M249 SAW



The M249 SAW/LMG is the US produced version of the Belgian-made FN Minimi. The M249 uses the 5.56x45mm NATO round, which lowers the weight of the gun when loaded yet grants the user with highly accurate yet reasonably powerful fire, and coupled with the M249's high rate of fire. It has a selective fire ability that allows it to shoot 750 to 1000 rounds per minute, it can easily match a heavier machine gun at range.

Battlefield 2
"The Squad Automatic Weapon (SAW) is the basis for an infantry squad. Its high rate of fire affects accuracy. For best results the M249 should be fired from a prone position in controlled bursts."

- In game description.

The M249 SAW is a weapon featured in Battlefield 2 and is the first weapon unlocked in the Support kit for the United States Marine Corps. The M249 also appears as a turret that will spawn near certain control points that are held by the USMC, although without usable iron sights and infinite ammo. When compared to its MEC counterpart the RPK-74, the M249 has superior spread values, but does marginally less damage; when compared to the QBB-95, the M249 has superior spread and identical damage.

Battlefield 2: Modern Combat
The M249 SAW is a weapon featured in Battlefield 2: Modern Combat, issued to the EU and USMC Support Kit. It has decent range and power but cannot be aimed down to sights, just like the Type 88 LMG or PKM, and is therefore relatively ineffective at range.

Battlefield: Bad Company
"The standard US army light machine gun. Originally designed in Belgium, the rifle has a reputation of being extremely reliable and is widely used across the world as part of many armed forces."

- In game description.

The M249 is a weapon featured in Battlefield: Bad Company.

Singleplayer
The M249 can be found on a few single player levels, such as Acta Non Verba, in a house off the right side when the player must escort the convoy of M1A2 Abrams MBT's. It comes with five HG-2 grenades, and a capacity of 150 rounds (with 300 in reserve). It is always in the hands of Terrence Sweetwater.

Multiplayer
The M249 SAW is the default US Army light machine gun issued to the Support Kit. Like the other LMGs, it has 150 rounds per belt and the player will have 300 rounds in reserve. Its Russian counterpart is the PKM medium machine gun, while its MEC counterpart is the QJY-88. It has a high rate of fire and average damage, as well as mediocre accuracy.

Battlefield Heroes
The M249 is a weapon featured in Battlefield Heroes that was added as part of the Battlefield Heroes Gets Bad Company event, and is available through the store to both the Royal Army and the National Army. The M249 has a 120 round magazine. However, as with all Gunner weapons, the M249's accuracy degrades at extreme ranges.

Tier 1 M249
The Tier 1 Elite M249 is a weapon featured in Battlefield Heroes that was added in the Medal of Honor event, and acts as the close range machine gun variant of the M249. The Tier 1 Elite variant has a 130 round magazine and a high rate of fire, making it very effective at close range encounters, but its low accuracy means it is less effective at longer ranges.

A special desert camouflage is present on the Tier 1 Elite M249, but has very little use. Maps such as Riverside Rush and Victory Village, where the fighting is mostly close range combat, are where the Tier 1 Elite M249 works very well, although other, specialized weapons, such as shotguns and knifes, can be superior at those ranges.

SOF M249
The SOF M249 is a weapon featured in Battlefield Heroes and was added as part of the Battlefield Heroes Christmas event. It differs from other variants as it has a usable scope, which improves accuracy at longer ranges. The SOF M249 has a moderate rate of fire, between that of the standard M249 and the Tier 1 Elite M249, and is most effective at medium ranges.

The SOF M249 also has a winter camouflage, which is purely for visual purposes. The SOF M249 works well on all maps, but has an advantage on maps such as Sunset Showdown and Midnight Madness, where its scope can be very useful in the open expanses.

Battlefield: Bad Company 2
"This Belgium made LMG is very reliable and easy to operate. Its high cyclic rate provides exceptional rounds on target. In the US Armed Forces it is known as the M249 and is their standard issue squad automatic weapon."

- In-game description

The M249 SAW is a weapon featured in Battlefield: Bad Company 2 and only appears in multiplayer. It is the second light machine gun issued to the Medic kit requiring 1100 points to unlock. It has a high rate of fire, modest recoil, and a large magazine size.

Its high rate of fire makes it much more effective than other LMGs at close range, however it also works well at longer ranges when tap firing especially with 4x Scope. Overall, the M249 SAW is a very effective weapon in the hands of a player who knows how to control the high rate of fire and to maintain accurate fire with tap firing technique.

Battlefield Play4Free
The M249 SAW is a purchasable elite weapon featured in Battlefield Play4Free for the Medic Kit. It features a 80 round magazine, low recoil, and a decent fire rate for the amount of damage it puts out. When the weapon was first released, it was said to fire the 7.62x51mm round, as well as having a recoil reducing muzzle break, giving reason for its high damage and low recoil.

The weapon itself performs very well in combat. It can easily keep its sights on a target with minimal adjustment, but it will start to become inaccurate after many rounds have been fired. This means the user should try to fire in medium length bursts of 5-10 rounds per burst to stay accurate.

In close quarters, the weapon's high fire rate and damage will trump even some submachine guns, although its spread is very high, making best for medium ranges and suppressing fire. Although considered an Elite weapon, the M249 SAW - like the UMP45 - features an all-black paint scheme, compared to the usual tan and black paint scheme of the other Elite weapons. Since Dec 1st, 2011 update, M249 SAW features black pain scheme, with a special desert camo skin available through "Desert supply drop" only.

Battlefield 3
"An adapted version of the Belgian original, the M249 was modified to conform to the United States design requirements. The M249 has seen action in every major conflict since the 1989 invasion of Panama and has earned a reputation as a reliable weapon. A single M249 can supply suppressive fire equivalent to 15 riflemen. The M249 comes equipped by default with a Bipod for supported shooting."

- Battlelog description

The M249 is a weapon featured in Battlefield 3.

Singleplayer
The M249 is used by some US Marines and is usable in Operation Swordbreaker and sports a Bipod, an ACOG Scope and an Extended Magazine. It can kill in two to three shots.

Co-Op
The M249 is Player 2's default primary weapon in the missions Operation Exodus and Exfiltration.

In the former, it comes with a Holographic Sight and Bipod. It can also be picked up by Player 1 in supply drops around the level. In the latter, it comes with a 4x IRNV sight and Foregrip.

Multiplayer
The M249 is issued to the Support kit as the first light machine gun unlocked after the default faction light machine guns, at 11,000 Support points, and is the second unlock for the Support kit. Like other machine guns, the M249 comes equipped with a bipod.

Comparatively speaking, the M249 is arguably one of the most versatile machine guns though it has its faults. The standard damage profile of the M249; mainly because of the 5.56x45mm NATO used mainly on ARs, makes recoil surprisingly little allowing for accurate full-auto fire with the expense of high spread. Furthermore the fire rate means enemies are dropped quickly despite the relative damage handicap of the M249 by comparison to some other machine guns.

The weapon's high fire rate makes it a good weapon for experienced players and being the second unlock for the support kit makes it an excellent gun for beginners. Unfortunately due to the high RPM output, the M249 suffers from one of the worst spreads when firing, as well as making it empty its magazine faster, although this can be remedied with the use of the Extended Magazine attachment.

Battlefield 3: Aftershock
The M249 is one of the four selectable primary weapons in Battlefield 3: Aftershock. Unlike the other three, the M249 can only be unlocked when the player watches a trailer for the movie Act of Valor from an advertisement in the game. However, due to a bug, the M249 will not appear on the weapon selection screen, no matter how many times the player watches the trailer over and over again.

Battlefield 4
The M249 is a weapon featured in Battlefield 4 and was first seen in the Fishing in Baku trailer.

Singleplayer
The M249 is a collectible found in Tashgar in the park between the broken cars and trees to the left of the entrance. It is equipped with an M145 along with a Flash Light, Heavy Barrel and Bipod. It sports an Atomic Desert finish. It is unlocked for multiplayer upon the completion of the Final Duty assignment.

Multiplayer
The M249 functions very much like it did in Battlefield 3. Firerate remains the same at 800 RPM, remaining a controllable weapon despite the high rate of fire, and the iron sights are easy to use. The M249 unlocks the US attachments first, and Russian and Chinese unlocks must be acquired through Battlepacks.

As opposed to the version in Battlefield 3, the M249 in Battlefield 4 has a stock dark steel color instead of the common green camo several weapons had in the previous game.

Battlefield Play4Free

 * The Holosight M249 and FN Minimi Para were originally separate variations of the default M249, different firing rates, values, and attachments. They were later removed from the game though the M249 gained the option to equip a holographic sight.

Battlefield 3

 * The M249 Proficiency Dog Tag shows the FN Minimi/M249 Para used in Battlefield Bad Company, Battlefield Bad Company 2, and Battlefield Play4Free.


 * In the Battlefield 3: Paris Multiplayer Gameplay Trailer, the M249 is seen in the kill feed as the "M-249." The hyphen was removed in the full game.


 * In the Battlelog Alpha it was referred to as the "MP60".

Battlefield 4

 * There is a bug where players cannot unlock the M249, even if they complete the requirements.