Battle Rifle Tips

The battle rifle is the most versatile gun in the game and you need to master it if you ever want to get any good. It is a mid-long range weapon. It fires in controlled bursts of 3 and is capable of taking out an enemy in 4 shots at mid range. It can be used in just about any situation, and will beat assault rifle every time except in very close range.

You should avoid trying to melee with the battle rifle because it is not as effective as with most other guns, including the assault rifle. It is incredibly effective vs. snipers- 1 headshot will unscope them and then you can continue pumping them full of shots until they are forced to take cover.

You must lead your shots to be a good shooter with the battle rifle. If you shoot like a centimeter from where there head is now in the direction they are moving and you will sink many more shots then shooting straight for their head.

It is very important to note that until the opponents shields have been taken down, A BODY SHOT WILL DO JUST AS MUCH DAMAGE AS A HEAD SHOT. 3 body shots and 1 head shot is just as effective as 4 head shots, although much easier to land. An excellent strategy is to aim for their chest, because your reticule will naturally move up ever so slightly as you are shooting and by the 4th - 5th shot you will be at their head level.

Strafing is absolutely essential in all usage of the BR, especially in BR vs BR. Please refer to my other article on strafing. A point of strafing I would like to bring attention to again is the crouch. It is extremely effective in BR vs. BR battles at mid range because the vast majority of your opponents will aim straight for your head and by crouching you can make them miss a shot entirely. By jumping when you are just about to die you can force them to get 4 body shots which will not kill you rather than 3 body shots and 1 head shot. It does not matter the order either because until your shields are down it does the same damage - so if he hit you with 3 perfect head shots, you jump and he gets a body shot, he still WILL NOT kill you.

To scope or not with the battle rifle? In mid range battles it is absolutely unnecessary and with practice you should be able to shoot better unscoped than scoped. In long range battles, it is your own personal preference. I personally like to scope in for the accuracy bonus, but it comes with the cost of wasting time getting unscoped and then rescoping, ect.

When facing an opponent using a weapon like assault rifle, smg, spiker ect. always move backwards while you are shooting to keep a mid range scenario. If you let them get close enough to you they will have the advantage. I guarantee you if you keep a mid-range while pumping shots into them you will win every time with the battle rifle.

The battle rifle is also extremely effective for detonating explosive material - I can't tell you how many kills I've scored by shooting the fusion coils on The Pit from your opponent coming out of the green hallway where the active camo spawns. Or when they are coming down the hallway from where rockets spawns. This strategy also works great on construct too.

The battle rifle is available on almost every map and if you do not start with one you should make it one of your main concerns to obtain one as quickly as possible. Practice with it constantly and stop using guns like the assault rifle primarily. This is the first and most important move to stepping up your game.

A well tossed frag grenade to take down the shields and 1 clean headshot is a combination that has done me wonders - check out my article on grenade tips for further reference.

A youtube video for you to watch on battle rifles can be found here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MtZbPg36L2w