Halo: Combat Evolved Pistol

The Pistol, often referred to as the Halo: Combat Evolved Pistol, Halo 1 Pistol, or CE Pistol to distinguish it from later human pistols, is a variant of Magnum first appearing in Halo: Combat Evolved. Despite its appearance as a handgun the Pistol was extremely effective in its role as a mid range weapon, so much so that it outperformed many other weapons both in campaign and multiplayer. It's design and function would be separated into two new weapons for the sequel Halo 2, being the Magnum and Battle Rifle respectively.

Legacy
"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 " 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 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. For Halo 2's development Bungie seeked 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.

Campaign
The Pistol is the first weapon given to the player, and by extension the first weapon to be usable in a Halo game. It is an extremely effective weapon maintaining usefulness in most situations. It can 1 shot kill any character with an exposed head, does decent damage to shields, and can one shot kill hunters when fired into their exposed backs. The Truth and Reconciliation is the only campaign mission to not feature the Pistol.

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, with the Assault Rifle serving as the primary weapon for that map. 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.

Halo 2
While not appearing in gameplay due to being fully replaced by the Battle Rifle and Magnum, the original pistol model appears as an easter egg on the multiplayer map Tombstone.

Halo 5: Guardians
Disclaimer: all below statistics are derived from unofficial tools and may be inaccurate

Multiplayer and Warzone
"You’ll have to find ammo as you go. Classic Magnum with increased damage and higher recoil. Infuses the user with nostalgia and increased movement speed."

- REQ description

Skins and cosmetics
The CE Pistol received a few equipable weapon skins in the MCC release of Halo: Combat Evolved.

Halo: Combat Evolved (MCC)
Halo: Combat Evolved for Halo: The Master Chief Collection features weapon skins for all its weapons, including the Pistol. These were added into the game with an update on July 14, 2020, alongside the beginning of Season 2: Spark and the launch of Halo 3 for PC.

List of appearances

 * Halo: Combat Evolved
 * Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary
 * Halo 2
 * Halo Wars
 * Halo 5: Guardians