Pulsers, bullets, plasma, energy weapons...

So I'm a new member, and also new to the Honorverse. I have read the main series up to A Rising Thunder, but there is one nagging question that I really have. How do pulser rifles stack up against things like MA5Ds and Beam Rifles. And how does the armor (Let's say standard issue skinsuits, Mantie style) stack up to these projectiles? I am pretty sure a MA5D could pierce a skinsuit in a second, and a Beam Rifle could obviously. But I want confirmation. Someone tell me what would happen if someone shot a pulser at a Covenant Elite Minor with shields. Because, in reality, I still have no understanding of Honorverse tech, like impeller wedges and laser heads. JUST ANSWER!

Infinimineralex wrote::?: So I'm a new member, and also new to the Honorverse. I have read the main series up to A Rising Thunder, but there is one nagging question that I really have. How do pulser rifles stack up against things like MA5Ds and Beam Rifles. And how does the armor (Let's say standard issue skinsuits, Mantie style) stack up to these projectiles? I am pretty sure a MA5D could pierce a skinsuit in a second, and a Beam Rifle could obviously. But I want confirmation. Someone tell me what would happen if someone shot a pulser at a Covenant Elite Minor with shields. Because, in reality, I still have no understanding of Honorverse tech, like impeller wedges and laser heads. JUST ANSWER!

To begin with Pulsers are just slug weapons, thrown via a gravity field. A Military infantry pulser usually throws a ~3 MM (~1/16 of an inch) wide projectile at high hypersonic speeds (I’m sorry, I don’t have my copy of Jayne’s RMN or PRN with the exact details on me currently). The darts are usually loaded in 100 ct magazines, and have automatic fire rates equal to a modern heavy machine gun (600-1000 rounds/minute). A single 3 mm dart probably hits with roughly the same energy as a .50 caliber bullet would today. Civilian grade pulsers usually fire a smaller dart, in semi-automatic mode, and with a smaller magazine. Crew serviced pulsers, known as Tribarrels, can throw larger darts at a higher rate per minute, and come in a variety of sizes.

The main infantry energy weapon in the Honorverse is the Plasma Carbine or Plasma Rifle, which throws a magnetically contained ball of plasma at % of the speed of light. Even the lightest versions of these weapons are anti-vehicle weapons, capable of destroying powered armor, tanks, armored shuttles and buildings in single hits. Once again these scale up from a single soldier support weapon, to crew served weapon, to vehicle weapon. The major difference is range (via better targeting systems) and rate of fire, as well as larger plasma balls.

Honorverse intantry Missiles use a small, short lived version of the propulsion systems in shipkiller missiles. They are usually used against tanks, shuttles or other armored targets, and have an ability to chase a target while the wedge is still running. System range from Shoulder launched, to crew served multi shot systems, to vehicle and shuttle launched missiles.

Marine skinsuits are armored against civilian pulser fire, and can resist any but direct hits of infantry weapons. They can also protect against the energy of peripheral plasma strikes. Armored suits are armored against infantry pulsers and can absorb hits from crew served tribarrels, and glancing blows from light plasma weapons.

The weapons you are referring to are, I believe, Halo weapons. The main Human rifle in Halo is inferior to an Honorverse Military rifle, with a lower rate of fire and less damage per round. (An Honorverse military pulser dart should hit with similar energy to the Halo Sniper round). A medium to heavy Tribarrel should perforate an armored target.

A Plasma Carbine (the smallest energy weapon) should have a damage capability somewhere between a Halo plasma grenade and a Tank round, with the Honorverse crew served Plasma weapon superior to a Covenant tank round.

As I mentioned above, a Honorverse mil sec round hits with roughly the energy of a .50 cal round, so the results of your Covenant question will be similar to what would happen if you shot it with the Halo sniper rifle.

An unarmored skinsuit would possibly get penetrated by a MA5, but the Marine-standard armored skinsuit would not. It's not clear how well am armored skinsuit compares against energy weapons, though. I don't believe that we've ever seen that. Somebody in Honorverse powered armor would be able to ignore pretty much anything that wasn't an anti-armor (as in tank) weapon.

A Pulser rifle (pulser pistol, even) wildly outclasses the MA5 in pretty much every way possible. About the only thing I can think of that the MA5 has an advantage in is the neural linkage for the aimpoint stuff, but since the MA5 isn't that accurate that doesn't do much.


I'm pretty sure the Elite gets shredded by a burst of pulser rifle fire. Mjolnir would probably do somewhat better against pulser fire ... but really only the earlier marks, that relied more on physical armor and less on the shields.


Of the demonstrated reproducable military hardware in Human or Covenant/splinter faction hands ... the Haloverse doesn't compare well.
It's the Forerunner stuff that could be problemmatic - and really only the ship/space/superweapon, because demonstrated Forerunner ground game stuff isn't much better than the UNSC/Covenant stuff, which is to say it's not very good. And even then ... I'd not put money on much of it against Honorverse military hardware.


Theemile covered things pretty well.

IIRC in Honor among Enemies HH is using a M1911A1 ACP replica which IIRC has muzzle velocity in the book of 250-300 MPS, while her armsmen are practicing with their probably military grade pulsars which have a muzzle velocity of around 2000 MPS. My guess is civilian grade pulsars are probably half that power.

My recollection is that both civillian and military pulsars have a similar velocity but military are heavier projectiles. A previous discussion covered how you could use a pistol sized weapon that could shoot a hundred shots of 50cal energy level projectiles and still have a wrist. The consensus was that the gravity drive negated recoil.

saber964 wrote:...My guess is civilian grade pulsars are probably half that power.

If modern handguns are any guide, I'd expect the opposite -- no military uses .44 Magnum or Desert Eagle .50 pistols, they use 9mm, 10mm .32-.40 or similar semi-auto pistols.

Infinimineralex wrote::?: So I'm a new member, and also new to the Honorverse. I have read the main series up to A Rising Thunder, but there is one nagging question that I really have. How do pulser rifles stack up against things like MA5Ds and Beam Rifles. And how does the armor (Let's say standard issue skinsuits, Mantie style) stack up to these projectiles? I am pretty sure a MA5D could pierce a skinsuit in a second, and a Beam Rifle could obviously. But I want confirmation. Someone tell me what would happen if someone shot a pulser at a Covenant Elite Minor with shields. Because, in reality, I still have no understanding of Honorverse tech, like impeller wedges and laser heads. JUST ANSWER!

Welcome to the forum, we all enjoy intelligent robust discussions here. I'd gently suggest not saying things like JUST ANSWER!, as we don't like shouting or demands.

There is multiple book references that the most common caliber for civilian pulsars is 3MM.

The basic military pulsar round is 4MM thick, (1/6"+) approximately .16 caliber, 3/4 the thickness of the 5.56MM round used by the US military. It is also 37MM long, or approximatly 1.5" long.

house of steel wrote:The standard shoulder arm of the RMMC is the M32 series grav pulse rifle in 4 x 37 mm caliber. The M32A5, introduced in 1918 PD, is the latest variant of this versatile weapon system. The M32 has two magazine wells, each of which will accommodate a single hundred-round magazine. Pulser darts come in two basic varieties: a solid, non-explosive, antipersonnel round and a superdense, explosive round designed for antiarmor or general suppressive fire. A shorter carbine version, the M19, is designed for shipboard use. The standard sidearm carried by officers is the M7 pulser and its short-barreled variant the M9.

Plasma rifles are the heaviest weapons that can be carried by a single man not in armor. Maximum range in atmosphere is 4KM, but it starts loosing power at ranges over 2KM\

house of steel wrote:The M107 Plasma Rifle and M109 Plasma Carbine are the RMMC’s standard antiarmor weapons. The M107 uses twin M13 power cells, while the M109 carries only one. Each cell is good for three to twelve shots, depending on power settings. Maximum effective range in atmosphere is about four thousand meters, but bloom and energy bleed begin reducing terminal effect very rapidly beyond twenty-two hundred meters. In vacuum, maximum range is usually line of sight, with minimal ener-gy bleed.

Other weapons are either carried disassembled by multiple men or carried by powered armor.

house of steel wrote:Heavy weapons squads are equipped with a variety of crew-served weapons, including the M247 Heavy Tribarrel, M271 Plasma Cannon, and M223 Mortar among others. These are tripod-mounted weapons carried disassembled by squad members and deployed in minutes to provide support fire to maneuver units. Variants of the M247 {Tribarrel} and M271 {Plasma Cannon} exist for battle armor, carried be a single assault marine and drawing from the suit’s internal power cells.

Marine skinsuits can withstand fletchet guns and civilian pulsars. Although they can probably protect against military pulsars (pistol style) and glancing blows from pulse rifles, I doubt that they can withstand direct hits by military pulse rifles.

house of steel wrote:Standard combat gear for the RMMC includes the Mk7 Armored Skinsuit. The underlying structure of the Mk7 is identical to the Navy’s skinsuit, though the Marine variant trades comfort for protection and increased tactical features. For small arms protection, a series of armor plates covers the suit, providing adequate defense against light weaponry.

Battle armor can withstand direct hits by military pulse rifles. Although they can probably protect against glancing blows from heavy weapons, I doubt that they can withstand direct hits by heavy weapons such as tribarrels.

house of steel wrote:Assault units are equipped with M21 Battle Armor, a combat suit with a powered exoskeleton and heavy armor plating, powered by internal power cells. The M21 Base Platform can be configured in a number of ways depending on mission requirements. In reconnaissance configuration, more power is stored at the expense of weapon loadouts, which increases endurance but leaves the trooper with nothing more than a standard pulse rifle, while in assault configuration, heavy weapons such as tribarrels and plasma cannon are carried.

With Honorverse tech, I wonder if the old preferred concealable woman's weapon, a Derringer has been engineered to have more killing power? And perhaps a few more shots?

"I'd sure like to see what you got under your skirt."

"No you wouldn't."

cthia wrote:With Honorverse tech, I wonder if the old preferred concealable woman's weapon, a Derringer has been engineered to have more killing power? And perhaps a few more shots?

"I'd sure like to see what you got under your skirt."

"No you wouldn't."

The problem with a Derringer is it combat range sucks unless you are having a gunfight in a elevator or a broom closet.