Over 1000 dps at a range that can hit everything bar snipers? On a suit which has been buffed to nigh-invincibility except against other HMGs? And now doesn't even have a notable mobility penalty?

No.

HMG should stay as it is. Its allready annoying enough that EON needs 12 heavys on their side to be remotely competetive. So a big no to a HMG buff.

Is it really so hard to comprehend that nearly doubling the damage of a weapon that's already widely used (because it's actually decent) would break the balance? In addition to giving massive buffs to everything else about it?

Stop all the buff/nerf/QQ.
Every goddamn thing has been nerfed/raped so much that we don't even have time to adapt to it.

That's a bit too much damage - killing in our optimal isn't the problem - it's getting them in it without them getting tot close cause we can't turn to save our lives.

I have a hard time stomaching balance comments from people who can't do math.

The HMG does not have a DPS problem compared to the AR. It does 29% more damage per second than the AR. In a game where the difference between noob gear and pro gear is 10%, that is an enormous difference.

Catch them at close range, and the HMG is wonderfully effective against bunny-hopping proto fairies in its current state (HINT: your target cannot change direction when he's in midair). And it absolutely murders if you combine it with a well-placed flux grenade.

The problem with the HMG is damage at mid-range. It's maximum range was unnecessarily nerfed for Uprising. The dispersion balances HMG at range, and therefore its range should be restored to Chromosome levels.

Sharpshooter was why HMG pwned in Chromosome, and that is all. With the skill removed, the weapon was balanced. Give it the 3-5m of range back, and it will be just fine.

Though I think your suggestion would not be overpowered, we already have a weapon filling that role: the shotgun.

If the HMG is intended to be used to for suppression, it still needs to sting at mid-range. If you were to chart a curve, it should do high DPS up close, flatten out to mid-damage levels quickly, and then taper off more slowly the farther you get.

Murder up close, sting at range. Given the current mechanics, the only real way to do that is to tweak both range and dispersion. (The HMG currently murders up close and lol at range.)

In an ideal world, bullets wouldn't magically stop at a certain distance. You'd give the HMG high damage, but make it kick like a motherf***er so that it's hard to keep a bead on a target at range. Then make the ADS big and boxey so that fine aiming at range is difficult with the kick. Using it at range would be possible if you were a highly skilled player, but that's it.

But I didn't design the game, so...