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 Assault Rifle 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 3-round burst (one shot) hit a player in matchmaking, it will take five 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.

Advantages
While not as good as the DMR or scoped-in Lightrifle, it still has an acceptable kill time, and is easier to use at close ranges than the former due to the muzzle not rising and better situational awareness, respectively. As well, if an enemy's shields are low enough the BR can kill a shielded enemy with a headshot, via the first or second bullets breaching the shields and the second or third getting the headshot, and headshots in general are easier to get as there are three chances to get one per shot. As such it is recomended to be used in Swat unless the map is particularly large.

Disadvantages
As previously stated, the BR is neither as strong or as accurate as the other primary weapons. If you can control the recoil, it is highly recomened that one use the DMR, or if one really wants to get fast kills, a scoped-in Lightrifle. The reload time is also rather slow (especially without Dexterity), and if the magazine is empty when reloaded it takes even longer. Due to it's 3-round burst, despite having a magazine size of 36, the BR in fact only has enough ammo for 12 shots.

Trivia

 * The earliest known in-game model of the BR85 was erroneously labeled "BR55HB SR". This has been fixed in the current build of the game.
 * Players who pre-ordered Halo 4 from certain locations received a special Arctic weapon skin for the BR85.
 * The BR85 seems to be weaker than previous iterations. For example the BR55 is able to take down an Elite Minor in four bursts, while the BR85 takes six. This is possibly a balance choice due to the inclusion of many more precision weapons in Halo 4 (4 as opposed to the usual 2 or 3).

Videos
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List of appearances

 * Halo 4