MA5C assault rifle

The MA5C Assault Rifle is a weapon to be introduced in Halo 3, essentially a redesigned and balanced version of the older MA5B Assault Rifle from Halo: Combat Evolved. Bungie has confirmed that it is more accurate than the MA5B, but this comes at the expense of ammunition, only carrying 32 rounds per magazine. However, they have also stated that it is more useful and versatile than ever, and that it is much more balanced. This new weapon can be seen in the Halo 3 trailer, and the recent ESPN Halo 3 advert.

Features
The MA5C is a fully automatic, air-cooled, gas-operated, short-to-mid range weapon. The weapon houses an onboard electronics suite, including screen indicating rounds left in magazine, and a compass. The weapons power has been described as being in between the MA5B Assalt Rifle, and the BR55 Battle Rifle.

Changes from MA5B

 * Heavier barrel with a 1 in 7 twist
 * Redesigned cowling to house electronics suite and reduce weight
 * Redesigned handguard to provide more positive grip
 * Decreased magazine capacity (60-32)
 * Increased range
 * Increased damage

Close Range
A good tactic at close range is to pepper the foe with ten or so rounds, followed by a melee. This is said to be a near sure kill.

Mid Range
At mid range against a single opponent simply pulse the trigger and put as much lead into them as possible. When being attacked by multiple opponents it is best to unload nearly all of your clip at one (hopefully killing it) then landing at grenade at the other's feet to take down their sheild, and then unload the rest of your clip on them.

Assault Rifle and Battle Rifle
A good combo for offensive forays in open maps. The Battle Rifle can be used to clear out any opponents from far away, while the MA5C can be kept in reserve to deal with any who sneak in close to you.

Assault Rifle and Sniper Rifle
When setting up camp at base or somewhere out of the way the Battle Rifle will still be the better choice for a backup weapon. However, when trying to take control of the middle of a map, the MA5C will be a much better choice. When you have control of the middle of the map, there is usually a large angle of attack around you, so it is very probable that someone will slip past you and your sniper to bring the battle close. When this happens the MA5C will be much deadlier and easier to handle than would be a Battle Rifle.

Assault Rifle and Shotgun
An excellent combo for close range. When someone comes in to close range, chances are they won't be able to out of range fast enough when they see the Shotgun, but they will easily be able to get out of range before you can get a second shot in. This is where you bring out the MA5C to take up the Shotgun's slack, and take your opponent down before he gets away.

All public pictures of the MA5C, in first person, show the Battle Rifle animations as a placeholder, rather than new ones.

Theories
It is thought the MA5C uses 7.62 Magnum rounds, instead of standard size. The reduced magazine may indicate and most likey does mean more damage, and the MA series or any firearm series cannot convert into other ammo types, only to the extent of magnum sizes and shredder rounds. With the longer barrel, the rounds can be more utilized, seeing as how Magnum bullets have more gun powder equaling a higher voloctiy, adding the longer barrel will optimize range. The connection between the M6C Magnum and MA5C is the C, which may indicate it as magnum rounds for the Assault Rifle's side.

More likely, the C designation is merely to differentiate it from other weapons of the series such as the MA5B. rather than firing magnum rounds, it will likely make use of the 7.62x51mm Full Metal Jacket-Armor Piercing (FMJ-AP) ammunition used in Halo 1, or the 7.62x51mm Shredder rounds mentioned in the books, said to be interchangable with each other.