M'tara-pattern focus rifle

The M'tara-pattern Fire Rifle commonly known as the focus rifle, is a directed-energy weapon used by the Covenant. The marksman rifle is in the same "lineage" as the and the.

Design details
The focus rifle is a sniper-style weapon based on reverse-engineered Forerunner technology. Despite its visual similarities to the, it functions quite differently, being designed for ranged suppression rather than for anti-personnel roles. The smooth and organic appearance and purple coloration of the weapon are reflective of typical Covenant aesthetic tendencies, as such, its ergonomic grip is designed for Sangheili use. Although powerful and intimidating, the combat effectiveness focus rifle is crippled by several glaring flaws in the design. The beam fired by the weapon is extraordinarily visible; firing the weapon immediately reveals the user's position. Although highly effective at depleting shields, the weapon is only marginally effective against armored targets, causing negligible damage to vehicles and requiring continuous fire to ensure lethality against organic targets. If the weapon overheats, it will automatically vent excess plasma, burning the user and rendering the weapon inoperable for several seconds.

Operation
The focus rifle copies some elements of the sterilization beams employed by Aggressor Sentinels and focus turrets, though the magnetic accelerators and particle guide beam emitters are novel creations of Covenant origin. These features present a counterpoint to the idea that the Covenant never innovated when it comes to technological development. The focus rifle's electromagnetic compositors are a design shared with the. Instead of firing a single beam of ionised hydrogen in one shot like the Covenant particle beam rifles, the rifle fires a continuous purple-tinted beam of magnetically contained plasma, similar in operation to a Sentinel Beam, the Forerunner weapon from which the M'tara was reverse-engineered. The plasma is formed in a cylindrical module and directed through a channel of electromagnetic coils, forming a precise beam. Like most Covenant infantry weapons, the weapon draws its power from a battery. The weapon requires high power expenditure and the battery is easily depleted. The exact mechanism by which it functions was under investigation by the United Nations Space Command as of August 2552.

The weapon's name and visual appearance suggest a shared operating mechanism with the larger Scarab-mounted focus cannon.

Scope
The weapon is equipped with a 3.5-9.5× magnification scope and uses the same smart-link firmware as Covenant particle beam rifles, but uses a different scope. As with the particle beam rifle, the smart-link feed shows the weapon's remaining power and accumulated heat level. The link also displays diagnostic information and allows semi-automatic adjustment of the plasma beam angle when interlinked with the hardware in Sangheili combat harnesses or Kig-Yar marksman sets. This provides a limited amount of moving-target tracking without the firer having to adjust their aim point at distant targets. These targeting protocols are unusual and incompatible with most interlink translation software.

History
Because of the focus rifle's tremendous power requirements which the Covenant was unable to solve, the weapon was primarily utilized by shock troops or used to lay down suppressive fire. Although several patterns were produced, only the M'tara-pattern saw extensive usage throughout the Human-Covenant War, most notably during the Fall of Reach.

Gameplay

 * It deals relatively low damage compared with the sniper rifle, and it is quite visible and audible when firing. Despite this, if a target is unaware or caught in the open they are very easy targets; the focus rifle can eliminate a fully shielded Spartan in mere seconds, making it a very effective long-range suppression and support weapon.
 * On the Firefight map Waterfront, Kig-Yar snipers with focus rifles will spawn on one of the background hills, and can be deadly to weakened players who are not aware of their surroundings.

Trivia

 * It is similar in name and firing style as the Scarab's focus cannon, indicating that the cannon may be a larger-scale application of the weapon's technology.
 * The Forge Monitor in Halo: Reach appears to possess a focus rifle. It appears at the top right when the player first switches from a Spartan to a Monitor. In the game files, the monitor's weapon has the id.
 * The focus rifle is mainly used by Sangheili Rangers, Kig-Yar Snipers and occasionally some Skirmishers and rarely other Sangheili.
 * In Halo: Spartan Assault and Halo: Spartan Strike, the focus rifle is only carried by Sangheili Majors.
 * The focus rifle was one of the few weapons found in Bungie's 30th Anniversary Event as the first Legendary Trace Rifle called "Retraced Path", in Destiny 2.

List of appearances

 * Halo: Reach
 * Halo: Spartan Assault
 * Halo: Spartan Strike
 * Halo: Official Spartan Field Manual