Ukala Workshop Mauler

The Type-52 Pistol, more commonly known as the Mauler, is a Covenant Jiralhanae infantry weapon featured in Halo 3.

Introduction
The Mauler is a cross between a shotgun and a revolver pistol. It is not as powerful as the UNSC shotgun, but its compact design allows two to be held simultaneously to double its firepower. Like most Brute weapons, the Mauler has a blade mounted on the underside, allowing for more brutal melee attacks.

Discovery
This weapon was first found on the level "The Ark"

Vehicle
The Mauler was first revealed in one of Bungie's weekly updates, which was used primarily to elaborate on the Spartan Laser. To quote:


 * "My spotter positively identified the local bravo kilo sub-chieftain. I engaged the target at [censored] meters. The shot burned an approximately [censored] diameter hole through the target and severely damaged the Mauler he had just dismounted."

The use of the words "bravo kilo sub-chieftain" proves that the aforementioned Mauler was manned by a Brute during the encounter. Due to this, it was believed that it was a Covenant vehicle, though this was unconfirmed.

It was at first speculated to be the so-called "Brute Ghost." However, it has since been proven that "Brute Ghost" was actually a misnomer of the Brute Chopper. Some speculated that it was a Brute flier or Spectre- type vehicle of some kind, but apparently, Bungie changed their naming scheme. The Mauler was also thought to be an early misnomer of the Chopper as well.

Tactics
While the Mauler is weaker than the human shotgun because it cannot perform instant kills, there is a way to achieve an almost instant kill. To this you must be in melee distance of the target. When your Mauler's target goes red fire one shot. Follw this up with an immediate melee. This kills the opponent instantly and if you master the skill you will be able to do this before the target has time to shoot you. You must be careful though if they have a human shotgun because that will kill you before you can use your Mauler tactic. This tactic does not work when the opponent has an overshield. Whilst, dual-wielding a pair of Maulers, a single double shot at close range will kill most enemies, with no damage/shield modifiers in the case of Multiplayer. Sometimes, staggering your shots is effective as well, but this seems to work best when your out of melee range chasing someone down, or backpedalling while being chased yourself. Duel wielding a plasma rifle and a mauler is also an effective combo.

In short, use it as you would the BXR of Halo 2, the Shot and melee are near simultaneous, and have overpowered Swords, Hammers, and Shotguns.

Trivia

 * The original Covenant Mauler appeared in the Pre-Xbox Halo as a actual covenant weapon, it can be seen here>>> beginning at the 2:49 mark.
 * The Mauler was also the firearm for the alien race Skedar in the FPS game Perfect Dark for N64.
 * There is a glitch that lets the wielder, with appropriate timing, to melee attack and shoot the Mauler at the same time, generally causing instant death. This unfair advantage has lead to it being labeled a "noob" weapon. CORRECTION:  All weapons can melee immediately after firing; this is not a glitch.  Further detail is below.

Matchmaking Adjustments
For reasons not yet disclosed by Bungie, many maps have been slightly altered when playing in Matchmaking playlists.

As of the December 11, 2007 update, many of the Maulers that appeared in smaller maps have been removed. The affected maps are Construct, Epitaph, Guardian, Narrows, and Snowbound.

It is believed that this change was caused by near-constant complaints regarding the large number of Maulers in many levels combined with the Mauler's ability to nearly-instantly kill an opponent at very close range. Many people felt that the weapon was unbalanced because of the close-quarters prowess of the Mauler, especially in CQB-style levels; this is a misconception.

The problem was a combination of the somewhat large number of Mauler spawn locations, the fast respawn time on a lethal close-combat weapon (usually only 45 seconds), and players not changing their play style to compensate for a number of camping and / or charging Mauler wielders.