Interesting that so many people like the Machine Gun over the Stalwart. I think for bots you go MG and for bugs you go Stalwart. My main concern is that if you want to deal with tanky stuff, why are you even running either of these. And if you want to clear all the little guys then you need the ammo to do so. Stalwart just sprays for so long and I do think that MGs lack of mobility on reload is a high negative. One big thing people have been telling me is "I wish the stalwart was a primary." Of which I say yes please! That gun would make an incredible primary weapon!
I personally think the MG should be a primary weapon as well, they both feel too weak to take a stratagem slot(unless they buffed them to be better at stripping armor from bigger targets or something)
Personally prefer the MG when you dive into situations with more moderately armored enemies (or have a teammate with anti armor) since it punches through medium armor. More for burst fire in my opinion than suppressive fire. Hope this helps
@@Opachki69420 I would also rather have them stripping armor like unloading a mag on the same part of the target just removes the armor. That would be better then making them primeries and then they are on top of that tierlist and everyone complains that primarys dont have options because MG/stalwart rules the primary slot
Ranking the stalwart over the auto canon is wild lmao you forgot to mention the auto canon can close bug holes and complete some objectives from a great distance away
Main thing that made me lay down my auto cannon for the stalwart... Can't wear the shield with it, might be ok if you run there light medic suit though and stim through some chip damage but idk... that stalker uppercut still just hits different with no shield lol.
autocannon should be B or A tier a major upside of the autocannon is that since it uses 2 5 round clips instead of a single magazine, you are able to keep topping it off after 5 shots to halve the reload time and not need to worry about dropping rounds. its also able to 2/1 shot most secondary objs from range allowing you to save significant time and resources you would have spent clearing them out.
For being a big gun you can reload that thing yourself from empty to half in the samw time you can load a stalwart, and from between 5-1 ammo at the same rate as a dry breaker lol
I think the reload is less than half on non-empty gun. It works also for other weapons to certain degree, if you reload with at least one round in the gun, reload is faster, cos you don't need to cock the weapon. Worked the same in original Helldivers.
A note to anyone that reads this, the Arc Thrower actually fires twice as fast as shown in the video. While you need to fully charge the first shot, all subsequent shots only need to be charged halfway, greatly increasing its rate of fire.
True and it melts hordes. Not sure what the benefit to charging it further even is. Does it give more damage, range, or leaping? Can't seem to see a difference in those either way. A reliable hit maybe but at least half charge and it will shoot the target.
It's one of the best panic weapons. Recently had a game with randoms where we got cornered by a hulk. I dropped my backpack for one of them to reload me and spend entire backpack de-arming the hulk and then killing everything around itl
It's an amazing thrash cleaner but can't deal with charger. With how often they spawn at highet difficulty, you need your support weapon to kill them. I would take it more regurlarly if i had a way to deal with all the charger.
Also light the ground on fire for even more damage. Lots of times people only target the bugs and they don't light fast enough. Light the ground and it'll both ignight and damage enemies who walk on it
One more reason MG43 is better it can shoot though middle armor so you dont need to aim weak spots. Especially when need take out 10+ nest guards or commanders @@massagegun7835
yeah it's really confusing to me why people waste a slot on stalwart when everyone has a breaker shotgun to kill exactly what stalwart is used against. Against normal patrols, everyone can dump a mag of breaker and there would be no enemy alive to call reinforcement; against armored patrols, stalwart sucks anyway.
@@EcchiRevenge Probably the best thing is that vs bugs, if there are no Chargers or Bile Titans in the hoards, the MG just shreds everything. No need to aim for weak points, no need to switch to anti-armor, just crouch and dump rounds at everything that moves
My thoughts tbh. Why would I ever bring a gun that requires me to also tank expendable anti tank shots that take up another strategem slot? It seems absurd when primaries are literally made for for mob killing.
@@EcchiRevenge EXACTLY ! What stops me from just reloading if my main goes empty ? Or switching to secondary ? Its just a waste of a slot. The MG on the other hand has a lot of uses.. it can shred anything that doesnt require anti armor. Stalwart on the other hand ? Just use a rover lmao.. better, infinite ammo and you can get a actually usefull heavy weapon..
IMHO you've ranked the Anti-Material rifle wrong. It is very powerful against the bots. 2-3 hitting Hulks to the face. 3 shots will take out a Strider's front armor and kill it or 1 to the hip. 1 shot to the face of everything else. I have 150+ hours in and trust me when I say I greatly underestimed this weapon for the longest time until I got to the higher difficulties. *We are of course welcome to our own opinions though.
Fair point, but I still am not going for it. Pretty decent against robots but terrible against bugs. And sadly the exact use of the sniper is what the railgun is meant to do. You could say well that's true of all weapons. But I think these two specifically have the exact same job on a team. And the Anti Material rifle has the awkwardness of a sniper scope when you are rarely in long distance for that long. As always, everyone's opinion is valid though like you said.
Yeah j find myself agreeing with what you said more Against bugs: terrible. Everything he says is accurate and valid But versus bots? Amazing. Excellent time to kill ratio. Tons of ammo compared to the rail gun. And with three zoom modes so you can tailor the range to what you want to play or what makes sense in the mission
I use it as a mid range weapon with the weakest scope and it kills everything in one shot, if the enemy is weak it also kills everything behind it because it pierces so much. Using an sniper in this game is terrible, but nobody forces you to use the weapon as a sniper, especially when you can rapid fire the whole mag.
You can get it super cheap and early. And it pairs well with the supply backpack since you will naturally want to stand behind your allies and run forward to help resupply them. Also unlike the MG you can move and reload. I think it beats the MG early on, at least, which often is worse than your basic liberator. I also don't like the Stalwart since it doesn't do much your primary can't.
As someone who swamps between a railgun and flamethrower I think you're mistaken. The flamethrower is AMAZING at blocking paths and killing off whole hordes at times. Its about maintaining distance while also hitting the ground and making a wall of fire. I have gotten a kill streak of 40+ with one load of the flamethrower while the rest of the team focuses on the heavier targets. Its perfect for bug crowd control and quick destruction of eggs.
@@ITZBROKENhotDOG12Nah its still good for dealing with the weaker ones and gives people breathing space when dealing with the heavier ones. Its just down to strategy and use
@@ITZBROKENhotDOG12No it isnt. I cant speak for bots.. but I ran it for bugs in helldive and its pretty reliable. Anything that isnt a charger or a titan can get fkd by it. Put a EMS mortar and you have a great horde clear weapon. Its really down to how you use it and you must be supported by your team. If you use it right its a great tool.
Just use the napalm eagle it will do better since its a better choice and you can take the railgun instead then. Because dealing with chargers or bile titans when you are alone is hard without the railgun.
@@RomTheBombb ofc if you wanna only play meta in a coop game then its railgun all the way. Helldivers 2 is about fun imo and my point is that flamethrower is good if used right and it needs a team to do so
Your problem with the anti mat is thinking of it as a sniper. It's one of the most powerful weapons against the bots with the highest potential kill per mag of any weapon. Everything other than hulks and tanks it one shots. Hulks take two. You need to become proficient with it but once you do it will replace the railgun on bot missions on helldive. Where there's just to much for the 20 railgun shots to handle
It really shines against bots. I've been able to down 3 or 4 rocket devastators in quick succession which is only really possible with the autocannon, but the AMR doesn't need the backpack and can be reloaded on the move! It needs to hit weakspots (headshots on devastators/hulks, broken armour on chargers, heatsinks on tanks), but the damage is insane. Also, quick scoping large bots is incredibly satisfying.
My issue with it is just that it isn't 'anti materiel', like the video said. It's like the game has it backwards; it shouldn't do massive damage to certain weak points. It should do alright damage but straight though most armor.
A fun combo to use imo is one person takes the recoilless rifle and the supply pack, and a teammate takes one of the LMGs and the rocket pack. The lmg teammate mows through the lighter stuff and can hop on support for the rifle to pump out some heavy firepower, and the supply pack gives them a hefty amount of rockets and LMG ammo. Obviously not the most perfect set up but its pretty damn fun and thats what games are for
IMHO you do need a third player with a railgun, but assuming a trio comp I think this kind of setup demonstrably outperforms just triple railguns. Nade launcher is another option for loader. Being able to delete three titans in seconds with assisted reocilless and zero strat cost is no joke, and makes it worth the awkward matchup against chargers. On a map with real visibility and a good team, I would take recoilless + supply, nades + pack and railgun + flex anyday over triple shield gen railguns.
It's indicative of the quality of HD2 that all the tierlists ive seen are garbage because all the weapons are viable and have their uses in a well co-ordinated team.
Autocannon feels too low on the list considering it's a jack of all trades, the only issue with it is the backpack slot it uses, maybe an A or B tier for me, both machine guns are auto C or below since the shotgun replaces the need to carry either of those, the antimaterial rifle and the spear would be reversed for me, if the lock on and ammo situation were fixed the spear would probably be a S for me but for the time being it's an absolute F tier for sure. I agree with the other ones though, do a ranking of the stratagems!
autocannon in C..? its literally BiS till u get railgun. this list is all over the place my dude. rocket launcher in S tier because u can destroy 1 large thing every 1min or autocannon that destroys the same things in 2-3 shots whenever u want, make it make sense.. this is why tier lists are silly and should be taken with a grain of salt. good video tho dont mean to hate
Expendible is plystyle depended maybe, becuase you throw it down and can two shot chargers or one shot and switch to a shot gun. It clears objectives easily from towers to nests, and can deal serious damage to large enemies. Very reliable and super low cooldown. Autocannon lacks that reliability against every enemy. Yes it is amazing, but when one situation arises that it isn't good at, you now have nothing.
@@SheenShots I'll agree that Autocannon is less reliable for solo play, but one person in your squad having an Autocannon makes just about every single squad better.
Autocannon is most versatile, kills tanks/heavies if you place your shots, destroys bug holes and factories if you know ricochet angles, spore towers and illegal broadcast towers are taken out from across the map.
@@SheenShotsDude, you have mission modifiers with 100% increased calldown timer and 50% increased cooldown. Having EAT in S-tier is plain stupid and shows you shouldn't be doing these lists. Because you're a noob.
AMR gang baby. I unlocked the railgun, thinking I'll never use the AMR again, but i missed my scope and increased ammo capacity (unless there is an ammo increase for railgun that's a separate module). Whoa, just saw where you ranked it. The amr is dope. You 1 shot warriors and shit with headshots, and 2 tap hulks with headshots. You can 2 tap striders with crotch shots. Don't sleep on the amr, or do, so i can be unique lol
The scope is misaligned(shots land to the left of reticle at almost all ranges) and the projectile velocity(which railgun doesn't have, it being iirc hitscan) is a thing for amr.
I agree, i never take heavy nor backpack with me, so i often end upp with these weapons works like a charm if used correctly! Got strategems for the big boys, the small fry is the annoying part which both the flamethrower and arc gun deals with perfectly!
@@ninja6245-real Lol bad argument, everything in the game kills teammates 😅 Its about using the proper weapons for the proper job, arc gun kan annihilate small patrols in two shots preventing a breach from happening. Helldive difficulty is kinda easy when you prevent the breaches. Flamethrower is for clearing smallfry and excells at this job, you dont need 4 railguns in a team neither 4 shield backpacks, its counter productive. If i get my hands on a railgun i can litterally make sure every enemy thats medium+ gets annihilated. But i choose to have those games when i get my hands on one, kinda sad how everyone plays the same loadout when the game offers so much more if played as a team.
For me my disagreements are as follows 1. Anti-Material Rifle should be D tier because while it isn't the best anti armor option it is surprisingly effective against the lighter side of armored enemies. (I still think it needs a buff like making it have better armor pen and a farther zoom range because this sniper rifle has crap zoom) 2. Machine Gun should be C tier because the armor pen/damage allows you stop the more concerning stuff and get more use cases than Stalwart which is stuck to CC. 3. Autocannon should be B tier because it can destroy outposts, CC, and anti armor all in one package with a lot of ammo to throw around at most problems you have.
@@user-ze3sg6ix1u This comment was made back when the AMR was still underwhelming at it's job, but with the buff it received it is now a solid pick among support weapons.
Everyone else has covered how rad the autocannon is, but wanted ro also add that for big swarms of armored enemies you can switch to full auto and wreak havoc on everything around you
The anti material rifle has medium penetration, the bots have lots of med armor stuff. Is quite good vs bots if you need the backpack slot for something else.
I think the sniper weapons will shine when the illuminates arrive. Those illuminate snipers killing us across the map is going to be absolute cancer otherwise without somone picking them off. They could make the laser stronger against them as well to give it its own niche
Most weapons have a custom configuration on the battlefield. The only soldier you need to listen to is General Brasch guys. Every weapon is catered to the kind of soldier role you eant to fill.
The auto-cannon can also be used to take out nests. If you aim it well it will one-shot all of them. Doesn't work for robot fabricators, unfortunately.
Here is a small tip about the anti material rifle that is really good to know if you like to run it: you can two shot hulks if you shoot them in the face (tiny hitbox). this is good because it lets you kill them effectively from the front and from affar, but can be hard to pull of due to the hulks movement + weapon sway. For the best results, go prone to reduce weapon sway, and try to keep ur aim still and predict when the hulk moves into ur crosshair, as trying to track the weakpoint with the weapon sway makes it a lot harder.
The auto cannon can close bugs holes and automatons factories, it can snipe mission objectives from a far distance, it can two shot hulks and the medium armored walkers.
I do actually believe the Railgun is overpowered because of how the support weapon arsenal is balanced. Every weapon has its role, but the Railgun overlaps multiple roles extremely easily. Why bring an expendable anti tank when you can do what it does, but only taking one or two more shots and without needing to toss it around, and on top of that the weapon in question is extremely usable as an actual weapon as well. Obviously the benefit over the Recoiless Rifle is that it doesn't have a backpack slot either, and since you can only bring 4 stratagems the fact that the Railgun does so much is a bit of a balancing issue. I don't think it needs a serious nerf though, just make it ignore armor instead of being able to destroy it because then it would be the only selfish anti-armor weapon and that would be a genuine downside that lets it retain it's power. The issue with the "buff not nerf" mentality is that it ignores analysis of why something dominates. This is a case of the Railgun being overpowered, not everything else being underpowered. The game is based around roles, and giving more roles to other weapons will simply cause a huge balancing mess.
@@lexsdragon1554 Only to those that don't know how to properly use it. He didn't even mention what burning enemies actually does lol It's definitely not even close to S Tier. Not saying that at all. Easily C Tier, if not B Tier in my book when you know what to do with it though.
@@cavemanbonk8320 Burning effects slow enemies, minus the ones that can't be slowed. It's good for chokes, and turret setups. You do want to use it with a jump pack, or personal shield though. The jump pack will let u get on high terrain and let you dump fire from above mostly saving you from burning yourself when things get too close. You can also jump backwards to give yourself quick distance if you need to. The shield is straight forward enough. The Flamethrower is by no means OP, but can definitely be used effectively. Deserves more credit than it gets.
Arc thrower and Autocannon in C tier really is a bit weird to me. The Autocannon has a big skill curve, and IMHO one big mistake people do is play it statically. The SPEAR in A rank, also, tells me that you may not have played much with it, or that you've been insanely lucky - or that it's been patched, like, today or yesterday. Anyone who has used the SPEAR for more than 10 minutes just knows how unreliable its lock-on is, and any unreliable weapon in Helldivers is by definition very challenging to use, if not downright not recommendable. This is why the Autocannon is so good: for heavy weapons, everything it does, another weapon can do slightly better. But it's the only reliable one at all of those things without compromise, not even on ammunition! One could say "it's so low because not everyone may rock them", but I'd have the same argument about literally every single other support weapon. They're made to be complementary. This is IMHO where people miss the mark on almost all tierlists so far: they don't take squad coherency into account. If 4 randos play the meta and rock breakers, railguns and shield backpacks, then they'll be out of ammo in no time on higher difficulties because good luck keeping up with the ammo consumption of those things. This is why I'm really happy that the Railgun and Shield backpack get unlocked later, so at least players can realize that other options are actually good too :)
The flamer actually does fine damage to bots (heat is the enemy of electronics yo) but the rest of the downsides still remain. Also a 4x autocannon squad can do truly disgusting things even on helldive
You severely underestimated autocanon. It should definitely be in category B or even A. A backpack with enough ammo. Can destroy nests or, under good circumstances, a fabricator in one shot. Decent effectiveness against Armored Bugs when you shoot between armor plates. It is able to take down the Hulk in front by 5 shots or a tank in the weakspot in one shot. The number one weapon against Devastators and Striders
My biggest slight against it is it really is bad for bugs. People pretend it's amazing for chargers but in actual gameplay, the weapon is very unreliable against them. The shots you need are very tricky to hit especially if they are agressing you. And I often find the grenade launcher serves the same purpose against bots and can get the ammo backpack for stims, and grenades, with near-infinite ammo. I also really dislike the aim downsights and stability is a bit rough at times. Understandable for why people like it, but not my favorite overall.
@@SheenShots I absolutely understand that this rating is based on your own experience. But from my own experience, I have to say that the Autocanon can kill any commanders, spewers, hive guards and even chargers with the same number of shots. In addition, I would say that the big advantage of the Autocanon is to shoot accurately at a greater distance, even 100+ meters and destroy nests or spore trees. But as I already wrote, I understand that you take it from your point of view and your opinion, anyway, I just wanted to point out the different possibilities of use and I hope that everyone will try the weapons for themselves and make their own picture.
laser cannon being the worst is actually funny when the machine guns exist and the arc thrower that seems useless. At least the Laser cannon has infinite ammo
Laser cannon is garbage. This is not even a contest it just does no damage. The arc thrower is a guaranteed way to have the most kills on the team as it leaps and can defeat chargers as well. Machine gun not great but everything is better than laser cannon. Just need to boost its damage output and it will be fine.
@@SheenShots i agree it needs a buff but half of the weapon stratagems do also. I cant remember the last time anyone on my team bothered using anything except railgun, recoilless or grenade launcher. The rest of the guns are situational or get your teammates killed like the arc thrower. If the charger amounts were lower on higher difficulties i would bring a MG more often, but on level 7+ fighting 5 charges, 10 spitters, 2 titans + all the small bugs and maybe stalkers at the same time of course im going with the consistent damage options.
@@Legoman775If you mind your mates and hold fire when they are in front of you, the arc throwers doesn't kill that much if at all. People are sleeping on the arc thrower because they don't know how to use it. This shit clear waves fast, go through armor and can deal with almost every enemy. It's the best all-rounder weapon and i've been spamming it at high lvl for the last 40h. The only downside is the tracking is struggling at short range, but that's where the breaker comes handy.
@@SheenShots Unless I am missing something, the Laser Cannon is the best way to take out the Spores and Shriekers Nest from range without having to use a backpack slot. It can also clean up medium armor enemy's without much problem. It could be just because I am not used to them yet but I feel on the bug side the Shriekers are the biggest threat and at least one teammate should have a way to get rid of them. My normal support weapon is the Grenade Launcher for fast nest clears, but if I do not see anyone with a counter to the flyers I will switch right to the Laser.
I am aware the update came out after the video but in case someone see your video and writes off a good weapon I would like to put it in the comments that it does have it uses.
You can dive to put out fire, and if you actually use the flamethrower to kill the enemies they don’t get to leap at you. It’s absolutely amazing at clearing bugs, and rips through entire hordes.
Anti-Materiel rifle and a Anti-Material rifle are two different things. Material = Anything made of matter, Materiel = equipment, apparatus, supplies. The Anti-Materiel Rifle is for lightly armored things.
For those using the Autocannon and are struggling with Chargers: shoot it in the yellow sac on its back 3 times, this will cause it to pop and the charger will eventually bleed out and it cannot charge, though it can still walk up and deck you in the face so don't get complacent. OR, you could dodge a charge and hit it in one of its back legs, if you see fire emerging from the leg you shot, hit that same leg again from any angle and at any time and the charger will be dead. I recommend shooting its sac off as it is far more reliable and doesn't require a specific animation to be playing in order to do it, and it has less of a risk of having shots bounce off, wasting the shot. The Autocannon is easily A tier for me as it is a very good all rounder - it can blow up holes, deal with chargers (if you know how), remove the Bile Titan's ability to vomit and reliably 2-3 shot anything smaller than a Charger but bigger than a Warrior. It gets 25 shot from a resupply/supply backpack and 10 shots from a yellow ammo box, so it is very ammo efficient for a Support Weapon and is decent if you're running it Solo and need something to cover a lot of facets that your primary and secondary can't, though the Autocannon isn't good against Hordes so bare that in mind when selecting it.
THANK YOU. The Expendable is fantastic. My squad runs a machine gun team (one gunner, one ammo pack rifleman) and 2 AT guys for heavy targets. Works a treat for most difficulty.
Grenade launcher + resupply backpack is OP. You can basically main the grenade launcher. It epitomizes crowd control, it blows bug holes and broadcast towers. It takes down the bile spewers and hive guards if you shoot under them.
The Autocannon feels so fun to use, but it needs a small buff to defeat armor. I think a full stripper clip’s worth of cartridges (5 rounds) should be able to destroy the leg armor of a Charger. That sounds fair to me. Not as strong as the recoilless rifle and certainly not the expendable anti tank but would make it completely useful and of course still good at what it already is. I really hope they consider doing that because I otherwise love it. It’s just so fun. Something about carrying the biggest possible gun a single man can actually manage.
Although I constantly run the autocannon and love it too, i feel if they buffed the armor pen, recoiless rifle and EAT would instantly become completely obsolete
tbh that would make it too strong. RN with auto cannon have the charger run past you and then you hit the booty. Its free damage cauz charger always stuns itself for a second or 2 post charge.
Flamethrower is the weapon you take when dighting teeminids, and you have a Rifle good for range, and Strats for armor. Flamethrower is used to to kill all the swarm of smaller targets that are comeing for you. Good for Extraction and Defense based objective like Termicide Towers.
Auto Cannon is S tier and the second best Support in the game overall...can't deal with heavy armor but it doesn't have to if you know where to hit what you're shooting at, plus you don't feel so bad using it due to the amount of ammo you get for it. Gotta realize for a lot of people the Support is mainly your primary those rockets are good for armor but theymake it so you are using your primary weapon as a primary full time. Gotta remember that the thing can 2 shot spewers cross map,1 shots auto walkers, shot twice at a drop ship while the bots are about to drop it will kill everything about to drop that isn't heavily armored , 2 shots the mist mushrooms from range, kills the eggs in missions from range in an AOE, kills big tunnels if you go straight in front of it and aim correctly, it destroys a lot of stuff bugs included. If you're putting the auto cannon in the hands of a new player who just started the game it might be B tier at worst because he can kill your team not Knowing it has that explosive damage AOE. But anyone whose used it for more than 5 missions will tell you its the best in the game right behind rail cannon for general use in any activity it will never be bad.
I prefer the grenade launcher hence the ranking. They essentially have the same purpose, but the grenade lets me use whatever backpack I want. And the grenade launcher is effective against both bots and bugs, while the auto cannon shines on bots and is okay with bugs. And I see no reason to run the auto cannon on bots when the railgun is just much better there.
@@SheenShots fair enough, just think something that can do all of that and take down chargers and have more ammo would be a bit better ranked but to each their own.
I wanted to say that the game's arsenal seems designed with the diversity of combat scenarios in mind, reflecting the real-life principle that different tools excel in different situations. For instance, the flamethrower is exceptionally effective at clearing Termanid eggs due to its area damage, while the anti-tank and recoilless rifles shine against Automaton ships thanks to their high damage output. Similarly, the laser is adept at cutting through armored bug parts, and the grenade launcher offers a strategic advantage for taking out bug nests from a safe distance.Moreover, it's important to highlight that there isn't a 'one-size-fits-all' support weapon that's universally the best choice for every mission. The game encourages players to adapt their loadouts based on the specific challenges of each dive, which is why the mission briefs before starting are so critical. They offer a chance to strategize and choose the most effective tools for the upcoming tasks. This adaptability requirement adds another layer of depth to the game, pushing players to think critically about their approach and how they can best contribute to their squad's success.Each weapon has its niche, making team composition and strategy even more crucial. It's this variety that adds a rich layer of strategy and teamwork to Helldivers 2, encouraging players to experiment and find the best tool for the job at hand.
I personally prefer the Autocannon over the railgun, 50 shots, 15 ammo back per ammo pickup, can destroy bug holes and fabricators, can even blow off charger leg armor with some skill and precision and even simply shooting the chargers back with it only takes 4-6 shots which is nothing compared with the 50 you have to begin with, destroys tanks when a teammate takes aggro. I love it! Only thing that holds it back is the fact you cant use the personal shield cause of the ammo backpack. Should've been a A-tier
I love how when he was showcasing the Arc thrower, it chained to one of his teammates XD Nearly killed the guy. Great video though, really lay it all out there.
Against bugs, I like to go MG. Normally, you can find a spot to crouch and be okay, or you can crouch and move, and the MG has the umph to cut bugs down quick. I find the biggest threat are the hunter bugs that hop to you fast and try to swarm you. A few quick shots swat them down. Against bots, I find the Liberator is just find, but the larger threats are more dangerous, so I tend to enjoy the EAT or the Recoilless Rifle.
Huh, Antimaterial rifle os actually my fav so far, in a solo mission I did, I took out 5 Hulks with 3 clips. You just need to know how to use it. Most weapons aint armor piercing, and the thing with AMF is that it has great precision, to the point that if youre laying, you can take out a Hulk by shooting his head from 150+ meters away.
Really surprised how highly rated the stalwart got. I’ll be honest our group of 4 prefers the MG over it for the armour pen. Having 4 people on mic means we are always together and all it takes is “reloading cover me” and it’s not a problem. Especially since we’ve recently been running two auto canons which I’m ngl is S tier for me. Clear any building with it. We sit on the ridges of some maps and literally destroy places across the map with 0 issues. It’s great against the bots and most bugs. I also get where you’re coming from but I don’t get the argument for the stalwart of “just call in an expendable” the weapon shouldn’t lean on another call in for certain situations especially because that’s removing a stratagem which you could just take say an air strike instead
Okay you just changed my mind on the Stalwart. I did not know it had that much ammo. I was thinking "why downgrade from the more powerful starting LMG?" and now that I see how much ammo you can dump per mag, I have changed my mind.
@@hm9715 EAT with the upgrade is according to memory a 50 Second cooldown. Not to mention you can actually run a different special weapon while bringing EAT.
i dont get why people misunderstand auto cannon so bad... last mission i cleared 3 spore tree from the center of the map in 3 seconds, 6 shots and 3 secondary objectives done.. it clears bug holes in 1 shots just aim center-down it has shit tons of ammo ull never be out of ammo it has a 1 second reload if u dont manage to fuck up and use all the ammo (u should reload after 5 max 9 shots) it kills fast every automaton except tanks its good againt charger if u aim the butt like every explosive weapon (explosive weapons deal 100% extra damage to soft parts) u always want to have 1 autocannon in the team but no more than that
Arc thrower separates those who learn how to use a specialist weapon to maximum effect and those who prefer point-and-click simplicity. The only times I've hit teammates after clearing Challenging is when they dive in front of the arc, even then if you immediately pull your shot to ground or straight up it'll likely save them. Full charge shots are more than capable of one-shotting mediums with high armor if you hit a weak-spot, either directly or via arcing from an exposed enemy behind them.
Fully an opinion as all tier lists. On mine, Anti-Material rifle is about an A-Tier. And the machine gun is B. Arc Thrower is S so long as you are aware of where you're firing it. But in all honesty. Every single weapon (except laser and flamethrower) has great viability in all content. It is just a matter of getting used to it. Thats part of what i adore about the helldivers series.
I've been using the anti material rifle while I'm waiting for the railgun. It looks and feels cool. I like killing the hulks in two shots but it's so inconsistant and lining up a shot takes time. Definitely needs a buff
As inconsistent as the arc thrower is, it is excellent against robots. Wherever the lightning actually hits, is armor penetrating. Meaning I’ve actually 3-4 shot a hulk by hitting his visor. You can also somewhat predict it’s strike location by aiming down sights and angling it a bit depending on how your moving.
It's amazing agaisnt everything (except tank). It can even kill Titans with enough shot. As long as you keep your ennemies at a distance you can fry so many of them.
Finally someone who appreciates the versatility of the EAT! That short cooldown is so huge, and not taking up a backpack slot is an awesome bonus. On a 40 minute mission you can call in 80 rockets to use. I usually just spam then all over the map off cooldown so my team can use them whenever.
I fully agree with the sniper rifle ranking. It's my favourite weapon, but the higher the difficulty, the harder it is for me to enjoy it, as i can hardly pierce anything with it and do more damage with my secondary.
Arc thrower is S tier I’m my opinion. You can charge it faster than you think and it’s not only great for clearing small enemies but can also take out the biggest ones in the game fairly quickly with infinite ammo.
this game really allows all kinds of play styles. You should log some more hours with the auto cannon for sure. it reloads super fast if you don't run out of ammo, destroy nest and factories, and can snipe like the rail gun.
The Arc thrower is probably one of if not the most versitile weapon in the game right now especially against bugs. It clears hoards better than any other support (even the stalwart) it conserves your main weapons ammo, and its very capable against the bugs heavys. Its not smacking a bile tital but can definitey clean up chargers and bile spewers without a care. i definitely agree though that for some reason it doesnt seem to chain the robots as well, maybe they dont group up as much or something but i only run it on bug raids now. If you want to make the most out of it aim it over the heads of the enemys basically shoot towards the horizon and it will drop over rocks and terrain and be way nore consistent. B tier at least imo, its not railgun but still super good.
One thing that might change your ranking on the arc thrower is that: after the first charge shot you only needto half charge it (doubling your shots) also aiming above enemies rather than directly at them helps with the terrain issue
Arc-thrower is easily S-tier, unlimited ammo, high damage, ignores armor, clears hordes with its AOE, its amazing how many people sleep on the thrower.
My friend exclusively uses the laser canon and we always end up on a planet that's hot. He gets through the entire area with only one and never has a problem with it. He even killed a charger by himself with it and it only got to half way.
Sorry, but that is literally not possible in the game. That gun deals no damage to chargers as it bounces off their armor. And in about 8 seconds on a cold planet oveheats. He is lying to you or not actually using the laser cannon. I mean this is just not a thing if you have ever picked it up for 5 seconds.
@@SheenShots cool doesn't change the fact that I saw it happen and that it's just as good as any weapon. Secondly I always use the flamethrower and the jumpers always die in mid air. You don't have to aim at the bugs to kill them since the ground is just as flammable always back up when using it and aim at their legs it works every time while the reload does take slightly longer than some would prefer it does allow you to sprint while reloading so you can run away and gain significant distance so by the time your finished reloading you can turn around and start burning the bugs easily since they will be at the perfect range for it.
The flamethrower is absolutely amazing, with a coordinated team against terminids. especially in small crevasses in mountainous areas which are a ton of.
Yes after initial release there were several patches that greatly buffed that stratagem. Making it easily one of the best options to have for terminids now. There were an insane amount of changes to Helldivers 2 since launch that completely modifies this tier list. Heck even the Spear is top tier now for bot missions while it used to be unusable.
Flamethrower a well... support weapon, as in it is more for crowd control and support alongside other allied players, you soften up the harder bug enemies to assist, it isn't much of a solo weapon and that makes sense as this is a mainly cooperative game, similar with the recoiless rifle and autocannon, thsse weapons were designed around co-op gameplay.
It's great that Super Earth gives us all tools that fit our diverse citizenries desires. I know a few high tier citizens that would put the Arc Thrower at s teir and love the anti materiel. Whatever suits you to bring freedom to the galaxy it's great in my book!
With the Autocannon, there is a trick to killing chargers in 2 shots: They charge you. Dive away. When they come to a stop, shoot the joins or just behind the carapace on their back legs, either one. Kills em in 2-3 hits.
Pre-stimming while using the flamethrower on the hunters and “jumpers” is actually a crazy good strat when you get swarmed by big groups of them. You can achieve the same thing with the Stalwart or the MG43, but with those you have the annoyance of having to aim at enemies very close to you. With the flamethrower, you just sweep and profit.
Didnt know arc thrower had infinite ammo and could break armor Didn't know you could resupply yourself with backpack Didn't know support weapons could take out objectives Didn't think the stalward would have more ammo than the machine gun Didn't think the expendable had the same dmg as the recoiles Thx for the tips
Arc Thrower can be real bad on team killing if your not careful. Stalward has more ammo but does light armor, Machine gun does medium. The Laser Cannon can break Spores, Shriekers nest, Broadcast Towers. Auto Cannon can break all the Laser Cannon can(a little slower I think), as well as Bug holes, Bot Spawners. Grenade Launcher can break Bug Holes and Bot Spawners. The other explosive weapon can break some combo of the things above but I do not use them for that normally so I do not know off the top of my head what they can break.
as a auto cannon boi i must add things to this, as i hate were you placed it. 1 shots walkers if you aim at the plate (higher up) reload at half ammo for 2x the reload speed (it ends up being faster then most other reloads) 1 shots all devastators if you hit head 2 if you hit near and 3 if you hit anywhere else (hitting one stuns them for a easy headshot as well) 2 shots hulks if you hit the eye plate 4 if you hit vents 2 shots tanks and turrets if hit in vents decent aoe so can be good for clear destroys bug holes and factories (if you shoot into vents) some other side and main objectives can also be destroyed by it since its explosive (cross map) crazy high ammo count meaning even if you clear all the big guys you should almost never run out of ammo no bullet drop or dmg falloff (to my knowledge) side not, the only times i miss not having a shield pack is with RDs but thats why i bring the shield gen strat (1min cd which is crazy low no upgrades)
I'm pretty new to the game and am lvl 17 so I don't have the railgun or shield gen pack, but man the arc gun has been surpassing my expectations. The first time I used it I thought it was trash, but after getting the hang of the spacing and fire rate, the gun absolutely shreds hordes and can even take down chargers over time. It will be my main until I hit lvl 20 but even then I may switch back the arc gun interchangeably. I had been using nade launcher and autocannon previously and while it is very fun, especially closing bug holes from a distance, I get absolutely smoked by chargers and the mini stalkers.
The autocannon carried me to 20 - it's super strong. Insane fire rate, splash damage, destroys nests and eggs, no fall-off and laser accuracy for things like distant titans or spore spewers, etc - it does basically everything but armor pen. Other than that, great list! Seems very thought-out, overall.
Was genuinely surprised to see you ranked the laser cannon so low, able to completely ignore medium armor and destroy illegal broadcasts and spore towers 100s of meters away is pretty gangster
I'm a grenade launcher enjoyer. I almost exclusively run this thing for clearing anything that isn't a heavy. For those, I use orbital railcannon or my teammates with rail guns.
Best support weapon is the auto cannon. It's the strongest and most versatile. But at higher levels you want to run the shield backpack so it's replaced by the railgun to deal with heavy armor enemies.
It is good, but I’m leery of it now because I somehow managed to ricochet a shot directly back in my face because I missed the heat sink on an artillery tower 😂😂
Auto cannon is one of the best support weapons. It can 1-3 shot most things in the game. Has a 10 round clip and 50 rounds in the backpack. Has zero damage drop off as well can take out bug holes and even robot factories.
I cant abide this flame thrower shade. The weapon is actually really solid, it just isnt OP. Tips: 1. Can get past armor, takes a lot of ammo but is still a pro. However, it also hurts the enemies around the heavy. 2. Spray it over a bug breach so they spawn into damage. 3. Spray in spurts when training enemies. Shoot just a but behind you over a wide sweep and then turn to run. All the bugs will be getting burned behind you just from laying a little area coverage on the ground. 4. It annihilates the eggs for bug egg missions, saves stratagems and grenade uses. Obviously it isnt the best choice for every situation and isnt good against bots. However, I bring it to every egg mission Helldive I do. It is a versatile weapon when used correctly, just not an OP one trick like the railgun.
Sometimes a Machinegun needs to have 2 jobs instead of one. Taking down larger group of enemies, prioritizing medium sized robots and even Brood Commanders. Mg-43. Ran with a supply pack allows a good fallback for your teamates.
The recoilless rifle is not a rocket launcher. What this is actually based HEAVILY on, is the Carl Gustav recoilless rifle/Canon. What makes this weapon different from your standard rocket launcher, is the ammunition. A rocket launcher, like an m79 law, m1 bazooka or the ubiquitous rpg 7, uses a rocket motor to propel the ammunition. Once fired, the rocket will speed up as it travels, starting slow and increasing from there. The Carl Gustav is actually more similar to artillery, but in portable form. The giant shells functions mostly like normal artillery/grenade launcher ammunition, where in the firing of the gunpowder propels the ammunition out the barrel, reaching its maximum velocity upon leaving the barrel, then slowly decreasing. The reason for the recoilless name, is the counter force produced by the firing. The back of the cartridge has vent holes, letting the force of the expanding gas also go out the back of the launcher. Roughly half the gun powder is spent actually launching the projectile forwards, while The other half is spent counteracting the recoil in the other direction, hence the name recoilless. Two different methods of firing, two different names. Rpg 7 = rocket launcher. Carl Gustav = Canon/rifle.
the auto cannon imo is the best against robots till rail gun in my experience. That is due to having explosive that one shots the walker's pilot (same with the grenade launcher), three taps the beserk and destroyers and two shots the hulks in the head. I was running the breaker in primary so that might have helped a lot.
I think this tier list is wild. I understand it is opinion over facts, but the only thing I agree with is flamethrower being F tier. I play by bringing specific weapons for very very specific enemies and scenarios and I am coordinated with my friends. I used the laser cannon to great success on a level 6 automaton snow planet. I was able to keep the small/medium enemies locked down while my team focused tanks and objectives. I feel like too many people want stratagems and weapons to be a catch all, do everything. Having complimentary stratagems can easily change how good certain weapons are too.
I love the Autocannon, it's my favourite support weapon so far. But I have learned only to take it against bots. Chargers are the real threat among the bugs and the autocannon just bounces clean off them while they charge you like a wrecking ball. I'm sticking to my EATs and laser drone against bugs! :o
So, I decided to run "oops all lasers" setup on a snow/bot planet, and I made some discoveries. I now run it consistently if it's not hot out. The laser cannon does pretty poor damage against armor of any sort, reflecting off of medium and up, but it does great damage to anything exposed. You don't want to just center-mass things with it like you might with the MG or Autocannon. You have to leverage that it is a _laser,_ it is perfectly accurate at extreme ranges with no falloff. You just gently brush a Devastator head and they keel right over, and for bugs it is a legging masterpiece: sweep it low and slow across the front of advancing horde and they really stop advancing because the midsized ones are missing limbs and the little ones popped instantly. This is a long-range, solo, fire-support weapon you should treat like a machine gun rather than a rocket launcher. In that role, it excels. Pair it with a close-quarters brawling weapon (I love SMGs) for when enemies get close and anti-armor Strategems (or teammates) to crack the big problems and you are cookin'.
I actually use the sniper alot. It can be used at close or mid range and shoots very quickly meaning it does very high DPS against creatures with medium armour such as brood commanders. On bots it can 1 shot those guys with shields and is great for the big turrets and anything hard to get close to. Its main issue is low ammo.
The laser cannon does have a use now when it comes to the bugs. They melt through the eggs quite quickly making the shut down the tower and destroy the mutated eggs easier and quicker to do. Other then that well it still has all the downsides you labled for it
They are early level stratagem that perform well up to level 5. I think a later tier unlock for either would be great. A modified version with a smaller mag.
Defenitly hope they tune up some of the others instead of nerfing the rail gun because I really like things like the AMR and especially the laser canon but just never use them because they are so weak
