Covenant weapons is the Needler. Named after the razor sharp crystals the weapon fires,

it's actual name is the Type 33 guided munitions launcher. According to sources, the crystalline

projectiles are believed to use heat or organic signatures to hone in on targets though they

don't attract to friendlies. But what if the needler was real? The needler range varies

game to game, but the average velocity is quite slow at only 8 meters per second. That

means that if shot from the master chief at ground level, it should have a maximum range

of about 5.3 meters. In the game though the range is much farther with significantly less

drop off. The weapon has two major means of damage. The impact and the super-combine.

On the needler most of the damage is done due to the super combine. The projectile was

traveling at a a lot faster rate, the impact energy and damage would be devastating. The

question is why does the needler fire so slowly. The answer may lie with the heat seeking nature

of the weapon. The range is significantly than what is should be from the initial velocity

and equations of motion. It's likely that the needle travels from a solid to a gas from

the inside out, almost acting as a propellant. If the material properties of the crystal

was attracted to organic material, this may be how the needle has the lock on mechanic.

It seems that the trade off is between the velocity and lock on potential. With an increase

in needle velocity, such as the needle rifle, the weapon looses nearly all of its lock on

potential. But gains in more precise projectiles that can pierce armor and are harder to out

maneuver. With the needler, we see an easier learning curve that doesn't require precise

fire from the operator. The rounds are less reliable against armor and are easier to out

maneuver, but an army of cheap untrained soldiers outfitted with the needler could be quite

devastating. The super combine aspect of the needler is far fetched in a lot of aspects,

but more believable in other. For example, there are some elements that violently react

with water. Potassium, Sodium, really anything in that column of the periodic table could

be use. It's possible that a chain reaction could take place. It's possible that a chain

reaction could take place, where more links in the chain, the more violent. It's also

possible that each needle is laced with a minor amount of explosives. This could explain

why when the needle is fired into the open air, the range is significantly limited just

by a minor explosion destroying the needle. Maybe the whole thing is on a timer, unless

the concentration reaches a certain point, the needle explodes. Needle ammunition also

isn't as damaging to soft targets due to lower kinetic energy and smaller impact area. Traditional

ammunition is used to maximize accuracy and damage. Needler ammunition simply isn't as

good at either. In the game, the needles are more like crystals, which may or may not make

them more devastating. If anything, the needler would be a terror weapon, intended to scare

people, not as a real high damage, high efficiency weapon. There are many unanswered questions

about how the needler actually operates, but we'll have to give the Covenant the benefit

of the doubt and just say they probably figured it out. That's all the time I have for today,

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