Jovokada Workshop brute shot

The Type-25 Grenade Launcher (more commonly known as the Brute Shot) is a Covenant weapon favored almost exclusively by the Jiralhanae.

Design Details
The Brute Shot is has a rather peculiar design, as the user carries it low, rather than using the hilt or handle of a weapon. It has a quite fast firing rate for a grenade launcher; capable of firing four grenades in around three seconds. It, like the other Brute weapons, has a blade slung onto the bottom of the weapon to increase the melee damage. The Brute Shot can hold up to 18 rounds, with 6 in the gun itself.

Ammunition
It seems to fire a type of grenade similar to the Frag Grenade at very high velocities that bounces off of and around most surfaces, although originally it was supposed to shoot plasma grenade like projectiles. It was first encountered during Battle of the Flood-controlled Shield World, where it was used to a deadly effect against the crew of the Spirit of Fire. The grenades seem to be belt fed through the top of the weapon. The splash damage from this weapon is extremely high, and it also has a very sharp curved bayonet near the back on the underside of it, which is used as a powerful melee weapon. This blade delivers a higher than normal amount of melee damage.

Tactics
In Halo 2, the grenades from the Brute Shot can bounce around corners. In Halo 3, Brute Shots can't bounce off walls as they explode on impact. The melee attack on the Brute Shot is very deadly, depleting shields with one hit. With the recent updates on Xbox Live, a jumping melee is enough to kill a target. The Halo 3 Brute Shot is often used to get to more elevated places such as the sniper tower on the multiplayer level The Pit. The Brute Shot is very hard to to aim, as it sometimes drifts.

The best way to treat this weapon is as a room clearing and scattering device. The Brute Shot can also make quick work of an unsuspecting enemy if you line your shots up before firing. The most effective way of killing strong enemies (such as a Brute or Elite), is to fire rapid shots in succession into their torso, considering the fact that more tactical ways to utilize the Brute Shot are too hard to master, this is very effective in taking down a strong foe and much easier to use. Also, it is of great use when there are groups of enemies. After one round enemies should be weak and easy to kill. You can also throw a plasma grenade onto one of the enemies and shoot a round from the Brute Shot and the explosion of the Brute Shot coupled with the explosive power of the plasma grenade will make a double explosion, killing more enemies around. Despite the wide range of the splash damage, the Brute Shot is amazingly adept as a semi-close range weapon in the hands of experienced players, and while the blade is less accurate, slower, and lacks the "lunge effect" of the Energy Sword, it does nearly the same amount of damage and does not have the side effect of glowing while you have Active Camouflage on, as well as having unlimited use. However, it was stated on Bungie.net that a player has 115 hit points (45 body and 70 shield points). A normal melee attack (without any special melee weapons) does 70 damage, but because of the Brute Shot blade, a melee attack with it causes marginally more damage (72 damage). Also, it takes around four grenades to destroy a Banshee or a Warthog.

This weapon is meant to be fired at the body, instead of the head, as with the recent updates on Xbox Live, two direct hits (four in Halo 3) with the Brute Shot are enough to kill the target. If a target is moving, it is easier to aim it at the floor and have it bounce and hit the target instead of just directly hitting it. It is also important to note that this weapon fires in an arc, so one must compensate for accuracy by aiming higher when the target is farther away. Just two rounds of the Brute Shot can kill a player faster than one round from the Rocket Launcher or Fuel Rod Gun.

Another advantage, is the fact that the Brute Shot bayonet is effective against Brutes. A single swipe from behind is sufficient to bring a Brute down. From another angle, it may require a further two or three hits. When a Brute charges with their bayonet, an enemy must quickly dodge the oncoming attack and assault the Brute from behind with their own Brute Shot bayonet (this has to be done fast as a Brute can move extremely fast if he has you in his sights).

Due to the blade mounted to it, it is also an effective weapon against the Flood. A single swipe from the Brute Shot's blade will act like a sword swing and thus destroy a normal unshielded Combat Form easily. Unlike the Energy Sword however, it has unlimited swings for attacking, but is somewhat slower. The Flood Infected Elites who still have Energy Shields require two hits with the blade. Also, because Flood are weak to explosions, the Brute Shot can also destroy them from a large distance. In all, the Brute Shot is ideal against Flood enemies, Jackals (since 1 hit with the blade sends them packing), Elites and Brutes. It is also effective against Grunts, but is of limited uses against Hunters. However, the Brute Shot is usually for more tactical approaches, such as killing the strongest enemy in a pack, and isn't an ideal primary weapon since it has very little ammo before reloading. In multiplayer, while an enemy is running across your screen, strafe while firing and you will have a sure kill. This weapon is mainly used by Brutes. Use by other Covenant species is unknown. This weapon is highly effective when the wielder is positioned higher than their direct opponent, as this wielder need only aim at their opponent's feet to inflict damage (an evolution of the tactic used by M41 SSR MAV/AW rocket launcher wielders). If wanting to kill an enemy fast at close range, fire one grenade and melee for an instant kill.

Changes from Halo 2 to Halo 3

 * The Brute Shot has a magazine of six grenades, two more grenades than in Halo 2.
 * It has the normal explosion, plus an electrical burst.
 * Its grenades are now unable to bounce, but instead they explode on contact.
 * The blade looks smaller now and its melee attacks are only a little stronger than the other weapons in Halo 3 (Brute weapons equipped with a blade attachment inflict 72 points of damage on melee, rather than the 70 points that other weapons inflict).
 * The arc of the shots was greatly decreased, with the rounds barely arcing at all. They instead fly like rockets.
 * It also seems generally faster. The grenades come out of the barrel faster and they soar through the air faster. The melee attack also seems faster.
 * Its projectiles have timed fuses that cause rounds that do not make impact with anything to explode in the air after approximately three seconds. The Halo 2 counterpart does not have a timed fuse and only explodes on impact and would usually bounce if fired at an angle.
 * Each shot does less damage.
 * Just one direct shot and a quick follow up melee will kill a player in multiplayer.
 * In Halo 2, it takes three out of four direct shots to kill a player. In Halo 3, however, it takes four out of six shots. This has made it easier to kill a target as in Halo 3, you need 2/3 of the shots to hit, compared with 3/4 of shots in Halo 2.

Character Compatibility

 * Elites
 * Spartans
 * ODSTs (Halo 3: ODST only)
 * Brutes
 * Flood Combat Form



Trivia

 * It is referred to as the "Brute Gun" in Halo Wars.
 * In Halo 2, Brute Shot projectiles fired directly upward will return to the ground after a while. Skilled players can use this as a mortar to flush enemies out of cover.
 * This is the only weapon in the Halo trilogy that shoots a form of grenades.
 * It is very similar to a modern grenade launcher in that the projectiles explode after several seconds without impacting anything.
 * The rear circular grip appears to be gravitationally mounted.
 * If you look closely at the first-person animation during a melee in Halo 3, it looks almost as if the blade is spring-loaded, snapping out from the weapon a small amount as you swing.
 * Flood Combat Forms can now wield Brute Shots with one hand.
 * In Halo 3 Spartans and Elites hold the Brute Shot with their second hand on top while Brutes hold on to the bar under the muzzle.
 * The Brute Shot is powerful enough to flip light vehicles such as the Mongoose and even heavier vehicles such as the Warthog.
 * The Brute Shot actually stops sword lunges, making it one of the best weapons to parry a blow from the Energy Sword.
 * No matter how many grenades are being shot out, when you reload in both Halo 2 and Halo 3, the animation always shows you reloading a full set of grenades. In addition, even though the chamber holds six grenades in Halo 3, the reload animation only shows you loading four grenades into the weapon.
 * The Brute Shot's grenades can be very disorienting to others in Multiplayer as the massive flash from the explosion of the grenades can cause a player to make a mistake trying to avoid them, allowing you to go in for the kill.
 * In Ghosts of Onyx, Frederic-104 calls the Brute shot an RPG (Rocket Propelled Grenade). This is untrue due to the fact that the Brute Shot grenade is not propelled by a rocket. It is shot out of the weapon with extreme force.

Internal

 * Brute Plasma Rifle
 * Spiker
 * Brute Chopper
 * Brute Prowler
 * Brutes
 * Mauler
 * Gravity Hammer