Board Thread:General Discussion/@comment-30991683-20180505121701/@comment-29781728-20180507032400

The issue with the M249 is the fact that it's the best weapon in the game by a long-shot. A balanced weapon, yes, but the best one.

It's unlocked relatively early in the game's progression system, really. Once you hit the rank needed to get the M249, you're only halfway to the max rank. So there's nothing past the M249 to buy that's better than it or is a reasonable sidegrade.

I and many other high ranks don't always use the M249. But there's absolutely no reason to use any other weapon, and it's up to you to decide if that's an issue.

On the topic of R2DA's progression, the M249 does indeed make it hell for everyone who doesn't have it to progress. There are many ways to solve the issue, but who knows if Place will ever do something about it?