MG-206 Heavy Machine Gun

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Last updated: 1.002.106
Current patch: 1.003.001


Stratagems
Patriotic Administration Center
Supply
Support Weapon
MG-206 Heavy Machine Gun

Weapons
Support Weapons
Heavy Weapons
MG-206 Heavy Machine Gun

“

A very powerful but difficult-to-wield machine gun with intense recoil.

— Ship Management Terminal

The Heavy Machine Gun (abbreviated as HMG) is a Stratagem in the form of a Support Weapon.

Procurement

The Heavy Machine Gun is unlocked at the Patriotic Administration Center for Requisition Slip.svg 6000 Requisition Slips at Level 12.

Stratagem Statistics

General
Call-in Time Standard 7.75 seconds
Upgraded 4.75 seconds
Uses Unlimited
Cooldown Standard 480 seconds
With Morale Augmentation 456 seconds
With Streamlined Request Process 432 seconds
With All Upgrades 410.4 seconds

Detailed Weapon Statistics

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Reason: Patch 1.002.200
MG-206 Heavy Machine Gun
Fire Rate 750 rpm
Cooldown 480 sec
Call-in Time 3 s
Capacity 100
Reload Time 5.5 s
Tactical Reload 3.9 s
Spare Magazines 2
Starting Magazines 1
Mags from Supply 2
Mags from Ammo Box 1
Attacks
Rifle 12.5x100mm BCHP Projectile
Rifle 12.5x100mm BCHP
Projectile
Caliber 12.5 mm
Mass 52 g
Initial Velocity 980 m/s
Drag Factor 30%
Gravity Factor 100%
Penetration Slowdown 25%
Damage
Standard 150
vs. Durable 35
Penetration
Direct Armor AP4 Icon.png Heavy
Slight Angle Armor AP4 Icon.png Heavy
Large Angle Armor AP4 Icon.png Heavy
Extreme Angle Armor AP0 Icon.png Unarmored I
Special Effects
Demolition Force 15
Stagger Force 25
Push Force 20

Tactical Information

  • The Heavy Machine Gun is a high-powered Armor AP4 Icon.png Heavy armor penetrating alternative to the MG-43 Machine Gun, trading greater firepower and increased armor penetration for reduced magazine size and increased recoil.
  • With its high recoil, difficult handling, and small magazine size, the Heavy Machine Gun does not perform like its lighter cousins. It is better treated as if it were a large assault rifle, firing in small bursts aimed at specific high priority targets, rather than attempting to blanket an area in lead.
    • To counteract the high recoil, equipping Armor with either the Fortified or Engineering Kit Armor Passives and crouching or going prone while firing, can greatly improve the odds of landing consecutive hits on targets. Alternatively, equipping armor with the Peak Physique passive greatly improves handling, allowing it to be more easily brought to bear against targets.
    • The weapon's small ammo drum (100 rounds) means that it is most ideal to fire this weapon in short, controlled bursts. The high damage per round of this weapon ensures that not many will be required to put down most enemies. Unless the target is very close or very large, never hold down the trigger for more than 3 to 5 rounds.
      • The small drum size combined with a limited amount of reserve drums also means that, unlike the other machine guns, it is ill-suited for shooting every enemy in a fight. Try to use the Primary or Secondary Weapon for dealing with smaller enemies, and only switch to the Heavy Machine Gun when a tougher target appears.
      • As the weapon only has two reserve drums, carrying the Supply Pack is very helpful in alleviating its ammo deficiency. One use of the Supply Pack will always replenish both reserve drums, and picking up supplies from a Resupply drop will do the same.
      • A Guard Dog backpack (whether the standard Guard Dog or the Rover) is another useful backpack to bring alongside the Heavy Machine Gun, as it will automatically engage any nearby enemies and dispatch most small enemies with minimal issues. This frees up the Heavy Machine Gun for shooting at heavier targets.
      • The Siege-Ready passive is also very helpful in that it not only increases the reliability of the Primary Weapon for dispatching smaller targets, but also allows the wearer to carry one additional drum, increasing the weapon's combat load from 300 to 400 rounds.
  • Because the Heavy Machine Gun takes 5.5 seconds to reload its 100-round ammo drum, and the wielder is immobile for the duration of the animation, always keep a careful eye on how many rounds are remaining, as deciding when and where to reload is crucial to being successful with this weapon.
    • As with many other weapons, reloading while a round remains in the chamber will drastically shorten the reload time, as there is no need to cycle the action to chamber a new round. This means that a tactical reload can reduce the reload time by 1.6 seconds, or almost 30%. The challenge lies in reloading such that as few rounds as possible are wasted in the discarded drum, but to not completely empty it.
    • Picking up a stray Ammo Box during a mission replenishes one ammo drum. So even if already carrying a full ammo load, it can be beneficial to reload and pick up Ammo Boxes whenever there is a lull in combat, regardless of how many rounds are left in the drum attached to the weapon. This is a safe way to reduce the chances that the weapon will run empty in the middle of a fight later on, and encourages the exploration of Minor Places of Interest.
  • The main hallmark of the Heavy Machine Gun is that it possesses Armor AP4 Icon.png Heavy armor penetration. This means that it is particularly lethal against targets with Armor AV3 Icon.png Medium armor such as Hive Guards, Bile Spewers, Devastators, and Scout Striders, and can even threaten heavy targets like Hulks, Chargers and Harvesters.
    • In general, the Heavy Machine Gun is more effective against Automatons than against Terminids, as there tend to be more armored enemies amongst the former. Any Terminid smaller than a Charger will only have medium armor at the most, which can be penetrated by more general-purpose armor-piercing weapons like the Machine Gun or Adjudicator.
    • Of notable mention is the Hulk, whose armor level matches that of the Heavy Machine Gun. With good aim, it is possible to face a Hulk head-on, target its red eye slit and destroy it without circling to target its rear heat sink.
    • The Heavy Machine Gun is also relatively strong against Gunships, being able to bring them down with targeted fire to their thrusters.
    • Despite its massive size, even the Factory Strider can be disabled or even brought down.
      • The Heavy Machine Gun has enough armor penetration to damage and destroy the Factory Strider's chin-mounted laser Gatling guns in less than ten hits. But because of the extreme lethality of the paired Gatling guns, it is best done when the Factory Strider is distracted while facing a teammate, or from long distance to remain outside of the range of the Gatling guns.
      • Getting underneath the Factory Strider and shooting up into its manufacturing bay doors can destroy it with about a third of an ammo drum, provided that all shots land on a single door. Getting underneath the Factory Strider by itself is a tremendous challenge, but with luck and deft movement, it can result in one of the fastest kills against the strongest enemy in the game.
      • With precise aim, it is possible to destroy a Factory Strider from the front by shooting at the small red optical unit on the right side of its head. Ideally, this should be done after its Gatling guns have been destroyed.
    • Its high armor penetration also allows it to damage and destroy secondary objective buildings. Importantly, it can make very short work of Anti-Air and Mortar Emplacements with concentrated fire, and even take down Shrieker Nests in a pinch with enough firepower.
  • Remember to switch the weapon's fire rate depending on the situation as well as the range of the target.
    • 450 rpm is ideal for trying to hit targets at moderate range while conserving ammunition and keeping recoil in check. It is also helpful when trying to hit targets while on the move.
    • Under most combat situations, the standard 600 rpm can suffice to dispatch targets at close to medium range reliably, provided that the recoil can be controlled. A few bullets are more than enough to dispatch small enemies, and a few controlled bursts can defeat larger armored foes.
    • 750 rpm discharges the drum rather quickly and should be reserved for when targets are at very close range and difficult to miss or to dispatch heavy units such as the underbelly of Factory Striders or the thorax of Chargers.

Applicable Ship Modules

The following Ship Modules affect the MG-206 Heavy Machine Gun:

Department Ship Module Effect
Patriotic
Administration
Center 		Donation Access License Support Weapons deploy with the maximum number of carriable magazines.
Streamlined Request Process Decreases Support Weapon stratagem cooldown by 10%.
Superior Packing Methodology Resupply stratagem boxes refill Support Weapons with the maximum number of carriable magazines.
Payroll Management System Reduces reload time for all support weapons by 10%.
Bridge Morale Augmentation Reduces cooldown time for all Stratagems by 5%.
Engineering
Bay 		Streamlined Launch Process All Support Weapons launch immediately once called in, reducing overall deployment time.

Media

Updated HMG First Person View

Trivia

“

In order to support the destruction of the Automatons, the Ministry of Defense has fast-tracked new support weapons for immediate distribution. The LAS-99 Quasar Cannon and MG-206 Heavy Machine Gun are now available for requisition.

— Arsenal Expansion Notice

  • The weapon is commonly mislabeled as the MG-101 instead of MG-206 in official information and media.
  • The MG-206's "high" rate of fire was previously an eye-watering 1200 RPM, high enough to empty the 75 round drum in just under four seconds of sustained fire - with predictably poor accuracy, given its prodigious recoil. This was first reduced to 900, and then later to 750, to better emphasize the weapon's role as a methodical heavy-hitter compared to the other machine guns.

Change History

Patch
Description

1.002.200
2025-03-18

Change

  • Improved armor penetration across a wider range of angles before transitioning to glancing shots

1.001.104
2024-10-15

Changes

  • Magazine capacity increased from 75 to 100

1.001.100
2024-09-17

Changes

  • Stagger force increased from 20 to 25.
  • Can now damage heavier enemies like Chargers, Bile Titans, Impalers, Hulks.

Fixes

  • HMG scope is no longer misaligned.

Undocumented Changes

  • Durable damage decreased from 50 to 35.
  • Large Angle Penetration decreased from Armor AP4 Icon.png Heavy to Armor AP3 Icon.png Medium.

1.000.400
2024-06-13

Changes

  • Increased projectile damage from 100 to 150.
  • Increased projectile damage against durable* body parts from 23% to 33%.
  • Decreased fire rate from 450/750/900 RPM to 450/600/750 RPM.
  • Decreased reload time from 7 seconds to 5.5 seconds.
  • Increased stagger strength from 15 to 20.

1.000.302
2024-05-07

Fixes

  • Fixed issues with some weapon scopes not being aligned in First-Person-View.

1.000.300
2024-04-29

Changes

  • Third person crosshair enabled

Fixes

  • MG-206 Heavy Machine Gun now triggers hitmarkers while scoped in.

1.000.200
2024-04-02

Changes

  • The highest fire rate mode reduced from 1200 rpm to a more moderate 950 rpm.

1.000.104
2024-03-28
(Mid-Patch)

Changes

  • Added to the game.


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