
In GR:AW, fixed machine guns are of course
only usable to the Mexican Army (RebelFaction). Apart from
tanks, these are your primary infantry threat, and of course
to you.
Dealing with them:
You
can't avoid them pretty much, as most missions require the
destruction of such equipment, not only for objectives, but
really for survival. The weapon used is the good old M2HB
.50 cal machine gun. You can take a few hits, but after that
you're toast. It's mounted on a tripod with a shield and the
gunner's legs are protected by sandbags. Generally the good
thing is though... you can really get the drop if you're paying
attention and taking it slow, but then again that's not always
a guarantee. We'll start off with Mission 2, Coup d'etat.
After the initial firefight you hit the Zocolo Plaza, and
that's where it gets interesting. We're not going to do a
synopsis of the mission, as we all have our tips and tricks,
but here are some things that can help you take out most other
machine guns. First off, you must check your tactical view
first. More than likely it's pointing towards you initially,
that's cool. Most of these tactics are going to be single-
player oriented, as again, we all developed tips and tricks
through the course of the campaign.
Heavy Machine Gun (Bottom
Center) in Tactical View
The first thing of course is to mind where it's at. So one
technique I did was once I figured out where it was (I've
played the mission so much I just do it out of habit), I
put the own waypoint marker on it:

First however, SP-wise, get ALL of your teammates in a secure
safe place, i.e. out of the line of fire. By taking your
time you can eliminate all the dismounts running and shooting
around, again patience. The waypoint marker is there so
you don't get chopped up, keeps you in the frame of mind
that it's still out there:


The
real bad thing about this technique is that it overlays
your target:

In the case above, the gunner
wasn't dead, and couldn't tell. Things to think about when
doing this are pretty obvious...
Taking it out
Well that can be easier sometimes
and sometimes downright hard. The idea is to flank if you
don't have a sniper rifle, as well it'll chop you up, enough
said on that matter. However there are a few things to look
for. If you can get on the high ground, then you can aim
for the gunner's legs. Keep in mind it's slow to turn on
you, common sense as even with a tripod, it'll start firing
before it'll actually be pointed at you.
Once you either
hear it or see the muzzle flash pull out of the line of
fire and just chill out: If you got a place to go around,
do it. In this case, I have a whole building I can walk
around, and do so; the weapon is human operated, so you
have to hit him hard, and fast. Sniper rifles are a no-brainer,
but since I use reflex sights in game, this is more geared
to that, or iron sights. However, keep in mind the gunner
will hold the trigger down until he feels that you're dead
or whatever. Just walk around, and find another angle. This
is if you're getting hammered, just play cat and mouse with
him. Just always be careful of roaming dismounts, take them
out first.
In the mission session I used for this tutorial,
had to engage the dismount and then got shot at by the gun.
Take your time, as most of the missions don't require you
to get it done within a certain time period, just getting
it done matters. Crawling on your belly helps, as it makes
them less aware and may give you the time you need to get
a few good shots in. Oh yeah, make sure he doesn't get back
up. If you can do it, if not, use the Tactical View and
go from there. And always use the available angles too:

The Money Double-Tap
This is where
I got my confirmed kill. Again take care of any roaming
soldiers, as they can screw you up as you're
lining up on him. I think by this time I got the final one,
and then the gunner started firing, so I had to take care
of business. Again always make sure he's down:


Another aiming point as can see
in the screenshot above is the U that the gunner uses to
aim. Again, aim carefully and you're likely to kill him:

Gunning for the U
The above
shot was taken before I put a couple 3 round bursts into
him. The M99 is of course your best bet when going up against
these that is of course you are equipped with one:
Now you see him

Now you don't
One shot, one kill, easy enough.
However, like anything, if you throw enough bullets around,
you'll be bound to hit something, hopefully the gunner.
Then again once you've played the missions it's too easy.
Note that of course, using a grenade launcher is of course
doable and in VIP 2 is Down it's near essential to figure
out the arc. I've had to replay that quite a few times so
now I know exactly where to aim and fire. The bullet shield
will also completely cover the gunner from front impacting
grenades. Do not try and hit the turret itself with your
nade. If possible, take aim for a nearby wall, the blast
will reflect off the wall and kill the gunner.
A note on available cover. Naturally
stone or other objects are the best for hiding from the
bullets. However, if you decide to hide behind a car:

Enough said. Finally, the emplaced
.50s can penetrate light debris. Light objects such as fences
and benches should NOT be used for cover when approaching
or flanking an emplacement, as the bullets will pass right
through. Your AI team mate however, can't seem to figure
this out. If necessary, manually maneuver them behind heavier
cover if you can.
However,
needless to say, you should use available cover if necessary:


Also you can play tag with it,
however it's advised as before, get your team in hiding,
have them take a breather, and you fire at it until you
kill it:


Depending
on the weapon you are using, it is going to take some rounds
to pick it off, but then again, at this point I'm standing,
and leaning, so it's going to be a little bit, hence playing
tag. Note this tactic should work with non-scoped weapons,
i.e. all the default weapons
except of course the Barret. However if you mod your weapon
to accept the SN-3, then it gets easier but then again,
be prepared to have an exit strategy, i.e. find your cover
first that you are going to utilize (not that car!!!) when
it does fire.

Mk.19 Grenade Launcher
I'm
only going to touch briefly on the Mk19 that's featured
briefly (once) in VIP2 Down and especially in Bulldog. In
all practicality, it's easier to engage and destroy as there's
no shield, just be quick and stay higher and use the walls
and it can't elevate that much. Hand grenades or launched
are always good to use as well as direct fire), however
with hand grenades you still have to get close enough, but
then again, a lucky toss will get him too. Keep in mind
while your GL grenades don't do much damage, the Mk.19 tends
to wipe out one of your teammates in one fell swoop, and
they have problems (I guess) in engaging them. In other
words, in single-play, you'll do most of the work.
Team Effort
AI should never assault machine guns;
they're too retarded to get out of the way. It's an algorithm
loop that constantly activates when they're being shot,
"Captain I'm being hit!" Your Sniper CAN take
out gun emplacements, with a little set up. Make sure you
move your team in to flank the gun at a no less than a 90
degree angle between your own position and the target. The
more cluttered the area, the closer your team will need
to be to their target to execute their attack order.
Once
you have your order set up, and your team in place, take
a few potshots at the gun emplacement and duck behind cover.
Once the HMG is dedicated to keeping you pinned behind cover,
execute the attack order. If everything goes according to
plan, you should take out the gun emplacement with minimal
risk. *NOTE* only use the sniper and ONLY if he is equipped
with the Barret. Any other teammate will get himself killed.
Yeah brother, get out of the line of fire, and it won't
happen. Consider him dead really. However, with some luck
you can do this:

I managed to get lucky this time
on this instance. The intent was to flank the dismount,
thinking that the .50 cal was down. However once Brown and
Kirkland came around, the .50 started to light them up.
I was moving Allen around so we could mob the two soldiers
by the limo. I turns out that the .50 was oriented, engaging
Brown and Kirkland. I pulled those two back, and Allen got
in a lucky shot with his SCAR-H.
Note: Missions used for this
tutorial were Coup d'Etat, and Bulldog at Normal Difficulty.
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