Currently the HB feels weak and is juts annoying to fight with and against since it's got no range to it. Past 10m it's like a rapid firing nerf gun that does nothing but annoys players.

I've suggested the damage to go up by around 20% and the drop off to be increased so that it's effective at longer ranges and to change the suppression effect so it doesn't just remove skill from the person you're shooting at. I've suggested countless times for it to be changed to be more like Battlefield 4 where you gain a slight screen blur + shake when aiming down the sites which can be countered by skillful play. Right now it's using a Suppression system more like Battlefield 3 which 100% removes the skill from the target you're shooting at and honestly this needs to change.

Short points of my post here.
Increase the damage by 20% for HB
Increase the damage drop off by 150%
Change the suppression effect to allow skilled players to counter the effect but still want to take cover due to the damage.

Every post like this I've done has been buried in the past and really these would make the HB feel more like a HMG which would feel much better.

*edit*

This is something I forgot to mention but I would raise the spread of the HB slightly just so that it's really good short/mid range while mainly being used for suppression at long range. The bolts should still do damage at long range but should mainly be for the suppression effect. I posted a video on another thread about this and it explains how it works, I'll add a video here that shows the exact effect I think would work best for the suppression effect a little later.

I agree that the HB desperately needs some love. At this point I really dont care much about the suppression. I rather it have long range kill potential and suppress by flat out killing people. Right now, where melee rules the land, the HB isn't much use and will not stop 3 MoNs or 3 SSSM from zerg rushing your position. Plus, the drop off damage is so severe that, out side of shotgun range, the weapon is pretty useless.

Upping the damage a bit and making the suppression just cause the weapon to shake around a bit would allow for counter play for ranged characters. The high damage of the HB would allow for natural suppression though so you DON'T want to stand in the line of fire to fight back because you're going to die trying to fight them due to the suppression effect.

Right now the suppression effect just makes ranged weapons 100% useless and remove skill from the equation and the gun also has such extreme drop off that it becomes the tickler gun at range. I've met quiet a few people who don't come to the forums who all say the same thing. I wish they would.

Concur on the main point. However, patience and peace brother. The main parts of the HB are in place, and we expect to see big changes and a lot better performance when we start getting the balance in. Right now the devs are working on other, far more broken areas of the game.

Also, we have the melee component to this game that is not present in the BFs. Making the HB too much like a HMG or LMG might make melee unplayable. Much as it pains me to say it, that won't be a good thing. I think the key to the success of the HB is not making it a weapon that mows down swaths of infantry so much as something that works for crowd control and area denial. Ideally I'd like to see a HB able to shut down an approach or a open field. I think kills will come from assists and the people foolish enough to try and frontal assault a HB. That fits with the combined arms and teamwork approach that the devs want. Suppression blinds someone, and a teammate can flank and attack more easily.

Emperor damnit we've already fought this battle 3 times

They're not removing the suppression effect from the heavy bolter, Katie confirmed it somewhere and I can pull the quote up if you want.

What they are going to do is fix damage falloff because right now it's broken, probably due to itemization.

Honestly, it's not like suppression is something like a complete stun, blind, or fear effect. The enemy HB user has limited ammo, and if you wait for them to reload you can shred them as they come back up to suppress again. You also can have melee flanking them as they are focused on enemies far downfield. You can also counter them with your own heavy bolters. They seem well balanced to me, they are somewhat effective, but there are counters to them.

Personally I think the only thing they need is to be a bit more accurate or have less fallout at mid-range. The problem as is, is that the Plasma Cannon is effective at almost all ranges, as even in close range it's single shot damage can kill almost as if not more quickly than the Heavy Bolter or MM if they land. The Heavy Bolter should be the Mid-Range king, so they just need a bit of a boost at that level.