Madsen MG/Battlefield V

"The Danish-made Madsen was introduced in 1902. It was the first light machine gun in wide use. Like the Bren it had a top-mounted magazine, and were the standard LMG issued by the Norwegian army. [sic]"

- In-game description

The Madsen MG is a weapon introduced in Battlefield V. It first appeared briefly in the Battlefield 5 - Official 'The Company' Trailer as well as the Battlefield V - Chapter 4: Defying the Odds Trailer. It is the reward for completing the first week challenges of Battlefest.

The Madsen appears as an LMG for the Support class. It has a statistical resemblance to the Bren Gun, with which it is tied for the lowest rate of fire of all machine guns, giving the weapon unmatched controllability during sustained, automatic fire. However, this comes at the cost of a lower than average default 25-round magazine which may limit the amount of sustained fire a user can deliver. The Madsen also has a unique damage model that relegates the weapon to a consistent five body-shot kill at all ranges. As it can be outdamaged at close to medium range by all other MGs, the Madsen is therefore best suited for medium to long range combat, where its aforementioned soft recoil, high accuracy and dependable damage, as well as its slight muzzle velocity advantage over other MGs, can be used to their best effect.

The weapon's ranged capabilities are further benefited by Specializations. Its left path contains Quick Reload, Recoil Buffer, Extended Magazine and High Velocity Rounds, while the right path offers Quick Aim, Custom Stock, Barrel Bedding and Ported Barrel. The layout of the tree allows players to equip Quick Reload and Extended Magazine concurrently, the latter increasing mag size to a sizeable 40 rounds - this combination greatly increases the ability of the Madsen to deliver sustained fire. The further combination of Recoil Buffer and Ported Barrel further reduce the Madsen's already controllable recoil. Finally, High Velocity Bullets permit improved accuracy at range.

Trivia

 * Before the release of Battlefield V, the Battlefield 1 version of the Madsen MG (along with the Bren Gun) was listed as a chapter rank reward for the Tides of War chapter The Fall Of Europe. The chapter was cut as a result of the game's month long release delay.