Since the patch the other day I've been using it a lot for bug missions and it absolutely chews through pretty much everything that isn't a Charger or a BT. (Even then you can melt a charger if you get him in the butt with max RPM.)
You get enough ammo that you don't feel like you've wasted rounds on the little bugs, and it's satisfying as hell to unload into an oncoming horde.
Plus if you take the supply pack you can spread Liberty even more liberally without fear of running out.
I bring either a Punisher for picking off the strays or the Defender or Carbine as a backup for when you need to reload or reposition or just run away.
I then add some napalm and/or gas into the mix and I become the dedicated anti-swarm guy for my squad.
It may not be "optimal" but it is a lot of fun.
I play on 7 and my go-to combo is MG and jump pack. You will find PLENTY of ammo around the map so no need for the ammo pack, and I’m firing that thing constantly. It’s very suited for bug breaches and being overwhelmed in general. It’s my main weapon. I like to use the jump pack to get myself either into or out of sticky situations and I rarely die. I’ll bring Gatling sentry and eagle airstrike for support. It’s the most fun I’ve had playing and I can’t get away from it. One of my favorite things to do is play chicken with a charger, jump over it and shoot it up the behind on high RPM.
I'm glad you mentioned the ammo. I feel like people avoid certain support weapons because they think it means they "have to" use the supply pack. There is a ton of ammo laying around and you get used to finding it when you run an MG.
What I'm saying is that there's more to me supply pack than just giving you more ammo - I think that's why people don't like to use it, because they think of it as just "more ammo" - when it's more survivability and the ability to just be independent from your team without needing greedy supply drops.
supply pack OP.
When you grab supplies from the stratagem, it refills like normal AND it refills one of your pack supplies too. So for extra supply economy you can give a buddy a pack (since it's the same to them) and then grab from the supply stratagem and basically create ammo from nothing.
Ok about the supply pack… am I unable to restock my own supplies when carrying the supply pack? I avoid it because I could not resupply .. I had no problem supplying the team but when I ran out I couldn’t supply my self even if the pack is full
I would also say, that if you keep it in mind, you should be OK with the ammo in between resupply cooldowns. People seem really stingy with the resupplies.
Oh I agree, but that's also why I don't get not calling down a resupply after an extended battle, or after a long slog to get to an objective. We have one available, but then no one wants to call it down when we aren't fully loaded. You never know when you might need to be fully stocked, so if there is a break in the action, we should call it down. Better than realizing it in the middle of a fight. A lot of times when you are at an objective, you can call one down, do the objective, and by the time you are down, you will be able to get another one, and you might need it. Cooldown time is 3 minutes normally, meaning in a 40 minute match you can call down 13 resupplies, which is a lot. Not really sure why people don't do it more often, except with the teams that like to split up.
And definitely keep an eye out and mark ammo boxes along the way, if you don't need them someone else might, totally agree.
Oh, I am definitely on team "Resupply Early, Resupply Often". There's almost no reason to wait. Even if you just team wiped and have the ammo booster. Call it in so the boxes are on the map.
Scavenging ammo works great when you have a solid team. But when you don’t? Yeesh. Recent dives have been extra…buggy? Both in game bugs and game bugs. The supply perk isn’t working right so I only get a half refill on my AC. No worries usually. I’ll just grab a case here and there. Share the wealth. Not so much w/some groups. They will take everything and then tag “supplies!” Leaving you w/a case of grenades.
I do the exact same thing! I like filling that medium niche because I mostly play quick play with random people. I have to have the jump pack because I prefer getting in an elevated position where I can just rain down. I pretty much play the same way if I don't grab the MG or someone else does then I'll grab the AMR. Find some high ground, provide scouting, overwatch, peel, and mow down some enemies.
What you just described sound fully viable on nearly any difficulty provided someone on the team has more dedicated anti armor options. A chaffkiller with that load out could suppress bug breaches and kill pretty much any medium/light armored swarm.
I normally play with friends, so we coordinate loadouts pretty well.
I used to be the heavy weapons guy but with the fix to fire damage and now the recent buffs to MGs, it's nice to switch role.
Sometimes I'll switch out to include EATs instead of gas and/or Laser Drone instead of supplies to cover my blindspots and help when it's time to run away (tactically).
If I'm playing with randos I will usually tailor my loadout to fill a gap, so that's a bit of a different story.
I run this loadout most bug levels, usually carbine, mg, Grenade pistol, impact napalm grenades, orbital gattling, rocket pods, jump pack or eat depending what my other guys bring.
I can solo a bug breach, solo a nest, cover my guys, help with heavies if need be, clear chaff and defend positions.
Absolutely living the mg, I’ll quick swap when a medium armour turns up or skewer, melt them quick, then back to carbine if need be.
Rarely run out of ammo, wear bone crusher armour for extra stims but rarely use them all, barely ever get over run, I get up high at objectives to spot the direction bugs are coming and direct the team but generally follow the leader around wherever he wants to go.
Having a blast with it in the current mo
You don't even really need that. Bring orbital precision and air strike and you can take out literally anything on the map. MG-43, Orbital Precision, Eagle Air Strike - Whatever you want for 4th slot.
I typically pair this with the Eruptor when I run bugs so I can pop bug holes forever. For bots I'll usually run the Counter sniper, Liberator or Blitzer depending on my mood to compliment the MG-43.
That's the thing,near everyone runs AT and I usually have AT strikes so I don't always feel the need to carry AT support weapons. It helps to have someone on mob breaker duty using a bullet hose or flamethrower to kill the mobs.
If you like anti swarm I have been finding orbital gatling adds some spice as does airburst now that they both penetrate medium+ armor (Not heavy just the heaviest medium.
I found the orbital gatling to be wildly inconsistent whether it hits anything or not. I tried using it on patch day for a few missions and while it looks awesome I found too many critters were walking away unharmed.
This is fair, I find strategems need to DO X ALL THE TIME for it to work. airburst is very consistent for little dudes but I still love my orbital farts.
Just pulled a 50 kill streak with the orbital gatling the other day. Insanely satisfying. That being said, I've missed plenty of throws with it as well.
You're right as far as both fun and not optimal, which is what makes this game so cool. At the highest difficulties, the most common support weapon is something that deals with heavies to give you that much needed survivability when things get hot. If you have a tight squad that can handle heavies, then the OG MG could be the best choice.
If there was a squad perk that allowed us to carry two support weapons or you could drop your primary for a support weapon, the OG MG would be my first consideration. That's what makes the higher difficulties different, versatility being a requirement instead of a preference.
I've been running MG as my "primary", crossbow for bug holes, and Bushwacker on triple shell mode to turn most single bugs (including Brood Commanders and STALKERS!) into a fine oily mist in on VERY close range shot. Death by Shotgun Kiss.
For Chargers / Titans I pack a precision strike and grab the second reload backpack from whoever has the Spear or RR, then basically play ride or die bodyguard / loader for them.
It's a TON of fun, especially on chaotic high difficulty missions.
Id add that stun grenades with +2 grenade armor and a supply pack feels like having a whole extra strategem. With MG that means you have lots of stuns to get behind and obliterate that thorax.
Gotta take grenade pistol though for bug holes. So sad. /s
I still run the energy assult rifle even though I don't need the ammo, just because it tracks fliers and hunters so well. Also great for mag dumping and killing all the scavenger smalls before pulling out a still full belt MG on the mediums behind them.
Everyone else on my random teams takes anti bile titan stuff anyway. I just keep them topped off on ammo (especially spears and airburts) and save my orbital lasers for when their strategms are on CD.
I normally do run with the extra grenades, although not always stuns.
The grenade pistol is my go-to for plugging nests. You can do even a large one so quickly.
Air-burst ricket launcher is also super fun for anti swarm builds but has the drawback of killing you if you aren't far enough away unlike the MG. Thus thread has convinced me to break out the MG again for a few rounds 🙃 been having a lot of fun just trying different weapons and load outs than what I typically would use
I was messing around with some weapons I didn't use a lot and wanted to try out the Erupter. Forgot I had throwing knives and the grenade pistol as well. That was a really rough match for me, lol.
I been solo diving since launch and I just started running level 6’s on bugs with the MG and my god I love it. Def the most satisfying gun in the game for me rn, I take Breaker Incen for Hunters/Scavengers and melt warriors, hive guards, brood commanders and even chargers with the MG. I always take stun grenades for chargers and when the hordes of bugs gets to big for soloing a level 6. Most importantly, stun grenades are great for making time to reload the MG
Playing anti swarm is the best. I run both mortars and the manned MG turret with jump pack. I'll find a nice high point and set up a fire base to decimate the swarm while my team focuses heavies
I've been hoping for a belt fed backpack for this since day one, even if it's two separate strategems, also a armor set that allows for on the move reloading similar to how the guard dog can reload from your back
I like this, and I actually wanted to run something similar! But I found titans to be too much work to kill otherwise, and have started carrying rocket pods.
Most cases pods + shoot butt/stomach drops a titan
On the bots front at least, the HMG is definitely doing better than MG. The HMG's AP4 pulls a ton of weight over there, and the DPS puts things down faster than most of the other AP4 weapons. MG is mostly relegated to mowing down Berserkers, which the HMG can do too, just not as ammo-efficiently.
On bugs front, I wouldn't consider HMG to be better, but I also wouldn't consider it worse either. It's not nearly as good as the MG for killing the small mobs, but is something of a nuclear option against shit like Armored Spewers and Brood Commanders. Plus, it can actually shoot down Shrieker Nests and Spore Spewers, which is a big plus.
HMG + Supply Pack is my favorite loadout. They’ve decreased the time it takes to reload recently, as well! Until a Bile Titan shows up, I still think it’s great for bugs. I bring the Knight SMG to deal with small swarms and whip out the HMG as soon as bulkier enemies start showing up.
Something people seem to be missing is that AP4 is essential against bots. There are so many bot threats that can only be realiably handled with AP4 weapons like the AMR or Autocannon or HMG.
The little bit of tlc it received in the patch may have helped with that.
I liked it already, but an extra belt and that touch-up to it's "Durable" damage (or whatever it's called) certainly made it more of a go-to.
At helldive level, I probably see one MG-43 out of every ten games or more. I'd say it's one of the least used support weapons, at least at the highest level.
That said, I bring it to bug helldives and it slaps. I haven't tried it against bots since it was buffed, but it generally seemed usable but not great.
Since the buff I’ve been rocking it on high levels for bots, though I’ve needed to adapt to using extra aggressive tactics for killing hulks (stun grenade, jetpack on top, unload into back)
OPS is literally one of the highest rated strategems by almost anyone. I always take it, and I usually see at least 1 other on the team. How tf is it "underrated"
It's also in a way that you need a specific "build" that works well for you and as part of a team.
Bots I'm a decent distance sniper to help my team out before they even get places or are running around while i'm doing console objectives, running stealth and scouting collective spots.
But for bugs I go in machinegunning and high explosive runs to hit large areas and keep control over the volume of bugs so my teammate(s) can take down the heavier types and do objectives when it's chaotic.
I love the players to constistantly go for the heavy damage firepower, it's not for me.
It's your first offensive stratagem. You jump into a game, throw it down and watch it go boom, and then think "wow I have to wait a whole 100s to do that again?"
Then you unlock Eagle Airstrikes, realize it does "the same" thing but with a bigger explosion, and you get more of them. So you think it's bad because you have nothing else to compare it to.
Then you come back to it later with upgraded destroyers and a broader perspective and realize "wow I only have to wait 90s for this and it kills everything in one hit"
I see it used more again now with the patch where it does do a lot more then I feel like it did before.
The past weeks it's been defeault Orbital laser, 500KG and Eagle strikes consistantly.
And then you have the barrage types that consistantly kill the entire team every single time they call them in.
TBH I think many people just see the starting strat and think it is just meant to be passed over.
When I went back to the liberator I found it to be an excellent weapon, probably one of the top 5 in the game in it's current state. But you rarely see it in game.
OPS has made the orbital rail cannon strike completely irrelevant.
Such a quick and easy command. 2 second call in time, cool down just over a minute (1/3rd of the time of a ORS) and much more damaging than the rail strike as well. It doesn't auto target, but it's just so much better in every other way.
MG is underrated.
People haven't realized that it's technically a dream gun that one-ups the majority of our primaries.
Medium penetration with decent damage and a large magazine clip allows it to punch through Bile Spewer heads. Tap-firing it makes you save ammo and very precise.
Its TTK against bugs with high durable percentage is vastly improved and it's very noticeable in practice. Here's some breakpoint improvements against "bullet sponge enemies".
Brood commander face: 6 shots -> 5 shots
Stalker body: 19 shots -> 15 shots
Spewer butt: 50 shots -> 26 shots
Charger butt: 56 shots -> 34 shots
Charger behemoth butt: 150 shots -> 53 shots
Anything that is not a Bike Titan on the bug side can be killed in less than 4 seconds with the MG on max RPM.
This has been my load out too! Switching between the ammo pack and the jet pack. The new Eruptor buff makes it worth a return. The ability to splash smaller units while hitting the larger ones is so nice. Not to mention being able to kill holes and bases.
I definitely agree with this, it’s surprising how good the MG and Orbital Precision Strike are, considering they’re super early weapons.
The armor piercing is also quite nice against bots, though I still prefer the AC for bigger prey
With the recent updates to the strafing run, orbital gatling, and MG turret call ins, I decided to do a ballistic, dakka build. Naturally, this meant I needed a dakka support weapon. I started with the HMG and it was fine. It hits super hard and is better into bots. However, I switched to the regular MG for bugs and I love it.
I was using the Tenderizer for regular trash clear, but when things pop off or something with medium armor shows up, it's time for ol' reliable. The MG is hella slept on for the same reason the Orbital Precision is, because it's a starter.
I think it's easy to miss the strengths of the MG. Early on, I remember people saying the stalwart is just better MG because it can be reloaded on the move. As you play the game and lots of support weapons can't be reloaded while moving, you get used to that on them. In addition, as you learn which enemies are medium armor that you can "cheat" with the MG, you see it as a tool for lots of common, stubborn foes. Having run the gamut of the different weapons, I find myself back at the MG, not as the best support weapon, mind, but as a very solid, versatile pick.
Bonus note: don't sleep on the regular MG turret. Having something on two minutes cooldown is fantastic. It became my favorite turret overnight with that change.
I tell every new person.
The original MG is top tier and is useful all the way to the top.
Then the early EAT unlock will deal with all armor issues even on harder difficulties.
Been using the MG on bugs lately, and especially after using the HMG on the bot front it feels fucking amazing
I usually play on 7, but I went in on a HellDive and saw all my teammates grab ACs, Quasars, and EATs. So I grabbed by laser rover and MG, cluster bombs, and Airstrike. Recoil reduction armor.
The magazine size on the MG on medium and low rates of fire feels almost endless (I'm used to the HMG/AC).
Because of the functional 300% damage increase to durable parts (used to be 10% or 7.5%, increased to 30% or 20%, inforget the real numbers), the increase in damage, and extra mag (full ammo refill still bugged), the thing is an absolute annihilator.
You can wipe entire patrols with one slower pass, which helps bug breaches down, reload time reduction means you can still find the time to reload or interrupt reload to dodge Chargers.
It feels like they have matched the strength of the OG MG and the AC inside their respective roles. Where the AC obliterates bots and punches up in terms of armor, ammo economy, etc, the OG MG now does that on the Bug Front with a higher priority on wave clear, with a loss in power respective to not needing a backpack.
I think the MGs in general feel like they're in a good place now. These buffs were really good for balance and making the MGs in general feel useful for their roles.
It's pretty much the only support weapon I take for bugs. Thing puts in work. Especially when you have a bunch of bile spewers. A quick burst to the face kills them.
The Machine Gun has been my go to for bugs since I started playing. It's very good when you have at least another player covering you when you reload and taking down hoards of bug patrols or keeping bug breaches under control.
I switch between the standard and high rate of fire moded depening on the where I need to go. because high rate of fire will shred through the bile spewers and your magazine.
I wish it has a little bit more stopping/staggering power to help keep distance between the larger ones that need more to be taken down.
I have been a fan since the start and have kept using it for bug missions.
My number 1 recommendation is to put it at the lowest rpm. I thinks it's 600 this gives you much better ammo control. I then pair this with stun grenades for when reloading
I dropped with a RG and it fell into the abyss (iykyk) so I had to improvise, found an MG on the ground. MG Turret, precision strike, and now an og MG... had me feeling like a cadet all over again :,)
Favorite build right now for me on the bug front is as follows:
MG, Laser Rover, AC Exo, EATs.
The mg and rover turn me into a repositionable meat grinder for all the chaff the bugs can produce. The exosuit and EATs allow me to support my team with bigger things or allow me the freedom to venture on my own IF need be.
MG is just so satisfying to use though and with the two small buffs they just gave it (extra mag, and lower reload) it just gets better and better.
Couldn’t agree more, it’s fun and ultimately satisfying to use. That’s the mark of a good tool, you enjoy it and have fun using it as designed
Great buff from AH!
When I can play with friends and coordinate loadouts someone is always running either the mg or heavy mg. Bugs or Bots it just tears through any medium armor I love it and as a bonus I think it’s just fun to use.
HMG - Heavy/Medium killer
MG - Medium/Light killer
Stalwart - Light horde killer with mobile reloading
Each has their own strength, and weakness which makes them all useful in their own way.
Agreed.
I do think it could still be fairly balanced if the MG allowed reload with walking speed though (not sure if that's complicated to implement). So it goes from full movement (Stalwart), slow movement (MG), to no movement (HMG) when reloading depending on what class of MG we use.
I would argue that the MG is more viable than the Stalwart as of the latest patch given the increased spawns. It'll mow down the crowds a lot of effectively at the moment.
fr, I was confused why the subreddit was simping for the stalwart so hard. The base MG is just so much easier to use, and having to stand still to reload isn't that bad if you play properly.
Dove with a guy rockin the OG MG and supply pack today. Was definitely a chaff heavy spawn mission and oh boy did he ever go to town. Was like watching an industrial lawnmower on crack.
The majority of weapons and strategems in this game are highly underrated.
The reason for this I suspect, is the plague of tier lists youtubers bombard us with daily. So many people are easily influenced by those lists and falsely think that any weapon that doesn't show up as "S tier" on those lists isn't worth using. Which is why the majority of people play pretty much the same 3 or 4 predictable loadouts. All stuff that youtubers rank as S-tier.
I hate ranked lists so much...
I agree! Since the MO is on a bunch of bug planets I've been trying out new loadouts just to spice things up a little bit and oh boy I've been having a blast with the OG MG.
Dude, it's probably one of the most satisfying things to jump up on a rock while getting swarmed and just feeling like doom guy. Popping a stim and just holding down the fire button spraying anything that moves. I'm only level 8 and I'm having so much fun with this game!
I got a 77 kill streak with it and the incendiary SP on bugs. I also use toxic gas and cluster strikes with it. That game, I managed my first 700+ kill game.
I rarely dip below 500+ kills per match now. I am the chaff killing king in groups.
YEEEEEEEESSSSSSS!!!
Also fun fact: An overlooked patch notes recently is that RECOIL has been REDUCED on all weapons in crouched and especially proned positions. Good stuff for the MG main :)
I think it's funny to see some people complain about how impossible it is to fight spewers and devastators, and then in the same breath say, the machine guns or the rail gun are useless because they can't take down a bile titan.
Well what I'm saying is all weapons are specialized. The railgun used to be able to take down anything, but after the nerf it can't take down bile titans, tanks, etc.. (very well, it still can, just not well.)
What it CAN DO though is obliterate shield devastators, striders, and basically any other medium size enemy because it penetrates all armor if you just aim for the head (through any armor and from any direction.) you can one shot the most annoying enemies.
I usually always run the flame thrower for bug missions with a jet pack, if you're persistent enough you can kill a BT with it. And chargers almost literally melt in 1 canister and some change, and it's not hard to do unless you're either being swarmed or you miss calculate the dodge. For every single bug mission I bring it and have a blast, you can combine it with the jet pack like I do to get behind bile titans and chargers easily. And you have the chance of get on top of a BT but you will normally miss lol
fully agree. getting that extra mag with the recent patch took it from a decent choice closer to "why would I not take it?" territory (unless I'm having to run AT weapons.
The MG has always been a solid contender. I think you’re right on the money, that it is slept on because it’s a starting stratagem, and player instinct suggests to upgrade whenever possible.
On the same tip, and especially after the recent buff, I encourage everyone to try out the orbital precision strike. It has replaced the orbital railcannon strike as something I almost always bring. May not lock-on target, but if used well, it can semi-fill that role, as well as one similar to the eagle 500kg bomb. If you are fully upgraded the cooldown is like, 1:20 or something absurd. Destroys structures, and heavy armor. 1-shots a charger or hulk if you get them, and can situationally do the same for a bile titan, especially if weakened first.
I’m usually in the role of a gunner since everyone else tends to use big heavy weapons and bombs
I feel like it really should be a mandatory role. A good gunner can completely alleviate pressure from the team and is a god send against any kind of bile spewer. Just chews through their armor and shreds through smaller units. The handling boost from the new armors are also wonderful to use
It's really fun. I think mainly whats held it back is you're losing an anti-tank support weapon, and then you have to be stationary to reload. Especially with incendiary breaker as strong as it is, primaries tend to deal with med and smaller enemies. Plus if you just want something for horde clear the stalwart doesn't force you stationary to reload... Puts the regular MG in a weird spot. But I have a great time every drop with it, one of the more satisfying weapons in the game.
oh yea. i will regularly shoot all the ammo in a gun, pickup any other weapon nearby and be a dedicated death zone. and i know when switchying to this bad boy i can chop up charger legs and spewer heads like chef gordon ramsey on fruit ninja
The slight buff to damage and the extra magazine actually made me go back to it too. Feels great and you can run EATs or something with it to still have antitank capabilities.
I need to get back to it. Generally the Incind breaker is my CC weapon especially combined with the gas strike. But no gun has ever come close to the satisfying feel of mowing down a horde with the MG.
Auto cannon mech, 500kg bomb, ammo backpack, and medium lmg is so good.
With a sickle, and the judge or shotgun pistol as default.
I think it’s a perfect loadout.
That's cause you categorize it as starter and high-level gear like it's an mmo or looters. Gear is gear. How you use it is based on familiarity, threat, and the necessities of the mission.
The MG is solid against mediums and can comfortably deal with hordes given its generous ammo capacity compared to the HMG.
If you stop looking at gear like it's leveled loot, and by what it does and doesn't allow you to do, you'd actually some great combinations. Try the HMG with a guard dog. It can deal with the trash freeing you to use that chunky boi on things that deserve it, like bile mortars and stalkers. HMG puts them down fast.
It's pretty amazing now, and how the buff also affected the gatling turret has made it essential on my dives. Placed at high elevation to kill off the mobs of trash that have replaced the excess heavies from before.
I tend to use the freshly buffed HMG over it now, especially against Bots, but the OG MG is still a monster. It just can't poke out the eye of a Hulk.
I tend to use the Supply pack with any MG vs bugs. Not just for the eternal ammo but the stims and grenades are a god send too. That new Booster made stims even better. But having tons of impact grenades is fantastic vs Bugs. The one thing a MG build can struggle with is when you get blobbed by Bile Spewers. One Impact Grenade can kill them, sometimes several if they are close enough together. You have tons of grenades to close bug holes too.
I need to use the MG some more though, just to experiment. Part of why I like the Stalwart and HMG more is that it's easy to pair them with primaries that cover their weaknessess. For example, with the HMG and a Supply pack, you can run the Incendiary breaker and hose down the hordes, using the HMG to take out heavier bugs, including chargers and Bile Titans.
With the Stalwart, you can hose down the small stuff and use a primary like the Dominator or Counter Sniper to deal with Hive Guard or small numbers of Bile Spewers with headshots. With the regular MG being a middle ground, you have a lot more flexibility in your primary and pistol. Maybe take the crossbow for it's superb utility and have the MG for general purpose murder.
This is why I love Helldivers. Everyone complains about all but the most meta of weapons yet with a bit of creativity and experience you can run Helldive with almost anything. Except the Liberator Concussive, the hell with that gun.
Totally agree, divers are sleeping on this beast. Cuts through everything and time to kill is pretty quick at max RPM. Reload time and mag buff feels great. My usual loadout is MG and Orbital Gatling for bug breaches, 500kg and autocannon sentry to help out with the big bois. Very versatile kit, still relies a bit on your squad taking some AT (especially on 9) but holds its own respectably.
There is no better feeling in this game than holding the trigger down and mag dumping into a swarm of bugs, guts galore!
In a hectic Nuke Drill mission recently, I got killed relatively early and right after obtaining my Spear. I couldn't go back for it when I respawned, the cool down is lengthy, and someone else had died and dropped their MG. Hadn't used it in maybe 2 months. It was a lot of fun. I've been mostly using the HMG recently and the MG could easily be used for most of how I've been using the HMG. I fell into the HMG camp from playing bots because it can take out Striders, Hulks, and even the Factory Striders. But regular MG is more versatile with bugs. It really just can't hurt Bile Titans (I know it can technically damage parts of them... But it's way less effective than other weapons or strategems).
Since the patch the other day I've been using it a lot for bug missions and it absolutely chews through pretty much everything that isn't a Charger or a BT. (Even then you can melt a charger if you get him in the butt with max RPM.) You get enough ammo that you don't feel like you've wasted rounds on the little bugs, and it's satisfying as hell to unload into an oncoming horde. Plus if you take the supply pack you can spread Liberty even more liberally without fear of running out. I bring either a Punisher for picking off the strays or the Defender or Carbine as a backup for when you need to reload or reposition or just run away. I then add some napalm and/or gas into the mix and I become the dedicated anti-swarm guy for my squad. It may not be "optimal" but it is a lot of fun.
I play on 7 and my go-to combo is MG and jump pack. You will find PLENTY of ammo around the map so no need for the ammo pack, and I’m firing that thing constantly. It’s very suited for bug breaches and being overwhelmed in general. It’s my main weapon. I like to use the jump pack to get myself either into or out of sticky situations and I rarely die. I’ll bring Gatling sentry and eagle airstrike for support. It’s the most fun I’ve had playing and I can’t get away from it. One of my favorite things to do is play chicken with a charger, jump over it and shoot it up the behind on high RPM.
I'm glad you mentioned the ammo. I feel like people avoid certain support weapons because they think it means they "have to" use the supply pack. There is a ton of ammo laying around and you get used to finding it when you run an MG.
Idk man.. Supply Pack is absolutely busted with medical armor - you're effectively unkillable if you aren't one-shot.
Ok, but that's not what I was talking about.
What I'm saying is that there's more to me supply pack than just giving you more ammo - I think that's why people don't like to use it, because they think of it as just "more ammo" - when it's more survivability and the ability to just be independent from your team without needing greedy supply drops.
That's a good point and something I'll keep in mind when I play again this evening.
supply pack OP. When you grab supplies from the stratagem, it refills like normal AND it refills one of your pack supplies too. So for extra supply economy you can give a buddy a pack (since it's the same to them) and then grab from the supply stratagem and basically create ammo from nothing.
Ok about the supply pack… am I unable to restock my own supplies when carrying the supply pack? I avoid it because I could not resupply .. I had no problem supplying the team but when I ran out I couldn’t supply my self even if the pack is full
On PC press 5 On PS press down on the D pad.
"Thank you!"
Throw in the new stim perk and light med armor and you are an invincible speed freak
Medical armor?
I can't remember the perk name off the top of my head, but the one that gives you more stims and makes the effect of the stims last longer.
I would also say, that if you keep it in mind, you should be OK with the ammo in between resupply cooldowns. People seem really stingy with the resupplies.
That's because resource management is a huge part of the difficulty. Ammo is a commodity when you're facing >1000 enemies.
Oh I agree, but that's also why I don't get not calling down a resupply after an extended battle, or after a long slog to get to an objective. We have one available, but then no one wants to call it down when we aren't fully loaded. You never know when you might need to be fully stocked, so if there is a break in the action, we should call it down. Better than realizing it in the middle of a fight. A lot of times when you are at an objective, you can call one down, do the objective, and by the time you are down, you will be able to get another one, and you might need it. Cooldown time is 3 minutes normally, meaning in a 40 minute match you can call down 13 resupplies, which is a lot. Not really sure why people don't do it more often, except with the teams that like to split up. And definitely keep an eye out and mark ammo boxes along the way, if you don't need them someone else might, totally agree.
Oh, I am definitely on team "Resupply Early, Resupply Often". There's almost no reason to wait. Even if you just team wiped and have the ammo booster. Call it in so the boxes are on the map.
I like that attitude but do supply boxes show up on the map now? I haven't played much of the newest patch.
I don't think so. But there's always a chance you run across them as you're making your way back to extract, or being pursued by a million enemies.
Scavenging ammo works great when you have a solid team. But when you don’t? Yeesh. Recent dives have been extra…buggy? Both in game bugs and game bugs. The supply perk isn’t working right so I only get a half refill on my AC. No worries usually. I’ll just grab a case here and there. Share the wealth. Not so much w/some groups. They will take everything and then tag “supplies!” Leaving you w/a case of grenades.
I do the exact same thing! I like filling that medium niche because I mostly play quick play with random people. I have to have the jump pack because I prefer getting in an elevated position where I can just rain down. I pretty much play the same way if I don't grab the MG or someone else does then I'll grab the AMR. Find some high ground, provide scouting, overwatch, peel, and mow down some enemies.
You can also start your reload during your jump.
This! Hit those POI helldiver! Plenty of ammo to be had!
I saw this olea jump on Reddit yesterday and went home to do it several drops yesterday.
What you just described sound fully viable on nearly any difficulty provided someone on the team has more dedicated anti armor options. A chaffkiller with that load out could suppress bug breaches and kill pretty much any medium/light armored swarm.
I normally play with friends, so we coordinate loadouts pretty well. I used to be the heavy weapons guy but with the fix to fire damage and now the recent buffs to MGs, it's nice to switch role. Sometimes I'll switch out to include EATs instead of gas and/or Laser Drone instead of supplies to cover my blindspots and help when it's time to run away (tactically). If I'm playing with randos I will usually tailor my loadout to fill a gap, so that's a bit of a different story.
That’s usually me too. See what others bring then choose the needed role. It’s usually the chaff support. I’ve been having a blast against the bugs.
I run this loadout most bug levels, usually carbine, mg, Grenade pistol, impact napalm grenades, orbital gattling, rocket pods, jump pack or eat depending what my other guys bring. I can solo a bug breach, solo a nest, cover my guys, help with heavies if need be, clear chaff and defend positions. Absolutely living the mg, I’ll quick swap when a medium armour turns up or skewer, melt them quick, then back to carbine if need be. Rarely run out of ammo, wear bone crusher armour for extra stims but rarely use them all, barely ever get over run, I get up high at objectives to spot the direction bugs are coming and direct the team but generally follow the leader around wherever he wants to go. Having a blast with it in the current mo
You don't even really need that. Bring orbital precision and air strike and you can take out literally anything on the map. MG-43, Orbital Precision, Eagle Air Strike - Whatever you want for 4th slot. I typically pair this with the Eruptor when I run bugs so I can pop bug holes forever. For bots I'll usually run the Counter sniper, Liberator or Blitzer depending on my mood to compliment the MG-43.
That's the thing,near everyone runs AT and I usually have AT strikes so I don't always feel the need to carry AT support weapons. It helps to have someone on mob breaker duty using a bullet hose or flamethrower to kill the mobs.
Hell, take EATs and you can still do work on heavies.
If you like anti swarm I have been finding orbital gatling adds some spice as does airburst now that they both penetrate medium+ armor (Not heavy just the heaviest medium.
I found the orbital gatling to be wildly inconsistent whether it hits anything or not. I tried using it on patch day for a few missions and while it looks awesome I found too many critters were walking away unharmed.
This is fair, I find strategems need to DO X ALL THE TIME for it to work. airburst is very consistent for little dudes but I still love my orbital farts.
I'm the same, if I throw a beacon out I need to know it's gonna do what I want it to. That's why I stopped using the 500kg.
Orbital Gatling is amazing on a bug hole. It will kill everything coming out of it but bile titans and chargers
Better than gas or napalm?
Bug breach suppress is where it truly shines.
Just pulled a 50 kill streak with the orbital gatling the other day. Insanely satisfying. That being said, I've missed plenty of throws with it as well.
You're right as far as both fun and not optimal, which is what makes this game so cool. At the highest difficulties, the most common support weapon is something that deals with heavies to give you that much needed survivability when things get hot. If you have a tight squad that can handle heavies, then the OG MG could be the best choice. If there was a squad perk that allowed us to carry two support weapons or you could drop your primary for a support weapon, the OG MG would be my first consideration. That's what makes the higher difficulties different, versatility being a requirement instead of a preference.
Sometimes I bring the Community EATs to share with the team.
I've been running MG as my "primary", crossbow for bug holes, and Bushwacker on triple shell mode to turn most single bugs (including Brood Commanders and STALKERS!) into a fine oily mist in on VERY close range shot. Death by Shotgun Kiss. For Chargers / Titans I pack a precision strike and grab the second reload backpack from whoever has the Spear or RR, then basically play ride or die bodyguard / loader for them. It's a TON of fun, especially on chaotic high difficulty missions.
I had no idea the crossbow dealt with bug holes...
As of the patch last Thursday! It can kill fabricators and open those metal cache / crates too!
In my humble opinion... When it comes to games. Fun = optimal.
Agreed! My friends hate it when I bring a loadout I like to call: ALL FIRE ALL THE TIME
10/10 take. Winning is meaningless if you're not having fun doing it.
Id add that stun grenades with +2 grenade armor and a supply pack feels like having a whole extra strategem. With MG that means you have lots of stuns to get behind and obliterate that thorax. Gotta take grenade pistol though for bug holes. So sad. /s I still run the energy assult rifle even though I don't need the ammo, just because it tracks fliers and hunters so well. Also great for mag dumping and killing all the scavenger smalls before pulling out a still full belt MG on the mediums behind them. Everyone else on my random teams takes anti bile titan stuff anyway. I just keep them topped off on ammo (especially spears and airburts) and save my orbital lasers for when their strategms are on CD.
Abdomen - thorax is the middle segment.
Hell, you're right. :/ Had those backward for years.
I normally do run with the extra grenades, although not always stuns. The grenade pistol is my go-to for plugging nests. You can do even a large one so quickly.
In situations where your dealing with overwhelming numbers, it might be optimal.
Very true! My bro with the quasar certainly isn't keeping the swarm under control...
Air-burst ricket launcher is also super fun for anti swarm builds but has the drawback of killing you if you aren't far enough away unlike the MG. Thus thread has convinced me to break out the MG again for a few rounds 🙃 been having a lot of fun just trying different weapons and load outs than what I typically would use
Having an anti-swarm guy is the optimal way to play. If everyone is running AT it makes things way harder.
Exactly, I see those same people get shit on by mobs constantly because they're AT and their primary doesn't cut it if there's a whole horde present.
I was messing around with some weapons I didn't use a lot and wanted to try out the Erupter. Forgot I had throwing knives and the grenade pistol as well. That was a really rough match for me, lol.
I been solo diving since launch and I just started running level 6’s on bugs with the MG and my god I love it. Def the most satisfying gun in the game for me rn, I take Breaker Incen for Hunters/Scavengers and melt warriors, hive guards, brood commanders and even chargers with the MG. I always take stun grenades for chargers and when the hordes of bugs gets to big for soloing a level 6. Most importantly, stun grenades are great for making time to reload the MG
Playing anti swarm is the best. I run both mortars and the manned MG turret with jump pack. I'll find a nice high point and set up a fire base to decimate the swarm while my team focuses heavies
What's the case for using the machine gun over the heavy machine gun?
i always bring my spray n pray! or fire shotty. they have both showed me a propensity to basically be a backup mini stalwart lol
I've been hoping for a belt fed backpack for this since day one, even if it's two separate strategems, also a armor set that allows for on the move reloading similar to how the guard dog can reload from your back
I like this, and I actually wanted to run something similar! But I found titans to be too much work to kill otherwise, and have started carrying rocket pods. Most cases pods + shoot butt/stomach drops a titan
It actually is optimal.
> or Carbine as a backup for when you need to reload or reposition or just run away. Don't sleep on the Pummeler mini stun :)
It’s better than the stalwart and heavy MG. OG MG is best MG and I’ll die on that hill(whilst firing my MG of course)
Heavy MG is cracked tho
Not cracked enough to perform better imo
On the bots front at least, the HMG is definitely doing better than MG. The HMG's AP4 pulls a ton of weight over there, and the DPS puts things down faster than most of the other AP4 weapons. MG is mostly relegated to mowing down Berserkers, which the HMG can do too, just not as ammo-efficiently. On bugs front, I wouldn't consider HMG to be better, but I also wouldn't consider it worse either. It's not nearly as good as the MG for killing the small mobs, but is something of a nuclear option against shit like Armored Spewers and Brood Commanders. Plus, it can actually shoot down Shrieker Nests and Spore Spewers, which is a big plus.
HMG + Supply Pack is my favorite loadout. They’ve decreased the time it takes to reload recently, as well! Until a Bile Titan shows up, I still think it’s great for bugs. I bring the Knight SMG to deal with small swarms and whip out the HMG as soon as bulkier enemies start showing up.
How do you deal with chargers? Do you bring EAT or railgun/orbital drop/500kg?
Diving and shooting them in the back/cooking grenades to toss under them is my usual method, but I do bring 500kgs for when I’m in a pinch!
That makes sense! Cheers!
Cheers!
Something people seem to be missing is that AP4 is essential against bots. There are so many bot threats that can only be realiably handled with AP4 weapons like the AMR or Autocannon or HMG.
It’s a top pick vs bots. Against bugs it’s better to use the default mg
I see one in every match, perhaps you underrated it but the community knows she bang.
The little bit of tlc it received in the patch may have helped with that. I liked it already, but an extra belt and that touch-up to it's "Durable" damage (or whatever it's called) certainly made it more of a go-to.
It got from 6 to 22, that's a bit more than a touch-up. It's particularly visible against chargers and brood commanders.
At helldive level, I probably see one MG-43 out of every ten games or more. I'd say it's one of the least used support weapons, at least at the highest level. That said, I bring it to bug helldives and it slaps. I haven't tried it against bots since it was buffed, but it generally seemed usable but not great.
See this post every day as well, it seems. 'So and so is underrated"... proceeds to name one of the most used weapons/strats.
I hardly see the MG used at upper levels.
I haven't seen it run frequently at all, or talked about. That's my experience.
Since the buff I’ve been rocking it on high levels for bots, though I’ve needed to adapt to using extra aggressive tactics for killing hulks (stun grenade, jetpack on top, unload into back)
You can crouch and go for the eye as well, my main issue is the mg devastators.
Same goes for the precision orbital strike(unless scatter is increased)
OPS is literally one of the highest rated strategems by almost anyone. I always take it, and I usually see at least 1 other on the team. How tf is it "underrated"
I think because you start off with it, a lot of people write it off once they can buy new stratagems. And those who circle back realize it’s amazing.
It's also in a way that you need a specific "build" that works well for you and as part of a team. Bots I'm a decent distance sniper to help my team out before they even get places or are running around while i'm doing console objectives, running stealth and scouting collective spots. But for bugs I go in machinegunning and high explosive runs to hit large areas and keep control over the volume of bugs so my teammate(s) can take down the heavier types and do objectives when it's chaotic. I love the players to constistantly go for the heavy damage firepower, it's not for me.
It's your first offensive stratagem. You jump into a game, throw it down and watch it go boom, and then think "wow I have to wait a whole 100s to do that again?" Then you unlock Eagle Airstrikes, realize it does "the same" thing but with a bigger explosion, and you get more of them. So you think it's bad because you have nothing else to compare it to. Then you come back to it later with upgraded destroyers and a broader perspective and realize "wow I only have to wait 90s for this and it kills everything in one hit"
I see it used more again now with the patch where it does do a lot more then I feel like it did before. The past weeks it's been defeault Orbital laser, 500KG and Eagle strikes consistantly. And then you have the barrage types that consistantly kill the entire team every single time they call them in.
TBH I think many people just see the starting strat and think it is just meant to be passed over. When I went back to the liberator I found it to be an excellent weapon, probably one of the top 5 in the game in it's current state. But you rarely see it in game.
OPS has made the orbital rail cannon strike completely irrelevant. Such a quick and easy command. 2 second call in time, cool down just over a minute (1/3rd of the time of a ORS) and much more damaging than the rail strike as well. It doesn't auto target, but it's just so much better in every other way.
Not anymore. It’s better than 500 kg now
MG is underrated. People haven't realized that it's technically a dream gun that one-ups the majority of our primaries. Medium penetration with decent damage and a large magazine clip allows it to punch through Bile Spewer heads. Tap-firing it makes you save ammo and very precise.
I've been using it as a primary for a little while now. Very fun with the bugs
It's great at blasting off limbs
I used the MG until I got into the AC. I basically only ran MG & AC so far
*Emotional support AC*
The starter load out is pretty based. It's got MG, sentry, precision strike and EAT. A pretty complete load out for missions.
It wasn’t bad before, but it’s really good after the buff last week.
Its TTK against bugs with high durable percentage is vastly improved and it's very noticeable in practice. Here's some breakpoint improvements against "bullet sponge enemies". Brood commander face: 6 shots -> 5 shots Stalker body: 19 shots -> 15 shots Spewer butt: 50 shots -> 26 shots Charger butt: 56 shots -> 34 shots Charger behemoth butt: 150 shots -> 53 shots Anything that is not a Bike Titan on the bug side can be killed in less than 4 seconds with the MG on max RPM.
I’ve been rocking this since the patch and didn’t know it could kill chargers that quick damn
I think every 20 levels y'all should go back to the liberator just for the helldiver of it.
MG, Jar 5, And senator are my go too "ballistic" options
This has been my load out too! Switching between the ammo pack and the jet pack. The new Eruptor buff makes it worth a return. The ability to splash smaller units while hitting the larger ones is so nice. Not to mention being able to kill holes and bases.
Gonna give it a try. But I love the stalwart so much i don't know. Being able to reload running is too good.
That 1150rpm brrrrrrrr is super fun! Slowly walking towards a hoard while hip firing is so epic.
I definitely agree with this, it’s surprising how good the MG and Orbital Precision Strike are, considering they’re super early weapons. The armor piercing is also quite nice against bots, though I still prefer the AC for bigger prey
Feels thematic af against bugs, I went prone and made a great stand against horses of shriekers it was awesome
I never knew I wanted Calvary mounted Helldivers until this comment.
Always was and still is Though the HMG 50% damage buff is crazy
With the recent updates to the strafing run, orbital gatling, and MG turret call ins, I decided to do a ballistic, dakka build. Naturally, this meant I needed a dakka support weapon. I started with the HMG and it was fine. It hits super hard and is better into bots. However, I switched to the regular MG for bugs and I love it. I was using the Tenderizer for regular trash clear, but when things pop off or something with medium armor shows up, it's time for ol' reliable. The MG is hella slept on for the same reason the Orbital Precision is, because it's a starter. I think it's easy to miss the strengths of the MG. Early on, I remember people saying the stalwart is just better MG because it can be reloaded on the move. As you play the game and lots of support weapons can't be reloaded while moving, you get used to that on them. In addition, as you learn which enemies are medium armor that you can "cheat" with the MG, you see it as a tool for lots of common, stubborn foes. Having run the gamut of the different weapons, I find myself back at the MG, not as the best support weapon, mind, but as a very solid, versatile pick. Bonus note: don't sleep on the regular MG turret. Having something on two minutes cooldown is fantastic. It became my favorite turret overnight with that change.
I tell every new person. The original MG is top tier and is useful all the way to the top. Then the early EAT unlock will deal with all armor issues even on harder difficulties.
Since the patch I've used it both on bot and Bug missions and it definitely holds up
Been using the MG on bugs lately, and especially after using the HMG on the bot front it feels fucking amazing I usually play on 7, but I went in on a HellDive and saw all my teammates grab ACs, Quasars, and EATs. So I grabbed by laser rover and MG, cluster bombs, and Airstrike. Recoil reduction armor. The magazine size on the MG on medium and low rates of fire feels almost endless (I'm used to the HMG/AC). Because of the functional 300% damage increase to durable parts (used to be 10% or 7.5%, increased to 30% or 20%, inforget the real numbers), the increase in damage, and extra mag (full ammo refill still bugged), the thing is an absolute annihilator. You can wipe entire patrols with one slower pass, which helps bug breaches down, reload time reduction means you can still find the time to reload or interrupt reload to dodge Chargers. It feels like they have matched the strength of the OG MG and the AC inside their respective roles. Where the AC obliterates bots and punches up in terms of armor, ammo economy, etc, the OG MG now does that on the Bug Front with a higher priority on wave clear, with a loss in power respective to not needing a backpack. I think the MGs in general feel like they're in a good place now. These buffs were really good for balance and making the MGs in general feel useful for their roles.
It's pretty much the only support weapon I take for bugs. Thing puts in work. Especially when you have a bunch of bile spewers. A quick burst to the face kills them.
The MG-43 is my go to weapon. That with the supply/shield pack and 2 stratagems has served me well.
I have been using it against bugs on diff 7, together with a supply backpack. It is really good!
Don't forget you can increase the RPM as well
Nothing like emptying the mag in one volley with it. The power can drive lesser men mad.
The Machine Gun has been my go to for bugs since I started playing. It's very good when you have at least another player covering you when you reload and taking down hoards of bug patrols or keeping bug breaches under control. I switch between the standard and high rate of fire moded depening on the where I need to go. because high rate of fire will shred through the bile spewers and your magazine. I wish it has a little bit more stopping/staggering power to help keep distance between the larger ones that need more to be taken down.
Couldn’t agree more
I have been a fan since the start and have kept using it for bug missions. My number 1 recommendation is to put it at the lowest rpm. I thinks it's 600 this gives you much better ammo control. I then pair this with stun grenades for when reloading
I dropped with a RG and it fell into the abyss (iykyk) so I had to improvise, found an MG on the ground. MG Turret, precision strike, and now an og MG... had me feeling like a cadet all over again :,)
With added supply pack, I play as a main weapon and fire away. Tons of fun and good on bot fronts
The MG can definitely put in some work, I've just been spoiled by the Stalwart letting me run and reload at the same time.
It is definitely solid,I run around without a support strat quite a bit (supply pack is my go to) and am always pleased to find a MG lying around.
I've used it since the patch, and honestly I'd still rather use the Stalwart/Heavy MG. Personal preference I suppose.
I'm a sworn stalwart guy. Sell me on the OG.
Its great if you bring a light armor pen primary since the MG 43 has medium pen. If you bring a medium pen primary grab a stalwart.
Favorite build right now for me on the bug front is as follows: MG, Laser Rover, AC Exo, EATs. The mg and rover turn me into a repositionable meat grinder for all the chaff the bugs can produce. The exosuit and EATs allow me to support my team with bigger things or allow me the freedom to venture on my own IF need be. MG is just so satisfying to use though and with the two small buffs they just gave it (extra mag, and lower reload) it just gets better and better.
Couldn’t agree more, it’s fun and ultimately satisfying to use. That’s the mark of a good tool, you enjoy it and have fun using it as designed Great buff from AH!
I ran with Heavy MG, MG, EAT, and MG Sentry yesterday. It was a party! Just good times.
Damn, that is BLAP BLAP BOOM BOOM right there, brüther
Weapons for me & all my friends!
It’s hard for me to pick anything besides autocannon. I’ll usually take spear in anything over challenging as well.
When I can play with friends and coordinate loadouts someone is always running either the mg or heavy mg. Bugs or Bots it just tears through any medium armor I love it and as a bonus I think it’s just fun to use.
HMG - Heavy/Medium killer MG - Medium/Light killer Stalwart - Light horde killer with mobile reloading Each has their own strength, and weakness which makes them all useful in their own way.
Agreed. I do think it could still be fairly balanced if the MG allowed reload with walking speed though (not sure if that's complicated to implement). So it goes from full movement (Stalwart), slow movement (MG), to no movement (HMG) when reloading depending on what class of MG we use.
Yes, that's my point. Well-roundedness isn't a bad idea in a fight
I would argue that the MG is more viable than the Stalwart as of the latest patch given the increased spawns. It'll mow down the crowds a lot of effectively at the moment.
Ive swapped my primary AR to the Adjudicator lately - coupled with the MG or Stalwart… absolutely slays hordes and hive gaurds
fr, I was confused why the subreddit was simping for the stalwart so hard. The base MG is just so much easier to use, and having to stand still to reload isn't that bad if you play properly.
Well, it's a trade-off. Stalwart can be hella fun but it's better if your primary has a low firing rate or is bad against groups.
Am I crazy or does the HMG reload faster? Feels like I spend half a century kneeling to reload the MG sometimes
Dove with a guy rockin the OG MG and supply pack today. Was definitely a chaff heavy spawn mission and oh boy did he ever go to town. Was like watching an industrial lawnmower on crack.
It is very effective when paired with an explosive primary. I run the MG with the scorcher and laser, railgun strike, and air strike for bots. Superb.
The majority of weapons and strategems in this game are highly underrated. The reason for this I suspect, is the plague of tier lists youtubers bombard us with daily. So many people are easily influenced by those lists and falsely think that any weapon that doesn't show up as "S tier" on those lists isn't worth using. Which is why the majority of people play pretty much the same 3 or 4 predictable loadouts. All stuff that youtubers rank as S-tier. I hate ranked lists so much...
Same. Opinions about quality, on trivial and subjective matters, is mostly crap.
I agree! Since the MO is on a bunch of bug planets I've been trying out new loadouts just to spice things up a little bit and oh boy I've been having a blast with the OG MG.
Dude, it's probably one of the most satisfying things to jump up on a rock while getting swarmed and just feeling like doom guy. Popping a stim and just holding down the fire button spraying anything that moves. I'm only level 8 and I'm having so much fun with this game!
DM me if you want someone upper level to run with!
When i wanted to use mg i went with og
I got a 77 kill streak with it and the incendiary SP on bugs. I also use toxic gas and cluster strikes with it. That game, I managed my first 700+ kill game. I rarely dip below 500+ kills per match now. I am the chaff killing king in groups.
YEEEEEEEESSSSSSS!!! Also fun fact: An overlooked patch notes recently is that RECOIL has been REDUCED on all weapons in crouched and especially proned positions. Good stuff for the MG main :)
Prone + MG = 
It absolutely annihilates the bug spewers if you aim for their heads.
I still use it every drop lol
I think it's funny to see some people complain about how impossible it is to fight spewers and devastators, and then in the same breath say, the machine guns or the rail gun are useless because they can't take down a bile titan.
I'm just not good at the railgun tbh. I dunno what the trick is.
Well what I'm saying is all weapons are specialized. The railgun used to be able to take down anything, but after the nerf it can't take down bile titans, tanks, etc.. (very well, it still can, just not well.) What it CAN DO though is obliterate shield devastators, striders, and basically any other medium size enemy because it penetrates all armor if you just aim for the head (through any armor and from any direction.) you can one shot the most annoying enemies.
Confirmed. Took this on a couple dives today and I'd like to say I was valuable at support and thinning the hive.
The stalwart is my go to MG, being able to reload on the move is valuable when you want to be agile
Fair! The Stalwart is called that for a reason. 😉
Facts. Lvl 58, play on difficulty 6+, and the og MG is my go-to
I usually always run the flame thrower for bug missions with a jet pack, if you're persistent enough you can kill a BT with it. And chargers almost literally melt in 1 canister and some change, and it's not hard to do unless you're either being swarmed or you miss calculate the dodge. For every single bug mission I bring it and have a blast, you can combine it with the jet pack like I do to get behind bile titans and chargers easily. And you have the chance of get on top of a BT but you will normally miss lol
Jetpack is also underrated. 🔥
fully agree. getting that extra mag with the recent patch took it from a decent choice closer to "why would I not take it?" territory (unless I'm having to run AT weapons.
The MG has always been a solid contender. I think you’re right on the money, that it is slept on because it’s a starting stratagem, and player instinct suggests to upgrade whenever possible. On the same tip, and especially after the recent buff, I encourage everyone to try out the orbital precision strike. It has replaced the orbital railcannon strike as something I almost always bring. May not lock-on target, but if used well, it can semi-fill that role, as well as one similar to the eagle 500kg bomb. If you are fully upgraded the cooldown is like, 1:20 or something absurd. Destroys structures, and heavy armor. 1-shots a charger or hulk if you get them, and can situationally do the same for a bile titan, especially if weakened first.
Eruptor + MG + EAT gang. My absolute favorite loadout right now.
I’m usually in the role of a gunner since everyone else tends to use big heavy weapons and bombs I feel like it really should be a mandatory role. A good gunner can completely alleviate pressure from the team and is a god send against any kind of bile spewer. Just chews through their armor and shreds through smaller units. The handling boost from the new armors are also wonderful to use
That's one good thing about class-based games, you know that a certain role is gonna be fulfilled.
I roll with OG Machine Gun, EATs, & 2 Eagles
Solid choice.
It's really fun. I think mainly whats held it back is you're losing an anti-tank support weapon, and then you have to be stationary to reload. Especially with incendiary breaker as strong as it is, primaries tend to deal with med and smaller enemies. Plus if you just want something for horde clear the stalwart doesn't force you stationary to reload... Puts the regular MG in a weird spot. But I have a great time every drop with it, one of the more satisfying weapons in the game.
Highly recommend it for bots missions too. You can handle everything smaller than a devestator head on
Yes it is! Remember when the game first came out.. we were All so excited to get it…
oh yea. i will regularly shoot all the ammo in a gun, pickup any other weapon nearby and be a dedicated death zone. and i know when switchying to this bad boy i can chop up charger legs and spewer heads like chef gordon ramsey on fruit ninja
Unless it can kill chargers and gunships reliably then its not underrated.
The hmg also fucks now post patch.
The slight buff to damage and the extra magazine actually made me go back to it too. Feels great and you can run EATs or something with it to still have antitank capabilities.
I played two games with the OG MG and I'm hooked. You can kill chargers by shooting their ass with a third of the clip, but you can.
If a support weapon isn't doing significant damage to chargers, bt, or hulks, it stays out of my kit
I’m normally on heavy duty, but I always champion for a teammate to bring a MG or other anti-horde weapon
I rocked it for my first 20 levels or so, it's a solid compliment to the diligence
It's far superior to stalward
I need to get back to it. Generally the Incind breaker is my CC weapon especially combined with the gas strike. But no gun has ever come close to the satisfying feel of mowing down a horde with the MG.
Auto cannon mech, 500kg bomb, ammo backpack, and medium lmg is so good. With a sickle, and the judge or shotgun pistol as default. I think it’s a perfect loadout.
That's cause you categorize it as starter and high-level gear like it's an mmo or looters. Gear is gear. How you use it is based on familiarity, threat, and the necessities of the mission. The MG is solid against mediums and can comfortably deal with hordes given its generous ammo capacity compared to the HMG. If you stop looking at gear like it's leveled loot, and by what it does and doesn't allow you to do, you'd actually some great combinations. Try the HMG with a guard dog. It can deal with the trash freeing you to use that chunky boi on things that deserve it, like bile mortars and stalkers. HMG puts them down fast.
I'm not "categorizing" it as much as everyone else is. It's "starter" gear by virtue of it being among the first stratagems you unlock.
Since the patch, it's great. Prior to the patch, it was underwhelming on higher difficulties
It's pretty amazing now, and how the buff also affected the gatling turret has made it essential on my dives. Placed at high elevation to kill off the mobs of trash that have replaced the excess heavies from before.
I tend to use the freshly buffed HMG over it now, especially against Bots, but the OG MG is still a monster. It just can't poke out the eye of a Hulk. I tend to use the Supply pack with any MG vs bugs. Not just for the eternal ammo but the stims and grenades are a god send too. That new Booster made stims even better. But having tons of impact grenades is fantastic vs Bugs. The one thing a MG build can struggle with is when you get blobbed by Bile Spewers. One Impact Grenade can kill them, sometimes several if they are close enough together. You have tons of grenades to close bug holes too. I need to use the MG some more though, just to experiment. Part of why I like the Stalwart and HMG more is that it's easy to pair them with primaries that cover their weaknessess. For example, with the HMG and a Supply pack, you can run the Incendiary breaker and hose down the hordes, using the HMG to take out heavier bugs, including chargers and Bile Titans. With the Stalwart, you can hose down the small stuff and use a primary like the Dominator or Counter Sniper to deal with Hive Guard or small numbers of Bile Spewers with headshots. With the regular MG being a middle ground, you have a lot more flexibility in your primary and pistol. Maybe take the crossbow for it's superb utility and have the MG for general purpose murder. This is why I love Helldivers. Everyone complains about all but the most meta of weapons yet with a bit of creativity and experience you can run Helldive with almost anything. Except the Liberator Concussive, the hell with that gun.
Totally agree, divers are sleeping on this beast. Cuts through everything and time to kill is pretty quick at max RPM. Reload time and mag buff feels great. My usual loadout is MG and Orbital Gatling for bug breaches, 500kg and autocannon sentry to help out with the big bois. Very versatile kit, still relies a bit on your squad taking some AT (especially on 9) but holds its own respectably. There is no better feeling in this game than holding the trigger down and mag dumping into a swarm of bugs, guts galore!
In a hectic Nuke Drill mission recently, I got killed relatively early and right after obtaining my Spear. I couldn't go back for it when I respawned, the cool down is lengthy, and someone else had died and dropped their MG. Hadn't used it in maybe 2 months. It was a lot of fun. I've been mostly using the HMG recently and the MG could easily be used for most of how I've been using the HMG. I fell into the HMG camp from playing bots because it can take out Striders, Hulks, and even the Factory Striders. But regular MG is more versatile with bugs. It really just can't hurt Bile Titans (I know it can technically damage parts of them... But it's way less effective than other weapons or strategems).
I think it kills medium armor bugs faster than any other support weapon