A player with no weapon, who is also performing an Alert carry.

The no weapon glitch is a glitch present in all the first-person shooter Halo games. It allows players to disarm their in-game characters.

Halo: Combat Evolved

A player with no weapon on Blood Gulch.

The No Weapon Glitch is not as well known in Halo: Combat Evolved, but the method is pretty simple. It works easily on Halo PC, but is harder on Xbox because there is less lag. The glitch may be performed in both Multiplayer and Campaign.

Multiplayer

There are two kinds of No Weapon Glitches on Halo PC's multiplayer: one from the host's perspective and one from the client's perspective, both of which need at least one other player to work with. Gather multiple different weapons together in a closed area, like in the Blood Gulch Base. Then, have both players crouch on the pile of weapons while facing each other. Have both players swap weapons repeatedly over the stockpile. This should make both players continuously drop and pick up new weapons.

Eventually, a player will not be able to drop their weapon because the weapon starts "phantoming." All other players in the game will view them as if they had no weapon; the player they performed the glitch with should be similarly unarmed. The host may switch to their other weapon, but the game may automatically force a weapon switch after a certain amount of time. Clients will find that they cannot switch back to their original weapon because it has been deleted.

Campaign

The No Weapon glitch is more difficult in Halo: Combat Evolved's Campaign. It involves overloading the map with objects, such as weapons, grenades, and bodies, so that objects on the map start behaving erratically. Overloading is easiest on the Xbox version in Co-op; simply have a player kill their teammate over and over until their corpses accumulate. With a little luck, both players will despawn their weapons. Enemies' weapons can also despawn using this same method.

Observations

If a client who has no weapon is observed in Multiplayer, they will assume the animation for having no weapon, like in the first Campaign level, Pillar of Autumn.

However, if a client observes a host who has no weapon, they will look very different. The host assumes a phantom weapon stance, as they are actually still holding their weapon, but clients cannot see it. The host's pose inherits the pose of the equipped weapon; if they were holding, say, a sniper rifle when they lost their weapon, then their arms will look like they are holding a sniper rifle. They can still shoot and melee with their weapon, and if they switch weapons, clients will see a weapon floating in the air where they switched. They can also switch out their "phantomed" weapon for other weapons, changing how they hold their hands in the air.

Halo 2

A weaponless player on the Multiplayer map Ascension.

In Halo 2, the glitch requires an Oddball or Skull and a Plasma Pistol.

Multiplayer

In Multiplayer, load up a game of Oddball where players spawn with only a Plasma Pistol. Find the Oddball, and have a player charge their Plasma Pistol. Walk over the Oddball and pick it up while still charging the Plasma Pistol. If done properly, the player charging their Plasma Pistol will drop both the Oddball and weapon: their hands will be empty, and no reticle will be present on their heads-up display. If a player without a weapon comes into contact with any weapon, they will automatically pick it up.

Campaign

This can also be done in Campaign, but requires a Skull. The level Outskirts is highly recommended because the Blind skull can be grabbed on any difficulty, and is available at the start of the level. First, have the desired player perform the Triple wielding glitch so that they have two Plasma Pistols. Find the Skull, and just like in Multiplayer, pick it up while charging one of the Plasma Pistols. Perform this glitch twice, as the player will still have one weapon. After the second time, the player should not be holding any weapons. However, with the abundance of weapons in campaign, it will be very difficult to avoid weapons on the ground. It is advised to carry the skull through the level to redo the glitch in case a weapon is accidentally picked up.

Observations

This can be used for some fun game types if everyone cooperates; it can also be used for making Machinima. Notably, unarmed players using the Spartan player model can still throw grenades, but Elites can't; this is because Elites don't have an animation for performing this action when unarmed.

Halo 3

A disarmed player on Valhalla.

There are two methods to perform this glitch in Halo 3, one in Forge and one with a modded custom gametype.

Forge

The first method requires at least two players in Forge, either in split-screen or over Xbox Live. Have one player go into Edit Mode, while the other remains in Player Mode. The player in Edit Mode should spawn a weapon and place it on the ground. The other player should equip the weapon, and the editing player should delete the weapon at the same time. If performed correctly, the player in Player Mode should have dropped their weapon, and if performed incorrectly the player will pick up the weapon on the ground. If the player has two weapons, the glitch must be performed twice. Note that as in Halo 2, a weaponless player will automatically pick up any weapons they walk onto.

Custom Games

To have no weapons in Custom Games, a modded gametype where players start with a flamethrower is needed. In order to create such a gametype, one should follow this guide on how to mod a gametype in Halo 3. Once in-game, simply drop the flamethrower to have no weapons.

Halo: Reach

A weaponless player on the Defiant Map Pack level Highlands.

This glitch is quite simple to perform in Halo: Reach, but is only achievable by the host or their guests. The first method requires an Armor Ability and a detached Machine Gun Turret or Plasma Cannon, while the second method requires the player to be an Elite in Firefight.

In any game mode, have the desired player pick up a detached Machine Gun Turret or Plasma Cannon. Then, while walking backwards, tap the armor ability button and the melee button at the same time. The player should now be weaponless, unless they had a secondary weapon, in which case they will now be holding only one weapon and need to perform the glitch again. The glitch is compatible with any armor ability, but is easiest to perform using Hologram or Jetpack. To perform the glitch with Armor Lock or Drop Shield, the player must jump backwards instead of just walking backwards; otherwise, the player will pick up their discarded weapon once their armor ability expires.

Alternatively, in firefight, if the desired player is an Elite and encounters a Elite General wielding a Plasma Cannon, they can give him their weapon in trade for the turret. The player can then drop their turret and have no weapons. If performed correctly, the player will only be able to throw grenades. Also take note that as in Halo 2 and Halo 3, weaponless players will automatically pick up weapons, and will have to repeat the glitch once again to drop them.

Observations

Unlike Halo 3, this glitch will lead to a few animation errors:

• A weaponless player in the passenger seat of a vehicle, such as the Warthog or Revenant, will stand up straight instead of sitting in the seat.
• Crouching will only cause the player's hands to move slightly, but their viewpoint will drop and their view may be obscured by their own torso.
• If the player turns around while crouching, their legs can twist through each other, and their entire body may face the wrong direction (so assassinations must be performed at the player's front).
• There are no animations for walking while crouched and unarmed, making the player slide across the ground.

Halo 4

A player without a weapon on Pitfall.

The method for performing the glitch is almost the same in Halo 4 as it is in Halo: Reach, and again only the host or their guests can perform this glitch.

The glitch may be performed in any game mode, but is easy to do in Forge. In order to perform this glitch, the player must have an armor ability equipped, though a Hologram or Jetpack works the best. Just like in Halo: Reach, the player must pick up a detached Machine Gun Turret or Plasma Cannon. Now, walk backwards, melee, and deploy the armor ability simultaneously. This will cause the player to drop their current weapon. If the player has two weapons, this must be repeated again. Take caution not to walk over any weapons on the ground, as they will automatically be picked up. Also, in gametypes when the player spawns with random weapons, sometimes the player will spawn without a weapon. Players without weapons will still be able to sprint and use armor abilities, but will no longer have a weapon reticle.

Observations

As in Reach, this glitch will lead to some animation errors:

• The player will pose as if holding an invisible assault rifle.
• An unarmed player's body won't animate when they walk or sprint, making them look like they are sliding across the floor.
• The player, upon entering the passenger seat of a vehicle, will stand up holding an invisible assault rifle.
• Crouching lowers the player's camera into their torso, potentially blocking their vision.

Halo 2: Anniversary

A player jumping with no weapon on Remnant.

There are two ways of having no weapons in Halo 2: Anniversary's Multiplayer, the second of which requires Forge.

For the first method, have the desired player pick up a speed boost to ease the process (it's likely possible without, but much harder). As in Halo: Reach and Halo 4, pick up a detached Machine Gun Turret. Jump backwards, melee, and press the "dual wield" button all at the same time. The player should drop their weapon. If, after performing this glitch, the player is holding only one weapon(or dual-wielding the two weapons) simply perform the glitch again. Like in every other game, walking over a weapon instantly picks it up.

The second method requires a little bit of Forge scripting. In Forge, a few objects must be spawned through Edit Mode first:

• A weapon (for example, a Brute Plasma Rifle) with these properties:
  • Advanced > Place at Start set to False
  • Scripting > Spawn Channel set to 1
  • Scripting > Can Despawn set to True
• Another weapon (for example, a Magnum) with these properties:
  • Advanced > Place at Start set to False
  • Scripting > Spawn Channel set to 1
  • Scripting > Can Despawn set to True
• A Timer: On Once with this property:
  • Scripting > Broadcast Channel set to 1
• A Timer: Off Once with this property:
  • Scripting > Broadcast Channel set to 1
  • Scripting > Power Channel set to 0
• A Switch: On with this property:
  • Scripting > Broadcast Channel must be set to 0
• A scenery prop to identify where the Switch: On is (for example, a Traffic Cone). Place it inside the Switch: On.
• A vehicle (for example, a Ghost)

Once this is all set up, save the map, then load up the map in Custom Games. Pick up the two weapons scripted earlier, and activate the switch. Once done, enter the vehicle and upon exit, the desired player will have no weapon. A video guide of this method is available here.

Observations

• This leads to the same animation errors as in Halo 4.
• Unlike in Halo 2, an unarmed player cannot throw grenades in this state.
• When crouching, other players see the weaponless player with his/her knees buckled.
• To other players, the weaponless player will not turn unless they jump.
• When zooming in, the weaponless player will not see a zoom HUD.
• When jumping, the weaponless player seems to use the Energy Sword animations.

Halo 5: Guardians

A weaponless player on Alpine.

The No Weapon glitch in Halo 5: Guardians is only achievable in Forge, and requires two players. As Halo 5: Guardians does not feature split-screen, this glitch must be performed over Xbox Live.

To start, load a map in Forge, preferably a mostly empty one such as Alpine, Parallax, or Glacier. This glitch is achieved by overloading the game, and an efficient way of doing which is with Kill Balls, specifically the Kill Ball: Classic (10x10x10; jr). Spawn a Kill Ball, then to make the process easier, duplicate it about 20 times, select those Kill Balls, and duplicate that stack over and over. Keep spawning Kill Balls until the "Objects" meter on the bottom left of the screen reaches around 1200/1600 objects. When finished duplicating, have the desired player stand in view of the Kill Balls, and get assassinated by the second player. If done correctly, the player who is assassinated will not die, but instead drop their weapons. Once the desired player has dropped their weapons, they should be careful not to walk over any weapons as they will automatically be picked up, so they will have to perform the glitch again. Note: this method will only work within the same Forge session that the map is overloaded, so saving the map for later use will only lead to the player dying when getting assassinated. A video guide on this method is available here.

Observations

• Rarely, the player performing the glitch will have some of the same animation errors that Halo 4 has, such as a lack of movement animations.
  • This animation error is able to be replicated if an unarmed player moves while crouching.
• A player without weapons, upon entering the passenger seat of a vehicle, will stand up and pose as if holding an invisible assault rifle.
• Weaponless players in the passenger seat of a Gungoose will still be able to throw grenades.
• Players without weapons in Halo 5: Guardians will not receive damage from most weapons, but still take damage from other sources such as the Safeguard Sentinel Beam or splattering.
• Unarmed players are still able to use Spartan abilities, but will be unable to melee.
• As in Halo: Combat Evolved, a weaponless player will inherit the same stance of the weapon they had before losing it.

Trivia

• In all the games in the Halo trilogy, Master Chief is seen weaponless during at least one level in the Campaign until he receives a weapon, or ammo for a weapon he's already been given.
• Weaponless Spartans in Halo 2, 3, and Reach borrow the animations used when carrying an Energy Sword, except in the Halo 2 level "The Armory," where players use the Battle Rifle animations.
  • Weaponless Elite players in these games borrow animations for one-handed weapons.
  • However, as mentioned above, this glitch in Halo: Reach leads to some animation errors that stop the Energy Sword animations.

Gallery

• 

  An unarmed Elite in Halo 2.

• 

  An Elite without a weapon in Halo 3.

• 

  A weaponless Elite in Halo: Reach.

• 

  An Elite with no weapon in Halo 2: Anniversary.

External links

• Halo 2 Tricks: Episode 43 *No Weapon*