The Promethean LightRifle is the semi- automatic rifle counter part to the UNSC Battle Rifle and Covenant Carbine, also one of the many new introductions in Halo 4’s weapon arsenal. So how does this weapon stack up against the tried and true? surprisingly pretty well but only for the more experienced FPS player and Halo competitor as this rifle takes a little more work and getting used to than the others. There are a lot of variables that can either make or break your experience with the Lightrifle and quick judgement of these scenarios along with strong, consistent execution are the real key to success.
Weapon Breakdown: The Lightrifle, most importantly, is not a hitscan weapon (precision shot that instantly makes contact within the reticule regardless of distance) like the DMR but actually possess the same long distance range. The bullets, or plasma, is projectile based and this means you will need to lead your shots against a moving target which is commonplace due to the strafe movement firefight nature of the Halo series. This weapon requires 5 shots, the 5th being a headshot, to finish off an opponent but the most interesting spec of this particular gun is zooming in actually increases the damage and reduces the number of needed shots on a fully healthy opponent to 4. This is due to the fact that the Lightrifle possesses a bleed through ability (damage that effects an enemies Shield as well as health) another unique ability to this gun.
Pros And Cons: Try to always be paired up with a partner, especially in smaller maps if you’re going to use this weapon as the rate of fire is slightly slower than its other counterparts but it does eat through shields pretty quick, making teamshots feel over whelming on the receiving end. Players won’t be winning many 1v1 firefights against someone of equal skill due to this gun having to play catch up in the long run for the last shot and it’s slightly wider reticule. At long range and on bigger maps the Lightrifle can do just as much damage as the DMR and slightly even more so effective when zoomed in. Regardless of use, players will have to reload often as a majority of it’s clip will be used for single engagements or they’ll just be stuck reloading in the middle of another firefight later on.
It takes some time, getting used to and overall dedication but the Lightrifle is a pretty solid rifle once enough focus is put into learning the ins and outs of it’s uses. However, for it’s few cons that prevent it from contending well within tight spaces, don’t expect this gun to see daylight in any professional level game play or MLG circuits outside of an optional pickup on the map. Big Team Infinity Slayer, Dominion and Capture The Flag are the best game types for starters who want to try it out without too much pressure during the learning curve.