Betelgeuse 54-A

The Betelgeuse 54-A is a light machine gun available to the Vanu Sovereignty. It is unlocked upon completion of the Master Light Machine Guns directive.

The Betelgeuse 54-A is an 'auraxium' variant of the Orion VS54, sharing most of the same base stats and decorated with a special 'auraxium' camo.

Compared to its base variant, the Betelgeuse 54-A features a heat-based ammunition pool rather than the standard magazine-based ammo system of the Orion VS54, and the weapon no longer has a long reload penalty. In exchange, the theoretical magazine size of the weapon is reduced by 5 rounds.

Heat
The Betelgeuse 54-A uses a heat-based ammo pool, in contrast to the standard magazine-based ammo system most infantry weaponry uses. Heat provides a meter that fills upon firing, and dissipates when not firing.

Manually reloading the Betelgeuse 54-A is possible at any heat level, with a 3 second reload time, although the weapon will not dissipate heat until reloaded if the meter is filled to its capacity.

Damage Fall-off

 * 143 before 10 meters.
 * 125 at 41 meters.
 * 112 after 65 meters

Ribbons and Medals
It is possible to earn both Ribbons and Medals while using the. Each ribbon is a standard reward for achieving a set amount of kills with the machine gun. Medals are awarded upon reaching kill milestones with the weapon.

Trivia

 * The Betelgeuse 54-A is named after 'Betelgeuse', a star within the Orion constellation (after which the Orion VS54 draws its name). Betelgeuse is notable for being Orion's second brightest star, and a distinctly reddish-orange one whose brightness has varied wildly throughout the years and which is theorized to have already reached the end of its life.

History

 * August 30, 2014 Update
 * Removed barrel attachment
 * Min/max horizontal recoil increased from 0.17/0.19125 to 0.2/0.225
 * Horizontal recoil tolerance increased from 0.85 to 0.9
 * Hip cone of fire bloom per shot reduced from 0.12 to 0.1
 * Aimed cone of fire bloom per shot reduced from 0.06 to 0.05
 * Added heat mechanic
 * October 29, 2015 Update
 * ADS movement modifier to 0.5, from 0.75
 * ADS CoF recoil to 0.04, from 0.05
 * Horizontal recoil to 0.22/0.22, from 0.2/0.225
 * Horizontal tolerance to 0.8, from 0.9
 * Standing hipfire to 2.5, from 2.75
 * Moving hipfire to 3.25, from 3.5
 * Projectile velocity to 540, from 570
 * Decreased heat bleedoff speed by 20%
 * February 2, 2017 Update
 * Damage from 143@10m-125@65m to 143@10m-112@65m
 * July 1, 2021 Update (_Integration)
 * Must now be reloaded when overheated.
 * Heat bleedoff rate from 240 per sec. to 200 per sec. (1000 maximum heat.)
 * Loadout UI now properly states 50 rounds magazine (not the 65 it's never been.)
 * March 30, 2022 Update (The Arsenal Update)
 * Aim down sights CoF bloom from 0.04 to 0.05
 * Consecutive shots before overheat from 50 to 40.
 * Overheat penalty from 3.28sec. to 3.444sec.
 * Heat recovery delay from 0.5sec. to 0.572sec.
 * Heat ammo recovery from 10 rounds per second to 9.28 rounds per second.
 * Dev Note: This weapon mostly receives usability nerfs, but has been indirectly brought in line with cross-faction alternatives through attachment selection.
 * May 4, 2022 Update
 * Updates to usability here bridge the gap between what felt off about the first pass, and how we'd like these weapons to perform overall. Heat weapons don't use traditional short/long reloads, and only use their overheat value for a reload (this is an unresolved issue with all heat weapons with a manual reload,) and we've brought the directive weapon overheat values in line with those weapons' short reloads.
 * Reload/Overheat penalty from 3.44 to 3sec.
 * Shots before overheat from 40 to 45.
 * Dev Note: Realistically, the Betelgeuse didn't need any buffs, and this change is only to bring back a portion of its "LMG high-mag" feel, that was remarked on as missing by players. It may receive drawbacks in other areas in the future.