Particle Carbine

* Type-52
* Unstable Round

## Type-52 Particle Carbine

Covenant

* Focus Rifle

Medium-Range

* UNSC
	+ M6G Pistol
* Covenant
	+ Void's Tear
* Forerunner
	+ Sentinel Beam

Long-Range

* UNSC
	+ SRS99C-S2 AM Sniper Rifle
		- SRS99C-S2 AM/S Sniper Rifle
* Covenant
	+ Focus Rifle
* Forerunner
	+ Sentinel Sniper Beam
	+ Sentinel Light Rifle

The **Type-52 Particle Carbine**, also known as the **Covenant Particle Carbine** or simply **Particle Carbine**, is a Covenant infantry firearm used by Jackals, Skirmishers, Elites, and Brutes.

## Overview & Background

The Particle Carbine is a battery-powered, directed energy weapon that served as a successor to the Type-51 Carbine near the end of the Human-Covenant War.

While it shares the same basic shape as its predecessor, the Particle Carbine fires ionized particles (in an identical nature to the Beam Rifle) instead of caseless radioactive projectiles. It features a rail-mounted screen with a holographic overlay that projects two meters: a battery charge meter represented by the coloration of the screen and a temperature meter represented by a colored meter on the holographic overlay, which rises from green to red as the weapon is fired. The weapon's only true drawback, a long cooldown period after overheating, can be circumvented by firing the weapon in a controlled manner.

It is most commonly seen in the hands of Jackal Sharpshooter Minors, but have also been seen carried by Elite Minors, Brute Followers, Skirmisher Minors, Elite Ultras and Brute Commanders.

## Unstable Round Carbine

In Lumoria, and Elite Imperial Admiral is encountered. He wields the one-of-a-kind Unstable Round Carbine, a custom Carbine that fires projectiles from a magazine, reminiscent of the Type-51 Carbine from the main Halo series.

The weapon is more powerful though, since it's rounds are explosive, but it is inferior to the Particle Carbine in other ways: its rate of fire is slower, it fires lower velocity rounds and it must be reloaded after a magazine is used up. The rounds fired by this Carbine are green rather than the purple beams fired from a Particle Carbine. Due to its explosive nature, the Unstable Round Carbine therefore, acts like a high velocity Fuel Rod Cannon, albeit, with a smaller explosion.

In *SPV3.2*, the player could retrieve the weapon after the Admiral was killed. However, it was often half depleted and the full maximum ammo was unknown, with some rough estimations of around 20-30 rounds. Since the Carbine could only be used briefly to mop up the Admirals accompanying Covenant forces before the campaign ends, it was the *rarest* weapon in the entire game.

In *SPV3.3* the Carbine can no longer be used by the player in Campaign, as the weapon explodes after the Admiral drops it. Fortunately, the Unstable Round Carbine is available to the player in Firefight as an unlock, with its full ammo counted at 36 rounds. In Firefight, the Carbine is noted for being one of the best weapons in the game, due to a combination of its high accuracy, good rate of fire, decent ammo pool, long-range and explosive damage.

## Gameplay Information

### Advantages

#### Particle Carbine

* The Particle Carbine has exceptionally high accuracy which is maintained even with rapid, successive shots.
* If fired in controlled bursts, the Particle Carbine can fired consistently without over heating. This requires skill, however.
* The Particle Carbine can fire as fast as the player can pull the trigger.
* Unlike most precision and/or headshot-capable weapons, the Particle Carbine has increased effectiveness when used against energy shielding.
	+ This makes the Particle Carbine extremely effective at taking out Elites (especially Honor Guards), Brutes with power armour, Jackal/Skirmisher Point-Defense Gauntlets, and stationary/vehicle mounted energy shields.

#### Unstable Round Carbine

* Extremely powerful weapon; its high accuracy, 18 round magazine and explosive damage could easily fell most enemies in a few shots.
* Explosion from the rounds could knockback enemies and stun them.
* Quick squeeze of the trigger could cook nearby grenades due to the quantity of explosions.

### Disadvantages

#### Particle Carbine

* The Particle Carbine deals exceptionally low damage to unshielded targets excluding headshots.
* The Particle Carbine initiates a lengthy cooldown sequence if it overheats, disabling the weapon and leaving the user vulnerable to enemy fire.

#### Unstable Round Carbine

* Overall less accurate and fires slower than the Particle Carbine.
* If used at close range, the explosion radius of the rounds can damage or, potentially, kill the player.
	+ The same can be said of Marine/ODST/Sentinel allies in Firefight.
* Reload time leaves players vulnerable.

## Trivia

* The Particle Carbine is the only battery-powered weapon that can perform headshots.
	+ It is also the only weapon in the Covenant arsenal that can perform headshots.
* Until *SPV3.1*, the Particle Carbine's screen did not display any information regarding battery charge or heat build-up.
* A similar weapon was set to appear in an official Halo game, titled "*Halo Online*." The weapon in question is the "Ammo Covenant Carbine", which is a variant of the Covenant Carbine that has had it's top-loading magazine system replaced with an internal battery. The official *Halo Online* was cancelled, but a playable mod version still exists.
* Originally, the first-person design of the Particle Carbine's scope resembled that of the normal Carbine in mainstream Halo. However, with the update of *SPV3* to *SPV3.2*, the Particle Carbine's scope was given its own design whilst the original scope was transplanted on the Unstable Round Carbine.
* The Unstable Round Carbine's reload animation and function is the same as the Carbine found in official Halo games. The only difference is that its rounds are explosive.
* The Unstable Round Carbine shares is model with the Cheer Carbine, one of the Easter Egg weapons from *SPV3.0*.

## Gallery

Particle Carbine's scope in Halo SPV3.Particle Carbine's scope in Halo SPV3.2.The scope from the perspective of Thel Vadumee.The Imperial Admiral firing his Unstable Round Carbine.First person perspective of the Unstable Round Carbine.The Unstable Round Carbine's scope.Firing the Unstable Round Carbine.The explosive effects of the Unstable Round Carbine.