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The M231 Firing Port Weapon is only intended to be used inside the Bradley AFV in a special mount. Hits hard, but good luck hitting anything...
... You're going to use it anyways, Boss?
–In-game description

The M231 is an American Assault Rifle available in Phantom Forces. It is unlocked at rank 123 or could be purchased using credits.

History[]

The M231 FPW (Firing Port Weapon) is an open bolt firearm and was designed for the M2 Bradley infantry fighting vehicle. The Rock Island Arsenal worked with the World War 2-era M3 submachine gun, another FPW based on the HK33, and an adapted AR-15/M16-pattern weapon before deciding that the last weapon had promising qualities and was given the designation XM231. Colt was given the contract for the weapon and continued working on the design, and the weapon was finalized in 1979 and adopted as the M231.

The original Rock Island Arsenal XM231 fired from an open bolt, giving the weapon an incredible rate of fire, at 1050 RPM (Rounds Per Minute). After Colt received the design, a special buffer and spring assembly limited the rate of fire to 200 RPM, thereby eliminating the risk that users would expend their ammunition before their weapon was brought to target.

At some point during development, the weapon's fire rate was reintroduced at the 1100-1200 RPM range.

Officially, the M231 is not to be detached from its parent vehicle unless in an emergency, and the operator's manual warns of precautions that would have to be taken when using the weapon outside the vehicle. In-game, these rules are ignored.

In-Game[]

General Information[]

The M231 is a fast-firing and high recoil assault rifle. Damage is average for its class, 4SK to around 125 studs and 5SK beyond 125 studs.

Rate of fire (RoF) is extremely high, at 1225 RPM—the fastest firing fully-automatic primary weapon in-game. The weapon's time to kill (TTK) is very quick at all ranges, provided the user manages to hit all shots consistently. Recoil is as equally as high, however, with the weapon kicking quite high vertically with some horizontal movement. Due to this, the effective range is reduced. Furthermore, the high RoF means the weapon has very little time to return back to the user's original aiming position, meaning holding down the trigger will make a user's aim easily drift above an enemy's head. Per shot recoil is moderate, however, making tap-firing or burst-firing useful to limit the impact of recoil. Even with the usage of recoil-reducing attachments, some may struggle with the recoil.

Uniquely, the M231 lacks proper iron sights. This makes aiming and subsequently controlling recoil whilst aiming-down-sights (ADS) quite difficult as a visual representation of the user's point-of-aim is not present. Muzzle flash is also quite high, making target acquisition whilst firing without attachments quite difficult.

Magazine capacity is standard for an assault rifle, at 30 rounds, being unable to chamber an extra round. Interestingly, the M231 has 150 rounds in reserve than the regular 120 rounds of an assault rifle, resulting in having more total ammunition than any other assault rifle. Given the very high fire rate and subsequently very high ammunition consumption rate, the extra 30 rounds is beneficial. The M231 also benefits from having a common ammunition type, meaning that replenishing ammunition is fairly easy to do.

Usage & Tactics[]

Given the lack of a proper iron sight, an optic is a necessity for accurate shot placement. Low magnification optics such as the Reflex Sight or AMT-Terminator are good choices, as their low magnification lessens the impact of the visual recoil. As well as this, these sights also have small housing frames, meaning they are less obstructive when either aiming down sights (ADS) or hipfiring. However, which sight is chosen is subject to a user's preference. High magnification optics tend to exacerbate the high recoil, making them unsuited for the M231, especially when firing in full-auto. With tap-firing it is possible to utilize high magnification optics—the high minimum damage allowing for fairly good long-range performance—although this does require a high degree of skill from the user.

Recoil-reducing attachments help to somewhat mitigate the extreme recoil of the M231, but M231 is incredibly demanding on a user's ability to effectively control the recoil. Burst-firing and tap-firing are essential for engagements outside of CQC and also conserving ammunition. Full-auto should be restricted to CQC. Regarding grips, the use of an Angled, Stubby, or even Folding Grip can somewhat help in taming the recoil, but the M231 remains a difficult weapon to control in fully-automatic fire, even occasionally in close-quarters-combat (CQC). If one was less focused on precision, the Vertical Grip offers an alternative to those looking for a more aggressive class build, designed for spraying from the hip.

Regarding barrel recoil-reducing attachments, they are less effective. The Muzzle Brake is the most effective out of the two, lowering the high vertical recoil, but the high degree of muzzle flash makes the need for either a suppressor or flash hider paramount. The Compensator can be useful if the user wants to reduce the horizontal recoil. Grips remain more effective in reducing recoil in comparison, and so a user can forgo the use of a recoil-reducing barrel attachment with only a minimal difference in performance, in favor of a more useful option in regards to view on target.

The Flash Hider is a great option for those seeking the removal of muzzle flash without the downsides of using a suppressor, although it does not provide a good amount of recoil reduction unlike with a Compensator or a Muzzle Brake.

Suppressors both remove the muzzle flash and keep the user off of the minimap whilst firing, both beneficial traits to possess, the latter particularly useful in CQC. Depending on the suppressor, the penalty to range varies. However, given the very high RoF and CQC power of the M231, the negative impacts on damage ranges are somewhat negated by the benefits of using a suppressor.

In regards to attachments from the Other category, lasers are valuable to any class build—improving hipfire performance by providing a visual indication of where bullets will land when firing when not ADS. Attachments such as the Canted Sights can work when paired with a high-magnification optic such as the ACOG Scope, although such a pairing is not as effective given the high recoil. The Ballistics Tracker is largely ineffective given the CQC nature of the weapon. The wire stock can help with recoil to some degree but is generally unsatisfactory as the user has to sacrifice either a Laser or grip to accommodate it and greatly increases horizontal recoil. One workaround is by using the MARS or AMT-Terminator sight for its integrated laser. Should the user want to reduce recoil even further, the choice of .223 Remington ammo is also available, reducing recoil at the cost of damage and velocity.

As for ammunition, the M855 Specialty Conversion turns the M231 into a pseudo LMG, replacing the standard 30-round magazines with 100-round drums, increasing reserve ammunition to 200, enabling a 3SK within the maximum damage range, and reducing vertical recoil at the cost of higher horizontal recoil, higher rotational recoil, strong spread, worsened mobility, and reduced performance at range. However, since the M231 has no access to a semi-automatic firing mode and fires incredibly fast, the long-range damage reduction is negligible.

Conclusion[]

The M231 is a CQC oriented weapon. With the damage of an assault rifle and the RoF of a personal defense weapon, it can be quite powerful once the user has mastered the recoil. Its fast reload speed can be handy, especially when the magazine is expended due to its fast RoF. Provided with good recoil control and the right attachments, the M231 can be a powerful weapon. The player can also add .223 Rem on it to slightly reduce recoil, although this does negate the M231’s ability to 3SK to the limbs and torso since it has no torso multiplier.

Pros & Cons[]

Pros:

  • Extreme damage output at close range.
  • Fast reload time.
  • Larger reserves in its class.
  • Fastest-firing full auto Assault Rifle.
  • Has an M855 conversion that grants 100 rounds in exchange for a very slow reload and bullet spread.
  • Very good damage range.

Cons:

  • Quickly burns through ammunition.
  • Extreme recoil and full auto restriction - necessitating precise tap firing at range.
  • Below average muzzle velocity for its class.
  • Bright muzzle flash.
  • No iron sights, making ranged combat without an optic impractical.

Trivia[]

  • In the 4.14.0 update, a wire stock attachment has been made for the M231, though it does little to help the recoil, and in fact, actually increases horizontal recoil on the M231.
    • The wire stock has been borrowed from the M3A1.
      • The real life M231's wire stock looks entirely different from the wire stock in-game.
  • The M231 has been nicknamed the "Troll gun", a nickname brought by the Stylis Studios developers who designed the M231 in-game to be virtually useless and uncontrollable to both experienced and inexperienced players alike. Despite this, some players have been able to use the M231 effectively, despite the implied definition of a "Troll Gun."
  • Before the July 4, 2017 update, the M231, when equipped with a VCOG 6x Scope and a Canted Iron/Delta Sight, it had virtually no recoil. This bug has since been patched.
  • Before the July 4, 2017 update, the M231 used to have a semi-automatic fire mode. Combined with the VCOG scope and decent damage, the M231 became a very effective DMR. This fire mode has since been removed.
    • This was also due to the M231 not having a semi-automatic fire mode in real life and balance reasons.
  • In the 3.10.0 update, attaching a VCOG on the M231 lowered the visual recoil. This was patched in the 3.11.0 update.
  • Z-Point, Reflex, and Swarovski Scope are the only optics that are attached in front of instead of atop the carry handle rail when equipped on the M231.
  • The M231 is the only AR-15 platform weapon in-game not to have a rear or front iron sight, and the second weapon in-game to not have any sights at all (first being the Obrez).
    • The lack of aiming posts is due to the real-world usage of tracer rounds. In real life, the M231 FPW uses the M196 tracer rounds, which are used to help the user to readjust their aim during automatic fire.
    • A similiar lack of front sight can be created by attaching Carry Handle sight on the FAL PARA Shorty.
  • The M231 is currently the only weapon in the game that is usable that is meant to specifically be mounted in a vehicle, designed to be fired from the inside of the M2 Bradley through a special mount.
  • The weapon's description has a callback to Metal Gear Solid, specifically Metal Gear Solid 3, where The Boss uses a heavily modified short-barrel AR-15 platform rifle with a Beta C-Mag magazine called the Patriot.
    • To further enhance this reference, equipping the Carbine Barrel will change the name to the Patriot
  • The weapon's rank unlock being 123 is a reference to its name, with the numbers 231 being rearranged.
Weaponry
Primary Weapons

Assault Rifles

AK12 - AN-94 - AS VAL - SCAR-L - AUG A1 - M16A4 - G36
M16A1 - M16A3 - AUG A2 - K2 - FAMAS F1 - AK47 - AUG A3 - L85A2
HK416 - AK74 - AKM - AK103 - TAR-21 - StG-44 - M231
Type 88 - C7A2 - G11K2 - Type 20

Personal Defense Weapons

MP5K - UMP45 - G36C - MP7 - MAC10 - P90 - Colt MARS - MP5
Colt SMG 633 - L2A3 - MP5SD - MP10 - MP5/10 - Uzi - M3A1
AUG A3 Para - K7 - AKS74U - PPSh-41 - FAL Para Shorty
PP-19 Bizon - Kriss Vector - MP40 - X95 SMG - Tommy Gun
RAMA 1130 - BWC-9

Light Machine Guns

Colt LMG - M60 - AUG HBAR - MG36 - RPK12 - L86 LSW - RPK
HK21 - HAMR IAR - RPK74 - MG3KWS - Stoner 96 - ChainSAW - MG42 - M1918A2

Sniper Rifles

Intervention - Model 700 - Dragunov SVU - AWS - BFG 50
AWM - TRG-42 - Mosin Nagant - K14 - Dragunov SVDS - Hecate II
M107 - Steyr Scout - WA2000 - NTW-20 - FT300 - M1903

Carbines

M4A1 - G36K - M4 - L22 - SCAR PDW - AKU12 - Groza-1
AK12C - Honey Badger - K1A - SR-3M - Groza-4 - MC51SD
FAL 50.63 Para - 1858 Carbine - AK105 - Jury - KAC SRR
Gyrojet Carbine - X95R - HK51B - C8A2 - OTs-126 - Can Cannon

Designated Marksman Rifles

MK11 - SKS - SL-8 - VSS Vintorez - MSG90 - Beowulf TCR
SA58 SPR - SCAR SSR - M21

Battle Rifles

Beowulf ECR - SCAR-H - AK12BR - G3A3 - AG-3 - HK417
Henry 45-70 - FAL 50.00 - M14 - HCAR

Shotguns

KSG-12 - Model 870 - DBV12 - KS-23M - Saiga-12
Stevens DB - AA-12 - SPAS-12 - DT11 - E-Gun - USAS-12

Secondary Weapons Pistols

M9 - M17 - G17 - M1911 - Desert Eagle L5 - GI M1 - Hardballer
Izhevsk PB - M45A1 - KG-99 - Five Seven - ZIP 22 - Makarov PM - AM III Grizzly - GB-22 - Desert Eagle XIX - Gyrojet Mark I - GSP - G21 - G23
G40 - G50 - M2011 - AF2011-A1 - Alien

Machine Pistols

G18 - 93R - TEC-9 - Micro Uzi - Škorpion vz. 61 - MP1911
Arm Pistol - ASMI - PP-2000

Revolvers

MP412 REX - Mateba 6 - 1858 New Army - Redhawk 44
Judge - Executioner

Other

Serbu Shotgun - SFG 50 - M79 Thumper - Sawed Off
Saiga-12U - Obrez - Coilgun - SASS 308

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