Click these strangely tragic links: twitter.com/Ascend_Hyperion discord.gg/2fDjeYs

The Storm Rifle in 5 was definitely a force to be reckoned with, and it’s on paper powerful stats were balanced by its projectile nature and im perfectly okay with that

This is one of the reasons why I like 343, they made it so the automatic weapons weren’t basically paintball guns

I feel like if Bungie at least kept the stun effect then the plasma rifle could have stood out more, and it could probably have worked well with dual wielding.

Ironically the best Plasma Rifle we've gotten since CE was the BPR in H5. That thing kicks ass.

I don’t care what people say, I like the storm rifle

I never liked the Storm rifle... Until I was forced to use it in custom games. It turned out to be a very fun weapon to use, when it is on its range, it is very lethal. I always thought the plasma rifle line was trash in all games including CE and 4 and 5, but with 343 making weapons usable, it is fun to deviate from the 2 weapons that dominante every game.

I think players where too obsessed with "343 bad" that they never gave them a propper chance at their weapon desing and sandbox, in my opinion, I think it's better that automatics could finally kill someone other than the BR like in bungie games, I mean, what's the point of having like 20 weapons when 3 are the ones you should use to kill a player?

It was always interesting to see plasma weapons be so weak seeing how strong it is in the lore. I think being low tier power weapons work best so that it’s integrity isn’t compromised. Probably not going to fix player reception but… I mean, screw them lol

Isn't strange that sense CE, human weapons have almost always been dominant over covenant weapons, in both campaign and MP, plus the fanbase tends to get rather pissed whenever the devs want the add weapons to the covenant pool, because apparently the aliens can only have three or four weapons, and nothing that resembles a human one, in form or function

Seeing as the argument around this gun is usually about looks as well: It still looks like it comes from the same family of guns, with the grey barrel being somewhat inspired by the Carbine and Needle rifle for example. But the combination of the overheat screen to the rear, instead of the bar on the side, and the switch off of the two barrels with an electrical arc inbetween, made it a lesser design.

I'ma be honest I think from a visual design perspective the Storm Rifle feels waaay worse than the plasma rifle in terms of identity, uniqueness and character but yh I'll be honest I'm glad to see the plasma rifle class doing so well for itself.

Before seeing Infinite’s take on the AR, I actually wanted it to be a low-tier power weapon, and in a way, it kind of is. This is the most powerful version of the weapon we’ve gotten with its newfound ability to confidently outclass precision weapons in close range and even pack a punch at midrange.

Bungie did a lot of things wrong in Reach. As someone who started with CE, I felt like bungie broke a bunch of things when making reach and then left it for 343 to clean up. I don’t think 343 did the best job doing that but everything isn’t their fault.

Honestly I myself have always loved the storm rifle since it appeared in halo 4, many say it doesnt look alien enough, others say its too good to be plasma weapon , but for me its just perfect and more lore acurrate than the halo 2 or 3 plasma rifles since in halo lore unlike the games plasma does quite some damage and when using the storm rifle I felt like I was using a true plasma weapon, also using the halo 5 storm rifle I felt like I was an halo 2 legendary elite just because of how fast I killed an enemy with the storm rifle, and also the weapon variants anyone barely used were pretty fun as well the yellow storm rifle felt like a truly powerful plama repeater and the red one was as good as a plasma answer(saw variant).

I remember one day in Halo 4 (actual Halo 4) somethin possessed me to make a load out with it for MP. I don't remember if had to fall back on it one too many times in mp, campaign, customs, spartan ops, or what... but I made a loadout and went on a tear in a 4v4 on that 2 level 4 ramp forerunner map. I was genuinely surprised how well it worked and even more so when I got sent rage voice messages calling me a hacker for getting a solid KD with "the shittiest gun in the game [colorful metaphors galor]". I also remember sending my own voice laughing at the guy saying "na dude that's the suppressor". Guy was so fucking pissed I actually had to block/report his ass after getting 5 rage messages in rapid succession.

The plasma pistol shot as fast as you could pull the trigger in 1/CE. It is amazing and then completely nerfed in 2. It makes a fantastic combo with regular pistol or shotgun. It’s a fun weapon I always have.

And then there's the Blissful Slumber variant, which is so insanely good 😍

This is one of those things that I don't understand about og classic Halo fans. They hate the 343i weapon sandbox for being too good and powerful but love the Bungie weapon sandbox even though most of the weapons in those games aren't good in multiplayer.

Every gun in Halo reach needed to have a covenant and human variant that was directly comparable. The reason is Invasion. There needed to be enough weapons for comparable loadouts for both the elite and spartan teams. Hence needle rifle, plasma repeater etc. Same was true for Halo 2 where you needed campaign missions as the arbiter with no human weapons to fill the sandbox, hence carbine, beam rifle, etc.

While I didn't enjoy the plasma repeater for it's damage output, I did like the flavour it brought to covenant weapons. The high rate of fire upfront and higher accuracy as the fire rate decreased could be something to return to. Additionally I have to give props to Bungie creating a reload function with the venting feature which is finally returning in Infinite.

To me it was the generic look and extremely generic sounds of the 343 storm rifles that killed them for me. I had no idea they were so powerful! But the BR killed Halo's gun sandbox since Halo 2... so I didn't give it much of a chance. I was expecting the Halo Infinite storm rifle to be covered here though!

I personally liked how the plasma rifle looked specifically more alien in design. While all 3 variants (Rifle, Repeater, Storm) looked alien, the Plasma Rifle looked the most unique. Two barrels? Firing ports? Firing plasma not in unison, but one after the other. It made it FEEL like a different gun. While to be entirely honest, the Storm Rifle and Plasma Repeater just didn’t have that same feel. Both looked and felt like lazier attempts at rebranding the Plasma Rifle. By no means do I want to diss on the designers of any of these weapons. This was just a personal take on how they were/are throughout my time playing Halo.

Funny you mention the whole "Its kinda a Power Weapon" thing. Personally, I treat Brute Plasma Rifles in H2 as pseudo Power Weapons, cause you can pair them up with SMGs or Magnums (H2 Magnum is secretly amazing), and now you have a combo that can absolutely shred at close range. Shotguns have no chance against it (though to be fair, they never really had much of one to begin with). I'd also say the Spiker could have been reworked to be a Power Weapon. Its way too weak in 3, and only slightly better in Reach. I thought it would be cool if it had a "Bleed" effect, where it dealt small damage overtime to both shields and then health once those drop. It made sense to me since the spikes actively stick into you and persist for a good while.

It wasnt even hard to properly balance the Plasma rifle in H2 and H3, all you had to do was to keep the stun effect when you single wielded, and make it lethal at CQC range without the stun effect when Dual-Wielded

TBH I have always liked the plasma repeater, it's what I imagine a LMG style plasma rifle would look like, sorta like a handheld version of the little plasma turrets carried by grunt heavies from halo 2, but hey that's just me

I think you're missing a huge point. How the weapon looked was one of the biggest reasons why players hated it. Sure it makes no logical sense that the aesthetics of a weapon would impact how it performs, but it definitely impacts how it's presented and received. So the simple fact that the storm rifle _wasn't_ the plasma rifle in all it's small, single-handed glory was a large factor in the distaste of it from most fans. This goes for the h4/5 art style in general. I guarantee you if h4 and 5 had the classic art style, they would have not been as hated. We can actually see the direct effects of that experiment in halo Infinite. It retains some advanced movement, it has a fast ttk, grapple hook, player outline system, open world campaign; 343 is basically taking things from other games and putting them in Halo, yet because Infinite _looks_ like classic Halo, most of these copied and pasted things are seen in a positive light. It just goes to show you that no matter how people try to not judge a book by it's cover, looks do still influence their judgement.

The spiker in halo reach is underrated. It shreds up close

Suppressor. I love it, want it to be better. Idk how to do that, maybe make it like a SAW at close range, but ONLY close range

I mean, it kinda works as an improvement on the plasma rifle and repeater. At least in an in universe sense. Rather than increasing or decreasing rate of fire the longer you shoot like it’s predecessors, it’s just always at max rate of fire

You forgot to mention that the reason the CE plasma rifle has such a fast kill time is because of it has head shot multiplier. Also the storm rifle is one of the biggest poster child for why people disliked 343i. It replaced a cool classic alien weapon with what a human would identify as a rifle class weapon and in order to get people to use it they just made it powerful rather giving it any interesting functionality. I think the spiker is worth a look it had the design to be great but it came out as worst smg with slimmer of increase melee dmg in H3 and than was a slightly better Plasma Rifle in Reach.

Bearing in mind that I didnt play Halo 5, the main issue I had with the storm rifle was its inaccuracy in H4. I just felt the spread to be too wide (was it a bit weak? yes, but I still could find a use for it, unlike the supres*cough*)

Imo, the plasma rifle in Halo 3 was pretty good with in melee range. It can even allow you to trade with Shotgun and sword assuming you get the punch in. But overall I agree that next to halo 5, CE had the best plasma weapons. The Halo 1 Plasma pistol is my favorite weapon.

Does everyone forget there was a plasma rifle in reach and it actually destroyed in campaign (I can't remember how it was in mp). Btw agree with the video just pointing this out.

I think one of the major reasons plasma weapons in general were never used in Halo 4 and 5 was the way that ammo depleted so fast for plasma weapons in those games. Like in Halo 4 1 shot from a plasma weapon took off 2% so you'd only get 50 shots. Compared with the CE plasma weapons which you lost 1 percent with 5 shots meaning you got 500 shots. I'm not totally sure if my math is right here but I think it is.

Bro I gotta tell you how great your videos are. They're not only informative, but they're fun to watch. I love the visuals and the insight into the different topics. Keep being awesome man, and thanks for making videos

I had a blast using this thing in halo 5 multiplayer, it can shred shields faster than the plasma pistol sometimes, its the best to use with the magnum cause then you can quickly switch and finish off your enemy.

Honestly the halo 4 storm rifle was a beast on pve Specially against heavier shielded elites and the knights Just a quick barrage and you've completely destroyed their shield I call it the spartan ops fun mode

As both a car enthusiast, and Camaro fan/owner, the reference to said car as a way to tie in your point was pretty damn good lol.

Loved the Storm Rifle in Halo 4, it's sound and just the way it felt when running though the campaign was... divine. Though maybe that's just my personal bias because Halo 4 is my favorite Halo at least in a PvE aspect.

I remember when I first picked up a Storm Rifle in Halo 5, I'd always generally ignored them in Halo 4, but the thing just tore in 5 and it sounded great as well. It quickly became one of my favourite guns in the game.

For the viewer question. The needler. What if the needles detonate one after the other, doing damage and stalling shields for a little bit. Kind of like poison damage

Plasma Pistol is an absolute beast in CE, it got me through Legendary in no time.

I'm a fan of the Storm Rifle:Visually I think it's much better then the Repeater or Pulse Carbine (which look too blocky for covenant guns) and in utility I thought it was pretty good in 4, worth using as a loadout weapon paired with the magnum (storm rifle shreds up close, magnum can at a distance if used well), and in Halo 5 it was SO good I actually do sorta think it was OP pre-TU and I'm somebody who will defend H5's AR and SMG pre-TU as being fine (and unlike them, the SR is still good post TU, thankfully) The only things i'd change is that 1. I've seen mockups that switch out the barrel for a pronged front like the OG Plasma rifle that looks great (look up "Storm Rifle Halomaps"), 2: I wish it had no overheating/venting system the repeater had to make it more mechanically unique, and 3: I think it'd be neat if it perhaps it was as strong as it was in H5 Pre-TU, but with even faster overheating and a tighter firiing cone, plus less aim assist/bullet magnetism: This would actually give it a skillgap where it would MELT people up close if you could track your target well, but if you can't and miss even a few shots while holding the trigger it'd overheat and you'd die, forcing good aim tracking skill (and of course, you could always use bursts/feather the trigger to avoid overheating at the cost of DPS output). As far as what other "low tier" weapons could be reinvetned as "power weapons": Most of the autos. The problem with designing automatics is that they tend to not require/reward skill, and you can't have a non skill based gun be really good or else it's OP.... but if it's a power weapon, then it can be! I think the SMG would benefit from this (and i'd arguer in pre TU H5, sorta was: not as much as the Storm Rifle, which as I said I do actually think was still sorta too good, but I'd say the SMG was a good "mid tier" gun a la the H2/3 Bruteshot), ideally as a perma duel wielded weapon where in exchange for it shredding people easily just with spraying, you lose nades/melees and have a super long reload to require better situational awareness. The Needler already basically became a power weapon in H4 and 5, too. The AR is the exception, in that as a spawn gun, it CAN'T be a power weapon, so i've always been an advocate of making the AR reward skill more as a "precision auto". You can tell I want the Storm Rifle/SMG to be somewhat more skill based too, but I really want the AR reward precise burst fire, like outright want like headshot multipliers on the AR even when shields are up so you have to land consistent headshots across the entire engagement to get an optimal TTK, which could, with low aim assist/magentism, making the headshot multiplier also reduce the longer the trigger is held, etc.... the Commando is sorta doing that already now, though, but in the context of Infinite i'd still like the AR to be a little less spray-y but to retain it's current power when bursting. Sadly can't make it a full blown precision auto without it being too close to the commando, though.

As a certified Storm rifle warrior im glad to see this. Loved this gun in every edition and my h4 tod for years.

I feel like the Storm Rifle was kinda slept on. I feel like it was a logical improvement to the Plasma Rifle.

@4:56 Ah yes, the Plasa Rifle. My favorite covenant weapon

In lore the storm rifle was replaced because the armory that made the plasma rifle belonged to the SOS , so the Storm covenant used but halo 5 completely breakes this lore

Brutshot! We need the Bruteshot back as a quasi-powerweapon.

In legacy H4, I used a loadout with the Firepower Package to use a LightRifle and a Storm Rifle, and man, it shredded. While I've changed it up a bit since then, I have respect for the Storm Rifle still.

Still can't deny the fact that the weapon design deviated from being alien to covenant version of AR.

No matter what happens with Halo I will always miss the Plasma Rifle. It may have sucked for all this time as a competitor in Multiplayer, but damn was it a beautiful looking gun, and I think H2A's version of the Plasma Rifle and Brute Plasma Rifle are the best of the best in terms of their visual design. I just want my plasma rifle :( But I'm happy to see 343i experimenting with new designs too.

I'll never understand why Bungie put the plasma repeater in central, highly contested spots on several maps. That placement, as well as the fact it's just a beefy plasma rifle, makes you assume it must be a power weapon when it's simply a projectile AR.

For the viewer question, I think there's one weapon that most people could agree needed an upgrade for the longest time: The Assault Rifle. Despite being Chief's signature weapon, and easily one of the most iconic weapon in the franchise, it's never really had its own place in the meta until Halo Infinite (hopefully). For a long time, it's been in this weird state where everyone knows about it and knows how it's basically synonymous with Halo itself, but nobody uses it. It was closer to an SMG in CE, only usable at point-blank range against unshielded targets. After being replaced by the SMG for Halo 2, it got completely reworked in Halo 3. Unfortunately, despite being a competent weapon in its own right, the BR meta completely invalidated it, and it was a similar story with Halo Reach. In Halo 4, it got even better, being pretty damn good in a close-range fight. Unfortunately, similar to the Storm Rifle, it suffered from the Custom Loadout system. And in Halo 5, the Magnum completely dominated... well, everything. Halo Infinite's Assault Rifle is looking like it will be the best in the series, and I sincerely hope so. It's about time it gets some love.

The storm rifle got me through many a legendary spartan ops missions.

I think a lot of it is a misconception on what Plasma weapons' utility is. The Plasma Rifle in Halo 3, for example, strips shields quickly enough to drop a player if you hit three bolts then a melee - which is what Plasma weapons were designed around support and not direct kills. This is for multiple reasons, as it makes it easier for lower skilled players to support their team in meaningful ways, but also for campaign play against AI. The Storm Rifle in Halo 4 is actually a great example of the downfall for plasma weapons, as it's a direct clone of Halo 4's AR killing at around the same shot count and dealing about the same amount of damage against shields, which is because the storm rifle was actually built upon the repeater which was specifically created for Invasion.

The storm rifle was my favorite after I got over being a hurt fanboy that the plasma rifle was gone and actually tried using the storm rifle.

I think your videos are pretty insightful and you usually have a good sense of how various things in Halo work. However, I often feel that the conclusions you draw are based on very nebulous or theoretical ideas. I mean, what's more likely - that average players ignore the Storm Rifle because of their past experience with other Plasma weapons, or that they tried the Storm Rifle a few times, had trouble with it, and stuck with easier to use weapons? I know the H5 Storm Rifle is powerful...at close range. As soon as you're at mid range, it doesn't clearly beat anything. An AR is more effective, a Needler is deadly, and any precision weapon will melt, especially the Magnum. This video did make me appreciate the idea of the Pulse Carbine a little more. The entire reason I think we're having this discussion is because the plasma projectiles are just harder to hit with. Giving them homing abilities could be the answer, but the Pulse Carbine still felt terrible to use. Maybe the CE design was best - high accuracy and damage. I can't say I know the best way to make the Covenant version of the AR work, but I don't think the short range of the Storm Rifle or the cross your fingers design of the Pulse Carbine is the answer.

fun fact, in the run up to the release of Halo 4, there was a booth at a convention i'd gone to that year where whoever won the most rounds of Slayer got a free gift. While initially really liking the Saw, the Storm Rifle was what won me the day - and a cool Halo Baseball cap, which i still have today!

I think the Storm Rifle's biggest failings were it's visual and audio design. Despite being nerfed into the ground after CE, the Plasma Rifle is one of Halo's most iconic and instantly recognizable guns, right up there with the Needler and Assault Rifle. Even when designing the Plasma Repeater, Bungie borrowed heavily from the Plasma Rifle's unique design. On the audio front, since Halo 2, the Plasma Rifle has also had a very unique and memorable firing sound, and it is easily recognizable in Halo's soundscape. Even when you hear a dozen different guns firing at once, the Plasma Rifle is easy to pick out of a crowd. Halo 4 & 5's Storm Rifle utterly fails in these regards. Gone is the iconic visual design of the Plasma Rifle, instead looking like a human Assault Rifle that was spray painted purple. No longer did it resemble a strange alien weapon, built for alien hands, that humans didn't full understand, now we had a very clear visual analogue to the assault rifle, and in that we lost a lot of the uniqueness that the Plasma Rifle brought to the table. Gone too was the Plasma Rifle's distinctive firing sound, replaced with a much softer and harder to read sound effect. Picking out a Storm Rifle in a crowd is much harder than picking out a Plasma Rifle. I'd compare with they did between the Plasma Rifle and Storm rifle to a hypothetical where they came out with the brand new Needler and it was just a Pink Assault rifle. Sadly, I think for all the good the Storm Rifle did in restoring plasma weapons to a viable gameplay spot, it utterly and completely failed at capturing the audio and visual magic of the Plasma Rifle, and that made it very hard for me to ever adopt it as a gun I liked.

You really changed my perception of the weapon. I've been playing the Halo Reach Mythic Overhaul mod, which includes the Storm Rifle. I'll give it another shot

343's Weapon Sandbox is the reason why i actually enjoyed Halo 4 and 5 unlike many of the "Hardcore" Halo fans. I love the fact they made it so assault rifles actually had a fighting chance against the power house that is the Battle Rifle, and loadouts just made everything more fun. Although the boltshot was pretty annoying in the right hands.

With the new sandbox in halo infinite I'd love to see the storm rifle return. Seeing old guns return would be a great way to bring players back to the game over time and keep the sandbox fresh. It would be cool to see old maps/weapons/vehicles return. Even newer stuff like the storm rifle, saw or phaeton.

Legit surprised that the Brute Plasma Rifles in Halo 2 and 5 weren't mentioned at all. Halo 5's BPS in particular is a beast.

We all have to admit that the Plasma Repeater looks damn cool though

H3 plasma rifle is great. Delete the shield then beat them down. It's like a combo weapon

one thing i did always like about the plasma repeater, is that you could vent it whenever you wanted

You are right, yesterday playing superfiesta I got a Storm rifle and I was disappointed because I thought it was weak. I didn't knew it was actually a good weapon

Love your sandbox videos this one is top notch

Halo 5s storm rifle is the epitome of the phrase: "You may not like it, but this is what peak performance looks like" in an artistic to functional sense

Storm rifle in halo 4 could be used as a brawler weapon, if paced correctly and manage the its overheating, you can overwhelm people as a suppresive loadout equivalent LMG

In my ideal world weapon sandbox would look a little like this: (Note:I will give just a few examples not all weapons couse i dont remember all) UNSC weapons: Assault Rifle-Medium dmg to health,Medium dmg to shields [Medium range weapon] SAW-High dmg to health,Low dmg to shields [Close to mid range weapon] Battle Rifle,DMR- Like assault rifle [Long range weapon] Sniper rifle-High dmg to health,High dmg to shields [Long range weapon] Pistol- Like assault rifle [Short range weapon] Covenant weapons: Storm Rifle- Low dmg to health,High dmg to shields [Medium range weapon] Plasma Pistol- Medium dmg to health,High damage to shields [Short range weapon] Needler- High dmg to health,Low dmg to shields [Medium range weapon] Carabine- Medium dmg to health,Medium dmg to shields [Long rnge weapon] Beam Rifle- like UNSC counterpart Promethean: Bolt Shot- High dmg to health,Medium dmg to shields [short range weapon] Suppresor- High dmg to health,Low dmg to shields [short to mid range weapon] Light Rifle- Medium dmg to health,High dmg to shields [Long range weapon] Binary Rifle- Like UNSC counterpart [Long range weapon]

Honestly, if it just had a different sound, I would have used it at all turns.

I think my main issue with the Storm Rifle is that still didn't have a unique trait. If it had maybe had its damage reduced and bringing back the stun effect, then I'd find it more appealing but at the moment all it really was (at least to me, I'm one of those that thinks CE had the best sandbox) is a ventable SAW. Also, this isn't the Storm Rifles fault, its the Plasma Repeaters for starting the trend, but Infinites introduction of venting for all plasma weapons certainly feels like it takes away some of the uniqueness of the plasma family in general, alongside the fact floor plasma weapons restore energy. The actual traits and uses of the Pulse Carbine(and I'd rather have a vent than a reload like the Plasma Carbine, its more thematically fitting) are really interesting, I just wish they kept the old family traits as well. As for under-powered to power weapon, one idea I had would be for the SMG. If we end up getting the MA5B from CE back, a way to distinguish the SMG and the MA5B would be to give the SMG dual functions(ala the Heatwave), single wield and dual wield(this would also somewhat appease people who want dual wielding back). Although it would still mess with the dance, it wouldn't restrict and nerf the entire small weapon sandbox, players would have the option to remove their ability to throw grenades and melee quickly at the cost of a second SMG. Whether this just meant it took the melee/grenade longer to come out and afterwads you immiediately went into single wield or jsut outright not allowing the player to use those abilities would be a balance decision that'd need to be considered but it would provide neat and unique functionality to a weapon that since its inception, was meant to overlap with the AR.

Honestly I have no problem with the functionality on 5 or ce, but the looks I hate, at least the front part of the, not exactly sure why, but it just feels like a discount energy assault rifle

My problem with the Storm Rifle was that it lacked a good presentation (at least in Halo 4, I didn't play Halo 5). By the stats it seems good, but it always felt weak and underwhelming to use because it felt like the firing sound was too quiet and it just looked like a covenant version of the Assault Rifle.

Storm Rifle is definitely under appreciated, that think can do work in the right hands. Also, kind of glad you got rid of the random face cam clips. They felt kind of shoehorned in in previous videos to be honest.

Something I would like to see if these three weapons were all in the same game is for the repeater to have similar stats to the storm rifle does now, the plasma rifle to act as it does in CE, and for the storm rifle to perform like a plasma LMG, a counterpart to the SAW.

I loved the storm rifle ever since its introduction, and nobody can change my mind on that. Sure, the design does not look as alien, but every time I got my hands on one, it never disappointed. It felt much more lore-accurate for the alien guns to do more damage. To answer the viewer questions, I would love to See the brute-shot revisited as a power weapon. I would have said the mauler, but we are getting a gun like it in infinite anyway. Really stoked to pick that one up.

You made me start using the storm rifle in halo 4 mcc. I love it

This is such a neat backstory for the Storm Rifle, a weapon that I've never really spent time with. It just never appealed to me for whatever reason, even though the Plasma rifle in CE is one of my favorite guns.

My old school favourite combo was duel wield smg and plasma rifle. One of the underestimated facets is since the plasma rifle didn't need to reload and that the smg needed only a few rounds to finish people off you could get away with a few kills before reloading. It's become a common occurence where my favourite playstyles involve the ones tailored for buffer warfare. Unlike in infinite where everygun has almost a 1 kill limit on it's mag unless it's the cindershot, rocket launcher or sword. Every single generation they keep buffing defense in infantry games where positioning should be prioritized. Character models are made more slim, tanky and faster. This is why Halo: CE had the easiest sniper/pistol to use in the SERIES. An old beloved fan favourite where you could effectively fight off multiple foes with the same number of maneouvers. Instead they cater to this run and gun gameplay that lacks immersion but is an easier sell because it *seems* like people are more skilled but only because everything is harder to do. It's a fallacy where marketing-wise the game is more interesting if it has difficulty to it and its easier to pick up but it becomes less fun when that difficulty mechanic is just a simple hard buffer which ends up making things frustrating like you're playing with chopsticks or something. Ironic considering gunpowder weapons became popular because they were so easy to use. Even more so when tactical wit is extremely rewarding. If I were a gameplay historian I would always bring up the history of the battlefield 3 beta. The true paradigm shift where the loud overtook the many. Where idiots cried their loudest to preserve their baser instinct of running "directly towards the enemy, like theyre coming from behind" - The Sarge, Red vs Blue. Killing the best playset in history that would've actually made people put on face camo while playing. Instead of trying to style on everyone all the time.

Yo, can I take a guess at the sound used for the "Hy" replacement? I'm thinking either Drown or Can You Feel My Heart by BMTH.. 🤔

I remember my early days of H4, looking for example loadouts to have an idea on how to build a custom one. Then, this one channel told me that the storm rifle was ideal for small maps and I didn't believed until I used that loadout to defend a flag, and let me tell you, it didn't disappointed me. And haven't disappointed since that day.

You when you edited out hyperion was that a 1 second clip of can you feel the heart by bmth? Love the content homeslice thank you and keep it coming !

The Halo 2 & 3 SMG comes to mind as receiving a power weapon treatment in 5, just barely scraping the ceiling of loadout to power weapon imo.

a cool option for infinite: reubtroduce the storm rifle from h5 with a smaller reticule, making it a shield shredding but non headshot-bonus covenant vk78 comando counterpart. the plasma rifle can return in its CE form, maybe even the plasma repeater (which would work like the plasma rifle, but without stun but a bit of splash damage) as general close to midrangers. the pulse carbine then is the pure midranger

the plasma repeater was apparently added to meet a middle ground between the plasma rifle and thr beam rifle because the beam rifle apparently was too much like the sniper and didn't really care about the plasma rifle i guess so they ditched both of then and we got this

The 80s/90s Camaro comparison was hilarious!

One really interesting thing I found when modding is that the gun feels a lot better to use and more precise if you just remove the large circle from its reticle. That circle gives the false impression that it's very inaccurate, when in reality the projectiles mostly hit within the area between the four lines in the centre of the reticle.

I love dual wielding a plasma rifle with an SMG in halo. It’s definitely my go to in Halo 2 and 3. Dual wielding plasma rifles is pretty nice too.

The Storm Rifle looks to me like the next logical development of the Plasma Rifle. It makes sense to me that the former Covernant species would develope new weapons.

I caught that bring me the horizon intro, nice bro ;)

Storm Rifle is the gun you pick up when you're low on ammo and you need a gun that is somewhat effective and has punch to it when your back is against the wall

What’s really strange is that I have a class dedicated to the storm rifle in halo 4 and it fucks hard. Even on the Valhalla remake. You have to play very differently than normal but no one expects you to run up on them with a storm rifle

When I started playing halo with mcc pc I was under the impression that the plasma rifle was iconic. So I was surprised when it got replaced with stuff like this. Its weapons like the plasma rifle that make me consider CE as possibly the best sandbox

I was actually a Storm Rifle main in Halo 4. I loved mopping the map with that thing.

How we got the banished but the brute plasma rifle wasn't included is absolutely beyond me. Where tf are the general purpose plasma weapons?? Where's the god damned spiker? The mauler? Brute shot? Literally any single automatic plasma weapon without a gimmick? Holy shit these guys are just fuckin up at every turn.

The Plasma Pistol was anything but a fairly unimpressive combat weapon in Combat Evolved. Even without the vehicle EMP ability the weapon's damage was still insanely good against shielded and unshielded targets alike. It's raw damage was nerfed into the ground in Halo 2 where the tracking on it became OP (and because of dual wielding) and then again in 3 where it gained the ability to EMP vehicles, but it actually started out as a very strong weapon overall. Also, Reach buffed the Plasma Pistol again to almost CE levels of damage while retaining the EMP ability, making it one of the best iterations in the series. Overall what you are saying might be applicable to the PR, but you are completely wrong about the PP. EDIT: Also, didn't the Plasma Repeater in Reach deal a lot of damage against health as well? I'm fairly sure its actually role in the sandbox was that of a good starting weapon for Elites during Invasion. I agree that they should have just buffed the Plasma Rifle instead of creating the Repeater though.

my biggest gripe was the design, it could have done something more unique but imo it really looks like a covenant assault rifle which in concept sounds neat but in execution feels out of place with the fancy covenant designs that had tribal looking indicators but now we got an old tube tv on the top. if they can manage a better redesign then ill be happy