MG-43 Machine Gun
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| Helldivers 2 | Helldivers 1 |
“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 the first Stratagem available to the player, and will be automatically unlocked after the tutorial mission. It has medium armor penetration and excels at mowing down crowds of enemies. Its high recoil makes handling difficult while standing, and reloading requires the player to remain stationary while replacing the ammo belt.
Stratagem Statistics
- Call-in Time: 3 Seconds
- Uses: Unlimited
- Cooldown Time: 480 Seconds (8 Minutes)
Detailed Weapon Statistics
| MG-43 Machine Gun | |
|---|---|
| Fire Rate | 900 rpm |
| Cooldown | 480 sec |
| Call-in Time | 3 s |
| Capacity | 150 |
| Reload Time | 5 s |
| Tactical Reload | 4.2 s |
| Spare Magazines | 3 |
| Starting Magazines | 2 |
| Mags from Supply | 1 |
| Mags from Ammo Box | 1 |
| Attacks | |
| Rifle 8x60mm Full Metal Jacket | Projectile |
| Rifle 8x60mm Full Metal Jacket | |
|---|---|
| Projectile | |
| Caliber | 8 mm |
| Mass | 11 g |
| Initial Velocity | 820 m/s |
| Drag Factor | 30% |
| Gravity Factor | 100% |
| Penetration Slowdown | 25% |
| Damage | |
| Standard | 90 |
| vs. Durable | 23 |
| Penetration | |
| Direct |  Medium I
|
| Slight Angle | Medium I
|
| Large Angle | Medium I
|
| Extreme Angle |  Light I
|
| Special Effects | |
| Demolition Force | 10 |
| Stagger Force | 15 |
| Push Force | 12 |
Tactical Information
- As a general-purpose machine gun, the MG-43 excels at engaging and destroying large numbers of small- to moderate-sized enemies. Its high rate of fire combined with high-damage armor-penetrating rounds can make short work of Democracy's enemies.
- Each magazine contains 150 rounds, and the three additional reserve magazines allow for a total combat load of 600 rounds. Ammo Boxes that spawn in the world restore reserve 1 mag, while a Resupply stratagem will refill two mags (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 Machine Gun has medium armor penetration, meaning it can pierce the armor of moderate sized enemies like Hive Guards and Devastators, but not large ones like Chargers or Hulks.
- Fire rate can be toggled between 630rpm, 760rpm, and 900rpm via fire selector (hold down Reload, then tap Aim to toggle).
- A lower fire rate reduces recoil as well as damage output, making it easier to hit single targets at long ranges.
- 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 with.
- It is recommended to be tactful when reloading, as doing so immobilizes the player for the entire 5-second animation. Interrupting this lengthy animation partway through to avoid enemy fire will let you restart it from near the same spot later (it contains three distinct stages: removing the current magazine, attaching the new magazine, and cycling the action).
- If the current magazine has not been completely expended, the reload time can be shortened by 0.8 seconds 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.
Affected by:
The following Ship Modules affect the MG-43 Machine Gun:
| Department | Ship Module | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Patriotic Administration Center | Donation Access License | The Machine Gun always drops in with 3 reserve mags, instead of 1. |
| Streamlined Request Process | Reduces the stratagem cooldown from 8:00 to 7:10. | |
| Superior Packing Methodology | Resupply boxes refill the Machine Gun with the maximum number of carriable magazines. |
Media
Change History
Patch
Description
1.000.400
2024-06-13
Changes
- Decreased reload time from 4 seconds to 3.5 seconds.
- This buff was not implemented in-game.
- 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%.
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