Combat Rifle

"Ah hell. Gonna set some things right with this shit."

- Coach

The Combat Rifle is a second-tier Assault Rifle variant that has a capacity of 60 rounds per magazine. Unlike the other assault rifles, it fires three-round bursts. Unlike burst rifles in most games, holding down the trigger button will continually fire three round bursts, where in most games, you have to continually press the trigger button. Like the other weapons in Left 4 Dead 2, reloading after emptying the magazine requires the Survivor to chamber a round, extending the reload animation.

Tactics

 * The Combat Rifle is the most accurate of the assault rifles. It works well for picking off Special Infected at a distance.
 * The Combat Rifle's ability to continually fire bursts as long as the trigger is held down makes it an effective weapon for taking down hordes.
 * A total of 420 ammo translates to 140 shots, so be sure to watch your ammunition count.
 * The reload speed on the Combat Rifle is a bit slow, so be sure to reload only when you find a suitable interlude.

Behind the Scenes
Like most weapons in early footage, the Combat Rifle used the Assault Rifle's animations and statistics from Left 4 Dead, as seen in [Rifle Video] at about 1 minute in. It wasn't until later on in development when the burst attack was added and it was given it's own animations.

Trivia

 * The combat rifle is modeled after the FN SCAR-L. The flashlight is mounted via cable ties, although the real-life counterpart features a foregrip RIS rail for just that purpose.
 * The FN SCAR-L is used primarily by the US Special Operation Command, indicating the possible presence of US Special Forces.
 * In the console commands, this weapon is referred to as "rifle_desert"
 * In real life, the FN SCAR series fires in full-automatic with no option for three round bursts, while the M16 series used for the Assault Rifle generally has the ability to fire in three-round bursts.
 * The reload animation in game is unnecessary. When the SCAR is depleted of ammunition, the bolt automatically locks back, allowing the user to rapidly replace the magazine and press the bolt-release.
 * It is the only semi-automatic in the game, with a three burst round. This helps when the player is low on ammo because it can take out an infected with one or two shots on the lower difficulties.