The MK3 SAW is comically bad

[Punisher_1]

Alright compared to real machine guns these things are fictionally comical.

The recoil does not match the hitting power. One would expect this thing to be firing 20mm rounds given the recoil but hits like a water gun. I have to hose each target with 30 plus rounds to get a kill. therefore even with spare ammo you burn through rounds so fast you need a ammo box 5 feet away to keep going in a swarm.

The accuracy is insanely bad. Anyone introducing this weapon to the military would be placed on a wall and shot. Simply again it is a bullet hose and accuracy is optional.

You have to be in "bastion mode" to get the reduced recoil but accuracy is still optional. The accuracy bar shows it is high but not really. This comes into play when trying to kill the bullet bugs that often spawn at the edge of your weapons abilities. While their accuracy is supreme yours drifts in a rather large circle.

Stagger is somewhat useless as it just makes it more difficult to reengage the bug.

In general this weapon needs improvement in damage, range, accuracy and stagger needs to be allocated to stun.

Edit -

Thanks for the comments let me address some of the issues.

1. IRL I have Tens of thousands of rounds fired from the M-60 and M-249 so yes, plenty of experience/skill with machine guns. I Understand suppressive fire I also understand I can kill things at 500+ meters with relative ease. I also understand "game Balance" is not always balanced for the better.

2. Get to level 20 and all the perks and it is good....... Sure guys, at max level every thing should be better/good.... eyeroll

3. You have to ADS - well, no sh1t

4. Crouch and ADS - Yes no doubt - Yes I do those.

5. It's meant as "crowd control" or stagger - Okay well it fails at both. It does not stagger enough and does not kill without pouring 20, 30,150 rounds into each bug.
THE GAME IS TO KILL BUGS NOT SHOO THEM AWAY - well just add a melee broom

6. You need team mates to kill the bugs - Um, so why would I ever use this class? How would I ever earn points? As of now I rank 1 or 2 in the squad in kills. I barely edge out and sometime lose to the Sniper class players.

7. Teamwork - Yes no doubt but you cannot nerf a weapon system so badly that it is useless or that people struggle to use it.

8. Player movement this guy is slow while I can survive the hordes of bugs on the walls and during the mission I cannot get to the dropship often dying in the process because the class is way to slow.

[KisTheMist]

I agree, it sucks

[kampfer91]

It is terrible at shooting Gunner bug . The gun keep pushing the bug further and further which reduce the accuracy and damage dealt , however said bug have perfect accuracy and no damage fall off.

[GetBONKED]

Agreed

[Vohlm]

Agreed , the class as a whole feels kinda useless other than aggroing sitting and tanking heavy bugs for your team if couldnt build a proper defense , Assault with a sniper and rocket launcher with ammo fabricator on a rooftop will outshine it in every way other than being a punching bag

default ammo on the MK3 saw is terrible too , default mag+ a spare if you dont get the perk , ontop of that it has a terribly long reload time

[CroTomislav]

just tried it and can agree

[Vahnkiljoy]

Yup once you hit 13 and unlock the gun the saw SHOULD be I doubt you will look back.

[Buntkreuz]

Its fun, it has its uses, but its bad.
You can kill more and faster with the pistols, maybe generally bugs should die faster, but come in higher numbers.
That way it doesnt feel like you are shooting bullet sponges with stronger weapons.

[slapz]

The mag needs to be 300, and the hip fire spread needs to be reeled in a bit. The class as a whole needs to have more flinch resistance. Would probably fix it. Boosted by the spare mag perk it would be a serious option for holding the line when ♥♥♥♥ hits the fan.

[TheWhiteRabbit]

Couldnt disagree more, The TTK on the saw vs both moritas is night and day. you dump most of your mag for a single kill on veteran with the morita 1. sure you reload faster and you have more ammo sure! buuuuuuut you also USE more ammo to get the same job done. top that with the much weaker stun chance its just not a competition

[Breidr]

I agree it is bad, but I use it anyway because other classes use the Morita. Liberal use of the barricade ability makes it tolerable. The game really wants you to "ADS" with it. You have to right click before firing, that's just how it is.

[Ryan Gosling]

This weapon needs a ribbon of ammunition, instead of reloading

[slapz]

Originally posted by Skipper:

This weapon needs a ribbon of ammunition, instead of reloading :sfsmile:

Agreed. The gun has too little ammo. Most of it is wasted even if the gun is being used as intended.

[Breidr]

Originally posted by flaccidbeefslap:

Originally posted by Skipper:

This weapon needs a ribbon of ammunition, instead of reloading :sfsmile:

Agreed. The gun has too little ammo. Most of it is wasted even if the gun is being used as intended.

I agree, the extra ammo perk is necessary to make this game viable.

[TwoTonTuna]

i'm trying to make the MK3 work, but the downsides are just too much. Less ammo, unimpressive damage, savage recoil, low accuracy... the only upside it has is its stagger effect, which you can't maintain because you have such low ammo.

i prefer taking the Mk1 while slapping on the protective perks, bunker up and tank for the team.

[slapz]

Originally posted by Kodesh:

i'm trying to make the MK3 work, but the downsides are just too much. Less ammo, unimpressive damage, savage recoil, low accuracy... the only upside it has is its stagger effect, which you can't maintain because you have such low ammo.

i prefer taking the Mk1 while slapping on the protective perks, bunker up and tank for the team.

Yeah, for a class that's supposed to be a tank, there really is a heavy focus on the tank, but no other major outlets of synergy. The Bastion should be the ol' reliable class pick, but it's just meh without a good, punishing weapon. MK3 is really falling short, almost to the point of relying on the pistol in a lot of instances.