MA5C assault rifle/Gameplay

The MA5C is one of the weapons which players will love and loathe in equal measures. The rifle's rate of fire makes it a devastatingly powerful weapon in close range combat, and it's melee attack usually ensures victory in close quarter battles. In a skilled player's hand, the assault rifle can easily be a formidable weapon.

Campaign

 * A simple tactic for medium range AR combat is to "rapid-pulse" the trigger; in other words, rapidly press down on the trigger, as if firing a semi-automatic weapon, like the Type-51 carbine. This will result in rapid, accurate, controlled bursts. This is very useful in the early levels of the game.
 * Using controlled bursts, players can increase the accuracy and take down shielded Covenant units and finish them off with a melee.
 * Couple this weapon with a plasma-based weaponry such as a overcharged Plasma Pistol shot to weaken a shielded Covenant unit and then switch to this weapon to finish it off.

Multiplayer

 * Due to its high rate of fire, it is very capable of whittling down shielding in about two seconds.
 * If the opponent does not have an Energy Sword, Shotgun, Mauler, or other short-ranged weapons, then a good strategy is to get into close range and charge them, while firing all the way. If it were otherwise, then do not get up close to the opponent. Although long range weapons are the Achilles heel of the assault rifle, the weapons aforementioned would easily overpower the assault rifle at close range. Instead, use short controlled bursts while backing up to take him down.
 * Another tactic is to use the rifle for suppression fire. This means that you can spray the area of a target in order to get the enemy to keep their heads down. This is especially helpful if you are being fired upon by a sniper because even if one round hits the sniper, he is knocked out of the scope and will become disoriented. This gives you a chance to find cover or move in for the kill.
 * The fragmentation grenade used in combination with the assault rifle is extremely effective. For example, if you are being pursued, jump around a corner and quickly throw the fragmentation grenade to bring down the target's shield. Once your gun is back in hand, open fire. This should bring your target down, provided you do not get caught in your own grenade's blast radius, else you would be in the same situation as your adversary, although it usually depends on your enemy's weapon and skill.
 * Do not aim for the head; since automatic weapons have no headshot multiplier, and the MA5C is not an exception. You will, most likely, just waste ammo and have more shots go astray rather than kill your opponent faster, since the head is obviously a smaller target.
 * If you take out another player's shields with an entire magazine, but do not kill him, try quickly switching to a headshot-capable weapon and aim for the head. One headshots will kill if the player has no shields.