MA5B Individual Combat Weapon System

The MA5B Assault Rifle is a bullpup (magazine behind trigger) fully-automatic rifle. Its magazine can completely fit inside the weapon; it therefore must be double or triple-stacked to carry 60 rounds of 7.62mm.

The weapon houses a compass-like ring and a display that shows the number of rounds in the magazine. It is the standard weapon used by the UNSC Marine Corps in Halo: Combat Evolved. Even though its use didn't continue into the sequel Halo 2, the weapon remained in solid infantry use in the background of the Halo universe.

Advantages
When fired in short bursts to increase accuracy, the assault rifle is effective at killing unshielded opponents and weaker enemies (especially when they are in larger groups) at short-to-medium range. This includes Covenant Grunts, Jackals (only when shield is down or when shooting their flank), and all variety of Flood. The assault rifle is also effective for destroying Banshees, Ghosts, and other Covenant vehicles (Campaign only). It is highly effective against Stealth Elites who attack with active camouflage. Aside from being able to quickly cut down these unshielded Elites, the high rate of fire disrupts their camouflage and makes it very easy to center on them for a quick finish. Also, if needed, the high rate of fire and the high ammo capacity allows players to spray the whole area with suppression fire.

As an added bonus, the gun gives the player an at-a-glance ammo count on its digital readout, as well as an arrow pointing toward the gas giant Threshold (which acts as a compass).

The 60-Round magazine size is a bonus as it aids to mow down any unshielded Elites, Grunts, Jackals, or Flood which get in its way. The weapon also has the second fastest melee attack in the game, so you can unleash a heavy burst on an Elite, then melee attack him until you're splattered with purple "gloop". And yes, this also moderately effective against shielded opponents. The actual effect of the weapon depends on the difficulty setting in the game. On easy, the weapon can easily take down a shielded Elite in less than a full clip. However on basically any other setting the weapon is nearly useless against shielded enemies, and functions primarily as a Grunt and Flood infection form killer.

Disadvantages
The assault rifle performs poorly against shields and, in comparison with the pistol, is largely inaccurate. In addition, the assault rifle's high rate of fire necessitates frequent reloading. Later in the game, it is almost completely overshadowed by the shotgun; though in multiplayer this is less apparent, as the amount of ammo available for the shotgun is much less than for the AR. In comparison to real world assault rifles it can be more related to an oversized SMG as it is seriously underpowered.

Campaign Tactics

 * The AR is obviously the most inaccurate weapon in the game. At medium ranges, use controlled bursts of 2, 3, or 4 shots per burst.


 * Another way is to charge forward while firing in controlled bursts, then when in close range, break out into full auto, followed by a melee or two. This is a tried and true tactic for taking on the shielded Elites.


 * Another tactic for medium range AR combat is to "pulse" the trigger; in other words, rapidly press your finger down on the trigger. This will result in rapid, accurate, controlled bursts.This is very useful in the early levels of the game.


 * With a well placed grenade here and there, the AR decimates enemy ranks. Charge forward and toss in fragmentation grenades to clear out the weaker enemies and soften up the stronger ones, then before the dust clears hose down anything thats still moving.


 * When combined with a plasma weapon, the AR can be more useful than the M6D Pistol. Firing a charged Plasma Pistol shot or rapid Plasma Rifle bursts to take care of an Elites shielding, then knock out the Elite with your AR. This is especially useful on the Pillar of Autumn, where the tight corridors make necessary for excellent close range weaponry.


 * The AR has the only rudimentary compass in the game. On dark levels where it is easy to get lost, find an AR and look at the compass.


 * When combating the Flood with the AR, aim for the chest if its charging you, then when its stunned, shoot off its arms.


 * If you cant find a Shotgun, don't hyperventilate. The Assault Rifle will do as a Half Decent secondary weapon. When the flood get too close, just hold down the trigger and watch them wilt under the large volume of bullets.


 * Melee infection forms to save ammo. Though if your shields are at max, don't even worry about them.  Unless there's about 100 coming towards you.  Then the question is why have you been prancing about when there's a job to do?


 * The Assault Rifle can hold its own with a Pistol. On Normal it takes about 8 shots to kill a shielded Elite, so a good tactic is to pump 4 or 5 headshots to an Elite at mid range, then charge forward while firing your Assault Rifle to finish the rest of the shield and the unprotected Elite.

Advanced Tactics
The Assault Rifle is weakened for multiplayer. However there a couple things you can do to make the most of this weapon, when no other close range weapon is around.
 * The AR's accuracy degrades after EXACTLY 1.5 seconds of sustained fire. In order to use this weapon to it's fullest, you must learn the most efficient bursts to use at different ranges. Failure to do so results in missed shots, wasted ammo, and lives lost.
 * The AR's melee attack is extremely quick-- the fastest other than the Plasma Pistol. When up against anything other than a shotgun or a Plasma Rifle, use it.
 * When used with effective grenades, the AR can hold its own. Backpedal and use any grenade you have handy, and let the gun take care of your enemy after his shields are down.
 * In Halo PC, you have to lead your target, just like all of the other weapons. In the Xbox, this isn't a problem due to magnetism.
 * Bunny Hop with the AR. It's your best defense against anything but a sniper. But watch out for ledges!
 * When up against a Sniper (or in some cases, a pistol-wielder) use grenades and strafe in a circle. Only open up when you're within range. There's nothing worse then an empty magazine when you're finally able to take the kill.
 * Even at long ranges, you can still use the AR to protect yourself from snipers. Remember: it only takes one shot to knock them out of their scope! Use this when you accidentally expose yourself, or when you just need to get to a better position.
 * If your enemy is using a Banshee in multiplayer, this weapon is choice. Just point it in a generally upward direction and they will be dead in seconds.
 * If you're in co-op and your partner's shield goes down, tell them to take cover and use your assault rifle as a SAW (squad automatic weapon) and suppress the enemies. This tactic is very effective on the first level of Halo: CE.
 * On Multiplayer on PC, you obviously have to lead the target a bit because of the lack of magnetism, if you lead correctly though, the AR will tear right through them, especially if they jump, once they jump they should D-E-A-D. This tactic works on anything except the shotgun because of the shotguns better close range power. If your opponent has an RL or a Fuel Rod Gun, get close to them, because you might get lucky and the splash damage will kill them even if they kill you.

Variants
There are many different models and types of MA5 Assault Rifles. Here is a list of confirmed models:
 * MA2B Assault Rifle
 * MA3 Assault Rifle
 * MA5B ICWS Assault Rifle
 * MA5C ICWS Assault Rifle
 * MA5K Assault Rifle

Ammunition
The MA5B Assault Rifle uses 7.62mm x 51mm Armor Piercing, Full Metal Jacketed Rounds. These rounds are designed to pierce Human made armor and thus perform poorly against Covenant. The rounds are reasonably large, approximately .30 caliber, and are surrounded by a molded jacket of either steel or titanium, which enhances its armor piercing capabilities.

However, despite these advanced rounds, the damage done by these rounds is very limited, made even more so by the Assault Rifle's low accuracy at medium ranges. Although performing poorly against Covenant shields, the AP-FMJ round can easily penetrate the lightly armored Grunts and Jackals and finish unshielded Elites very quickly. The AP-FMJ round is especially effective against all manners of Flood, where its low penetration versus shielded opponents is made an advantage against these unarmored monsters.

In addition, the 7.62mm x 51mm AP-FMJ round (which is usually used in light machine guns) is also very effective against most manners of lightly armored vehicles. This causes the Armor Piercing rounds to be more effective against metalloid vehicles than the pure energy in shields.

Multiplayer Role
Since players in Halo multiplayer normally spawn with shields, the assault rifle's effectiveness is limited. It is often used only because more specialized weapons are unavailable. However, when combined with the plasma pistol (which can destroy shields quickly), the assault rifle can be a powerful short and medium range option. It takes about 15 accurate rounds to kill a spartan normally.

Appearances
The Assault Rifle was introduced as the default weapon in Halo 1. Unfortunately, Bungie did not like how the rifle behaved, so it did not make it into Halo 2 and was "replaced" with two weapons: the Battle Rifle and the SMG. This weapon will return in Halo 3 as the MA5C Assault Rifle. The full auto will be the same, but the Beta testing for Halo 3 so far shows better performance then the MA5B.

Novels
In the novels it is often noted that the weapon is very easy to modify and change its configuration. In the novel only silencers are noted but scopes, grenade laucnhers and other optional pieces of equipment could be used. Also in the novels the SPARTANS often used Shredder Rounds which are similar to jacketed hollow point rounds of modern guns which splinter on impact for maximum flesh damage.

Trivia

 * It is interesting to note that the sound effects for the assault rifle are also the same sounds as the M60 Machine Gun used in the US Military.
 * One inspiration for the MA5B Assault Rifle was the "MA–75B Battle Rifle (with integral 40mm Grenade Launcher)" from the Marathon series. In fact, before Bungie re-engineered the game for the Xbox, it was fitted with a grenade launcher. [[Image:F2000.jpg|thumb|The modern day [[Wikipedia:FN F2000|FN2000]]]]
 * Another inspiration is the MA5B Assault Rifle design seems to be taken from the M-590 7.62mm assault rifle of the USMC from 1995-1996 TV series Space: Above and Beyond.
 * Robert McLees at Bungie has gone on record comparing the basic design of the MA5B to that of the Fabrique-Nationale, FN2000.
 * If you stand close enough to a wall, you can write on it with the Assault Rifle. Anyone who has decals turned on will be able to see what you wrote.