Throughout the entire Halo series, the Covenant Needler has seen the most changes in each installment than any other gun on the roster. Progressively getting stronger, the Needler wasn’t always as much of a viable weaponry option as it is in Halo 4 and from the early years of Halo CE- Halo 3 this gun was largely considered a joke among the community. The Needler is a super combine weapon that shoots pink sharp plasma shrapnel that slightly homes in to anyone within it’s reticule and then adheres itself to their body, eventually detonating in a powerful and always fatal explosion.
Weapon Breakdown: For the first time since it’s debut, the Needler has become so powerful that it is considered a valuable weapon pick up on many maps and even ranks as a special ordinance pickup with other power weapons such as the sniper rifle, shotgun and many more. The Needler’s, close to mid range only, homing ability confines itself within a tight and strict reticule which requires players to fire at opponents at the very center of it to be most effective. On the receiving end, players who walk in a straight line against an opponent wielding this weapon will quickly be over whelmed by it’s speed and effectiveness, so it is encouraged the regardless of what side you are on of this gun to strafe to either keep a fleeing opponent within it’s sights or to simply avoid as much incoming shrapnel as possible. This is a super combine weapon, which means the ammunition in this gun is only effective by landing a majority of it’s shots into an opponent to cause the only fatal ability this gun possess which is an explosion.
Pro and Cons:Â This gun sits well among the others without being considered a joke for multiplayer as it used to and even finds usefulness often enough in professional level tournament play. The homing ability is much more strong and feels a lot faster than before, leaving most unsuspecting players dead before they even get a chance to retaliate. The only real issue that stops the Needler from being a large scale threat in comparison with the other ordinance level weapons is the clip size only allows about 2-3 kills before you’ve exhausted the gun completely. Each firefight with the Needler requires around 50{3a19833c997fa52158a43c449fe089ff048ac0506a335cac10721cfa396ff282} or more, depending on the players accuracy, and leaves the latter portion of the guns ammo useless as it almost always falls short of the needed amount to trigger a detonation.
It’s amazing to see what 343 has done with what was once considered a mock weapon of the Halo series. Although it’s new found speed and power gives this weapon a higher seeding in the combat arsenal, it’s small clip size in combination with large ammunition use to trigger a detonation is what makes this glory short lived on the battlefield. By no means should any player simply ignore the chance to pick this baby up, but also be on the lookout for a replacement soon as it’s usefulness will soon be exhausted. Don’t stretch yourself out for any multikills unless opportunity is knocking loud or you just may end up putting this gun right into enemy hands with whatever ammunition is left over from your blunder!
