OMG Halo.com

Love it or hate it - most of you hate it - the Needler is one of the most infamous weapons in the Halo series. It's a handheld Covenant weapon that fires pink crystalline projectiles, otherwise known as needles. While Halo 3 gave the weapon a huge power boost, it did little to help its popularity.

It's been theorized that the Needler ammunition is related to plasma grenades due to the fact that they both react to living tissue. The Needler senses either heat or organic signatures and is able to home in on targets. After seven or more needles enter a target, they will explode and cause massive damage.

The Needler has been handled differently in all three Halo games. In Halo: Combat Evolved the weapon was single-handed and you could carry one a time. Halo 2 introduced dual-wielding, allowing you to carry two Needlers. Halo 3 also featured dual-wielding, but the Needler was changed to a two-handed weapon that much more like a rifle than a pistol.

Despite no longer being dual-wieldable, the Needler in Halo 3 is better than its predecessor in almost every way. It has an improved rate of fire, quicker projectiles, better homing capabilities, higher damage, and improved accuracy.

While the Needler is definitely improved, that doesn't necessarily mean that it's a good weapon. The needles it fires are still pretty slow and can be dodge fairly easily. They are also extremely ineffective against vehicles. Also, because there is a short delay before they explode, it's possible for an enemy to rush you and catch you in the blast.

So the Needler is far from perfect and it takes a special kind of man to shoot pink needles. It will never be a fan favorite but it holds a special place in my heart for being so damn odd.

Source: Halopedia

• << prev
• next >>