What is an LMG supposed to be in 2042?

An interesting quote from the recent interview was the part about how Avancys in is pre 2.1.1 state was more of an Assault rifle with a large mag and less of an LMG.

Fair is fair, the gun was over the top.

But this brings me to the question:

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What is an LMG supposed to be like within the context of 2042?

As far as I see, the LMGs have large magazines and larger movement penalties when ADS and longer recovery from sprint due their weight.

It definitely tries to drive the point home that they are supposed to be more defensive weapons where one uses a bipod to better hold an area.

But mobility is simply king in a game like 2042, being less mobile makes one more of an easy target for both more mobile weapons and marksmen looking for a head to pop like a watermelon.

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IRL an LMG suppresses enemies because of its abundance of bullets to fire and the fact that every single bullet can be lethal.

But this is not an OHK game nor death means more than a respawn timer/revive. So an LMG cannot be scary for the same reason it is scary IRL.

In older titles with the (disliked) suppression mechanic the LMG had value as a means of causing that state on enemies.

But we do not have anything like that now in 2042.

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Because of that I generally consider the 2042 LMGs to be just there for the sake of existing while other guns can do the killing better while having shorter openings for enemies to shoot back.

Why would I want to use an LMG over the M5A3 or the SFAR for general purposes? Why would I use an LMG for longer ranges? Why would I use an LMG for shorter ranges?

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So I am feeling that LMGs are not carving their own niche within BF2042.

How would you suggest they could gain something to help them stand out for more than their mag size (which is already is counterbalanced by several demerits)?

More damage? Velocity? Penetration? Even more Bipod benefits? A unique mechanic?

I am curious about how others feel about all this

discussion

17 Replies

Anobix
Seasoned Ace
3 years ago
@UP_Hawxxeye Honestly, I find that if you have good recoil control using the avancys/lcmg and prior to getting nerfed, pkp, were basically ARs with huge magainze rounds. From that I had difficulty deciding why I would pick an AR when an LMG with fast rate of fire, good accuracy, and huge magazine size existed.

Regarding suppression, I honestly didn't mind the concept, and frankly think that it could carve a niche in this game, but it was better for close-quarters hallway situations generally anyway.

For the LMG I always have trouble noticing if it is/isn't using the bipod, and I don't find it locking onto platforms infront of me to setup like it would in BF4 [someone correct me if I'm wrong]. But it felt snappy in BF4 if you were setting up your LMG with a bipod on sandbags.
Tank2042Man
3 years ago
@UP_Hawxxeye I use the LMCG and it performs very well at mid to long mid range. Once you get on a roll you can switch through multiple enemies and kill a lot of them before they can hide.

I'm very pleased to hear that it was only the Avancy that got nerfed because the other vanilla LMGs are fine.

They can work within closer distances if you get to fire first and get through the initial recoil penalty.

As far as I am concerned Dice put the fun back in to LMGs with 2042 after Vs LMGs were severely toned down.

But it all comes down to putting yourself in the best position for the gun class. Mid to long mid is where I find the LMGs perform best but if your opponent with an AR or SMG closes the distance they get the advantage.

That's a sign of good gun balance.
UP_Hawxxeye
Legend
3 years ago
@Tank2042ManI cannot see an LMG beating a SFAR at mid to long range tbh. The SFAR user will tapfire or even full auto the head of the LMG user to pieces or will outstrafe them
Ironhead841
Hero
3 years ago
@UP_Hawxxeye
Apparently they are meant to be nothing more than glorified paperweights in 2042, I don't think the Avancys is overpowered in its current state and would actually like to see the other LMG's buffed to a similar level.
But since some YouTubers/streamers decided to whine about it now it's getting nerfed.
Its going to get to the point that only ONE weapon loadout is actually going to be worth playing and everything else is going to be nerfed into oblivion.
ATFGunr
Legend
3 years ago
@Ironhead841 M5 for PC and SFAR for consoles seems to be what 2042 what’s us all to use. LMGs main use in real life is suppression, and loved it or hated it, it added a purpose to an LMG. You can hold a hallway so an LMG in prone with a margin of cover, (until you run out and have 2 minutes for the reload animation) offers a purpose for an LMG. In theory, assault rifles are for killing, LMGs are for suppression. 2042 & Dice has their own ideas what they’re for, I just haven’t figured it out yet.
Tank2042Man
3 years ago
@UP_Hawxxeye wrote:
@Tank2042ManI cannot see an LMG beating a SFAR at mid to long range tbh. The SFAR user will tapfire or even full auto the head of the LMG user to pieces or will outstrafe them
Ok hands up, my expertise is with the NTW-50 but i will switch to LMG play sometimes.
Your knowledge will be far better than mine.
However if the prone LMG player is already in full auto I wouldn't think any gun class can compete apart from a sniper but I defer to your expertise over my lack of expertise with LMGs.
UP_Hawxxeye
Legend
3 years ago
@Tank2042ManIt is less of an expertise and more of an experience of being on the receiving end of meta rifles on right hands.
I would also say on the receiving end of SMGs but they are patching them to fire less rifle-accurate.
Trokey66
Seasoned Ace
3 years ago
@UP_Hawxxeye Lack of a suppression mechanic on LMGs makes them almost pointless.

I have numerous occasions where I am shooting an enemy at range and even though some shots are hitting, they have time to kill me with well aimed shoots.
Bolvard
3 years ago
People always forget that the strafe speed and time to ads when running is much much slower on lmgs, making it the worst choice for that Job.
and be honest: did you get killed a lot by avancys the past few days by players running and gunning or was it more from assault/sniper rifles ?
sure, the avancys was a good lmg becouse of almost zero spread and recoil but now the lclmg is again the best lmg becouse of its versatility and gun characteristics.
either you give lmgs suppression like back in bf3 or you increase theyr damage to balance it out, otherwise lmgs in 2042 serves no purpose and you are better off by picking any assaultrifle.
UP_Hawxxeye
Legend
3 years ago
@Trokey66 wrote:
@UP_HawxxeyeLack of a suppression mechanic on LMGs makes them almost pointless.

I have numerous occasions where I am shooting an enemy at range and even though some shots are hitting, they have time to kill me with well aimed shoots.
As this famous scene from Matrix reloaded shows, it does not matter who can fire the most bullets the other party is more likely to actually land their shots. 😉
This has also been the LMG experience for me in 2042 and that is why I made this topic, wondering what is the intended role of the LMG in the context of 2042
@Bolvard I absolutely got killed by assault rifles more than Avancys users all this time. When using the Avancys I had to be Mackay to sort of counter the horrendous ADS strafe speed it has due to being an LMG. It is common knowledge that the less you move the more likely it is that someone will get a good shot at you.