"Light machine guns" can't use intermediate/rifle calibers.

[JONES]

I was expecting an MG, not an oversized submachine gun. I'm not gonna refund the DLC, cause I still want to support Stygian Software (and also there's grenade launchers now) but I'm still thoroughly disappointed.

[King Fossil]

This game already had cartridges that could magically morph between handgun/intermediate/rifle, so you could always assume it's firing some 9mm rifle cartridge. 9mm rifles aren't popular in reality but maybe Underrail is different.
And if you're going to say it's ridiculous that they do that magic shapechanging I mentioned, then... yeah. Yeah, you're right.

[Tenath]

Well, yeah, calibers in Underrail only factor in the bore size, ignoring the bullet/cartridge length, with greater bore size being strictly more powerful. By that logic, a 10mm pistol round gotta be more powerful than a 7.62mm rifle. It's actually a common misconception, as I'm sure you've seen many times before.

But in this particular case, I guess it's largely a balancing act within the established framework, since 9mm and .44 are expensive, heavy and less numerous in this game, and this forces the player to actually pay attention to ammo use. 9mm and .44 are also some of the more 'powerful' calibers in the game, so they're also there to explain the high damage of LMG's.

And if LMG's used 7.62mm, they would heavily outclass AR's in every way outside of longer ranges. So yeah, I'd guess it's a balancing act of sorts, within the games principle that 'higher caliber is more damaging and more expensive'.

[The Great Cornholio]

another thread had screenshots of the unique LMG's that did use the rifle calibers

[Radiosity]

I expected a 5.56 NATO-equivalent calibre as a new ammo type for the LMG since... well, that's kind of what they normally use. But as Tenath mentioned, this is a game where pistol and rifle ammo are interchangeable, so that's the standard we have to work with.

Also, the minigun using 12.7 is kind of insane. That's a multi-barrel 50cal :o I'm not complaining, mind you, but if you tried firing that without stabilisation/bracing of some sort in the real world, you'd break your arms ;p

[Tenz]

mindshroom stew builds up your biceps.

[TheSpookiestSkeleton]

caliber in this game are completely out of whack, best not think too much about it.

[The Great Cornholio]

you can carry a rifle for rathounds and such, you get a lot of gun skill from synergy without putting anything into it

I have the 8.6 and 7.62 LMG's, one was near Rail Crossing, one in the caves near the dead Terry guy

[JONES]

Originally posted by Tenath:

Well, yeah, calibers in Underrail only factor in the bore size, ignoring the bullet/cartridge length, with greater bore size being strictly more powerful. By that logic, a 10mm pistol round gotta be more powerful than a 7.62mm rifle. It's actually a common misconception, as I'm sure you've seen many times before.

That explains why pistols hit so much harder than rifles. Sounds like Styg didn't do their homework.

[Mountain Months]

this is a game with magic spells by the way so you can't really complain about ammo types

[Radiosity]

Originally posted by Mountain Months:

this is a game with magic spells by the way so you can't really complain about ammo types

Ah yes, the Phil Hines defence. Just... no.

[Szarekh the Silent King]

Originally posted by JONES:

Originally posted by Tenath:

Well, yeah, calibers in Underrail only factor in the bore size, ignoring the bullet/cartridge length, with greater bore size being strictly more powerful. By that logic, a 10mm pistol round gotta be more powerful than a 7.62mm rifle. It's actually a common misconception, as I'm sure you've seen many times before.

That explains why pistols hit so much harder than rifles. Sounds like Styg didn't do their homework.

Huh? I know I can Snipe down Tchort with good sniper rifle, but can you one-hit kill Tchort with any pistol? Doubt that.

[The_Finish]

Originally posted by Szarekh the Silent King:

Originally posted by JONES:

That explains why pistols hit so much harder than rifles. Sounds like Styg didn't do their homework.

Huh? I know I can Snipe down Tchort with good sniper rifle, but can you one-hit kill Tchort with any pistol? Doubt that.

That's because of Snipe, not strictly because of your rifle. Although sniper rifles do have better damage ranges than pistols, Assault Rifles don't (because they can Burst fire). Because of game balance.

And it's the same reason pistols do more damage than SMGs, and why shotgun pellets somehow ignore DT/DR, and so on. It's just to make every build viable and fun with no obvious standouts (at least in theory).

As for OP, there's two unique LMGs that use 7.62, and they are, arguably, much better than crafted ones just because of that. The MG3-42 is IMO the best LMG in the game period, being able to burst twice per round without adrenaline AND with +5 shots per burst AND 80 round capacity is just bonkers.