Why Helldivers 2’s new Machine Gun is already “underwhelming” according to players

Rishov Mukherjee
A screenshot from the game Helldivers 2

Helldivers 2 received a brand new Machine Gun, but players are not very happy with it. The ammo count of the weapon is a bit too low and it cannot penetrate heavy armor which is leading to a few issues.

On March 28, 2024, Helldivers 2, added brand new Stratagems, namely the MG-101 Heavy Machine Gun and LAS-99 Quasar Cannon. The purpose of these weapons is to deal with Automatons, but the MG-101 is not doing as well according to players.

After testing the weapon out, a player set up a Reddit thread about the weapon and stated, “It doesnt penetrate heavy armor, has a really low capacity, and a strong recoil. All this for a weapon that more or less fills the same role as the default machine gun. Literally everything the MG does, the HMG does worse.”

As it happens, several players joined the conversation on account of the issues surrounding the weapon. One such user commented, “At 1200rpm, you can blow through the whole drum in 3.75 seconds.” Another commenter chimed in, “The 2 things that bother me most is the low capacity of a mag and the fact that it has no crosshair.”

One player also commented, “Going prone and slamming it into 1200rpm will give you 3 seconds of world ending power.” Finally, another user stated, “This is my major gripe. It has power but everything you listed negates any reason to bring it.”

Therefore, players agree that even though it is good, the issues do not make it worthwhile. The high rpm and low bullet count mean it barely works for 3 seconds which is not enough when fighting against Automatons. Apart from that, other weapons simply perform better making the MG-101 not worth the credits.