EDF Heavy Machinegun

Machine Gun has other meanings. See Machine Gun (disambiguation) for other uses.

EDF Heavy Machinegun
Faction	Earth Defence Force
Type	Mounted
Location	Mars

The EDF Heavy Machine Gun is mounted weapon used by the Earth Defense Force throughout the Second Martian Revolution.

Description

It is the standard weapon mount for most EDF vehicles including EDF Scout Cars, Staff Cars, APCs, Heavy Trucks, Medium Tanks, Self-Propelled Artillery and Heavy Tanks as well as being commonly installed in defensive positions such as bunkers or guard towers. In its vehicle mounted operation without mason manning the turret, it operates like a primitive CROWS system, automatically designating targets in a shallow angle in front of the vehicle

A more compact version is also adopted by the Red Faction and the Marauders as weapon mounts when converting civilian vehicles to military uses.

One of the EDF Memorial Statues in Eos shows this weapon carried instead of an Assault Rifle by one of the Troopers, implying that it is meant to be used as a Support weapon such as a Modern SAW, not just as a Mounted Weapon.

Usage

As one would expect from a belt fed machine gun, the EDF MG is great for assaults and raids, and any other time you're expecting lots of enemy on foot. In this manner it should be fired in 3-10 round bursts, so as to not overheat the gun. Bring the vehicle it is mounted on to a stop, using the handbrake to ensure it won't roll. Park in a preferred spot, usually behind or near some sort of cover and use the turret to dispatch enemies. Swap back to the driver's seat to advance with the resistance infantry or to a more advantageous position, but do be careful not to run them over as the AI has trouble predicting the players movements.

the other good use for this weapon is during pursuits, such as courier and convoy missions. In these parameters, care should be taken more to align yourself with the target vehicle than worrying about overheating as you should be firing as much as you can to immobilize and destroy them. If using this weapon on a tank, drive right up to it as close as you can so that it cannot use its main cannon on you, and always target the rearmost tank first.

Trivia

• The overall design is heavily inspired by the M240 and MG42/MG3-MG5 series of GPMGs, Why it can't be dismounted and used on foot or used as a primary weapon is unknown.
• The sound for this weapon is taken from the MG3
• The shield mounted to the top of the gun is based on a real armor kit for mainly German, but also other machine guns from WW1 onwards. It is not used in game by the EDF, but does appear slightly useful to the player.
• The length of the belt box and damage throughput, as well as the fact that it is vehicle and tripod mounted indicates this is a .50 caliber machine gun.