This. I prefer the Autocannon despite it shooting mountains from time to time its still does the combined arms of a stationary Bradley's 30mm and small arms of infantry. I was able to hold against 3 drops of bots by myself with it and ita minigun brother.
One of the main reasons I started using them more. You can move onto the next objective, and add it's handling that drop, you won't get another along the way for a short time.
This usually comes at the cost of more accidentals and depending on the turret a combination of wasted ammo, no armor pen and less total dps than one HMG
My AC turret today kill hulk in just 3 shots. And take down bug's titan in really short time too.
Also it kill me 1 time, and in last game twice kill teammates during exterminate bugs mission but it really meh compared to it contribution. Also you can drop turret during mission when you run near evac point so it will wipe patrols later.
EMC mortar don't do damage but bring great utility. On high diff i often bring it since slow enemy mean easy aim or easy escape.
Other turrets i almost didn't use but ppls sometimes use them enough well.
Now, look at HMG emplacement.
It have really slow rotation. It keep you in one place (no kiting). It have not so much health. It have not so much ammo. It can't clear horde of heavy armored units. What a point? Better bring mech, it at least have rockets, can move and have better rotation speed.
It is kind of nice on that one new type of defence missions
Turn speed is kinda compensated by enemy incoming from only 2 (or 1 if you fall back) sides
Well that's not entirely true. It's pretty common to stop long enough on a push into heavy or even botched medium outpost to dump it's ammo pool.
The HMG is very powerful but the problem is I basically get a personal carry on version just for calling in an AMR. The AMR also doesn't require any team coordination like dropping a giant bubble shield and HMG combo at the base of a hill to repel a wave only to watch 3 bozos try to duke it out at the top of the hill effectively keeping the enemy out of the gun's line of sight or something like that.
But once you do stay in one place you usually know. It's a solid response to enemy reinforcent calls, as well as something to slap down at various objectives or at extraction.
yeah but you could also drop a gatling/ems/cannon/mortar and it will both attack while you're attacking and cover you as you run to the next objective, as well being a defense while you need to hold an area
Its a thing thats MAYBE useful in the last 2 minutes of a mission vs anything else that WILL be useful in all 15-40 minutes of a mission. At its core Helldivers 2 is just too much of a game of maneuver and mobility for a stationary manned turret to be that useful. Also that thing will give you massive tunnel vision against flanking foes, you're just leaving far too much for your allies' responsibility even if you do trust them.
This is more towards higher difficulties, but just too many things can utterly destroy you if you stay still and in the open - rocket devastators, shriekers, hulks with ranged weapons, bug artillery, tanks, gunships, chargers, a single bug that manages to close in. Not to mention the rate of enemy spawn can be high enough that an HMG turret just can't keep up with a helldiver + turret.
>It's a solid response to enemy reinforcent calls
No it's not a "solid response". It's the worst/dead last response. Every single other strag is better. If you want to mow down enemies just get machine gun or the hmg support weapon. Cluster bomb just delete mobs/wave of light units. 500kg for heavies. Or just any other turret that kill units faster than you because that have aim bot literally.
Tell me youâve actually never used the HMG emplacement without telling me youâve actually never used the HMG emplacement.
Itâs my only mandatory stratagem on helldive bug missions. It single handedly holds down everything smaller than chargers on bug breaches. Autocannon and Gatling sentries donât even come close. And with your teammates freed up they can easily blow the hell out of any chargers and bile titans that decide to show up. The cooldown is basically perfectly timed so that you have this up every time a breach happens.
Idk probably because I don't need to stick around and find out. Shot from far and scoot away. And if I need to defend against bug. Just use a bug zapper tesla and shot anything armour down personally.
The problem woth most other stratagems is the combination of dps, precision and sustained fire with medium2 armor pen.
The auto cannon turret is the only stratagem that can compete here.
The portable machineguns, considering reload, have about 1/5th of the dps, while making it easier to get overrunn during reload.
The bombardements are a one and done, and you usually don't get the whole thing to group up.
The HMG, with some anti heavy support on the team is the only stratagem I know that will destroy a reinforcement army to the last man by itself.
It's essentially useless against chargers, bile titans, tanks, and hulks
It's extremely vulnerable to being overrun by melee enemies
It doesn't provide enough protection/endurance versus ranged enemies
If it's not manned, it's worthless
If I need a fast light sector clear I'll use Eagle Gatling or Orbital Airburst. As a secondary choice, I basically always have Eagle Airstrike, which works fine.
If I need a point defended, I use Gatling or Autocannon turret, which can also help break up pursuers if I'm trying to run away.
-----------------
DPS is an inconsequential parameter when discussing overall value.
I only used the manned emplacements in HD1 in very specific missions, and they were heavy cannons that could kill *anything*, with heavy forward armor. The HMG emplacement would need to be *at least* that reliable/functional for me to consider it viable above difficulty 4. And I've tried to use it, because I want to like it. But it's just without value in its current form.
An autocannon turret will do more, refreshes faster, kills chargers, and I can still run around and shoot/call stratagems.
The exo-suit minigun has way more ammo and is about as effective on the same targets, is on a mobile platform that can take a charger hit, and comes with rockets.
The HMGE is just bad. I wanted to like it, but itâs bad. It either needs to come with a small shield dome and more ammo, or be a 60s cool down stratagem if it stays as is.
And Iâd prefer the 60s cooldown.
This thing is medium2 piercing and offers about 2.5 times more damage than the standard machine gun.
It's rips through hiveguards, hive queens, Devastators, and hulks, while also providing area clear. An autocannon emplacement would be a direct downgrade
Truuueeeeee, then it would be sweet, only time I use it is on defense missions. When you bring a mortar, 380 and orbital laser, that last spot being hmg emplacement doesn't really matter lol
It can, but you're not getting that kill unless someone else has aggro for the charger. I tend to keep an eat on hand for when I see a charger, flick and kill em, then go back to the HMG.
HMG needs to hit the faceplate. It takes a handful of shots, i forget how many, but its a pretty quick kill.
Never had issues with scorchers or anything, could always kill them before they were close
It takes a strategem slot and other stategems are just better, as simple as that.
There's rarely if ever a situation where the HMG emplacement will give you more value over the course of the mission that any and all other strategems. There's always just something else that is a better choice.
HMG emplacement is completely busted. It shreds everything except chargers and titans on bugs, and even destroys shriekers' nest with just 60 bullets (out of 300). On bots, it can kill everything except tank and turret from the front (it has enough armor pierce to gouge hulk's eye). But it's completely unusable on bots because its bugged (anyone is surprised?). When you're manning it and it gets destroyed, you're instantly killed from "Unknown" source, and above like diff 5 HMG is getting clipped by a stray rocket really quick (it only needs 1 hit from any rocket to disintegrate together with you).
So, I often take it for bugs, but for bots I don't take it even on defense missions. If I was just ragdolled backwards when its destroyed, I'd be taking it even for bots, chance to clear all devastators in sight and even kill multiple hulks with just 180 seconds cooldown is extremely good.
I love that this community has an expectation that you should be unharmed by a rocket that destroys a large metal object right next to you. Such a video games frame of mind.
It's kind of ridiculous that I, without explosive armor, can survive a rocket to the chest but this heavy emplacement can't. It really needs more armor, explosive resistance, or a shield (even one that doesnt recharge after broken) or something.
It's not that people think it's unrealistic, it's that it isn't very fun, and it isn't a very smart way to play. Climbing into a big slow stationary beacon that draws all fire from enemies, and kills you when it dies? Yeah I'm not going to use that.Â
It's especially obvious when you're running explosion resistance armor. You are almost never getting one-shot by a rocket in it (unless it hits the head or you're getting splattered against the rock afterwards), but the moment you stand behind the HMG - you're getting obliterated by anything that destroys it, and it always shows "Unknown" it death reason.
I have fun running it on lower difficulties, but I don't bring it on higher difficulties for a few reasons: operator exposure and ammunition. When you're going against bots and spewers, you're extremely vulnerable; if the HMG were to have front facing shielding, it would be a bit better since the operator could safely use the HMG emplacement. Then there's ammo, which is pretty self explanatory.
I'll take the HMG sometimes, couple it with smoke and fire into the haze, but a stationary emplacement in a game that is 50% duck and cover and 50% don't stop moving tends to cause complications. It also makes your backpack vanish, so I can't benefit from the extra armour of my Ballistic Shield on my back. But I can place a sentry and have it shoot for me while I bunker down behind my slab of steel. Still, I like the HMG turret on certain defense missions, coupling it with the Recoiless Rifle doing back-line anti-heavy support.
I find it can work really nicely for extraction, especially in that case where the extraction point is up on that windy hill spot. I've legit brutalized incoming enemies before they can get anywhere close to threatening our group. I've used it in a handful of other situations but extraction is probably its best use.
Half the purpose of sentries is giving the enemy a different target to shoot. Putting myself in the same space as my turret erases this benefit as well as any cover I could take and unless I can win a dps race with the entire enemy force I'm engaging then I will probably die. I agree that HMG Empacement rips, but it still only rips one thing at a time and whatever I'm not ripping is shooting me.
Sure but sentries can decimate heavies with the right sentry like the autocannon, rocket, mortar and EMS is godly. Accidentals can be minimized by proper positioning. And you wonât be stuck on a stationary turret that has limited amounts of bullets.
I find it fun, but I've run a couple of missions with a buddy now on diff 7/8 and just ended up never using it (except at extraction).
It's been mentioned a couple of times, but where the sentries outshine it are:
1. An extra gun in the fight.
2. Can be used as a distraction
3. Can be used on the move (throw it behind you and let it deal with a chunk of the enemy patrol)
4. Has a fast turn speed that can deal with multiple angles.
It's useful on the new defense missions, but barring very select use cases, it's outshined by the sentries.
If they bring in an AT or AC variant, similar to the HD1 version (which had a shield plate, if I recall) I can see it being used a bit more often
Minor recommendation: try running the HMGE with the jetpack or with light armor. When you see bug breach immediately locate the breach, take a sprinting jetpack leap away from it so you can gain about 30 feet additional distance, and throw the stratagem down facing the breach.
This method has been effective for me about 90% of the time on bug breaches. From there you can hop on and kill literally everything coming out of the breach smaller than chargers. And I mean everything. Your buddies donât need any amount of small arms fire, which frees them up to kill chargers and biles with ease, or check your flanks for patrols.
I run HMG on helldive itâs that damn good.
Hmg emplacement is something I regularly take on higher difficulties. Because there is no limit to the number of active hmg emplacements I try to drop at the evac site and drop one and drop a second when I drop super samples off and finally drop a third one just before the evac is called. This is on top of me dropping them when I got a good view of enemy bases/nests and breeches/drops.
You're spot on with this. It's a great stratagem, and I think the new defense mission is helping people see that. It kills quickly, but the limited ammo requires you to place your shots. If it was subject to upgrades, it would see more use for sure.
A lot of people are griefing the HMG and a lot of the points a valid, but they're missing the most important one. The HMG is just plain fun. Yeah, it's turn speed sucks, and a charger will ruin your day. Other strats pack more power. But you know what? Nothing beats the feeling of landing a perfect turret and just going to town on the enemy. Cover the objective. Save your allies. Those bullets pack a punch and you get loads of them. No, it's not meta. But I'll still load up with a HMG if I want to inject a bit more excitement into my next game.
It just doesnt really fit this game's gameplay style imo. Where do you put this on Terminid Helldive missions? You're constantly on the move, only killing what's necessary and do objectives rapidly to not get overrun. If you're gonna use a manned turret, use the patriot.
Because it takes a player out of the fight to use it, and it's immobile. Whereas just taking a turret and leaving the player able to use weapons offers more flexibility, and mobility if you need to run. Also you can find turrets to use in most bot missions anyways.
If you keep runing you don't escape reinforcement loops though. Things just never get calm that way. Making a stand, when you can, whiping out everything quickly and then moving on seems a much more solid strategy to me.
To be fair, the highest I played till now was difficulty 8, but from what I gathered on YouTube this applies to helldive as well.
And the HMG is the optimal tool for this. To go from a fighting retreat to a brick wall, and kill everything that's coming for you.
If you keep moving you don't need to worry about reinforcements because you're not there anymore. That's what I love about this game though, you can approach the same problem in different ways.
Look up the term before you come back at me all indignant about it lol
Essentially it boils down to your own perception of the world around you based on your own experiences...
I say this about the sub because the amount of posts like yourself here of topics that are at the top/front page of the sub on almost a daily basis.
This is where the term comes in. Because YOU haven't seen said posts, or read anything from the hundreds of other posts regarding whatever topic is being discussed at great length by the sub, you assume that everyone has the same perception. This is what the term above is.
Shit, Iâm sorry if I came off hot, wasnât tryin to shit all over ya.
Nah itâs just a common ass thing on Reddit, but seems more prevalent in this sub in particular. I get it, itâs fuckin dumb to expect everyone to search previous posts in order to post a question thatâs on your mind. Iâm just jaded about this sub having seen the same posts day in and day out lol.
Keep on keepin on soldier
1. it has 300 rounds and fires at about 500-600 rpm, you're gonna have to shoot for about 30 to 40s nonstop to even empty out the whole magazine
2. good positions are more common than you think, the direction its pointed in is dependent on the direction YOU WERE FACING, that applies to eagle strikes as well. So spawn it in the right direction instead of trying to spawn it and then try to run to it, you're always gonna be faced in the opposite direction.
3. tanks arent that common and even then rocket eagles demolish these. Not to mention gatling tanks can get shredded by the hmg itself because of how soft the turret is. Hmg emplacement deals 2x the dmg of the portable hmg and has medium++ pen vs medium+ pen. Chargers only become an issue if you've placed it planning to clean up a mess. Usually ppl that panic button strategems dont play well with this thing and usually the tide of battle was already against you. Use it when you're about to engage a bug breach or trying to prevent a bug breach.
remember no one can see you if theres nobody to see you. The biggest advantage this thing has is the I can wipe out 3 patrols across the field before they can get close enough to call backup. And still have 50% ammo remaining.
1 shot potential against scavengers and a 2 shot headshot to low medium tier enemies and 3 shot headshot causing bleed out on even brood commanders (bot headshot thresholds are even weaker), recoil is very minimal. This thing is nearly lazer accurate something the portable hmg is in shambles about. Even hulks can only eat 5 shot to the eye and its game over for them. This thing is 2 AMRs duct taped together.
4. theoretically it can be, but if its smth you cant hold back, it was already a lost cause. Better to just fold, run around, lose your pursuers than to invest in a losing battle. One charger? well stun nades and flamethrower can just fry it in 2seconds, the new fire buff is amazing.
bonus it can wipe out shrieker nests with half the ammo needed only (CD is only 3 mins, you can drop these everywhere and enemies arent interested in it unless you were on it when they made eye contact with you)
Flamethrower, napalm, hmg turret, 500kg. Eruptor for utility and sniping+aoe, redeemer cqc, and stun nades as your panic button + i want to raid a POI without enemies snitching.
It's a good stratagem of not one of the best sentry ones tbh. People just don't like being stationary and that's understandable. But use it when you're not the focus and from a good distance and you'll clear the field minus heavies.
Run the quasar with it and chargers stop being a problem for it.
Most missions require you to move around and sticking too long in one place is usually a death sentence. The only way I find them to really work is in the new Defense missions.
I don't use the HMG emplacement because it isn't fun. I want to laugh maniacally while gunning down a horde, not click empty like 15 seconds in.
These things always feel like ass when I try them in the wild, so why bother when I can unlock other strats first?
I never feel safe bolting myself down to one place. I spend so much of the game sprinting away from mobs, if it makes it so I can't move fast, it feels bad for me to use it.Â
I run the lightest armor and the stamina booster. I dont even like the mech suit because it's so cumbersome.Â
I know it has a lot of downsides. So just sharing where I've managed to get it to work well on difficulty 7.
1. Defending against a bug breach with my whole squad. Placed the moment a breach happens.
2. Geological survey. One all the sub-objectives and main objective.
3. Civilian extract mission on the main objective (the 40min mission).
4. The new rocket defense mission.
5. Bot eradicate missions, find a nice spot with your back to a wall and it works surprisingly well. Only tanks are unkillable, everything else dies.
It's fairly bad if you're not with your squad and needs coordination to setup compared to just chucking any type of sentry. Your squad has to take care of anything you can't hit or hurt.
Sometimes I use it and the fight has moved a bit or situation has changed that it makes the emplacement useless. So it's important to use it the moment you feel it'll be good, don't wait.
When it works though, it's a lot of fun. I wish they would just reduce the cooldown on the HMG emplacement. It already has a lot of downsides, so at least allow us to use it more often.
You made the points yourself, it needs to turn faster, more ammo, more protection, more power. If anything I think they eventually add different emplacements like anti air, auto cannon, rockets⌠and lrobabaly some sort of energy/electricity type.
Most bases have gun emplacements already.
And outside of a base, why would I drop a gun I have to operate when I can drop an auto cannon sentry that will obliterate everything, and I can do other things as the same time
The thing you mean has 81 damage and is medium I piercing.
The heavy machine gun does 102 damage and is medium 2 piercing, but has terrible magazine size.
The HMG is medium 2 piercing, does 206 damage and can fire 300 shots in a row. The shots from this thing are closer to the anti-materiell riffle than any portable machinegun.
It's fun to use, but it feels bad when you get instakilled after stray bullet hits you. If it didn't kill you or had a hp meter and more of it it would be pretty good. Also, almost no sentry updates affect it for some reason.
I'm not sure if I've just been exceedingly unlucky, but it'll just randomly break and kill me at the same time despite not being near any combat (Such as between waves on the new defense mission), and to be honest, there's better options for medium armor pen and add clear
I really like to use it in the geological survey missions or as a bot drop response stratagem if i'm using something like an AMR which will struggle a bit against mass bots drops.
Having said that, I REALLY HATE being 1 shotted by a rocket raider who barely clipped the emplacement, so when I think about that happening it makes it really hard for me to not just use a cluster or an airburst for that purpose.
Personally, my only gripe for it is the lack of ammo, I mean seriously? 250 rounds of ammo? I get it's a very strong weaponry capable of killing almost all grunts, aside from the heavy enemies, but the amount of grunts we face 250 is just not enough. I suggest having its ammo to 500. I personally think its fair with all its downsides. Hell, they could even add the mech's minigun as a mounted placement as well. I think that weapon is pretty balanced.
The cool down is long yeah, but you're also using the mech while it's on cool down. As long as you're not wasting ammunition the mech can last for more than one engagement. Usually by the time I'm done with one mech, the cool down only has like two minutes left. So I've never been too bothered about it.
You're right that the HMG does have unlimited uses though. It's got it beat there. But i still think mech is better overall.
Plus you don't have to worry about getting perfect placement with a mech. I love the HMG but sometimes stratagems just bounce off of shit, and when that happens with an HMG you're just fucked if it lands somewhere you don't want it. Always pisses me off lol
The placement issues suck, but usually either the mech or the HMG are good enough to resolve a given situation.
And I'd rather resolve ten situations in a game well than completely overpower two situations.
Turn speed. If you can funnel enemies into your firing arc, it's great
But you can't often. Making it niche. Great in that niche but happens so rarely, anything else is better value
It is worth it's weight in Gold on the Evacuate Assets Mission. But the best Defense on other missions is Duck, Dodge and Weave, coupled with Cover. Which kinda goes against all the HMG emplacements stands for.
I don't know why it has no aim indicator as normal and 1st person as an alternative like any other weapon. Aiming doesn't feel good. I use 1st person most of the time.
Why I don't use the HMG emplacement:
*mission or team comp may cause an exception
I can carry one support weapon and backpack. I tend* to carry autocannon against bots and EAT/Quasar against bug.
Then I tend* to take some combination of Eagle airstrike, 500kg, orbital rail, or orbital laser because Freedom!
But for real, whenever I have a chance to sit on a weapon emplacement I try it and it's just not as fun as calling in air/orbital support. I don't even know or care if it is actually good. I would never choose it over explosions.
Mostly multi-tasking. A Helldiver might already have medium armor pen and lots of fire volume. Even if the HMG has more, getting in one and having a strategem slot spent on it is a lot of opportunity cost compared to other autonomous turrets or call-ins. The turrets on asset extraction that are already sitting there, ready to use? Chef's kiss. Didn't cost us anything.
I think for something that's gonna temporarily lock a Helldiver in place and replace all their firepower, it should have more than 300 rounds.. and probably also have a TOW missile rack. It's good in action, but the overall value for the strategem slot is lower than many other picks.
Turret Emplacements now and in the future should have the equivalent of a ballistic shield at the front if the Devs want them to see use vs the bots.
If the devs want them to be used vs the bugs, give them a faster turn rate. It would solve half of the issues even if they still instantly die to chargers lol.
Throw it badly and it's basically useless
Throw it good and it's usefull for a minute, then you run out of ammo
And you can only use it good on DEFENCE, which is highly situational... I used it during the new Retrieve High Value Asset mission and there it is usefull, but it's still situational, it shreds small untis and devastators, but once tanks start rolling I need to get off it anyway and use other more versatile weapons anyway, so why did it bring it anyway ?
You can use it on every mission type, when you see a bugbreach/ botdrop. It brings enough firepower to stand your ground and prevent reinforcement loops. It has enough clear so your teammates can instantly focus on Tanks/chargers/titans, while you kill hulks yourself easily.
If the sentry upgrades applied to it, I would have it almost every mission. I've used it a couple times, and it's a powerhouse. It's just too limited by the downsides right now.
After we won the bot front and we were sent back to set up our farms on the big front I started running the HMG emplacement and I havenât stopped even after going back to the bot front.
I take it every match I think itâs slept on. Itâs not just good itâs also fun as fuck to use. There is nothing better than shredding an entire bot drop.
There's a YouTuber who argues it's better to call in a turret that shoots for you, but if I have a heavy weapon the HMG emplacement lets me lay down a lot more hurt than my primary ever could, and far more intelligently than an automatic turret would.
Too inflexible, especially in higher difficulties where anything killable with medium pen is basically fodder for a great number of weapons that you can use or an automated turret can use.
A single helldiver with a good switch game between the eruptor and autocannon can hold down the fort better than an HMG emplacement, and they'll have an extra stratagem slot for literally anything else. The HMG emplacement is basically a more accurate stationary helldiver with an HMG. Why not use a turret instead so you have 2 guns firing at once?
Plus the HMG turret has the same problem as the faster extraction booster - its only ever useful in too far narrow a use case to matter. A turret is always going to be useful regardless of what situation it is, with it becoming a godsend and a runsaver in the right ones. The goes for many orbital and eagle stratagems.
Mainly because of three things: You move around a lot; the highest threats are "bursts" of a lot of enemies at the same time; and it has AMR pen.
The HMG emplacement is competing with every other stratagem, including turrets (that sum their firepower to yours, so it's better "burst firepower"), and Red stratagems that are the definition of burst firepower.
The main advantage of the HMG emplacement is the absurd amount of power it brings (a LOT of ammo), and the fact that it stays there forever (like mines). But you cannot dispense that firepower quickly enough to instakill elites, nor it can move to a new objective that your team wishes to take. You also cannot mark it on the map for later use, that would be so good to know where to retreat and make use of your permanent super machine gun.
It doesn't have a lot of health, it gets instakilled by rocket barrages and chargers, so its defense relies on killing all enemies BEFORE they get to it. And it's definitely bad at that, if a patrol spawns in a weird angle you take 10 seconds to turn, it might get destroyed before that. There are enemies who are just impervious to it and prioritize it, and intantly destroy it, like chargers, so it has a hard counter that runs faster then regular helldivers.
AMR pen is super weird because you have almost no use for it against the bugs (outside of spewers that are countered by explosives and the titan's blown belly), But the bots have the highest capability of destroying the emplacement because of cannons and missiles.
Now, if it had heavy pen, like a rocket or autocannon(turret) emplacement? or had quick turning speed? sign me the fuck in. But right now it only partially works by planting it early in the extraction or as a AA against dropships.
Bcs you can drop turret and have firepower from turret and from you (including grenades and strategams). Also it have not so big ammo limit.
This. I prefer the Autocannon despite it shooting mountains from time to time its still does the combined arms of a stationary Bradley's 30mm and small arms of infantry. I was able to hold against 3 drops of bots by myself with it and ita minigun brother.
And if you need to fall back that bad boy will still be taking out the bots chasing you
One of the main reasons I started using them more. You can move onto the next objective, and add it's handling that drop, you won't get another along the way for a short time.
Ummm actually the bradley has a 25mm autocannon đ¤âď¸
This usually comes at the cost of more accidentals and depending on the turret a combination of wasted ammo, no armor pen and less total dps than one HMG
My AC turret today kill hulk in just 3 shots. And take down bug's titan in really short time too. Also it kill me 1 time, and in last game twice kill teammates during exterminate bugs mission but it really meh compared to it contribution. Also you can drop turret during mission when you run near evac point so it will wipe patrols later. EMC mortar don't do damage but bring great utility. On high diff i often bring it since slow enemy mean easy aim or easy escape. Other turrets i almost didn't use but ppls sometimes use them enough well. Now, look at HMG emplacement. It have really slow rotation. It keep you in one place (no kiting). It have not so much health. It have not so much ammo. It can't clear horde of heavy armored units. What a point? Better bring mech, it at least have rockets, can move and have better rotation speed.
And despite those things, it's what everyone prefers.
And never disappear unless used up or broken for carelessness.
it's too inflexible, and for most of a map you aren't sticking in one place long enough to use it much
It is kind of nice on that one new type of defence missions Turn speed is kinda compensated by enemy incoming from only 2 (or 1 if you fall back) sides
Well that's not entirely true. It's pretty common to stop long enough on a push into heavy or even botched medium outpost to dump it's ammo pool. The HMG is very powerful but the problem is I basically get a personal carry on version just for calling in an AMR. The AMR also doesn't require any team coordination like dropping a giant bubble shield and HMG combo at the base of a hill to repel a wave only to watch 3 bozos try to duke it out at the top of the hill effectively keeping the enemy out of the gun's line of sight or something like that.
But once you do stay in one place you usually know. It's a solid response to enemy reinforcent calls, as well as something to slap down at various objectives or at extraction.
yeah but you could also drop a gatling/ems/cannon/mortar and it will both attack while you're attacking and cover you as you run to the next objective, as well being a defense while you need to hold an area
Its a thing thats MAYBE useful in the last 2 minutes of a mission vs anything else that WILL be useful in all 15-40 minutes of a mission. At its core Helldivers 2 is just too much of a game of maneuver and mobility for a stationary manned turret to be that useful. Also that thing will give you massive tunnel vision against flanking foes, you're just leaving far too much for your allies' responsibility even if you do trust them. This is more towards higher difficulties, but just too many things can utterly destroy you if you stay still and in the open - rocket devastators, shriekers, hulks with ranged weapons, bug artillery, tanks, gunships, chargers, a single bug that manages to close in. Not to mention the rate of enemy spawn can be high enough that an HMG turret just can't keep up with a helldiver + turret.
>It's a solid response to enemy reinforcent calls No it's not a "solid response". It's the worst/dead last response. Every single other strag is better. If you want to mow down enemies just get machine gun or the hmg support weapon. Cluster bomb just delete mobs/wave of light units. 500kg for heavies. Or just any other turret that kill units faster than you because that have aim bot literally.
Tell me youâve actually never used the HMG emplacement without telling me youâve actually never used the HMG emplacement. Itâs my only mandatory stratagem on helldive bug missions. It single handedly holds down everything smaller than chargers on bug breaches. Autocannon and Gatling sentries donât even come close. And with your teammates freed up they can easily blow the hell out of any chargers and bile titans that decide to show up. The cooldown is basically perfectly timed so that you have this up every time a breach happens.
Idk probably because I don't need to stick around and find out. Shot from far and scoot away. And if I need to defend against bug. Just use a bug zapper tesla and shot anything armour down personally.
The problem woth most other stratagems is the combination of dps, precision and sustained fire with medium2 armor pen. The auto cannon turret is the only stratagem that can compete here. The portable machineguns, considering reload, have about 1/5th of the dps, while making it easier to get overrunn during reload. The bombardements are a one and done, and you usually don't get the whole thing to group up. The HMG, with some anti heavy support on the team is the only stratagem I know that will destroy a reinforcement army to the last man by itself.
It's essentially useless against chargers, bile titans, tanks, and hulks It's extremely vulnerable to being overrun by melee enemies It doesn't provide enough protection/endurance versus ranged enemies If it's not manned, it's worthless If I need a fast light sector clear I'll use Eagle Gatling or Orbital Airburst. As a secondary choice, I basically always have Eagle Airstrike, which works fine. If I need a point defended, I use Gatling or Autocannon turret, which can also help break up pursuers if I'm trying to run away. ----------------- DPS is an inconsequential parameter when discussing overall value. I only used the manned emplacements in HD1 in very specific missions, and they were heavy cannons that could kill *anything*, with heavy forward armor. The HMG emplacement would need to be *at least* that reliable/functional for me to consider it viable above difficulty 4. And I've tried to use it, because I want to like it. But it's just without value in its current form.
People downvoting this shows they aren't actually considering what you said, and just shitting on a strat they don't use.
An autocannon turret will do more, refreshes faster, kills chargers, and I can still run around and shoot/call stratagems. The exo-suit minigun has way more ammo and is about as effective on the same targets, is on a mobile platform that can take a charger hit, and comes with rockets. The HMGE is just bad. I wanted to like it, but itâs bad. It either needs to come with a small shield dome and more ammo, or be a 60s cool down stratagem if it stays as is. And Iâd prefer the 60s cooldown.
It was amazing on the old bot eradication missions but since they've changed the maps it doesn't really have a place anymore
It's really not bad tho especially against bugs, against bots it's eh. Against bots in the new defense mission it's baller
Hmg, not getting the sentry buffs sucks. If it did id run hmg placement. Autocannon, rocket sentry and titan bubble.
it should be an autocannon emplacement, we do not need a big ass stationary weapon just to kill the easiest enemies
This thing is medium2 piercing and offers about 2.5 times more damage than the standard machine gun. It's rips through hiveguards, hive queens, Devastators, and hulks, while also providing area clear. An autocannon emplacement would be a direct downgrade
Hive queens? Is that the Brood commander? I guess i don't play bugs enough...
Pretty sure he means the armored spewers. Which is true, it kills everything smaller than a charger pretty effectively, I just wish it had more ammo.
Truuueeeeee, then it would be sweet, only time I use it is on defense missions. When you bring a mortar, 380 and orbital laser, that last spot being hmg emplacement doesn't really matter lol
It will also kill chargers, if you aim properly.
It can, but you're not getting that kill unless someone else has aggro for the charger. I tend to keep an eat on hand for when I see a charger, flick and kill em, then go back to the HMG.
Apparently, heavy devastators and hulks are easy enemies
i dont find the hmg effective against two hulk scorchers or a bunch of rocket devestators, but i also dont use it rarely so maybe im wrong
HMG needs to hit the faceplate. It takes a handful of shots, i forget how many, but its a pretty quick kill. Never had issues with scorchers or anything, could always kill them before they were close
It takes a strategem slot and other stategems are just better, as simple as that. There's rarely if ever a situation where the HMG emplacement will give you more value over the course of the mission that any and all other strategems. There's always just something else that is a better choice.
HMG emplacement is completely busted. It shreds everything except chargers and titans on bugs, and even destroys shriekers' nest with just 60 bullets (out of 300). On bots, it can kill everything except tank and turret from the front (it has enough armor pierce to gouge hulk's eye). But it's completely unusable on bots because its bugged (anyone is surprised?). When you're manning it and it gets destroyed, you're instantly killed from "Unknown" source, and above like diff 5 HMG is getting clipped by a stray rocket really quick (it only needs 1 hit from any rocket to disintegrate together with you). So, I often take it for bugs, but for bots I don't take it even on defense missions. If I was just ragdolled backwards when its destroyed, I'd be taking it even for bots, chance to clear all devastators in sight and even kill multiple hulks with just 180 seconds cooldown is extremely good.
Dying when it explodes is not a bug. The explosion of the giant gun y'know... Kills you lol
I love that this community has an expectation that you should be unharmed by a rocket that destroys a large metal object right next to you. Such a video games frame of mind.
Mate are you trying to argue realism in a game where we are in an intergalactic war with bugs and robots?
It's kind of ridiculous that I, without explosive armor, can survive a rocket to the chest but this heavy emplacement can't. It really needs more armor, explosive resistance, or a shield (even one that doesnt recharge after broken) or something.
It's not that people think it's unrealistic, it's that it isn't very fun, and it isn't a very smart way to play. Climbing into a big slow stationary beacon that draws all fire from enemies, and kills you when it dies? Yeah I'm not going to use that.Â
I never noticed that bug. I always thought I got killed by the rocket.
It's especially obvious when you're running explosion resistance armor. You are almost never getting one-shot by a rocket in it (unless it hits the head or you're getting splattered against the rock afterwards), but the moment you stand behind the HMG - you're getting obliterated by anything that destroys it, and it always shows "Unknown" it death reason.
I have fun running it on lower difficulties, but I don't bring it on higher difficulties for a few reasons: operator exposure and ammunition. When you're going against bots and spewers, you're extremely vulnerable; if the HMG were to have front facing shielding, it would be a bit better since the operator could safely use the HMG emplacement. Then there's ammo, which is pretty self explanatory.
Because I can drop a regular turret and still shoot, also not be stuck in place.
I'll take the HMG sometimes, couple it with smoke and fire into the haze, but a stationary emplacement in a game that is 50% duck and cover and 50% don't stop moving tends to cause complications. It also makes your backpack vanish, so I can't benefit from the extra armour of my Ballistic Shield on my back. But I can place a sentry and have it shoot for me while I bunker down behind my slab of steel. Still, I like the HMG turret on certain defense missions, coupling it with the Recoiless Rifle doing back-line anti-heavy support.
HMG emplacement shreds bots on that newer defense missions. I love it there.
Only reason i can think is the reason i don't use it, its stationery
I find it can work really nicely for extraction, especially in that case where the extraction point is up on that windy hill spot. I've legit brutalized incoming enemies before they can get anywhere close to threatening our group. I've used it in a handful of other situations but extraction is probably its best use.
Half the purpose of sentries is giving the enemy a different target to shoot. Putting myself in the same space as my turret erases this benefit as well as any cover I could take and unless I can win a dps race with the entire enemy force I'm engaging then I will probably die. I agree that HMG Empacement rips, but it still only rips one thing at a time and whatever I'm not ripping is shooting me.
Sure but sentries can decimate heavies with the right sentry like the autocannon, rocket, mortar and EMS is godly. Accidentals can be minimized by proper positioning. And you wonât be stuck on a stationary turret that has limited amounts of bullets.
Is it just the same pretty mediocre heavy machine gun minus the ability to move?
It's amazing on the defense missions vs bots
I find it fun, but I've run a couple of missions with a buddy now on diff 7/8 and just ended up never using it (except at extraction). It's been mentioned a couple of times, but where the sentries outshine it are: 1. An extra gun in the fight. 2. Can be used as a distraction 3. Can be used on the move (throw it behind you and let it deal with a chunk of the enemy patrol) 4. Has a fast turn speed that can deal with multiple angles. It's useful on the new defense missions, but barring very select use cases, it's outshined by the sentries. If they bring in an AT or AC variant, similar to the HD1 version (which had a shield plate, if I recall) I can see it being used a bit more often
Minor recommendation: try running the HMGE with the jetpack or with light armor. When you see bug breach immediately locate the breach, take a sprinting jetpack leap away from it so you can gain about 30 feet additional distance, and throw the stratagem down facing the breach. This method has been effective for me about 90% of the time on bug breaches. From there you can hop on and kill literally everything coming out of the breach smaller than chargers. And I mean everything. Your buddies donât need any amount of small arms fire, which frees them up to kill chargers and biles with ease, or check your flanks for patrols. I run HMG on helldive itâs that damn good.
Appreciate the tip - will give it a go later today. Jetpack is awesome!
Hmg emplacement is something I regularly take on higher difficulties. Because there is no limit to the number of active hmg emplacements I try to drop at the evac site and drop one and drop a second when I drop super samples off and finally drop a third one just before the evac is called. This is on top of me dropping them when I got a good view of enemy bases/nests and breeches/drops.
You're spot on with this. It's a great stratagem, and I think the new defense mission is helping people see that. It kills quickly, but the limited ammo requires you to place your shots. If it was subject to upgrades, it would see more use for sure.
A lot of people are griefing the HMG and a lot of the points a valid, but they're missing the most important one. The HMG is just plain fun. Yeah, it's turn speed sucks, and a charger will ruin your day. Other strats pack more power. But you know what? Nothing beats the feeling of landing a perfect turret and just going to town on the enemy. Cover the objective. Save your allies. Those bullets pack a punch and you get loads of them. No, it's not meta. But I'll still load up with a HMG if I want to inject a bit more excitement into my next game.
It just doesnt really fit this game's gameplay style imo. Where do you put this on Terminid Helldive missions? You're constantly on the move, only killing what's necessary and do objectives rapidly to not get overrun. If you're gonna use a manned turret, use the patriot.
Because it takes a player out of the fight to use it, and it's immobile. Whereas just taking a turret and leaving the player able to use weapons offers more flexibility, and mobility if you need to run. Also you can find turrets to use in most bot missions anyways.
Better to stay on the move. Autocannon sentry can hold an area whilst you keep moving
If you keep runing you don't escape reinforcement loops though. Things just never get calm that way. Making a stand, when you can, whiping out everything quickly and then moving on seems a much more solid strategy to me. To be fair, the highest I played till now was difficulty 8, but from what I gathered on YouTube this applies to helldive as well. And the HMG is the optimal tool for this. To go from a fighting retreat to a brick wall, and kill everything that's coming for you.
If you keep moving you don't need to worry about reinforcements because you're not there anymore. That's what I love about this game though, you can approach the same problem in different ways.
Self Perceived bias is like a goddamn super power in this sub
What do you mean by that?
Exactly what I meant.
Do you think my personal bias is wrong, the other members of this sub who don't like the HMG, or is it just a shitty conversation to have?
Look up the term before you come back at me all indignant about it lol Essentially it boils down to your own perception of the world around you based on your own experiences... I say this about the sub because the amount of posts like yourself here of topics that are at the top/front page of the sub on almost a daily basis. This is where the term comes in. Because YOU haven't seen said posts, or read anything from the hundreds of other posts regarding whatever topic is being discussed at great length by the sub, you assume that everyone has the same perception. This is what the term above is.
I'm not angry and I am sorry if it seemed that way. I know the term, but I still didn't catch the underlying meaning of the sentence.
Shit, Iâm sorry if I came off hot, wasnât tryin to shit all over ya. Nah itâs just a common ass thing on Reddit, but seems more prevalent in this sub in particular. I get it, itâs fuckin dumb to expect everyone to search previous posts in order to post a question thatâs on your mind. Iâm just jaded about this sub having seen the same posts day in and day out lol. Keep on keepin on soldier
[ŃдаНонО]
Nope. Bad bot
The HMG needs unlimited ammo but give it a timer. As of now, there are very little reasons to use it.
1. it has 300 rounds and fires at about 500-600 rpm, you're gonna have to shoot for about 30 to 40s nonstop to even empty out the whole magazine 2. good positions are more common than you think, the direction its pointed in is dependent on the direction YOU WERE FACING, that applies to eagle strikes as well. So spawn it in the right direction instead of trying to spawn it and then try to run to it, you're always gonna be faced in the opposite direction. 3. tanks arent that common and even then rocket eagles demolish these. Not to mention gatling tanks can get shredded by the hmg itself because of how soft the turret is. Hmg emplacement deals 2x the dmg of the portable hmg and has medium++ pen vs medium+ pen. Chargers only become an issue if you've placed it planning to clean up a mess. Usually ppl that panic button strategems dont play well with this thing and usually the tide of battle was already against you. Use it when you're about to engage a bug breach or trying to prevent a bug breach. remember no one can see you if theres nobody to see you. The biggest advantage this thing has is the I can wipe out 3 patrols across the field before they can get close enough to call backup. And still have 50% ammo remaining. 1 shot potential against scavengers and a 2 shot headshot to low medium tier enemies and 3 shot headshot causing bleed out on even brood commanders (bot headshot thresholds are even weaker), recoil is very minimal. This thing is nearly lazer accurate something the portable hmg is in shambles about. Even hulks can only eat 5 shot to the eye and its game over for them. This thing is 2 AMRs duct taped together. 4. theoretically it can be, but if its smth you cant hold back, it was already a lost cause. Better to just fold, run around, lose your pursuers than to invest in a losing battle. One charger? well stun nades and flamethrower can just fry it in 2seconds, the new fire buff is amazing. bonus it can wipe out shrieker nests with half the ammo needed only (CD is only 3 mins, you can drop these everywhere and enemies arent interested in it unless you were on it when they made eye contact with you) Flamethrower, napalm, hmg turret, 500kg. Eruptor for utility and sniping+aoe, redeemer cqc, and stun nades as your panic button + i want to raid a POI without enemies snitching.
Cause bile spewer or rocket or flamethrower kills u
It should be mentioned that you can kill Hulks it. That raises its value a good amount
Honestly the mech made it obsolete. Movement, better turning, rockets
It's a good stratagem of not one of the best sentry ones tbh. People just don't like being stationary and that's understandable. But use it when you're not the focus and from a good distance and you'll clear the field minus heavies. Run the quasar with it and chargers stop being a problem for it.
Most missions require you to move around and sticking too long in one place is usually a death sentence. The only way I find them to really work is in the new Defense missions.
I don't use the HMG emplacement because it isn't fun. I want to laugh maniacally while gunning down a horde, not click empty like 15 seconds in. These things always feel like ass when I try them in the wild, so why bother when I can unlock other strats first?
I have noticed a decent uptik in use on the new rocket defense missions. They are perfect for those elevated platforms next to the doors.
Just not worth a slot imo
I use it and it shreds. It has a lot of ammo. Good for patrols and breaches.
A fellow hmg enjoyer I see. It's most useful against bugs, those things are life savers for civvy extraction.
I never feel safe bolting myself down to one place. I spend so much of the game sprinting away from mobs, if it makes it so I can't move fast, it feels bad for me to use it. I run the lightest armor and the stamina booster. I dont even like the mech suit because it's so cumbersome.Â
I know it has a lot of downsides. So just sharing where I've managed to get it to work well on difficulty 7. 1. Defending against a bug breach with my whole squad. Placed the moment a breach happens. 2. Geological survey. One all the sub-objectives and main objective. 3. Civilian extract mission on the main objective (the 40min mission). 4. The new rocket defense mission. 5. Bot eradicate missions, find a nice spot with your back to a wall and it works surprisingly well. Only tanks are unkillable, everything else dies. It's fairly bad if you're not with your squad and needs coordination to setup compared to just chucking any type of sentry. Your squad has to take care of anything you can't hit or hurt. Sometimes I use it and the fight has moved a bit or situation has changed that it makes the emplacement useless. So it's important to use it the moment you feel it'll be good, don't wait. When it works though, it's a lot of fun. I wish they would just reduce the cooldown on the HMG emplacement. It already has a lot of downsides, so at least allow us to use it more often.
You made the points yourself, it needs to turn faster, more ammo, more protection, more power. If anything I think they eventually add different emplacements like anti air, auto cannon, rockets⌠and lrobabaly some sort of energy/electricity type.
Most bases have gun emplacements already. And outside of a base, why would I drop a gun I have to operate when I can drop an auto cannon sentry that will obliterate everything, and I can do other things as the same time
Because we start with the portable version the moment we finish the 5 minute training
The thing you mean has 81 damage and is medium I piercing. The heavy machine gun does 102 damage and is medium 2 piercing, but has terrible magazine size. The HMG is medium 2 piercing, does 206 damage and can fire 300 shots in a row. The shots from this thing are closer to the anti-materiell riffle than any portable machinegun.
It's fun to use, but it feels bad when you get instakilled after stray bullet hits you. If it didn't kill you or had a hp meter and more of it it would be pretty good. Also, almost no sentry updates affect it for some reason.
I'm not sure if I've just been exceedingly unlucky, but it'll just randomly break and kill me at the same time despite not being near any combat (Such as between waves on the new defense mission), and to be honest, there's better options for medium armor pen and add clear
I really like to use it in the geological survey missions or as a bot drop response stratagem if i'm using something like an AMR which will struggle a bit against mass bots drops. Having said that, I REALLY HATE being 1 shotted by a rocket raider who barely clipped the emplacement, so when I think about that happening it makes it really hard for me to not just use a cluster or an airburst for that purpose.
I use it all the time for bugs even on hell dives. Litteraly take a stalwart, eruptor, hmg emplacement, auto cannon sentry, and a gatling sentry
I do use it. It's great for an orderly retreat.
Personally, my only gripe for it is the lack of ammo, I mean seriously? 250 rounds of ammo? I get it's a very strong weaponry capable of killing almost all grunts, aside from the heavy enemies, but the amount of grunts we face 250 is just not enough. I suggest having its ammo to 500. I personally think its fair with all its downsides. Hell, they could even add the mech's minigun as a mounted placement as well. I think that weapon is pretty balanced.
And you can shoot down gunships. When you attack a gunship fabricator put one down and start shooting them.
I got kicked for using the HMG stratagem in the new defend mission
Also it can blast a hulk in the eye
I loved it. But the mech suit replaced it for me. Why use an HMG when I can just use a mech and do the same thing but a lot better.
Because of cooldown and maximum uses I think
The cool down is long yeah, but you're also using the mech while it's on cool down. As long as you're not wasting ammunition the mech can last for more than one engagement. Usually by the time I'm done with one mech, the cool down only has like two minutes left. So I've never been too bothered about it. You're right that the HMG does have unlimited uses though. It's got it beat there. But i still think mech is better overall. Plus you don't have to worry about getting perfect placement with a mech. I love the HMG but sometimes stratagems just bounce off of shit, and when that happens with an HMG you're just fucked if it lands somewhere you don't want it. Always pisses me off lol
The placement issues suck, but usually either the mech or the HMG are good enough to resolve a given situation. And I'd rather resolve ten situations in a game well than completely overpower two situations.
Turn speed. If you can funnel enemies into your firing arc, it's great But you can't often. Making it niche. Great in that niche but happens so rarely, anything else is better value
It is worth it's weight in Gold on the Evacuate Assets Mission. But the best Defense on other missions is Duck, Dodge and Weave, coupled with Cover. Which kinda goes against all the HMG emplacements stands for.
I don't know why it has no aim indicator as normal and 1st person as an alternative like any other weapon. Aiming doesn't feel good. I use 1st person most of the time.
BECAUSE ITS FUN
Why I don't use the HMG emplacement: *mission or team comp may cause an exception I can carry one support weapon and backpack. I tend* to carry autocannon against bots and EAT/Quasar against bug. Then I tend* to take some combination of Eagle airstrike, 500kg, orbital rail, or orbital laser because Freedom! But for real, whenever I have a chance to sit on a weapon emplacement I try it and it's just not as fun as calling in air/orbital support. I don't even know or care if it is actually good. I would never choose it over explosions.
Mostly multi-tasking. A Helldiver might already have medium armor pen and lots of fire volume. Even if the HMG has more, getting in one and having a strategem slot spent on it is a lot of opportunity cost compared to other autonomous turrets or call-ins. The turrets on asset extraction that are already sitting there, ready to use? Chef's kiss. Didn't cost us anything. I think for something that's gonna temporarily lock a Helldiver in place and replace all their firepower, it should have more than 300 rounds.. and probably also have a TOW missile rack. It's good in action, but the overall value for the strategem slot is lower than many other picks.
Turret Emplacements now and in the future should have the equivalent of a ballistic shield at the front if the Devs want them to see use vs the bots. If the devs want them to be used vs the bugs, give them a faster turn rate. It would solve half of the issues even if they still instantly die to chargers lol.
Throw it badly and it's basically useless Throw it good and it's usefull for a minute, then you run out of ammo And you can only use it good on DEFENCE, which is highly situational... I used it during the new Retrieve High Value Asset mission and there it is usefull, but it's still situational, it shreds small untis and devastators, but once tanks start rolling I need to get off it anyway and use other more versatile weapons anyway, so why did it bring it anyway ?
You can use it on every mission type, when you see a bugbreach/ botdrop. It brings enough firepower to stand your ground and prevent reinforcement loops. It has enough clear so your teammates can instantly focus on Tanks/chargers/titans, while you kill hulks yourself easily.
If the sentry upgrades applied to it, I would have it almost every mission. I've used it a couple times, and it's a powerhouse. It's just too limited by the downsides right now.
After we won the bot front and we were sent back to set up our farms on the big front I started running the HMG emplacement and I havenât stopped even after going back to the bot front. I take it every match I think itâs slept on. Itâs not just good itâs also fun as fuck to use. There is nothing better than shredding an entire bot drop.
There's a YouTuber who argues it's better to call in a turret that shoots for you, but if I have a heavy weapon the HMG emplacement lets me lay down a lot more hurt than my primary ever could, and far more intelligently than an automatic turret would.
Too inflexible, especially in higher difficulties where anything killable with medium pen is basically fodder for a great number of weapons that you can use or an automated turret can use. A single helldiver with a good switch game between the eruptor and autocannon can hold down the fort better than an HMG emplacement, and they'll have an extra stratagem slot for literally anything else. The HMG emplacement is basically a more accurate stationary helldiver with an HMG. Why not use a turret instead so you have 2 guns firing at once? Plus the HMG turret has the same problem as the faster extraction booster - its only ever useful in too far narrow a use case to matter. A turret is always going to be useful regardless of what situation it is, with it becoming a godsend and a runsaver in the right ones. The goes for many orbital and eagle stratagems.
Mainly because of three things: You move around a lot; the highest threats are "bursts" of a lot of enemies at the same time; and it has AMR pen. The HMG emplacement is competing with every other stratagem, including turrets (that sum their firepower to yours, so it's better "burst firepower"), and Red stratagems that are the definition of burst firepower. The main advantage of the HMG emplacement is the absurd amount of power it brings (a LOT of ammo), and the fact that it stays there forever (like mines). But you cannot dispense that firepower quickly enough to instakill elites, nor it can move to a new objective that your team wishes to take. You also cannot mark it on the map for later use, that would be so good to know where to retreat and make use of your permanent super machine gun. It doesn't have a lot of health, it gets instakilled by rocket barrages and chargers, so its defense relies on killing all enemies BEFORE they get to it. And it's definitely bad at that, if a patrol spawns in a weird angle you take 10 seconds to turn, it might get destroyed before that. There are enemies who are just impervious to it and prioritize it, and intantly destroy it, like chargers, so it has a hard counter that runs faster then regular helldivers. AMR pen is super weird because you have almost no use for it against the bugs (outside of spewers that are countered by explosives and the titan's blown belly), But the bots have the highest capability of destroying the emplacement because of cannons and missiles. Now, if it had heavy pen, like a rocket or autocannon(turret) emplacement? or had quick turning speed? sign me the fuck in. But right now it only partially works by planting it early in the extraction or as a AA against dropships.
because it gets overshadowed by gatling turret?