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Subject: More Futuristic Human Weapons

I wanted to resurrect this thread that was made a couple of years ago (Reach era) by a another user but we are unable to post in now. I have thought similarly for years. The OP was:

It seems to me like every human weapon in Halo looks like something that we have today or will have very very soon in modern day warfare. I mean I hate to say it, but some of the stuff on COD MOD 2 has more futuristic stuff. I mean, you really think the assault rifle of the future will be less effective and accurate than today's? I don't.

Don't get me wrong, I love the human weapons, but I want more futuristic ones to go with them.

The Spartan Laser

Some say its overpowered, some say its the best thing to happen to pro infantry players. What ever it is, I feel it definitely represents something very futuristic and very cool. I want Bungie to use more laser based weapons in Reach. I don't know what, all I know is I want them. It would help me and others think of Halo as a believable Sci-Fi shooter. I want to play the game and say "Wow, I can't wait until this is invented", ignoring the fact that its just a video game im playing and not a documentary on future weapons.

Who else wants some more laser based weapons to go with the human ones already established (If there is room in the sandbox of course)?


Add to this that human ground vehicles are also very similar. In 500 years humans will most certainly not be riding in ATV's and jeeps or similar wheel/tire-based vehicles.

  • 06.14.2012 12:45 PM PDT

By another poster:

Anyway Halo's UNSC weapon set is an entirely unambitious monument to lazy aesthetic and gameplay design that mocks much of the other work that goes into the game to try to make it a respectable experience. I may be a little harsh in my criticism, here, but for Jebus's sake we have more impressive weapons now than we do in the fantasy world of the year 2500 which doesn't have to contend with the economic and physical limations that hinder us in reality.

This is 100% true. It is lazy imagination on the part of the Halo writers/designers. The story and universe of Halo is so complex and fleshed out, it's amazing that Bungie created such a fictional flaw re: the technology of humans. Most of the human tech in the game I could see happening within 200 years easily, with the exception of slipspace possibly. Even the Mjolnir armour isn't that advanced. There's no chance human militaries will be using primarily gun-powder/bullet based weapons.

Maybe Bungie just REALLY liked classic shotguns and sniper rifles etc. and wanted them in the game.

  • 06.14.2012 12:52 PM PDT
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UCLA

Average Joe - IgnitedProphecy

"It's the most fun thing since fun was invented... by the Romans."

AR is an F2000, BR is a famas.

  • 06.14.2012 1:03 PM PDT

Yeah, Human armaments in Halo are kind of a joke.

  • 06.14.2012 1:44 PM PDT

~Thomsn0w

Railgun and Spartan Laser are pretty futuristic.

  • 06.14.2012 1:50 PM PDT

The Spartan Laser is a huge improvement and a step in the right direction.

  • 06.14.2012 5:36 PM PDT
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Don't do anything you wouldn't want to have to explain to paramedics. Trust me, I'm a pilot.

The MAC cannons are arguably one of the most futuristic weapons Humanity has in the Halo universe, simply because, in reality, it would take incredible amounts of energy to be shooting a one-tonne slug at such high speeds.

Next, I would have to say the Spartan Laser is the most futuristic. Again, to be able to utilize that much energy that efficiently would be no small feat today. Considering the lasers of today can only do a fraction of what a Spartan Laser can do really demonstrates the futuristic weapons of Halo.

As for vehicles, I would have to say the Pelican dropship is arguably the most futuristic. When you consider the fact that, not only does it have eight engines, maneuverability, and VTOL capabilities, it is capable of operating in vacuum environments, and does all of this with room for 10 soldiers and a vehicle suspended in the rear of the craft. In my opinion, it`s arguably the most versatile and futuristic vehicles that the UNSC has at it`s disposal.

I would also like to list the Warthog as highly futuristic as well, simply because of the fact that it one of the most widely used vehicles in the UNSC and it runs off of hydrogen, which demonstrates that, by the 2550s, hydrogen fuel cells are practical enough to be widely used in a military setting.

  • 06.14.2012 6:25 PM PDT

We have more advanced assualt rifles today. Even the M16 is comparable in accuracy, power for the Halo AR is hard to judge but...

  • 06.14.2012 6:26 PM PDT

I am alpha, i am omega.

I am the last of the primes.


Posted by: Dark Hunter21
We have more advanced assualt rifles today. Even the M16 is comparable in accuracy, power for the Halo AR is hard to judge but...

Lol no, Ars use big ass bullets. And don't brs use 9mm rounds???

  • 06.14.2012 6:36 PM PDT

One of the things I have always liked in Halo is that the technology actually feels believable to me. I could actually see Halo tech as it is in 2552. I think stuff like laser guns, while being a classic item of science fiction, are actually a bit too unrealistic.

You say that you could see many of Halo's weapons being developed within the next one hundred years. Perhaps they were. After that time period, there was about a three hundred year era of which there were no known wars. This was probably an era of expansion and peace, and the human race would have seen little advancement in weapons technology. Instead, advancement would be focused on space travel. That would mean our modern weapons would still be in use during the insurrection, and once the war started, experimental weapons would begin development.

Edit: And the MJOLNIR armor is pretty advanced. It's vacuum proof and is capable of generating a full-body force field capable of stopping many high-speed projectiles at once. In addition to this, it has a crystal underlay for housing AI's that is equivalent to a military cruiser's computer. I doubt we're anywhere near that kind of technology.

[Edited on 06.14.2012 7:59 PM PDT]

  • 06.14.2012 7:52 PM PDT

"I may not be perfect, but always been true."


Posted by: ferrrari

Posted by: Dark Hunter21
We have more advanced assualt rifles today. Even the M16 is comparable in accuracy, power for the Halo AR is hard to judge but...

Lol no, Ars use big ass bullets. And don't brs use 9mm rounds???


The M16 packs more or less the same punch than a MA5B, kinetic energy I believe.

  • 06.14.2012 7:55 PM PDT

Well in Halo Lore they have a sniper rifle that sends shockwaves. It's a sonic weapon I believe.

  • 06.14.2012 8:20 PM PDT

Vengeance only leads to an ongoing cycle of hatred.

I'm pretty sure I remember that thread.

While it is evident that some of the UNSC weapons are worse than the tech we have now in the U.S. Military, you have to remember that the first Halo game was made in 2001. Yes, there may be some weapons today that surpass standard weapons in Halo, but I don't think that should really matter. Halo is it's own universe and may not have taken the same course we are taking.

  • 06.14.2012 9:13 PM PDT

The contrast between humanity and the Covenant is key, and this is reflected in the weapons they use. If the humans employed futuristic laser weaponry, it makes the Covenant seem less alien. I agree that sometimes this seems stupid, but something about the human weapons feels robust, which relates to the resolve of humanity throughout the game.

  • 06.15.2012 3:12 AM PDT


Posted by: RKOSNAKE

Posted by: ferrrari

Posted by: Dark Hunter21
We have more advanced assualt rifles today. Even the M16 is comparable in accuracy, power for the Halo AR is hard to judge but...

Lol no, Ars use big ass bullets. And don't brs use 9mm rounds???


The M16 packs more or less the same punch than a MA5B, kinetic energy I believe.


No, nowhere close.

  • 06.15.2012 3:26 AM PDT

I'm an Anarchist. I don't need a government to be a good person, but I'm glad it's here because some of you clearly do.

Why invest so much in advancing stuff that already works? This is the reason the M16 is still in service. It's not the best gun out there, but it still gets the job done quite well, so why change it?


Up until the early 2500's, Humanities only enemy was humanity, so they didn't need to invest considerably in revolutionizing the standard infantry weapon.

You must consider that infantry weapons need to be tough, reliable, and simple, so advancing them takes a long time. You can only improve a standard infantry rifle so far before you start wasting money.

Consider Combat Knives. A 100% perfect replica of a combat knife from 1610 will probably work just as well as a brand new combat knife in almost all modern combat situations.

Instead of looking at how basic the weapons are, consider how advanced the other end of the spectrum is - the armor.

  • 06.15.2012 3:49 AM PDT
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I think the point of it is that humans have crap technology compared to the covenant, so it makes it a difficult fight. Obviously they wanted them to be more realistic, and not overpowered. Forerunners are in Halo for a reason :P

  • 06.15.2012 4:48 AM PDT

I assume, as with every game in the series, it serves to make a stark, juxtaposition and contrast between the human and covenant and their respective technologies. If Humans had tonnes of lasers and things like the covenant, the player would feel more on the same level as the them. The fact that you can only obtain such technology by scrounging them of the dead bodies of aliens, makes you feel weaker that the more advanced enemies. It all adds to the atmosphere of helplessness/weakness because your are facing a superior, more advanced enemy.

  • 06.15.2012 6:11 AM PDT

I completely agree. 500 years in the future , and they still only have guns like we have now? They should make a UNSC gun that shoots small lasers.

  • 06.15.2012 7:20 AM PDT

Ach! Was ist los?

Posted by: Rambo 28
Add to this that human ground vehicles are also very similar. In 500 years humans will most certainly not be riding in ATV's and jeeps or similar wheel/tire-based vehicles.

We've been getting around on wheels for thousands of years already. Wheels work pretty well.

I notice a distinct trend in threads like this, combining ignorance of both history and physics with a naive assumption that more advanced technology is always better.

Here are some fun facts for you to think about:

-Self contained firearm cartridges have been around since the middle of the 19th century.
-Smokeless gunpowder was introduced in 1886.
-The basic technology of the magazine fed bolt action rifle, as used by marksmen the world over, has not evolved appreciably since the 1890s.
-Reasonably reliable caseless ammunition has been available since the 1980s.
-The most widespread military rifles in use today were developed in the 1940s and 50s.
-The theory behind the laser was laid down in 1917, and working lasers have been around since 1960.

  • 06.15.2012 9:40 AM PDT

Also, you can only do so much to a gun that uses bullets and magazines.

It's why I kinda laugh at somebody going "Halo CE-Reach the guns weren't futuristic/scifi enough, but in Halo 4 they are!".

I mean, if they use batteries or similar (like ME for example), then you can do more weird designs. But with a standard bullet rifle? The same basic parts are going to be there. And there isn't too much you can change. Like for example, isn't the modern, in use rifle by the US military, look pretty similar to the rifles they used way back during WW2? (I might be wrong about that detail, but I know the basic rifle look hasn't changed that drastically).

  • 06.15.2012 9:51 AM PDT
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"Time was your ally human. But now it has abandoned you. The Forerunners....have returned. And this tomb... is now yours". - The Didact


Posted by: SpongyMallard7
I completely agree. 500 years in the future , and they still only have guns like we have now? They should make a UNSC gun that shoots small lasers.


We still have wheels, knifes, paper,...

All ancient inventions and i surely prefer a physical book in my hands then an e-book.

  • 06.15.2012 10:30 AM PDT

What a waste....

I think the reason they have such terrible wartime tech was because they hadn't fought a war for 300 years before the Insurrection. That made humanity develop better guns and such, and actually, considering how strong Covenant infantry are (Brutes have ridiculous shields in Contact Harvest), the weapons are pretty good.

  • 06.15.2012 11:23 AM PDT

Am I supposed to write something funny here?

UNSC guns make them distinct from covies. And they have ammo counters, that requires some advancement. Also, it isn't unreasonable assumption that they have durability beyond AK designs... Also smart-linking.

[Edited on 06.15.2012 11:26 AM PDT]

  • 06.15.2012 11:26 AM PDT

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