Halo/Pistol

The Pistol, also known as the Magnum within lore, is a handheld semi-automatic pistol for UNSC forces. It is known for dealing high damage to shielded and unshielded enemies and for it’s functionality more akin to a medium ranged rifle than a true pistol.

Usage in multiplayer
In Multiplayer, the pistol can be extremely valuable if one cannot reach a sniper rifle in time or cannot find one, as the pistol has 2x zoom and can be used to plink targets at medium to somewhat long ranges, however if a target manages to close the distance, it loses it’s effectiveness, especially if the player begins to shoot only at the enemy’s torso rather than the head. To avoid an opponent from closing in, remember to move constantly and do not be a sitting duck. Strafing is your friend here, especially if an opponent is already close enough to you and to prevent other snipers from using you as target practice. If strafing or moving constantly in a close range situation proves too difficult, it is recommended to pair the weapon with a good close-range weapon such as the assault or the shotgun if one is prone to have poor accuracy at close ranges, either due to nervousness or poor marksmanship.

The pistol is often infamously known for the “noob combo”, where a player takes the plasma pistol, charges up a shot and fires it into a player, quickly depleting their shields, and then finishing them off with a few headshots. Other weapons can replicate it to some effect, such as the assault rifle, which can shred through a player’s shields easily. The plasma rifle can also achieve this, as it has a function to briefly stun players hit with multiple plasma rounds, allow for one to follow up with pistol shots to the head to finish them off.

Usage in campaign
In Campaign, the pistol shares all the same traits and abilities as it does in Multiplayer.

The pistol is extremely effective towards grunts, jackals, and hunters(the latter due to an infamous glitch) as well as elites to some extent. The same concept of moving constantly and avoiding a single spot applies here also.