With the re-introduction of the SMG, the SAW pretty much lost its niche. Sure, it’s more accurate than the SMG, but not for very long. It reaches max bloom relatively quickly and its bloom doesn’t reset as quickly as you’d think either, so trigger pulsing isn’t as effective as it is with the AR. Up close, the SAW is identical to the SMG in terms of damage, rate of fire, and hit percentage.
The SAW currently only appears in Warzone (and Fiesta, technically), and I feel it still hasn’t found its place even after the lowering of its REQ level from 5 to 4. Warzone is chock-full of wide open playspaces, and in closed spaces like bases, you’re better off with a shotgun or sword, and those are level 3 REQs. I don’t see the SAW ever entering Arena aside from BTB, which would again make the SAW confined to large playspaces. In mid-range spaces, you’re much better off with a Railgun, which shares the SAW’s level 4 REQ status.
Solution? Either buff the SAW’s accuracy (its bloom reset, specifically), or make it a true suppression weapon by increasing its magazine capacity a little (72 rounds for a drum magazine is pretty low, especially when the MA5B somehow has a 60 round box magazine of the same caliber that fits flush; hey, it may be old canon, but it’s still technically canon).