Agree with everything although I have yet to overheat my MLR-A, let alone my Six Kin.
Love the new feel of the gun, much more enjoyable than the old burst (which I started using well over a year ago) and is a bit easier to kill those pesky acrobatic scouts.

However, I have to disagree with you on the damage nerf proposition Fox.
Whilst the DPS is very high, it is offset by the fast heat build up, speed at which ammo is consumed and slow reload all of which, if not managed in the heat of battle, put the user in a very difficult position.

I see it now as a more skill/experience orientated "high risk, high reward" weapon and one I sincerely hope stays as is.

Good writeup, Fox.

Question:
Might the old, laser-precise dispersion mechanic be an appropriate way to balance the burst?

From my Evaluation of the New Burst HMG thread:

I still prefer the standard HMG personally as I tend to wind up engaging squads a lot.

I dont believe in hunting duels and 1v1. I believe in pushing objectives.

it feels op because you aim with it, spray and pray is for the others

I am evaluating the New Bust HMG for my HMG Sentinel guide.

The Burst HMG was not nerfed or buffed in Hotfix Charli, it was completely rebuilt from the ground up. As I stated in the HMG changes thread, so many variables were being changed at once that it was imposable to predict prior to field testing whether the New Burst HMG would be Overpowered (OP) or Underpowered (UP). Experts in the Sentinel community suspected it would be one or the other, and that it would have to be further tweaked in Hotfix Delta, after proper field testing, in order to balance it properly.

My fist impression after one match with the Burst HMG where I went 20/5 solo, is that they got the GÇ£feelGÇ¥ right, but it is a bit on the OP side. Initial testing suggests that the balancing factors are working as intended, but that the DPS is still too high for those balancing factors to achieve balance for the weapon. I will likely be recommending a small damage nerf.

Rate of Fire:
The Rate of Fire feels right. It chews through ammo very quickly which acts as a balance factor. I am not a spray and pray heavy. I have been doing this since 1.3 and I try to aim with precision and not waste ammo. Yet mid match I found myself with 0 ammo in the clip and 0 ammo in the reserve (and no sidearm due to fitting limitations). Then after running to a Supply depot and completely topping up my ammo supply I again ran my reserve to 0 in under 2 minutes during a protracted 6 v 6 fight at a Research Facility medium socket objective.

With a normal HMG I might only run my ammo reserve to 0 once in 20 matches, so running out of ammo in under two minutes is quite a dramatic difference. This definitely works as a balance factor for the Burst HMG, and will make supply management part of the decision making process for its user.

I died at least once while reloading.


Overheat:
I overheated the Burst HMG at least 5 times during the match, mostly when fighting multiple assailants. With practice I expect I will get better at avoiding the overheat, but it will take skill and experience to avoid overheating in the middle of a fight. I think the heat buildup is in a good spot right now. If it was increased any further though, it could render the weapon ineffective, so increasing heat buildup would not be a good option for balancing it.

I died at least once due to my weapon overheating.


Burst pause:
I find the shorter pause between bursts to be much easier to work with than the pause was on the old Burst HMG.


Damage:
Damage is a bit too high. Yes the HMG is supposed to be a beast, and the Burst is supposed to be even more of a beast than other HMGGÇÖs, but the Time To Kill with the New Burst HMG seems too low. People donGÇÖt have time to react.

However, we need to be careful when adjusting damage. If my calculations are correct (is it 3 rounds per burst?) then reducing the damage of a round by 1 hp would reduce the DPS by 44.4 HP/s.

If possible I feel it would be a good idea to reduce the Damage per round by 1 immediately, before it has time to become the FOTM and the cries for big nerfs start. I would like to evaluate it at 12 damage per round (Adv) and 13 damage per round (proto), before deciding if any further changes are needed in Hot Fix Delta.

Edit: After further testing I think the balance factors may be enough to keep the Burst HMG from becoming FOTM without needing a nerf. This Weapon is still beast in the hands of a skilled user though.

OHK. How do people feel when shot guns, remote explosives, forge guns, rail turrets or nova knives OHK them?

Those are all one-shot weapons, with significant time between each shot. They're not continuous death beams, like the burst HMG. It's the possessed by the spirit of the Chromosome Viziam Laser Rifle.

When is it decidedly OP, when used with an LAV for Stop n'Pop.

but a dmg nerf of 2-3 wouldn't hurt it too much I believe, as it does an approximate 13.50-75 per round.

i disagree, it's only usable within a 50 m range. it the heavy weapon that can now be used to counter the scouts who close in for instakills with weapons like the shotguns and nova knives, even then it only works when you see the scout first.

up against other heavies with logi bro squads etc you can still get killed quickly enough. as well as with res, plcs, fgs, laser rifles, rail rifles, scrambler rifles, etc if they maintain their distances. it only works against the people who can be caught at close range.

it runs out of ammo fairly quick and the heavy suits can't carry hives.
it overheats easily and then the heavy can't even change to a sidearm
if you are part of a squad then use grenades and squad tactics to take them down.

as with every "burst" or "single shot" weapon, it could use a delay between shots, so it can't just be sprayed... Sure this one has an overheat, but you can still spray someone down without overheating it even if you don't get them in 1.

I also find that if you are good at strafing and can avoid getting hit in the first second or so of the engagement it becomes quite easy to kill a Burst HMG Sentinel. If they donGÇÖt get you in their first few bursts they are likely to overhead, or run out of ammo in their clip. I even had a Shotgun Scout charge in at me head on, strafing and crossing my line of fire during the pauses between bursts and then shoot me in the fact from about 2m.