M60

The M60 is an American Belt-Fed General Purpose Machine Gun in Phantom Forces. The M60 project began in the late 1940's for the US to replace the aging M1919 Browning, after the influence of the MG42's versatility in WW2. The American M60 design was chosen due to the fact the US can't pick any foreign GPMG design. The M60 served as a crew-serviced weapon during the Vietnam War, where it got its infamous nickname, 'The Pig.' The M60 has served a healthy service life, eventually being replaced by the M240 Machine Gun, due to its greater reliability. The variant depicted in-game is the M60E6 variant.

The M60 is unlocked immediately, and is a terrifying gun to come across for this reason. It's not a terribly accurate gun, but it is still deadly at long range, due to it having that 7.62x51mm NATO round, which offers increased suppression in comparison to the 5.56x45mm NATO ammunition offered by the similar MG36.

Effective Range
The M60 may be beat out by assault rifles at longer ranges offensively, but can affect a sniper's accuracy terribly from long range.
 * Auto, offensively: 175 studs
 * Tap Fire: 450 studs
 * Auto, suppressing fire: 350 studs

Offensive

 * The M60 is outclassed by the MG36 in terms of pure assault capabilities, so if you need a true LMG that will aid in storming a building, the MG36 is a better way to go.
 * However, the M60 has a better suppression capability due to its higher caliber (more suppression per bullet) and lower RoF (suppress longer). These traits make the M60 a better Anti-Personnel weapon versus the MG36.
 * The M60 is best for suppressive fire, especially when attempting to help a Recon fight another sniper.
 * Dump an entire magazine directed towards your foe, and they probably won't be able to fight back due to the "earthquake" they receive from the suppression.
 * In King of the Hill, use the M60 to lock down the objective, and spray down anyone who dare take it.
 * Just be aware of grenades.

Defensive

 * The M60's bark is much worse than its bite; although its bullets may fly at you and cause earthquakes, you probably aren't going to be killed at long range.
 * You have two options against the M60:
 * Take a CQC oriented weapon- i.e. the FAMAS- and melt the LMG user at point-blank range, or...
 * ...Take a Sniper Rifle and pick the MG off at range.
 * Make sure that if you're using the latter route you're not spotted by anyone, and try not to get a hitmarker- if you hitmarker them or get spotted, the M60 user gets notified, and s/he may turn around and render you useless with their suppression abilities.
 * When an M60 is locking down an objective, be sure to get to cover and then toss a grenade.

Loadout 1: Anti-Personnel
This Loadout is dedicated to holding off one'' spot, whether it's an objective or not. It can't really hold off Snipers, but it doesn't have too much recoil, making it relatively accurate in CQC.''
 * Optic: Reflex- Any low-powered optic will do here. However, I like the Reflex, so as usual, I'm using that.
 * Barrel: Compensator- The M60 has a ton of wiggling when you try to fire it in fully automatic, so I decided to lower the amount of wiggling by slapping on a Compensator.
 * Underbarrel: Stubby Grip- The M60's recoil in general is insane- not just the side-to-side recoil, but the vertical recoil, too. Therefore, the M60 seriously needs the Stubby Grip. You can use the Folding Grip instead, but I prefer the Stubby Grip because it lowers both torque recoil (how fast the recoil is) and the amount of recoil.
 * Other: Laser- If you hipfire the M60 in this kind of combat, you're probably going to use it in CQC, where the Red Laser helps the most.

Loadout 2: Suppressive Fire
''This Loadout is very similar to my Anti-Personnel Loadout- they both try to keep recoil to a minimum. However, I use this Loadout to keep pesky Recons out of my way.''
 * Optic: ACOG Scope- You can also decide to use the M145 or PK-A if you want, but I feel that the ACOG is the median between the other two. It has a chevron and has markings in case you engage at range.
 * Barrel: Compensator- Since this loadout is built on keeping people's heads down from afar, the M60 needs every bit of recoil control that it can get; the Compensator is good for this.
 * Underbarrel: Folding Grip- The Folding Grip reduces the recoil amount, and the torque won't really affect you, since the bullets are going to begin flying around anyways.
 * Other: Green Laser- The Green Laser reduces random hipfire recoil, making it my choice of use for ranged attacks. After all, if you're trying to hipfire at someone from afar, you're probably not going to even bother to burst your weapon.

In Conclusion
The M60 can be amazing in laying down the law through suppressing fire. It also has a slow fire rate to keep the mag size in check. However, the M60's time-to-kill is lackluster compared to so many other guns you will unlock in your prestige, and a smart player can counter an M60 every time with a faster-killing, faster-acting weapon. Be aware of these people, plan ahead, and you will rule above all.

Trivia

 * The M60 used to have dynamic reload animations. The tactical reload took 6 seconds with > 5 rounds, the tactical reload took 5 seconds with <5 rounds, and the empty reload took 7 seconds.
 * The firing sound has been slightly altered since Alpha.
 * The M60 used to deal 32-22 damage with very low recoil, but was since buffed to 40-26, with an increase in recoil.