Helldivers 2

I always use the MGs on the highest RPM. I assume most people don't because the recoil can be hard to control when under duress, and you can get into a loop of freaking out, losing control and missing all of your shots, dying, and saying "fuck it" as you lower the RPM. I've been there, but when messing around I found out how truly satisfying it is to mow down entire crowds with any of the MGs on the highest RPM.

Plus, if Sweet Lady Liberty didn't want me to send Freedom inducing lead at 750RPM, 900RPM, or the fabled 1150RPM, then the armourer wouldn't have put that option on the gun

Too busy not dying!

Then forgetting to change it.

I use the lowest setting on every machine gun, intentionally. It conserves the most ammo and allows me to use the HMG almost like a DMR that has a ton of ammo. I'm tap firing, only hitting headshots, and clearing hordes way faster than just spraying and sending 50% of shots into the dirt. The only time I switch to high firerate is to delete heavies, which have much larger hitboxes.

If you can't go prone, the recoil just wastes ammo. Especially if picking off smaller targets. Firing in controlled bursts can be useful!

I like to think it's a holdover from when the hmg had less ammo. Lots of folks liked to treat it like a marksman rifle. I remember at least one youtube channels that had a 'tip' to slow down the firerate.

Personally, for all the mgs, I always sit at the middle speed for engagements, and bump it up if enemies start to get too close. The accuracy you get from less recoil is good for longer ranges. Except for stalwart, that one's always at max speed, it's just too fun :)

Stalwart I keep at the highest RPM, MG and HMG I keep in the middle and only bump it up if I can go prone to control the recoil, otherwise I’m just wasting ammo on the higher setting

Makes me want a bipod system like ARMA because even prone the recoil is still wild

I use the heavy pen MG on squids as it takes care of so much, harvesters, hordes of votless, air craft

I like the crank up the RPM on voteless. basically tap firing letting recoil kick up from the body, and just letting it rip into a crowd, mmmm amazing

Against overseers and aircraft medium rpm

and against harvesters i find the TTK with my aim roughly the same on all 3 firemodes so i set it to lowest so i can waste less ammo

I feel like people forget you can change the fire mode after mission starts

I love this gun it just packs a punch and the variable fire mode that you can change any time divers lets it flex between precision (for an automatic) and *AHHAHAHAH HAHAHAHAAAA" -Helldiver

But alot of people forget you have 300 bullets between resupplys, and if you tap fire berserker heads, that is a lot of freedom to spread

I miss the ludicrous 1200RPM mode.

No, it wasn't very practical, but was practicality ever the point? Of anything in this game?