Besides a close run US presidential race, 6 November also saw the eagerly awaited return of John-117, clambering once more from his icebox ( minus codpiece) to save the universe.

The Master Chief's epic (though brief) campaign outing is only a slice of the action-packed pie offered by 343 Industries' Halo 4. After killing the Cov, aiding the AI and causing untold mischief on the Forerunner shield world Requiem, Spartans can seek out new adventures and friendship aboard the UNSC Infinity -- the crown jewel of the UNSC fleet, and the new home of all things multiplayer, Forge and Theatre related in Halo 4.

Having played its fair share of Halo 4 multiplayer during the review phase, Wired.co.uk has amassed the following tips on weapons and loadouts for all those players looking to get ahead in life aboard the Infinity.

Lock and load
343 Industries' love and adoration of the Halo series is most evident in the way it's gone about assembling Halo 4's arsenal; all of the favourites are here -- and it's even squeezed a few extra toys online that don't appear in the main campaign missions.

The weapons have been finely tuned to the extent that no single gun will rule online play -- but some guns have clearly been balanced in such a way that they suit some tasks better than others. Here's our weapon overview:

UNSC weapons
Assault Rifle (MA5D ICWS -- but you totally knew that)
Most effective: Mid- to short-range.
For both Halo 3 and Reach, the Assault Rifle largely played second fiddle to the BR and DMR -- it was great for rushing a cornered foe and following up with a melee, but that was about it. It feels like 343 has boosted the damage of the Assault Rifle in Halo 4, making it a bullet hose of Halo: CE standards. Such is its power that in a short-range battle, the Assault Rifle can now easily dispatch a lesser-skilled BR or DMR user.

In team-based games, the Assault Rifle should be the weapon of choice for the bum-rushing assist player -- while scope-wielding teammates hang back looking for the headshot, a player armed with an Assault Rifle can ruin an enemy's shield and cause a very noisy, scope-ruining distraction.

Battle Rifle (BR85HB SR)
Most effective: Mid-range.
The BR is back, spiting its triple bullet death spew with wonderful familiarity. The BR has been very carefully balanced to allow it to sit alongside the DMR (see below) without feeling like the same gun. The BR suits mid-range scenarios better than its DMR counterpart, making it the better rifle to take into medium-sized levels where the majority of action will take place in tight corridors. Five shots will take down an enemy (free of overshield), but if you go one-on-one against a skilled DMR user at a longer range, chances are the DMR will finish you off given its better accuracy.

DMR (M395 Designated Marksman Rifle)
Most effective: Long- to mid-range
In short, the DMR feels like the Magnum of Halo: CE; a superb single shot weapon, ideally used to pick off any foe whose mid-range weapon can't reach you. The 'bloom' inaccuracy ofReachhas been toned down significantly, but the single shot means that you have to be spot on against a player armed with the BR, whose burst shot will finish off less-than-perfect DMR users. Just as with the BR, the DMR takes five shots to take down an enemy.

The battle will no doubt rage for a while as to whether the BR or DMR is the better primary weapon if Halo 4; they will suit different playing styles and different scenarios, but will both kill with five accurate shots.

Magnum
Most effective: Mid- to short-range
Returning to the sidearm role of Halo 3, the Magnum has been downgraded from the powerful position it found itself within Reach. It's now a very "agile" weapon; in a notable change to the Halo series, the Magnum can now be used by flag carriers in CTF matches. The Magnum is now slightly quicker at unloading its clip; the most effective use witnessed by Wired.co.uk was in emptying rounds as quickly as possible into an onrushing opponent while strafing/running backwards.

Rail Gun (ARC-920)
Most effective: Mid- to short-range
A new edition to the Halo arsenal, the Rail Gun is a shockingly brutal charge-to-fire weapon. Hold the trigger, watch the charge gauge and unleash a single shot of death with immense satisfaction. But beware, the magazine only holds one clip, and the longer-than-average reload time could see you look like a total fool should you miss your target. Brilliant for aiming into a crowded corridor, or taking out team players stupid enough to run through narrow doorways one behind the other.

Rocket launcher
Most effective: Mid- to short-range
Significantly, the rocket launcher of Halo 4 can lock onto vehicles, making it a must for any Big Team Slayer games as larger vehicles can wreak havoc on ill-equipped foe. Rockets move at much the same pace as they did in Reach, and it feels like they have the same damage radius. Essentially, aim for the feet, and only pull the trigger if your enemy isn't standing in your face.

SAW
Most effective: Short-range
Wired.co.uk's favourite new weapon of Halo 4, the SAW machine gun turns a player into a one-man bullet storm, ideally used for sweeping busy battlefields and corridors. Given the extra long clip, players should note that they can rack up two or three kills before needing to reload. This is the perfect tool for supporting a flag carrier in CTF, or for laying down heavy fire in team-based action.

Never, ever run head-on at a player carrying a SAW, even if you're wielding the Shotgun or Scattershot -- it's too much of a gamble. Run away, go for headshots and throw grenades -- and pray they need to reload.

Shotgun
Most effective: Short-range
Six rounds, six instant kills in the right hands, the Shotgun feels like the same death-wand that Halo players have always loved. Play a few games of Flood if you want to sharpen your Shotgun skills -- it's vital to work out just how close is close enough before you pull the trigger.

Sniper Rifle
Most effective: Long-range
Not a lot has changed concerning the awesome power of the Sniper Rifle -- other than the devastating new soundtrack that accompanies a pull of the trigger. Aim for the top of the head and happy hunting.

Spartan Laser
Most effective: Long- to mid-range
The crowd pleaser is back, with no changes to speak of other than its aesthetic. The best anti-vehicle weapon in the game by a mile (rockets can be dodged by skilled drivers), and deeply satisfying to use against Spartans stuck in open ground. Takes three seconds to charge and fire. Point, pause and smile.

Sticky Detonator
Most effective: Mid- to short-range
Remember that funny little pistol that the Master Chief grabbed in the first E3 video of Halo 4? That was the Sticky Detonator, a medium to short-range grenade launcher. Fire the grenade at a surface or opponent with the first pull of the trigger, then pull again to detonate it remotely. There's a short delay before you can detonate the round, so be sure to have plenty of practice before you try heading into the middle of a match with one of these; it can be deeply frustrating to watch an opponent run past your shot before you have the chance of detonating it.

It should be noted that the DMR and BR make for a deadly partnership for the Sticky Detonator -- if your detonated round doesn't finish off an opponent, it will have more than likely have ruined their shield. Follow up with a swift round to the head -- the new n00b kill of Halo 4.

Covenant weapons
Beam Rifle
Most effective: Long-range
The Beam Rifle makes a welcome return to Halo 4, with no major changes. It'll kill at the same rate as the Sniper Rifle, but if you fire off two shots too quickly, the gun will overheat and render you useless. Instant kill with headshot, two body shots anywhere else for a kill.

Concussion Rifle
Most effective: Mid- to short-range
The Concussion Rifle can pop up from time to time in ordinance drops, and makes for a brilliant crowd control weapon. A high rate of fire and decent damage radius makes it ideal for taking on Ghosts, Warthogs or enemy teammates stupid enough to stand next to each other. Not as powerful as the rocket launcher, but its larger clip means that you don't have to be as accurate with every shot.

Covenant Carbine
Most effective: Mid-range
The Covenant Carbine offers an interesting alternative to the DMR and BR; it takes more shots to kill your target (roughly seven), but has a faster rater of fire and larger clip (18 shots) than either of the UNSC rifles. This means when working alongside a SAW wielding teammate, you may be able to find the all important killing headshot a little quicker with the DMR or BR.

Energy Sword
Most effective: Short-range
The Energy Sword returns, even more super-sparkly than ever. As with previous Halo games, if you miss with your lunge, be sure to follow up swiftly with a melee attack, as the melee is available in less time than a second lunge.

Needler
Most effective: Mid- to short-range
Prepare yourself for this -- Halo 4 sees the Needler become a map-dominating power weapon. We were surprised too. The moment you lock onto a target, drain out a clip and chances are you enemy will explode in a purple cloud before they can take you down. An ideal weapon to have if you're trying to take down a jet-pack equipped enemy (they can't strafe as quickly, and look ridiculous trying to avoid the needles) or for use on opponents from above. Beware the small clip size.

Plasma Pistol
Most effective: Mid- to short-range
Still at the bottom of the Halo weapon food chain, the Plasma Pistol should only ever be used for taking down an opponent's shield before following up with a headshot. The charged up shot appears to track enemies a little more generously than in previous games, but this will never be a weapon of choice.

Storm Rifle
Most effective: Mid- to short-range
The replacement for the Plasma Rifle (we miss it too), the Storm Rifle works on a single clip and must be discarded once used. It's a very effective distraction weapon, with similar power to the UNSC Assault Rifle -- although slightly less useful given that it can overheat and you can't pick up new ammo for it.

Promethean weapons
Binary Rifle
Most effective: Long-range
The Promethean sniper rifle packs a heck of a wallop, and doesn't suffer from the same overheating issues as the Beam Rifle. Some players might prefer the scope of the UNSC Sniper Rifle, but otherwise the differences between the two are negligible.

Boltshot
Most effective: Mid- to short-range
The Boltshot is a slightly chunkier variant on the Plasma Pistol; a rung below the Magnum as a sidearm, but a charged shot is brilliant at taking off an enemy shield.

Incineration Cannon
Most effective: Mid-range
As the name suggests, the Incineration Cannon is more than a little aggressive. The projectile it fires produces further cluster damage once it's hit its target, meaning that the Incineration Cannon is devastating against vehicles or crowds of opponents. Be sure that you're not anywhere near your target though, as you can easily be damaged by the cluster blast of your own shot.

Lightrifle
Most effective: Mid-range
The Lightrifle is one of the most interesting guns of Halo 4 thanks to its unique round-changing capacity; when scoped, the Lightrifle fires a single shot like the DMR -- but can stop an opponent in four, rather than five shots. Unscoped, the Lightrifle fires a burst round, like the BR, but takes six shots to stop an opponent. Given its potentially quicker kill-rate, don't be surprised to see more advanced players switching from the DMR to the Lightrifle after a few months of game time.

Scattershot
Most effective: Short-range
The Promethean shotgun is a formidable weapon in the right hands, with shots that are able to bounce off surfaces and track players to a small extent -- making it an arguably more useful weapon than the UNSC Shotgun (though the UNSC Shotgun is able to hold six shots to the Scattershot's five).

Suppressor
Most effective: Mid- to short-range
The Suppressor is the Promethean variant of the Assault Rifle, carrying slightly more rounds at 50, but with slightly less stopping power than the UNSC variety.