Headshot

Headshot
A headshot is a tactic used in both Campaign and Multiplayer to score instant kills. This occurs when a bullet or projectile is fired at an enemy's head causing higher damage, which is logical. This is more effective than the bullet hitting the enemy's body. Since the head of a character only consists of a small percentage of their body area, it is very difficult to pull off many headshots unless the player has a good stationary and shielded position. Headshots are most commonly performed with semi-automatic weapons that have good accuracy, and a precision sight.

Damage

 * Headshots do no more damage to shields than body shots.


 * Sniper weapons,such as the Beam Rifle and Sniper Rifle, are very effective headshot weapons. One headshot will normally kill a fully shielded target, but overshielded and high-ranked enemies will survive. Sniper headshots also do some more damage against shields.


 * Some weapons, typically the MA5 Assault Rifles, M7 SMG, Sentinel Beam, Brute Spiker, Brute Shot, M90 Shotgun, etc. will not kill a player with a headshot

List of headshot weapons
With headshot power/effectiveness rating against shielded enemies, and flesh (1 to 10, 10 being the strongest)


 * Sniper Rifle headshot power/effectiveness against shielded enemy: 10 (pure power, one hit kill)
 * M6D headshot power/effectiveness against shielded enemy: 10 (pure power + fast rate of fire)


 * M6G headshot power/effectiveness against shielded enemy: 9 (pure power)


 * M6C Magnum headshot power/effectiveness against shielded enemy: 8 (extremely fast rate of fire makes up for some of the power)


 * Beam Rifle headshot power/effectiveness against shielded enemies: 10 (pure power, one hit kill)


 * BR55HB SR Battle Rifle headshot power/effectiveness against shielded enemies: 8 (power)


 * Covenant Carbine headshot power/effectiveness against shielded enemies: 8 (fast rate of fire makes up for some of the power)


 * BR55 Battle Rifle headshot power/effectiveness against shielded enemies: 9 (power)

Headshots require a great amount of accuracy, so using weapons that do not aim well (such as the Assault Rifle) is largely ineffective. A one-hit-kill can be made with the Shotgun (body or head), although it is difficult and takes practice.

Headshots are most commonly executed by more skilled players than the average rookie, due to the high level of skill involved in shooting someone in the head while running as opposed to a killing shot to the chest such as the Rocket Launcher would provide.

Note that the Assault Rifle and the SMG don't provide any increased damage for headshots, along with many other fully automatic weapons such as the Plasma Rifle.

When the crosshairs of headshot/capable weapons are over an enemy's head, they turn bright red and a small red dot appears in the middle of the crosshairs.

It is actually possible to fire between the mandibles of the Elite and miss. This can happen but is rarely achieved.

Trivia

 * Some people use the Elite Ascetic player model in high and blatant hopes that the lowered head stays all headshots from behind, mainly utilized on a Team SWAT game but in truth and reality there is still a small part of head exposed from the Elite's posterior and backside. It is simply harder to get a headshot from behind on an Elite. Also, there is a small spot in the back between the 'shoulder blades' of the model that will sometimes produce an actual headshot. It is also far easier to get a head shot on an Elite from the front, as their head is in the "center of their mass".

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