BR55 battle rifle

The BR55 Battle Rifle is a United Nations Space Command infantry service rifle and is the older of the BR55 series rifles (the HB SR variant being the newest).

Introduction

The BR55 Battle Rifle is a good all-around combat rifle that replaced the MA5B Assault Rifle from Halo: Combat Evolved. It is the older variant of the newer BR55HB SR Battle Rifle and is available in Halo 2.

Summary

The BR55 Battle Rifle is a gas-operated, magazine-fed, mid-to-long range weapon capable of semi and burst modes. Prototypes were used in 2525 at Harvest, but it entered active service in 2524. Due to difficult aiming caused by fully automatic fire, both variants have been restricted to three-round bursts. It fires the M634 9.5x40mm X-HP-SAP round from a 36-round magazine and has a scope attachment with a 2x magnification. It does reasonable damage to enemies being able to kill most within a few bursts(normally 4 when enemy is fully shielded). Its accuracy and range are also reasonably high, being able to hit a target from medium to semi-long ranges.

Advantages

Designated the BR55 Battle Rifle, it has reasonably high power, a decent rate of fire and high accuracy with an electronic 2x magnification scope attachment; it can be used to deliver three-shot-bursts at medium ranges. In multiplayer, four full bursts to the head will kill a fully-shielded opponent, assuming standard shields. This weapon will kill an unshielded enemy in a single head shot. This requires that only one of the three rounds from a burst hit an enemy. Therefore, it is possible to kill up to three unshielded opponents in a single burst if they are grouped close enough to each other, though this is an uncommon occurrence. Right after you shoot however, it is possible to only shoot one shot rather than three bullets with a melee attack to disrupt the burst.

Disadvantages

At longer ranges, it is necessary to minimize strafing movements when firing to avoid "splintering" the shot grouping too much. Since each "shot" is really a three-round-burst, certain movements can break up your shot's grouping and greatly reduce accuracy. This also affects accuracy when firing from a moving vehicle such as a Warthog (especially when firing at a 90-degree angle from the vehicle's heading).

The Battle Rifle also has a knack of firing upwards when shot rapidly. This also would be a disadvantage for players.

The Battle Rifle is not as effective at long ranges. Each bullet also acts as a tracer which gives away the shooter's position. Also, the range is limited compared to the Sniper Rifle. It is also not effective against Sentinels, and does negligible damage against vehicles.

Physical Description and Appearance

The BR55 is a bullpup, fully automatic (Except in Gameplay), UNSC rifle that fires the 9.5x40mm X-HP-SAP round (see below). It fires a three round burst from a 36 round magazine which fits flush in the receiver. The receiver is built directly into the underside of the butt of the gun and is located behind the grip (known as a bullpup configuration).

This titanium alloy weapon is gas-operated with a rotating bolt and therefore must be cocked before the first round can be fired. The charging handle used to chamber the round is located on the left side of the weapon and does not move during operation. Once the first round is fired, the gases from that round and those to follow impinge upon a gas piston, which pushes back the bolt carrier, rotating the bolt inside and continuing to chamber rounds until the magazine is empty. Once the magazine is empty, the charging handle (even though not illustrated in-game) can either be pulled back and locked or, it can be fully cycled after a fresh mag has been housed. If it is pulled back and locked, then it must be pushed forward once a fresh magazine is housed to chamber a new round. The magazine release button is located on both sides of the gun with an arrow pointing down towards the housed mag in the stock. The ejection port is located on the right side of the weapon. There is also a fire selector on both sides of the ammo display.

The BR55, having a rifled barrel, is 89.9cm long and is fitted with a scope for increased accuracy. The scope is mounted on the optics rail. The safety is also located above the handle of the weapon.

Ammo

It is interesting to note the ammo used for the Battle Rifle. It uses a new 9.5mm x 40 Experimental Round. The 7.62 x 51 mm NATO round is a rather high-powered round used on the MA5B and on modern-day marksman rifles and machine guns. The 7.62 mm already has a history of having too much recoil because of the rounds high power, which made it hard to fire fully-automatically in assault rifles. While the BR55's larger 9.5 mm round would be heavier and would thus presumably generate even more recoil than the 7.62 mm NATO, this is not necessarily the case. Since the Battle Rifle's rounds have a noticeably shorter case length than the 7.62 mm NATO (40 mm vs. 51 mm), they most likely contain much less powder than the 7.62 mm NATO, which would yield less muzzle energy and thus less recoil, making the weapon more manageable.

However, the size of the ammo would have a problem fitting in the 36-round magazine of the current Battle Rifle. If a Heckler Koch G3 (which is chambered in 7.62mm x 51) has a standard magazine count of 20 and be the size that it is, it would be hard to see a cartridge much wider than the 7.62mm fit inside of a magazine of the Battle Rifle's size and with a capacity of 36 rounds. The Battle Rifle's magazine would have to be about twice as long as it actually is to hold that many rounds. This is a continuous pattern with UNSC assault rifles as a similar instance occurred with the MA5B. The MA5B has a magazine of 60 rounds chambered in the 7.62mm x 51 with a rather "small" magazine size, which looks to be smaller than the Battle Rifle's magazine.

Combat Tactics

Tactics for Covenant

The BR55 is an all-around infantry weapon for Marines in Halo 2.

Grunts

Grunts are slow and clumsy and lack any form of shielding. They can not breath oxygen so they must breath methane gas from the tanks on their backs. With a single headshot it is possible to kill up to three Grunts in one burst (though very unlikely). Shooting the methane tank is mildly effective.

Jackals

Not as effective against Jackals as Grunts, as the bullets bounce straight off a Jackal's Energy Shield. When confronted by a Jackal with its shield in defense position, fire a well-placed shot through the small notch, and, as the Jackal recoils from the wound, finish it off with a head shot. Also, in close-quarters combat, it is recommended to first melee the Jackal, and then finish it off with a head shot when it recoils from the blow. If playing multi player co-op have one person distract it while the other moves around back and shoot it from there. Note: Jackal shields only cover the front of the Jackal.

Jackal Snipers

At medium range, the rifle is an effective anti-sniper weapon, giving suppressive or covering fire. Since sniper Jackals do not use shields, they can be easily dispatched with a well-placed head shot or a couple shots to the body. As always, it is important to always use proper cover when engaging a Jackal sniper. Be careful you don't get sniped if you are forced to stand in the open, though, and be sure the Jackal doesn't recover and fire off a shot. This is extremely important for Legendary battles.

Elites

The Elite's energy shield is a great defense to the Battle Rifle. On Normal difficulty, a basic Minor Elite takes four full bursts to the head to kill, while Major Elites take six and Ultras take 12. However, unshielded Elites of any rank will die from a single head shot. Try to keep the rifle leveled at its head, and keep firing till it falls dead. It is advisable to soften an Elite up with grenades, melee attacks, or a Plasma Pistol's charged shot before engaging them with a Battle Rifle, especially on higher difficulties.

Brutes

You can kill a Brute with 3 head shots, as the first 2 bursts will knock off the helmet, then the following headshot will kill the Brute. However, shooting a Brute in the torso is not particularly effective due to their extreme resilience.

Hunters

Dodge behind them, and fire as many bursts as possible into their back before they turn around. Be careful when fighting an enraged Hunter, as they can backhand you and kill you with a single strike. It can take quite a few bursts to kill a Hunter, however, especially on higher difficulty levels. It is not recommended for killing Hunters, a weapon such as the SMG or even better yet a sniper rifle is more suited for this job.

Drones

The Battle Rifle is not as effective against Drones, as they are extremely agile fliers, which makes them hard to hit. Furthermore, they are not vulnerable to head shots, and they often attack in swarms. Wait for them to land on a surface, then fire at them. They can take several bursts to kill, the exact number depending on the difficulty level (e.g. it requires two bursts on Easy and Normal). The SMG is more effective against drones because of its quick rate of fire

Tactics for Flood

When fighting Combat Forms, aim for the Infection Form in their chest to kill it in a single shot (Halo 3 only). This will leave the body intact and ready to be taken over again, so it is advisable to shoot off the arms when you have the opportunity. It is also possible to kill a Combat Form by firing at the junction of the host's neck and the tentacles sprouting from it's chest. If a Combat Form you are shooting at has shields, it will take much more to kill it. The Battle Rifle is also effective for killing Infection Forms and Carrier Forms.

Also, in Halo 2 this weapon is poor against The Flood (it takes more than half a clip in bodyshots on easy to kill one human combat form), so the dual SMG combo is the most suitable for them.

Glitches / Cheating

Main article: Button Combo

The Battle Rifle may be used in several glitches. Although they can be used with all weapons, the BXR weapons glitch allows a user to melee, cancel the animation, and then fire, by tapping B (melee), X right afterwards, and then R (the right trigger/gun). This causes an instant kill to a shielded opponent (Elite in campaign or opponent in matchmaking). Also, one of the most notable and common glitches done with the Battle Rifle is the double shot, which is done by rapidly pressing RRX, which causes the rifle to fire two shots in quick succession.

Glitching with the BR55 is, again, a glitch, and therefore is considered cheating. Battle Rifle glitching was unintentional in game development, and was not a predesignated form of game play according to the developers. Game tournament holders such as MLG do not consider this an improper way to play, in fact they embrace these actions because they require skill and knowledge of the game to use.

Another glitch with the BR55 is to aim at the right knee of your character (by looking downward) then run forward while shooting at the knee. The effect of this is ultimately the bullets ricocheting and killing you.

These glitches are only present in Halo 2. They were excised from Halo 3, but in Halo 3 you can lower the weapon but only on local games. This is one of the full-sized guns that can be lowered in Halo 3.

Character Compatibility

Elites
Spartans
Marines
Brutes (High Charity level, only on Legendary, though this is very rare.)
Jackals (can be given to them on Uprising)
Flood Combat Form (Human)
Flood Combat Form (Elite)

Influence

The BR55 is largely based on the QBZ-95 Chinese-designed assault rifle. Introduced in 1995, the QBZ-95 represented a radical departure from previous Chinese infantry arms. The new rifle used a bullpup configuration and was chambered for the lighter 5.85x42mm round. Both the BR55 and the QBZ-95 also notably lack a fully automatic firing setting, but can similarly mount optional rifle accessories on the carrying handle.

Trivia

File:XM8 Assault Rifle.jpg

One of the many influences of the BR55 could have been the XM8.

On the side of the Battle Rifle, (opposite side to the bolt) there are two Chinese symbols, "猴王". Some people have stated that it may mean "The Monkey King".
The evolved Battle Rifle variant in Halo 3 is called the BR55HB SR Battle Rifle.
The Battle Rifle was originally supposed to shoot single rounds in its zoomed mode in Halo 2 based on the Zanzibar play video before its released, it was later changed to contain the normal three-shot fire spurts.
Bungie was not happy on how the M6D Pistol and the MA5B behaved in Halo: Combat Evolved. They complained that the M6D behaved more like a rifle and the MA5B behaved like an SMG. Thus, in Halo 2, the M6C, BR55, and the SMG were born. Robert McLees, a weapons designer in Bungie, commented, "Now we have a rifle that behaves like a rifle, an SMG that acts like an SMG, and a Pistol that acts like a Pistol."
It is unknown how you can technically cancel a burst by a melee or reload.
Although the new BR55HB SR rifle has largely replaced most BR55s, this older weapon may still have a place on the battlefield. It's shorter barrel would allow it to be used in confined spaces easier, almost like a carbine.
This weapon was first introduced in Eric Nylund's Halo: First Strike novel. It was noted that this rifle had "a longer barrel and stock, with a cut down muzzle shroud." "A scope was mounted on an optics railing along the top of the rifle." Spartan-043 (Will) once commented on the rifle, "Auto zoom, nice."
On the Level Quarantine Zone in Halo 2, the player can find a Battle Rifle from a dead UNSC Marine that, when reloaded, can have a total of 236 rounds of ammo total instead of the normal 108 spare rounds.
This weapon and the Plasma Pistol make the notorious Noob Combo. This was parodied in Another day at the beach. The noob combo is usually despised in Halo multiplayer matches and will get the "noob" a lot of insults
When the first prototype came out in 2525 it had 60 rounds per clip.
In the Halo 2 E3 Demo, the Battle Rifle was the only weapon shown used in making a Melee Combo, originally meant to be in the Final Version but was scrapped.
In the Halo 2 E3 demo. the Battle Rifle was shown firing single shots when the player zoomed in and burst fire without the scope
The American M16A2 rifle fires a three-round burst comparable to the Halo universe's BR.
The Battle Rifle does not appear in Halo CE.
The Battle Rifle has a 3 round burst.
The Battle Rifle is a good weapon for fighing flood on Lengendary, due to it's high accuracy and relativley high power.
Battle rifles are good for killing Brutes. A single three-round burst in the head is normally sufficient to kill an unarmoured Brute.
it seems to be preferred weapon on red vs blue after after they began to use halo 2
The Battle Rifle is counted as a sniper weapon, because it can be used to achieve "Headshot Honcho".
The maximum ammo that can be carried for a Battle Rifle is 144, including the ammo inside the clip.

Images

A Flood Combat Form wielding a Battle Rifle.
A Battle Rifle in an early Halo 2 build.
Halo2.jpg

Master Chief firing a BR55 Battle Rifle in a Halo 2 wallpaper.
Master Chief aboard the Cairo Station armed with a Battle Rifle.

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