Introduction
As with most First Person Shooters, Halo Infinite has an incredible armory full of weapons new and old. These guns run the gamut from small arms like pistols, all the way up to tank demolishing rocket launchers and high-velocity projectile weapons. For most engagements though, you’ll probably gravitate towards some kind of rifle. Halo Infinite has several to choose from, from the old-faithful Assault Rifle , to the brand new Halo Infinite Stalker Rifle.
The style of rifle you use will depend on your personal play style. But generally, you’ll want an automatic rifle for close-range fights, and sniper rifles to pick off enemies from a distance. In this article, I will be covering the ins and outs of the Stalker Rifle in Halo Infinite. It is a gun that excels in just about any situation.
Stalker Rifle in Halo Infinite
Weapon Type
The Stalker Rifle is a Plasma Weapon, like most of the Covenant’s weapons. It shares the category with these other weapons:
- Plasma Pistol
- Pulse Carbine
- Needler
- Ravager
While all of these guns are unique, they share several attributes due to their shared ammo type. These include a damage boost to outer shields, and reduced damage to armor-plated targets. For instance, it’s common practice to have a plasma pistol as your secondary weapon in online matches, as they can destroy shields with one well-placed, fully charged shot.
The needler is a unique weapon that fires low damage spikes. Yet, when you hit a single target with enough of them, they all explode simultaneously. The combined effect does a huge amount of damage. These are just a few examples of what makes Plasma Weapons unique among all the other Halo weapons. The Stalker Rifle is no different!
Characteristics
The Halo Infinite Stalker Rifle is a brand new weapon making its first appearance in the series. They are a weapon devised and used by the Banished. This rifle appears to be a combination of games from previous entries, specifically the Covenant Carbine and Beam Rifle. When you pick up a Stalker Rifle in Halo Infinite, you’ll immediately be familiar with it if you’ve played previous Halo games. It has the same shape as the weapons it is derived from, with a long, thin barrel, thick stock, and digital scope.
Pulling the trigger, you’ll notice a bar filling up under the crosshairs. This bar indicates the Stalker Rifle’s heat level. Firing this weapon several times in quick succession will make the bar complete, overheating the weapon and rendering it useless for several seconds until it cools down again.
To avoid this, you will be shown a button prompt to “vent” the weapon. Venting is much faster than cooling down from the overheated state, so it’s wise to make use of that feature. The Stalker Rifle does not have a secondary shot like some other Halo Infinite weapons.
Strengths
With its unique scope and good stability, the Stalker Rifle can make a handy sniper rifle. It does decent damage, especially if you’re aiming at the head. With just three headshots, you can drop any Spartan.
The first two starts to deplete the over shield. The third and final shot penetrates it and the Spartan’s skull. For long-distance shots, the scope has variable zoom, with two levels of magnification. This makes it a good long ranged sniper rifle when no other options are available, although a regular sniper rifle would be much more powerful. At medium range, the Stalker Rifle continues to shine.
When you’re in cover, peeking out and popping shots with the Stalker Rifle is a joy. Players who have mastered the art of the accurate “no scope” shot will often lure enemies out with shots that hit body parts not hidden by cover, and then score two kills or more. This number increases with good teamwork and communication, at least in multiplayer. This rifle is a much more surgical weapon in comparison to the more brutish M247 HMG in Halo Infinite.
Finally, with the Stalker Rifle ultra-close range, it’s almost impossible to miss with anything. Furthermore, with the Stalker Rifle’s ability to chew through shields, it is just as good a pick as any weapon. Additionally, there’s no risk of splash damage like there is with some things like a Rocket Launcher or other Power Weapon.
Weaknesses
Unfortunately, the Stalker Rifle is not as powerful as other weapons in its category. It may be an easier weapon to handle, but having a Shock Weapon like the Shock Rifle with its multiple use cases will often be the better situation to be in. If an enemy doesn’t have a shield, you don’t get a damage boost as you would with a kinetic weapon either.
Also, due to its battery-operated nature, there’s no picking up ammo for the Stalker Rifle like there is for other weapons in Halo Infinite. You’d have to ditch it and pick up a new weapon. The Stalker Rifle is a strong weapon in its own right. Yet, it is important to know the use cases it is best suited for.
Where to Find the Stalker Rifle in the Halo Infinite Campaign
In the campaign mode of Halo Infinite, you are able to find an upgraded version of the Stalker Rifle on Zeta Halo. It is wielded by the high-value target boss Barroth. This boss location is in the southeastern part of the map, high in the mountains.
He is backed up by a number of Brutes and Elites, but there is an incentive for taking the risk to kill Barroth: you get to keep his gun. It’ll be a mission in and of itself to get to this high-value target boss, but once you’ve killed Barroth and picked off his easy target minions, you can pick up the Stalker Rifle Ultra, which has a few perks.
The Halo Infinite Stalker Rifle Ultra has a bigger battery and overheats slower than a regular Stalker Rifle, but at the cost of slightly lower damage. But with an increased “clip” and the same high fire rate, you’d still be in a better position using the Stalker Rifle Ultra over the standard version.
Multiplayer
The Halo Infinite Multiplayer suite is a playground for users of the Stalker Rifle. It can be found in most maps on the various wall containers or weapon rackets.
Since Halo Infinite’s multiplayer launch, players have opted for the slow fire rate of the Stalker Rifle over other weapons that may have a faster fire rate but more recoil, like the VK78 Commando.
With its special scope and its zooms variations, the Stalker Rifle in Halo Infinite is perfect for the smaller arena-based maps, where you don’t need a superzoom to zero in on your target.
Summary for the Halo Infinite Stalker Rifle
In Halo Infinite, the Stalker Rifle should be considered one of the most dependable, flexible weapons, at least in my opinion. It’s useful at just about any distance, and its shield penetrating projectiles can make quick work of your opponents.
Even in multiplayer situations like Big Team Battle, the Stalker Rifle is able to eliminate several enemies in a row, as long as you manage its heat build-up. Even in the category of rifles, this weapon stands out for its unique capabilities.
You do of course have to contend with a power supply that can be quickly used up, but for the time it is operational, you’re good! The Stalker Rifle in Halo Infinite is a weapon that I hope continues to be featured and improved upon in future updates and releases.
