Except those are the canon muzzle velocities stated in the guidebooks. Besides, plasma projectiles in fiction really aren't calcable outside of statements or cinematic timeframes; it's all far too inconsistent. We really can't just assume they're
High Hypersonic,
Sub-Relativistic,
Speed of Light, ect unless theirs actual legitimacy; I don't want a repeat of the DOOM incident. The Flamethrower is the closest thing IRL to a plasma rifle, and even then, that's
Subsonic at best.
Still, it's more consistent for most Covenant and Forerunner weapons to be in the
Subsonic to
Supersonic range considering all of these characters, (Not just Spartans, but Elites, Jiralhanae, and Prometheans) do legit in canon struggle to dodge normal bullets. The Brute Chieftain that snuck up on Cal was unable to dodge a couple of Assault Rifles from marines. Even the cutscenes portray Covenant plasma and some Forerunner projectiles as being slower than bullets. Covenant Plasma has around the same projectile speed as stun guns, which are
Subsonic. The only weapons that are legit confirmed to be
Lightspeed are the Spartan lasers, and the Sentinel Beams; both of which no one dodges. Spartan lasers are of course undodgeable once fired, it's only the 5 second charge is what people use to their advantage. And 343 Guilty Spark for example typically fires it to the side, and just turns around using the beam more like a long sword rather than a projectile. Onyx sentinels have a similar weakness to the Spartan laser in which they require a few seconds to charge.
And Hardlight projectiles are clearly not lightspeed. One of the main reasons light is so fast is because it has zero mass, and is not effected by gravity, hard light turns light into solid matter giving it some mass and enables it to have kinetic energy, but that in turn causes it to be much slower than light as it's not effected by gravity. Additionally, as mentioned above, the speed is not that much different from regular bullets. Still John still barely dodged that handgun, and it's likely he's faster now, but not overwhelmingly faster. The
Subsonic+ Anti-Scorpion Tank rocket, while a low end feat speed wise, was still another thing he struggled with reacting to, his combat speed really can't be much greater than
Supersonic.
And actually, little is known about the Precursors, but actually, they were the ones who built various Forerunner technologies. They were the ones who built the Mantle's Approach according to some of their backstory. Also, them being "Transcendent" is more so just the religious beliefs of the Forerunners and Covenant; Precursors aren't real "gods" and are more like an ancient alien race that preceded others that come after them. Still, their best speed feats outside of Slipspace, which is still literally warp technology, is only
Relativistic. And even then, their profile says it's travel speed. Also, Precursors were the original Flood technically speaking. The Floods were creating but the Precursors using their ashes iirc. And they're more like
The Zerg Swarm.
Anyway,
this thread. Let's keep this thread focused on the match.
