H2:Covenant Carbine

Covenant Carbine
The Covenant Carbines in Halo 2 (top) and Anniversary (bottom).
Gameplay role
Faction:	Covenant
Weapon tier (?):	Utility weapon
Weapon class (?):	Rifle
Weapon type (?):	Energy
Firing mode:	Semi-automatic
Effective range:	Medium
Counterparts:	Human (UNSC) Battle Rifle
Gameplay stats
Damage:	11
Damage type (?):	plasma_fast
Projectile effects:	Headshots
Projectile speed:	400 wu/s
Hitscan range (?):	~26.66 wu
Max range (?):	40 wu
Rate of fire:	0.14s fire recovery time (~7.1 rounds per second)
Spread (?):	0.3 to 0.6 degrees (scales with zoom)
Magazine size:	18 rounds
Reserve ammo capacity:	72 rounds (4 magazines)
Auto aim (?):	3 degrees out to 17 wu (scales with zoom)
Sticky aim (?):	6 degrees out to 21 wu (scales with zoom)
Zoom:	2x magnification
Melee damage (?):	Strike Melee
Tag name (?):	covenant_carbine

The Covenant Carbine is a weapon introduced in Halo 2 and its remaster, Halo 2: Anniversary. It is one of the standard weapons used by the Elites throughout the game.

This page focuses on the Covenant Carbine found in the original Halo 2 game and the campaign of Anniversary. Information on the Covenant Carbine found in the multiplayer component of Halo 2: Anniversary can be found here.

Universe and lore

Main articles: Vostu-pattern carbine, Mosa-pattern carbine

The Vostu-pattern carbine is the primary service arm of the Covenant, in particular used by the Elites. In the UNSC it is known by the designation Type-51 Carbine.

In Anniversary, the weapon's model was replaced with that of the Mosa-pattern carbine from Halo 4.

Gameplay

Counterparts

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  Battle Rifle

Campaign

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Multiplayer

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Production notes

The Covenant Carbine emerged in Halo 2 production out of a need for a Covenant equivalent to the newly-implemented Battle Rifle for players to use during the Arbiter missions (as well as the Spartans vs Elites multiplayer game modes which were ultimately cut). The weapon was also useful to give to enemy Elites as, according to Jaime Griesemer, design retrospective on both the previous game and other first-person shooters releasing at the time found that harder difficulty was better achieved by making the act of dodging enemy projectiles more challenging, rather than simply making them do more damage. This manifested in an increase to plasma projectile speeds particularly on Legendary difficulty; the Carbine, as a weapon with an incredibly fast projectile, fit this new design goal perfectly alongside aligning with the aforementioned need for a Battle Rifle-equivalent.

The visual design for the Carbine was influenced by some early Combat Evolved concept art (below) done by Shi Kai Wang. The art depicts a Grunt wielding a weapon with a similar rear stock design. Early storyboards depict Tartarus and the Arbiter using a Carbine, though with a distinct design that bears more resemblance to the final game's Plasma Cannon. This early design appears to resemble an elongated Plasma Rifle, similar to the particle rifle cut from Combat Evolved or the Plasma Repeater later introduced in Halo: Reach.

The weapon's name may be derived from early revisions of the Combat Evolved Plasma Rifle, which were named "Energy Carbine".

Gallery

Halo 2

Development images

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  Shi Kai Wang's Grunt concept art for Halo CE. The top-right sketch can be seen with a weapon similar to the Carbine's rear stock.
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  Storyboards for the alphamoon outro, depicting Tartarus and his Brutes with Carbines, then-resembling Plasma Cannons.
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  Tartarus wielding a carbine.
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  Tartarus wielding a carbine.
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  Tartarus uses a Carbine to execute the heretic leader.
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  The Arbiter wields a carbine in the outro storyboards for The Great Journey.
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  The Arbiter uses a carbine to execute Tartarus at the end of the Great Journey. From this side view, the early design appears to resemble an elongated Plasma Rifle.
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  The Arbiter wielding this early carbine design in the storyboards for Earth Ark.
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  The finalised design for the weapon showing up in the final draft storyboards for The Oracle.
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  A "hero shot" of the Arbiter wielding the weapon in the final storyboard for Sacred Icon.

Screenshots

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  First-person view of the Carbine.
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  A Covenant supply cache holding several Carbine.
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  The final in-game profile view of the Carbine.
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  View through the Carbine's scope.

Halo 2: Anniversary campaign

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  A crop of the Carbine in Halo 2: Anniversary.
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  Thel 'Vadamee wielding a Carbine in Halo 2: Anniversary campaign.
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  Thel 'Vadamee with a Carbine in Halo 2: Anniversary campaign.
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  Thel 'Vadamee firing a Carbine in Halo 2: Anniversary campaign.
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  SpecOps Sangheili with Carbines in Halo 2: Anniversary campaign.
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  John-117 using a Mosa-pattern carbine in Campaign.
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  The 2× zoom of the carbine in Campaign.