Dual wielding

Dual Wielding is a military technique where a gunner wields two weapons at once, one in each hand. This feature was first introduced into the Halo video game series in Halo 2 and is continued in Halo 3.

SPARTAN-117 dual-wielding M7/Caseless Submachine Guns.

General Information

Dual wielding allows a player to use two weapons at once. The saying is that "two heads are better than one," and dual wielding is no different. Players often develop a liking or disliking to certain dual wielding combinations. If the dual wielded weapons are different the game will simply combine the reticles. Halo 2 is the only game where enemies are seen dual wielding, and all those enemies are Elites. Elites are seen dual wielding combinations of a needler and a plasma rifle. All Ranger elites dual wield. The Elites are more often seen dual wielding a pair of plasma rifle or Plasma Pistols. In Halo 3 the Brutes never dual wield, but ally elites are occasionally seen dual wielding. No Marines are ever seen dual wielding. The exception of Miranda Keyes was only during a cutscene at the end of the level Quarantine Zone.

Before the release of Halo 3, Halo: Graphic Novel had elites dual wielding swords. People hoped for this to come true, but it never did. People have also noticed that Elites hold weapons like a rocket launcher and a fuel rod cannon, making these weapons theoretically dual wieldable for elites.

Advantages/Disadvantages

Dual Wielding two Needlers.

Advantages

1. Enhanced Firepower: When a player is dual-wielding, the two weapons in conjunction are more powerful than a single weapon of the same type. This allows for enhanced firepower, with double the ammo capacity and fire rate.
2. Greater Versatility: Two weapons wielded in conjunction can perform multiple roles at the same time. For example, a player could wield an M6G Magnum in one hand, allowing him/her to shoot accurately over longer range, and a Mauler in the other for close range firepower.
3. More Effective Combos: Likewise, dual-wielding a plasma weapon and a ballistic weapon can confer a unique advantage: Plasma weapons are stronger against shields, and ballistic weapons are stronger against armor. For example, a player may choose to dual-wield a Plasma Rifle and an SMG at the same time. The Plasma Rifle can take down the shields of an opponent and the SMG can shred through the opponent's armor, allowing for a very fast and efficient kill.
4. Doubled Ammo Reserve: When you dual-wield certain weapons of the same type like two SMGs or two Needlers, the player character can carry double the amount of reserve ammunition for the weapons. This is a trick also exploited when Triple wielding.

Disadvantages

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A SPARTAN-II with two Brute Spikers.

1. Inability to Melee Attack, Throw Grenades, or Use Equipment: When a player is dual-wielding, the player must drop the left weapon in order to free a hand to melee attack, throw grenades, and deploy equipment. This action of dropping a weapon takes time and is disadvantageous.
2. Reload/Overheat Window: When a player must reload their weapons, or if the weapons overheat, the player is vulnerable because he/she can't melee attack or throw grenades without dropping a weapon. Reloading a weapon also takes longer when dual-wielding than while single-wielding the same weapon; however, for Covenant weapons, the cooldown time remains the same, as does the Needler's reload time.
3. Accuracy Decrease: Most weaponry are slightly more accurate when single-wielded than when dual-wielded, such as the Plasma Rifle and the SMG.
4. Consumes Double the Amount of Ammo: While the player can carry double the amount of ammunition, the weapons also reloaded from the same pool, thus using up double the amount of ammunition per reload, though this doesn't affect non-reloadable weapons, such as Plasma Pistols, or Rifles

Changes in Halo 3

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Dual Wielding Plasma Pistols in the Halo 3 Beta.

The major difference between Halo 2 and Halo 3's dual wield is that the player now can control the reloading far more accurately. In Halo 2, you had to reload the two weapons simultaneously. In Halo 3, you could reload the left, right or both, independent of each other. A minor difference is that Bungie is making it a lot less desirable by making you start out with a non-dual wieldable weapon. By doing this, multiplayer gameplay is balanced.

List of Dual Wieldable Weapons

Dual Wieldable weapons must be able to be used single-handed, and therefore are mostly those of closer range and less accuracy, as most accurate weapons, such as the BR55 Battle Rifle, are two-handed.

• M7/Caseless Submachine Gun - Halo 2, Halo 3
• M6 Pistol
  • M6C Magnum Sidearm - Halo 2
  • M6G Personal Defense Weapon System - Halo 3
• Plasma Pistol - Halo 2, Halo 3
• Plasma Rifle - Halo 2, Halo 3
• Brute Plasma Rifle - Halo 2
• Needler - Halo 2 (Needler can no longer be dual-wielded in Halo 3.)
• Spiker - Halo 3
• Mauler - Halo 3

Related Links

• Triple wielding