MG-43 Machine Gun

Last updated: 1.005.000
Current patch: 1.005.001

Support WeaponHellpodMedium Armor PenetratingStationary Reload

“
A machine gun designed for stationary use. Trades higher power for increased recoil and reduced accuracy.
— Ship Management Terminal

The MG-43 Machine Gun is a Stratagem that calls down a Support Weapon capable of rapidly firing armor penetrating rounds.

Procurement

The MG-43 Machine Gun is unlocked by default upon completing training.

Stratagem Statistics

General
Call-in Time	Standard	7.75 seconds
Call-in Time	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

MG-43 MACHINE GUN
Fire Rate	760 rpm
Recoil	21.25
Horizontal Recoil	17.5
Vertical Recoil	25
Spread	↔[4.00] ↕[4.00]
Sway	1
Ergonomics	15
Capacity	175
Spare Magazines	3
Starting Magazines	2
Mags from Supply	2
Mags from Ammo Box	1
Attacks
*8x60mm FULL METAL JACKET P1	Projectile

8x60mm FULL METAL JACKET P1
Projectile
Caliber	8 mm
Mass	11 g
Initial Velocity	820 m/s
Drag Factor	30%
Gravity Factor	100%
Penetration Slowdown	25%
Damage
Standard	90 Ballistic
vs. Durable	23 Ballistic
Penetration
Direct	Medium
Slight Angle	Medium
Large Angle	Medium
Extreme Angle	Unarmored II
Special Effects
Demolition Force	10
Stagger Force	20
Push Force	12

Tactical Information

As a general-purpose machine gun, the MG-43 excels at engaging and destroying large numbers of small- to medium-sized enemies. Its high rate of fire combined with high-damage armor-penetrating rounds can make short work of Democracy's enemies.
- Each box contains a belt of 175 rounds, and the 3 additional reserve boxes allow for a total combat load of 700 rounds, 875 rounds with the Siege-Ready armor passive. Ammo Boxes that spawn in the world restore one ammo box, while a Resupply stratagem will refill two boxes (three if Superior Packing Methodology has been unlocked).
- The weapon has high recoil, making it difficult to aim for sustained fire, but it becomes more controllable and accurate while stationary and while crouching or going prone and firing in bursts. Depending on the situation, try to always stop and crouch down while firing this weapon in order to properly direct its tremendous damage output. The Engineering Kit or Fortified armor passive can further aid in this.
- Due to its weight and bulk, the MG-43 can be unwieldy when attempting to shift aim quickly. This makes it difficult to track targets at close range, and can prove to be a liability if multiple enemies get within a few meters. To prevent this, it is ideal to engage targets at long ranges, and kill them before they can get too close. The Peak Physique armor passive can mitigate this, allowing the weapon to be swung to bear on targets much more quickly.
The MG-43 Machine Gun has Medium armor penetration, meaning it can pierce the armor of medium-sized enemies like Hive Guards and Devastators. It is capable of handling any enemy smaller than a Charger or Tank.
The MG-43 is an incredibly efficient and effective weapon on the Illuminate front, with it being able to kill nearly ANY enemy it encounters ( the sole exception being the Leviathan on Metropolis missions).
- With proper weak point aiming, it can kill Harvesters with sustained fire to the hip joints.
- Its high rate of fire and Medium armor penetration allows it to chew through Fleshmobs with little effort, and easily dispatch Stingrays.
- These same stats means that the MG-43 excels at dealing with Voteless, Overseers of all types, and Watchers, from all ranges, especially medium range.
- The high rate of fire also allows the energy shields present on Harvesters and Grounded Warp Ships to be quickly neutralized.
Fire rate can be toggled between 630, 760 and 900 rounds per minute via the Weapon Wheel.
- A lower fire rate reduces recoil, making it easier to hit individual targets at long ranges and conserving ammunition but also reducing overall damage output.
- A higher fire rate maximizes damage output but makes the weapon harder to control outside of close-range combat and chews through ammo very quickly. It's best used when large crowds of enemies at close range need to be dispensed.
It is recommended to be tactful when reloading, as doing so immobilizes the player for the entire 4.1-second animation. Interrupting this lengthy animation partway through to avoid enemy fire will let you resume it from a later stage in the reload process (it contains three distinct stages: removing the currently-attached box, inserting a fresh one, and cycling the action if the chamber is empty).
- If the current belt has not been completely expended, the reload time can be shortened by 0.7 seconds (a 17% faster reload) as there is no need to chamber a new round. This means that it can be beneficial to reload the weapon early, when there are only a few rounds left before it is completely empty.
- A handy trick to keep from being caught with an empty magazine in the middle of battle is to reload the weapon upon finding an Ammo Box, whether at an enemy outpost or a Minor Place of Interest. Even if carrying a full complement of reserve magazines, replacing the current partially-spent magazine with a fresh one and then picking up the ammo box to bring reserve magazines back to full, reduces the chances that the MG-43 Machine Gun will run empty in an upcoming engagement.
Every fifth bullet in the belt of the weapon is a tracer round. It is supposed to help the user aim and correct their fire by visually observing the trajectory of the tracer rounds.

Applicable Ship Modules

The following Ship Modules affect the MG-43 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 Weapon stratagems launch immediately once called in, reducing overall deployment time.

Media

Tutorial Video Demonstrating Use of the MG-43 Machine Gun
Image of MG-43 From Tutorial Video

Change History

Patch

Description

1.005.000
2025-12-02

Fix

Fixed the red glow that would happen if the player would empty one or two magazines with MG-206 Heavy Machine Gun, M-105 Stalwart or MG-43 Machine Gun

1.001.201
2024-10-29

Fix

The MG-43 Machine Gun now has the 0.5 second shorter reload duration from 1.000.400 properly implemented.
- The lowered value is actually a decrease from 5 seconds to 4.5 seconds.

1.001.104
2024-10-15

Changes

Magazine capacity increased from 150 to 175
Starting spare magazines increased from 1 to 2

1.001.100
2024-09-17

Change

Stagger force increased from 15 to 20.

1.000.400
2024-06-13

Changes

Decreased reload time from 4 seconds to 3.5 seconds.
- This buff was not implemented in-game, and was later correctly implemented in 1.001.201.
Increased max amount of Magazines from 3 to 4.
Increased projectile damage from 80 to 90.
Increased projectile damage against durable* body parts from 7.5% to 25%.
- Durable damage increased from 7 to 23.

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