Halo Infinite Weapon Variant Leak Includes Absurdly Accurate Needler

Upcoming Halo Infinite weapon variants have leaked, and the new guns include a Pinpoint Needler with absurdly accurate enemy lock-on, vehicle-tracking Rocket Launcher, and Volatile Skewer, which fires rounds that explode after hitting a target. New Halo Infinite weapons have been anticipated by beta players, and some have already figured out how to access new-and-improved versions of existing ones.

Although excitement for upcoming Halo Infinite multiplayer updates and content continues to run high, the online discussion surrounding the free-to-play portion of the game has quickly turned negative since release. The in-game store’s high prices for cosmetics – with full armor sets costing a now-industry standard $20 – have been called into question by pundits and users alike, while the Destiny Shader-like Armor Coating system’s lack of manual color customization has been criticized since it was first unveiled in 2020. The recently debuted Halo Infinite Fractures: Tenrai event added fuel to the fire in the game’s second week, with its limited-time event pass not being completable in the week provided. Developer 343 Industries has indicated changes could be coming soon, and it seems one new addition will be the introduction of weapon variants.

As catalogued in a video by GreenKnight on YouTube, a number of Halo Infinite weapon variants can now be accessed in offline Custom Games lobbies, and they include the M41 Tracker Rocket Launcher, Volatile Skewer, Pinpoint Needler, and more. Another gameplay video by StandardAce demonstrated what a departure the Pinpoint Needler is from the vanilla Needler, in particular. The video shows extreme cases of Pinpoint Needler tracking resulting in easy supercombine kills in a way StandardAce says completely overshadows the regular Halo Infinite Needler. Shooting at bots, the Pinpoint Needler’s enemy lock-on functions similarly to the Hydra Launcher’s, meaning players only need to place their cursor over an opposing player before firing in any direction.

Other Halo Infinite weapon variants include the shotgun-like Riven Mangler, extra-explosive Backdraft Cindershot, and variants for every other projectile-based weapon in the game. This could mean the Energy Sword and Gravity Hammer won’t be getting weapon variants in a future update, but it’s also possible these leaked guns may not represent their final versions once they’re presumably made available in matchmaking. It’s probable they could be the star of a Halo 5: Guardians-style Super Fiesta playlist, as some of the strongest Halo multiplayer weapons in the series came in the form of similar variants introduced in the previous entry.

Regardless of where these supercharged Halo Infinite weapon variants will be accessible in-game, videos of them in use surfacing online is a clear indication of the type of content 343 is developing for post-launch updates. While content is king in the live-service arena, Halo Infinite players are asking for more structural changes when it comes to monetization and progression, so updated weapons may not be enough to convince everyone to stick around.

Halo Infinite is available for Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, and PC, and it fully releases on December 8, 2021.

Sources: GreenKnight/YouTube, StandardAce/YouTube

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Phillip Tinner
(412 Articles Published)

Phillip Tinner is a Game News Editor at Screen Rant, and he has written about all things gaming, film, and TV for the site since 2018. Phillip has a B.A. in History from Texas A&M University and is fascinated by the many areas where the virtual and real worlds meet. He can normally be found rewatching an old TV show, taking a hike, or complaining about new video games.

He hopes readers enjoy his content as much as he does researching and producing it, and he can be reached anytime on Twitter @PhilKimTin or LinkedIn.

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