I have been trying to play other body types other than light lately. I can understand that the heavy would be decent, if it had a little bit more health, but it just seems like the medium class has no real purpose. The bulpdaun and kross SMGs are basically assault rifles (IMO), and the health difference between the two isnt that great.

I only use medium build.... light you die to quick, yes you can scale things better but thats it, and heavy well slow, can't climb, but can soak up a bit of damage.
so for me medium good all rounder.

yeah same here

Uh? SMG's and AR's are the 2 most powerful weapon brackets in the game. Heavy weapons aren't really much more dangerous if at all, they just carry lots of ammo but are very situational. You can have an AR with acog and GL then bust out a SMG with 90 rounds in the clip and run around. Mediums are not 1 shotted by mines or sniper rifles like lights are when unbuffed. Mediums are also able to access like 95% of the map unlike heavies, lights are just able to do it faster and with more flare (with a couple secret kick points to get over walls for infiltration). Medium also has better health with a smaller hitbox, the heavies hitbox pretty much makes his HP pool a tradeoff instead of a bonus.

The medium is a jack of all trades, personally I think people who think med isn't good for anything simply don't understand the mechanics of the game. Med is what you use when you aren't going for a specific playstyle.

This game must be excellently balanced, there isn't more than 2 people on the forums who can agree with what's best, or worst, or needs changing ...

I like playing as medium as it gives access to good ol' Mossington shotgun. Shotty+Revolver combo for the win!

The medium style is for balanced players. Light players prioritize movement over tanking/damage/more bullets, and heavies prioritize more bullets/damage/tanking over movement. Medium gets a little bit of both.

Medium is more standard. Not as fast as a light, has slightly more health (it's actually a really negligible amount too, but it's that difference for the OHKs that the light is burdened with), cannot wall hop (huge point here), but has a lot more firepower with an AR (SMGs still work great though). I personally hate the heavy, as they aren't tanky enough for me for the slow speed they have and how bad they are at SMART (it makes them predictable in a 1v1).

Most of my characters will be split between lights and mediums, and I will only have 1-2 heavies max.

i like the medium build... i can carry my assault rifle and gain access to most of the map with medium, unlike heavy. I haven;t tried out light yet but i to shoot ppl from a far and close range. not just close range.

Medium is good when you want to be able to move, but need to be able to take a hit. For example, on my operative I have to take chances while in a firefight. I can get a lot more done in a medium body than I can in a light.

I use Heavy all the time with the non-maximus default MG (not the gatling one) and Gerund with Extended mag and quick switch attachment

I personally have no problems with it and generally take out 5-15 guys a spawn. MG is a great crowd control weapon, and when enemies are crowded enough, every missed shot just hits someone else
The grenade launcher is great for taking out turrets and mines, but the Maximus and "super" shotgun are pretty weak

As far as the MGs go, never equip the large mag, it nearly doubles your reload time and you don't need that many rounds in one instant anyway

I would find a 'use' for all body types...

... however I see where your coming from. Having played and gotten used to Light now I am wondering why I thought Medium was so good to begin with.
Medium would probably make a better Engineer (my second class) but for an Operative/Engi mix Light is perfect.

Here's how I matched up my classes to weights:
Light : Operative, Engineer
Medium : Engineer, Soldier
Heavy : Solder, Medic

Medium makes for a better Engi because he can take more hits. Medium makes a good Soldier due to the weapon choices.
Heavy makes for a good Medic due to the Supporting weaponry/role and the ability to tank damage while healing etc. and again, Heavy is good for Soldier due to the weaponry.
Light makes the best Operative because of the weaponry (doesnt really benefit from ARs), speed, and abilities (take the high road to get round the Turret and Hack).

That's just my opinion, arguably any class would fit and weight as we all know Light Medics are handy and so are Heavy Engineers to tank while Repairing that Crane in Shipyard...

But I think my opinion sums up nicely that the point in Medium weight is to open up the mid-range abilities. I think a Light Soldier would suffer, for instance, because their abilities focus on Grenades and ammo and armour, something a Medium would probably benefit more from. It's all just what fits with you, at the end of the day. That's why this game is so good.

Honestly, Mediums are great - Lights are the best for movement... flanking, evading, getting in and out of places FAST. Heavies are the best for taking the hard hits and dishing it out without going down. These are fairly clear and obvious by being the biggest guy on the field and the smallest. What's the niche for the Medium?

That's simple... FLEXIBILITY.

They won't outpace a Light, but they can outlast one in direct combat. They can't outgun a Heavy, but they can get around him and hit from behind to even the odds.

They're also the fastest-moving shotguns you'll see in the game - and if used well, that can tip the scales in your favour - using the Mossington to knock a Light to the ground is incredibly satisfying. Also, once you get the hang of using ARs well (SHORT bursts at a time), they're a good counter to Drognav snipers (not so much on Barnetts though, unless you're a Heavy with AR as secondary), and they can shred SMG users if you can stay a little out of their preferred range.

medium's the only one i've tried.
LIGHT and HEAVY just look stupid imo.
LIGHT can only use smgs and a pistol/light rifle (lame).
HEAVY can use a big chain gun and then something else (kool, but not kool enough).
MEDIUM aka THE BEST can use both of my favorite guns (mossington and tampa) and i can still jump over stuff AND i look like a regular human being. you really can't beat medium.
WOW! just look how much longer my line for medium is

Medium is my preferred really, the parkour bonus for light really doesn't make up for how quickly you die (most areas can be reached as medium anyways).
The heavy is far too slow, not to mention I find only the Gotlung gun to be a worthy weapon, even then the speed reduction just is too much of a sacrifice, considering as a heavy you still die fairly quickly.
I generally will play medium because of this, mostly Rhett/Sea Eagle for medium, and when I feel the need to get to objectives quicker, light with Carb9/Sea Eagle (maybe Ritchie).

As a light I fear anything that can carry a shotgun and "sniper" rifle at the same time.