Hunter Anti-Personnel Shade Cannon

Medium-Range

* UNSC
	+ M41 Rocket Launcher
	+ M310 Grenade Launcher
* Covenant
	+ Hunter Fuel Rod Cannon
	+ Hunter Beam Cannon
	+ Void's Tear

Long-Range

* UNSC
	+ M393 Designated Marksman Rifle
	+ SRS99C-S2 AM Sniper Rifle
* Covenant
	+ Particle Carbine
	+ Focus Rifle
* Forerunner
	+ Sentinel Sniper Beam
	+ Sentinel Light Rifle

The **Hunter Anti-Personnel Shade Cannon** is one of the four Hunter Cannon variants used primarily by Hunter Ultras. It is an upgraded version of the normal Hunter Shade Cannon.

## Overview & Background

The Anti-Personnel Shade Cannon or otherwise known as the AP Shade Cannon greatly resembles a combination of the Hunter Shade Cannon and the Hunter Beam Cannon. It has the same profile as the former but a similar color scheme as the latter. It is noted for its silver-white coloration thanks to its wielder.

Although it bears similarities with the normal Shade Cannon, the biggest difference is that the AP Shade Canon shares the same profile as other AP weapons such as the Anti-Personnel Wraith and the Anti-Personnel Shade. That is, a weapon suitable for siege warfare and anti-personnel operations.

In contrast to the Shade Cannon which fires a single bolt of plasma out of each of its three prongs in a rapid cycle, the AP Shade Cannon shoots out all three bolts at the same time, creating a cascade of relentless plasma in the targeted location. This means that the AP Shade Cannon offers more plasma shots of output in contrast to the normal variety. There is a downside however, the AP Shade Cannon is notoriously inaccurate due to how the plasma bolts spread and is ineffective against heavily armored units like Hunters. Moreover, due to the fact that Hunter Ultras are Firefight exclusive and only two are spawned in Wave 8, the AP Shade Cannon is the third hardest and rarest weapon to acquire after the Unstable Round Carbine and the Golden Gun respectively.

## Gameplay Information

### Advantages

* High rate of fire helps stun enemies.
* Very high shield and flesh damage
* Will not overheat and doesn't need to reload.
* Has a melee damage bonus due to its weight.
* Unlike other Hunter weapons, the AP Shade Cannon does not need to charge up when firing. This complements its close range, anti-infantry nature.
* Fires more bolts per shot than the regular Shade Cannon, making it an even better crowd-control weapon than usual and one of the best in the game.
	+ This allows it to target multiple group of enemies at once unlike the normal Shade Cannon.

### Disadvantages

* The wide spread of the shots makes it even more inaccurate than the normal Shade Cannon, to the point that a target could dodge almost all of the bolts at medium range.
* Like the Shade Cannon, it is highly ineffective against heavy units like Hunters.
* One of the rarest and hardest weapons to acquire.
* Slow melee.
* Low ammo reserves.

## Trivia

* Due to its high spread and extreme inaccuracy, the Hunter AP Shade Cannon can be considered the Covenant version of the T-800 Minigun, while the Hunter Shade Cannon is more of an answer to the M247 Machine Gun.
* Despite having the same orange-color nuclear gel as the Hunter Beam Cannon, the bolts it fires are red- the same as all AP weapons/vehicles.
* Additionally, the game calls this a normal Shade Cannon despite its clear differences with the original.
* In addition to the Hunter Ultra, Brute War Chieftains that are fought in Firefight also wield this weapon.

## Gallery

Side by side comparison with the regular Shade Cannon.Hunter AP Shade Cannon in First-Person.Firing the weapon.The weapon in Third-Person.Firing at a Hunter.Ditto. Note the wide spread of the shots.