After much anticipation, Halo Infinite in finally here. The game brings with it many of the most beloved guns from past titles, like the Needler, BR, Sniper, and Rocket Launcher. It also adds some new exciting weapons to the franchise like the SKewer, the Hydra, and the Commando.

Here are our power rankings for the new Halo weapons, at least at launch.

Tier S

• Sniper Rifle
• M41 SPNKr (Rocket Launcher)
• Skewer

Sniper Rifle

Just like in past installments of the Halo series, the Sniper Rifle remains a top-tier power weapon in Halo: Infinite. It is per usual a single kill shot for a headshot, and remains accurate from the hip, as it has throughout the Halo franchise. For crack shots in Halo: Infinite, there is no weapon you would rather have than this one.

M41 SPNKr

The M41 SPNKr rocket launcher also remains an S-Tier power weapon in Halo Infinite, in line with its role in the meta in past franchises. This weapon is just so consistent at one shot killing people, and requires only a limited amount of accuracy, since it has a decent splash area of damage. This weapon is also able to kill multiple enemies in a single blast, making it one of the highest kill potential options in the game.

Skewer

The Skewer is a long-range sniper rifle that can kill enemies in a single shot to the body, not just the head. It is also devastating to light vehicles if you can land the shot. The projectile is relatively hard to hit on targets since it fires with a relatively low velocity and the reload between shots is significant. But if you can master this weapon, it has a ton of kill potential. 

Tier A

• Gravity Hammer
• Energy Sword
• BR75 Battle Rifle
• Hydra
• Cinder Shot

Gravity Hammer

The Gravity Hammer is a power weapon that is devastating at point-blank range, that is capable of destroying both enemy soldiers and vehicles in a single powerful blow. The biggest drawback to the Gravity Hammer is that it has a slow, short-range attack. It isn't quite as fast as the energy sword in its activation. But in its ideal range, the gravity hammer is still going to win most of its fights.

Energy Sword

The Energy Sword is a power weapon with similar strengths to the Gravity Hammer. However, the energy sword has a longer lunch distance and is faster, but will also be worse in some situations, like attacking multiple targets or attacking a vehicle. Overall its one-hit kill potential on a target makes it a great short-range option that definitely belongs in A-Tier.

BR75 Battle Rifle

The Halo Battle Rifle is a staple of the series, and I am happy to report that the BR in Halo Infinite slaps. This thing feels responsive and powerful. It is able to kill an enemy in 4 bursts, if you can land all your bullets and get a headshot on your fourth burst. Fans of Halo will be thrilled to find a responsive and satisfying, not to mention powerful, version of the BR in Infinite.

Hydra

The Hydra is a somewhat unique explosive weapon. In its standard state, it fires small explosive ordinances in a straight line and will kill if you hit several of them. What makes this gun A-Tier, however, is that in its other mode it can lock on to vehicles... and people. So this gun can be a very effective tool for taking out a target medium-range target with its unique homing rockets.

Cinder Shot

The Cinder Shot also features two firing modes. One fires all your projectiles horizontally, and it can be useful against vehicles. The other one fires them vertically, and this one has a ton of damage potential. It is like a slightly longer ranged shotgun almost, where if you hit your vertical burst just right, you can actually one-shot an opponent. If you use this weapon, remember to use the vertical fire against infantry.

Tier B

• Sentinel Beam
• Needler

• CQS48 Bulldog

• MA40 AR

• MK50 Sidekick Pistol

Sentinel Beam

The Sentinel Beam is a FOrerunner constant beam weapon that is actually pretty decent in this game. It isn't your first pick, but if you run across one it is probably worth picking up every now and again. Infinite's Sentinel beam features a decent amount of recoil, but if you counteract it, you can kill an enemy in only a few moments. It will be out DPS'd by most A and S-Tier guns, but it is comfortably B-Tier in the meta currently.

Needler

The Needler is arguably the most iconic weapon from the Halo franchise. It comes back in solid form in Halo Infinite. In past games like Halo 2 or Halo Reach, the needle was arguably overpowered (especially when dual weileded in Halo 2). This game's form is strong, but not quite as strong as it was. It strikes a solid balance, where fans of the needler are still going to slay with this thing, but it's not quite as frustrating for a non-power weapon as it once was.

MK50 Sidekick Pistol

The MK50 Sidekick Pistol is on the low end of B-Tier, but I still think it's better than C-Tier. This is a weapon you are going to use a lot, and while it's not the most powerful weapon in the book, it should be commended for its surprisingly solid performance at short and medium ranges for the skilled marksperson.

CQS48 Bulldog

The Bulldog cannot kill in one shot, even at point-blank range on a stationary target. You can literally put the barrel inside their mouth, and it will not one-shot kill a fully shielded opponent ever. That said, it can still deal significant damage at close-range, and is definitely a viable option so long as you aren't against a sword or a gravity hammer. 

MA40 AR

This assault rifle is surprisingly solid. It can deal headshot damage on unshielded targets, and you can improve its accuracy by zooming in. It kills faster to the body than the Commando, and is surprisingly reliable in close and medium ranges if you can track your target.

Stalker Rifle

The Stalker Rifle is a medium-to-longe range DMR style weapon that fires plasma projectiles. This gun has the potential for a 3-shot kill, and will technically out damage the BR in short range if you hit every shot and get a headshot. It does overheat pretty quickly and can struggle against its competition the battle rifle at range, but overall this is a solid weapon that can definitely get work done with a little practice.

Tier C

• Shock Rifle

• VK78 Commando

• Stalker Rifle

• Ravager

Shock Rifle

The Shock Rifle is a plasma-based sniper rifle looks good on paper, and might work for some folks, but I found it underwhelming. This rifle will fire a beam that deals damage over time, and you will need to track your target with that beam over the course of around one second to deal your full damage, which is difficult. It will kill in a single shot to the head if you can land the whole charge, so it does have potential if you can master it. 

VK78 Commando

The VK78 Commando is an automatic carbine that deals solid damage at short and medium ranges. It features a pretty useful scope, and with some accuracy and recoil management can turn in some solid results. However, this gun kills in more shots than the pistol to the head, and takes longer to kill to the body than the standard AR. Generally, there isn't a ton of reason to use this gun.

Pulse Carbine

The Pulse Carbine is a covenant weapon new to Halo Infinite. It fires bursts of slow velocity energy munitions at enemies. Due to the slow-moving orbs, this gun is pretty spammy. You might be able to get some distance kills by spamming it at your opponent, but when I play Halo I am looking for weapons where I can master precision. It is actually decent at close range, even better than the shotgun, since the plasma blobs track the target a little bit, so that is probably its best use case. Spam some shots until they don't have shields, then finish them with melee. 

Ravager

The Ravager is kind of an odd weapon. It fires a three-round arcing plasma burst at enemies. It isn't really a gun you use with precision, and it's not very reliable for damage, but every once in a while you come across a situation where this thing out-performs its tier. In short, It's not very good, but its powerful enough to earn its place in C-Tier.

Tier D

• Mangler
• Disruptor

• Pulse Carbine 

• Plasma Pistol

Mangler

The Mangler is not a good weapon. It has a slow fire rate, a very limited effective range, and feels very inconsistent in how it deals damage. You can in theory three-shot with this weapon, but more often than not, this gun takes 4-5 tediously slow shots to finish off a full health enemy. I think its safe to put the Mangler in D-Tier.

Disruptor

The Disruptor is unique, in that it deals damage over time. This can be useful since it prevents the enemy shields from recharging during a fight. However, its time to kill is very slow. The only real thing the Disruptor has going for it is that it will also EMP vehicles. I don't recommend picking this gun up.

Plasma Pistol

A staple of the Halo franchise, the Plasma Pistol makes its return as the very niche, every once in a while useful gun that it is. The Plasma Pistol does everything you expect it to, like disabling vehicles and taking down shields in one risky full charge shot. The problem is that a lot of other weapons disable vehicles this time around, and the Plasma Pistol has very little kill potential on its own. This gun can be worked into a loadout, but judging it on its own, this gun isn't going to out damage most other options in the game.

This article has been updated to reflect the authors continuing experience with the game.