Im not talking about its aoe here...what im talking about is that despite having a larger arch it can technically not use it. its suppression and gun traverse is to low . so when it comes to suppressing units that are spread out the mg42's performance is as good as the maxim's...
It would certainly be far more intuitive for the HMG42 to have better suppression with a much smaller arc of fire, the arc of fire increased with veterancy instead of quite as much suppression as it is now.