Halo Reach Campaign Weapon Tier List
This page contains my weapon tier list for Halo Reach's Campaign. I've geared this list more towards the Campaign than Multiplayer or Firefight since Campaign is kind of its own thing entirely. However, the information on this page will still be relevant for those other game modes since I am explaining how guns work and why certain ones are better than others.
If you'd like to see the Halo: Reach Firefight Weapon Tier List instead of this one I recommend you follow the link over to that section instead. Alternatively, if you'd like to see some of the other lists I have made for Halo: The Master Chief Collection then follow the link provided.
Halo MCC Weapon Tier Lists
- Halo CE Tier List
- Halo 2 Tier List
- Halo 3 Tier List
- Halo 3 ODST Campaign Tier List
- Halo 3 ODST Firefight Tier List
- Halo 4 Tier List
- Halo Reach Campaign Tier List
- Halo Reach Firefight Tier List
God Tier
Energy Sword: The Energy Sword is a God Tier weapon because it will allow you to one shot basically any enemy in the entire game. Enemies using Overshields are going to be the exception to this rule; examples of this are the gold armor Elites and Brutes that you will sometimes see. There are many opportunities for you to get this sword throughout the game and normally you'll always want to grab it.
Gravity Hammer: Gravity Hammers are the AoE version of an Energy Sword. This is an extremely powerful weapon with a few drawbacks - the main one being that each time you swing the weapon you'll get thrown around a bit. Meaning that you'll be thrown up into the air a little. I find this to be an issue if you're close to a cliff edge as you can be thrown off or when you have a lot of enemies around you. After swinging this weapon it can take a few seconds before you can start running away again or deploy your defenses and that will result in more damage taken.
DMR: If you're someone who is skilled with precision shots then this is going to be a God Tier weapon for you. You'll find the DMR in many different areas throughout the game, the most common are the UNSC supply lockers which are scattered about on almost every mission. The reason this weapon is so good is because once you get rid of your target's shield all it will take is one shot to the head to take them out. All in all it will be about 8 shots from the DMR at most to remove their shield then one in the head. If you'd like to save ammo you can remove the shield with a Plasma Pistol instead.
Needle Rifle: Essentially the Needle Rifle is the Covenant version of a DMR with the bonus of being a Needler. Much like the DMR this is a precision weapon that will instantly kill an enemy if you hit them in the head without a shield on. Like the Needler, enough shots with a Needle Rifle and your target will explode in a pink burst. The amount of body shots you need changes depending on the enemy you're fighting but it's a viable alternative to head shots for people who aren't great with precision shots.
S Tier
Sniper Rifle: Sniper Rifles are insanely powerful and during the Campaign whenever you're given this weapon you're typically given a ton of ammo to go with it. When using a Sniper you'll be able to take out pretty much any target in the game with one shot to the head. Sometimes the gold Elites will take 2 shots, or the Chieftain Brutes, but they're the exceptions. If you miss the head and hit them anywhere else on the body then it'll take one shot to remove the shield and one shot to take out the target.
Rocket Launcher: The Rocket Launcher is an S Tier weapon because it's a Rocket Launcher. It only has two shots per magazine but deals a lot of damage and has a high splash radius. Normally when you're given this weapon during the main Campaign there will be plenty of ammo for you too - which makes it even better. All in all this is a very solid weapon and I recommend you use it when it's available.
Fuel Rod Cannon: A Fuel Rod Cannon is the Covenant version of a Rocket Launcher and it's a little bit different in a couple of ways. This one has 5 shots in total and the balls of radiation that you fire with this weapon can ricochet off of surfaces and change direction. If you shoot a surface at a 75 degree angle it will ricochet off the surface. My advice is to try and shoot at less of an angle when you don't want it to ricochet. Other than that the only noticeable difference I feel that's worth mentioning is I think this weapon has a smaller splash radius than the UNSC Rocket Launcher.
The DMR is probably my favorite weapon in Halo: Reach
A Tier
UNSC Grenade Launcher: Once you learn how to use this weapon it can be pretty powerful - in the wrong hands though it's a pretty terrible weapon. From everything I have read and tested myself, the best way to use this weapon is via ricochets. Normally you want to bounce the grenade off the ground in front of you and into a group of enemies. Shooting it directly into a pack of enemies typically will not result in any kills. One other thing I can mention with this weapon too is that it has two different firing modes. If you fire your weapon and hold down the fire button the grenade will not explode until you release the button. This allows you to shoot further distances or create a land mind style trap for enemies.
Spartan Laser: Spartan Lasers are another UNSC power weapon, this one is comparable to Rocket Launchers but I believe a little worse due to the charging up nature of the weapon. The downside of this weapon is it has to charge up before you can fire it; the upside is once you fire it there's no delay in hitting the target. With the Rocket Launcher you have to wait for the rocket to fly through the air and make contact. This gives your target some time to react and dodge which is a downside (for you). When you're using the Spartan Laser the laser beam has no travel time to hit the target and better yet it can go through your target and hit additional enemies behind him. A direct hit with the Spartan Laser is a one shot, which is another upside of this weapon. I'd say this weapon is best for taking out larger vehicles from a distance like a Wraith.
UNSC Assault Rifle: You start with the UNSC Assault Rifle on most missions and also after a lot of cutscenes during the Campaign. It's an ok weapon overall, it'll take you more than an entire clip of ammo to eat through an enemy's shield and kill them which kind of sucks. However, against Grunts, Jackals and enemies without shields this weapon is pretty solid. Ammo for this weapon is also plentiful on basically every mission which is the main reason I have put this weapon so high on the list.
Plasma Pistol: The legendary Plasma Pistol, I put this weapon pretty high on the list for two reasons, Noob Combos and the EMP effect added in Reach. A Noob Combo is when you hit someone with a charged Plasma shot to drop their shields and then you finish them off with a shot to the head. Technically not a Noob Combo, it's the most viable way of dealing with many enemies on harder difficulties. The EMP effect is something new that Halo Reach added - hitting a vehicle with a charged Plasma shot will immobilize it for a short period of time. You can use this against Banshees as well to knock them right out of the air!
B Tier
UNSC Pistol: A Magnum aka the standard UNSC Pistol is a deadly weapon in the right hands. The value of this weapon comes from its ability to one shot an enemy without shields if it's a headshot. So what it comes down to is if you're good at lining up headshots this will be a very powerful weapon in your hands. If you're not a precision shooter then this weapon will be complete garbage for you. Normally I will use this against Grunts and Jackals when they come out during the first few waves then drop it for something better.
Needler: I put the Needler right next to the Magnum because they are both pistol side arms and are of similar strength. That's about all they share in common though because these two weapons are vastly different - the Needler is a spray and pray weapon whereas the Magnum is a precision weapon. When it comes to using the Needler you want to be pointing in the direction of your target and that's about as accurate as you need to be. Needles will track their target to some extent so even if they strafe side to side most of your needles will hit him. If enough needles hit him they'll explode and instantly kill your target + damage other targets around it. The only advice I think I can give you with this weapon is to learn how many needles you need to fire to make your target explode. Also, learn how many extra/less needles you have to fire depending on how much your target is currently moving.
Concussion Rifle: A Concussion Rifle is a new weapon added in Halo Reach that is used by Elites and Brutes; typically the "commando" types that are leading a unit. Think of this weapon as a Fuel Rod Cannon just half as powerful. Each shot moves at about the same speed as the Fuel Rod Cannon but does half the damage and has a much smaller splash radius. It will take 2 direct hits to eliminate a shielded Elite or Brute with this weapon and 3 or 4 indirect hits. The only nice thing I can say about this weapon is that ammo is plentiful for it because many Elites use it.
C Tier
Plasma Rifle: The Plasma Rifle is an ok weapon that has been a part of every Halo game since the beginning. Much like the Grenade Launcher that we talked about earlier, this weapon is strong in the right hands but weak if you don't know how to use it. A Plasma Rifle will deal bonus damage against shields and less damage against flesh. This means it's best used against shielded targets. One other thing to mention is that the closer this weapon gets to overheating the faster it shoots. If you're really good at timing it properly you can take advantage of the faster shooting without forcing it into overheating mode.
Plasma Launcher: The Plasma Launcher is a gun that shoots Plasma Grenades. You can shoot 1 - 4 grenades depending on how long you charge the gun up for. I personally don't like this weapon very much and I have used it a lot while doing the Plasmafight game modes. One of the biggest issues this weapon has is ammo. You're probably going to get it at 3/4 ammo (at best) and that gives you 4 - 6 grenades and that is it. Unless you use the weapon at the perfect time you won't be scoring many kills with it and another complaint is it's hard to determine exactly how many grenades any given situation calls for. You got a group of enemies coming at you, should you use 2? 3? All 4? With how the weapon is designed this calculus becomes more difficult.
Storming the beach on Long Night of Solace
Garbage Tier
UNSC Shotgun: Ever since Halo 3 the Shotgun has gone downhill rapidly and in Halo Reach it's been nerfed to having niche uses only. The Shotgun is powerful close range against all enemies without shields and it can take shielded enemies down in two shots if you're close enough. The biggest issue I have with this weapon is how close you have to be in order to get a killing blow. I recommend you play Infection multiplayer for a bit and you'll get a good feel for how close you have to be to your target to hit them with this weapon.
Plasma Repeater: It's like a Plasma Rifle just worse in every way. Unlike the Plasma Rifle this weapon does not deal more damage to shields, it also has less ammo overall. You can get a solid breakdown about the differences between these two weapons by reading the Halopedia Plasma Repeater page. Ultimately, it's like I said - it's worse in basically every way.
Spiker: Out of all the weapons in the game I believe this to be the worst one. A Spiker is essentially a crappier Needler. It works more or less the same way except it doesn't cause the target to explode if you hit them enough times and it doesn't track the target when you shoot. The best thing I can say about this weapon is that ammo availability is very high typically because Brutes are common.
Focus Rifle: It's like a sniper rifle that's worse than a normal sniper rifle in every single way. There's really no reason you should be using this unless you're in a situation where you have no other choice. Plenty of other weapons can snipe far better than this.