Bulldog

"A highly responsive and fast-firing tactical shotgun. Devastating at close range."

- In-game description

The Bulldog is a human shotgun first introduced in Halo Infinite. Only effective in close ranges, it fires a spread of projectiles in a wide angle, which deal substantial kinetic damage if most or all of the projectiles land. However, due to being pump-action, the time between shots is fairly high.

Universe and lore
Manufactured by Misriah Armory at their Eos Chasma facility, the CQS48 Bulldog is a pump-action shotgun in service with the UNSC Armed Forces. Unlike the more common M45 and M90 shotgun lines, it fires 12-gauge shells from a detachable rotary magazine that can hold up to 7 total shells, allowing for faster reloading at the cost of smaller calibre ammunition. The weapon usually features a gunmetal grey finish, with bright orange accents and lettering.

Overview
The Bulldog is a powerful pickup weapon first introduced in Halo Infinite as a successor to the Shotgun. It appears in both campaign and multiplayer, though is relatively rare in both due to its power. The Bulldog is a powerhouse in close quarters, able to kill an enemy Spartan in multiplayer with just two shots, but due to its massive spread, is entirely useless at longer ranges.

Unlock and acquisition requirements
In Halo Infinite's campaign, the Bulldog is unlocked for acquisition at any FOB once the player earns at least 600 Valor by completing objectives in the game's open world. Once unlocked, it can be requisitioned for free at any FOB station at no extra cost.

Meanwhile, in multiplayer, the Bulldog is a pickup weapon that can be found in certain weapon pads, typically located in neutral areas towards the centre of the map. Whether or not the Bulldog spawns is up to chance, as its weapon pads may offer a Heatwave instead, depending on the random weapon pad configuration generated at the start of the match.

Convergence Bulldog
The Convergence Bulldog is an improved version of the Bulldog shotgun, featured in the Halo Infinite campaign. It has a 12-shell magazine, and fires in a tighter spread pattern than the standard Bulldog, making shots more accurate and allowing for more damage per shot. It is unlocked at 2,400 Valor.

Counterparts
Throughout the Halo franchise, there have been several weapons similar in role to the Bulldog.

Of these, the most similar is the Shotgun, a similar human weapon first introduced in Halo: Combat Evolved, and featured in most games since. As with the Bulldog, it is a pump-action, close-range weapon which fires a number of projectiles in a spread, which deal significant damage. Originally, the Shotgun had 12 shells per magazine, nearly double that of the Bulldog, but from Halo 3 onwards this was halved, to 6; one less than the Bulldog. The Shotgun was generally more powerful than the Bulldog, able to kill enemy players in multiplayer with just one shot. However, to compensate, it also had an even slower rate of fire.

On the Covenant side, a number of weapons beg comparison with the Bulldog. First are the Energy Sword and gravity hammer, which are melee weapons comparable to the Bulldog due to also being only effective in close ranges. Beyond these, however, there is also the Mauler featured in Halo 3 and Halo 3: ODST. The Mauler is a relatively slow-firing handheld shotgun. Like the Bulldog, it is only effective in close range, and requires two shots to kill an enemy Spartan in multiplayer. It was most effective when paired with a melee; the initial shot would lower the enemy's shields, then the melee could finish them off. However, it could also be dual-wielded, unlike the Bulldog.

Finally, the Forerunners have three counterparts: the Boltshot, Scattershot and Heatwave. The Boltshot was a Promethean pistol with multiple firing modes. Of particular note is the Halo 4 iteration, which featured a firing mode where the weapon would charge up and release a shotgun-like blast, highly effective in close ranges. This blast was powerful enough to instantly kill an enemy player in multiplayer, but cost half of the Boltshot's magazine. The Scattershot was a more traditional shotgun, featuring a 5-round magazine, with each shot being very powerful - enough to kill most enemies in a single hit. Its main distinguishing feature was the fact that its projectiles would ricochet off surfaces multiple times if they didn't impact an enemy. The Heatwave, introduced in Halo Infinite as a successor to the Scattershot, was broadly similar, but featured an increased 8-round magazine, at the cost of being less powerful; like the Bulldog, it requires two shots to kill an enemy player in multiplayer. Like the Scattershot, the Heatwave's rounds ricochet off of surfaces they impact, but unlike the Scattershot, the player has the ability to decide the spread pattern the Heatwave's projectiles will fire in, toggling between either a vertical or horizontal configuration.

Stats
The following table summarises the Bulldog's stats in Halo Infinite:

Advantages

 * Deals a lot of damage per shot
 * Has a relatively large magazine

Disadvantages

 * Massive spread makes it useless at long ranges
 * Fairly slow rate of fire; time between shots is relatively long

Tactics and strategies

 * Very effective in tight, close-quarter environments
 * Can be combined with a melee to kill enemies quicker
 * Completely useless when fired from longer ranges; close the distance first, or use a different weapon
 * Sometimes useful for defending zones in objective modes, as enemies are forced to come into the zone to capture it

Skins and cosmetics
In Halo Infinite, the Bulldog can be outfitted with various weapon coatings to customise its appearance.

Medals
The following medals are exclusive to the Bulldog, or to the shotgun weapon class in Halo Infinite. Other, less specific medals, can also be earned with the Bulldog, but the ones listed are only those that are unique to shotguns or to the Bulldog itself.

Production notes
In the July 2020 Halo Infinite Campaign Gameplay Premiere, the Bulldog featured a 10-round magazine. However, by July 2021, the ammo count had been reduced to 7 in Halo Infinite Multiplayer Tech Preview, and remained at that size for the final release.

List of appearances

 * Halo Infinite