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I decided to see just what everyones love affair with the AR and against the pistol would mean if I never used the most powerful weapons in the game. I have done all of the levels as far as the first half of 2Betrayals using only the AR, PP, PR and Needler (and an absolutely obscene amount of grenades). These are some of my findings:
Covenant are wimps! In my past play, it has been alot of fun in my book to pick off covies with the pistol and the sniper rifle. I would use the pistol for banshees and maybe the RL for the occassional covie craft. I had made it common practice to use a PP for both wraiths and ghosts. Now, playing without the RL and Pistol, I have found the the AR is an awesome weapon!! One of the things I like about CE is that the combat is much more up close and personal than in 2. Grunts and Jackals are both subject to short accurate bursts from the AR (no surprise) What I have found by not using the pistol is that to take out elites with the CE version of the NOOB combo (AR & PP) you have to be alot closer than with the PP and the Pistol AND I LIKE IT! Granted it puts your MC butt in more danger, but that is part of the fun! There is more satisfaction in being closer to your kill. I have also found that the invisible elites are alot easier to kill with the AR than any other weapon. They pretty much come right up to you and ask you to fill them full of lead. Hunters are the only prey that are actually more of a pain to kill with an AR than without.
The flood situation is reversed completely. Without the shotty, I find myself backpedaling alot to draw a few out and then take them out with a PR & PP combo. The nice thing about plasma on flood is it gets them to drop their weapons. Granted it takes alot longer this way, but rather than fighting flood up close you are now fighting them from a distance. There are a few areas on the Library where you are trapped in close quarters since the flood ambush doesnt spawn until you are either really close or cut off. Those were the toughest parts to not have a shotty, and grenades do not discriminate between freind and foe so you cannot just start tossing them around in those situations.
All in all I have found it rather interesting to make the switch to never using a power weapon (other than the very first part of 2betrayals, the shotty for taking out the sentinels, the PP is too important for fighting the first battle after you take them out, besides it is in my hands when the level goes hot from the cinematic!) I like the switch from fighting the covies from a distance to now up close, and the reverse for the flood. After playing for 5 years now, change is good to keep things interesting!