“	A very powerful but difficult-to-wield machine gun with intense recoil.	„
	~ Stratagem Description

The MG-206 Heavy Machine Gun is a support weapon available to the player in Helldivers 2.

Role

Functioning as man-portable heavy machine gun, a weapon typically seen mounted on gun platforms rather than carried by soldiers, the MG-206 is essentially a modular version of the MG-101. The weapon can penetrate heavy armor, allowing it to effectively engage a variety of targets. The handling however, leaves a lot to be desired, and the gun is best fired prone and in bursts due to its recoil and relatively low 100-round magazine.

Unlike the MG-43 and Stalwart, the HMG is best ran as a true support weapon, instead of a primary. Only being brought out to take out high-priority targets. Due to its power and limited ammo capacity, it excels the most against Automatons and the Illuminate, where its anti-armor capabilities are best exploited. It is less suited against Terminids, as the smaller magazine size does not lend itself well against the sheer number of light-armored bodies they bring onto the field.

Stratagem Code

Players must enter the following sequence, using the default Ctrl+WASD keys or the controller D-Pad in order to call down this single-use Stratagem during a mission:

Stats

• Call-in Time: 8 seconds
• Uses: Unlimited
• Cooldown Time: 480 seconds (8 minutes)

Gameplay Tips

• The heavy machine gun tears through medium armor with ease, making enemies such as Scout Striders and Hive Guards as easy to kill as the typical low tier enemies.
• Despite its heavy armor penetration, it is not very ammo efficient when gunning down heavy armored enemies head-on. It is recommended to still hit them in weak points or vulnerable parts.
• If you must shoot on the move, the recoil is manageable when lowering the fire rate to 450 rpm.
  • Crouching or prone will help you with landing headshot or hits on an enemy weak point.
• Using armor that features the Fortified or Engineering Kit passive abilities helps tremendously, as these both make the recoil reduction effects of crouching or going prone 30% more effective than they already are.
• Armor sets equipped with the Peak Physique passive significantly enhance the HMG's aiming speed by 30%. This improvement is particularly valuable when facing large groups of enemies on higher difficulty levels, where rapid target acquisition can be crucial for survival.
• A particularly risky but daring tactic against Factory Striders involves disabling the chin-mounted miniguns, running underneath the Strider, setting the gun to the maximum 750 RPM, and emptying the HMG's magazine onto the Strider's belly. The high damage, armor penetration, and absurd rate of fire ensures a Strider will not survive this encounter, if successfully pulled off.
• If there's a bullet remaining in the chamber before reloading it, the total reload time will be reduced by roughly 0.6 seconds as it will then skip the animation of racking the charging handle (which chambers a new bullet).

Trivia

• The weapon's profile appears to be inspired by the FN Mk 48 GPMG, although the boxy receiver is reminiscent of the SIG Sauer MG 338.
• The M-102 Fast Recon Vehicle has a unique version of the MG-206, where the stock and grip has been replaced with a spade grip, a horizontally-manipulated grip typically used on mounted guns.