Magnum

The Magnum is a human precision weapon featured in most major Halo games, starting with Halo 2. A successor to the Halo: Combat Evolved Pistol, it has gone through a wide variety of changes from game to game resulting in a few weapon variants as well. What remains consistent is its role as a human pistol capable of performing headshots and featuring either dual wielding or a scope. It is a predecessor to Halo Infinite's Sidekick.

Halo: Combat Evolved
The term Magnum never appears in Halo: Combat Evolved, instead featuring the CE Pistol. The Pistol serves a completely different gameplay role from the Magnum, behaving more like a rifle than a sidearm. Despite the actual term magnum referring to a type of pistol, later appearances would retroactively classify the Pistol as a variant of Magnum. The Magnum would remain the typic human handgun of the Halo game series, even adopting traits from the CE Pistol, until being replaced by the Sidekick in Halo Infinite.

Changes from Halo 2 to Auto Update 2

 * Damage decreased to 5.5.

Changes from Halo: Reach to Title Update 1

 * Enabled shield damage bleed through.
 * Bloom reduced to 85%.

Changes from Title Update 1 to Anniversary Settings

 * Changed firemode to automatic.
 * Increased damage to 150%.
 * Increased fire recovery time by 150% (decreased firerate to 67%).

Changes from Halo 4 to Weapon Tuning Update

 * Damage increased to 115%.

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

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

Gunfighter Magnum
"Lightweight competition pistol carried by Spartan operators who prefer a no-frills backup firearm. Quick draw Magnum with fast-reload magazines. Iron sights only, no Smart-Link module is attached."

- REQ description

Tactical Magnum
"Whisper-quiet tactical pistol loaded with armor-piercing rounds, tailored for Spartan force reconnaissance missions. Match grade Magnum with integral baffle-free suppressor and full-VISR Smart-Link."

- REQ description

Whispered Truth
"Let the lady talk. Mythic Magnum machine pistol with burst fire and integral Silencer. Wielding the Whispered Truth increases movement speed."

- REQ description

Halo: Combat Evolved Pistol
"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 Magnum has seen many equipable weapon skins and coatings across the various games it's been featured in.

List of appearances

 * Halo 2
 * Halo 3
 * Halo: Reach
 * Halo 4
 * Spartan Ops
 * Halo: Spartan Assault
 * Halo 2: Anniversary
 * Halo: Spartan Strike
 * Halo 5: Guardians
 * Halo: Fireteam Raven