Halo Humans vs Mass Effect Small Arms Weaponry: Whose is better?

But again, isn't shields and armor for Halo extremely rare? I haven't found anything about the capabilities of the milquetoast armor so I'm assuming it's pretty similar to the modern-military armor today, though I've read ODST armor is made titanium and ceramics.

Oh God I'm seriously discussing an example of Ultimate Showdown of Ultimate Destiny.

It's said that under-stress, strong biotics are about at 2/3rds capacity.

The best biotics in the galaxy (asari commandos and justicars, krogan battlemasters, Commander Shepard) would be completely unphased.

"It's so hard to be humble, knowing how great I am."

None of that matters when I biotic can simply throw one off of a cliff or hold them still while everyone else shoots them.

Also that. It should be noted that "asari commandos" are the entire asari military.

edited 1st Sep '12 8:51:15 PM by CPFMfan

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You know, I think we're kinda off-topic since this thing was supposed to be just about the small-arms.

Armor wise, it's quality vs quantity. Halo armor is without a doubt better, but as a result it is less widespread than Mass Effect's armor.

This could be changing. Supposedly MJOLNIR armor is being designed so Spartans can be mass produced.

Given the intelligence of UNSC's scientists, it's also possible that they could create a way to nullify biotics.

edited 1st Sep '12 8:54:14 PM by TheProffesor

Which leads to the next point: Is this a one on one? Squad combat? All out war? Numerically scaled (I.E. Smaller military = smaller squad size) or equal in number? What's the make up? All top of the line? One best and cannon fodder? All mid-range? How far away are we starting? Maybe you can pick me up telekinetically, but if I move so fast you can't react, and I'm close enough, you're on the floor from a punch to the face. Also, how do rounds stand up against the other's shields?

Especially that last point for small arms. I'm gonna check how both 'verse's shields work, and then think it over for a bit.

edited 1st Sep '12 8:55:21 PM by MetaSkipper

Artificial Intelligence is no match for Natural Stupidity.

For the sake of the argument, let's say all out war.

How many Spartans on the ground? Fodder? Warthogs? Falcons? We have orbital support? Again, UNCF only?

What about on the ME side? (not as well versed, so not as specific, but you get the idea)

edited 1st Sep '12 8:56:40 PM by MetaSkipper

Artificial Intelligence is no match for Natural Stupidity.

Baseless speculation. Can they also somehow create an AI that hacks the Reapers?

Anyway, Mass Effect wins an all out war, mostly due to numbers, since each of the Citadel races is evenly matched to or exceeds the UNSC in the Halo verse. Does anyone in Halo just try to fling asteroids at each other's planets from another system? I can't remember.

edited 1st Sep '12 8:58:25 PM by CPFMfan

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Halopedia says the mass-production of SPARTANs was still limited to 930 successful results from volunteer orphans though. Halo 4 is supposed to have a new program of actual volunteer adults, so I guess we could see the improvements in production when that comes out.

I dunno if the other Citadel races would fight with ME humans for this though. They'd probably find the species in-fighting amusing at best.

edited 1st Sep '12 9:01:30 PM by VutherA

- I think that both the Covvies and UNCF are capable of orbital bombardment. I think that UCAF is capable of cracking planets. Also, when is this war taking place? I've heard that the UEG lost 800 systems and hundreds of billions of people (civvies and soldiers), and remained with about 100 systems. Of course, this is also the time when the Covvies and UCAF started working together (how buddy-buddy they are depends on the fic I've read, though I believe there's a remaining hate, but a meaningful alliance). Speaking of which, how big are the militaries, numerically, anyway?

Stuff on Halo Shields, from Halo Nation (a Halo wiki):

• Although the shield protects health, it will collapse after enough continuous fire. Rockets, grenades, sniper bullets, and several other weapons can shred right through it. Energy shielding is also more vulnerable to plasma-based weaponry (e.g. the Covenant Plasma Pistol, especially overcharged) than to ballistic weaponry (e.g. the UNSC Assault Rifle). Assassinations circumvent energy shielding and cause instant kills.
• Although the shields of MJOLNIR armor are very resilient, they can be stripped in seconds if the wearer isn't careful. Plasma weapons are especially effective against MJOLNIR and Elite Personal Energy Shield shields. This seems to be a natural weakness of energy shielding. Plasma Rifles, Plasma Pistols, and Plasma Cannons are all very good at depleting the MJOLNIR's shields.
• It is never fully explained what happens to the plasma bolts or bullets when they make contact with the Energy Shield; however, it is witnessed that most bullets disappear, plasma always following this, whilst some bullets will bounce off the armor, usually at a 1 out of every 7 ratio (except in Halo: Combat Evolved, which had far different gameplay from Halo 2 and 3, and the only shots that will bounce are that of the needler).
• Energy shields seem to nullify friction. An example is in Halo: The Fall of Reach, when John-117 nearly slips when testing out his new Mark V energy shields. He corrected this by reducing the shield levels under his feet.

Halopedia:

• Energy shields consist of a field of energized particles that wraps around a surface, which deflects objects that attempt to impact the surface.

edited 1st Sep '12 9:09:49 PM by MetaSkipper

Artificial Intelligence is no match for Natural Stupidity.

The Spartan-II Is were the Mass Produced versions and they're still pretty kickass. Canonically, II Is are the weakest Spartans, and they can still crush gorillas with their bare hands. Then there's the ODS Ts who are3 strong enough to rip turrets off their mounts and carry them around. Basic soldiers would still be considered "super" but just below what Mass Effect could pull off.

The weapons in Halo are far stronger then people know. In the books a single plasma pistol can burn through several inches of steel easy, they lower their strength for the games. On top of this human weapons are built to rip through shields and armor, plus their own armor has been designed to work well against plasma weaponry, which a lot of Mass Effect weaponry uses. The Halo soldiers just have more experience with these kinds of enemies.

Remember! Hyperbole is an exaggeration made for comedic effect, and shouldn't be taken literally!

Reserved for ME shield tech.

• Kinetic barriers, colloquially called "shields", provide protection against most mass accelerator weapons. Whether on a starship or a soldier's suit of armor, the basic principle remains the same.
• Kinetic barriers are repulsive mass effect fields projected from tiny emitters. These shields safely deflect small objects traveling at rapid velocities. This affords protection from bullets and other dangerous projectiles, but still allows the user to sit down without knocking away their chair.
• The shielding afforded by kinetic barriers does not protect against extremes of temperature, toxins, or radiation.

All I could find. This actually leads me to a question. How do ME shields handle plasma? I mean, it's job is to melt, not impact. Can shields defect quasi-liquids?

edited 1st Sep '12 9:14:10 PM by MetaSkipper

Artificial Intelligence is no match for Natural Stupidity.

Actual game makes it so bad for talking about this since it takes like a second or two of full-auto AR fire to take down shields :-<

Though I'm pretty sure plasma isn't popular in ME though. Pretty much every small-arms is a mass-accelerator. A bunch of the large-arms are too.

Mass Effect doesn't use any plasma weaponry, except for the Geth Spitter and Geth Plasma Shotgun.

Oh maybe I'm wrong. I'm just going off of what I saw in the game, which looked like globs of plasma to be.

Remember! Hyperbole is an exaggeration made for comedic effect, and shouldn't be taken literally!

ME weaponry shaves a grain of dense sand, then shoots it at high speeds (roughly 50 kmps, if math is be believed).

Come to think of it, plasma is better against shields in general. Shields aren't meant to deflect high temperatures, which plasma IS. NOW I understand why plasma beats shields, bullets bear armor in Halo....

Which leads to this: Maybe both 'verses are effectively equal on rounds vs armor, but what about rounds vs shields?

edited 1st Sep '12 9:17:54 PM by MetaSkipper

Artificial Intelligence is no match for Natural Stupidity.

EveryBulletIsATracer's page explains that "The amunition consists of tiny particles of steel shot with such a high velocity that they turn the air they pass through into glowing plasma, making them look like energy weapons. Yet for the sake of visual effects, they appear to travel at slow enough speed to be clearly visible."

edited 1st Sep '12 9:17:19 PM by VutherA

But is the round itself a plasma weapon?

Artificial Intelligence is no match for Natural Stupidity.

They might not originate as plasma, but they do become it, so I think ti would count.

Remember! Hyperbole is an exaggeration made for comedic effect, and shouldn't be taken literally!

Specialized ammo can allow them to completely ignore shields.

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Says the air will be turned to plasma. The bullet will still be a bullet.

No. The Geth managed to create ammo that flash converts into plasma on contact, but true plasma weaponry has never been developed in Mass Effect. It's everywhere in the Haloverse.

How so? Remember, the shield basis is different, so if the rounds do it, by, say, emiting a counter ME field, then it's meaningless.

To be fair, it's really only everywhere on the Covvie side.

On an unrelated note... DAMN YOU SAFARI NOT MOVING THE CURSOR UP AFTER CLICKING ON OF THE BUTTONS ABOVE THE BOX UNLIKE FIREFOX!

edited 1st Sep '12 9:22:35 PM by MetaSkipper

Artificial Intelligence is no match for Natural Stupidity.

"Instead of projectiles, upgraded weapons release energized protons capable of bypassing kinetic barrier shields."

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