Updated as of 9/15/10)

The Designated Marksman Rifle, also known as the DMR, looks to take the prime position away from the Battle Rifle as the most popular and effective weapon in Halo Reach. The spiritual predecessor of the BR, the DMR is a weapon that requires more skill, better timing, and just like any weapon in a video game, a little bit of luck. Read on to learn how to dominate the playing field with this powerful weapon.

Lets start with the basics. The DMR is a single shot rifle, primarily used for medium to long range combat. You can take out an opponent with 5 well placed shots, which might sound easy enough. However, you also have to take into play it has considerable reticule bloom after every shot. This addition alone makes the learning curve very steep for someone who isn’t used to reticule bloom on weapons.

The DMR comes with 15 bullets in each clip, and default spawned DMRs come with two extra clips along with the one already loaded into the weapon. That ends up being 45 shots per DMR if you don’t pick up any ammo. It sounds like a lot, but if you aren’t playing a “pro” game type where players are spawning with DMRs and plenty are to be found off of dead bodies, than you will realize just how fast you burn through the ammo.

When you first pick up a DMR, you need to understand what kind of situation it is best suited for. Medium to long range combat is best. If you get caught in a close encounter with an enemy, you are going to fare much better switching to the Magnum to take out your opponent. Use the DMR to pick off enemies for afar.

One basic tip I can not stress enough to people is shoot everything you see. This is a basic tip when using every weapon, but you would be surprised how many people won’t shoot an enemy just because they think they are only going to get one bullet into them and it will be pointless. The whole concept of “tagging” an enemy is for the case your team mate might run into that enemy. And any advantage you can give to a team mate is an advantage for you. That one shot head start may be the deciding factor on which person is going to be watching the respawn screen, and who lives to fight another battle.

When first shooting the DMR, the reticule bloom may seem almost overwhelming. There are a few ways to help yourself out and increase the chance that you get the kill. First off, if your opponent looses his shields, then you will only need one shot to the head for a kill. If your reticule is bloomed out, wait before pulling the trigger for almost a second while it resets its self. This will ensure you have the absolute best chance to take a high percentage shot and get the kill. There is a downside to this as well. Your opponent could keep spamming the trigger and not wait to try and take a perfect shot, and he could very easily come away with the kill on you. This doesn’t happen very often, but you will more than likely run into it, especially at medium ranges. Don’t wait for the reticule to completely reset its self back to the default stage, just let it shrink for a little under a second so you get a higher percentage shot.

When looking at the reticule for aiming,  take notice there is a smaller circle inside of the larger one. This is the circle you need to take aim with, because inside of that circle is where your bullets are going.

Now, don’t think the larger circle is just there for looks. It serves a purpose as well. My next tip for the DMR is learning to lead opponents. Hardly ever will you be shooting at a stationary target. Your target is going to be strafing, ducking, jumping, anything he can do to try and dodge your shots and make you miss. This is where the large reticule comes into play. Halo Reach features in game physics which require you to lead your shots on moving targets. Essentially, you are aiming and shooting where your target will be, instead of where he was.

For example. Lets say your opponent is running to the right. If you have his head inside of the far left side of the big circle in the reticule, chances are you will hit your opponent.  You have to lead your shots so you can almost think of it as your enemy running into your shots. You will have to play around with this concept and get used to it. You don’t need to lead them that far, but the longer of a distance you’re at, the further you need to lead an enemy.

I’m  confident  that with a little bit of practice, and using these techniques from this article, you’ll improve your mid to long range game in Halo almost drastically. The DMR is primed to be the primary weapon of choice in Halo Reach, especially in more competitive game types. So make sure you grab one whenever you find one, and practice as much as you can with it. Soon, you’ll be slaying your enemies before they know what hit them.

Written By: Admin

With the Halo Reach beta occupying most of our spare time, I have talked to many players who are just frustrated and wanting to give up. Not so fast my friends, I have came up with a few beginner tips that can also benefit even the best of players who are willing to give them a try. Most of these tips are geared more towards the Arena and slayer game types, but they will definitely help to boost your score in the social hoppers as well

1. Halo Reach is NOT Halo 3.

Some of you may be reading this first tip and be thinking, “duh, we aren’t retarded”. But you would not believe how many people I have played with who have made the comment:

“Man, this is nothing like Halo 3, I hate it.”

Yes, it is nothing like Halo 3, because it ISN’T Halo 3. How is this going to benefit you? Stop trying to play the game like it is Halo 3. With the simple additions of reticule bloom and armor abilities, many of you are thrown off and just cant figure out how to get a kill. Those two things alone make Halo Reach a completely different ballgame, and that is just the tip of the iceberg in changes from Halo 3. Accept the fact that you are going to have to learn to play a new game, adopt new play styles, and get accustomed to the mountain of changes Bungie has thrown at us.

2. Know the maps.

Yes, another very basic beginner tip, but this is one of the most important aspects of any team based first person shooter. Try to learn more than just the weapon spawns and your general way around the map. Pay attention to where doors, walls, drop offs, etc. are so when danger comes, you don’t have to think of an escape plan. If you know the minor details of the map you are playing, you will be able to react much more quickly and efficiently.

Also, pay attention to the bottom left hand of your screen. This time around, Bungie has labeled almost every single part of every map with “call outs”. Learn these as quickly as you can. Being able to call out the exact location of the enemy team can save your teammates life, and can be the different between winning and loosing, especially at higher levels of competition.

3. Learn the locations of health packs, and use them.

In Halo Reach, your shields recharge, but health does not (unless you’re an Elite). Instead, the concept of health packs has been brought back from Halo 1, and they are more helpful than ever.

Find where every single health pack is located, and try your best to stick to those areas of the map. The second you take a hit to your health, use the health pack. They respawn very quickly, so there is a very good chance it will be right back next time you take more damage. If you know these locations and stick to them, you can easily surprise someone who is under the impression you are almost dead.

Be aware health packs do not instantly heal you. There is a quick delay, so be sure you are healed back up before you jump back into the action. Also, whenever you use a health pack, it will automatically start to heal back your shield. This is a very good feature, and makes things better instead of getting full health back but having to wait on the sheild recharge.

4. Adapt to reticule bloom

Reticule bloom is the reticule growing in size after every consecutive shot, which decreases the accuracy on each consecutive shot fired. Reticule bloom also has a cool down, where it will go back to normal. This is most apparent on the DMR and sniper rifle.

You must realize, that with every consecutive shot fired within the same time period, each shot becomes less accurate. While this doesn’t present much of a problem at close range, at medium to long range, this becomes a  major issue while trying to get a head shot to finish off your opponent.

The way to adjust to this bloom, primarily with the DMR, is to let the reticule cool down and shrink a bit before trying to hit the final head shot to kill your enemy. Yes, it will seem very unnatural to stop shooting for a second, but at medium to long ranges, it will make a world of difference. Yes, you could get lucky and pin a head shot either way, but you are much better off letting the bloom shrink and nailing that head shot.

(A full in-depth article looking at the DMR will be coming soon.)

5. Assists and deaths are just as important as kills.

This is a fact that many players just seem to ignore, and they run out into the open going after one kill, and most of the time do not even end up getting it. Instead, they are met by two other teammates, and are easily overwhelmed and killed.

First off, shoot every enemy you see. You never know when that one shot to an enemy can be the difference in your teammate killing him in a DMR battle. Anything to give your team the advantage in any situation is good playing. In the Arena, assists are counted just as much as a kill are towards rating, so don’t be mad that a teammate swooped in and finished a kill. As long as you get an assist on the kill, everything is good.

Also, be sure to pay attention to deaths. In death match game types, many player seem to forget that every time you die, the opposing team is one kill closer to victory. Worry about not dying just as much as you worry about getting the next kill. If you’re chasing a weak opponent and he runs around a corner, don’t follow. More than likely, he is running to teammates, and they will be waiting to swarm you and make sure you don’t get the easy kill.

Take these tips and use them in your next match. I will promise you, that it might just give you the edge in the Arena that you need to be bumped up a division. So many players get so overwhelmed when experiencing Halo Reach for the first few times, they forget to go back to the basics.

Have another beginner tip? Add it as a comment below and share it with other readers!

Editor’s Note: Halo Reach is currently in the Beta at the time of this article. By the time the final version comes out, the game could be substantially different. New, revised articles will be posted once the final version has been released.

Written By: Holy Hitman X