USF .50 Cal - fragile!

Why does this unit die so easily? does it have less health than an MG42 or is it all in my head?

I don't know but it surely should be buffed somehow, currently it's verry unatractive to build.

Why does this unit die so easily? does it have less health than an MG42 or is it all in my head?

By "die" you mean the weapon breaks or the crew is killed?
If the first, you have lower armor on the gun and rifle nades(AKA portable precision strike which ost is whining so much of jealousy while not realizing haf of their basic army got it) and squad bunching to thank for.
If the latter, you have 4 men squad with rec acc penalty making it effectively 3 men squad taking hits from weapons balanced to kill 6-5 men squads reasonably fast.

No weapon team with 4 men crew (except mortars and AT guns who should not be taking hits) will withstand axis firepower directed at it.

That is why all HMGs except USF one work-they are balanced with durability against the weapons they will take his from.

The crew has a received accuracy penalty, meaning enemy units that aim at it are more accurate than usual. Hence more of the bullets hit, and it goes down faster. Crewed weapons in general have this, however Soviet squads have 2 extra men that make them more survivable. Axis units generally receive less infantry firepower coming their way, so don't do as badly except in specific cases like the PTRS spam or M1919 spam from US forces.

It really needs its 25% received accuracy removed and the 10 armor upped to 70. I mean why the hell does the DSHK and 0.50 cal have 10 armor while all other ones have 70? It makes them super valnuarable to riflegrenades and nades which means you have to constantly repair them...

It really needs its 25% received accuracy removed and the 10 armor upped to 70. I mean why the hell does the DSHK and 0.50 cal have 10 armor while all other ones have 70? It makes them super valnuarable to riflegrenades and nades which means you have to constantly repair them...

That also means HMG42 incendiary rounds are able to destroy the gun easily if such stronk USF hmg.
Alex is the only one on these and official forums saying its useful and used.

That also means HMG42 incendiary rounds are able to destroy the gun easily if such stronk USF hmg.
Alex is the only one on these and official forums saying its useful and used.

People do use it, and it's useful. It's not as good as the MG42 but that's because the MG42 just got buffed. If you feel it dies to easy now you know how MG34 teams feel versus.

(What squad sizes your supposed to be fighting are no indicator of performance, as Soviets excel the most against OKW which have 5 man squads as well as 6 men ones.)

Dont forget the fact that the gunner is drunk. Like the DSHK gunner he has trouble aiming at squads. It takes him a long time before he can hit the automatic fire button because he thinks hes a sniper. So this makes it TERRIBLE at suppressing more than one squad much like the Pre Buff Rakentenwerfer got circle strafed. Thus often times if there are more then one squad attacking frontally one will not be suppressed. Making it even worse...

.50 cal is good! I allways get it against okw. It's mobile and unlike maxim it can actually supress multiple squads. Only problem with it is it's lower hp and high cost 280mp 7popcap. I don't really see why it should be more expensive than MG42.

IMHO it doesn't suppress enough. Crewmembers die like flies as a result.

IMHO it doesn't suppress enough. Crewmembers die like flies as a result.

It actually does suppress pretty fast. But it and the DSHK target other squads 300% slower then the other two MGs. It takes a Maxim a and MG42 a fraction of a second to switch targets in their arc but the 50 and DSHK can take up to 1 Second. This means if a player has good micro chances are you wont be suppressing more than one squad.

And even if you do its health is so low that often times they can focus it down anyway.

Its just bad. Sure it can be used to SOME effect. But so can the Stuart and the SU76. It doesnt make it good. And its always better to steal a Maxim or MG42.

But to be honest, the 0.50 cal is a decent unit. It might need a slight buff. (Obviously, armor raised to 70, and a pen boost so it actually kills light vehicles)

But i use it quite frequently to good effect.

Using it requires to change your mindset completely for that 1 unit, and use it like an mg-42. Yet the whole playstyle of USF makes you kind of use it like a maxim, and lose it very shortly.

Yeah it's very weak but I find it has pretty good damage and suppression, it's nice to leave in garrisons where it's safe but out in the open it just dies too easily.

But to be honest, the 0.50 cal is a decent unit. It might need a slight buff. (Obviously, armor raised to 70, and a pen boost so it actually kills light vehicles)

But i use it quite frequently to good effect.

Using it requires to change your mindset completely for that 1 unit, and use it like an mg-42. Yet the whole playstyle of USF makes you kind of use it like a maxim, and lose it very shortly.

And 5 Men. That would be a START. It like the Stuart has an identity crises. It cant manage large scale suppression like other MGs can due to its Aim time and it cant kill vehicles even as well as the DSHK. Then it comes at a premium price like its GOD of MGs or something.

Honestly if any MGs should cost 290 MP it should be the MG42 or Maxim when compared in a vacuum of course. Its just totally unreliable and comes out too late. Even Garrisoned it has 4 Men. And since it targets so DAMN SLOW all an Ober needs to do is walk around the corner and just focus it right out of the building in no time flat.

The FP just does it better...

If its going to be the most expensive and latest arriving Tier Locked MG in game it should be the BEST. Its not the best. Its not even "as good" as the others. Or even the DSHK which by the way it shares the Majority of its stats with.

These are quite fantastic in a building with good sight and firing lines and you can keep assault troops away from it.

I would argue the 25% received accuracy should be removed from all team weapons and soviets should revert to 4(mortar) or 5(maxim, as they need to be on the front line) man teams as I feel they have a proper amount of durability right now.

Katitof is right in that these units are being shot at by anti-infantry units meant to deal with 6 man teams, but these are essentially 3 man teams with the received accuracy debuff.

That also means HMG42 incendiary rounds are able to destroy the gun easily if such stronk USF hmg.
Alex is the only one on these and official forums saying its useful and used.

Kind of a silly statement IMO, only time when I'm playing US that I don't build a M2HB is if I don't get Lt. or go Airborne Company, or if I capture an MG42. Their utility is great to have in mid game fights. Just keep one with your rifle blob and can be a huge factor in determining the outcome of a fight vs Obers, and generally it's a more economical AI option than retreating and upgrading all your Riflemen, particularly if you are trying to get a fast Sherman.

It does have low suppression, but I wouldn't trade the DPS it deals in exchange for more suppression ever. I really like how you have to be skillful and manually target each enemy squad as they're coming at you in order to make sure each receives suppression.

It's true that they are fragile, mainly due to the fact that the whole team stops moving if the guy carrying the gun is killed. but that IMO is part of what makes a good support weapon. Vulnerable if caught in the line of direct fire, but deadly if properly supported. Even Lenny, the Hipster PTRS spammer, calls the .50 cal a "cancer gun" because of it's retarded DPS.

Also, now I'm starting to see why Alex thinks you have a sexual fixation on him or whatever, calling him out in a post when he hasn't even replied to the thread...

It's because of the Axis infantry high dps due to smaller squads. For instance a .50 cal will die a whopping 33% faster to a gren squad, then a MG42 will die to a conscript squad.

.50 cal is Ebola with a side of Cancer when it comes to suppression. That thing is a beast.

Why does this unit die so easily? does it have less health than an MG42 or is it all in my head?

It has the same health, but Axis units generally have higher DPS over range than Allied units, while Grenadiers have the longest range Grenade in the game.

It has the same health, but Axis units generally have higher DPS over range than Allied units, while Grenadiers have the longest range Grenade in the game.

I would not say that. currently the highest long range dps units are double lmg rifles and para's.

That said unsupported mg's die quickly even the maxim.