Type-52 Special Applications Rifle

The Type-52 Special Applications Rifle (or T52 SAR), more commonly known as the Focus rifle is a Directed Energy Weapon used by the Covenant Empire. So far, it has only been used by the Covenant during the Battle of Reach in August 2552.

Description
The Focus Rifle is a Covenant sniper-style weapon, that, despite its visual similarities to the Type-50 Sniper Rifle System, functions quite differently from its counterpart. It fires a continuous orange-tinted beam, similar in operation to a Sentinel Beam. The weapon is believed to be battery-powered, though the exact mechanism by which it functions is currently under investigation by the UNSC.

The beam will take approximately 1.5 seconds to kill a fully shielded Spartan, and is designed to emphasize more of a "tracking" skill set than other weapons because this weapon, being a sniper variant, does not feature any aim assist to compensate for its power. It is designed for ranged suppression rather than instant death, and is considered a power weapon. Its appearance and reticle is very similar to that of the Beam Rifle, with a 5-10x magnification scope. Unlike its counterpart, it sports a thermal-imaging screen on the top, much like the UNSC Sniper Rifle, but it just appears to be purely cosmetic, as it has very little use in gameplay.

Trivia

 * The beam-like nature of the weapon suggests that it could have been reverse-engineered from a Sentinel Beam and used some of the technologies from the Beam Rifle.
 * The Halo: Reach manual states that the main armament of the Scarab is an "ultra-heavy focus cannon." This implies a similar operating mechanism to the Focus Rifle, coupled with the power of a Fuel Rod Gun.
 * The Forge Monitor in Halo: Reach appears to possess a Focus Rifle. It appears at the top right when the player first switches from a Spartan to a Monitor, and can fire for about 1 second.
 * There is a slight delay between pressing the trigger and firing.
 * It has relatively low damage compared to the UNSC Sniper Rifle, and it is quite visible and audible when firing. Despite this, if a target is unaware or caught in the open they are very easy targets; the Focus Rifle can eliminate a fully shielded Spartan in less than a couple seconds, and is a very effective long-range suppression and support weapon.
 * Despite being known as a Sniper Weapon, you can not get a Sniper Headshot medal with the Focus Rifle.
 * At times the Focus Rifle appears to become more powerful the longer it is fired. Whether or not this is an illusion is unknown; it may be because it does more damage to flesh than shielding.
 * On the Firefight maps Waterfront and Unearthed, Jackal Snipers with Focus Rifles will spawn on one of the background hills, and can be deadly to weakened players who are not aware of their surroundings.
 * The Focus Rifle is mainly used by Ranger Sangheili and Kig-Yar specialists.
 * It's name (Type 52) is a reference to 7. (5+2=7)
 * This weapon, like its successor, the Beam Rifle, appears to be a scaled down version of the Energy Projector.
 * This and the Plasma Repeater are the only Covenant weapons to do more damage to health than to shielding.
 * The Focus Rifle has a slight resemblance to the Halo 2 Beam Rifle, notably the barrel.
 * In Forge, turning into the Monitor will sometimes show the icon of a Focus Rifle. The game may have originally meant to make it so Monitors could fire, like a Sentinel Beam, but it was cut from the final game.
 * It has much shorter range than the Sniper Rifle, as evidenced by trying to fire at enemies from a very long distance.
 * This weapon is one of only two non-rocket launcher weapons that have a scope but cannot be used to get a headshot. The other being the Silenced SMG.
 * The focus rifle's beam actually stops after a certain distance, whereas the sniper rifle travels across maps. This is aware if you fire a focus rifle in the Coliseum.
 * Unlike the rest of the weapons in the game, the Focus rifle seems to have just one melee animation to the other weapons' two.

Appearances

 * Halo: Reach

Related Pages

 * Beam Rifle