Okarda'phaa-pattern plasma rifle

The Type-25 Directed Energy Rifle or Plasma Rifle is a Covenant ground firearm.

It is a common light weapon in the Covenant army, primarily wielded by Elites and invented by Ijka 'Snovoli. The Plasma Rifle uses induced plasma instead of projectile ammunition, firing directed energy bolts. This means that the weapon draws from a power source to generate its energy bolts rather than firing individual cased projectiles like a conventional weapon. The base power output of the rifle is 100-150 Kv @ 2-3 dA, and the rate of fire is 420 to 600 rounds per minute. The Plasma Rifle is particularly effective against shielded opponents.

It is often found throughout the Halo series on Elites and Brutes, but has also been wielded by Jackals, Grunts, and is found quite often in Covenant Weapons Holders.

The Plasma Rifle is powered by an ultra-dense extreme high temperature superconducting matrix capacitor bank, grown using an unknown molecular deposition technique. The bolts are developed by manipulating a high voltage, low current spark. There are two elongated toroidal electromagnets above and below the spark gap electrodes within the weapon. These turn at high velocities in opposite directions to create interacting magnetic fields which force the ionic plasma in the spark into a toroidal shape which is in turn forced forward away from the electrodes. As long as these plasma toroids move above a certain velocity, these the ions cannot recombine and hence blooming can not occur. The trigger is non-mechanical, it is a pressure pad that completes a circuit when a threshold is reached. The outer-shell of the weapon consists of boric and cobalt composite ceramic. The weapon can only be recharged at non-mobile consoles.

Advantages
The Plasma Rifle has a very high rate of fire and deals out a very high amount of shield damage. Like other plasma weapons, the Plasma Rifle is effective at depleting shields, though not as effectively as the Plasma Pistol's overcharged shot. The Plasma Rifle is also dual wieldable. A quick two-second burst from two dual-wielded plasma rifles into a Hunter's weak spot will kill it instantly and they are also very useful against all Flood forms. The plasma rifle is quite easy to aim, so there is a big advantage against flood combat forms because you can aim the plasma rifle at the center of the flood where the parasite's legs are sticking out for an instant kill, but be aware of parasites, as they can revive the combat form if you do this. The Plasma Rifle also has a very quick beat down. A strategy many players use utilizes this. What they do is dual wield two plasma rifles then beat their opponent down.

Disadvantages
The Plasma Rifle overheats very fast when used in automatic firing mode and rapid firing. Also, the Plasma Rifle cannot be reloaded or recharged. While extremely effective at cutting down enemies' shields, the Plasma Rifle doesn't deal as much physical damage as solid projectile weapons. This can be avoided by Duel Wielding a solid projectile weapon in your other hand, for example the SMG or the Spiker. It also runs out of ammo really quickly when in automatic firing mode.

Campaign Recommendations
In Both Halo: Combat Evolved and Halo 2, The Plasma Rifle's high rate of fire and moderate damaging can be used to quickly neutralize low level enemies such as Grunts, Drones, and Infection Forms. Against the Elites the Plasma Rifle can quickly deplete their Shields and leave them vulnerable to a lethal headshot from an M6 pistol, Covenant Carbine or Battle Rifle, or some sprays from an SMG. However the Plasma Rifle can be ineffective against some enemies notably the Brutes, Hunters, and Flood Combat Forms. In Halo 3, dual wielding Plasma Rifles is a very effective way of combating the Flood in campaign on all difficulties, most specifically the shielded Elite variant, which proves to be one of the most trying enemies.

Multiplayer Recommendations
The Plasma Rifle has limited uses in Multiplayer, but is still a useful weapon, especially if dual wielded. Duel wielding increases the rate of fire and damage. Although its range limits the weapon to close quarter fire fights, if used properly a player can quickly dispose of a far-away enemy. It is also advisable to carry a mid to long range weapon such as a Battle Rifle or Sniper Rifle for backup against targets outside of the Plasma Rifle's range. It has the fastest melee attack of any weapon except for the energy sword. In Halo 3, this weapon can easily overpower an Assault Rifle if the melee is used in conjunction well with the energy shield depleting shots, allowing an easy take down.

Halo: Combat Evolved
The Plasma Rifle in Halo:Combat Evolved is far more powerful and accurate than its Halo 2 counterpart. Furthermore, the weapon held a unique ability to stun opponents that were hit by high velocity plasma rounds, this effect greatly reduces the victim's ability to move and dodge the incoming projectiles and allows the user to easily hold the opponent in the weapon's firing arc. However, the drawback was that this effect is only felt with sustained fire. While stunned, the weapon will often overheat before the opponent is completely killed. Despite this drawback, the stun ability is a useful and potent feature in the hands of an experienced user. In Campaign mode, the Plasma Rifle is best used against the Sentinels and Elites. Sentinels always nurse a soft spot to Covenant weapons and it can be very useful in taking down Elites shields when rapid firing. It should also be noted that this weapon behaved more like a rifle than its successor, having about twice the firing range. It should be noted that this weapon decreases its accuracy while heating up, becoming as inaccurate as its Halo 2 counterpart, however this can be counteracted by burst-firing the weapon, releasing 2-3 bolts per firing. This will allow the weapon to be used for a longer period of time before it actually overheats.

Halo 2
Halo 2's Plasma Rifle is not as powerful or accurate as its predecessor and lacks the ability to stun. These drawbacks are compensated by a higher rate of fire and the ability to dual wield the weapon, allowing it to be paired with a wide variety of other weapons from Halo 2 and creating powerful combinations. The changes to the weapon are directly related to the inclusion of dual wielding and more higher rate of fire. For purposes of balance, the Plasma Rifle, along with many others from Halo: Combat Evolved, was tweaked to better fit the new game's fighting style. The weapon takes an opponent's shields off with five shots, but it takes many more to kill. This version of the plasma rifle behaves more as a Sub-Machine (SMG) Gun rather than a rifle.

It has a medium accuracy, but, when dual wielded, if both rifles are fired simultaneously, the accuracy will decrease a lot

Plasma Rifles are also the basis for several other weapon systems, including the Twin Plasma Cannons on Ghosts and Banshees. The weapon is not to be confused with the Brute Plasma Rifle, which is red instead of blue. The Brute Plasma Rifle does NOT do more damage than the Plasma Rifle, as some may think, but fires at a significantly higher rate of fire and overheats more quickly than its Elite counterpart.

Halo 3
In Halo 3, Plasma Rifles are made more powerful. Their bolts are graphically redesigned to be more vivid. The bolts seem to travel faster than those of previous versions, reducing the need to lead the shots at midrange. After a few shots the weapon becomes very inaccurate, so fire in short controlled bursts. Also, unlike in previous games, the PR is very effective against the Flood, even more so than its human counterpart. It takes 18 blasts when single wielded or 20 when dual wielded to kill an enemy with normal shields in Halo 3. This makes it effective against shields and semi-effective for flesh, making it a much more formidable weapon then its previous version. The weapon also gets a slight graphical overhaul, making it slightly more detailed and generally shinier.

Trivia

 * The Plasma Rifle seems to act like a slingshot when firing.
 * The Plasma Rifle is used mostly by Elites, but it is sometimes used by Brutes.
 * On Halo:CE, if your character remains idle for a minute, he will check the weapon's integrity, but, on Halo 2, he will open the cooling vents to make sure they work well.
 * In Halo 2 Brutes never used standard Plasma Rifles but their own Brute Plasma Rifle. There is one exception on the level The Great Journey; if you steal one of the Brutes' Ghosts in the beginning of the level, the displaced Brute will be holding a regular Plasma Rifle. However in Halo 3 they are never seen using the Brute Plasma Rifle as it is absent from the game but are seen wielding the normal Plasma Rifle frequently throughout Halo 3.
 * In the Halo Wars trailer it makes more of a crackling sound when fired.
 * Despite being referred to as a rifle, the Plasma Rifle would more correctly be classified as a carbine due to its size. Ironically the Covenant Carbine would more likely be classed as a Rifle in comparison to the Plasma Rifle via size.
 * Like most Covenant weapons the Plasma Rifle has no sightings like the human shotgun or the Assault Rifle. It appears to rely entirely on the users HUD reticle for aim assisting.
 * In Halo 3 multiplayer, with no damage modifiers on, this weapon has the 3rd lowest shot damage difference between single and dual wield. (the Plasma Pistol has no difference in shot damage and the Mauler takes only 1 more shot to kill dual wielded then when single wielded from 2x Overshield or more). At Normal Shield the shot difference is only 2 shots (18 single, 20 dual), at 4x Overshield the difference is only 3 shots (32 single, 35 dual)
 * The plasma rifle relies on an air supply for the generation of an ionized plasma, it should only be able to fire in an atmosphere. It commonly misconceived that it carries a cell of pre-ionized plasma inside, which is highly impractical. A slight over-sight in Halo 2 ignores this concept in the first playable that allows you to fire it in space.
 * There is some controversy over wether the plasma rifle is a counterpart to the assault rifle, becuase both have 400 shots and are referred to as "rifles", or the SMG, becuase both can be dual-wielded and are roughly the same size.

UNSC Remarks
“The Type-25 DER has no recoil to speak of; it tears the crap out of shields and you can shoot the thing all day long—it is on the heavy side though.”

“I realize that it uses a battery instead of a magazine, but nobody has figured out how to swap it or recharge it yet? Don’t we have scientists working for us or something?”

“It’s got no sightline, it’s awkward to hold, and if it overheats it’ll cook the hair right off of your wrists.”

“You know, it looks delicate and so you feel like you need to hold it kind’a gingerly—but then you see an Elite crack a Bravo Kilo's head with one—thing’s are built tough.”

“Yeah, and I’ve seen some Elites swinging two of them around like it was nothing—scary shit.”

"These things are huge—but I guess the Elites are, too—so it sort’a makes sense."

Character Compatibility

 * Elites
 * Spartans
 * Brutes
 * Grunts
 * Jackals
 * Marines
 * Drones (have animation but not used)
 * Flood Combat Form (Human)
 * Flood Combat Form (Elite)
 * Flood Combat Form (Brute)

Laser Tag
In July 2007, it was announced that there is going to be a Halo laser tag game released, with a Plasma Rifle designed to actual proportions to look like it does in Halo 3.