Type-25 Grenade Launcher

The Type-25 Grenade Launcher (more commonly known as the Brute Shot) is a Covenant weapon favored almost exclusively by the Jiralhanae. 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 Battle of the Flood-controlled Shield World, where it was used to deadly effect against the crew of the Spirit of Fire. The grenades seem to be belt fed through the top of the weapon. The splash damage from this weapon is extremely high, and 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 of Grunts and Jackals. 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. 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 such as the sniper tower on the multiplayer level The Pit. The brute shot is very hard to to aim as it sometimes drifts.

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 of great use when there are groups of enemies. After one round enemies should be weak and easy to kill. You can also throw a plasma grenade onto one of the enemies and shoot a round from the Brute Shot and the explosion of the Brute Shot coupled with the explosive power of 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 adept 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 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 are 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 the target is farther away. Just 2 rounds of the Brute Shot can kill a player faster than 1 round from the Rocket Launcher or Fuel Rod Gun.

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 also an effective weapon against the Flood. 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 large 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 will have 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 are unable to bounce, but 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). This has, some might say cheaply or unfairly, allowed many players to simply blast another player one or two times and then melee to achieve a kill.
 * 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 timed fuses that cause 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.
 * Each shot does less damage.
 * Just one direct shot and a quick follow up melee will kill a player in multiplayer.
 * In Halo 2, it takes 3 out of 4 direct shots to kill a player. In Halo 3, however, it takes 4 out of 6 shots. 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 (Brute)



Trivia

 * It is referred to as the "Brute Gun" in Halo Wars.
 * 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.
 * In Halo 2, Brute Shot projectiles fired directly upward will return to the ground after a while. Skilled players can use this as a mortar to flush enemies out of cover.
 * This is the only weapon in the Halo trilogy (except Halo: Custom Edition) that shoots a form of 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.
 * It is very similar to a modern grenade launcher in that the projectiles explode after several seconds without impacting anything.
 * The rear circular grip appears to be gravitationally mounted.
 * 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 like the Ghost.
 * 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.
 * 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 and bounce off the walls.
 * 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 and even heavier vehicles such as the Warthog.
 * The Brute Shot actually stops sword lunges, making it one of the best weapons to parry a blow from the Energy Sword.
 * No matter how many grenades are being shot out, when you reload in both Halo 2 and Halo 3, the animation always shows you reloading a full set of grenades.
 * The Brute Shot's grenades can be very disorienting to others in Multiplayer as the massive flash from the explosion of the grenades can cause a player to make a mistake trying to avoid them, allowing you to go in for the kill.
 * It usually takes 2 shots to kill you on Legendary in Halo 3.
 * The First Time a Brute Shot is seen is in the Level "Gravemind" in Halo 2.
 * The Brute Shot is the only part of the Brute Sandbox that isn't named after a vicious or predatory action, such as mauling or prowling.
 * In Ghosts of Onyx, Frederic-104 calls the Brute shot an RPG (Rocket Propelled Grenade). This is untrue due to the fact that the Brute Shot grenade is not propelled by a rocket. It is shot out of the weapon with extreme force.
 * When in a warthog, the player holds the launcher sideways
 * It's the only "explosive" gun that a marine cannot be equipped with.
 * In Halo Wars,the Brute Shot can be upgraded to fire an electric shock, which causes electrical stun damage to enemy targets. This upgrade can be purchased at the Citadel, but only if the Brute Army Commander is your leader unit.
 * The Brute Shot is one of the Covenant weapons that don't use plasma along with the Mauler and Spiker.

Related Pages

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