“A strong open-area LMG, the M249 is the perfect choice for players willing to trade a slow fire rate for increased accuracy and a high ammo capacity.” ― Official description
The M249 is a machine gun that appears in each installment of the Counter-Strike series.
Overview
The M249, designated as the U.S. version of the Belgian FN Minimi, is a light machine gun that fires the intermediate-caliber 5.56x45mm NATO cartridge and has been adopted by the United States Armed Forces. In earlier Counter-Strike games, the M249 features the Paratrooper version without a fixed stock, while in Global Offensive, the fixed stock version is used.
In the Counter-Strike series, the M249 is one of two machine guns available in multiplayer modes, and was the only option in games prior to Global Offensive. It is accessible to both teams, although Terrorists cannot purchase it in Assassination maps.
The M249 is the priciest weapon across all Counter-Strike games, costing $5750 in older versions and $5200 in Global Offensive. It also has a high ammunition cost in Counter-Strike and Condition-Zero, where ammo must be bought. Unlike assault rifles using the same 5.56mm ammo, the M249's ammunition is not interchangeable, making the only cost-free way to refill ammo by picking up another M249 from a fallen player, which is rare. These factors make it uncommon in competitive games with strict economy management, but it appears more frequently in public matches due to its large magazine and effective damage output, making it a fun weapon to use.
The M249 boasts a large magazine and a significant reserve of ammunition, but it has a lengthy reload time and is relatively heavy for a light machine gun. These attributes make it effective against groups of enemies.
In terms of damage, the M249 is powerful, capable of instantly killing targets with headshots in Source and Global Offensive at close range, even if they are wearing helmets. It also has high penetration power, allowing for suppressive fire through surfaces.
However, the M249 has substantial recoil and inaccuracy, limiting its effective range to mid-range combat.
Tactics for Using the M249
The M249 is often considered an impractical purchase due to its high price, especially in Global Offensive, where its alternative, the Negev, is significantly cheaper and easier to handle.
- Close-Quarters Combat: When engaging enemies at close range, use full-auto fire and strafe. The M249 is particularly lethal in confined areas of the map.
- Cover Penetration: The M249 can easily shred through thin cover, making it effective for flushing out hidden enemies.
- Group Attacks: Utilize the M249 to mow down enemies when they are grouped together.
- Friendly Fire Caution: If friendly fire is enabled, avoid spraying bullets if teammates are in front of you. The wide cone of fire increases the risk of hitting your own team or hostages.
- Long-Range Engagements: Avoid spraying bullets at enemies beyond close range due to the high inaccuracy of the M249. For longer ranges, burst firing or tap firing is more effective. Retreat if the enemy is armed with assault or sniper rifles, unless you have the element of surprise.
- Aiming in CS:GO: In Global Offensive, it is possible to aim more accurately at full auto by compensating for the bullets' upward and rightward drift, allowing you to hit targets at longer distances.
- Movement and Accuracy: Running while firing at full auto drastically increases inaccuracy, making the weapon nearly unusable.
- Role and Versatility: The M249 is not very versatile due to its slow movement speed, which hinders quick reactions. It is more useful for drawing enemy fire away from teammates or defending key positions.
- Switching Weapons: Switch to your sidearm or knife if you need to move quickly.
- Reloading: Due to the long reload time, take cover or move to a secure location near your teammates when reloading. It is crucial to reload when your magazine has fewer than 30 bullets remaining.
Bugs
- Muzzle Flash Sync: In both Counter-Strike and Condition Zero, the muzzle flash may not synchronize properly when the user jumps after firing a shot.
- Clipping Issue: In Condition Zero, if a player holding the M249 is crouched, the left hand clips through the gun in third-person view.
- Movement Speed Anomaly: Oddly, when carrying a hostage, players move faster while wielding the M249. This also applies to the Negev.
Trivia
- Exclusive Machine Gun: The M249 was the only light machine gun available in the Counter-Strike multiplayer series until the introduction of the Negev in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive.
- Ammo Belt Display: In earlier games, the rounds on the M249's ammunition belt never disappear, even when the ammo count reaches zero, making it seem as if the gun never needs to be reloaded. This was done to conserve memory, similar to the P90, UMP-45, AUG, Krieg 552, and Krieg 550 Commando.
- Ammo Display in Global Offensive: In Global Offensive, the gun now properly shows the diminishing bullets when the M249 is running out of ammo.
- Model Details: Prior to Condition Zero, the world model lacked both the ammo belt and the carrying handle present in the first-person view. In Global Offensive, the carrying handle is removed from the model.
- Firing Rate Discrepancy: M249's data in Counter-Strike: Source's VGUI buy menu states that its firing rate is around 600 RPM. However, in-game, it fires at approximately 750 RPM. This discrepancy likely arises from Valve reusing old VGUI data from Counter-Strike 1.6.
- Ammo Box Color: In Counter-Strike 1.6 (and older betas), the ammo box was black, like the M249 itself. In Condition Zero and later games, the box is green.
- Reload Animation: Prior to Source, the third-person version of an M249 user shows the gun being reloaded by replacing the ammo belt. In Source and Global Offensive, the ammo box and belt are shown being replaced.
- Unchanged Weapon Names: Prior to Global Offensive, the M249 was one of four uncut weapons to retain its original name, the others being the Maverick M4A1 Carbine, the MAC-10, and the Five-SeveN.
- Automated Sentry: The Automated Sentry in Danger Zone uses the M249, but without a trigger and stock, and employs the MAC-10 firing sounds.
- Reload Animation Bug: In GoldSrc Counter-Strike games, if the player skips the reloading animation with no bullets left, the first-person viewmodel still shows bullets in the magazine. The bullets only disappear when the reload animation starts.
M249 in numbers
- Price $5200
- Damage 32
- Armor penetration 80%
- Rate of fire 600 RPM
- Accurate range (meters) 16m
- Reload time 5.7 seconds
- Magazine capacity 100
- Reserve ammo limit 200
- Running speed (hammer units per second) 195
- Kill award $300 (Competitive) $150 (Casual)
- Penetration power 200
- Ammunition type 5.56 caliber
- Firing mode Automatic Recoil control 19 / 26 (73%)
- Range modifier 0.97
- Entity weapon_m249
