Facebook: http://facebook.com/XboxAhoy Twitter: http://twitter.com/xboxahoy In this episode, we're covering the second Light Machine Gun, the RPK. It's fully automatic, as you'd expect - and is unlocked at level 6. The RPK, or 'rooch-noy pul-eh-myot kalashnikova' is a weapon that originates from the former Soviet Union, and is a derivation of Kalashnikov's AK-47 design. The version represented in game is actually the RPK-74, based on the AK-74 rifle, which were both introduced in 1974. Essentially a longer barrelled version of the infantry rifle with an attached bipod, the RPK supplanted the earlier RPD as the Red Army's primary LMG. As both the AK and RPK-74 share a large number of manufactured parts, supply and maintenance of the weapons is more easily managed, and production more efficient. Magazine capacity is 40 rounds, or 80 with extended magazines - giving you an extra 33 percent when compared to the similar HK21. The RPK-74 fires the 5.45 by 39 millimetre M74 round - a smaller, high velocity round designed to yaw in flesh and cause devastating cavitation. Damage in-game is comparable to the other LMGs, consistent at all ranges and high by most other weapon's standards. Like the HK21 and Stoner 63, the RPK will kill in 3 hits at any range - or two hits if both are headshots. Rate of fire is on par with the HK21, too - 750 rounds per minute place it squarely in the middle of the category as far as fire rates are concerned. One major downside to the RPK is its heavy recoil - when fired automatically the RPK will exhibit a severe upwards pull, making staying on target nearly impossible. Outside of close range, the only way to effectively employ the RPK is to fire in short bursts, waiting for the recoil to settle before firing again. This mitigates the effect of the recoil, and has the added benefit of prolonging your ability to provide supporting fire. Aim time is typically slow for an LMG - 350 milliseconds, and despite being magazine-fed has a painfully slow 4 second reload. The RPK is a hard weapon to handle but offers significant and sustainable support fire, with potential capacity second only to the M60 and with a faster rate of fire. Treating it as a burst fire takes advantage of the weapon's high damage over longer sightlines, and steady aim allows you to reposition frequently while maintaining a good close range defence through hipfire. Adopt a support gunner role, with a Strela-3, Hardline and team-oriented killstreaks, and you'll be the model team player, tilting a game's odds in your favour. You pay for the abundance of firepower of the RPK through very slow handling, and a level of recoil above most other automatic weapons. It may not be a weapon of precision, but when you need to form a rock-solid defense upon a strategic point, the sustainable might of the RPK will help retain every inch of soil, repel invaders ...and onward, to victory!