The Most Tragic Halo Weapon: The Focus Rifle

[@AscendHyperion]

Did you catch the question at the end? discord.com/invite/NPAQxGa

[@mrdonut3382]

Linda is thicc

[@SoulbentAnime]

This is a good video but you can still shred with the focus rifle in Reach multiplayer. But yes all your points are good. The binary rifle is more what they should've done. I would still rather pick up a focus rifle than the binary because I can dunk on enemies just as well with it. Same reason I pick up the spiker, smgs, or other weaker weapons in the Halo sandbox even though they kind of suck in multiplayer when compared to other more viable weapons. It's just because they're still fun to use. Very thought provoking and well done video though. Hope to see more of the worse halo weapons get videos lol

[@deepism]

Yeah I completely agree with literally everything you've said in this video, hands down. I like to think of the Focus Rifle as a long-range LMG that's good for putting pressure on the enemy and punishing them for stepping out from behind cover. I use it a lot in PvP and PvE, despite it's oddity it is quite useful if you don't use it like a typical sniper rifle. I honestly do hope that it comes back someday, maybe a little reworked but close to how it is in Halo Reach.

[@TheLastSterling1304]

In a way the focus rifle could have been a counterpart to the SAW. Instead of a pseudo-sniper, it could have been a long range surpression weapon forcing the player to keep their heads down without having "jackal snipers" problems.

[@adamjensen7001]

Your channel is going to blow up.

[@OscarKesh]

Such a good concept. A sniper that doesn't insta-kill you. In practice it's even more annoying to get shot at by this instead of traditional snipers

[@alexfrost2799]

I always like to call the Focus Rifle the 'anti-sniper rifle' because it seems like it was designed to force snipers to descope at long ranges. It's not good at killing, but it's awesome at preventing snipers from killing you

[@tmi1234567]

@@alexfrost2799 its also good way to draw attention to yourself and away from friends. If you use it properly, you can use it to take out tanks and snipers. It honestly is a great weapon imo

[@Windjammer19]

@@tmi1234567 Yeah, it was unique and filled a role no other weapon has. The closest thing was the Sentinel Beam, but that was close range and weaker I think.

[@josefidelmartinez3708]

I use it to tell my teammates where the enemy is. I go up in the highest part of the map and play as a lighthouse

[@areYouStillUpAt12]

It’s also great if you want to make some beacon in machinima

[@viktorreznov4718]

The focus rifle was great fun in “laser tag” customs (no shields and 200% or 300% speed, often with increased gravity to disable jumping). Jetpack laser tag was fun, too.

[@343Films]

I love your lectures on Jung. Had no idea you were a Halo fan!

[@viktorreznov4718]

@@343Films Yes, I am! Jung was, too!

[@the-thane]

...that sounds like a great idea. Why isn't this around in the Halo Reach custom game browser, yet??

[@c00lhand208]

Substitute the Focus Rifle for a Sentinel Beam within this custom and fun can still be had without the need for an odd weapon concept.

[@Shzl47]

I'll take Focus Rifle Jackals over Beam Rifle Jackals any day

[@GhostPotato268]

Yeah, your survival chance will drastically increase when you play on legendary.

[@Minimumholloway]

What if you could weild 3 weapons 2 main and a side, pistol or sub machine gun?

[@Shzl47]

@@Minimumholloway that'd be very interesting

[@GallowayJesse]

They should've made the beam rifle leave a sliver of health on Legendary instead of a one-hit kill.

[@Shzl47]

@@GallowayJesse you say that as if Halo 2 and 3 had health bars

[@greatcesari]

The sentinel beam was actually really strong. Giving it a scope isn't what makes it bad. What made focus rifle bad is simple: You couldn't trigger tap it, because there was a half-second lock up each time you stopped shooting. This threw all the suppressing fire capabilities out the window. The other reason it was bad is that the damage was horrible (1.3 sec ttk I believe). The heat-up timer was about 1.5 seconds, so you pretty much had to perfectly track your target, making the gun more punishing than rewarding. You're comparison with the binary rifle was interesting though, but I don't think the Binary rifle is simply an upgraded Focus rifle. I think all three weapons (Bin, Foc, and Snipe) have a place in the sandbox if designed properly. The Focus rifle just needs trigger tapping, and higher shield damage. Given the FR's high reserve ammo, you would have the ultimate suppressing weapon that causes pure annoyance, without it being a killing machine. Honestly you could have a balanced sandbox with the Binary rifle, focus rifle, sniper, beam, and sentinel as well if they were designed right.

[@colbyfife4709]

Honestly in reach itself after realizing the focus rifle having a huge utility for rapidly stripping a sheild at range and finishing with another weapon while still being viable in a closer range or even killing enemies with a surprising amount of viability. I discovered this usage more though Halo SPv3 at first and later came back to Halo Reach and finding similar utility from it (though not as strong as the SPv3 incarnation)

[@denseaf1582]

Dang, the idea of the Covenant having a long-range suppression weapon would be great for the sandbox IMO, would tie into the Plasma Rifle and Plasma Pistol being great utility weapons that are fun to fight against.

[@baalgar5530]

In my experience the beam rifle is op af lol

[@RNeeko]

The Focus Rifle takes 2.5 seconds to overheat, not 1.5 seconds luckily. That would make it way too hard to use. The problem with the Focus Rifle's design is that it's a weapon type that's very capable up close on a weapon without aim assist in hipfire making it near useless on a controller but extremely powerful on a mouse. Without a fire delay I think the Focus Rifle would just turn into an annoying troll weapon. A continuous beam weapon like the Focus Rifle just needs to not be a sniper and be more like the Sentinel Beam and actually be usable up close on controllers.

[@baalgar5530]

@@RNeeko am I the only one who finds the focus rifle to be better than the sniper?! I play on xbox with a controller!

[@nkosig4995]

Have you ever heard the tragedy of the focus rifle the wise?

[@SageLatrans]

It's not a tale the devs would tell you

[@milobalcziunas8321]

Whether we wanted it or not. . .

[@tartarussauce2498]

@@milobalcziunas8321 we’ve stepped into a war with the Cabal on Mars.

[@kevinortiz4755]

Our recon plane vill find zem!

[@vexmythoclast1721]

@@tartarussauce2498 mission failed we'll get'em next time

[@LightbladeRiulo]

“Less than impressive weapons” *Shows off Plasma Rifle.* Hey leave my boy alone. He’s trying his hardest. I wish he makes a full recovery.

[@LordEmpyreal]

The poor Plasma Rifle. My favorite weapon in CE, complete trash in Reach (still used it though, on the few forged maps it actually appeared on because I love it so much). In Halo 3 it was okay, Dual Plasma Rifles and the Plasma Rifle/Mauler combo were pretty much the only two viable dual wield combos in the game, total sleeper weapons, messed BRs and Shotguns up respectively. I don't want to talk about Halo 2's Plasma Rifle though... Basically the only saving grace of it was the SMG and Magnum and that wasn't saying much.

[@shanez1215]

Plasma Rifle -> melee was really strong in Reach, and due to no melee bleedthru you'd win 85% of the time easily. The Plasma Repeater on the other hand....

[@Imghostiettv]

Dual wielding killed the Plasma Rifle imo. It was meant to shred shields and they nerfed it for 2 and 3 to the point you needed to dual wield it. Reach had a better one but was rarely on any Maps due to the Plasma Repeater

[@Leo.23232]

@@Imghostiettv not really true, single wielded plasma rifle in 3 i think is better, they added damage penalty to dual wielding

[@Madameflare]

@@Leo.23232 not true. The weapons were nerfed across the board if they had dual wield potential

[@Joe-hm1zk]

I swear I remember the focus rifle absolutely MELTING in the Halo Reach beta.

[@serinahighcomasi2248]

It _did_. That’s why they (rather excessively) toned down the Focus Rifle in the actual gameplay of Reach. Hopefully Infinite will give us a better and improved Focus Rifle. I love that thing’s design.

[@BungieStudios]

A lot of guns were nerfed in retail. The vidocs even joked about Sage nerfing everything. The TTK was made insane. Lower damage, higher health, increased bloom and spread, all of which do not blend well with the limited ammo capacity. The only thing not nerfed were grenades. They're called nuke nades for a reason. A single grenade can wipe out an enemy or clear a hall of people. The amount of damage they do quickly to health and shields in a short amount of time compared to the weapon sandbox is a reminder of what was. Grenade spam and Armor Lock become the go to strategy.

[@arcblooper2699]

The Beta was so much better than the retail game

[@BungieStudios]

@@arcblooper2699 Spartans vs Elites was the shit.

[@leoanathetiger6814]

@@BungieStudios I swear, I absolutely hate armor lock, I don't know why the developers thought it was good the way that it was

[@TheLastSterling1304]

In a way the focus rifle could have been a counterpart to the SAW. Instead of a pseudo-sniper, it could have been a long range surpression weapon forcing the player to keep their heads down without having "jackal snipers" problems.

[@johnmadden9814]

“The year 2010 the game still has to come in around 7GB” 10 years later: Call of duty war zone + Blackops Coldwar being a combined total of 3 xboxes in one patch

[@kenet362]

There’s technical reasons for it

[@anelguzman8730]

@@kenet362 yes and no. They also lack the interest of creating a more optimized code, but granted a online game add content every patch. But definitely I would rather have better and less obnoxiously sized games than a full ssd just for cod.

[@FatelDarkAssassins]

@@anelguzman8730 From my understanding one of the reasons that game is so large is they purposely have redundant texture/shader data (to decrease load times and increase performance for consoles and low end pc's)

[@lowrld9716]

@@FatelDarkAssassins so you’re telling me its not the extra weapon blueprint they dish out every fucking day

[@HaloSlayerPro]

The focus rifle HAS a purpose, it’s a nuisance gun. It staggers that hell out of everyone in MP. 😂

[@BungieStudios]

It's the Halo: CE plasma rifle of Reach.

[@Sammie1053]

That and anti-vehicle! Somehow can't find a rocket launcher, grenade launcher, plasma launcher, or spartan laser launcher to take out that unarmored vehicle? Just grab that focus rifle gathering cobwebs in the corner and melt the driver/gunner outta there in two short bursts of fire.

[@MrBucket9158]

I Still love the Focus Rifle, it just feels so fun to use! Like a mini glassing beam Edit: Thanks for the 85 likes!

[@argo9721]

I hate it because it should’ve just been a sentinel beam

[@bagelman7621]

@@argo9721 but that doesn’t make sense for the timeline

[@MrBucket9158]

@@argo9721 you're too close minded, you should be thinking "Is it too much to ask for both?"

[@argo9721]

@Floofy Floof he literally says in the video how stupid it is to handicap yourself to the campaign

[@theglitchcounter264]

@@argo9721 yeah he says that but it is a dumb comment for a game known for its universe and lore.

[@nikitasavtchenko4418]

Not gonna lie, I actually like the focus rifle a lot. I think I could see it in Infinite but maybe to could make it consume ammo faster and do more damage.

[@ItsButterBean1020]

Alternately Rework it as an anti sniper rifle Powerful suppression that descopes fools

[@ChaplainJoshua]

@@ItsButterBean1020 I like the cut of your gib.

[@jacobaurelius5361]

@@ItsButterBean1020 it’s good in the campaign on legendary for taking out elite shields

[@oceanbytez847]

"Halo reach to be released in 2 short years" Ohhh yeah.... i almost forgot there was a time in the past where AAA developers didn't vomit a horrendously half baked game every 6 months... Those were the days lol.

[@Skyfoogle]

video game development time has actually increased since then

[@iCore7Gaming]

6 months to make a game? Since when

[@delagarzabrothers2525]

@@iCore7Gaming I think op is referring to CoD

[@helloigo]

Aren’t we on like year 7 of waiting for halo infinite 😂

[@highviewarts]

It's interesting how Halo 5 has the sniper rifle, binary rifle, beam rifle, aaannnddd the sentinel beam, and they they all have a unique place in the sandbox. I think many would disagree with me, but I think 343 did pretty great with Halo 5's sandbox

[@GhostPotato268]

It's the best sandbox in any halo game yet

[@SaltyKoalaBear]

@@GhostPotato268 lawl the sandbox is trash. A bunch of powerweapons that are way to strong and way to easy to use wouldn't be my definition of the "best sandbox"

[@argo9721]

@@SaltyKoalaBear it’s better than Reach I’ll tell you that

[@alexfrost2799]

@@SaltyKoalaBear you mean a bunch of weapons that are actually viable, even by more skilled hands, as opposed to a series of weapons that are dropped immediately and virtually never used. Because that's what you're insinuating. Halo 5 at least makes it so its weapons feel useful one way or another

[@SaltyKoalaBear]

@@alexfrost2799 hahahaha yeah of course they are useful they require almost no skill to use

[@Wernissage]

I don’t I’ve ever killed anyone with the Focus Rifle, nor have I gotten killed by it. I don’t know if that’s a good or a bad thing...

[@nobudarsai9675]

I'm right there with you, in Invasion matches I always go for the Plasma Launcher or Fuel Rod Gun im not wasting time tickling demons with a Sentinel Beam and broadcast to the whole map where I'm at.

[@cesare_1302]

I don't know on matches but on legendary AI snipers with focus rifle are literal pain.

[@xxsuperdragonslayerxx]

I'm not sure if its meant to get kills, I see it more as a suppression weapon than a sniper

[@LordEmpyreal]

@@xxsuperdragonslayerxx It's not a sniper at all, it's a utility weapon. Have you ever fired it unscoped up close? It melts and it actually has proper aim assist like other non-sniper weapons. It's basically the strongest DMR and AR-style weapon in the game.

[@yuchenchen8012]

@@LordEmpyreal Yeah, I've occasionally used it like an AR (and have seen it used against me) It definitely hits a lot harder than the DMR or the AR

[@DNCzZDatNinjaCupcake]

Idc what y'all say it's good and perfectly balanced. Best counter to the normal sniper they can't see while getting shot and completely de scopes the player. Plus really good ammo capicity

[@gietpudemee9155]

7:12 Both actually! The focus rifle at least to me was pretty effective in close to mid range combat (it's the only 'sniper' type weapon with which I can consistently get kills [yes, I'm that guy that's just trash with the sniper]), and the Binary rifle is a good long range weapon (and a fun one on that), that can also be used as a shotgun if there's no other choice (it's better as emergency shotgun than other snipes because you don't have to hit the head for a one shot kill).

[@azistis_5539]

Ascend Hyperon can you do a video on the Prometheans? What they added, what they took? Why people hated them, why some loved them. Maybe you can bring people from the community to talk about their feeling towards them?

[@hewhoisknownastaco]

I second this

[@exoticbutters4212]

I third this

[@Windjammer19]

Shit I'll talk about it with your right now.

[@azistis_5539]

@@Windjammer19 Yes You can talk about what you feel about them.

[@Windjammer19]

@@azistis_5539 I guess I'll start by making it clear I don't enjoy fighting them, but I don't think the are a bad idea. Generally my feelings toward 343i is that they have ambitious idea, but either fail to realize them or poorly implement them. Prometheans to me feel like a mix of Covenant and Flood. Unfortunately Flood was designed to be annoying to fight, and the design philosophy kind of shows in H4's prometheans.

[@mrkookoa9427]

The new intro is... WOW

[@theuberunit6547]

I now view Locke a lot differently now...

[@TheCitedAviator]

Fresh baked

[@StepCrow]

The focus rifle is actually one of my favorite weapons in reach.

[@Wepospalient]

Glad you noticed it with the Binary Rifle, I've thought that since H5. "This is just the focus rifle done right."

[@willmurrin9344]

All they needed to do was slightly reduce the kill time and this gun would be viable and fun to use. It was actually pretty good in OG reach before the reduced bloom title update. Bloom weapons were given faster kill times and this gun was left untouched.

[@linnealager6146]

Most things were better before title update, even if bloom was a bit annoying. The game is totally unbalanced now.

[@flarefox3118]

“The multiplayer should never be limited by the single-player campaign,” whilst I agree I think it’s less about the single-player limiting the multiplayer and more about the setting of the game. Recorded sentinel activity on Reach ranged from little to none at all, so it’s highly unlikely their would be any sentinel weapons present.

[@dronz3881]

Forge World is legitimately on a halo.

[@flarefox3118]

@@dronz3881 It’s in Reach as a familiar play area for nostalgia sake as well as because it’s hardly a Halo game without the Halo. Not to mention, it’s 1. Non historically accurate in terms of the lore unlike the other maps you can play on and 2. It has no connection to the setting at all, it’s only a throwaway map.

[@YRbsthswyirwrwwfbjkndaacbnloiy]

This ain't call of duty

[@lapotato9140]

thats what he mean meant, though. hes talking about the setting of the campaign or story causing the multiplayer to try to match up with it despite the experience of multiplayer being about the gameplay itself and not contingent "who was where and when" or canon/non canon issues.

[@RoseSupreme]

If it just did more damage and didn't have a delay between shots, it would've been a decent/solid weapon. With some Reach weapons rumoured to return (according to toys) in Infinite, I think the Focus Rifle is one of them - if it does return, I hope they show it the justice it deserves.

[@m808bscorpionmbt3]

The focus rifle was one of my favorite weapons and i was hoping they'd bring it back. Its fun to use against people.

[@gnalvl3682]

It's a mistake to assume that the Focus Rifle's role in multiplayer was actually a priority. Clearly its main role in the game was to make Jackal Snipers more tolerable in campaign. The gradual damage gives players more time to react and more ability to see the sniper's position, which leads to more counterplay in a literal aimbot scenario. So it's no surprise that the Focus Rifle isn't great in multiplayer; it was literally meant to be bad at killing players.

[@JackalSniperSnipez]

I really like this weapon, but it’s just so just “why”. I mean, I still really like the focus rifle but why can’t it be better?

[@nathanwhiting5475]

I still remember my first reactions to the focus rifle. *gets shot by laser beams from far away jackels* "The fuck was that? Is that a beam rifle?" *kills jackal and picks the weapon up* "Holy shit its a fucking dragonball sniper, this is so cool" *tries killing enemies with it* "Nevermind it's shit." *never picks it up again to this very day*

[@SAClassHunterZero]

I booted up Reach Multiplayer not too long ago... everyone was like, 'Focus Rifle go brrrrrrrrrrrr', picking it up and using it at point blank lmfao

[@quinn8599]

Got fucking blasted by 2 dudes using it. The community has a strong sense of shitposting with "bad weapons" when they hear something is bad

[@SigTheSauceMan]

Without the Focus Rifle, the "get out of 'Tip of the Spear'" glitch wouldn't be possible.

[@nicholassagert]

The tickle beem returns

[@jamal3298]

The focus rifle is the best sounding gun in the game tho. The hunter fuel rod gun is a close second

[@bulldogsoccer222]

I don't think that the Focus Rifle was "inferior" to the Beam Rifle or Binary Rifle. It was just different and used differently. It's main usecase wasn't supposed to be a hyper leathal power weapon. It was to combat enemies at range by not allowing them to scope in on you. I think it could have been done better, but I think that that was clearly the intention. H5's focus on weapon leathality over everything else made the game feel rather bland, as most weapons feel like they fit similar roles. The Beam Rifle is essentially a sniper reskin, with obvious differences, but overall is used in the exact same way. The Focus Rifle could have probably been slightly more leathal, but as a ranged support weapon that is annoying as shit to fight against, I think it was super successful.

[@doodoothedishonored9093]

I just like messing around with the beam rifle, just turn on bottomless clip in firefight and see how long you can keep the trigger held down until your hands go numb

[@SSGLGamesVlogs]

Since the Focus Rifle quickly reminded me of Quake II's Plasma Beam, I was able to see coming it's pros and Cons: Inferior damage/energy efficiency for superior accuracy. At medium to long ranges, I decided to focus on enemies who where already engaged as well as causing disruption on others before hiding. I remember that I though not to come with a kill mentality. I managed to do significant harm weakening opponents so that others could have an easier time dealing with them. I used controlled streams whenever possible. I remember there was something else about the Focus Rifle. If memory serves, due to the nature of this weapon, if you get hit from the front, the energy dispersal creates a semi-blinding effect, making it difficult to see. Especially, if you get hit on the head of course.

[@AriaLunaCampbell]

There is a conceptual "what could have been" idea I've had for the focus rifle for awhile now since I first watched this video. One that takes into consideration the melding of the two different firing types and even the name. Basically, instead of a steadily increasing overheat mechanic with a long cool down after maxing out and a long continuous beam you'd have a short charging period where you line up, or focus, your shot, perhaps with a laser to warn players they're being targeted though with a somewhat short reaction window, and then a shorter continuous beam, long enough that an experienced player may be able to escape certain death but short enough there's a tight window that requires skill to escape, followed by a shorter cooldown after the shot. Or, yes, in other words, make it a spartan laser with a tighter, quicker beam, shorter charge, less damage, especially against vehicles, but a greater headshot damage buff and shorter cooldown. I do get that the way I described it as such does draw attention to the fact it would be less like the sentinel beam or beam rifle but I also had this idea after I realized that the spartan laser honestly better combines the damage types and functions of both weapons than the focus rifle does by making compromises like requiring a charging time for the beam and giving the beam a shorter duration. Plus , heck, if you still want the full, continuous, lower damage beam the binary rifle shows that you can have a separate mode for that when unscoped. If the shorter cooldown time is a concern for having the two beam modes you could balance that a bit by making the cooldown longer if you max out the overheat meter by a larger amount so if you pop off a scoped shot after nearly overheating when unscoped it will take longer to cooldown than just firing a scoped shot or just firing unscoped would. Is this a perfect idea? No, spartan lasers may be able to be avoided but it can still be difficult against a good player and shortening that charge window would reduce that further. Lowering the damge so that a full shot would be enough for a concentrated headhsot kill could offset that by making body shots less likely to get a kill but even then it's tough. A shorter cooldown between shots does mean it has some ability to get followup kills and even two shot kills if your aim is imperfect but it'd be far less snappy than the beam rifle and the charge time alone isn't necessarily enough to balance in absence of overheating. You could maybe tune it for two quick succession shots before overheating but then it's worth asking how that could effect balancing with the second, continuous firing mode and how much it should take for it to overheat and how much more than maxing the overheat meter should effect the cooldown. All of this is why, much as I'd love to see someone play with this idea or even play with it myself, this will almost always remain as a purely conceptual idea for me. Could it work? Sure, I think so and I definitely think it'd fit better for a sniping weapon with a name like "Focus Rifle." Would it work? That's much harder to answer cause it'd probably take a lot more work and compromises while being a somewhat odd idea in the first place which is probably why Bungie either never thought of it in the first place or if they somehow did, which I doubt cause they're not a bunch of weirdos like me who tend to make really odd and out there connections, chose not to do it just for the time and work involved. Maybe one day when MCC makes some decent mod tools available I'll try seeing if I can do something like this in Reach, assuming I have the time, but as it stands it's more just an interesting idea I wanted to throw out there cause, well, it's better than having it always be trapped in my head.

[@VivaLaVal]

0:46 I can’t stop laughing at the guy trying to shoot you from the bottom of the bridge

[@gothiclycan2890]

I've messed around with the Focus Rifle in a custom Reach Firefight game with bottomless clip activated, and the FR is a surprisingly monstruous weapon when the overheat and battery are ignored. You can mow down even Hunters and Ghosts fairly quickly, and it absolutely shreds fodder-type enemies. Shielded enemies like Brutes and Elites don't last too long either. The range also helps, because it can eliminate grenade-throwing enemies before they get close enough to throw much of anything far enough to pose a threat. With bottomless clip and overshields active, it's possible to clear a whole round in Reach Firefight in mere moments with the FR. I will agree with some other users here, it does need some form of single-shot feature so you're not forced to hold the trigger for precious seconds to do any damage.

[@Arachnoslayer117]

The fun part about the Focus Rifle, was ontop of the melting potential, you can prevent a counter scope, forcing your opponent to either reposition, or "no scope" should they have you in the crosshair. To respond to the question at the end, I'd take the Focus Rifle over the Binary anyday, due to the fun of the Focus Rifle, and one additional key element. **Surprise Attack Potential** The Binary Rifle's "laser pointer" is visible to anyone, so utilizing it against Player A while it can get you the kill, basically alerts Player B on your position. You can always quickscope, but the "laser pointer" will show up regardless of how brief or long you stay scoped in. Intentional by design so that snipers aren't so obnoxious, the binary rifle kind of takes the cake for "least surprise attack potential" rather than a lens flare that we see in the later installations of the Halo Franchise. This gun is actually NOT "Tragic", but you do bring up some valid points...

[@shijiawei1327]

absolutely binary rifle, focus rifle is... basically a sentinal rifle with scope, binary is a proper sniper rifle.

[@LordEmpyreal]

That's because it's not supposed to be a Sniper Rifle. It's a utility weapon, and much stronger than every other option in that class.

[@smugreptile6695]

There is also the lore aspect as well. The Covenant take forerunner tech and reverse engineer it. Reach takes place before the first and second Halo games. With all the weapons appearing as either different or more prototype versions of the more compact weapons in the original trilogy. Lore wise, the function of the Focus and the Beam rifles is the same. The Focus rifle sends its charged energy stream at a slower rate, resulting in the beam. The Beam rifle is able to do the same, but at a more advanced capacity. Its able to fire off its charge of energy all at once in a single "shot". Combine this with the Binary Rifle, likely the weapon originally reverse engineered, having a second power system vs the Beam Rifle's solo system we see the clear lineage of the Covenant's reverse engineering attempts, and how they progressed. And then the Halo 5 binary rifle just decided to be different. As did most of the forerunner weapons in H5

[@MichaelBailee]

I thought a future Focus Rifle could home in on the "focus" part. Let it be a beam that focuses and thus intensifies as it's fired. It can hose up to 2 people if they're fairly close and someone has the finesse to prioritize. Eventually it focuses and intensifies to a point where it performs a piercing, headshot-capable beam and then overheats and locks up. Up to the player if they want to hold it down to that point, but the reward is there. I like the design of the Focus Rifle more than either version of the Binary Rifle. The beam visual would have to change to show that narrowing, focusing and intensifying. Unlike the Binary which requires a certain hit-rate, clever users of this (idealized and in need of play-testing) new Focus Rifle can even build up the charge at any time (at the cost of ammo/energy not being used on actual targets) and then they can snap to a target for the headshot moment, but if they miss there's the lockout and cooldown. I've thought about letting the absolute focused, piercing head-shot beam being sustained long enough to aim from the center of one head to another that's right beside it, but I feel that players who are good with high sensitivity might receive too much reward from that.

[@NatorGreen7000]

The simper kills in two shots if you don't get a headshot. The sentinel beam kills in two shots if you don't hold the trigger. The Focus Rifle doesn't. That's why it's bad.

[@jonathonberg5465]

Idk about the Gungoose man. Its actually really effective if used correctly. They could easily fix it by making it a motorcycle so that it has a smaller hit box

[@onikai7055]

The plasma rifle is good it’s not tragic wtf

[@nikitasavtchenko4418]

The thing got kinda shit after CE. Like yeah, it’s good for stripping shields but that’s about it.

[@onikai7055]

@@nikitasavtchenko4418 still good tho none the less

[@onikai7055]

@XEN0GEAR it’s decent

[@Windjammer19]

It kinda slays in H5 tho.

[@onikai7055]

@@Windjammer19 yea actually it does

[@jlk461]

That last question really needs clarification. The answer depends on what I am up against. Fighting A bunch of grunts and/or jackals at range I'd most likely go for the Beam rifle (its continuous fire and larger "ammo" capacity combined with its double scope make it rather effective in that role, like an assault rifle against grunts, and it is easier to hit a jackal's hand with, like a pistol followed by an assault rifle with no lag switching and all this at extreme range). But against shielded targets like brutes, elites, and other Spartans then the focus rifle no question (the one shot insta kill is just too valuable against such high health targets especially with recharging shields, if they get to cover before you can finish them off then they can become real bullet sponges and waste a bunch of your ammo).

[@mcgunboat8339]

In my opinion, the focus rifle is great, with friends. It is super annoying and intimidating to get shot by, yet draws enemy attention to you. I’ve gone on some long killstreaks with it (22 kills in one life once), but it is best with friends to you can distract while the friends flank.

[@ShadowWolfTJC]

Seems to me like the Focus Rifle, with its continuous beam, long range, and scope, would've been better designed to be a light support weapon, like the real-life M249 SAW, or even a minigun, both of which were designed for providing extended periods of suppressive fire with them being heavyweight (compared to an assault rifle) machine guns with large ammo capacities (sometimes belt-fed). Basically, if I were to have designed the Focus Rifle, I'd have taken Halo 2 and 3's Sentinel Beam weapon, slapped on a basic zoom scope, added in a quirk where the weapon would've needed a second to charge up to do full damage per second (like with many video-game chain guns that would require spooling up before their full rate-of-fire could be realized), but would've also increased the weapon's energy consumption and rate of heat buildup proportionately to the increased damage per second, increased the weapon's heat capacity in order for it to not overheat all that quickly (befitting a light support weapon built for suppressive fire), though perhaps at the cost of making the thing take longer to fully cool down (akin to adding a new ammo belt, since quite a few light support weapons were belt-fed weapons), ignored the desire to try to incorporate any more of Halo 3's beam rifle's functionality to the Focus Rifle besides the long range and added scope (both of which I felt were compatable to the functionality of a light support weapon, though not so much the rest of the beam rifle), and called it a day.

[@loyalgamer8966]

It's basically a support sniper, weakening the target from far range, and let allies take on the target. To me, it makes ranged weapons diversed, which is what halo reach does best with their weapons.... (Needle rifle and Plasma Cannon are Examples)

[@LordEmpyreal]

It's also the strongest utility weapon in the game. If you think of it as a sniper, it is functionally inferior to the Sniper Rifle, so I understand why a lot of people just don't understand what makes it great. If you think of it like a super-powered DMR though? Man you can wreak havoc with it.

[@Fufenscoops]

Focus rifle had one of the best weapon sounds iv ever heard

[@Liam_Patton]

Honestly I think I know how to fix it. If the focus rifle's trigger behavior was changed it would totally badassify the gun. If you hold down the trigger to build charge, and release the trigger to spend the charge as a single, perfectly precise hitscan shot, then the rifle can have all of the glory that it should have, while still feeling Halo-y. Imagine a rifle that can one-shot a fully-overshielded spartan anywhere on the body and overpenetrate to kill the normally shielded guy behind him and the unshielded guy behind them both in one shot. You just have to charge it that hard before you release the trigger and be willing to invest the risk of that non-fireable time. If you've ever used a laser musket in fallout 4, you can see how it works. You hold the trigger down to produce plasma and thermal energy into the firing mechanism, which is focused into a perfectly uniform beam as it goes. The entire reserve of ammunition can be placed into the chamber to be fired in a single shot that hits and penetrates as hard as all of that ammo would. Easily the strongest sniper in Halo when used with skill and preparation to balance the damage of the shot with the target's health, and it carries the mark of a true Halo weapon: Easy to use, Hard to master Most players would see it as a weak dmr or a spammable heavy pistol to deal with grunts. But skilled players would gradually pick up on exactly how long you have to hold the trigger down to one-shot an enemy based on how much they've already hit that enemy. Foolish use spends the magazine on either missed shots or wasteful overkilling, but wise and practiced use turns the focus rifle into a legendary weapon useful in all engagements and ranges. Just make its cooldown proportional to the charge level and it's balanced. I'd want to see it in Halo Infinite. Very similar vibe to Reach's Pro-Pipe

[@VaneWalker]

I feel like the primary reason Bungie replaced the beam rifle for the focus rifle was to lead to less frustrating deaths in single player game modes. A beam rifle can instantly kill or sentence you to death by completely stripping you of your shields. Whereas the constant dps from the focus rifle allows a player to find cover and engage the sniper and not loose as much health just from peaking. In multiplayer it was unique enough to find a place in the sandbox. It is more akin to a long range AR than a traditional sniper rifle. It's red reticle range also activated much closer than you would think allowing for medium range engagements with the gun unscoped.I always thought it was a fun gun to use.

[@warmasterjade8663]

Completely forgot that the sentinel beam gun even existed

[@alexanderelderhorst2107]

The way I see it, the sentinel was mid range and could do continuous damage. Since you were mid range you could advance before their shields recharge. Focus rifles are long range. By the time you make it to them (if you're not killed by another player) their shields have recharged and all your progress is eliminated. If you're sniping you need an instant kill weapon. It was only viable with the campaign ai that sits still in the turrets and stuff, or walks sideways slightly, but even then there is a limitation on focus rifles and you run out of the charge fairly quickly. Only thing it does is make it hard to get a headshot on the enemy ai because as soon as you scope back in you're hit again, that was the annoying thing.

[@AinrehteaDalnalirtu]

I feel the focus rifle was made purely for support vs main damage for a secondary long range tool. I have fond memories on large maps annoying the shit out of snipers in invasion while notifying teammates where to throw nades or direct some fire. From its beam being so disruptive to enemy snipers you basically, while alive, were the entire bane of enemy sniper teams and wanted dead. I don't think i put as much hours in games with the later rifle in the video talked about that or i just don't have fond enough memories to remember it.

[@slowflips_]

cant get over how slick the intro is

[@mitchellpatterson1829]

I'd like to see an MCC mod that makes all of the guns narratively consistent. There will be some redundancy, like having 3 magnums in all games, and both versions of the battle rifle, but some items can be incrementally upgraded like using the CE assault rifle in Reach, and using the 3 assault rifle from 2 forward. Then clean up with some ret-con, like replacing all the single barrel mounted MGs with detachable SAW LMGs.

[@BiomechanicalBrick]

I like how in Halo Online Eldewrito the sentinel beam's beam is 10 times less obtrusive than in halo 3, allowing you to actually aim with it properly

[@RS-ny8my]

I think the focus rifle is a good addition to the sandbox. It may not serve the same purpose as a sniper rifle, but it has great utility as a support weapon, being great for suppressing enemies, and is especially useful in attack/defend modes like invasion, pressing defenders to retreat or locking down certain long sightlines. Not every weapon needs the killing power of a sniper rifle. That said, giving it a 20% damage buff against shields would make it more useful. Think of the focus rifle like the concussion rifle. It’s not as powerful as a Fuel Rod cannon, but its rate of fire and high knock back give it some good utility. I’m not saying this because of nostalgia, I am saying it because I continue to use it in matchmaking and place it on invasion maps. It’s a pseudo-power weapon. Not a ‘real’ power weapon like the sniper.

[@Skyfoogle]

the only problem with the focus rifle is that on controllers the aim assist treats it like a sniper. on kb+m it feels more like the accurate ranged automatic deathbeam it should be.

[@ariara2194]

Loved picking up the focus rifle on reach. Fuck man you cant say it wasnt so intimidating when you were on the wrong side of it

[@pizza2264]

Always love your videos man, the quality is always so good and the topics are always so unique to your channel.

[@nkosig4995]

Lmao no game developers actually try to keep memory to a minimum. Plenty don't even compress sound files. Titanfall 2, has 20 GIGABYTES OF UNCOMPRESSED SOUNDFILES

[@trix6886]

The annoying thing about the focus rifle is that it constantly de scopes you when you are getting shot by one. I hate when I get stuck in a loop of trying to zoom out but the focus rifle already zoomed me out so when I press L it zooms in instead. Then I try to zoom out but the focus rifle de scopes me again so I just zoom back in and so on.

[@bluejayfabrications2216]

I always thought that the focus rifle was the covies gutting and referbing forerunner tech and that they were bad at it

[@LordEmpyreal]

Except the Focus Rifle was significantly stronger than the Sentinel Beam so...

[@AnEnragedWhale]

0:46 it actually made me mad that he tried to shoot you through the floor lol

[@colbyfife4709]

What surprised me is originally when I saw it and used it I hated it. Then I used a version of it in Halo SPv3, saw it as more of a utility weapon like the Plasma Pistol, changed how I used it in Reach, found great use for it to rapidly break a sheild at range and pop a dmr/pistol headshot for a quicker kill than just the DMR/Pistol/Needle Rifle/etc.

[@59hawks]

The issue is that sentinel beam is a support weapon, meant to get assists by rapidly destroying shields for your teamates, it does this better than any other plasma weapon in 2 and 3. The issue is that making it into a sniper muddles that use

[@CragynosII]

I think one thing they could have done was a two-pronged attack to an artificially inflated sandbox. One, relegate the human Sniper to an anti-personnel role, and the Focus rifle into a potent, scoped anti-vehicle weapon. High heat buildup and percentage drain per sustained beam, short beam bursts like the Binary rifle, but absolutely melts through vehicles. Just have it be a beefier cousin of the Beam Rifle. Two, drop the Plasma launcher, as it has essentially taken its role.

[@microproductions6]

I actually like the focus rifle, it's always a good alternative when there's no sniper around even if you do have to track your target perfectly and it does reveal your position. But it has enough ammo that if you are accurate you can get a decent amount of kills with it.

[@WhiteInk47]

I think it replacing the beam rifle is more so to balance jackals having access to beam rifles in 2 & 3. That was always the main issue with that gun in the games I think. Feels more like they literally just got rid of the beam rifle, the focus rifle really feels like just a sentinel beam balanced for Reach’s sandbox. Then they stuck it into the spot the Beam Rifle had so that jackal snipers could still exist in the combat sandbox. If they did somehow stick the sentinel beam in Reach’s story, bungie would’ve made it just like the focus rifle with the scope perhaps.

[@RNeeko]

The Focus Rifle is actually amazing on mouse and keyboard same as the Sentinel Beam. Not as a sniper but as a Sentinel Beam with a scope. Most of the time I don't even zoom in with the thing, because in that role it is actually very viable and kills people very quickly. It just sucks that with a controller there is no aim assist in the hipfire so it's almost impossible to make proper use of it. I always hated it during my 360 days but it's a completely different story now. If I get the chance to pick it up I will and just beam people from close to medium range with my superior damage output. It just doesn't really excel against other power weapons. The only way I can really even see it beating the sniper is up close by blinding the guy so he can't get a clear shot on you.

[@minorsmile0942]

the focus rifle actually rules in spartan assault and spartan strike, it functions more like a power weapon by having an ammo count of only 100 but it being stronger than the assault rifle, magnum, storm rifle, etc

[@o_o-037]

The SPv3 Focus rifle was better than the Reach version, but only by a margin.

[@swordmastersam483]

On maps where the Focus Rifle is the only "sniper" weapon, it really shines and becomes a major power weapon. However, the introduction of a UNSC Sniper Rifle to the same map makes the Focus Rifle pretty obsolete, a real 2nd choice weapon that may come in handy for counter sniping thanks to it constantly de-scoping its victims.

[@thedeekabides]

Did my guy just throw shade on my backup to the Focus Rifle? Needle rifle is gorgeous.

[@zepheth2479]

I never saw the beam rifle as a successor to the sentinel beam. I always figured it was just an interesting twist. I also never found the beam rifle easier to use compared to the UNSC sniper rifle.

[@TerrorOmnibus]

i think also the design of the gun doesnt help it either, same thing that happens with the StormRifle, it has the design of a long range rifle but its used for CQC? its conflicting, and while im on this, i think the DMR could have a bit of a longer design

[@kopperhed4472]

Look and feel wise, this might be the best designed weapon in the game. It sounds terrifying, and getting hit by it feels like your face should melt off or fuse armor to flesh. Style-wise, it fits the Covenant firearm feel and it compliments the horror of an overwhelming Covenant invasion. I don't think they were too far off with the design, in fitting with the game's style. The "constant damage application" niche is unique, and having this instead of the sentinel beam is a good in-game explanation and let's the gameplay stay diverse at the same time. It should not have been meant as a replacement for the beam rifle, but to expand the covenant aresnal. It's a shame they were limited by data size limit constraints.

[@Dayman420]

This and the comments just confuse me how is this gun bad? I don’t think I’ve ever picked the focus rifle up without getting at least a spree with it

[@LordEmpyreal]

It's basically a utility weapon with the power of an automatic. Consistent high damage with perfect accuracy at all ranges. The problem is so many people just try to use it like a sniper, which it works about as well as you'd expect for a utility weapon, they have time to take cover so it's not consistent unless the target is in the open. But it completely destroys compared to all the other utility weapons (and automatics) when you use it in the utility role instead.

[@Dayman420]

@@LordEmpyreal Yeah all of this is true but I mean I use it as a sniper as well, I just don’t open fire with it unless I know I can kill the person before they get to cover, if you put a full beam into their head it’s ttk is not that much higher than a regular snipers

[@clevernamegotban1752]

It certainly wasn't as versatile as the sniper rifle, especially the Reach sniper which was anti-everything. But its a fun weapon nonetheless you have to be patient with it and let people walk out into the open where they have no cover before you fire on them. Otherwise they'll just run into cover and you showed where you are.

[@bradl.602]

I always thought the needle rifle and focus rifle shoulda swapped roles. Beef up the needle rifle to a *slightly* inferior sniper on body-shots, and give it 5(?) shots before needing to reload. While we're at it make supercombine happen at two needles, making center-mass kills 3 shots(1 more than the UNSC sniper). Next nerf the damage of the focus rifle, and give it near-plasma rifle duration of uninterupted firing. You now have a semi-unique faction sniper and a _really_ unique mid-range utility weapon. The bonus of this is that Kat being killed via needle seems much for fitting.

[@dellylp_2882]

I don’t think this man has effectively used this weapon. It’s an underrated weapon and with great potential. I’ve had a blast using it over the last few months and will gladly pick it up anytime. It’s even effective at close ranges with its larger reticle. I’d just wish it was effective against vehicles. I know in game plasma weapons are not suppose to be used against them but, I think it would balance out Invasion. But, for a suppression weapon, I love it.

[@spartanking9807]

Glad someone finally gets it, the focus rifle is a BEAST in close quarters, the only thing that beats it is obviously the shotgun and sword

[@TReynard11]

Using the Focus Rifle in Reach Firefight with No Reload and Infinite Ammo with 150% jump and speed increase and you had never-ending Jedi jumping around, lightsabers crossing the whole map for days. Endless fun.

[@addy9961]

I honestly love the focus rifle as a sentinel beam type gun. On open maps I'll use it as a sniper where I can keep sustained fire on them before they get to cover, and on close and medium maps I basically never scope in and use it in that awkward range where you're too far for an AR and close enough not to think to switch to the dmr. Using it like that I can rack up kills with it. I don't think it's a bad gun at all, it just was poorly designed as this video stated, but in the correct settings/maps, it can absolutely slay.

[@wolfiecascade9589]

I think what could've made this "feel" better to use and be scared of is rly just increase heat per shot and its damage, so it becomes like a super charged sentinel beam

[@gideonvogt9093]

If an enemy uses it I get killed almost instantly but when I use it the thing just destroys my eardrums, overheats in seconds, takes like ten hours to cool down and the recoil makes me end up shooting the sky.

[@theeinqusition1]

I think the only way/time I used that weapon was I just brrrrrr an elite minor point blank range

[@otminealnamer1385]

I always used the focus rifle like a "better AR". Being continuous fire, you could effectively "spray" with it, except at much longer distances with much greater damage(reach's AR is a joke - thanks last-minute prelaunch nerfs for ruining all the fun weapons.) Never really used it as a sniper. In this full-auto mid-range weapon sort of role, you could outclass all other full auto weapons and most precision weapons. The amount of suppression effect it put on screen also has a sort of dazzling effect, making it somewhat difficult to aim back with, say, a sniper rifle. I think it'd be better if just had headshot capability. I modded in headshot capability to it in campaign and it's a pretty good weapon: not as good as the sniper rifle for elites or other "major" targets, but very good at rapidly taking out swaths of lesser enemies just by dragging the beam at head-level. Gives it an actual niche other than "enemy weapon to annoy you, but pointless for you to use."

[@danielmaspoch4314]

It's fast and easy to use when you are finishing up sniper challenges on MCC. Just increase its damage stats in Firefight and quickly get those challenges done by hip firing. Faster than trying to aim with a sniper rifle.

[@samuelpalmquist365]

I still feel like the beam rifle is too much of a sniper rifle clone, would never want it to be gone, it's been in the halo sandbox for too long. But the way unsc weapons and non brute covenant weapons(aka plasma based weapons) have been balanced to portray different roles were shield/health damage differences and/or range. I feel like the covenant sniper variation should somehow make it easier to use close range and be worse at longer ranges. Maybe with projectile travel time, damage or scope. So many ways to make it different more than just ttk or delay between shots. Due to banished being in infinite I'd prefer they have the slower projectile with explosive bullets, acting like a long range brute shot or slow projectile nornfang. While the beam rifle or its (in that case) new counterpart could act more like a high damage, small mag, shield busting hard to use at close quarters dmr or carbine. Working perfectly as a mid to long range weapon but with a way worse scope than the unsc and banished counterparts

[@samuelpalmquist365]

That way I feel like all factions would actually have different takes on the sniper for different playsyles too. Love how they got the binary rifle to stand out in halo 5. Other than that I have a hard time seeing any of the forerunner weapons fitting in the sandbox as they are, no specific forerunner traits for weapon as far as I know. Mostly working like a clone and could just as easily be replaced by other faction weapons. Humans have the just most basic, same damage all over, fast bullet tt. Non-brute covenant weapons do high damage to shields and vehicles with a slower plasma projectile speed Brutes(pre infinite) had alot of explosive ammo as far as I can recall, higher damage than covenant weapons but slower projectile speed. The banished seem to have bullet drop which gives them another trait but don't see any interesting traits for forerunner weapons in bost bungie era games

[@CrusadingJello]

The only time I saw the focus rifle... Perform decently, was when a clan fought another clan in a BTB, and used them as support to weaken shields for the vanguard. Other than that, normally you die before killing the enemy, cause you overheat, or tried using it like a genuine sniper rifle.

[@darthsackboy]

The Focus Rifle could've been similar to the CE Plasma Rifle with the slow effect, but, like, limit it to vehicles? Maybe slowly build up EMP on the vehicle or a continuous force applied to targets? I dunno, it just desperately needs a unique function, and this would be an interesting contrast between the Focus Rifle and the Sniper Rifle similar to that of traditional snipers and anti-material rifles (i.e. M82 vs M24 for the US military).

[@ripamoramee14]

I’ve wanted them to make this the primary covenant sniper rifle for forever now, hold the shot to get a body kill and one trigger pull is insta of it’s a headshot

[@TheOriginalJphyper]

You know, I actually designed a Firefight mode in which the Focus Rifle is the best weapon in the game. Basically, you one-shot everything, but everything also one-shots you. The Focus Rifle would be broken if not for the fact that you can't pick up dropped weapons until Round 3.

[@saltpoweredrobot5625]

Yeah, they should have made the Focus Rifle perform similarly to how the Binary Rifle worked in 5. But here's a question: if BOTH the Binary Rifle, and the Focus Rifle existed in the same sandbox together (perhaps alongside the regular Beam Rifle), how would you balance it THEN? My idea would be that while unscoped, the Focus Rifle performs exactly the same as it does now (a discount Sentinel Beam). This allows a sniper to retain their primary weapon and still have a means to fight back (People sleep on it, but the Focus Rifle is pretty strong in CQC, as its similar to how the regular Sentinel Beam worked in 2 and 3, and its added blinding effect is pretty powerful). BUT, when the rifle is scoped in, up the damage dramatically while decreasing the time it takes for the gun to overheat. Also, give it headshot bonus damage when the beam is kept focused on the head (and also allow kills in this fashion to award sniping medals... that was really annoying back in the day for challenges that required sniper kills and this didn't count). Possibly some aim assist could be added to help users stay on target, but it needs to be really subtle, and not so powerful that the gun basically becomes an aimbot laser. With these changes, it admittedly functions still quite similarly to the 5 Binary Rifle, but with some twists. The weapon functions well in a CQC situation, allowing the Sniper to adequately defend themselves, and the rifle rewards precision shots with kills. Keeping the rifle focused on a target's head will do enough damage to kill them with a second to spare before the weapon overheats, (which allows the user to let the gun cool down a bit before targeting another player), and if the sniper goes for body shots instead, then by the time the weapon overheats, the target's shields will be down, allowing for easy cleanup. This makes the weapon somewhat preferred for Snipers who prefer to move around, as the 5 Binary Rifle is really more suited to camping, and as the weapon is somewhat unwieldy (which makes sense, the gun is fucking huge). Granted, this is a lot of work to put into a weapon that only appeared in one game, did its job poorly, and is functionally similar to better weapons, so make what you will of my idea. I just like the idea of a massive collection of weapons to pull from, even if they are similar (like a really dedicated ONI tech spent years collecting literally every bit of Covie gear he could find as a personal collection for Spartans to use).

[@The5lacker]

I feel like the Focus Rifle could've been saved by leaning in on the Focus angle: Have each tick of damage increase so long as the previous tick was a hit and not a miss. Make it an OBSCENELY fast TTK for a continuous fire weapon: So long as your aim doesn't waver.

[@marygerry1896]

I like the gun. Once you get used to using it, it kinda slaps

[@waywardhero1177]

even if the game is old and "anecdotal" as you say, these videos are gold for future game developers and current ones as well. We are learning from someone else's mistakes so that we do not make our own.