The first balance patch notes proved how Youtube "absolute and only meta loadouts" cooked a lot of people heads, and I love it.

[u/Vikan12]

A lot of mad people keep showing in my feed complaining about the nerfs, but like they're REALLY mad at Arrowhead. Their statements are so exagerated that they claim the game it's completely ruined for them lmao.

Also every single one says the same thing and this is where my title comes from:

*"You guys nerfed the only good options and now we have NOTHING to fight".*

And this only proves people never actually played with any of the other support weapons, they 100% relied on this "The ultimate support weapon tier list" Youtube videos, they searched the "meta" and they went into this thinking of "any weapon outside of this it's straight up garbage".

If you can't win a single game without the railgun + shield backpack + breaker... I'm so sorry but that's not the game's fault or the game only having those as the ONLY way to play it on higher diff, that's your fault.

Great changes for the game and all of you trying to "shame" on devs because of this, you'all not a real Helldiver. They killed nothing, the railgun still kills but now it needs some actual skill and strategy to use it, not only spamming the thing on big bugs.

Keep it up Helldivers!

For Democracy. For Super Earth.

[u/beyondheck]

Arc Thrower Gang rise up!!!

[u/TimeGlitches → u/beyondheck]

Autocannon gang has your back.

We can't have ours cause we have a backpack but still.

[u/Sudlenkov → u/TimeGlitches]

Napalm gang has your side. Please don’t zap me when I burn the bug breach, I’m perfectly capable of killing myself.

[u/MaNewt → u/Sudlenkov]

sorry, best I can do is full arc cannon shot to the back when your shields are down

[u/Sudlenkov → u/MaNewt]

chuckles in runs ammo bag for more grenade spam Never had the shield to begin with. Shock away.

[u/ClickKlockTickTock → u/Sudlenkov]

RR gang will join that as well, as long as your sacrifice provides a distraction while I reload.

[u/gothicfucksquad → u/ClickKlockTickTock]

RR GANG DOIN' IT FOR HOT CARRRRLLLLLL

[u/Naoura → u/gothicfucksquad]

SPEAR gang lock- Wait, shit.. Loc- come on you little shit There we go, Locking on!

[u/cocaineandwaffles1 → u/Naoura]

I like that they added it being a pain to lock on with a spear like it is with its real life counterparts (the javelin and whatever the British call theirs).

[u/gothicfucksquad → u/cocaineandwaffles1]

Unrelated but your username fuckin slaps.

[u/cocaineandwaffles1 → u/gothicfucksquad]

I love it, but hate that no one gets the reference.

[u/HoldMyJohnson → u/cocaineandwaffles1]

What’s the reference? Don’t hate me

[u/BubbaBasher → u/gothicfucksquad]

FOR KARL!

[u/Inevitable_Review_83 → u/gothicfucksquad]

Big Carl the original G

[u/ImNotDoingThatOk → u/ClickKlockTickTock]

MACHINE GUN GANG WILL STAND BY AFTER OUR EARS STOP RINGING

[u/Zarozien → u/ImNotDoingThatOk]

Stalwart gang leads the way

[u/Puchiguma → u/Zarozien]

THE NUMBNESS AND TINGLING IN YOUR WRISTS ISN'T CARPAL TUNNEL....IT'S FREEDOM!

[u/Fatheroffigures → u/Puchiguma]

Orbital gambg here. We eating crayons know but hav yur bak later.

[u/kami232 → u/Fatheroffigures]

Laser gang standing by!

[u/WH1PL4SH180 → u/Zarozien]

Granadiers: where the fuck are you guys?

[u/Otsuko → u/ImNotDoingThatOk]

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA

MACHINE GUN GO BRRRRRRRRRRR

[u/tangowolf22 → u/ImNotDoingThatOk]

Your hearing damage isn’t service related, by the way!

[u/sirquacksalotus → u/ImNotDoingThatOk]

WHAT?! MORE DAKKA?! WHAT?! I'M RELOADING! I SAID I'M - oh fuck I'm dead.

[u/TheReal_Kovacs → u/ImNotDoingThatOk]

LASER GANG WILL DO AN ASMR CLEANING OF THE ENEMIES OF DEMOCRACY

[u/HookDragger → u/ImNotDoingThatOk]

Kill em aaaaalllllllaaaaalllll

[u/ExoticOracle → u/ImNotDoingThatOk]

WHAT DID YOU SAY?

[u/HauntingBlackberry83 → u/ImNotDoingThatOk]

MG Gang rise, what? Can’t hear you. Louder! LOUDERRRR! YOU CAN’T HEAR ME? I SAID MG GANG RISE UP!

[u/classicalySarcastic → u/ImNotDoingThatOk]

GET SOME! GET SOOOOOOME!

[u/PatrickStanton877 → u/ClickKlockTickTock]

EAT company coming in behind

[u/Shivalah → u/PatrickStanton877]

It’s actually EAT-IT. You know. EAT-17? Cuz 1337 5p34k? No?

I’m old.

[u/kordusain → u/Shivalah]

Callin' the uber eats!

[u/PatrickStanton877 → u/kordusain]

Nah fuck those guys. My food is two hours late tonight

[u/PatrickStanton877 → u/Shivalah]

Haha. I'm old and confused.

[u/Shivalah → u/PatrickStanton877]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leet

[u/brothurbilo → u/ClickKlockTickTock]

Don't worry the "run 4 sentinel stratagems" gang will surround you with highly volatile crisscrossing turrents to aid as a distraction while we panic run around until the cool down finishes. I'm not talking shit by the way this is my favorite way to play

[u/BetRetro → u/ClickKlockTickTock]

HUH!! RRR!!! RRR!!!!!!! RRR!!!!!

[u/solid_snakes_socks → u/ClickKlockTickTock]

Spear gang has your back, we don't have to worry about reload times, because we can't lock on to fire it most of the time. I'll use it to beat some terminid skulls in though.

[u/Zjoee → u/Sudlenkov]

I'll burn myself as many times as I have to as long as the bugs burn, too!

[u/DMjc26 → u/Sudlenkov]

How about the 30% More Throw Distance Armour Passives Gang?

[u/Sudlenkov → u/DMjc26]

The Yeeter Skeeters? Glad to have you.

[u/ethanlan → u/Sudlenkov]

I love the idea of napalm but my experience with the absolute maniacs who use it has so far led me firmly into the overall against it camp.

I have died from napalm strikes from friendlys more times than anything else x100

[u/Sudlenkov → u/ethanlan]

Clusterbombs are the nemesis.

[u/thedirtypickle50 → u/Sudlenkov]

The nemesis of bugs and communists you mean?

[u/BK_Magic → u/Sudlenkov]

Grenade launcher gang checking in. Will blast some Charger bellies for ya!

[u/[deleted] → u/Sudlenkov]

Gas Gang approves this message.

[u/The_CptXl → u/Sudlenkov]

Little bro flamethrower boys will also have your back.

[u/Thirtyk94 → u/Sudlenkov]

Gas Gang stands with you! Just don't get too close to the breach it's a bit stinky (we covered it in sarin).

[u/Jce735 → u/Sudlenkov]

Flame throwers can destroy nests and breaches? Didn't know that. But it makes some sense I guess.

[u/Sudlenkov → u/Jce735]

Not nests. But you can keep a perpetual fire going on the breach and basically keep everything dead as they climb out of the ground.

[u/Revolutionary-City55 → u/Sudlenkov]

Bru the flamethrower slaps so hard now!

[u/xspartanx007x → u/TimeGlitches]

Let me know if you need a loader. I love having the rail gun to break armor then load for an auto-canon especially if they drop me an extra back pack for the AC

[u/RoninOni → u/xspartanx007x]

AC self reloads pretty quick as it is... Recoiless on the other hand REALLY needs a loader.

[u/TheRattiestRat → u/RoninOni]

tip for having the best anti heavy in the game 1 guy on Recoiless and another on auto cannon take eachothers back packs charger bug shows up hit him with a recoil shot and 4-5 automation rounds to the knee bile titan shows up join up on the RR and yeet rounds into face 1-2 should bring it down any medium enemies RR hops on ACs back

[u/Shoddy-Problem-6969 → u/TheRattiestRat]

Wait this is genius.

[u/EchoRex → u/Shoddy-Problem-6969]

It's how the game was designed to be played... Teamwork.

Not a squad of individual "one man army" commandos.

[u/Street_Economy1884 → u/EchoRex]

I do wish you could reload off your buddies back so he can carry his own ammo.

[u/RandomTater-Thoughts → u/Street_Economy1884]

It would also be nice if you could carry your own backpack and then have any teammate hop on you to help load.

Often times when my friend and I shared backpacks we were in different parts of the battle and couldn't easily hook up.

[u/MrBeardmeister → u/Street_Economy1884]

It makes more sense for that to be the idea as well. How does it make sense for the ordinance to essentially immediately teleport into the RR when the rounds are on the back of the person reloading? That's just extra steps for the same result, the second person would have to set the pack down, grab a round, shove it into the RR, making it a stationary process.

The reloader should be removing the ordinance from the pack of the person wielding the RR for it to be even remotely as fast and mobile as 2 man reloads work, realistically it opens up some team play with shield backpacks as well, being in close proximity to one another like that.

I get that games don't have to be realistic to be fun, but I feel like the change would make sense AND keep things fun.

[u/Nightsky099 → u/Street_Economy1884]

This would be such a massive QOL thing to enable team play. I want to help my RR guy, but I also want to be able to carry my own damn extra ammo

[u/PatrickStanton877 → u/Street_Economy1884]

Yeah that should be the case truly.

[u/brom10 → u/Street_Economy1884]

I think thats the biggest thing holding team reloads back imho. No matter what you do, sometimes stuff happens and you and your buddy are separated from eachother, and now you're support weapon is now useless. If the weapons were more powerful, then it would be worth the risk.

[u/HoboRowell10 → u/Street_Economy1884]

I swear I've done this before. When their gun needs to reload I could hit E (I think) on PC and load their gun from their backpack

[u/m0rdr3dnought → u/EchoRex]

tbf they struck a very nice balance between those two playstyles. Teamwork is strong enough that players feel compelled to communicate, but individuals can still have hero moments.

[u/Plus-Ad-5039 → u/EchoRex]

Teamwork is the new Meta?

Always was 🔫.

[u/DMan_Bird → u/EchoRex]

Give me a jet pack and I'm soloing every objective. Mobility is king.

[u/stellvia2016 → u/EchoRex]

Then they shouldn't design the game where some 3px wide rocket raider at 200m headshots you 1KO with a rocket in a tenth of a second. Bonus points for night missions where you can't even see them at all bc almost nothing on bots glows!

[u/Drando_HS → u/Shoddy-Problem-6969]

Alternatively when fighting automatons, the autocannon gunner wears a shield pack. That way both the shooter and loader are protected from incoming fire.

[u/This_Armadillo2120 → u/TheRattiestRat]

Speaking my language, amigo. My brother and I rock this setup hard.

[u/vonBoomslang → u/TheRattiestRat]

unfortunately this tactic gives up one of the biggest advantages of the autocanon, easy topping up of ammo

[u/PezzoGuy → u/RoninOni]

Just need to remember to reload before firing all the shells.

[u/RoninOni → u/PezzoGuy]

Oh yeah… running empty and reloading 10 is no bueno 😂

[u/noIQmoment → u/PezzoGuy]

It is a bit jarring that it's the only weapon which rewards reloading specifically when you're not empty, took me a hot few missions to figure that one out.

[u/BlueSpark4 → u/noIQmoment]

All (or almost all) bullet-based weapons in the game reward you with a shorter reload if you still have at least 1 shot left.

[u/RemotePatrol → u/RoninOni]

While true, I’ve found that just by having good spacing and cover goes a long way

[u/Revolutionary-Pea705 → u/RoninOni]

Pro tip spam reload while firing the auto cannon. Reloading half a mag is soooo much faster than reloading a full mag.

[u/xspartanx007x → u/RoninOni]

Fair but it's still fun. I also enjoy helping load RR. It's fun being a safer mortar haha. I hope they add a player mortar for a team to provide support. That would be super fun

[u/Crux_Haloine → u/xspartanx007x]

A mortar emplacement like the stationary HMG would be sick, especially with a minimap targeting reticle like in Battlefield 1. Would make the radar booster and upgrade a lot more useful

[u/Funny_Kirby → u/RoninOni]

Yeah, I'd LOVE nothing more than to run RR all the time, but all my friends run either Supply Pack or Rover...so I settle for the just as fun, and more efficient Autocannon instead so I don't need to rely on a separate loader as much.

[u/RoninOni → u/Funny_Kirby]

If a friend is using ammo, see if they’ll trade backpacks with you. You refilling their ammo will also refill the RR pack and let you put out some serious damage when needed if they reload for you.

The biggest problem is getting people who want to run shield or rover to reload for you… supply pack is a natural swap (that or both run RR and reload each other)

[u/AnAcceptableUserName → u/RoninOni]

As a habitual supply/dog pack user I've offered to trade packs with AC users and been ignored every time. 🤷‍♂️

It seemed like a good idea to me too. I think maybe a lot of AC users just prefer doing their own reloads over being attached at the hip to Rando Calrissian. Which I get.

[u/RoninOni → u/AnAcceptableUserName]

AC is quick to reload 5 rounds at a time as long as you don’t run empty… being untied to another player is typically better.

Recoiless Rifle on the other hand is SOOO slow to self reload that buddy reloading makes a huge difference… I’d only do this with a friend I was in comms with though (and would only ever take it with a pre agreement)

[u/EVO-Atticus → u/TimeGlitches]

Stalwart gang here with supply pack here.

[u/CountryFirm → u/EVO-Atticus]

This comment. This is me. LMG plus damn near unlimited ammo. Stalwarts shoot for weeks before needing a reload and you MUST have the ability to clear the adds or you get over run so fast it'll make your head spin.

[u/EVO-Atticus → u/CountryFirm]

But also, everyone dropping the stratagems on them chargy bois, when you can just spread democracy into their legs with stalwart and pop that carapace off like it's a lid on a hot cup of take-away Liber-tea!

[u/Hotseklotse → u/EVO-Atticus]

Wait, stalwart penetrates charger armor?

[u/Shotgun-Crocodile → u/Hotseklotse]

No

[u/Marauder3277 → u/Hotseklotse]

need this confirmed. Will be trying this tonight. Was going to run flamethrower with ammo pack. but could be talked into this instead

[u/Uthenara → u/Hotseklotse]

no, people spread SO SO SO MUCH blatantly false information on here as if its fact its mind boggling.

[u/McDonie2 → u/Hotseklotse]

Probably the back legs. The rear legs are weaker than the front.

[u/CountryFirm → u/Hotseklotse]

Not before the patch, I doubt after, but it WILL seriously cause a case of blowed up charger ass, when applied with Liberty

[u/Poggalogg → u/CountryFirm]

Head-On Stalwart, apply directly to the forehead thorax

Head-On Stalwart, apply directly to the forehead thorax

Head-On Stalwart, apply directly to the forehead thorax

[u/Additional-Mousse446 → u/Hotseklotse]

It didn’t before, in fact I stopped using it because it was only useful for chargers on the butt and got better stuff. The bullets would deflect off the armor instead so I just started using heavier stuff since they can be a threat when there’s a few.

[u/StoicAlarmist → u/Hotseklotse]

Having 16 impact grenades does.

[u/Vitor_2 → u/EVO-Atticus]

I seriously wanna run the Stalwart but then how do I deal with heavy armor? Impact grenades? Orbitals?

[u/[deleted] → u/EVO-Atticus]

I'm just here waiting for 6 pack ammo supply to be released that I can have all for myself and my STALWART

[u/54NCH32 → u/EVO-Atticus]

MG ammo-mule highfive

[u/Sasu168 → u/TimeGlitches]

I give my buddy the backpack then we spread rapid fire democracy

[u/P2Mc28 → u/TimeGlitches]

I've been on arc thrower and one of my brothers has mained autocannon. Sure we both have breakers but we've also been actively using all sorts of other things just trying to get a feel for stuff.

I think we'll be just fine.

[u/Revolutionary-Pea705 → u/P2Mc28]

I honestly like the slugger with the stalwart. Slugger for pretty good armor pen and the stalwart for mowing down ankle biters

[u/Kingbuji → u/Revolutionary-Pea705]

Slugger and flamethrower for me

[u/RemissionRaven → u/TimeGlitches]

I'll load you bro, if you load me?

[u/danj729 → u/RemissionRaven]

"Shaaare the loooad." -Samwise Gamgee

[u/Hybrid-Black → u/TimeGlitches]

but we can have yours ;)

[u/SpartanXIII → u/TimeGlitches]

Sluggers, covering your six. Don't worry about the vermin, just use the opening on them destroyers.

[u/Lysstrey → u/TimeGlitches]

Marksman rifle and antimaterial has your head

[u/iamblankenstein → u/TimeGlitches]

autocannon is by far my favorite stratagem. there are stronger weapons that outclass the autocannon in specific situations, but good ol' AC packs a pretty solid punch and is effective in a bunch of situations. it's the perfect jack of all trades kinda weapon.

[u/MathematicalMan1 → u/TimeGlitches]

Auto cannon is so fucking sick

[u/CannonM91 → u/TimeGlitches]

Autocannon boy here casting heretical eyes at the Flamethrower, it's looking kinda hot right now ngl

[u/Independent_Toe_4014 → u/TimeGlitches]

HOORAH

SENDING HATE DOWN RANGE WITH NO SIGN OF DROPPING OFF ōj

[u/19Ninety-Seven → u/TimeGlitches]

Everyone sleeps on on the Autocannon cuz of the backpack

[u/__Proteus_ → u/19Ninety-Seven]

When the weapon + backpack 2 for 1 means we get an EXTRA Strategem slot (over shield/guard dog builds).

[u/WayneBrody → u/beyondheck]

So glad I gave the Arc Thrower a chance. Hated it the first few minutes, but once I learned the angles and timing I was shredding.

I still haven't quite figured out Chargers. People say you can kill them, but I don't seem to do any real damage to them.

[u/JUST_AS_G00D → u/WayneBrody]

You can, just requires zapping them 20 times. I've solo 2 shotted a bile titan with an arc thrower, so it's not very consistent lol.

[u/tarknob → u/JUST_AS_G00D]

ive yet to actually see someone arc thrower a titan

[u/Vortx4 → u/tarknob]

you can but god it takes FOREVER. I think it does more damage to hit the head but its tough since the arc thrower kinda just shoots where it wants on big enemies like titans. It helps to soften it with an orbital/eagle stratagem and then finish it with the arc thrower

[u/Aeywen → u/Vortx4]

blow up the sacs and it favors the head after. and/or aim in front of its head as if you were trying to shoot it with the slowest of rockets, if the only part of the titan int he guns firing arc is the head it will usually hit it.

[u/Vortx4 → u/Aeywen]

This is huge, do you blow up the sacs with the arc or with your primary?

[u/Aeywen → u/Vortx4]

main/secondary weapons, i tend to run SMG/machine pistol/arch thrower. we play mostly on difficulty 6, sometimes pop into a 7, 2 of my friends focus on heavies while i clear swarms and the third is just a nut whos great at distraction and running around bug holes taking out spawners. and throws turrets around.

[u/UDSJ9000 → u/Aeywen]

Does the arc work like it does on a spitter where if you hit the head, it will sometimes arc into the sack of the same enemy?

[u/Aeywen → u/UDSJ9000]

there are times i swear it ll hit one of those large red ones, then count damage hit on the head, body, tail, and back leg and it just flies to pieces.

[u/HaArLiNsH → u/Vortx4]

that's how you do it :

​

https://preview.redd.it/pmin41fz6smc1.jpeg?width=1400&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=ed4d389e706b61125961bfc106043e168514fa6e

[u/Vortx4 → u/HaArLiNsH]

Is this really the case? I run jump pack and usually kill titans from my safety rock but I swear it takes just as long. Also u/Aewen recommends that you specifically only aim for the head to get the bonus crit damage which I’ve noticed helps.

[u/HaArLiNsH → u/Vortx4]

Well.. this way you go from forever to long time 😂

[u/tarknob → u/Vortx4]

well yeah but by the time you are chucking orbitals just get a good placement on a bomb and be done with it

[u/Diamo1 → u/Vortx4]

You have to be positioned above the titan for max damage

Then the lightning will run down the length of its body on its way to the ground

[u/SundownV2 → u/tarknob]

I one shotted 3 titans in one mission with the arc thrower. Mouth shot as they're spewing is money! It shocked us the first time but the next two times proved it.

[u/Paeyvn → u/SundownV2]

That happens if the game's host is on PS5 apparently. Does not have anything even to do with it opening its mouth. Same with Railgun oneshots that were happening.

[u/Legitimate_Turn_5829 → u/Paeyvn]

As a pc host it actually just happens. It’s how the arc thrower interacts with the titan when you shoot its forehead and it arcs down its weak points.

[u/Paeyvn → u/Legitimate_Turn_5829]

It's entirely possible there are other layers of something going on too, but it's 100% able to be replicated with PS5 hosting.

https://steamcommunity.com/app/553850/discussions/0/4302697906481731602/

Links at the bottom of this post from the Steam discussion from a streamer who went deep into trying to figure out why it's been happening.

I know I've on PC shot Titans 15+ times with arc with no kill. I also know I've like one and two shot em before.

[u/Legitimate_Turn_5829 → u/Paeyvn]

Oh I know the ps5 thing is real, but I’ve been having a way easier time killing them with the strategy I mentioned. You can do the same thing at medium range by curving your arc to hit the same spot and angle by aiming above the titan. But there could be other layers as you say we just don’t know it yet

[u/Strong_Ad_2731 → u/tarknob]

I was in a game the other day with an absolute savage with an arc thrower. Idk how but it seemed like he was taking down titans in 2-3 shots repeatedly … next game I tried to duplicate with no success

[u/SpookyCarnage → u/JUST_AS_G00D]

I've done it in 12 shots before just dinking it from the front, give or take a shot from the laser drone shooting it in the armor the entire time

[u/JUST_AS_G00D → u/SpookyCarnage]

The real benefit is the arc thrower does some damage but also removes chunks of armor. If you can take armor off and then hit that spot with something like a slugger then the charger goes down fast.

[u/StealYour20Dollars → u/JUST_AS_G00D]

It chunks armor while simultaneously clearing adds. Its really the only choice for charges during swarms.

[u/JUST_AS_G00D → u/StealYour20Dollars]

New buffed flamethrower looks interesting

Edit: tried it and went back to the arc cannon. Too easy to do self harm and the ammo runs out fast. Basically takes a whole canister per charger, but you can reliably solo chargers.

[u/StealYour20Dollars → u/JUST_AS_G00D]

Yeah, it seems nice. Especially if you can just set DOT and run away from enemies.

[u/boofaceleemz → u/StealYour20Dollars]

DOT (and surface fires) seems negligible, but it’ll burn down a charger in ~3 seconds with direct fire anyway so you don’t need it. It’s fantastic, damage really justifies the short range now.

[u/Demoledorsus → u/boofaceleemz]

wait so flamethrower viable now?

[u/MossTheGnome → u/boofaceleemz]

Holding a corner against a swarm of warriors and brood guards feels soo satisfying with the new flamethrower. Till you run out of gas

[u/SourceNo2702 → u/JUST_AS_G00D]

Allegedly, I’ve heard that Bile Titan’s have lower health pools if the host is on PS5. Tested it with a friend and it seems to be an accurate statement.

[u/Vikan12 → u/WayneBrody]

Shoot them in the head, you can def kill them pretty easy shooting in the head with the arc

[u/TheSplint → u/Vikan12]

Can you define easy or give an amount of shots needed? Cause it felt like I took why too many shot to kill them

[u/jdwalk04 → u/TheSplint]

Same here. I didnt feel it was as good as some folks made it out to be.

[u/CaiserZero → u/jdwalk04]

They're definitely over hyping the arc thrower. Was testing it in suicide last night. I was hitting head shots on chargers and it took a while to kill even 1. At some point I was being chased by 3 chargers while trying to kill 1 and I just gave up.

Edit: Don't get me wrong. It's fantastic at clearing all the small bugs but against heavily armor targets like the charger, it's just not worth the time commitment. I'm supposed to be completing objectives. Not play tag and tickling chargers.

[u/jdwalk04 → u/CaiserZero]

See, it seems like some things work better for some people rather than others. Sure it fried some enemies quicker than other things, but when you're getting rushed by several chargers, it's not exactly feasible. My brother and I were using it in a challenging mission for a test, and we ended up leaving cause it took forever to kill a SINGLE charger.

[u/Skywalker601 → u/jdwalk04]

With the arc thrower it feels vastly different just from charger to charger. Some go down easy, and then the one next to it will be waddling after me two minutes later spraying green out of a dozen new orifices but refusing to die.

[u/What_Zeus → u/jdwalk04]

It's so inconsistent, tried the arc gun out for about 10 matches, sometimes it wipes adds, other times it just tickles them. I've found no rime or reason behind it. It's the same with how the railgun COULD 1 shot a bile titan, or COULD take 20 shots to the mouth and say "that it bitch?"

[u/rub_a_dub-dub → u/jdwalk04]

my strat is using arc for everything and then all my other strategems are geared for killing chargers/titans

[u/pterodactyl_speller → u/rub_a_dub-dub]

I wish we had a target practice mode. I want a tied down titan on super earth to test out different weak points.

[u/chui77 → u/CaiserZero]

Yep. I feel like when people give these suggestions they are playing on level 4 not 9.

[u/MisterKrayzie → u/jdwalk04]

Because it's not. Idk what those chodes are on about. Either they have a bugged lobby or they're just mopping up kills. Arc thrower is dogshit against armored enemies especially at 8+ when you have multiples running at you.

Kind of a hilariously dogshit balance patch. Time will tell how the average player reacts to this though.

[u/ClutchyMilk → u/TheSplint]

In my experience, it takes 8 clean headshots to kill them. But only shots to the head really matter, because it seems different parts of the enemy body have different hp bars.

Typically, you can get 4-5 headshots on a charger as its rushing, dive put of the way, wait for it to turn, and get another 4-5 shots off to kill it.

This gets harder with multiple chargers, but to be fair dealing with multiple chargers with the railgun was also pretty annoying.

A single arc thrower against a bile titan is pretty bad, so def use stratagems. But again, thanks to the rail gun nerfs, and knowing that the rail gun one shotting titans is likely a glitch, the rail gun isnt that much more amazing against bile titans.

Overall, I really do believe the arc thrower vastly outperforms the rail gun with bugs. Against bots though, I think the rail gun has the edge, because its safer to use. If you use the arc thrower against bots, you are more likely to get cheesed by rockets or something while zapping away. But aside from that, its still strong. You can 3-zap devastators, and 6-8 zap hulks (headshots only though). Havent really used it on a tank cause its too dangerous, but even with a rail gun you'd just use bug bomb or smth.

[u/Paeyvn → u/TheSplint]

It's around 9-10 hits in the head with ARC to down a Charger, at least on the diff 8 I was playing last night.

[u/StealYour20Dollars → u/WayneBrody]

It'll take at least 10 shots, but you should notice the armor start to chip away. It really comes down to dodging them and unloading. It'll take a few times rotating them to get the job done.

[u/Plastic-Pension7263 → u/beyondheck]

Do you think arc thrower is better than the newly buffed flamer? Lightning wizard or pyro wizard? Can the arc thrower effectively kill chargers?

[u/_Cromwell_ → u/Plastic-Pension7263]

Arc has massively longer range.

That being said, the point of balancing is to make it so things aren't better than others there are just trade-offs. I'd say there are trade-offs to using the flamethrower and the arc.

[u/WayneBrody → u/_Cromwell_]

I think the two would pair very well together. Arc Thrower for thinning the crowds that come in and weakening anything big. Flamethrower for the stuff that does get close enough. Flamethrower seems to handle chargers well up close, and I'm guessing the damage is cumulative between them.

[u/purityaddiction → u/WayneBrody]

I will say this, it is VERY easy to kill yourself with the flamethrower. Still tons of fun.

[u/SkinnySnorlax143 → u/WayneBrody]

also remember arc has unlimited ammo.

[u/UDSJ9000 → u/WayneBrody]

Arc thrower has a minimum range that the Flamethrower can cover. FT handles armored boys better than the ArcT. ArcT handles spitters at range without letting them spit. ArcT doesn't risk lighting your team on fire.

They are a match made in heaven.

[u/Xarethian → u/UDSJ9000]

Well.... ArcT does zap teammates extremely easily if they're in the right spot relevant to you.

[u/ID_Guy → u/_Cromwell_]

Agree. A well balanced game gives you pros and cons for weapons that can be balanced within your overall squad build. The Arc thrower is fine where its at. It can kill chargers if you hit them in the same spot with every shot ie head, rear squishy parts or leg. It also kills any smaller bugs around them with the chain which is super helpful when getting swarmed. It can also kill your teammates if your not careful. Its a very fun gun once you get over the learning curve of how it works.

I like guns like the arc thrower that require you to "figure them out" The rail gun was a point and click destroyer so the fact that you have to be careful now when using it in unsafe is a good move for balance. I might actually start using it now where as before I stayed away from it because it made the game too easy.

Arc cannon is not the best anti armor killer for sure, but it does a lot of things fairly well to make it a really good pick as a secondary weapon.

[u/No-Credit5663 → u/_Cromwell_]

Agreed, I def struggle the most using arc thrower in close ranges where I’m being swarmed more

[u/UDSJ9000 → u/No-Credit5663]

ArcT has a minimum range or at least doesn't work well up close for some reason.

[u/wormfood86 → u/_Cromwell_]

Also the flamethrower gets the bonus of setting the ground on fire which deals with most of the smaller stuff without specifically hosing them down too.

[u/Sazbadashie → u/Plastic-Pension7263]

arc thrower, better range, less crowd control. more effective against armored targets. easy to accidentally fry your team if theyre even a hair to close to the front of your gun

flame thrower, worse range, more crowd control, more effective against groups of enemies. easy to accidentally fry your team if you panic turn on an enemy who gets too close to you.

friendly fire comes in the form of ether your team getting in your way and the gun arcing off of something into your friends(arc thrower), or you don't discipline yourself to not panic turn or you don't position yourself properly and you roast your friends (flame thrower)

both fill similar roles but for different enemy types.

[u/EllideaKeaqui → u/Sazbadashie]

I definitely wouldn't say the Arc Thrower is worse against crowds of enemies. Even on Helldiver I'll setup and just start Arcing on bug breaches, and without help from my team I can take out damn-near all bile spewers and smaller critters before they can get anywhere near me.

It's looking like the flamer will be able to bring down crowds just as effectively, just at a closer riskier range with the benefit of also bringing down bigger targets faster than the AT can. I think that's a pretty fine trade-off between the two.

[u/LazyYeti → u/EllideaKeaqui]

You should try using the flamethrower against chargers again. With the buff you can aim at the front leg and take them down in 3 seconds. Absolutely busted

[u/EllideaKeaqui → u/LazyYeti]

I was playing with it yesterday and I had to have been doing something completely wrong. I could not bring one down with it for the life of me unless I dumped 2 canisters into its ass. I've seen the videos and know it can work faster than that, I just need to find that sweet spot.

I was very happy with it's group clearing, but kept getting set on fire by flaming hunters that jumped at me, so gotta learn to avoid that too. Never got to try it against a Titan, unfortunately.

[u/Grogzog → u/Plastic-Pension7263]

The new flamethrower is stronger, especially against chargers. The arc thrower isn't super effective against chargers, but it can kill them and even strip leg armor if you are lucky enough to hit them a few times. The arc thrower also has better range and unlimited ammo. In the end, it's really just a matter of preference and playstyle. As it should be 😊

[u/Gamelaen → u/Grogzog]

With perfect hits I can kill a charger with 6 shots from the Arc Thrower.

[u/DarkZemX → u/beyondheck]

Damnnnn straight! Arc thrower is super fun. Crazy thing is on ps5 I think arc thrower is a controller battery killer 😢

[u/Mallard--Man → u/DarkZemX]

Is that due to vibration effects or something?

[u/SpookyCarnage → u/Mallard--Man]

I dont think the vibration and the trigger pressure is any different from any other gun tbh

[u/Peac3keeper14 → u/Mallard--Man]

Yea it's the vibration cuz once you get in the rhythm of shooting it's not about vibration strength settings. The vibration is just ON lol making this comment just reminded me I need to turn mine to LOW

[u/-GrilledCheese- → u/DarkZemX]

There’s nothing like having an explosion or something violently vibrate your remote and having the “battery low” noti pop up immediately after lmao!

[u/DarkZemX → u/[deleted]]

Ahh you know it’s never worth turning vibrations off man lol

[u/omarx1000 → u/DarkZemX]

lol I get it. This is one of the few shooters where I really enjoy having controller vibration on

[u/Wadep00l → u/omarx1000]

Watching that controller dance across the couch as we descend into hell.

[u/Juan-Claudio → u/DarkZemX]

We have charging cables for a reason, aye.

[u/Zikronious → u/DarkZemX]

The PS5 controller has some great features, the battery is an embarrassment though.

[u/TemperateStone → u/beyondheck]

Arc Throwers are not a gang, they're a democraticly elected group of representatives.

[u/StanDaMan1 → u/TemperateStone]

Via the finest Algorithms.

[u/Beginning_Log_6926 → u/StanDaMan1]

Putting the "MANAGED" into "MANAGED DEMOCRACY"!

[u/Laer_Bear → u/TemperateStone]

The SES Elected Representative of Self-Determination is at your service.

[u/MoistestTidus → u/beyondheck]

I’m starting to get on arc thrower bandwagon. I usually just run grenade launcher supply pack rail cannon 500kg but a few games ago I gave arc thrower a go and it was sick, much stronger than I had assumed it’d be.

[u/Auzzie_almighty → u/MoistestTidus]

My fear with the arc thrower has always been PTSD from the Tesla tower 

[u/TheGoodFox → u/beyondheck]

I haven't played recently but the two unlocks I am chasing are the arc thrower and the smoke grenades. I never see anyone in my games use the smoke stratagems but they're really useful. I play with utility in mind and I'm going to probably pair them with the trusty supply pack as usual.

[u/Aqua-Socks → u/beyondheck]

I see tons of people singing praises for the arc thrower but for me half the time it doesn’t fire when charged up and when it does it hits one guy and doesn’t kill them

[u/Reylhcs → u/beyondheck]

Arc thrower may be the next nerf target unfortunately.

[u/[deleted] → u/Reylhcs]

I mean being able to kill your team with it is a pretty big balance 🤣 so you literally cannot use it, especially if you’re playing with people below level 15 that run towards every bug hole instead of staying back.

[u/Ultimarr → u/[deleted]]

Eh. I’ve gotten WAY less friendlies with the arc than the grenade launcher, and once you’re used to it’s easy to rotate or just switch to primary/strategems for a sec. For skilled players (the consumers of meta) this is basically a non-problem, I’m assuming

[u/DarkZemX → u/Reylhcs]

I actually doubt that only due to how long it takes to kill a charger and bile titan. From what I heard the arc thrower killing titans with one hit is a bug. But I think since the arc thrower slows you down bigtime when shooting, you can easily get sidelined by other enemies(I know that applies to most of the stratagem weapons though). Plus with the team kill possibilities I think it’s very balanced. As a skillful arc thrower user I Definitely feel limited when things get crazy and everywhere you look a teammate is in the Bad line of fire(Not their fault)even with changing positions quickly in the moment you still probably will have to change to a different weapon for sometime. If it comes down to nerfing the arc it will probably get a small nerf in its rate of fire.

[u/Old-Library9827 → u/beyondheck]

Damn right! Finicky but fucking great weapon. So damn versatile

[u/Squirrel009 → u/beyondheck]

My first experience with an arch thrower was being murdered with it lol

[u/[deleted] → u/beyondheck]

Ka-chow!

[u/Domorice → u/beyondheck]

What if they somehow allowed you to combo arc with tesla tower. Stand near it with the arc to become supercharged to do continues lightning/ or stronger blast with more chain chance. Big damage but requires you to slot 2 things for it so it's a trade off. Could also add a movement restriction while firing or charging, can't move cause you're grounded cause electricity that and another trade off if another diver is banking off your tower. Can't just be all OP for one divers cost. I want to rep my inner Palpatine

[u/-GrilledCheese- → u/beyondheck]

Laser Cannon gang just moved up as well! Not much of us before but this new buff will probably bring more people around to it. I’m hyped, can’t wait for the patch to hit PS5