PKM significantly underpowered

[Jedimushroom]

I don't think many people will disagree with me here when I say that the PKM is the worst AR in the game. Its rate of fire is too low for decent suppressing fire, its accuracy is abysmal and its recoil utterly horrendous. Add this to the fact that its zoom optics are still placeholder and you have a weapon that's practically useless.

The PKM's only redeeming feature is its relatively high damage, but due to the awful accuracy mentioned earlier it's only good up to around 10metres. If an AR is only useful for room clearing clearly something has gone wrong.

Most of the PKM's problems stem from two things, firstly that it is a stock bf2 weapon (one of the few remaining in PR) and secondly that it is a general-purpose machinegun, not the LMGs of most other factions. If you tried to put the M240 in game as an infantry weapon I imagine you would have similar issues. The russian forces already have an LMG in real life, it is called the RPK-74m:

Obviously a military adviser would know this kind of thing, but I imagine the Russian army uses the RPK-74m in the place of a squad automatic rifle for the most part.

Anyway, short of replacing the PKM, what can be done about its failings? Well for starters it needs lower recoil, the MG3 for instance fires 7.62x51 NATO rounds, which are nearly as big as the 7.62x54mmR bullets of the PKM. The MG3 has very little recoil and a massive rate of fire, the PKM is worse on both fronts, why is this?

Secondly, the main benefit of having a GPMG in the first place is reliable long range fire support. Without an accuracy buff the PKM cannot provide this, since its (presumably realistic) low rate of fire precludes it from truly effective suppression, at least let the damn thing kill once in a while.

If the Russian military advisers believe that the RPK would be a more valid AR then the conversion from the current Al-quds model would probably not be too taxing. However, if the PKM stays it needs to be improved significantly.

[Filamu]

Tbh I think the accuracy is acceptable at least a med range, my biggest problem with it is that the placeholder scope has blurred edges which are really annoying. With ironsights its not that bad, but without the scope you will have a problem against other ARs. Also the undeployed seems to have quite a lot more recoil than other ARs so its hard to defend yourself at close range.

I would like it a lot more if they removed the blurred edges and improved its short range a little.
The RPK as a right-click AR for russia would be nice if they use it IRL.

[dtacs]

Since its Sierra I really can't tell if this is sincere or an A+ troll, but I'll indulge..

Most of the PKM's problems stem from two things, firstly that it is a stock bf2 weapon

I'm not sure how you grasped that issues of value (damage modifiers, deviation etc, literally numbers) stem from the model as that makes no sense. I've found the PKM is the best MG in the game bar the Negev. There seems to be some stigma attached to its deployed fire simply due to the recoil animation being so violent; putting that aside it performs like a dream, not having the stupid vibration of the scope that seems to be the 'realistic' recoil institution method on its western counterparts when firing.

Secondly, look at this. Thirdly you simply cannot say more on the topic than the Russian MA's. They literally have hands-on experience and knowledge of the distribution and use of the PKM and RPK-74. If it isn't in game yet, there is a very good reason for it.

Essentially it sounds like you can't use it effectively. I - and many others - find it a perfectly suitable weapon which does its job in an asymmetrical manner to the M249, Negev et al.

[fillsson]

I like it a lot. And I agree with dtacs.
Plus, that "zoom in" you're talking about for the Russians PKM has the advantage of not having a scope covering your vision. Although from a realistic point of view I don't like it.

[dtacs]

The dodgy scope deal is just a placeholder. The Pecheneg will be ready for next version surely, with a scope too.

[Jedimushroom]

Secondly, look at this. Thirdly you simply cannot say more on the topic than the Russian MA's. They literally have hands-on experience and knowledge of the distribution and use of the PKM and RPK-74. If it isn't in game yet, there is a very good reason for it.

The RPK is never once mentioned in that thread, so I hardly see why it is relevant.

If you can hit more than the broad side of a barn with the PKM then my hat is off to you, but in my experience the combination of the horrible recoil animation and large cone of fire means you almost never hit anything. It's certainly no good at long range.

[izoiva]

As I know, PKM dealing more damage, than other ARs. Is it right?

[Jedimushroom]

It seems that the PKM does deal slightly more damage than other ARs, but since it still isn't enough to kill in one shot it's largely irrelevant.

Since many of you are disagreeing on matters of opinion, let us discuss what we know to be true. The PKM has objectively the lowest rate of fire of any AR in the game and I'm sure you'll agree it has the highest recoil. It also has a fairly low magazine count and mediocre to substandard accuracy.

With all that put together, what is the upside of the PKM? How is it 'asymmetrically balanced' against weapons that beat it in almost every respect?

[=HCM= Shwedor]

Don't know if it is just me or what, but I find that I am more accurate using the insurgent/Russian alternate no-scope PKM than the "scoped" version. Recoil on deployed-mode PKM isn't so violent imo, its actually quite reasonable. I always choose the no-scope PKM over the scoped when possible. But in comparison to other factions LMG's, it isn't very great except for ambushes at less than 150m. Using it in the non-deployed mode for CQB, you have a better chance of hitting a guy 1m infront of you if you aim at your feet instead of aiming directly at him, the recoil in undeployed and deviation is a tad overdone. I mean, the bullets will literally hit everywhere BUT the guy you aim at if you use it in undeployed. I've quite literally touched an enemy on his back, unaware of my presence, and missed in undeployed mode with half a mag.

[Jedimushroom]

I too have had much better results with the unscoped version, the scope seems to worsen the recoil animation.

The PKM is actually a fairly decent machinegun for unconventional factions, the problem is that it cannot compare to conventional forces ARs. It's also an interesting point that every conventional faction other than Russia uses the same ammunition for their AR and their standard assault rifle. Of course, the RPK-74m fires 5.45mm just like the standard russian rifles.

[ShockUnitBlack]

Wait for separate machinegunner/automatic rifleman classes to appear (the former with 7.62mm weapons, like the PKP and FN MAG, and the latter with 5.56mm/5.45mm weapons, like the RPK-74M and the Minimi).

I would say the PKM isn't underpowered, though the RPK is better due to the fact its 7.62x39mm round currently does an inordinate amount of damage (something that will hopefully be changed in the next patch) while creating minimal recoil.

[ComradeHX]

Quite the contrary; PKM is a lot more popular.

You think PKM is less accurate due to lower rate of fire.

RPK suffer from many issues...such as low mag capacity and inability to sustain firing for long.

[Tarranauha200]

PKM is accurate enough. Use bursts and you will be fine.

[samogon100500]

Just an IRL facts:
-PKM is GMPG,but use as LMG in squads.And they much "popular",they got bigger weight,they got higher recoil.RPK uses too,but they can provide so much firepower,as PKM.

-Also thats doesn't matters,which caliber uses LMG,same as assault rifle or not.For example - one guy serve in russian army right now,he's squads uses AK-74M and modern RPK(7.62x39) with extended round clips(75 rounds AFAIK).

PRK - failed project,just an assault rifle with extended clip(diffidence between 15 not so much helpful IMO),extended barrel and bipod.Not sure,that it's good idea.

[Bringerof_D]

me thinks it's probably just your play style, or at least technique with it. I've been able to lay waste to whole squads up to ~200m with the PKM. just like shooting any other weapon it's about getting used to that specific one. both IRL and in game. the reason the other ARs are so easy to use is because they all share very similar properties whereas the PKM is the most different. get used to it and you'll be just fine.

Simply put you're getting more practice for the M249 even when you're playing with the german AR kit. there's no point mentioning the canadian and british ones, they are the essentially same weapon to begin with.

[Murphy]

If it's such a balanced weapon why will it lose 99% of firefights vs any other saw in the game? "Because it has different characteristics"? Yes and those characteristics make it ineffective in situations where you would normally rely on your saw. It's quite good at suppressing the enemy and scattering their ranks in close ranges, but at the larger ranges it's essentially a waste of rounds and really only serves to give your squads position away.

The NATO faction saws are pretty much carbon copies of each other in real life, so bringing that up is a null point. The MG3 has its own feel, the rate and cone of fire are significantly increased as well as the recoil, but it's still very effective at any range and stands up well against any other saw. Even the m60 is far superior to the pkm, and I just want this under developed/over looked weapon to get some developer loving, or as suggested give us a PKP.

[Dude_Nukem]

I find the PKM effective at long range. You can literally "snipe" the enemy imo. I'm firing one bullet at the time, which makes it accurate. Just single click it with breaks. Totally the opposite from what the the TS said. I am more of a steady gunner instead of a sprayer. And I also think the gun is powerful.

[ShockUnitBlack]

I would say the only real issue is the awkward faux-magnified sights in the game currently.

The only other thing I can say is that the PKM's performance probably gets diminished somewhat by the fact it's mostly seen in insurgent hands and on urban maps (where the Minimi's superior control aids it significantly).

[Arnoldio]

I never use the scoped version, because the blurred edges are horrible, but the gun is completely on par with other ARs. I see no real problem wiht it. I often use unscoped version of other ARs and if anything, PKM is easier to "snipe" at distances with short bursts while others put down more fire.

[Bringerof_D]

I agree with duke, though i don't fire it single shot, short bursts tend to do the job. Like i said it functions differently from the other weapons but that's just the nature of the beast. I don't disagree that tweaking is necessary but it should only be a minor adjustment.

as Samogon said, it's a GPMG taking on the role of a Squad Automatic, as such we can't just adjust how we fire the weapon, we must also adjust our tactics accordingly.