Your target weapon decides how much of the wipe you should bet on a single event. The M249 forces you into an Attack Helicopter or Bradley APC fight. The LR-300 does not: its strongest listed route is a Locked Crate, with several lower-chance backups.
Treat every percentage below as a per-crate roll, not a promise per completed event. Use the numbers to rank the crates you can reach; the practical result still depends on how many crates your team secures.
M249: Commit to a Boss Crate
You cannot craft or research the M249. On a standard loot table, ordinary Locked Crates, Elite Crates, and Supply Drops do not roll it. Only two listed containers do:
Boss-crate runs turn the surrounding monument into part of the fight.
- Helicopter Crate — 10.0% per crate. Bring down the Attack Helicopter and secure its crash loot.
- Bradley Crate — 8.3% per crate. Destroy Bradley at Launch Site and secure the APC loot.
That makes the M249 a route filter. If a run does not end at one of those two containers, it is not an M249 farm no matter how high-tier the monument feels. Choose the Attack Helicopter when your team already has a reliable way to bring it down; choose Bradley when Launch Site control and an APC kill are the plan you can repeat.
The percentages are close enough that execution matters more than chasing the larger number. A 10.0% crate you cannot defend is worse than an 8.3% crate your group can consistently claim.
LR-300: Start With a Locked Crate
The LR-300 is also non-craftable and non-researchable, but it gives you a clear default: prioritize a Locked Crate before spending resources on a boss event solely for this rifle.
Locked-crate routes give the LR-300 a stronger listed roll than either boss crate.
| Source | LR-300 chance per listed roll | How to treat it |
|---|---|---|
| Locked Crate, including Oil Rig and Ghost Ship variants | 27.6% | Primary target |
| Supply Drop | 3.8% | Opportunistic route |
| Elite Crate | 1.2% | Background chance while looting high-tier monuments |
| Helicopter Crate | 0.9% | Bonus during an M249 or event run |
| Bradley Crate | 0.5% | Bonus during an APC run |
Heavy-scientist loot can also roll an LR-300 at 0.9%, including the heavy scientists tied to high-tier encounters. That is useful upside during a Locked Crate run, not a reason to replace the crate with a scientist farm.
The hierarchy is decisive: if your only goal is the LR-300, a Locked Crate gives you the strongest listed roll. Take the Attack Helicopter or Bradley for their full event payout, not because they are efficient LR-300 farms.
Looting One Does Not Unlock It
Finding either rifle changes your inventory, not your blueprint progression. A Research Table cannot turn the first M249 or LR-300 into a craftable recipe, and neither weapon appears as a Workbench unlock. If the gun is lost, the acquisition route starts again.
Both weapons can be repaired at a Repair Bench, so the first copy is worth preserving as equipment rather than treating it like a blueprint specimen. Move it out of the event loadout after the fight if you do not need it for the extraction, repair it before its condition becomes a liability, and decide which fights justify risking a weapon you cannot replace at a crafting bench.
This distinction matters most with the M249. A team can repeat a Locked Crate route for another LR-300 opportunity, but every replacement M249 sends you back to the Attack Helicopter or Bradley Crates.
Make the Route Call Before the Event Starts
For an M249-only goal, stop checking ordinary high-tier crates and prepare for the Attack Helicopter or Bradley. Pick the event your group can finish and hold; the Helicopter Crate has the higher listed per-crate roll, while Bradley gives you a fixed Launch Site objective.
For an LR-300-only goal, start with the next Locked Crate you can contest. Supply Drops and Elite Crates are worth checking on the way, but their listed chances are secondary. Do not spend an APC kill or helicopter fight purely to chase a 0.5% or 0.9% LR-300 roll.
If either rifle would improve your kits, boss events remain strong because the M249 is exclusive to them and the LR-300 can appear as a bonus. Decide which gun counts as success before committing resources: when only an LR-300 will do, take the Locked Crate; when only an M249 will do, ignore every route that cannot roll one.