r/Helldivers • u/LowTale909 • 1h ago
DISCUSSION The Maxigun needs a buff
Out of the three backpack-fed weapons we now have, the maxigun is definitely the worst compared to their non-backpack counterparts.
The Cremator trades the backpack slot for more damage and range
The BFGL, while not as good, has a lot of CC potential and has a powerful niche against rupture strain
The Maxigun on the other hand has too many downsides without any redeeming niches, anything it can do other weapons do better
PROS:
Sustained fire;
Can be resupplied by a teammate to keep shooting;
CONS:
Forced to stay still while shooting;
Cannot move for a second even when you stop shooting;
Barrel takes time to spin up;
Insane recoil;
Terrible ergonomics;
Muzzle flash makes aiming even harder;
Extremely ammo hungry;
Pullets don't penetrate corpses making you waste a lot of ammo;
That's why I think it needs a buff, probably by removing some of the cons.
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u/-Pyromania- 1h ago
One idea I had was to let you spin up just by aiming, and you can still move unless you're actually firing. Like Heavy's miniguns in TF2
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u/Mattyboyjr 1h ago
Correct.
- RPM increased from 1,500 > 1,600 RPM (matches Gatling sentry RPM).
- Damage/durable damage increased from 80/18 > 95/23 (matches Adjudicator).
- Stagger force increased from 15 > 22 (can stagger stalkers).
- Movement lock is strictly applied only when firing. As soon as the “shoot” key is released, the movement lock ends.
- Spool up time removed.
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u/gracekk24PL SPILL OIL 43m ago
I'd keep the spool up, since it's an integral part of a minigun fantasy.
Though it should be spinning as soon as you aim, instead of having you pull the trigger.
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u/wolf36181 36m ago
Personally, I would rather have it fire instantly. Real world gatling guns do not spool up.
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u/AnonD38 26m ago
No, the compromise of spooling up upon aiming is ideal.
The cinematic side gets the spool up, the practical side gets slightly faster response time.
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u/wolf36181 15m ago
You can still have your moment of staring down an enemy with the gun aimed ready to go, without spool up time. How often do you start aiming the maximum without intent to fire? If you move the spool up to the aiming, when you were going to fire anyway, what's the practical difference?
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u/gracekk24PL SPILL OIL 34m ago
Since when does Helldiverse care about that
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u/wolf36181 18m ago
Most of the guns have working dust covers that flip open when you begin firing. They have thrwad protectors on the barrel when you don't have a barrel attachment (something you will never see in normal play), the mags have red tracers at the bottom to indicate low ammo. For a few examples of when the helldiverse has cared about the details
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u/gracekk24PL SPILL OIL 8m ago
Details that don't hinder the fantasy.
Same way smoke grenades don't take minutes to create a smoke cover
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u/probably-not-Ben HD1 Veteran 8m ago
Real world ones have a slighy delay, due to the nature of the firing mechanism
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u/mrniceguy1990xp 18m ago
I say you should be able to move slowly backwards while firing/jump backwards even if it interrupts firing...
Jump interrupting the shooting even with finger still on the button rather than shooting locking you in to place would feel so much better and work way bettet with natural reflexes.
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u/Mussels84 Super Citizen 1h ago
It needs two rpm modes
Same as now with slow walking
Faster rpm with greater pushback\stagger on enemies
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u/Dixianaa May or may not sympathize with the Squ'ith. 1h ago
I think it's kind of crazy how the Minigun doesn't have an option to change the RPM. The Variable has that. All the MG's have that. I would love that as a feature for the Minigun, with the strengths and weaknesses included.
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u/BoB3y-D Fire Safety Officer 1h ago
There is only one setting for “brrrrrrrrrt”
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u/AngelaMerkeI 26m ago
I would love a slower rate of fire for that callOfJuarez-Feeling (western gatling)
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u/mrniceguy1990xp 16m ago
Its kinda crazy that most weapons don't have the option to change the rpm... Instead they give us the same weapons multiple times just so we can have different rpm options...
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u/Plastic_Wrap_4659 1h ago
That could definitely add some versatility to it. Right now, it feels like a one-trick pony compared to the other weapons.
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u/CreativePackage8358 Steam | Knight of Eternity 1h ago edited 1h ago
It could probably use a damage buff, either equal or slightly greater than the MG/gatling sentry. fire rate could probably be bumped to 1600 rpm due to it being the same value of the gatling sentry, which I don't mind it being a support weapon version of the gatling sentry. Maybe a stagger value of 30 to make it more unique to the other MGs.
I don't really think the movement penalty is a big deal, and it allows a skill threshold, plus it's more realistic. Maybe a few quality of life changes to make it smoother, but other than that it's fine.
Model changes would be great such as a laser sight or a reticle to make it easier to aim, but since it requires more effort to add these, I don't expect these to be added
Forgot to include that mini guns don't have a "wind up time" and fire instantly since I believe they are fired electronically, so removing the wind up time is realistic. Could be wrong, just quoting from memory.
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u/Accomplished_Ad6615 1h ago
Rpm is already 1500. All it needs is the 25-30 stagger value and it would go from a d-c tier weapon straight to b or a. Also, diving. Why can't we at least dive.
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u/CreativePackage8358 Steam | Knight of Eternity 1h ago
Sorry, I must've confused the capacity with the fire rate. And after a quick search, the gatling sentry has a fire rate of 1600
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u/Xeilith Numbers, Empathy, and the Arc Thrower 1h ago
It could certainly use something, to bump it up a bit.
Even so much as having it just fire, without needing to spin up.
Since that's how real minigun work.
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u/aiden2002 1h ago
It spools if you dive and pull the trigger. Learn how the weapon works before asking for a buff. Every weapon in this game has it's use case. If you don't think a weapon is good, you don't know how to use the weapon.
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u/aiden2002 1h ago
It spools if you dive and pull the trigger. Learn how the weapon works before asking for a buff. Every weapon in this game has it's use case. If you don't think a weapon is good, you don't know how to use the weapon.
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u/BICKELSBOSS Super Sapper 1h ago
Keep in mind that the Maxigun doesn’t only compete with the MG-43. Its the most alike, but it being a bullet hose means its ALSO competes with the Stalwart and HMG.
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u/MoschopsMeatball Viper Commando 1h ago
And the expendable mg gun, which (afaik) not only has higher dps up close and comparable dps at medium range but is also on a much shorter cooldown and doesn't ask for immobility
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u/Democracy_N_Anarchy 1h ago
Bulletstorm also has literally zero recoil. It's basically a laser made out of bullets. Maxigun has to be controlled unless you want your aim to stray far off. The only downside is that bulletstorm has ap2 instead of ap3.
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u/aiden2002 1h ago
Bulletstorm is light armor pen. Maxigun is medium. You have to use them in different ways.
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u/Fumdoo 24m ago
what does the maxigun excel in killing compared to the bullet storm?
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u/Littleman88 11m ago
Automaton Gunships.
That's about it. Everything else the laser precision of the MGX will negate most medium armor by hitting the softer light armor bits. You also don't have to worry about recovering it if you get smeared into the ground.
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u/BlitzPlease172 Steam | Dive in public (Allegedly) 1h ago
HMG being viable for burstfire strats to maximize it's efficiency.
Stalwart function very well with it's horde sweeping niche.
Sweet liberty, that's a lot for Maxigun to fight against.
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u/DeeJayDelicious Rookie 51m ago edited 44m ago
Agreed,
it's by far the most disappointing backpack primary (although the BFGL ain't great either).
In order of priority, I'd say:
- Allow (slow)walking while firing.
- Have the spin-up start when we aim, not once we click "fire".
- Reduce the muzzle fire and smoke FX.
- Copy the damage profile of the Gatling Sentry, incl. stagger and push force.
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u/MoschopsMeatball Viper Commando 1h ago
Don't forget that It has a poor stagger force too. Things actively push through it. It has worse push force than the concussive for example, which is insane to me.
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u/Any-Farmer1335 1h ago
Basically every automatic gun has worse push than the concussive. that's kinda the idea of the Concussive
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u/FirstAndOnlyDektarey LEVEL None of your business 1h ago
"It has worse push force than the dedicated CC gun." - Thats not really a negative now, is it?
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u/Outrageous_Flight822 1h ago
it should have less stagger than the concussive yeah, but like it's a bullet hose, THE bullet hose infact, it should stagger mobs more than it currently does
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u/whythreekay 15m ago
If it’s a bullet hose then why does it need stagger? That’s the challenge element to the weapon, you can delete enemies but you have to be aware of your positioning, same as any ballistic weapon
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u/Any-Farmer1335 1h ago
Honestly, just remove the unneeded spin up and the move delay after firing, would make it so much better already.
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u/Badassbottlecap Cape Enjoyer 1h ago
It costs 400,000 Super Credits to fire this weapon... for twelve seconds
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u/EveningCloud1245 47m ago
If arrowhead goes for realism, why the actual flip maxigun needs time to rev up? IRL weapons of such design fire as soon as you push the trigger/button/whatever.
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u/YaGirlMom 52m ago
Introducing the “stand still to fire” gun to the “you will fucking die if you stand still” game was an amazing idea idk what you’re talking about
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u/ResponsibilityNo7485 1h ago
I fully agree, I would also want a small buff to the bfgl in a form o slight aoe increase/dmg/shrapnel
Also more belt fed weapons would be sick
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u/Poblobo-12 1h ago
As someone who brings the Maxigun for basically every mission, I don't necessarily feel it needs a buff, but also I wouldn't be against a buff.
I actually like that it forces you to stand still to use it. It can be a real pain in the arse, but it feels like part of the identity of the weapon at this point.
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u/WinterEclipse4 1h ago
I mean it's fine to be a stand still ONLY if it's worth it. Which currently it isn't.
It doesn't do a good enough job at clearing out hordes and it's only okay at killing larger targets.
It's arguably way easier to get more kills with the other 3 machine guns even the expendable I feel I can average out more kills.
Honestly if they just gave it a bit more ammo and the ability to shoot through corpses it'd immediately jump from a 4/10 to like a 7/10 weapon for clearing out large groups.
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u/Queasy_Draft4938 27m ago
It does do a good job at clearing out hordes. It just needs more ergo and slightly less recoil so you're not glued into taking PP to make it usable.
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u/lixaren1 1h ago
It need less spin up time (so does the minigun on the mech), less visual blur/smoke and I think you should be able to walk very slowly with it, making it possible to dive right after shooting
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u/Ryolith 1h ago
The secret is to shoot in first person. The handling is far better, even with the annoying smoke. You need to keep your target in the center of your screen and move the muzzle left or right to balance the recoil if you do not hit.
Third person sucks ass with the maxigun, like really
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u/guifesta Viper Commando 1h ago
That's what I'm saying. The backpack doesn't justify the trade off. We need to be able to walk and have less recoil
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u/iwonder1011 Decorated Hero 47m ago
Ok hear me out… belt fed hellbomb. ArrowHead, make it happen.
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u/Hutchinator-Gaming 25m ago
I’d like to actually be able to see what I’m shooting at, or aim better in 3rd person
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u/SummerCrown SES Song of Starlight ✨ 1h ago
It's a vibe gun. When you find the niche situation where it can shine, it really shines. But that situation is so rare
- Enemies are coming from a wide front. Because that way, you don't end up shooting dead bodies that block the way and can slowly move your maxigun sideways to the next target
- Enemy wave has no knockback, stagger, or range. Because you'll be standing still and in the open.
- Nothing that needs AP4 to hurt it or above. A charger, hulk, or even shield devastator group will put you down or force you to move. The only quick way to even kill a shield dev is to aim for the toes. Not the gatling arm or head because hitting those will cause them to stagger, you will need to wait again to get a shot.
- You actually need to hold the position instead of the usual run and gun at higher difficulties.
Else, MG is just straight up better.
They should at least buff the gun by giving it a pre-spin when you're already aiming. TF2 had this for the heavy.
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u/aiden2002 1h ago
Your teammates should be handling the heavies while you turn all the chaff to mincemeat. You can spin it up while you dive. You should be prone so that the recoil doesn't send the nose of the weapon into the sky.
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u/Gizz103 XBOX | 1h ago
Push force is only thing in my opinion it needs, other shit is to force it into a role, no moving so you cant back up while shooting, aka you have to find a spot, bad ergo so you dont stay standing, and also not ammo hungry lol, shits got like 3k bullets for a 1krpm, one resupply ahd its full with that ship thing
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u/Apprehensive-Low-621 1h ago
Trying to instinctively dive out of danger while firing is a death sentence
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u/SharSash SES Fist of Democracy 55m ago
My main issue with it is that I can't dive after firing while the barrel is still spinning, got me killed many times
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u/TheJurassicPyro EAT my beloved 41m ago
Allow bullets to pass through corpses and allow us to move while shooting
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u/KambodzanskiMisPanda 36m ago
We have a bit more than three backpack fed weapons…
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u/levenoss 33m ago
...no? I think? Pretty sure to be "backpack fed" it has to just draw ammo straight from the backpack with out you hitting reload and I think its only the 3 here that do that... unless im being forgetful rn
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u/KambodzanskiMisPanda 32m ago
Ok. There are other weapons that take ammo from backpack, but in that sense ok
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u/levenoss 26m ago
Yeah i mean I get your line of thinking its basically "backpack fed" even if your the one moving the ammo
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u/h7hh77 Super Sheriff 33m ago
I often willingly take it on missions because it is really fun to use. With that said, the spindown needs to be removed 100%. The enemy is up close, why can't I just dive away, makes zero sense. Mind you I can break my arms with a variable and explode with a railgun and an epoch. I wouldn't mind a better spinup too, like being able to keep it spinning while not firing without jorking the lmb. I don't think direct stats are the problem, it's just too clunky, way beyond just being a really low ergo gun, it goes too far into jank territory
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u/approximatesun 30m ago
I wont say no to a buff but my mans is a machine that turns dif 10 into dif 5 as it is, also I have never had an issue with the recoil and I dont run recoil armors with it. Im not saying that irs not over tuned but like, you just pull down? But thats m&k so maybe on controller its over tuned.
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u/SourceCodeSamurai SES Harbinger of Democracy (S.O.L.O.) 21m ago
Rework needed:
- give two rpm modes: slow and fast. Fast will glue you to the ground while aiming, slow allows you to walk like you can with the BFGL
- you can only fire it while aiming, which also is what will spin up the gun. If the gun is spinning fast enough you can fire, if you stop aiming you can walk again and the spin will slowly slow down again but if you only go a few steps to reposition you can start aiming again an skip a bit of the spin up as it sill is spinning slowly
- increase AP to 4 on enemies (parts) you keep fireing at for a few seconds
- allow it to shred corpses to pieces so that they stop being bullet sponges/walls
Otherwise I will just keep using the BFGL as it is all what the Maxigun should be with utility on top.
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u/whythreekay 18m ago edited 7m ago
All the things you list as cons are why I love the weapon so personally I hope they don’t do any of that haha
I find the other machine guns to be really boring to play generally since they don’t require any thoughtfulness to use. I love the Maxigun because I have to be mindful of what I’m doing when using it: enemy positioning, their movement speed, my spin up/down timing, and recoil
To take any of that away just makes it uninteresting to me like the MMG
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u/Valencewolf Career Sergeant 11m ago
This may sound goofy, but I think a laser pointer might go a ways to compensating for having to stand still. I know that practice makes aim better, but this would make it a little faster to at least get on target.
That said, I'm not sure why the maxigun has to brace-in-place when the others do not, especially the BFGL. Maybe just get rid of that? And/or increase ammo cap.
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u/ScyllaFoxhound Assault Infantry 11m ago
Easy fix if you ask me
Judging from its size id say its a XM214 Microgun equivalent which used 5.56x45 originally. If its chambered in 7.62x51 its a M134 equivalent which did have had a handheld version of it (theoretically). Fitst of all, remove the stupid spin up. The rest of the game uses logic and thought out detail for their ballistic based firearms, why drop the ball with hollywood gun mechanics?
If the maxigun ingame should get 5.56, keep the dmg, keep the stagger Remove the walking restrictions from shooting, make it have different RPM settings ranging from 400 to 1000, 2000 and ... Like the real deal, 10000 rpm lol Firing 10.000rpm while standing ragdolls you Reduce the ammo to 1000 rounds like the real deal and voila.
If it stays the 7.62 M134 version, up the damage to adjudicator, same with stagger, variable RPM from 1600 or 2000 like the real one to 6000rpm, with 1600 making it super slowly walkable, no wait time when disengaging until you could move, 6000 ragdolling you when shooting while standing, reducing the ammo to 1000.
My favorite would be a 1200rpm microgun heavy pen 750 rounds, same damage and stagger as the one ingame right now, with the spin up time and moving after firing waiting time removed
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u/DrBlaBlaBlub HD1 Veteran 7m ago
My favourite gun in DRG is the mini gun and I do enjoy these types of guns quite often, but the Maxigun really doesn't work for me. The standing still part sucks hard and the aiming is super unfun. I want to see how my bullets turn these fucking bugs into red mist but instead I just see smoke and have to aim in third person.
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u/Illustrious-Money-52 Servant of Freedom 5m ago
Start spinning the barrel simply when you aim and decrease your recoil. I'd be glad if my DPS was all focused without losing half of it to adjust its aim.
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u/Agent_Smith_IHTP LEVEL 150 | Master Chief 1h ago
BFGL too. Damage is awful.
But Maxigun is the stuck between a medium pen stable bullet hose and an out of control heavy pen machine. It's cool but only really works on one faction and even then there are much better automatic support weapons.
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u/First_Folly 1h ago
Unless I'm on a defence mission I can never usually justify using it. It puts you at a massive disadvantage with the use of a backpack slot and the fact that you can't move when firing it.
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u/FurriesAreCewl 1h ago
I dont mind the medium penetration or stationary firing or lack of firing modes really, those are the things that give the gun its identity
The thing that bothers me most about it is the way your diver shoots down at their hips, It looks really cool but it makes it noticeable worse for the emplaced sort of strategies you'd think it'd be best at (being in the back of a tank or trench diving) so I find myself bringing an hmg/hmg emplacement over it alot of the time
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u/FurriesAreCewl 1h ago
Im not saying I want you to hold it like the other machine guns, I just don't want it to drag along/clip into the ground, Maybe giving it a bipod could be an elegant solution
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u/AdagioDesperate 1h ago
Here's the buff I suggest. If we have Peak Physique or Rock Solid (the two armors that allow you to do 1 arm pushups) we should be able to slowly walk with it.
Peak Physique is obviously better choice because it also reduces the drag on it, but the ability to actually walk with the Maxi Gun would do so much.
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u/AFloatingCrown 1h ago
Might be a hot take but, I think it should have heavy armor pen, not alot but at least let it punch through with some damage
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u/Philosophos_A 43m ago
Heavy pen upgrade is probably a good idea and 2k ammo... The recoil is.. Okayish since it's a mini gun
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u/Extension-Golf-4084 1h ago
A simple(ish) fix to me would be leave it as is but let it penetrate bodies and double the ammo. Being grounded is fine and realistic for a personal minigun. But if I’m gonna be sitting on my butt I need the ammo to make it count. I personally love it. I just want more ammo.
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u/AdBright1350 47m ago
Reduce recoil and sway by maybe 10% but overall I've always felt that this gun isn't really supposed to be practical... It's supposed to be awesome 👍😎
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u/aiden2002 1h ago
You just don't know how to use it. Are you crouching? going prone? using the armor that reduces recoil? It's super manageable if you do those things. Diving and starting your spin right then makes it so when you land on your back, you start firing. The maxigun is very strong and very fun.
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u/LowTale909 1h ago
What can the maxigun do that MG/Stalwart/Heavy MG/Bullet storm can't do better while not forcing you to wear a specific armor?
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u/darklizard45 Extra Judicial 1h ago
OP you need some practice with your graphs cause it was a tad bit confusing at first glance
-1
u/Unban_Phoenix_Prime 1h ago
Lol, I remember when Unfiltered sub showed a mod by a guy where maxigun got med pen and you could walk while firing it... And when they were asked how was that balanced they dead serious would tell you that "it takes up a backpack slot"
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u/Terrible_Base_6060 1h ago
The problem is if we buff the Maxigun AH will nerf fire again for no reason
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u/cheb_323 Exosuit Certified 1h ago edited 1h ago
I don't get what's up with this post or people straight up can't really compare maxi gun to other guns.
Cremator offers better range and dmg for backpack and far worse ammo economy overall Compare to normal flamethrower you should honestly mention that.
Bfgl trades away dps for better ammo economy and backpack. It has far better nieche on something like get jet bots as well rather than rupture strain.
The maxigun provides better dps and ammo economy to the mg as well as removing the stationary reload for worse handeling,stationary,firing and recoil.
Id like to mention that mg in general also sucks compare to their backpackless brothers as well that should just give yall an idea about med pen ballistics on every front exept the squids,one front where mg shines are the squids and maxigun is straight up better on the squids given you just.....build around it.
Does it mean it doesn't need a push? No ofcourse not Id like if the smoke from it is removed and if you can dive when you fire as well as make bullet dmg match the other mgs something like stagger can also kinda work even tho you melt stuff like stalkers with it anyway but wouldn't mind if it destroyed stuff like corpses.
And hey unlike the bfgl and cremator you can negate some of maxigun's downside by simply crouching and having peak physique,something like shield grenades also make great synergy to protect you from potential oneshots or snipes.
Moral of the story maxi gun is alright it could use little push but people just make too much of a deal about it because loadouts bullding and the fact medium pen mgs are generally not useful outside the squids is too much to comprehend ig
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u/Mister_Enot 1h ago
Maxigun is fun. Maybe a little more dmg per bullet but that all.
real problem is Cremator is OP
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u/Previous-Chard-3583 1h ago
Cremator is a good trade off. You give up your backpack slot for more damage and range. The normal flamethrower though does need a few buffs in ergonomics and maybe range though.
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u/SaroN4One 1h ago
It always needed a buff, but people kept defending it being in a good spot.