From the Prima Collector’s Guide:
P253 - Developer Commentary on the DMR:
> This thing is absolutely ridiculous long-range. While it does feature a slight amount of bloom to balance it at extreme distances, for the majority of mid to long-range encounters it doesn’t really come into play. The combination of the accuracy, headshot functionality and the improvements we have made to the aim assist system makes this one of the best feeling guns in any Halo game IMO.
> This might surprise some people, but based solely on pure lethality, I’d have to give the ever-so-slight edge to the DMR right now. It’s incredibly precise and simplified with lower rate of fire than in Halo: Reach. Now the only info you need to juggle in your head when going toe-to-toe is the middle of the reticule as you line it up to dome your unfortunate foe. For my money, Battle Rifle with group shot is greater than DMR, but if you’re lone wolfing, DMR is the way to go.
So there you have it. 343 deliberately made the DMR as powerful, if not more powerful, than the BR.
What I’m confused about is that I thought the BR was meant to be a successor to the DMR, effectively replacing it in most combat operations. It’s non-existent in Halo CE, 2 and 3 which occured after Reach, so it’s a little odd that they’ve made the DMR better in this game.
Anyway, to everyone calling for the DMR to be nerfed, I don’t think that’s going to happen since the 343 development team knew how powerful it was in the game and decided to release it anyway. It was intentional and therefore I think it will stay as it is.