A Detailed Guide On ALL Things MACHINE GUN (+ Sentries) | Helldiver's Handbook | Helldivers 2

Greetings Helldivers!

Today we're gonna take a good look at all things Machine Gun in Helldivers 2!

This includes both support weapons like the MG-43 and the Stalwart, as well as Sentries and Emplacements like the Gatling Sentry and the HMG Emplacement.

We'll be uncovering the mystery of mechanics that lays beyond the surface of these tools, learning how to wield them effectively with knowledge and tactics!

Timestamps:
0:00 Intro
0:40 Disclaimer!
1:00 Sentries
1:22 Sentry and Emplacement Profile
2:08 Machine Gun Sentry
2:54 Gatling Sentry
3:30 HMG Emplacement
4:08 Sentry Tactics
5:27 Intermission
5:55 MG-43
6:51 MG-43 RPM Table
7:53 MG-43 Full Profile
7:58 Stalwart
8:33 Stalwart RPM Table
9:30 Stalwart vs Primary Table
10:11 Stalwart Ammo Efficiency
10:51 Resupply Synergy
11:38 Stalwart Full Profile
11:52 Weapon Pairings
12:04 Anti-Armour Stratagems
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#helldivers2 #helldivers2guide #helldivers2gameplay #helldivers2machinegun #helldivers2stalward #helldivers2sentry #helldivers2gatling #helldivers2hmg

Music:
"Gotta Go" - Tokyo Music Walker
"Darktide Main Theme" - Jasper Kyd

[rykenxiv]

A video just in time to hit 10k subs! (also foot notes and amendments in this comment)

Notes:
- Crouching helps with the stability and recoil of the MG-43 and Stalwart, even better if you have the armour that further reduces recoil! If you need to stay mobile and advance, I'd recommend crouching while firing! While going prone helps even more, I find in grassy maps, I can't see anything to shoot at...

- The Gatling and Machine Gun sentry will always fire for a minimum of about 1 second. If the bugs were smart, they'd send cannon fodder 1 by 1 to waste the sentries ammo.

- The HMG Emplacement actually hits pretty hard. While its surface stats are similar to that of the MG-43, its damage is much higher. I did a mech test once with the emplacement and it only took 15 shots to destroy it compared to the MG-43's 78. This is just speculation of course...

- ALSO, while the HMG does technically have Medium level penetration, it has AMR levels of Medium Penetration, allowing you blast through Walker bodies, Devestators, and Hulk faces! (Very useful to know and might be worth bringing into bot missions at the higher levels (will find out))

- For those who want to know what the Mech's stats are:
> Total Ammo 1000 rounds
> 0.8s wind up time
> 21 rounds/s
> Max Sustained Fire of 47.6s
> Medium AP (haven't had opportunity to test if can pen Walkers which would make it Med III Penetration)

[Warg]

When you are shooting a full mag to an horde of bugs and the helldiver starts to scream and laugh… that’s one of the most pleasant feelings on the game

[eloryosnak]

Okay, worth noting that there *is* a reason to use MG sentry over Gatling (and its similar to why to use default pistol over auto pistol)

MG sentry's lower firerate means that it tends to use an appropriate amount of ammo, and can stop firing when it needs to.
The Gatling Sentry tends, instead, to overkill massively, both wasting ammo on the floor and on dead enemies.

This is especially problematic when you consider that the Gatling (and possibly also the MG but thats realistically irrelevant) doesnt stop shooting when switching targets. This sweeps bullets into the universe, hitting absolutely nothing.

Tl;Dr: MG sentry is more efficient, if having a longer ttk. Gatling has short ttk, but wasted ammo.
If you use Sentries as Panic, Gatling is basically universally better.
If you use Sentries as Support, MG has a genuinely viable Niche.

Hope this helps!

[aetius]

The reason you use the MG sentry versus the Gatling sentry is that the MG sentry is more ammo efficient, especially on smaller targets. The Gatling tends to use more rounds than it needs, and dumps more rounds into nothing while it is changing targets.

[aresix]

Ive been running supply and MG because well, it just feels super cool. Didnt even know i could change the rpm. Thanks for the video.

[doctorhealsgood]

Wish the hmg got affected by sentry upgrades. That ammo capacity and turn speed would be amazing on it

[Junior-dmmq]

You can dodge out of the reload on the MG. Saved my butt a few times. You need to restart the reload, but that charger didn't get me.

[Pancakus]

mg sentry stops shooting when switching targets, so it deals less teamkills than gatling, and saves ammo when doing so. Gatling on the other hand just sprays bullets in big arcs when it gets flanked or confused by leaping bugs. This makes me wish people used it when pubs deploy those things on arenas and extractions.

[thiccfila]

Nice video. People said machine gun sentry had more ammo than Gatlin but when I tried them both in the same build I knew Gatlin had more ammo lol. Because it literally still lasted longer when I had them both firing a breach. I knew something was weird about that, thanks.

[TwinFlower]

Stalwart, supplypack, EAT and orbital railcannon.
The rainmaker, because it be raining bullets.

[ConnaKazie.]

Tbh, Stalwart + Supply Pack + EAT-17 + grenade armour + Scorcher/Slugger sounds like a fucking AWESOME bug loadout

[loganhartsel]

If the MG-43 resupplied ammo better it would be the only support weapon I use. MG’s are the most fun I’ve had in this game. Hearing your guy scream and laugh like a lunatic while you turn swarms into mush, is the most satisfying thing in the game

[qcdoomqc]

I 100% condone the hatred for Stalkers :p

Great video man. I’m convinced the devs made the in-game tooltips completely useless so that the community develops into something bigger lol, because it’s crazy how little info they give. Keep up the great work my friend :)

[Arkonoid]

One thing that should be noted, is that the HMG Emplacement has a High-Medium level of armor penetration, not just Medium; so about the same as the AMR.

This means that it can damage things like the Strider Cockpits, Hulk Heads, and Shrieker Lairs, as well as dealing full damage to Medium armored enemies, instead of half, which, on top of being a higher damage already, makes it far more effective than it appears on paper.

EDIT: Just read the pinned comment lol. This would probably be the explanation behind the increased damage.

[Rhoderluxel]

3:21 "No real reason to take the MG sentry" The Machine Gun Sentry has a higher turn rate than the Gatling gun, which is especially noticeable with the increased turn rate ship module upgrade. The Gatling gun also tends to waste ammo as it drags its firing line around to acquire new targets, possibly hitting allies. As a result, I believe that the MG Sentry's ability to hold multiple sightlines without significantly risking friendly fire makes it the most reliable sentry to drop in any situation. That being said, if enemies are coming from one direction, and you have proper time and angles to set it up, the Gatling's better.

[jamessider]

MG-43 my beloved.
Even at level 50 I still tend to bring it with me, definitely my favourite weapon in the game.
Switching to higher RPM has saved me and my squad from getting swarmed by medium-armoured enemies time and time again.

[nuggssnuggs]

As my groups local machine gun/sentry chad, I've started using the incendiary breaker, Stalwart, Gatling and Autocannons turrets, and railcannon strike against bugs. The turrets and stalwart will chew through most groups of enemies, the incendiary breaker can deal with Chargers surprisingly well, and the railcannon gives you an option against bile titans or a panic button against chargers, if you're feeling desperate

[nathannowatzke]

The HMG sentry is wildly powerful for what it is. It's less x2 MG-43s and more like x2 baby autocannons or x2 anti-material rifles. It can kill Hulks from the front. Paired with the shield generator or shield backpack, you're also very durable.

I agree the smol MG turret needs to have lower cooldown. Either that or triple it's ammo size to give it more than double the sustained fire of the Gatling.

[angryman]

I cannot begin to tell you how useful this video is to me; I am always ALWAYS the machine gunner in games where its an option and oftentimes, they get left behind and forgotten about in favor of more 'exotic' weaponry. I am so glad that as of yet, this playstyle is valid and useful throughout the difficulty levels. Subscribed!

[joshuapelletier]

When reloading the MG-43 you can use a melee to cancel the reload animation. Timing it until right after he dumps the old mag is a good idea as your character will pick up the reload at that point. I use this method of reloading a lot when kiting bugs.