That was my movie, yeah. I'm |Ez25|s dedicated MG monkey and the recoil on the MG-42 has (luckily) been fixed.
Basically, they started production of the MG-34 in 1934 as one of the first GPMGs (general purpose machine gun) using a revolutionary new design. Before the MG-34 was issued to troops, you either had a squad light automatic weapon (a "light" machine gun like the Browning Automatic Rifle 1918) or a stationary or hardly moveable heavy machine gun, like the Browning .50 or the Maxim 1910 the Russians used throughout the war. The MG-34, however, was the first "medium" machine gun. You could take it with you on the move or provide devastating heavy fire in a defensive position. It had a rate of fire of about (if I recall correctly) 900 rounds-per-minute and it could be fired in either fully automatic or semi automatic single shot bursts. It was the forerunner of today's M-60, FN-MAG and M-249.
The only real downside of this first, multi-purpose scourge of the allied forces was that it was quite expensive to build and consisted of a lot of parts. So by the time the war started and weapons had to be produced at a much higher rate using less basic resources (around 1942) the German high command issued an order for a new, far cheaper to produce GPMG; the MG-42. It bested the older 1934 model in almost every respect. It had an ungodly rate of fire of 1200-1800 rounds-per-minute, giving it the name "Hitler's Buzzsaw" as it fired so fast your mind couldn't really distinct between individual shots, making it sound like ripping cloth. Furthermore, it was still chambered with the same 7,92mm Mauser round, which made it extremely powerful. It was just as accurate as the MG-34, even with its extreme rate of fire (even light sub machine-guns chambered with much smaller rounds couldn't equal its rate-of-fire.) It was relatively easy to maintain and incredibly cheap to build as it was stamped out of only a few bits of metal plate.
So, to sum it up:
I'd only take the MG-34 if you're new with MGs or really want to get into them, as in RO it's easier to learn and control the gun and can be fired from the hip. It also has a single-shot option, which some people swear by, but I wouldn't really recommend.
The MG-42 has a bit of a steeper learning curve, but will definitely reward you once you put a little time (and love) into mastering it. It's insanely accurate in short bursts and has a very quick barrel change and ammo reload. The MG-42 is inherantly more accurate than the MG-34, but is harder to keep on target in longer bursts. The MG-34, while the gun itself is inherantly slightly less accurate, is far easier to keep on target because of its lower rate-of-fire.
After the MG-42 was introduced, the MG-34 was used less and less and around 1944 was only seen on vehicles (halftracks and tanks) and became virtually non-existant as an infantry weapon, while the MG-42 flourished.
The MG-42 is arguably the best machine gun ever produced and for that reason is still used today virtually unchanged by over eleven armies, including the German and Dutch (border bases) as the
MG-3.
Hope that makes sense...
A machine-gun can be the most vital asset to any team if deployed properly, though it is also one of the hardest weapons to use effectively. Most people just think "Oh cool, big gun!", try it out and get peeved when they can't rack up kills quickly.
My personal weapon of choice is the MG-42, which is probably the most rewarding MG to use, though I really suggest either the DP-28 or MG-34 when you're starting out with the machine-guns, as they'll teach you more about recoil control, short burst fire and you can save your hiney when an enemy infantry man comes storming around a corner and you're not deployed.
Anyway, machine-guns are tactical weapons. You don't run off with one and just kill people randomly, you have to think about where the enemy is going to go and you find a nice flanking position on a hill or in some bushes. That means
patience and
fire control are important. You have to sit and wait in a spot, sometimes for ages, but when the enemy does come, it's usually quite rewarding. Do not shoot on first sight, wait for the first enemy to cross your view, there's bound to be more and if they're all in the open you can just blast them all away.
Watch out for riflemen! They can get the bead on you quite quickly, just keep in mind to always utilize the least suspicious cover and
displace!. Use different positions, go into a position, kill a few waves, then when they come back and expect you there, beon a flank of the main approach to your old position so you can "rape" (game term ;P) them coming in.
Each machine gunner uses his weapon differently and you'll have to work out how and in what way you're going to deploy yours. Pick an MG you're most comfortable with and feel free to tag along sometime on the |Ez25| server. Good luck m8!
EDIT: The first bit of this post was a direct paste off the Ez25 forums from a post I made ages ago.
![[-project.rattus-]](/data/avatars/s/0/161.jpg?1568638684){kind=avatar}
