The Vanu approve of this decision.... Welcome, and good luck at SOE
Don't mess it up, mate
Regarding sounds... I tihnk they're very imortant. They don't necessarily have to sound realistic, but definitely powerful imo. 5.56 caliber carbines IRL does sound "wimpy", when compared to rifles of roughly the same size, but with a bigger caliber. An AK for instance will make you deaf... and a 7.62 caliber machinegun definitely makes a sound you want to hide from.
But none of this actually matters in a game, unless it's absolute realism you're going for. 'Cause like he said... it's all about how the weapons feel, and sound is a big part of that.