazine size: |
12 rounds |
|
Reserve ammo capacity: |
120 rounds (10 magazines) |
|
3 degrees out to 30 wu | |
|
6 degrees out to 30 wu | |
|
Zoom: |
2x magnification |
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| |
The Pistol is a weapon featured in Halo: Combat Evolved and its remaster, Combat Evolved Anniversary. It is one of the most famous weapons in both the original game and the Halo franchise as a whole, with variants having been featured in all subsequent games.
Information on the Pistol found in Halo: Campaign Evolved can be found here.
Universe and lore
- Main article: M6D magnum
In the original Combat Evolved, the Pistol featured is the M6D magnum; a magazine-fed 12.7x40mm handgun in the M6 series utilised by the UNSC Marine Corps and UNSC Navy.[2] It is upscaled compared to other variants in the M6 series. The M6Ds used in-game are officer's models, which feature a smart-linked KFA-2 sight.[3]
In Anniversary, the weapon's model was replaced with that of the M6G2 magnum from Halo 3, though in-game materials still refer to it using all of the original CE designations. Despite this, the original CE design is considered the canonical M6D in reference texts released since.[4] The cover art for Anniversary instead depicts Master Chief holding the M6G magnum from Halo: Reach.
Gameplay
Counterparts
Campaign
The Pistol is the first weapon given to the player on The Pillar of Autumn, and by extension the first weapon to be usable in a Halo game. It is an effective weapon maintaining usefulness in most situations, given its ability to one shot kill any character with an un-shielded head (or back in the case of Hunters). The Pistol is noticeably ineffective against Sentinels, especially those with energy shields. Unlike later games headshots have no effect on the Flood, if a combat form appears to die from a single hit it is actually feigning death and will stand back up again.
The Pistol is the secondary starting weapon on the levels Halo, The Silent Cartographer, Assault on the Control Room, 343 Guilty Spark, and The Library. The Pillar of Autumn is the only level where co-op players can respawn with the Pistol, and the The Truth and Reconciliation is the only level to lack the weapon entirely.
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Multiplayer
When playing a default gametype the Pistol is the primary starting weapon for the maps Sidewinder, Hang Em High, Boarding Action, Chiron TL-34, Ice Fields, Death Island, Danger Canyon, Infinity, Timberland, and Gephyrophobia. It is the secondary starting weapon for the map Rat Race, paired with the Assault Rifle taking the place of primary weapon. Otherwise custom game settings can be edited to have the Assault Rifle and Pistol be the starting weapons on any map, which is the setting used with Classic Slayer Pro. It is capable of killing a fully shielded player in three shots to the head or five body shots.
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Changes from Multiplayer to Campaign
- Minimum error increased from 0 to 0.2 degrees.
- Error angle (max) decreased from 2 to 0.4 degrees.
elite energy shielddamage multiplier decreased from 1x to 0.8x.
Damage Modifiers
| dirt | sand | stone | snow | wood | metal (hollow) | metal (thin) | metal (thick) | rubber | glass | force field | grunt | hunter armor | hunter skin | elite | jackal | jackal energy shield | engineer | engineer force field | flood combat form | flood carrier form | cyborg | cyborg energy shield | armored human | human | sentinel | monitor | plastic | water | leaves | elite energy shield | ice | hunter shield |
| 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.25 | 0.25 | 0.25 | 0.25 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0.2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1.5 | 1.5 | 1.5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0.2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.8 | 0 | 0 |
Skins
In the Combat Evolved component of Halo: The Master Chief Collection, there are a number of weapon skins for the Pistol.
| Pistol | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Icon | Name | Description | Unlock requirements | |||
| Default | Default skin. | Unlocked by default | ||||
 |
Desert | Looks very stylish with a poncho. | Series 2, Tier 2 ( 1)
| |||
 |
Great Journey | Don't worry... I know what the aliens like. | Series 2, Tier 14 ( 1)
| |||
 |
Hazard Pay | Safety first! | Series 2, Tier 36 ( 1)
| |||
 |
Woodland | Camping is a legitimate strategy. | Series 2, Tier 41 ( 1)
| |||
 |
Toy Soldier | They're not dolls, they're action figures! | Series 2, Tier 62 ( 1)
| |||
 |
Black Cherry | Get a grip. Shoot from the hip. | Series 2, Tier 91 ( 1)
| |||
 |
Golden | Bling on the ring. | Series 2 Challenge: Trusty Sidekick Defeat 500 opponents with the Pistol in any game mode. The Exchange ( | |||
Production notes
- "In Halo, the pistol behaved more like a rifle than the assault rifle, and the assault rifle behaved more like a submachine gun. Now we have a rifle that behaves like a rifle, an SMG that behaves like an SMG, and a pistol that behaves like a pistol."
- — Robert McLees[5]
The Halo: Combat Evolved Pistol would go on to be a very influential and notorious weapon even amongst other video games. Its power both as a pistol and in comparison to Halo 1's other weapons lead players to both love and hate its perceived overpowered nature. This aspect has been the source of many parodies and internet memes, most of which were on the now shut down Machinima YouTube channel.[6] For Halo 2's development Bungie sought to remedy these criticisms and have a weapon sandbox with roles better depicted through their visual designs. The Pistol tag was directly used to create the Battle Rifle which served as the sequel's utility weapon, while the Pistol model was used in the creation of the new Magnum.[5][7]
Gallery
Halo: Combat Evolved
A view of the M6D in Halo: Combat Evolved.
Front and Back views of the M6D.
A view of the M6D Pistol being held.
An in-game profile view of the M6D from Halo: Combat Evolved.
The ammunition pack for the M6D.
The M6D with its slide opened.
UNSC naval crewmen using M6Ds in Halo: Combat Evolved.
First-person view of the M6D in Halo: Combat Evolved.
The 2× telescopic sight of an M6D Magnum Pistol from Halo: Combat Evolved.
Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary
Concept art of Chief wielding a pistol.
Concept art of Chief holding a pistol.
Captain Keyes wielding a pistol in the mid-level cutscene on 343 Guilty Spark.
The pistol in the Library codex.
Notes
- ^ Spartans have 75 shield points, thus the pistol can deplete shields in 3 shots without damaging player health. However if the third shot is to the head region when this happens it will still kill the target due to the way the engine is programmed.
- ^ Due to how tickrate is rounded down, the rate of fire is ~3.33 rounds per second rather than 3.5.
- ^ Spread will only increase to its max value while the trigger is held, repeatedly pressing the trigger allows for accurate shots at max firerate.
Sources
- ^ Halo: Combat Evolved Editing Kit, game file
tags\weapons\pistol\pistol.weapon - ^ Halo: Combat Evolved manual, page 17
- ^ Halo Encyclopedia (2011 edition), page 321
- ^ Halo Encyclopedia (2022 edition), page 165
- ^ a b The Art of Halo, page 103
- ^ YouTube - FiveLetterNames, Master Chief War Halo 3 Machinima: 9:22
- ^ Twitter, Jaime Griesemer (@32nds): "@haileyx24 @MaxHoberman After Halo 1 shipped everyone loved the Pistol but it didn’t make sense that it was more powerful than any rifle. So during H2 prepro I clicked ‘save as’ on the “pistol” tag and called it the “battle rifle” and the artists built a new model." (Retrieved on Jan 27, 2023) [archive]
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