BR85HB battle rifle

The BR85 Heavy Barrel Service Rifle, abbreviated as BR85HB SR, is a select-fire battle rifle used by the UNSC Defense Force. Like its predecessors, the BR55 and BR55HB service rifles, the BR85 is manufactured by Misriah Armory. It had entered service by 2557.

Specifications
The BR85HB Service Rifle is a gas-operated, magazine-fed battle rifle. A select-fire weapon, the BR85HB is optimized for firing three-round bursts, though it is capable of semi-automatic and fully automatic fire. The BR85HB is effective against the energy shielding of many types of armor. Like its predecessors, the BR85HB features a two-power scope and receives a 36-round box magazine. In the hands of a skilled marksman, the weapon's precision and accuracy make it a versatile weapon at a variety of ranges. The BR85 features a telescopic sight with 2x magnification.

Gameplay
The weapon features hitscan and lacks reticule bloom. When fired, the barrel rises vertically, but in a suppressible way. The rifle's three-round burst is particularly effective for mid-range combat, as well as close- and long-range to a lesser extent, as the MA5D ICWS and M395 DMR outperform it at these ranges respectively. The player can carry a maximum of 216 rounds of reserve ammunition for the BR85, from a normal load of 108 rounds. If all the bullets in a three-round burst (one shot) hit a player in matchmaking, it will take four shots to down a player provided the last shot hits the player as a headshot. Only one round from a burst to the head is required to kill an unshielded enemy. The BR85 seems to be weaker than the BR55/BR55HB in Halo 2 and Halo 3. This is possibly a balance choice due to the inclusion of four precision weapons in Halo 4 as opposed to the usual two (excluding sniper rifles).

Advantages
While the effective range and accuracy is comparably less to the scoped-in DMR or Lightrifle, it still has an acceptable kill time and surprisingly high rate of burst-fire, with an ease-of-use at close-quarter ranges that the former lacks due to the muzzle not rising and better situational awareness, respectively. As such it is recommended to be used in Swat, or if one really wants to get fast kills, unless the map is particularly large.
 * The battle rifle can kill a standard-shielded enemy in four bursts, via three bursts breaching the shields and the fourth with a headshot.
 * Headshots with the battle rifle in general are easier to obtain, as there are three-to-four chances to get one per shot.
 * Two bursts to the body from a battle rifle followed by a melee will kill an opponent (2-shot melee).

Disadvantages
As previously stated, the Battle Rifle neither has the accuracy, damage, or range as the other more specialized primary service weapons. The recoil is detrimental, but can be controlled into a predictable vertical flow with practice to gain headshots. The tactical-reload time is also rather slow (especially without Dexterity), and if the magazine is empty, then the full-reload time takes even longer. Due to its 3-round burst fire with a 36-round magazine capacity, the battle rifle only has enough ammo for 9 or 12 burst-shots.

Changes from BR55 HB SR in Halo 3

 * Major cosmetic changes.
 * Decreased effective range in order to differentiate it from the M395 DMR.

Trivia

 * The earliest known in-game model of the BR85 was erroneously labeled "BR55HB SR". This is fixed in the final build of the game.
 * Players who preordered Halo 4 from certain locations received a special Arctic weapon skin for the BR85.

Videos
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List of appearances

 * Halo 4
 * Spartan Ops
 * Halo: Spartan Assault