Gameplay

CEV:Assault Rifle

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Assault Rifle
A screenshot of John-117 in Halo: Campaign Evolved.
John-117 holding the Assault Rifle in The Silent Cartographer Demo.
Gameplay role

Faction:

Human (UNSC)

Weapon tier (?):

Loadout weapon

Weapon class (?):

Rifle

Weapon type (?):

Bullet

Firing mode:

Automatic

Effective range:

Close to medium

Counterparts:

Human (UNSC)
SMG
Covenant
Needler
Plasma Rifle
Brute Plasma Rifle
Spiker
Forerunner
Sentinel Beam
Weapon stats

Magazine size:

36 rounds (60 with Magnified Skull)[1]

 

The Assault Rifle is a weapon featured in Halo: Campaign Evolved. It is one of the most common weapons throughout the game. Information on the Assault Rifle found in the original Halo: Combat Evolved (and its Anniversary remaster) can be found here.

Universe and lore

Main article: MA5 series

The Assault Rifle in Halo: Campaign Evolved is a weapon in the MA5 series of Individual Combat Weapon Systems produced by Misriah Armory.

Gameplay

Counterparts

Campaign

The Assault Rifle is one of the most common weapons found throughout the campaign of Campaign Evolved. It plays similarly to the Assault Rifle featured in Halo: Reach, retaining that game's Bloom mechanics and overall weapon feel.[2]

Changes from Halo: Combat Evolved to Halo: Campaign Evolved

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  • Magazine size reduced from 60 to 36.
  • Reserve magazine reduced from 10 to 9.
  • The ability to aim in, similar to Halo 5: Guardians and Halo Infinite, has been added.
  • Rate-of-fire decreased.
  • A new Skull has been added, Magnified, that changes the AR's rate-of-fire, spread, and magazine capacity to more closely resemble the original Combat Evolved weapon.

Skins

There are a number of weapon skins for the Assault Rifle.

Assault Rifle customization
vde
Cosmetic Type Description Unlock requirements
UI asset from Halo: Campaign Evolved of the MA5B assault rifle.
Standard Issue
Style Color pattern approved by the UNSC Ordnance Commission. Unlocked by default
UI asset from Halo: Campaign Evolved of the MA5B assault rifle.
Flawless AR
Skin Perfectly balanced. Pre-order Halo: Campaign Evolved and get the Foundry Armory Pack.
UI asset from Halo: Campaign Evolved of the MA5B assault rifle.
Milestone
Style Spartans can make any weapon an engine of destruction.
UI asset from Halo: Campaign Evolved of the MA5B assault rifle.
Silver Anniversary
Style Always there when you need it. Unlocked for free by logging onto Halo: Campaign Evolved.
UI asset from Halo: Campaign Evolved of the MA5B assault rifle.
Reflex Mix
Style Ready to raid. Available as a Twitch Drop beginning the week of July 23 to August 4, 2026.

Production notes

In the 2025 reveal demo for Campaign Evolved playable at Halo World Championship, the Assault Rifle had a magazine size of 32 rounds, with a default reserve of 128 rounds and a total capacity of 288.[2] The weapon was buffed from the launch demo to the prerelease media build in Summer 2026, with the magazine capacity upgraded to 36, the initial spare reserve to 216, and the total ammo reserve to 300. The rate of fired also decreased from reveal from around 20 rounds-per-second (RPS) to around 7.5 RPS, which makes the weapon more accurate when taking into account Bloom.[1]

Sources