L85



The L85 IW (Individual Weapon) is a British bullpup assault rifle designed in the 1970s and 80s. It is a member of the SA80 family of weapons and became the standard service rifle of the Armed Forces of Britain in 1987, replacing the L1A1 SLR. It fires the 5.56x45mm NATO round and is fed from a 30 round detachable STANAG box magazine with an effective range of up to 400 meters and a fire rate of 600-775 rounds per minute.

The A1 variant was prone to jamming, causing German firearms design company Heckler & Koch to modify it to the vastly improved L85A2 variant. Other members of the SA 80 Family include the L86 LSW, the L22A1 Carbine, the L98 Cadet GP (General Purpose) Rifle and the L103 Drill Purpose rifle.

Battlefield 2
"The L-85 is part of the SA80 weapons family. It's a completely new design and when introduced to the British army proved so accurate that they had to redesign their Army Marksmanship tests."

- L85A1 in-game description

The L85A1 is a weapon featured in Battlefield 2. It features a SUSAT scope instead of the iron sights which are featured on the EU's L85A2. It has an average firerate and moderate damage, capable of killing armored targets with a maximum of five rounds. It is the most accurate assault rifle capable of killing with a single headshot, which, combined with the 2.5x scope, makes this weapon a very unique combination. These advantages are offset by a large spread increase per round fired: During full-auto performance, the weapon becomes less accurate than the AK variants on the third shot fired and keeps getting worse, making it mandatory to use single-shot fire whenever possible. Compared to its Euro Force counterpart the L85A1 is marginally more accurate, although with an additional spread applied for prone as well as the other stances and slightly higher spread gain per shot.

Battlefield 2: Euro Force
"The L85A2 is the upgraded variant of the British SA80 assault rifle. The L85A2 design incorporates a bull pup configuration which locates the majority of the weapon's mass to the rear of the gun. It fired standard 5.56mm NATO rounds, and carries a 30 round clip."

- L85A2 in-game description

The L85A2 is found in Battlefield 2: Euro Force. It is used by the EU Assault Kit. The L85A2 differs significantly from the vanilla rifle in that it possesses a different color scheme, a different handguard, and makes use of the iron sights instead of the SUSAT scope which the A1 uses. It also makes use of the AG-36 grenade launcher. Unlike most other weapons which have multiple variants, the L85A2 possesses slightly different stats from its vanilla counterpart: most notably, the A2 has slightly higher spread and higher recoil. However, it is otherwise nigh-identical.

Battlefield 2: Modern Combat
The L85A2 is a weapon featured in Battlefield 2: Modern Combat.

Singleplayer
The L85A2 is issued to NATO assault-class soldiers during In and Out. It has a moderate rate of fire, and erroneously firing a 45 round magazine, high damage and good accuracy. It can kill in a single head shot and is effective as a sharpshooting weapon with its SUSAT scope. It also has an M203 attached to it, though it was originally unusable.

Multiplayer
The L85A2 is issued to the EU Assault kit and can be utilized in a similar manner as in singleplayer.

Battlefield Play4Free
""This Bullpup assault rifle was designed in the 70s and has since been the standard for British armed forces. The rifle fires the 5.56 NATO round from it's detachable mag with great accuracy which sacrificing a high rate of fire. With an incredible range, and excellent single shot accuracy this rifle is sure to provide those who prefer longer range combat with a treat, and a new best friend."''"

- Battlefield Play4Free L85A2 Announcement

The L85A2 is a weapon featured in Battlefield Play4Free and is the primary weapon for the Assault kit. At medium to long ranges the L85A2 is highly accurate compared to most of the other available assault rifles. The slower rate of fire allows for more easily controlled burst fire. Along with the high damage margins, this is the ideal assault rifle for medium-long range combat and counter sniping. The does, however, suffer from a long reload animation and will momentarily cover a large portion of a user's screen when doing so.

Battlefield 3
"Part of the SA80 family, the L85A2 is the standard assault rifle of the British Armed Forces."

- Battlelog description

The L85A2 is an assault rifle featured in the Battlefield 3: Back to Karkand expansion pack. The weapon bears numerous similarities to the AK-74M in terms of handling, with the same rate of fire and similarly low recoil, but the L85A2 has a tendency to drift up and left rather than up and right, and is harsher in doing so than the AK-74M. Additionally, it has the highest spread recovery rate of all of the assault rifles.

It can be unlocked by completing the Professional Russian assignment which was also included in the Back to Karkand expansion. The weapon shares the same unlocks and attachments as the other assault rifles, and like almost all other bullpup weapons it cannot accept the M26 MASS or M320/GP-30 as underslung attachments.

Battlefield Premium members have access to the A-TACS Tactical Camo for this weapon or the Berkut camo upon the completed the L85A2 Specialist assignment.

Battlefield 4
The L85A2 is a weapon featured in Battlefield 4: China Rising and is unlocked upon the completion of the Open Fire assignment.

The L85A2 has major changes compared to the earlier versions. Among the most notable is the raised rate of fire. While the Battlefield 3 variant has a slower rate of fire and low recoil, the Battlefield 4 variant has a higher rate of fire and a predictable vertical muzzle climb. Another notable change is its ability to mount a Grenade Launcher. At close range, the L85A2 has many advantages. Its relatively high rate of fire and its tighter hipfire makes it effective in close quarter battles. At longer ranges, the L85 does suffer from a slightly strong muzzle climb that can easily be remedied by attaching stability increasing attachments, primarily the Muzzle Brake and the Angled Grip or Folding Grip. It is a versatile assault rifle for both long ranges and close quarter battles.

Trivia

 * The L85 thumbnail as seen in  Battlefield Play4Free' s store has no iron sights, but in-game it has iron sights.
 * In Battlefield 3, the mastery dogtag shows the L85A2 with its front iron sights removed.
 * In Battlefield 3, it shares completely identical reload animations with the L86A2.
 * In Battlefield 4, the reload animation for the M320 when attached to the L85A2 is noticeably different from the reload animation for when it is attached to any other assault rifle.