I love the HMG. It can two shot hulk faceplates, shred devastator heads, and delete heat vents. Kinda bad for bugs but it is sooo fun on bots. More recoil than the lighter variants but you can basically treat it as a full auto AMR with a 75 round mag. Keep it on the low rpm and only switch it up when you need to delete a strider underbelly
@@trulers8713 I wish I could like the MG-206 but I just never could, but the MG-43 is that perfect balance for me of the mix of the stalwart and MG-206, but that’s just my play style, and it is extremely fun on the bug side
"What are you really using It for? Hive guards?" -some dude who made a stratagem tier list That machine gun is my son. And i love it for what it *can* do.
I'm inclined to prefer the heavy machine gun vs the MG43 on bots because it deals with the large number of armoured enemies like devastators, striders etc. much better. But against bugs you don't really hit any armour pen thresholds with the HMG that the MG43 doesn't also hit, and at that point the MG43's superior handling, ammo economy and faster reload make it a superior pick.
Yeah definitely, the MG-43 really is a solid pick for the bug side, and honestly I’m really surprised with the amount of people recommending the HMG, I personally haven’t touched it but I should give it a shot at some point.
@@Remixthisgaming HMG is worse against the little guys, sure. It’s far superior against striders, devastators, gunships, hulks etc. and those enemies are a more serious problem than bit light infantry are, those you can just use your primary on instead. Sure, you need to build around it, taking an armour set with fortified or peak physique, and the supply pack comes highly recommended too, but chewing through striders and devastators like they’re nothing makes it all worth it. The MG43 can deal with most of these enemies but it does so with difficulty.
The HMG is trash because youre using it wrong. Its supposed to be a medium-large enemy gun like a short ranged AMR so dont use it like the MG or the stalwart Trust me riot shield plus HMG or AMR is so fun and strong you just need smth or some1 to take care of factory striders @@Remixthisgaming
@@joudkahwaji6369 Just pump up the rpm on that hmg and use some stun grenades and cover to sneak underneath the strider. Then aim up, at one door in particular, and it'll die in second. Truly an amazing weapon
I agree with the philosophy that every team should have a machine gunner. When fighting bugs, my usual team actually brings two, since swarm clear is so important. The type of machine gun varies though. Against bugs, my personal policy is to bring an MG-43 if I know my team is good, and a Stalwart if I don't trust the team. Reason being, the MG-43 functions best with support to allow it to reload, and with team mates that understand good formation and how to create kill controlled zones (as opposed to the total clueless chaos you get in the "we need buffs" public lobbies). When playing with randoms I favour the Stalwart because it's more mobile and independent. You're not gonna hit quite as hard, but you're much more able to chase after the god damned lonewolves, and not be left alone struggling to reload. Against bots, I highly highly recommend going HMG with recoil reduction armour. It's just amazing on that front. You can kill literally everything the bots can throw at you with that gun, even factory striders. Shoots down gunships, crushes scout striders no matter where you shoot, blasts Hulk's eyes out and can chop their legs off, can immobilise tanks treads and kills their weakspot deadly quick, drops devestators like flies, and the ammo isn't so precious that you can't still sweep some troopers with it too.
I definitely think all the MGs have their place, I probably am not giving enough credit to the 206, so I might give it more of a try at least on the bot front. But yeah, I love being gunner for my teams.
@UnknownSquid : We have to play together :) Since peak physic is finaly working, I have started to bring HMG out for bugs almost everytime, when I would pick the MG before. Maybe it's just me, but it seems that reloading while under stim effect (with stim booster selected) is faster. I very rarely have a problem reloading with HMG, stun grenade and reload. It is very valuable to me that I can snipe Spore Spewers or Shrieker's nests. I mostly stay back on a vantage point, and "tap-snipe" enemies for accuracy and ammo conservation. Very effective. But for Eradicate or Blitz missions, I'll favor the MG over the HMG.
I think of myself as an MG player, I would play the MG43 100% of the time if I could, and I agree 100% with this post. lol also man bless you for slipping in a burn on the "we need buffs" babies. I've been reading this stuff lately and it's unfathomable to me. I don't get how these players constantly whine about how X or Y needs to be able to wipe the screen solo.
I'll bet someone has already commented these but: - You can reload while moving by tapping reload immediately after using a jump pack. - You can kill devastators by spamming one of their legs. Good if you're worried about getting the headshot in a pinch - Prone recoil was buffed in the big buff patch a while back. Nowadays you should be firing prone when possible - Peak Physique is ideal for bugs and makes running and gunning more viable (mightve been said in the video i forgor) - VS bots you can turn around with the riot shield to block blaster shots while reloading. Same for any support weapon w this mechanic ofc MG is an extremely straightforward weapon but ends up being one of the most fun choices. I'd run it more frequently but I have a friend who is straight up addicted lol.
My buddy is a big Stalwart fan, but it's the MG-43 for me. The magazine may not hold as many rounds and you can't move while reloading, but the rate at which the MG just rips through everything is just too good.
i was neglicting the heavy machine gun with the new viper commando's armour and dude, I can't go back now. any machine gun + supply box is something that can change any man, forever.
@@sammybear-o4c The leg weak spot is thought to be a bug because the armor hitbox and leg hitbox under it desync and let you shoot its very weak legs through the armor when you shouldn't be able to. Happens most often on the back legs iirc
After the big patch I actually rolled with the MG and an MG sentry vs bots on 7-9s. You were able to do something truly invaluable which was to always be shooting. Going prone and putting the fun switch to maximum with a recoil armour made getting effective sprays at heads trivial vs devs and all of that fire you would put out would make them less accurate back. Good to see someone else singing the praises.
That edit was cold with the BO1 soundtrack! My favorite combo with the machine gun requires a buddy who you can work well with and stick together. You have machine gun, he has recoilless, but you have his rockets and he has your ammo pack. You guys will have plenty of ammo, machine gun for CC, and then you can help him rapid fire his rockets for the bigger enemies. Works like a dream, IF you can stick together
What I like about current options like this one (or EATs, or OPS) is that you can have all of those as early as level 3 (level 1 for some) and you can already do stuff at highest difficulties with a decent team if you yourself train for it.
Machine gunners are appreciated, for sure. HMG is somewhat better against bots on higher difficulties because of the prevalence of armored units, but chaff still exist. I have yet to test this playstyle, but in my early single digit level days, I ran MG and had quite a bit of success with it and whatever measly stratagems I had access to. I have since graduated to using a med pen primary, autocannon and emancipator exosuit plus 1 Eagle and orbitlaser, but I definitely appreciate the players in whatever squad I am in that run MG and/ or run things like spear+ commando+ jump pack. But alas, rare is the squad of randoms where each player has a niche specialization/tactical role they do their load out for, and they all synergize perfectly with each other and makes mission clearing and resource gathering fast, efficient and actually doable (not easy nor deathless, but at the very least with as little headaches, difficulties and casualties as possible)
Commando and jump pack is one of my favourite combos atm vs bots. So damn versatile and if you get a good high point you can take out an entire bot outpost at range
I just used this strategy in a match and wow ! I kept my team alive by mowing down every toaster. Even my teammates got on the mic and were impressed by my accuracy and effectiveness. Thank you.
The MG is a catch all support weapon. It destroys everything that's unarmoured and some things at are armoured in their weak spots. I've been swapping between the MGs as almost my sole support weapon choice on the bug front and 50:50 with the spear on the bot front. Randoms in public lobbies seem to forget how to suppress the hordes of canon fodder bugs so I take an MG and shred breaches. Eagle airstrike and orbital precision strike covers any armour you encounter when you bring stun grenades; stun chargers and throw one of these call-ins at them to obliterate them in one shot. Bile titans also get one shot by the orbital if it direct hits them. For the bots the airstrike and orbital still perform well, stun hulks and drop a precision or stick a tank with the beacon while airstrikes take out any and all factory striders (fun fact: HMG can shred factory striders in the underbelly). Fourth slot is a flex between MG turret to additional crowd lockdown that can be spammed on a short cooldown, the autocannon turret for the sustained firepower on objectives or big engagements, or the shield/supply pack to have a backpack (public match teammates never throw an additional backpack when it comes off cooldown for the gunner). Easily the most versatile supportive playstyle and a very powerful option for any generalist loadout.
I've carried it since day one, it destroys entire swarms alongside my dominator for the bigger guys. Throw in a few fire grenades to slow them down and you can take out swarms with no call ins.
Mg-43 with a jungle armor (don't remember the name, but it increases your gun handling and gives you 50% more melee damage) basically makes the mg-43 handle like a standard primary. my preferred build for bugs is jungle armor, supply pack, mg-43, railgun strike, eagle strike. very versatile. For bots it's the same except swap out the railgun strike for a 380 and the mg-43 for the mg-206, it gets the same benefits and can shred armored enemies easy with controlled bursts.
I appreciate you sharing. I actually just started using it again (have been seeing high level players using it so I had to know why.) This thing rocks. I sometimes run the AutoCannon, but the draw back is always having to have a back pack, and the slow, regular reloads. I believe I can do just as much damage and support running the MG-43. And you suggestion of running a supply back pack makes perfect sense! Taking note of the other Comments for the HMG for bots!
Don't forget about the MG turret too! Less than 2 minute cooldown for instant accurate fire support for dealing with bug chaff, great for tossing as a distraction, assisting in clearing out an area, and it *hard* counters shriekers!
That’s my go to for bugs. Turret, HMG, Gatling, AC turret and spear. Covers all the bases with a Blitzer, grenade pistol and stun grenades and medic armor light or medium
This weapon became more viable after several changes: The recent buff of the weapon itself, Peak physique perk allows you to wield it like a primary and now you buy a ship module that increases it's reload by 10%. It has 3 penetration, which is basically enough for any non-massive enemies, unlike Stalwart which cant consistently penetrate medium enemies like scout striders and hive guards.
I've been using the MG-43 all the time in a Bullet Hell build I saw someone talking about. It uses a gun rover instead of the supply pack, but the rover helps cover during reload times, repositioning, and to handle knocking out chaff I'm not shooting at or can't get an angle on quick enough to take care of them myself before they're a problem.
I love the standard machine gun. It is so much fun and feels great. I take it to almost every bug mission, and pairing it with the eats makes you unstoppable on the field. I use light-ish engineering kit armor and stun grenades for the extra reduced recoil and getting out of situations where Im being overwhelmed. Some of the best fun you can have today
I did an all stock loadout where I used the default armor, liberator, peacemaker, HE grenade and I took the MG-43, EATs, OPS, and I sort of 'cheated' by bringing a machinegun sentry (not the gatling) but I wanted to fill the last stratagem slot and in my defense you unlock that sentry pretty early on. I used this build a few times both on the bots and bugs and on difficulty 8 and I had a lot of fun and I was honestly putting in work just as much as my team mates. So yeah that experience solidified to me that metas are a myth.
Plasma Punisher + MG-43 is my favorite Automaton slaying kit. Feels less viable against the bugs, but it is so much fun completing missions with 2,500+ rounds of freedom expended.
My take on this is, playing with randoms most of the times, most people tend to get their prefered loadout and since most people also play randoms, they have a do-it-all kit with heavy firepower for hulks and titans. I find that I usually lost missions mostly at extract or huge spawn points like drills missions when there's a swarm of enemies and we get bogged down and die on repeat. Exception made of the automatons aircrafts but the spears seems to be popular again so that's mostly solved. The MG shines at fending off huge hordes, especially if you conserve ammo and switch regularly fire rate to the slowest whenever possible and switch to max for heavier enemies like hulks and chargers. For bipedals, I take fire grenades and splash it either on the strider itself or below its feet depending on whats easiest. Sets the pilot on fire and I can forget it instantly. For the two slots, I take orbital precision strike instead of railgun because it reloads much faster, coupled with an eagle airstrike, fire or not. If you land both shots you can get a factory strider very damaged if not down. Then, your team should most likely have at least one slot to finish it off.
It's even better if you can get a buddy to carry the supply pack instead and be your "assistant gunner" and ammo bearer, freeing up your back slot for a shield pack or a laser rover.
MG, machine gun turret, gattlin barrage, and auto cannon/supply bag depending on difficulty. You become the ad clear king on bugs. I recommend lowest RPM to conserve ammo. Take thermite grenades so you can deal with tanks, other wise your team will more than likely with spear or rail gun to handle tanks for you. I use this so much, the MG is more of a primary gun for me than my primary.
For bugs: I have recently enjoyed the grenade launcher, shield backpack, Eagle strafing, and Patriot Exosuit. Makes for an excellent time cleaning up those little bugs the other Helldivers miss. Particularly the strafing run is a savior when your other folks insist on moving out instantly, takes care of the inevitable conga line of bugs following the fireteam and drawing increasingly more attention to y'all. For bots: Autocannon, Patriot Exosuit, orbital laser, manned HMG turret, heavy armor. Also quite capable to cover the other Helldivers from crowds of smaller enemies, but some hard target capability too. Overall: I am a mech warrior and have managed to be cautious keeping it alive until the ammo runs out. I loved the MG at the beginning of my Helldiver fun, though and this video gives some great ideas. Certainly could use Helldivers who want to cover the team. I have been surprised how many just want to attempt hitting objectives while dodging as many enemies as possible. Call me a psycho, but I enjoy killing, and enjoy being the prone MG at everybody's six o'clock gunning down the enemy while other Helldivers mad dashing to toss a grenade into bug holes or bot fabs. ✌️✌️
I freaking love the MG43 . After the update that gave it armor piercing, the weapon just totally rules. It's so, so good against medium bugs. I would play it 100% of the time if I could. I love using the light armor + the engineering perk with the MG43. If you have 6 stun grenades, and you liberally refill them with your backpack, you can handle chargers and swarms no problem. Anytime you get into trouble, toss a stun grenade and reload... you usually won't even need to run. Just toss, crouch, and reload, you will be putting shots on them before they can recover. My favorite thing is turn up the fire rate to 900 RPM, go prone, look down the scope, and just lay into huge swarms. You will be amazed at the firepower. You will burn through ammo, but that's why you have the backpack. IMO you don't really _need_ the supply pack to dominate with the MG43, the same way you _need_ to have the supply backpack when you have the HMG. The HMG, you basically have to have the supply backpack. But MG43 has three huge clips...
If you’re running stuns with the MG, I recommend bringing along the Precision Orbital. Nothing hard counters Chargers in such a satisfying way as a stun grenade followed by the swift fist of a furious god from on high. And if you’re good it’ll kill titans too, though without the ability to stun them you have to time it just right.
I hope they add what im calling 'combo strategems'. For instance, a backpack that would basically acts as a minigun ammo bag for machine guns, alowing you to shoot a stream of HMG bullets on the quickest fire mode without stoping for nearly a minute. Another example would be a back pack that would alow you to reload commandos. Just back pack strategems that would improve a support/primary weapon.
I’m still hoping for a laser-based minigun that feels like the Sickle on steroids. Takes up the backpack slot and carries one or two ICE reloads, but primarily runs on its own passive cooldown.
for bots, i pair this with a medium pen sniper for long distance cover of my teammates and it works very well since it can deal very quickly with reinforce callers, pretty much every soldier variant and the big melee ones if you land your shots on the head, it gives a lot of space to move
IIRC the HMG gets 2 mags resupplied compared to the MG's 1. So I've been using that instead until the "full mag resupply on support weapons" upgrade is fixed.
HMG with Peak Performance Armor (Light vs Bugs, Heavy vs Bots) and Supply Pack is the way to go. Follow up with an enemy specific primary (Plas Punisher vs Bots, Breaker Incindiary vs Bugs), Grenade Pistol, and Stun grenades. You can kill anything in the game with this setup, though strats are usually quicker for Striders and Bile Titans. I'm confident that between the HMG and my promary that I can deal with anything, so I save my other two strats for high impact "Get Out of the Battle Free" cards, so that's Orbital Laser and 380 for Bots, Laser and Napalm Strike for Bugs.
I'm a solo diver and when I fight bugs I run it with a Jump Pack and Peak Physique Armour. You can start the reload in the air with the Jump Pack so you don't have to be stationary for as long, and you can track the hunters and other fast bugs pretty well with the better handling from Peak Physique.
I’m gonna need to check out Peak Physique, I’ve seen some comments about it. But I loved the jump pack, but I didn’t know you could reload in the air with it
I've gone from Autocannon to Flamethrower to Recoilless rifle to Expandable Anti Tank, before I finally settled on the MG-43. Definitely my favorite weapon. 900rpm all the way.
I just thought of using the MG43 Machine Gun and Supply Pack, with Stun Grenades, and the Orbital Precision Strike. To me this seems like a killer and well/good rounded loudout. Reasons being: Stun Grenades COMBINED with Orbital Precision Strike (It's basically a single 380mm round wherever your heart desires), can 1 tap pretty much everything, except Factory Striders (with direct hit OR sometimes near hit). You don't HAVE to have stuns but I like to use them to GUARANTEE a hit and kill, and the grenades themselves are utilitarian. Orbital Precision Strike, has a fast cooldown (90 secs with upgrades), fast deployment (2 secs to shell drop), good area of effect/splash damage, and can clear almost every single enemy type in the game with ONE DIRECT HIT, nests, bot fabs, and so many structures and objectives I won't list them all here because there is so many.
I need to give the stun grenades a try, I've seen some people just around TH-cam talk about them and the pairing with the MG is nice. And I still really like the Orbital Precision strike, it is still super solid. I think the cool down for it got lowered recently, so it is like 90 seconds now. I like that loadout.
@@sammybear-o4c Thanks for the reply, i'll double check the cooldown time, and update my comment. I didn't want to put it too low cuz that would be super misleading.
I use the MG or the Flamethrower with the Bugs (mostly the MG to avoid burning my team to a crisp... for the Bots I use the Anti-Material Rifle as you can one-shot or two-shot almost everything except Tanks, Turrets, Hulks or Walking Factories. For those you need to hit the radiators or some specific point which are difficult to spot and hit when under high stress. Sometimes for the big targets, I either use the railcannon orbital strike, a standard orbital strike or a Commando/Disposible Anti Tank Weapons as they have a low recharge time and you can drop your support weapon in a moment... get the launcher... shoot and then pick up the support weapon again. What I always have in my hands, always, is the 500kg Eagle Strike, mixed with Stun Grenades for better efficiency
A good point at the beginning choosing MG for the lesser friendly fire potential. I have default selections in mind that have the least FF potential when joining those I don't know, and helps to fit their style as well. As the video mentioned, never hurts to be a covering fire Helldiver with that MG. 👍👍
I always run eagle strike, MG-43, gatling/ rocket sentry, and free option for your loadout. Eagle strike covers a lot situation like killing big enemies, objectives and so on. Gatling sentry can buy you time and cover big swarm of enemies. I don't take supply pack because it has enough ammo and you can find around the map and the recall time is always up when you run out of ammo. For my free option, I like to run an orbital strategem due to the eagle cooldown or just napalm or 500kg to block line.
@@MyMike004 yeah supply pack can definitely be optional, I’ve just noticed myself that for bugs, for example, I’m like needing to constantly reload and use up all the ammo, my teams are always swarmed, so that’s why I recommend it, but the napalm is honestly a little underused and lately it’s been really helpful, especially with the upgrade module. I haven’t given much thought to sentries to be honest just because I feel as though if I’m carrying the MG, I’m taking that role for it.
@@sammybear-o4c sentries are good to save ammo and help your team out when you are overwhelmed :) also, they are good distraction to drag the horde out! napalm is great but sadly i rather take gatliing which act like gas too. Napalm still a great option tho and underatted as you mentioned. For me if you take supply pack, it will go well with HMG which lacks of ammo! Sentries are very good especially rocket that can be bring into terminids and automatons to take heavy armor
@@MyMike004 That's a really good alternative, I was trying to find reasons to use napalm and I realized I could use it to create space for my team and I, but the Gatling has been really good after the buff! Sentries are always solid.
Against bugs I prefer to set it to the lowest RPM. Medium and High RPM does a lot of shooting dead bugs, wasting ammo. And low is still enough to absolutely shred brood commanders and entire hordes of little stuff. Plus the ammo enonomy gets so good you dont need the supply pack, letting you take the shield back and never take damage.
I am mainly on the bot front, and the MG43 shreds small bots and berserkers like a lawnmower slicing grass. It's even surprisingly effective against all types of devastators. Just having 1 in the team frees up my other team mates to carry more anti-tank and anti-air weaponry, making higher difficulty bot missions more manageable. The supply pack is an absolute must with the MG43 and on high-difficulty missions. The capability to resupply myself and my teammates on the fly cannot be understated.
Respect bro. I been running MG's for ages... Personaly i like the tenderizer for light/medium bugs and the HMG for select targets... that said the GPMG is undeniably good shit
@@sammybear-o4c Now you mention it it really gives me UNSC Battle rifle vibes... i always wished i could use that weapon on full auto too! An i guess now we can!
Honestly, heavy machine outclasses it by so many levels because of how automatons work But I can absolutely see light machine gun being better on terminids
@@fenrir4752 the HMG is designed for the automatons definitely, but the MG43 is definitely most helpful for bugs, and the stalwart needs to become a primary
One of my friends always runs an MG and I usually run 3 offensive stratagems so I can mooch an mg off of them later into the mission while the other two carry anti-tank and it's a massive help even on helldives. Especially on helldives even. He takes care of entire swarms of spewers and hordes mostly solo while the rest of us tange with the chargers and titans with only minimal interruptions.
the mg-43 was already utilized at around February-march period when the game came out and was a huge hit. i don't know what your point is, of course it is great at moving down bugs, but against automatons, it doesn't do much
The MG has everything the stalwart has plus better armor piercing and damage due to higher caliber rounds, only extra tanky things like chargers, bile titans and… well, tanks The MG is a life saver and has saved me and my friends more than I can count. A must have for terminids, and a better alternative to the HMG and Stalwart
the charger front leg kill is a bug, for some reason after it charges it loses armor intermittently on legs. Pretty sure they mentioned it a long time ago but said its a tough fix
I think the MG-43 is the one of the best feeling and sounding guns to fire in the game. The resent buffs just made it better than it already was against hordes of bugs. I'd play machine gunner all the time if I had a steady group. In random teams I usually feel safer bringing tank buster strategems myself though.
@@T4FF3R totally feel that, I’ve had really good teams that stick together, do what they have to do get the objective done and some not so good ones that play lone wolf and just struggle to complete the objective, but even with randoms I try my best and be support with the MG
You know, after a few Super Helldive runs, this build really is a solid choice for bugs. You really do need someone who can mow down the ultra thicc alpha commanders and the stupid fast aggro warriors they call up. And the MG has a pretty good TTK vs Impaler’s exposed neck/head thing. Stick with a buddy packing anti-tank for the behemoth charger spam and you’re golden.
@@funkyflunky9882 especially after the nerf with the flamethrower that they put out a couple of days ago. The MG43, at least currently, is probably better than the flamethrower right now.
I generally use the HMG for Bots but I use the mg34 for bugs. I really like it. Sometimes I even use the mg 43 for boss as well. A lot of times the mg 43's control while standing and crouching is a lot better even on the highest fire rate than the HMG. It's a lot easier to pinpoint some of the heavier enemies and hit them right in the face even though it's less powerful and the fire rate just overwhelms
I've been running MG non-stop for a couple of weeks. Add on Guard Dog (bullets), Orbital Gatling Barrage, and a sentry of your choice. No one will outscore your killcount. Just get some team collaboration for Bile Titans...
The regular Mh-43 is better against Bugs. It kills chaff just as fast or faster than the Stalwart, it can kill the medium armored bugs like Hive Guard and more importantly, it can kill Bile Spewers fast...at range. Just get good at throwing accurate burst fire and hit them in the face, they go down fast. You don't need the Heavy because it can't kill anything the regular MG can't, with the exception of Spore shrooms and Shrieker Nests. Plus bugs put so much pressure on you it's hard to reload the Heavy. To be honest though, unless it's a screaming hot planet I might just take the Laser. You use the Heavy Machine gun against Bots because it kills the heavier bots and gunships faster and unlike the MG-43, it can kill Hulks with face shots. Run it with stun grenades, the grenade pistol and a supply pack.
HMG is the best however it depends on what you like to use. I use the HMG a lot with the Supply Pack and if you use stun grenades this will give you a chance to slow groups or large targets to get into a better position.
I haven't played Helldivers in a while, but my favorite strategems were the stalwart and MG-43 alongside the support pack just because it scratches that very specific itch
Can confirm, I am my teams ammo carrier and MG Gunner 9/10 times, they like having me carry the pack so they can all use backpack weapons and jump packs. And lucky for me I'm slippery enough to not get killed even with the reduced mobility.
I’ll give it a whirl this week. I’ve been Autocannon for a long time. I started throwing in the Commando recently and it’s been fun. But I do love me a good machine gun.
The autocannon is such a solid weapon against bots. Commando has been killing it, even though I still prefer the EAT a little more. But machine guns are always fun
I love being the support gunner on occasion, if my team has ammo hungry weapons against bugs I run MG-43+Guard Dog and i shred bugs, otherwise it's Supply Pack and MG-43, but against bots it's always the MG-206 HMG with the supply pack (probably running Engineerings Kit armour with G-123 Thermites), the HMG just works better for bots, kills everything they have with little effort, you can kill things like cannon towers and tanks not just by hitting the vent, the rear panel where the vent is quite thin but the whole thing is vulnerable to HMG fire, you can damage the whole thing from the sides too and kill the turrets/tanks even if they're aren't showing their back to you Don't forget to crouch/go prone when using any machine gun (except Stalwart, who the fuck uses that thing anyway)
i take the mg from time to time, as long as i can someone trust that other people will take care of some heavies. it's rly fun just brring down infinite bugs.
The MG is so fun to use, and yeah you do have to rely on teammates to take care of heavies, but they rely on you clearing smaller things. Helldivers 2 is a team play type of game. The MG is very fun to use.
@@sammybear-o4c I bring an autocannon and dominator, don't need to rely on anyone. I'm sorry to say, the MG is just a worse hmg with a slightly faster reload/better recoil, but that doesn't make up for the dps loss imo, not even close. Especially on the bots
@@RepublicofODLUM I get that, to me I see it more personal preference, I still think the MG can have a place even with the bots, but I’m gonna have to give the HMG a try at some point.
@@sammybear-o4c I'd highly recommend leaving it on the lowest rpm (450 I think?) Cuz the recoil is just insane otherwise. The MG was my favorite weapon for a long time, love the sound and feel of it but it just doesn't keep up with other supports in helldive, especially against bots. This is all my opinion of course, you can make a lot of things work and if you're getting clears and having fun, that's all that matters ✌️
It's not underutilized at all, it's univsersally recognized as a very viable weapon. Heavy MG used to be the black duck but they buffed it and now it's great too.
AH needs to change the tip because everyone reads "susceptible to suppressive fire" and completely misunderstands it. All they mean is that the bots can be staggered, just like how you can be staggered when you're hit. When the bots flinch, they miss. Same as you. So yea, *of course* you have to actually land the shots.
i really like to use mg, stalwart and hmg. i really love seeing any enemies eat up tons of lead. i usually pair up with any explosive primaries for extra kick. since i never play any high difficulties i just bring sentries, eagle and orbitals
You get a pointman with a flamer and put a gunner behind him and youll steamroll the bugs. If the 3rd man brings AT for the titans youll be unstoppable
i actually see more people using MG and HMG but barely any use Stalwart. make me think it would be better if Stalwart is a primary and not a support weapon like the good old day but with ammo capacity be reduced down to 120 rounds instead of 250
I've seen people say this, I wish I could say I played Helldivers 1, but even as someone who has played the second one, the stalwart should really be a primary, I totally agree, just make me the SAW man of the squad.
You use the same helmet/armor as me and I'm also always the team MG gunner as well lol its like im looking at a video of myself playing. Only difference is I often run the jump pack with the machine gun; you can actually reload mid-jump and have it halfway done by the time you land. Great for when you are fighting bugs and dont quite have the space to reload to start mowing down hunters again
I have been loving bringing the MG. One of my friends specializes in charger killing, so I keep the small stuff off our squad. I usually have like 50 percent more kills or more than the rest of my team, especially if I bring the rover drone. It’s a big downside not being able to take out titans though
It is a downside, but i mean Helldivers is a team play type of game, it doesn't hurt to deal with specific enemy types while others focus on other enemy types
No! On higher difficulty it’s a terrible idea. -No long range capability (shriker/spore mushroom or cannon tower). -no possibility to bring down heavy enemies when the precision strike is in cool-down -no way to close bugholes or fabricators. (I know you can just use the grenades but specially against bots it’s nice to have an eagle bomb strike) For bots a top tier team should have 1 spear and 3x auto cannon or AMR. For bugs 1 pear, 2x quasir (one of them with supplies backpack) 1 flamethrower. If you want to use the machine gun in level 7 and below I recommend: 1 machine gun, 2 EAT OR mg emplacement, 3 500kg, 4 orbital precision strike if you don’t have stun grenades/ normal orbital if you have stun ‘nades/ mech if you are bored. Use the 2. Eat or mg emplacement to destroy mushrooms. 500kg is the best at dealing with heavies. 500 and precision will get you through more or less until difficulty level 7.
I mean I've been using it on 9, and its been good for my teams and I just because we would always get swarmed, I tried to use the 500KG I just could never time it right, for the bug side. On the bot side it isn't as helpful just because it really is for specific scenarios but it still helps. But that is why there are two more slots that a lot of people still bring EATs and other things to deal with heavy targets. This game is about doing whatever you want for your loadout, but I've been having fun with the loadouts I have.
Gotta try this! I've been using the semi-automatic sniper as a primary, which has been a bliss; perhaps I should add the MG, and be a powerhouse against small arms.
Any MG + Supply Pack + Peak Physique will change a man
You sir have just named my favourite combo, nothing like using an MG43 like it's a Stalwart!
Rambo build
I prefer reduced recoil, physique didn't convince me after few games.
It launched bugged and was barely noticeable but got hotfixed. It’s the only armor for long barrel weapons now I promise.
this but with a scout armor so i can sneak underneath factory striders
I love the HMG. It can two shot hulk faceplates, shred devastator heads, and delete heat vents. Kinda bad for bugs but it is sooo fun on bots. More recoil than the lighter variants but you can basically treat it as a full auto AMR with a 75 round mag. Keep it on the low rpm and only switch it up when you need to delete a strider underbelly
@@trulers8713 I wish I could like the MG-206 but I just never could, but the MG-43 is that perfect balance for me of the mix of the stalwart and MG-206, but that’s just my play style, and it is extremely fun on the bug side
@SAMabove I mean tbh irregardless of the machine-gun flavor, it's always nice to have a helldiver spraying lead fighting alongside me.
@@trulers8713 Exactly, regardless of what weapon it is, I'm happy to be going out with honor with fellow Helldivers
it can 2 shot hulk eyes?
@@achield3613 it can 4 shots hulks eyes
"What are you really using It for? Hive guards?"
-some dude who made a stratagem tier list
That machine gun is my son. And i love it for what it *can* do.
He is a back bone of this family, and I love him.
@@sammybear-o4c Even if he is a Brat-at-ta-imes we do love him.
I'm inclined to prefer the heavy machine gun vs the MG43 on bots because it deals with the large number of armoured enemies like devastators, striders etc. much better. But against bugs you don't really hit any armour pen thresholds with the HMG that the MG43 doesn't also hit, and at that point the MG43's superior handling, ammo economy and faster reload make it a superior pick.
Yeah definitely, the MG-43 really is a solid pick for the bug side, and honestly I’m really surprised with the amount of people recommending the HMG, I personally haven’t touched it but I should give it a shot at some point.
The sight is aweful and it has a very low mag size and only 2 mags. HMG kinda sucks right now. Lmg is much nicer.
@@Remixthisgaming HMG is worse against the little guys, sure. It’s far superior against striders, devastators, gunships, hulks etc. and those enemies are a more serious problem than bit light infantry are, those you can just use your primary on instead. Sure, you need to build around it, taking an armour set with fortified or peak physique, and the supply pack comes highly recommended too, but chewing through striders and devastators like they’re nothing makes it all worth it. The MG43 can deal with most of these enemies but it does so with difficulty.
The HMG is trash because youre using it wrong.
Its supposed to be a medium-large enemy gun like a short ranged AMR so dont use it like the MG or the stalwart
Trust me riot shield plus HMG or AMR is so fun and strong you just need smth or some1 to take care of factory striders
@@Remixthisgaming
@@joudkahwaji6369 Just pump up the rpm on that hmg and use some stun grenades and cover to sneak underneath the strider. Then aim up, at one door in particular, and it'll die in second. Truly an amazing weapon
After the buff to it I was amazed how much better it was simple for the extra magazine. I’ve been pretty much running all the time.
@@pphead9960 it was definitely a necessary buff, and it definitely holds a place even in high level operations which helps A LOT
They really give you one of the best support weapons right off the bat
I agree with the philosophy that every team should have a machine gunner. When fighting bugs, my usual team actually brings two, since swarm clear is so important. The type of machine gun varies though. Against bugs, my personal policy is to bring an MG-43 if I know my team is good, and a Stalwart if I don't trust the team. Reason being, the MG-43 functions best with support to allow it to reload, and with team mates that understand good formation and how to create kill controlled zones (as opposed to the total clueless chaos you get in the "we need buffs" public lobbies). When playing with randoms I favour the Stalwart because it's more mobile and independent. You're not gonna hit quite as hard, but you're much more able to chase after the god damned lonewolves, and not be left alone struggling to reload.
Against bots, I highly highly recommend going HMG with recoil reduction armour. It's just amazing on that front. You can kill literally everything the bots can throw at you with that gun, even factory striders. Shoots down gunships, crushes scout striders no matter where you shoot, blasts Hulk's eyes out and can chop their legs off, can immobilise tanks treads and kills their weakspot deadly quick, drops devestators like flies, and the ammo isn't so precious that you can't still sweep some troopers with it too.
I definitely think all the MGs have their place, I probably am not giving enough credit to the 206, so I might give it more of a try at least on the bot front. But yeah, I love being gunner for my teams.
@UnknownSquid : We have to play together :)
Since peak physic is finaly working, I have started to bring HMG out for bugs almost everytime, when I would pick the MG before. Maybe it's just me, but it seems that reloading while under stim effect (with stim booster selected) is faster. I very rarely have a problem reloading with HMG, stun grenade and reload. It is very valuable to me that I can snipe Spore Spewers or Shrieker's nests. I mostly stay back on a vantage point, and "tap-snipe" enemies for accuracy and ammo conservation. Very effective.
But for Eradicate or Blitz missions, I'll favor the MG over the HMG.
what does peak phys do again?@@shilombaba
@@cubee4108 Better weapon handling / 50% melee damage incrase
I think of myself as an MG player, I would play the MG43 100% of the time if I could, and I agree 100% with this post.
lol also man bless you for slipping in a burn on the "we need buffs" babies. I've been reading this stuff lately and it's unfathomable to me. I don't get how these players constantly whine about how X or Y needs to be able to wipe the screen solo.
I'll bet someone has already commented these but:
- You can reload while moving by tapping reload immediately after using a jump pack.
- You can kill devastators by spamming one of their legs. Good if you're worried about getting the headshot in a pinch
- Prone recoil was buffed in the big buff patch a while back. Nowadays you should be firing prone when possible
- Peak Physique is ideal for bugs and makes running and gunning more viable (mightve been said in the video i forgor)
- VS bots you can turn around with the riot shield to block blaster shots while reloading. Same for any support weapon w this mechanic ofc
MG is an extremely straightforward weapon but ends up being one of the most fun choices. I'd run it more frequently but I have a friend who is straight up addicted lol.
@@_jurd it is pure adrenaline with the MG
My buddy is a big Stalwart fan, but it's the MG-43 for me. The magazine may not hold as many rounds and you can't move while reloading, but the rate at which the MG just rips through everything is just too good.
i was neglicting the heavy machine gun with the new viper commando's armour and dude, I can't go back now.
any machine gun + supply box is something that can change any man, forever.
The supply box is amazing period. I run it with the damned Laser Cannon just before I like having a ton of nades and stims.
Fun fact: having a machine gunner in every squad is part of actual military tactics.
@@Cosmic_407 EXACTLY, for me it’s kind of fun to use like military tactics in this game and that was just one I used
The leg weak spot happens after a failed charge.
Really??? Now I know! Thank you! I was wondering why it did that
@@sammybear-o4c The leg weak spot is thought to be a bug because the armor hitbox and leg hitbox under it desync and let you shoot its very weak legs through the armor when you shouldn't be able to. Happens most often on the back legs iirc
@@rawr7134 Ok that makes sense, I had a feeling it was desync issue or something like that, just based on how inconsistent it was.
@@sammybear-o4cand in case you don’t know yet they patched it with escalation of freedom unfortunately
@@LyonOlivier69 they did :(
After the big patch I actually rolled with the MG and an MG sentry vs bots on 7-9s. You were able to do something truly invaluable which was to always be shooting. Going prone and putting the fun switch to maximum with a recoil armour made getting effective sprays at heads trivial vs devs and all of that fire you would put out would make them less accurate back. Good to see someone else singing the praises.
That edit was cold with the BO1 soundtrack! My favorite combo with the machine gun requires a buddy who you can work well with and stick together. You have machine gun, he has recoilless, but you have his rockets and he has your ammo pack. You guys will have plenty of ammo, machine gun for CC, and then you can help him rapid fire his rockets for the bigger enemies. Works like a dream, IF you can stick together
What I like about current options like this one (or EATs, or OPS) is that you can have all of those as early as level 3 (level 1 for some) and you can already do stuff at highest difficulties with a decent team if you yourself train for it.
3:32 bruv I lost it here 😂
MG? Short synopsis.
It FUCKS.
BUT USE THE GODDAMN OPTIC ON THE GUN.
Enjoy it.
Still a fan of this over the other two. Perfect balance of what I need as a new primary when I’m running my explosive rifle
I held an entire bug breach on lvl 9 from accross the lake with MG43 while my squadmates are retreating in my direction. It was glorious
Suppressive fire is one hell of a drug
Machine gunners are appreciated, for sure.
HMG is somewhat better against bots on higher difficulties because of the prevalence of armored units, but chaff still exist.
I have yet to test this playstyle, but in my early single digit level days, I ran MG and had quite a bit of success with it and whatever measly stratagems I had access to.
I have since graduated to using a med pen primary, autocannon and emancipator exosuit plus 1 Eagle and orbitlaser, but I definitely appreciate the players in whatever squad I am in that run MG and/ or run things like spear+ commando+ jump pack.
But alas, rare is the squad of randoms where each player has a niche specialization/tactical role they do their load out for, and they all synergize perfectly with each other and makes mission clearing and resource gathering fast, efficient and actually doable (not easy nor deathless, but at the very least with as little headaches, difficulties and casualties as possible)
Commando and jump pack is one of my favourite combos atm vs bots. So damn versatile and if you get a good high point you can take out an entire bot outpost at range
I just used this strategy in a match and wow !
I kept my team alive by mowing down every toaster.
Even my teammates got on the mic and were impressed by my accuracy and effectiveness.
Thank you.
@@foresta-2684 men will look at this comment and say “hell yeah”, I sure did. Glad to help!
The MG is a catch all support weapon. It destroys everything that's unarmoured and some things at are armoured in their weak spots. I've been swapping between the MGs as almost my sole support weapon choice on the bug front and 50:50 with the spear on the bot front. Randoms in public lobbies seem to forget how to suppress the hordes of canon fodder bugs so I take an MG and shred breaches.
Eagle airstrike and orbital precision strike covers any armour you encounter when you bring stun grenades; stun chargers and throw one of these call-ins at them to obliterate them in one shot. Bile titans also get one shot by the orbital if it direct hits them. For the bots the airstrike and orbital still perform well, stun hulks and drop a precision or stick a tank with the beacon while airstrikes take out any and all factory striders (fun fact: HMG can shred factory striders in the underbelly).
Fourth slot is a flex between MG turret to additional crowd lockdown that can be spammed on a short cooldown, the autocannon turret for the sustained firepower on objectives or big engagements, or the shield/supply pack to have a backpack (public match teammates never throw an additional backpack when it comes off cooldown for the gunner).
Easily the most versatile supportive playstyle and a very powerful option for any generalist loadout.
HMG better at bots, MG43 better for bugs. You can use it with light peak physique armor which makes you really mobile and have good handling.
I've carried it since day one, it destroys entire swarms alongside my dominator for the bigger guys. Throw in a few fire grenades to slow them down and you can take out swarms with no call ins.
Mg-43 with a jungle armor (don't remember the name, but it increases your gun handling and gives you 50% more melee damage) basically makes the mg-43 handle like a standard primary. my preferred build for bugs is jungle armor, supply pack, mg-43, railgun strike, eagle strike. very versatile. For bots it's the same except swap out the railgun strike for a 380 and the mg-43 for the mg-206, it gets the same benefits and can shred armored enemies easy with controlled bursts.
I appreciate you sharing. I actually just started using it again (have been seeing high level players using it so I had to know why.) This thing rocks. I sometimes run the AutoCannon, but the draw back is always having to have a back pack, and the slow, regular reloads. I believe I can do just as much damage and support running the MG-43. And you suggestion of running a supply back pack makes perfect sense! Taking note of the other Comments for the HMG for bots!
@@travisstock I started using the HMG because of the comments, it is amazing against bots
Don't forget about the MG turret too! Less than 2 minute cooldown for instant accurate fire support for dealing with bug chaff, great for tossing as a distraction, assisting in clearing out an area, and it *hard* counters shriekers!
@@emgee2807 I’ll make a video on it! I loved that thing even before the buff, but I haven’t used it a lot, I’ll give it another try
That’s my go to for bugs. Turret, HMG, Gatling, AC turret and spear. Covers all the bases with a Blitzer, grenade pistol and stun grenades and medic armor light or medium
With the ship modules, the MG actually reloads at a really decent rate
This weapon became more viable after several changes: The recent buff of the weapon itself, Peak physique perk allows you to wield it like a primary and now you buy a ship module that increases it's reload by 10%. It has 3 penetration, which is basically enough for any non-massive enemies, unlike Stalwart which cant consistently penetrate medium enemies like scout striders and hive guards.
The MG specifically, set at the slowest fire setting, with a supply pack, works wonders for me, sustained fire is the main reason for a SAW
I only switch to max fire rate when shjt hit the fan
I've been using the MG-43 all the time in a Bullet Hell build I saw someone talking about. It uses a gun rover instead of the supply pack, but the rover helps cover during reload times, repositioning, and to handle knocking out chaff I'm not shooting at or can't get an angle on quick enough to take care of them myself before they're a problem.
An interesting idea.
"Reloading! Cover me, little guy."
"Beep boop, pew pew."
🤪
@@pootyting3311 Exactly! I'll usually try to time my reloading for when my sentry or the rover's up so they can cover me. XP
I love the standard machine gun. It is so much fun and feels great. I take it to almost every bug mission, and pairing it with the eats makes you unstoppable on the field. I use light-ish engineering kit armor and stun grenades for the extra reduced recoil and getting out of situations where Im being overwhelmed. Some of the best fun you can have today
I did an all stock loadout where I used the default armor, liberator, peacemaker, HE grenade and I took the MG-43, EATs, OPS, and I sort of 'cheated' by bringing a machinegun sentry (not the gatling) but I wanted to fill the last stratagem slot and in my defense you unlock that sentry pretty early on. I used this build a few times both on the bots and bugs and on difficulty 8 and I had a lot of fun and I was honestly putting in work just as much as my team mates. So yeah that experience solidified to me that metas are a myth.
Plasma Punisher + MG-43 is my favorite Automaton slaying kit. Feels less viable against the bugs, but it is so much fun completing missions with 2,500+ rounds of freedom expended.
My take on this is, playing with randoms most of the times, most people tend to get their prefered loadout and since most people also play randoms, they have a do-it-all kit with heavy firepower for hulks and titans. I find that I usually lost missions mostly at extract or huge spawn points like drills missions when there's a swarm of enemies and we get bogged down and die on repeat.
Exception made of the automatons aircrafts but the spears seems to be popular again so that's mostly solved.
The MG shines at fending off huge hordes, especially if you conserve ammo and switch regularly fire rate to the slowest whenever possible and switch to max for heavier enemies like hulks and chargers.
For bipedals, I take fire grenades and splash it either on the strider itself or below its feet depending on whats easiest. Sets the pilot on fire and I can forget it instantly.
For the two slots, I take orbital precision strike instead of railgun because it reloads much faster, coupled with an eagle airstrike, fire or not. If you land both shots you can get a factory strider very damaged if not down. Then, your team should most likely have at least one slot to finish it off.
on bots i like to run hmg + supply pack + ems mortar + shield relay, hmg and shield relay are both painfully underused
It's even better if you can get a buddy to carry the supply pack instead and be your "assistant gunner" and ammo bearer, freeing up your back slot for a shield pack or a laser rover.
MG, machine gun turret, gattlin barrage, and auto cannon/supply bag depending on difficulty. You become the ad clear king on bugs. I recommend lowest RPM to conserve ammo. Take thermite grenades so you can deal with tanks, other wise your team will more than likely with spear or rail gun to handle tanks for you. I use this so much, the MG is more of a primary gun for me than my primary.
For bugs:
I have recently enjoyed the grenade launcher, shield backpack, Eagle strafing, and Patriot Exosuit. Makes for an excellent time cleaning up those little bugs the other Helldivers miss. Particularly the strafing run is a savior when your other folks insist on moving out instantly, takes care of the inevitable conga line of bugs following the fireteam and drawing increasingly more attention to y'all.
For bots:
Autocannon, Patriot Exosuit, orbital laser, manned HMG turret, heavy armor. Also quite capable to cover the other Helldivers from crowds of smaller enemies, but some hard target capability too.
Overall:
I am a mech warrior and have managed to be cautious keeping it alive until the ammo runs out. I loved the MG at the beginning of my Helldiver fun, though and this video gives some great ideas. Certainly could use Helldivers who want to cover the team. I have been surprised how many just want to attempt hitting objectives while dodging as many enemies as possible. Call me a psycho, but I enjoy killing, and enjoy being the prone MG at everybody's six o'clock gunning down the enemy while other Helldivers mad dashing to toss a grenade into bug holes or bot fabs. ✌️✌️
I mostly use Machine Gun if I am looking for something to have fun.
Same here, I really like the machine gun recently just because it was something different than what I usually run
I freaking love the MG43 . After the update that gave it armor piercing, the weapon just totally rules. It's so, so good against medium bugs. I would play it 100% of the time if I could.
I love using the light armor + the engineering perk with the MG43. If you have 6 stun grenades, and you liberally refill them with your backpack, you can handle chargers and swarms no problem. Anytime you get into trouble, toss a stun grenade and reload... you usually won't even need to run. Just toss, crouch, and reload, you will be putting shots on them before they can recover.
My favorite thing is turn up the fire rate to 900 RPM, go prone, look down the scope, and just lay into huge swarms. You will be amazed at the firepower. You will burn through ammo, but that's why you have the backpack.
IMO you don't really _need_ the supply pack to dominate with the MG43, the same way you _need_ to have the supply backpack when you have the HMG. The HMG, you basically have to have the supply backpack. But MG43 has three huge clips...
If you’re running stuns with the MG, I recommend bringing along the Precision Orbital. Nothing hard counters Chargers in such a satisfying way as a stun grenade followed by the swift fist of a furious god from on high. And if you’re good it’ll kill titans too, though without the ability to stun them you have to time it just right.
HMG+Supply pack+Peak Physique= Heavy weapons guy change my mind.
Sick edit at the end
I hope they add what im calling 'combo strategems'. For instance, a backpack that would basically acts as a minigun ammo bag for machine guns, alowing you to shoot a stream of HMG bullets on the quickest fire mode without stoping for nearly a minute. Another example would be a back pack that would alow you to reload commandos. Just back pack strategems that would improve a support/primary weapon.
I think that is an interesting idea
cool idea, they might save something like that for a minigun-type stratagem down the line
@@periwinkle2486 that’d be so sick, just feeding an MG straight from the pack
I’m still hoping for a laser-based minigun that feels like the Sickle on steroids. Takes up the backpack slot and carries one or two ICE reloads, but primarily runs on its own passive cooldown.
Mg43 is also great because you can almost always find them around the map at POIs so you dont even need to bring it and free up a strat
Really recommend using the lower rpm!! It can maintain a very tight spread at long range that way
for bots, i pair this with a medium pen sniper for long distance cover of my teammates and it works very well since it can deal very quickly with reinforce callers, pretty much every soldier variant and the big melee ones if you land your shots on the head, it gives a lot of space to move
IIRC the HMG gets 2 mags resupplied compared to the MG's 1. So I've been using that instead until the "full mag resupply on support weapons" upgrade is fixed.
HMG with Peak Performance Armor (Light vs Bugs, Heavy vs Bots) and Supply Pack is the way to go. Follow up with an enemy specific primary (Plas Punisher vs Bots, Breaker Incindiary vs Bugs), Grenade Pistol, and Stun grenades.
You can kill anything in the game with this setup, though strats are usually quicker for Striders and Bile Titans. I'm confident that between the HMG and my promary that I can deal with anything, so I save my other two strats for high impact "Get Out of the Battle Free" cards, so that's Orbital Laser and 380 for Bots, Laser and Napalm Strike for Bugs.
I'm a solo diver and when I fight bugs I run it with a Jump Pack and Peak Physique Armour. You can start the reload in the air with the Jump Pack so you don't have to be stationary for as long, and you can track the hunters and other fast bugs pretty well with the better handling from Peak Physique.
I’m gonna need to check out Peak Physique, I’ve seen some comments about it. But I loved the jump pack, but I didn’t know you could reload in the air with it
I've gone from Autocannon to Flamethrower to Recoilless rifle to Expandable Anti Tank, before I finally settled on the MG-43. Definitely my favorite weapon. 900rpm all the way.
I just thought of using the MG43 Machine Gun and Supply Pack, with Stun Grenades, and the Orbital Precision Strike. To me this seems like a killer and well/good rounded loudout.
Reasons being: Stun Grenades COMBINED with Orbital Precision Strike (It's basically a single 380mm round wherever your heart desires), can 1 tap pretty much everything, except Factory Striders (with direct hit OR sometimes near hit). You don't HAVE to have stuns but I like to use them to GUARANTEE a hit and kill, and the grenades themselves are utilitarian. Orbital Precision Strike, has a fast cooldown (90 secs with upgrades), fast deployment (2 secs to shell drop), good area of effect/splash damage, and can clear almost every single enemy type in the game with ONE DIRECT HIT, nests, bot fabs, and so many structures and objectives I won't list them all here because there is so many.
I need to give the stun grenades a try, I've seen some people just around TH-cam talk about them and the pairing with the MG is nice. And I still really like the Orbital Precision strike, it is still super solid. I think the cool down for it got lowered recently, so it is like 90 seconds now. I like that loadout.
@@sammybear-o4c Thanks for the reply, i'll double check the cooldown time, and update my comment. I didn't want to put it too low cuz that would be super misleading.
there's a reason this is a standard issue stratgem to all super destroyers and the most iconic liberty despenser.
I use the MG or the Flamethrower with the Bugs (mostly the MG to avoid burning my team to a crisp... for the Bots I use the Anti-Material Rifle as you can one-shot or two-shot almost everything except Tanks, Turrets, Hulks or Walking Factories. For those you need to hit the radiators or some specific point which are difficult to spot and hit when under high stress. Sometimes for the big targets, I either use the railcannon orbital strike, a standard orbital strike or a Commando/Disposible Anti Tank Weapons as they have a low recharge time and you can drop your support weapon in a moment... get the launcher... shoot and then pick up the support weapon again. What I always have in my hands, always, is the 500kg Eagle Strike, mixed with Stun Grenades for better efficiency
A good point at the beginning choosing MG for the lesser friendly fire potential. I have default selections in mind that have the least FF potential when joining those I don't know, and helps to fit their style as well.
As the video mentioned, never hurts to be a covering fire Helldiver with that MG. 👍👍
I always run eagle strike, MG-43, gatling/ rocket sentry, and free option for your loadout. Eagle strike covers a lot situation like killing big enemies, objectives and so on. Gatling sentry can buy you time and cover big swarm of enemies. I don't take supply pack because it has enough ammo and you can find around the map and the recall time is always up when you run out of ammo. For my free option, I like to run an orbital strategem due to the eagle cooldown or just napalm or 500kg to block line.
@@MyMike004 yeah supply pack can definitely be optional, I’ve just noticed myself that for bugs, for example, I’m like needing to constantly reload and use up all the ammo, my teams are always swarmed, so that’s why I recommend it, but the napalm is honestly a little underused and lately it’s been really helpful, especially with the upgrade module. I haven’t given much thought to sentries to be honest just because I feel as though if I’m carrying the MG, I’m taking that role for it.
@@sammybear-o4c sentries are good to save ammo and help your team out when you are overwhelmed :) also, they are good distraction to drag the horde out! napalm is great but sadly i rather take gatliing which act like gas too. Napalm still a great option tho and underatted as you mentioned. For me if you take supply pack, it will go well with HMG which lacks of ammo! Sentries are very good especially rocket that can be bring into terminids and automatons to take heavy armor
@@MyMike004 That's a really good alternative, I was trying to find reasons to use napalm and I realized I could use it to create space for my team and I, but the Gatling has been really good after the buff! Sentries are always solid.
Against bugs I prefer to set it to the lowest RPM. Medium and High RPM does a lot of shooting dead bugs, wasting ammo. And low is still enough to absolutely shred brood commanders and entire hordes of little stuff. Plus the ammo enonomy gets so good you dont need the supply pack, letting you take the shield back and never take damage.
I just tried the MG build for the first time today against Automatons... and boy it's such an asset to have 1 of these in a team
@@duanewong1527 for real, especially for bugs with how fast you get swarmed, it definitely helps out
I am mainly on the bot front, and the MG43 shreds small bots and berserkers like a lawnmower slicing grass. It's even surprisingly effective against all types of devastators.
Just having 1 in the team frees up my other team mates to carry more anti-tank and anti-air weaponry, making higher difficulty bot missions more manageable.
The supply pack is an absolute must with the MG43 and on high-difficulty missions. The capability to resupply myself and my teammates on the fly cannot be understated.
Respect bro.
I been running MG's for ages...
Personaly i like the tenderizer for light/medium bugs and the HMG for select targets... that said the GPMG is undeniably good shit
@@maxmay2151 I LOVE the tenderizer, it is literally the battle rifle from Halo and it’s just awesome, and the sound it makes puts hair on my chest
@@sammybear-o4c Now you mention it it really gives me UNSC Battle rifle vibes... i always wished i could use that weapon on full auto too! An i guess now we can!
Honestly, heavy machine outclasses it by so many levels because of how automatons work
But I can absolutely see light machine gun being better on terminids
@@fenrir4752 the HMG is designed for the automatons definitely, but the MG43 is definitely most helpful for bugs, and the stalwart needs to become a primary
One of my friends always runs an MG and I usually run 3 offensive stratagems so I can mooch an mg off of them later into the mission while the other two carry anti-tank and it's a massive help even on helldives. Especially on helldives even. He takes care of entire swarms of spewers and hordes mostly solo while the rest of us tange with the chargers and titans with only minimal interruptions.
That’s really smart, that’s a really good team set up
the mg-43 was already utilized at around February-march period when the game came out and was a huge hit. i don't know what your point is, of course it is great at moving down bugs, but against automatons, it doesn't do much
Hey dude.. I hope you make more videos... I like your style... Have my luck and good luck sir . May the algorithm bless you..
@@320466 I hope so too, I appreciate it a lot
I have loved the pig since HD1, it puts in work, but that supply pack is important to keep 'er fed.
The MG has everything the stalwart has plus better armor piercing and damage due to higher caliber rounds, only extra tanky things like chargers, bile titans and… well, tanks
The MG is a life saver and has saved me and my friends more than I can count. A must have for terminids, and a better alternative to the HMG and Stalwart
the charger front leg kill is a bug, for some reason after it charges it loses armor intermittently on legs. Pretty sure they mentioned it a long time ago but said its a tough fix
Question, what's the track used for the edit at 4:50? It's a jam
@@frostedoceans3486 Black Ops 1 Soundtrack, Rooftops
Thank you!
I personally use the MG-43 with the Strafing Run, Precision Orbital Strike, and the Electromagnetic Strike.
MG-43, Jetpack, and Explosive Crossbow is very effective against the Illuminate if you are focusing on objectives and outposts
@@potatokilr7789 W PFP HOLY MEMORIES UNLOCKED FROM THAT (goated loadout btw)
Bro i gotta agree, the MG is so good
I think the MG-43 is the one of the best feeling and sounding guns to fire in the game. The resent buffs just made it better than it already was against hordes of bugs. I'd play machine gunner all the time if I had a steady group. In random teams I usually feel safer bringing tank buster strategems myself though.
@@T4FF3R totally feel that, I’ve had really good teams that stick together, do what they have to do get the objective done and some not so good ones that play lone wolf and just struggle to complete the objective, but even with randoms I try my best and be support with the MG
You know, after a few Super Helldive runs, this build really is a solid choice for bugs. You really do need someone who can mow down the ultra thicc alpha commanders and the stupid fast aggro warriors they call up. And the MG has a pretty good TTK vs Impaler’s exposed neck/head thing.
Stick with a buddy packing anti-tank for the behemoth charger spam and you’re golden.
@@funkyflunky9882 especially after the nerf with the flamethrower that they put out a couple of days ago. The MG43, at least currently, is probably better than the flamethrower right now.
Gunner for life. HMG is my personal fave I also use the precision strike over the napalm for an extra punch, other than that we rock the same loadout
@@ACatNamedOrwell GUNNERS ON TOP
I generally use the HMG for Bots but I use the mg34 for bugs. I really like it. Sometimes I even use the mg 43 for boss as well. A lot of times the mg 43's control while standing and crouching is a lot better even on the highest fire rate than the HMG. It's a lot easier to pinpoint some of the heavier enemies and hit them right in the face even though it's less powerful and the fire rate just overwhelms
I've been running MG non-stop for a couple of weeks. Add on Guard Dog (bullets), Orbital Gatling Barrage, and a sentry of your choice. No one will outscore your killcount. Just get some team collaboration for Bile Titans...
Exactly, Helldivers is a team game, its like Left For Dead, no one cares about kills, as long as you play as a teammate and fill a role
The regular Mh-43 is better against Bugs. It kills chaff just as fast or faster than the Stalwart, it can kill the medium armored bugs like Hive Guard and more importantly, it can kill Bile Spewers fast...at range. Just get good at throwing accurate burst fire and hit them in the face, they go down fast. You don't need the Heavy because it can't kill anything the regular MG can't, with the exception of Spore shrooms and Shrieker Nests. Plus bugs put so much pressure on you it's hard to reload the Heavy. To be honest though, unless it's a screaming hot planet I might just take the Laser.
You use the Heavy Machine gun against Bots because it kills the heavier bots and gunships faster and unlike the MG-43, it can kill Hulks with face shots. Run it with stun grenades, the grenade pistol and a supply pack.
HMG is the best however it depends on what you like to use. I use the HMG a lot with the Supply Pack and if you use stun grenades this will give you a chance to slow groups or large targets to get into a better position.
I LOVE the MG-43, but the HMG has really grown on me, as well as the Stalwart. I just like all of the MGs.
I haven't played Helldivers in a while, but my favorite strategems were the stalwart and MG-43 alongside the support pack just because it scratches that very specific itch
For REAL. It makes me feel like a Spartan on Halo: Reach doing my last stand
@@sammybear-o4c plus, nobody else ran it with me so I felt like a special snowflake with my dakka
@@miisuo you have found the under praised gem 🫡 I respect you
The MG takes out fucking gunships, nuff said
MG43 with the supply pack is my favorite loadout on bots for sure.
I've always thought it was really helpful!
Can confirm, I am my teams ammo carrier and MG Gunner 9/10 times, they like having me carry the pack so they can all use backpack weapons and jump packs. And lucky for me I'm slippery enough to not get killed even with the reduced mobility.
I found out this combo super early when Viper commando came out. I was just wondering when somebody was gonna make a video about it.
I’ll give it a whirl this week. I’ve been Autocannon for a long time. I started throwing in the Commando recently and it’s been fun. But I do love me a good machine gun.
The autocannon is such a solid weapon against bots. Commando has been killing it, even though I still prefer the EAT a little more. But machine guns are always fun
I love being the support gunner on occasion, if my team has ammo hungry weapons against bugs I run MG-43+Guard Dog and i shred bugs, otherwise it's Supply Pack and MG-43, but against bots it's always the MG-206 HMG with the supply pack (probably running Engineerings Kit armour with G-123 Thermites), the HMG just works better for bots, kills everything they have with little effort, you can kill things like cannon towers and tanks not just by hitting the vent, the rear panel where the vent is quite thin but the whole thing is vulnerable to HMG fire, you can damage the whole thing from the sides too and kill the turrets/tanks even if they're aren't showing their back to you
Don't forget to crouch/go prone when using any machine gun (except Stalwart, who the fuck uses that thing anyway)
i take the mg from time to time, as long as i can someone trust that other people will take care of some heavies. it's rly fun just brring down infinite bugs.
The MG is so fun to use, and yeah you do have to rely on teammates to take care of heavies, but they rely on you clearing smaller things. Helldivers 2 is a team play type of game. The MG is very fun to use.
@@sammybear-o4c I bring an autocannon and dominator, don't need to rely on anyone. I'm sorry to say, the MG is just a worse hmg with a slightly faster reload/better recoil, but that doesn't make up for the dps loss imo, not even close. Especially on the bots
@@RepublicofODLUM I get that, to me I see it more personal preference, I still think the MG can have a place even with the bots, but I’m gonna have to give the HMG a try at some point.
@@sammybear-o4c I'd highly recommend leaving it on the lowest rpm (450 I think?) Cuz the recoil is just insane otherwise. The MG was my favorite weapon for a long time, love the sound and feel of it but it just doesn't keep up with other supports in helldive, especially against bots.
This is all my opinion of course, you can make a lot of things work and if you're getting clears and having fun, that's all that matters ✌️
@@RepublicofODLUM the recoil is honestly why I’ve been avoiding the HMG, but I think I ought to give it another try.
It's not underutilized at all, it's univsersally recognized as a very viable weapon. Heavy MG used to be the black duck but they buffed it and now it's great too.
Ive been using the medium machine gun lately and loving it
AH needs to change the tip because everyone reads "susceptible to suppressive fire" and completely misunderstands it. All they mean is that the bots can be staggered, just like how you can be staggered when you're hit. When the bots flinch, they miss. Same as you. So yea, *of course* you have to actually land the shots.
well suppressive fire means they hunker down and can't press forward, so they could reword it a little but that's just me.
The MMG/GPMG MG43 and the recoilless rifle carl gustaf expie, should bath get magnified optics to differentiate them from the other MGs and ATs.
i really like to use mg, stalwart and hmg. i really love seeing any enemies eat up tons of lead. i usually pair up with any explosive primaries for extra kick. since i never play any high difficulties i just bring sentries, eagle and orbitals
You get a pointman with a flamer and put a gunner behind him and youll steamroll the bugs. If the 3rd man brings AT for the titans youll be unstoppable
Been using the HVM but I tested this weapon today and i can confirm is awesome !!!
i actually see more people using MG and HMG but barely any use Stalwart. make me think it would be better if Stalwart is a primary and not a support weapon like the good old day but with ammo capacity be reduced down to 120 rounds instead of 250
I've seen people say this, I wish I could say I played Helldivers 1, but even as someone who has played the second one, the stalwart should really be a primary, I totally agree, just make me the SAW man of the squad.
love the mg-43 is basicly universal gun and good for mosut bugs to exept impeler
You use the same helmet/armor as me and I'm also always the team MG gunner as well lol its like im looking at a video of myself playing. Only difference is I often run the jump pack with the machine gun; you can actually reload mid-jump and have it halfway done by the time you land. Great for when you are fighting bugs and dont quite have the space to reload to start mowing down hunters again
Always felt the MG was the most immersive gun in the game. IMO
@@ASMRCIGARS FOR REAL
blood for the blood god
I have been loving bringing the MG. One of my friends specializes in charger killing, so I keep the small stuff off our squad. I usually have like 50 percent more kills or more than the rest of my team, especially if I bring the rover drone. It’s a big downside not being able to take out titans though
It is a downside, but i mean Helldivers is a team play type of game, it doesn't hurt to deal with specific enemy types while others focus on other enemy types
No! On higher difficulty it’s a terrible idea.
-No long range capability (shriker/spore mushroom or cannon tower).
-no possibility to bring down heavy enemies when the precision strike is in cool-down
-no way to close bugholes or fabricators. (I know you can just use the grenades but specially against bots it’s nice to have an eagle bomb strike)
For bots a top tier team should have 1 spear and 3x auto cannon or AMR.
For bugs 1 pear, 2x quasir (one of them with supplies backpack) 1 flamethrower.
If you want to use the machine gun in level 7 and below I recommend:
1 machine gun,
2 EAT OR mg emplacement,
3 500kg,
4 orbital precision strike if you don’t have stun grenades/ normal orbital if you have stun ‘nades/ mech if you are bored.
Use the 2. Eat or mg emplacement to destroy mushrooms.
500kg is the best at dealing with heavies. 500 and precision will get you through more or less until difficulty level 7.
I mean I've been using it on 9, and its been good for my teams and I just because we would always get swarmed, I tried to use the 500KG I just could never time it right, for the bug side. On the bot side it isn't as helpful just because it really is for specific scenarios but it still helps. But that is why there are two more slots that a lot of people still bring EATs and other things to deal with heavy targets. This game is about doing whatever you want for your loadout, but I've been having fun with the loadouts I have.
Gotta try this! I've been using the semi-automatic sniper as a primary, which has been a bliss; perhaps I should add the MG, and be a powerhouse against small arms.
@@inuitviking the sniper is beast against Automatons. The HMG is as well. The Stalwart and MG-43 are powerhouses against Terminids
Heavy machine gun can kill a hulk in a couple of well placed eye shots