- last post: 01.01.0001 12:00 AM PDT
Shadow, get over yourself. Winning a few games in LAN parties, Halo PC especially or on XBC doesn't mean anything. Besides, trying to impress me over the internet is downright pathetic.
Now, I'll explain why people use the pistol so much, since it is just so terribly hard to understand.
The pistol is what you'd call a mid range weapon. You can shoot up to 120meters and it remains very accurate at about 100 meters. Other weapons are capable of shooting up to similar ranges (AR has the same range and shotgun and plasma rifle go up to 100 meters). These weapons, with the exception of the sniper rifle, however are rarely effective past 50meters. Ok, you know all these ranges and you're thinking 'Ok, so what?' well I'll tell you.
Where do the majorities of gunfights start? Mid to long range. Most of the time the people you see are out of the effective range of the majority of weapons. Is this sinking in? People use the pistol so often not because it's 'uber powerful' (you won't stand a chance at close range against somebody with a plasma rifle unless your name happens to be Ogre-1), but rather because it's the most effective weapon at the most common range people engage one another. The pistol is the ONLY weapon effective past 50m besides the sniper rifle. It's not the pistol's overpowering, but because the other weapons can't hit anything past your nose. Now, please, stop calling the pistol unbalanced because there is no other weapon intended for its range that you can compare it to.
Alright, so there you have it. People like the pistol, which is actually a well rounded weapon, because it's the only one that is ideal for the range most shootouts are at. Other weapons are balanced out with it (with the possible exception of the AR or needler, both of which have pretty much gotten the shaft from Bungie) because they can demolish somebody with a pistol at close range. Likewise, past 120M you'll never hit a sniper with a pistol nomatter how hard you try.
There are no overpowered weapons in Halo. There are only the AR and needler wich are in desperate need of some help. The stopping power of the pistol makes sense considering it's explosive nature and high-calibur, and it's effecacy at range is a moot point because no other weapons are designed for long range but the sniper rifle.