Zubo-pattern beam rifle

The Zubo-pattern Long Rifle is a variant of particle beam rifle manufactured by the Merchants of Qikost and employed by the military forces of the Covenant empire and its remnants. The rifle originated as a creation of the Sangheili, and was revisited during the Human-Covenant War as the use of snipers by humanity helped to teach the Covenant how valuable effective use of marksmen could be on the battlefield.

Design details
The Zubo is a particle beam rifle - a kind of sniper weapon employed by the Covenant's military forces in a similar role to the United Nations Space Command's SRS99 series of rifles. Like its cousin, the, the weapon operates on the basis of the eponymous particle beam. The weapon fires ionised hydrogen gas, accelerated to hypervelocity speeds through the use of a linear accelerator and capable of killing heavily-armoured infantry in only 1-2 shots.

Compared to the Sulok-pattern, the weapon's firing channel is better concealed and is set closer to the muzzle. It features an enclosed focusing crystal compartment rather than its counterpart's open layout. These characteristics ensure that the Zubo remains more resilient than the Sulok. Another major difference is that the grip on the Zubo faces straight back unlike the upward-angled Sulok grip; this allows the user to maintain a conventional shooting posture rather than being forced to fire from below the shoulder. The weapon's grip also differs from the Sulok's in the fact that the Sangheili-designed ergonomic grip has been reconfigured to a smaller thumbhole with additional hand grips, usable by multiple species with different hand structures. This upgraded suite of ergonomic features has garnered increased popularity for the Zubo-pattern beam rifle among non-Sangheili marksmen, in particular the Kig-Yar.

The top of the weapon's body contains a smart-linked targeting system that can be soft-patched to Kig-Yar targeting headgear and the helmets of Sangheili harnesses. MJOLNIR Powered Assault Armor is also capable of patching into these smart-link systems.

Variants
The Covenant does not distinguish various beam rifle design patterns to the same extent as the Office of Naval Intelligence's obsessive type classification system. Despite this, a handful of distinct customised variants of the Zubo-pattern beam rifle are known to exist.
 * Sword of the Faithful: The Sword of the Faithful is the personalized beam rifle of the Prophet of Regret's majordomo. It is an improved T-27 that features enhanced hipfire accuracy, faster heat dissipation, and a higher rate of fire compared to normal T-27 beam rifles. It is ranked an Ultra-Rare REQ in Warzone simulations, and is available at Level 6 energy while giving 150 REQ points if sold.
 * Krith's Left Hand: Krith's Left Hand was reclaimed from the Kig-Yar Pirate Prince's personal vaults by Ripa 'Moramee sometime before the latter became the Arbiter. Unlike other beam rifles, Krith's Left Hand is an advanced T-27 that fires in three-round bursts with one pull of the trigger. A single burst will kill a Spartan in War Games. It is ranked a Legendary REQ in Warzone simulations, and is available at Level 7 energy while giving 200 REQ points if sold.

Usage
The Zubo-pattern is an older design originally created by the Sangheili, though sporadically used by the Covenant. During the empire's tenure, particle beam rifles were issued infrequently to Sangheili and Kig-Yar Snipers, though the true capabilities of how a sniper could be used were not made apparent in the empire's military doctrine until the outbreak of the Human-Covenant War in 2525. Zubo-pattern rifles were used relatively early on in the war, being type-classified by the Office of Naval Intelligence in 2527 - owing rise to the weapon's UNSC classification of Type-27. Zubo-pattern weapons became favoured by the Kig-Yar due to their ergonomic features that made them more accessible than other beam rifle models. However, their use remained relatively minimal, as the design was resurrected in a major way towards the end of the conflict.

Some time prior to his death in 2531, Arbiter Ripa 'Moramee was deployed to undertake the elimination of the Kig-Yar pirate king, Krith. Following Krith's defeat, a specially-customised Zubo-pattern rifle Krith's Left Hand was recovered from his vaults.

Following the Fall of High Charity and the war's end in 2552, the production of beam rifles was heavily slowed by the loss of High Charity's vast Assembly Forges. As such, regional manufacturers like the Merchants of Qikost based on various industrialised Covenant colonies including Sanghelios, Eayn, and Hesduros took on the mantle of beam rifle production. The beam rifles produced on Hesduros were heavily used by Jul 'Mdama's Covenant, and saw use by the these forces all the way until their defeat in late 2558.

Zubo-pattern beam rifle cases are used by the Banished, seemingly as exterior casings for the spike cannons used as anti-infantry weapons on the Dovotaa Workshop Reaver.

Changes from the Type-50 Particle Beam Rifle in Halo 3

 * Each shot fired now depletes 10% of the weapon's battery.
 * Kig-Yar Snipers can no longer kill the player instantly with the Beam Rifle even on Legendary.
 * Zoom levels have been upgraded to 5× and 10×.
 * Overheating animation is moderately different.

Changes from Halo 4 to Halo 2: Anniversary

 * The T-27 SASR is available only in multiplayer, as in the campaign, the newer T-50 SRS takes its place instead.
 * Coloring is changed from pale blue to purple, with hexagon patterning added onto the weapon.

Changes from Halo 2: Anniversary to Halo 5: Guardians
The T-27 SASR is now the Covenant’s primary long-range special application weapon, used almost exclusively by scouting personnel and designated marksmen. It is ranked a Rare REQ in Warzone simulations, and is available at Level 6 energy while giving 100 REQ points if sold.
 * The T-27 SASR is available in both the campaign and multiplayer.
 * Zoom levels have been downgraded to 3.5× and 9.5×, respectively.
 * Jackal Snipers armed with Beam Rifles can now fully deplete the player's health in one hit on Legendary again.
 * A second melee animation is now present with the weapon.
 * Weapon coloring has been changed to be more similar to the Halo 4 version.

List of appearances

 * Halo 4
 * Spartan Ops
 * Halo: Escalation
 * Halo 2: Anniversary
 * Halo 5: Guardians
 * Halo Mythos
 * Halo: Fractures
 * Oasis
 * Halo Wars 2
 * Halo: Rise of Atriox