The IAF Minigun is the second weapon specific to Special Weapons marines, unlocked at level 17. It covers a much wider area than the Autogun and has a higher rate of fire, but sacrifices accuracy and automatic aim assist. It also requires a short spin-up period before firing. The alternate fire and walk / crouch keys will spin the barrel up at no cost, allowing the user to fire whenever they please.
Description[]
The IAF Minigun features a very high rate of fire and wide spread, making it ideal for taking out large groups of hostile targets. This weapon has a short delay before firing in order to spin the barrel up to the required RPM. The alt-fire trigger will spin up the barrel without firing.
Advantages[]
- Extremely large magazine
- Wide cone of fire
- Very high damage per second
- Fires 2 bullets per 1 ammo
- Does not automatically slow down the user while deployed
- +20% chance to pierce after 3 seconds of continuous firing
Disadvantages[]
- Spin-up time (which being injured resets)
- Slower movement speed while firing or spinning up the barrel
- Inaccurate compared to the Autogun
- Can only carry one spare magazine, and obtaining a new one requires 100% of an ammo crate or Ammo Satchel
- High spread makes it difficult to avoid friendly fire
Strategy[]
- If the Autogun is the big brother to the Assault Rifle, then the Minigun is a super-sized personal defense weapon that can tear almost anything in its cone of fire to shreds within seconds.
- Owing to its cone of fire, the Minigun is ideal for 'area denial' tactics, declaring and keeping an area or corridor Swarm-free. Bottlenecks, staircases, and doors are your friends.
- Also owing to the cone of fire, the Minigun is actually best used for sustained bursts against multiple foes (like the hordes found on Deima Surface Bridge) rather than attempting to spit out half a dozen bullets to kill a single target; you want to saturate an area to ensure you get multiple hits and don't waste ammo. For targeted attacks, it's best to stick with the Autogun.
- Remember to spin the gun up at the right moments, such as when defending an area. Do not spin up if there are no hostiles around as it will slow you down.
- Unlike the other weapons for Special Weapons, the Minigun will only decrease the movement speed while spun up, allowing the user to move at full speed without the need to switch to the other weapon.
- Obtaining additional ammunition for the Minigun is problematic. The weapon requires a full, unused ammunition crate in order to gather enough bullets for a single spare magazine; a squad member taking even a single magazine from a stash will render it impossible for a Special Weapons gunner to replenish their supply of Minigun ammunition. Occasionally, you'll find some special cashes of Autogun ammo (which doubles as Minigun ammo; see below) in the field. Don't miss an opportunity to raid those.
- Equipping the Autogun as a secondary weapon grants an extra spare clip for the Minigun too.
- If the situation requires a Hand Weld but it is not available, the minigun can cut down a door in a matter of seconds (although wasting much of the clip).
Notes[]
- The loadout screen's information on the Minigun is incorrect. It currently shows the weapon's rate of fire as 25 rounds per second, but testing shows the rate of fire is actually 20 rounds per second.