BR not OP?

[depressant]

Since everyone prefers the BR, I did a test, and I don't know if this is already a thing but both the BR and DMR took 5 shots to kill. What fo you think of this? Are the BR and DMR equal?

[Drizzy_Dan]

In Halo 4 I would say no. It's supposed to be balanced where they each take 5 shots to kill but BRs would be better than DMRs at close range and vice versa. However the DMR in Halo 4 does not have that strong recoil and you can use it at the same range as the DMR along with the long range making it the optimal weapon in my opinion. 

 

In Halo 5 though they do a good job balancing it out giving the DMR enough recoil to hurt your close range accuracy with the weapon.

[rrhuntington]

They're definitely not equal. Perhaps in killtime when comparing in shot count. But BR is better for close to mid range engagements, while the DMR is better at Mid to Long range engagements. These weapons can outduel the other if used appropriately. Using the DMR on a long range BTB map is a good idea, while using the BR in Close Quarters is also a smart move. But have a DMR Vs. BR battle from close range and the BR will win 9/10 times because of a faster rate of fire. Long Range battle will have DMR win because BR is far too inaccurate from that distance. But just because their kill shot count is 5 v 5 doesn't make them equal.

 

I also thought Halo 4 had 4 shot BR placed into it and got rid of 5 shot BR?

[RedStarRocket91]

For some reason, the MCC uses the launch version of Halo 4 rather than the weapon tuning update version in its custom games: this doesn't actually make the BR underpowered, so much as it makes the DMR overpowered, as against things like the AR and Carbine, the BR still performs okay provided it's used at its correct range.

 

However, while I generally like the weapon tuning update, one thing that irks me about it is that it once again makes the Battle Rifle overpowered at anything but very close range, as even though the DMR is supposed to be better at long range, in practice at anything shorter than Sniper Rifle range, the BR is still going to have the advantage due to its low spread: put simply, it's too accurate. This is one of the reasons why I always say that Halo 3 has the best weapon balance: the BR will get torn up at close ranges by an AR user, and at anything beyond mid-long range due to its fairly wide bullet spread it's still unlikely to get kills in anything less than a full magazine, which gives the target plenty of time to fight back or go for cover. Even if the bullet travel time were replaced with the instant hit from other games, it would still be balanced due to spread.

 

The weapon tuning update actually buffs pretty much every weapon except the DMR, so in that regard the BR doesn't actually become too unbalanced - the AR in particular is an absolute monster at close range now - but due to its low spread, reasonable scope, and high aim assist, the BR remains capable of delivering its optimum kill time at pretty much any range, which makes it arguably the 'best' starting weapon - and not simply the most versatile.