I'm having a blast with the HMG, even though it's underpowered.
However, it IS underpowered, and needs some love.

Fix the cone of fire, it should be like the reticule

In crouch mode, the cone of fire should be dead accurate, and the reticule should show that

Increase range to 50-60 meters

Increase ROF to 3000

Increase heat build up

Have a 0.2 seconds spin up time like with the Rail Rifle

What this achieves:
The cone of fire fix is obvious, however it would create a problem where HMG's at range would be even worse, so I suggest that in crouch mode it should keep it's accuracy.

Range to 50-60 meters so it could compete with the Assault rifles. (HMG is Minmatar, meaning that it's medium range. Caldari HMG will probably have the range of the AR)

ROF to 3000 to create a deadly wall of lead that people should fear at close-medium range.

Increasing heat build up means that the HMG user has to be careful with his extra firepower.

0.2 seconds spin up time is there for the same reason as the heat build up.
People will need to keep the trigger held down, but at the same time they must be careful not to overheat.

This creates an HMG that takes skill to use, but is no slouch in the firepower department, having a DPS of 950.

I wish they would make Heavy Weapons truly devastating but balanced with a charge delay on them like the Forge Gun. So as a Heavy when I find a squad of Assaults unaware I pull the trigger, wait 2.5 seconds for my HMG to charge up, then decimate them with a wall of lead that does 1000+ DPS.

I think all Heavy Weapons should have this charge delay mechanic. That would make them extremely deadly against whatever they're firing at (suppression weapons) but slow to move and very vulnerable to ambushes as they have to wait X seconds to return fire.

Also, if this does happen replace the Jump button for Heavies with a Charge button. So if I am standing guard of a hallway I hold the Charge button (and can't really move - just like the Forge Gun) but can begin firing instantly if someone runs down the hallway.

2.5 would be too much.
0.25 is what the Rail Rifle has, so I assume it would work out just fine.

So you want a suit that takes 1-1.5 seconds before it can start shooting, is slow, and shows up on everyone's sensors even with zero sensor skills?

A second can be an eternity in a firefight, but hey to each their own for opinions I guess...

I'd like the small "spool-up" time from Cat-Merc but that's just me.

EDIT: @ Cosgar Wait longer then 8 seconds of reload? How much more?

Yes, if it's carrying a weapon that can put out 1000+ DPS in a cone shaped area at medium range. It's a Heavy Weapon, it should do so heavy damage. Not this crap where it does as much as an AR but with the range of an SMG and the reload speed of deactivating a nuke.

So my point is, give it a long charge up time of 1.5 to 2.5 seconds but make it so that once it's firing it kills things it's pointed at, pretty much instantly.

The HMG is supposed to be a suppression weapon. Isn't that why every Assault HuRah player always says "Heavy, shut up, you're Point Defense that's all." A suppression weapon needs to dish out damage at a level where people think twice about approaching it. But to ensure that heavy's aren't running around with instant firing 1000+ damage hoses there should be some charge up time.

Then we have true rock paper scissors balancing.

- The Heavy kills the Assault with his powerful HMG.

- The Assault kills the Scout with his AR and scanner.

- The Scout kills the Heavy by ambushing him with speed and a low profile.

- And the CalLogi or GalLogi kills them all with its OPness. *sarcasm*

I'm having a blast with the HMG, even though it's underpowered.
However, it IS underpowered, and needs some love.

Fix the cone of fire, it should be like the reticule

In crouch mode, the cone of fire should be dead accurate, and the reticule should show that

Increase range to 50-60 meters

Increase ROF to 3000

Increase heat build up

Have a 0.25 seconds spin up time like with the Rail Rifle

What this achieves:
The cone of fire fix is obvious, however it would create a problem where HMG's at range would be even worse, so I suggest that in crouch mode it should keep it's accuracy.

Range to 50-60 meters so it could compete with the Assault rifles. (HMG is Minmatar, meaning that it's medium range. Caldari HMG will probably have the range of the AR)

ROF to 3000 to create a deadly wall of lead that people should fear at close-medium range.
It also increases ammo consumption, requiring the heavy to rely on team support even more.

Increasing heat build up means that the HMG user has to be careful with his extra firepower.

0.25 seconds spin up time is there for the same reason as the heat build up.
People will need to keep the trigger held down, but at the same time they must be careful not to overheat.
This also balances out their immense firepower, by giving smart players the ability to slowly chip away at a heavies armor by getting out of cover, shooting a few shots, and getting back before the heavy can spin up and unload his deadly firestorm.

This creates an HMG that takes skill to use, but is no slouch in the firepower department, having a DPS of 950.

I like the idea but there is a hole in your fix. In the description it says that the HMG starts firing immediately after the trigger is held and increases the accuracy as it spools up and something aligns (i can't remember what it's called atm)
Also, I think the RPM is perfect.

though I like the idea, but if you add'd a spool-up time like the rail rifle, you would have to spool up between bursts, and still overheat quickly.

Maybe just tweaking the base accuracy at close-midrange for both standing/crouch stances, and increase the damage/heat buildup slightly would be enough help them deal with us pesky ar/scrambler users.

Before we can fix the HMG we'll need to buff CCP's Heavy Weapon Empathy skill.

But in all seriousness, these are good points. Cone of Fire fix should really, really be in 1.8. I get that it probably couldn't get into 1.7 because of code freeze.

Of greater concern is the lack of any communication regarding Heavy Dropsuit/Weapon design goals.