Type-25 Grenade Launcher

The Type-25 Grenade Launcher (more commonly known as the Brute Shot) is a Covenant weapon favored almost exclusively by Covenant Brutes. It seems to fire a type of grenade similar to the Frag Grenade at very high velocities that bounce off of and around most surfaces, although originally it was supposed to shoot plasma grenade like projectiles. It was first encountered during Operation: FIRST STRIKE, where it was used to deadly effect against Spartans. The grenades seem to be Belt fed through the top of the weapon. The splash damage from this weapon is extremely high. It also has a very sharp curved bayonet near the back on the underside of it, which is used as a powerful melee weapon. This blade delivers a higher than normal amount of melee damage.

Tactics
In Halo 2, the grenades from the Brute Shot can bounce around corners and inflict heavy damage when the enemy is in a close-knit group. In Halo 3, Brute Shots can't bounce off of walls, or around corners. The melee attack on the Brute Shot is very deadly, depleting shields with one hit (two in Halo 3). With the recent updates on Xbox Live, a jumping melee is enough to kill a target. The halo 3 brute shot is often used to get to more elevated places like, the sniper tower on the multiplayer level The Pit.

The best way to treat this weapon is as a room clearing and scattering device. The Brute Shot can also make quick work of an unsuspecting enemy if you line your shots up before firing. But the most effective way of killing strong enemies i.e, Brute/Elite, is to fire rapid shots in succession into their torso, considering the fact that more tactical ways to utilize the Brute Shot are too hard to master, this is very effective in taking down a strong foe and much easier to use. Also it is a great use when there are groups of enemies after one round enemies should be weak and easy to kill or you can throw a plasma grenade to one of the enemies and shoot a whole round of the brute shot and the grenade of the brute shot and the plasma grenade will make a double explosion killing more enemies around. Despite the wide range of the splash damage, the Brute Shot is amazingly apt as a semi-close range weapon in the hands of experienced players, and while the blade is less accurate, slower, and lacks the "lunge effect" of the Energy Sword, it does nearly the same amount of damage and does not have the side effect of it glowing while you have Active Camouflage on, as well as having unlimited use. However, it was stated on bungie.net that a player has 115 hit points (45 body and 70 shield points). A normal melee attack (Without any special melee weapons) does 70 damage, but because of the Brute Shot blade, a melee attack with it causes marginally more damage (72 damage). Also, it takes around four grenades to destroy a Banshee or a Warthog.

This weapon is meant to be fired at the body, instead of the head, as with the recent updates on Xbox Live, two direct hits (4 in Halo 3) with the Brute Shot is enough to kill the target. If a target is moving, it is easier to aim it at the floor and have it bounce and hit the target instead of just directly hitting it. It is also important to note that this weapon fires in an arc, so one must compensate for accuracy by aiming higher when his target is farther away.

Another advantage, is the fact that the Brute Shot bayonet is effective against Brutes. A single swipe from behind is sufficient to bring a Brute down. From another angle, it may require a further two or three hits. When a Brute charges with their bayonet, an enemy must quickly dodge the oncoming attack and assault the Brute from behind with their own Brute Shot bayonet (this has to be done fast as a Brute can move extremely fast if he has you in his sights).

Due to the blade mounted to it, it is an effective anti-Flood weapon. A single swipe from the Brute Shot's blade will act like a sword swing and thus destroy a normal unshielded Combat Form easily. Unlike the Energy Sword however, it has unlimited swings for attacking, but is somewhat slower. The Flood Infected Elites who still have Energy Shields, require two hits with the blade. Also, because Flood are weak to explosions, the Brute Shot can also destroy them from a good distance. In all, the Brute Shot is ideal against Flood enemies, Jackals (since 1 hit with the blade sends them packing), Elites and Brutes. It is also effective against Grunts, but is of limited uses against Hunters. However, the Brute Shot is usually for more tactical approaches, such as killing the strongest enemy in a pack, and isn't an ideal primary weapon since it has very little ammo before reloading. In multiplayer, while an enemy is running across your screen, strafe while firing and you can make a sure kill. This weapon is mainly used by Brutes. Use by other Covenant species is unknown. This weapon is highly effective when the wielder is positioned higher than their direct opponent, as this wielder need only aim at their opponent's feet to inflict damage (an evolution of the tactic used by M41 SSR MAV/AW rocket launcher wielders).



Halo 3 Changes

 * Has a six grenade magazine, two more grenades than in Halo 2.
 * It has the normal explosion, plus an electrical burst.
 * Its grenades now do not bounce instead they explode on contact.
 * The blade looks smaller now and its melee attacks are only a little stronger than the other weapons in Halo 3 (Brute weapons equipped with a blade attachment inflict 72 points of damage on melee, rather than the 70 points that other weapons inflict).
 * The arc of the shots was greatly decreased, with the rounds barely arcing at all.
 * It also seems generally faster. The grenades come out of the barrel faster and they soar through the air faster. The melee attack also seems faster.
 * Its projectiles have a timed fuse that causes rounds that do not make impact with anything to explode in the air after approximately 3 seconds. The Halo 2 counterpart does not have a timed fuse and only explodes on impact.
 * The Brute Shot takes about 3 shots to kill whoever your going after or a whole magazine if you're aiming at their feet.
 * Just one direct shot and one beat will kill a person in multiplayer.'
 * In Halo 2 it takes 3 out of 4 direct shots to kill a player. In Halo 3, it takes 4 out of 6 shots however. This has made it easier to kill a target as in Halo 3, you need 2/3 of the shots to hit, compared with 3/4 of shots in Halo 2.

Character Compatibility

 * Elites
 * Spartans
 * Brutes
 * Flood Combat Form (Elite)
 * Flood Combat Form (Brute)
 * Flood Combat Form (Human)



Trivia

 * In Halo 2, you can use a Brute Shot as a type of Mortar and shoot targets that are too far away to shoot (Like many Brutes will usually do in Campaign). This is best used on slow moving vehicles (like a Spectre, possibly a Warthog), but this is impossible to do in Halo 3 because the grenades explode before they hit the ground if you aim too high.
 * The Brute Shot was designed to look deadly even when laying on a table.
 * This is the only weapon that shoots grenades.
 * Many players consider the Brute Shot among the cheapest weapons in the game due to its ability to take out nearly half of a player's shields in a clean slug.
 * The Brute Shot makes an excellent substitute for grenade jumping, getting you farther up than a grenade without a full depletion of shielding and health.
 * Brute Shots make for an excellent anti-vehicle weapon if none are around, especially against light vehicles.
 * If you look closely at the first-person animation during a melee in Halo 3, it looks almost as if the blade is spring-loaded, snapping out from the weapon a small amount as you swing.
 * In Halo 2 the magazine only held 4 grenades at a time as opposed to 6 grenades per magazine in Halo 3.
 * Flood Combat Forms can now wield Brute Shots with one hand.
 * In Halo 3 Spartans and Elites hold the Brute Shot with their second hand on top while Brutes hold on to the bar under the muzzle.
 * Brute shots are Dual-Use weapons. They can be used for shooting and melee.
 * In Halo 2, the Brute Shot could be used for clearing out enemies from around a corner due to the fact that the shots can ricochet of the walls as in Halo 3 the shot explodes on impact.
 * When reloading the Brute Shot, you can see visible shots hanging from a string.
 * The Brute Shot is favored by some for a "shot n' slash" tactic, where a player fires a grenade and slashes with the bayonet, killing a player in a few short seconds. This has been considered by some as a "BxR" style tactic for killing players.
 * It is speculated that Bungie gave the Brute Shot blades to compensate for the machete that was planned to be in the game but was taken out. (For further info, see this page.)
 * The Brute Shot is favored mostly for the ability to use the melee fly glitch similar to Sword flying only not as reliable. If used correctly this technique can still defeat enemies in a single blow while getting you closer to the enemies at the same time. This is particularly useful if you are out of ammo or need to save ammo for some reason. This allows you to take out some of your opponents before they realize what is going on.
 * The Brute Shot is powerful enough to flip light vehicles such as the Mongoose.
 * The Brute Shot's melee is almost as powerful as an Energy Sword's.
 * The Brute Shot actually stops sword lunges, making it one of the best weapons to parry a blow from the Energy Sword.
 * Occasionally the shot n' slash technique backfires when your target is too close to you.
 * The Brute Shot's blade is often dubbed as a "Pizza Cutter".
 * The Brute Shot in Halo 3 can be used for grenade jumps and doesn't take out as much shielding as a grenade, buying you a little more time if you're soon caught in a fight.
 * Even if you only shot 1 of the grenades, when you reload in both games, the animation always shows you reloading a full set of grenades.

Related Links

 * Brute Plasma Rifle
 * Spiker
 * Brute Chopper
 * Brute Prowler
 * Brutes
 * Mauler
 * Gravity Hammer