Machine guns are fun in every shooter they've ever been included in. It's as close as one could get to being John Rambo himself. In a competitive, precise shooter like CS:GO being fun is rarely good. It also needs to be a viable gameplay option. Are CS:GO machine guns playable? That's what we're about to find out.
Before we get to CS:GO machine guns, I must let you in on a little secret. This is not the first part of our CS:GO weapons guides. If you wish to experience where the whole journey began then make your way back to our exclusive pistols, common pistols and shotguns weapon guides. Ready? Alright then, CS:GO machine gun time!
CS:GO Machine Guns Overview
Even CS:GO can be fun at times. I haven't experienced it personally, but I've been told that by other players. Perhaps those who do have fun with the game are using machine guns more often. That's the only explanation. Unfortunately for them, the Rambo style of play doesn't bode well in the CS:GO meta.
There are just two machine guns in CS:GO - the smallest weapon class within the arsenal. It's so negligible that it's stuffed together with the four shotguns under the common title "heavy" in the buy menu. Both machine guns are available to Terrorists and Counter-Terrorists. There are a lot of similarities between them, but enough differences to go over each one separately. So that's what we're gonna do. First up: the discount option!
Negev
- Price: $1700
- Kill reward: $300
The Negev is now known as the cheaper CS:GO machine gun, but that wasn't always the case. The original price for this behemoth was $5700 before Valve decided to encourage its use with a significant price reduction. Did their plan work? Not exactly.See, CS:GO is a precise shooter. Machine guns might be many things. Precise isn't one of them. The Negev is no different. In fact, it couldn't be less different. It's got all of the trademarks that a machine gun normally possesses - a large ammo capacity, slow movement, huge damage, slow reload, high penetration and low accuracy. Let me paint it plain and clear: machine guns' strengths are not Counter-Strike strengths.
- READ MORE: CS:GO ranks and how they work, Part
In a game where you need accuracy and mobility more than anything, not having accuracy and mobility simply doesn't cut it. Just like with every CS:GO weapon the Negev has advantages and disadvantages. The problem is that it has the worst type of advantages and the worst type of disadvantages to boot, making it obsolete in a competitive setting.
If you're short on money and more desperate than s1mple while watching Zeus clutch, then you can try out the Negev and see where its three 150-bullet magazines take you. If you are serious about your CS:GO, you'd go for literally anything else. And as we already established, CS:GO is meant to be serious at all times. No fun is allowed.
M249
- Price: $5200
- Kill reward: $300
Much of what applies for the Negev can also be said of the M249. Except for the fact that it's got triple the price. Yep, it is the most expensive weapon in CS:GO. This alone makes it unusable in a competitive match, but we're here to guide, so we'll guide nonetheless.
Aside from price, the M249 is outdone by the Negev in the ammo department by 50 bullets per magazine and in the recoil pattern, which is much worse. While the Negev's first few bullets spread like wildfire, it then settles into a fairly consistent pattern slightly above the crosshair. The M249 knows no such restrictions and goes wherever it chooses with its recoil. It's not really good at any range, but this gun is very impractical at long range because of it.
- READ MORE: CS:GO ranks and how they work, Part 2
The M249 makes up ground on the Negev with higher damage and penetration that allows it to kill with a single bullet to the head, up close. Something its sister weapon cannot do. The more expensive machine gun is also much more mobile, but it's still a snail relatively speaking. You're not escaping anything with this in your hand.
Just like the Negev, the M249 is only usable in a very extravagant moment of inspiration where you decide to use suppressing fire at a key chokepoint. Its price makes such a scenario extremely unlikely because $5200 is enough for a full buy and no serious player would throw away such money for a single gun that's not even good. In short, you're never going to see the M249 in a competitive game.
You can see EarlyGame, where much more quality CS:GO content awaits. That's not enough? There's also our YouTube channel for you to enjoy.
