A Detailed Guide On ALL Things MACHINE GUN (+ Sentries) | Helldiver's Handbook | Helldivers 2

Greetings Helldivers!
Today we're gonna take a good look at all things Machine Gun in Helldivers 2!
This includes both support weapons like the MG-43 and the Stalwart, as well as Sentries and Emplacements like the Gatling Sentry and the HMG Emplacement.
We'll be uncovering the mystery of mechanics that lays beyond the surface of these tools, learning how to wield them effectively with knowledge and tactics!
Timestamps:
0:00 Intro
0:40 Disclaimer!
1:00 Sentries
1:22 Sentry and Emplacement Profile
2:08 Machine Gun Sentry
2:54 Gatling Sentry
3:30 HMG Emplacement
4:08 Sentry Tactics
5:27 Intermission
5:55 MG-43
6:51 MG-43 RPM Table
7:53 MG-43 Full Profile
7:58 Stalwart
8:33 Stalwart RPM Table
9:30 Stalwart vs Primary Table
10:11 Stalwart Ammo Efficiency
10:51 Resupply Synergy
11:38 Stalwart Full Profile
11:52 Weapon Pairings
12:04 Anti-Armour Stratagems
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#helldivers2 #helldivers2guide #helldivers2gameplay #helldivers2machinegun #helldivers2stalward #helldivers2sentry #helldivers2gatling #helldivers2hmg
Music:
"Gotta Go" - Tokyo Music Walker
"Darktide Main Theme" - Jasper Kyd

[@rykenxiv]

A video just in time to hit 10k subs! (also foot notes and amendments in this comment) Notes: - Crouching helps with the stability and recoil of the MG-43 and Stalwart, even better if you have the armour that further reduces recoil! If you need to stay mobile and advance, I'd recommend crouching while firing! While going prone helps even more, I find in grassy maps, I can't see anything to shoot at... - The Gatling and Machine Gun sentry will always fire for a minimum of about 1 second. If the bugs were smart, they'd send cannon fodder 1 by 1 to waste the sentries ammo. - The HMG Emplacement actually hits pretty hard. While its surface stats are similar to that of the MG-43, its damage is much higher. I did a mech test once with the emplacement and it only took 15 shots to destroy it compared to the MG-43's 78. This is just speculation of course... - ALSO, while the HMG does technically have Medium level penetration, it has AMR levels of Medium Penetration, allowing you blast through Walker bodies, Devestators, and Hulk faces! (Very useful to know and might be worth bringing into bot missions at the higher levels (will find out)) - For those who want to know what the Mech's stats are: > Total Ammo 1000 rounds > 0.8s wind up time > 21 rounds/s > Max Sustained Fire of 47.6s > Medium AP (haven't had opportunity to test if can pen Walkers which would make it Med III Penetration)

[@aff66]

Upon reading your test with the mech I decided to try, so I shot the left arm (Rocket L) while prone 15m from the walker facing me, Slugger 13 shots, HMG 13 shots, MG 166 shots. Both the Slugger and HMG can destroy poi containers, so they might have about the same PEN, while the MG can't so it has less.

[@josephburchanowski4636]

It should be noted that the HMG has a higher armor penetration than the MG-43. The HMG has the same AP value as the AMR, the autocannon, the safe mode railgun, and the Las Cannon. This AP value does full damage to the 2nd level of armor (things like hive defenders heads, bile spewer head armor, devastator bots chest armor, Strider's joints), and is capable of damaging the 3rd level of armor albeit not many things have it (Strider's frontal shield, Hulk's head/eye, Shrieker nests). You still do no damage to the 4th level of armor which is what we normally consider heavy armor.

[@rykenxiv]

@@josephburchanowski4636Yeap, reading through the comments tells me the same thing! Will update my pinned comment to reflect that!

[@CrispBaker]

A simple crouch does wonders for the MG and Stalwart, and makes the highest RPM setting far more viable, assuming you fire in bursts. (Which you should) If you aren't on the run, you should always be crouching, you'll land way more shots and do far more harm.

[@user-lu1vt8bo7t]

I saw someone test damage of few guns with shield generator relay and Stal has about 55 damage while MG-43 is 80 and HMG sits at 200 damage per shot

[@bokkuro]

They gotta let me reload the Sentry, there is a literal ammo box on it, and my supply backpack got the same ammo box!

[@rykenxiv]

YES! A la DRG so you can make a fortress!

[@tr1bes]

Unless the sentry start shooting at the person with the supply backpack.

[@CharChar2121]

Fuck the stally. Old MG is best

[@spartan2ar949]

Yes! And the auto cannon sentry too!

[@TheHuffur]

@@CharChar2121Agreed! What use is 250 bullets per reload if you need to send like 50+ of them into a single Stalker/Commander/Guard bug? Not to mention the absolute bullet-sponge-Spewers? I also find myself spending much more time on target with the Stalwart even when its the ideal targets like Hunters, if you swipe over a group of them too quickly a lot of them will happily keep going with just a bunch of wounds forcing me to backtrack and mow them down. The OG MG you can keep on the slowest RoF and even a fairly quick swipe over a Hunter group just DECIMATES them, limbs flying all over the place... and it does half decent work against Stalker/Commander/Guards and punch through Spewers head armor for much faster kills than a Stalwart. The long and stationary reload IS bad though... but it also saves the progress so I dont have to finish it in one go if things get close, its not as bad as people make it out to be.

[@Warg00]

When you are shooting a full mag to an horde of bugs and the helldiver starts to scream and laugh… that’s one of the most pleasant feelings on the game

[@lifefindsaway483]

I only get that from the machine gun. ❤

[@handlesrstupid123]

oh ya

[@rexyproductions1661]

Also flamethrower

[@loganhartsel5513]

If the MG-43 resupplied ammo better it would be the only support weapon I use. MG’s are the most fun I’ve had in this game. Hearing your guy scream and laugh like a lunatic while you turn swarms into mush, is the most satisfying thing in the game

[@Boamere]

When the bug is fixed with the mew module you’ll have your wish

[@Rhoderluxel]

3:21 "No real reason to take the MG sentry" The Machine Gun Sentry has a higher turn rate than the Gatling gun, which is especially noticeable with the increased turn rate ship module upgrade. The Gatling gun also tends to waste ammo as it drags its firing line around to acquire new targets, possibly hitting allies. As a result, I believe that the MG Sentry's ability to hold multiple sightlines without significantly risking friendly fire makes it the most reliable sentry to drop in any situation. That being said, if enemies are coming from one direction, and you have proper time and angles to set it up, the Gatling's better.

[@brendonmaher1513]

It would be great with a shorter cool down. You make a good point about its merit though. I took a turret build into a bug mission and got swarmed by shreikers. The MG Sentry had much faster target acquisition and quickly shredded most of them, which allowed me a window to take out the nest. The Gatling sentry was taking out some of the direct dive attack shreikers but it was spraying a lot of ammo at times.

[@Lunageldia]

This is also my personal experience and preference. The lack of DPS matters so much less to me when the gatling burns like 2-3x as much ammo for the same amount of scattered chaff coming through a chokepoint Also I've never been killed by my own MG sentry, but I cannot count the amount if times the gatling has swiped across me while changing targets. It's even mission-killed my exosuits by breaking a leg so I couldn't turn at all! Tldr the MG sentry is a much safer option than the gatling is. (Anecdotally)

[@archmagosavagadro5420]

I've been using it with a full sentry strategem deck to grind common samples. It's ok and nice to have if the others are on cool down. I still wish it had a faster cool down because once i unlock rocket sentries i don't think I'll need it anymore.

[@porkerpete7722]

​@archmagosavagadro5420 you'll need it. The rocket Sentry sucks. The Auto Cannon is the DPS king.

[@wotwott2319]

also, MG sentry is less likely to kill you as it doesnt keep firing while switching targets

[@ConnaKazie.]

Tbh, Stalwart + Supply Pack + EAT-17 + grenade armour + Scorcher/Slugger sounds like a fucking AWESOME bug loadout

[@AveragePearEnjoyer]

Especially because grenade armor gives recoil mitigation, so you can kick it up to 1100 and crouch/prone for a very steady and easy to aim river of lead. Never complain about hunters again. Grab stun grenades to support your team, hit the way more efficient 500kg every single time instead of running rail cannon, and get easy flanks on chargers. Stun them and then mag dump on their explosive weak backside with the scorcher. It won't kill outright but they bleed out pretty fast. You don't need impacts for CC. It does suck to have to wait for a teammate to blow bug holes though.

[@eliaspanayi3465]

Honestly with the EAT cooldown being so low, I just run it and load up on orbital and Eagle stratagems since the sickle doesn't use ammo

[@DerpedCrusader]

I have been running this, but guard dog instead of supply pack

[@leosong6702]

rn my best bug loadout is the eruptor + heavy armor + stalwart + guard dog rover. Eruptor can kill chargers and biles by hitting their soft squishy bits, stalwart clears out massive hordes of hunters, scavengers, and warriors, and the guard dog rover can kill hive guards and watch your back.

[@Arkonoid404]

One thing that should be noted, is that the HMG Emplacement has a High-Medium level of armor penetration, not just Medium; so about the same as the AMR. This means that it can damage things like the Strider Cockpits, Hulk Heads, and Shrieker Lairs, as well as dealing full damage to Medium armored enemies, instead of half, which, on top of being a higher damage already, makes it far more effective than it appears on paper. EDIT: Just read the pinned comment lol. This would probably be the explanation behind the increased damage.

[@anitaremenarova6662]

It's still not as good as the gatling or auto-cannon sentries since you can act independently of them and as such are able to defend an area from multiple angles. HMG could work for choke points alongside the mortar sentry in bot missions however that is much lower utility.

[@anhnguyentuan8035]

4 thing with high-medium amor pen is autocannon, amr, laser cannon and hmg replacement. hulk head, flying bug nest, strider and heavy devastator shield is some example of these type of amor.

[@Arkonoid404]

@@anhnguyentuan8035 That's a good point; I didn't think about that. I'll add those to the comment.

[@Raven5431]

​@@anitaremenarova6662I would be good with it if it had frontal armor a gunsite and cooldown around 100 to 120

[@anitaremenarova6662]

@@Raven5431 You can use it with the shield generator but I agree that the cooldown is too long for needing an operator.

[@jamessider7949]

MG-43 my beloved. Even at level 50 I still tend to bring it with me, definitely my favourite weapon in the game. Switching to higher RPM has saved me and my squad from getting swarmed by medium-armoured enemies time and time again.

[@speedman69420]

I also love it since it I like to lay down near some cover with a buddy covering me when I am reloading or getting rushed and then just switch it to 900 rpm and just let it go BRRRRRRRRRRRR like a german soldier at normandy during D-day.

[@eliaspanayi3465]

I had no idea you could switch fire rate

[@MrHac15]

@@eliaspanayi3465same i have no idea until i watched this video

[@jaylencoats2610]

I really want to like the MG43 but ever since I started running slugger alongside stalwart I can’t go back, honestly it needs an ammo or reload buff

[@royisabau5]

Sorry I just ⬆️➡️⬇️⬇️➡️

[@nathannowatzke6015]

The HMG sentry is wildly powerful for what it is. It's less x2 MG-43s and more like x2 baby autocannons or x2 anti-material rifles. It can kill Hulks from the front. Paired with the shield generator or shield backpack, you're also very durable. I agree the smol MG turret needs to have lower cooldown. Either that or triple it's ammo size to give it more than double the sustained fire of the Gatling.

[@eliaspanayi3465]

If the mg-43 is based off the mg-42, the German 2nd world war machine gun, it probably fires 7.92, in comparison the sentry is a 50cal in line with the AMR which is probably supposed to be firing. Neat to see how there's some real world balance rather than x weapon is worse because reasons

[@DehJarlorNoob]

That shield emplacement and HMG combo is absolutely hilarious against bots!

[@garudanathanael5257]

​@@eliaspanayi3465*Erika song plays*

[@hippoace]

​@@eliaspanayi3465yes rl AMR uses 50cal or 20mm...the HMG does sound like a 50cal turret. Stalwart uses intermedite rifle cal, while mg43 uses full size rifle cal, aka 7.62, 30cal, 7.92 etc

[@joshuapelletier8219]

When reloading the MG-43 you can use a melee to cancel the reload animation. Timing it until right after he dumps the old mag is a good idea as your character will pick up the reload at that point. I use this method of reloading a lot when kiting bugs.

[@rykenxiv]

Oh nice! Learned something!

[@nuggs4snuggs516]

As my groups local machine gun/sentry chad, I've started using the incendiary breaker, Stalwart, Gatling and Autocannons turrets, and railcannon strike against bugs. The turrets and stalwart will chew through most groups of enemies, the incendiary breaker can deal with Chargers surprisingly well, and the railcannon gives you an option against bile titans or a panic button against chargers, if you're feeling desperate

[@kes_poco]

Incendiary breaker can deal with Chargers? Mind sharing the engagement strategy? :O

[@Zav72]

@@kes_pocojust focus shoot the butt same as all other primaries, breaker incendiary just has very good dps with the fast-ish fire rate and the fact it does fire damage over time (not a lot, but still adds up)

[@skie6282]

I run mostly this as well. I only change turrets to orbitals or a shield depending on the level and the group. But at heart, i clear the small guys so my team can focus the big ones. And survive and reinforce

[@skie6282]

​@kes_poco combine it with some HE grenades and its better.

[@wtfronsson]

Scorcher is really amazing for spewers. I don't think I want to play with a primary that doesn't just wipe out any spewer that appears at any range. It also does extra damage to a charger butt. But what you really want to do against a charger is make it stop, then shoot into the yellow bit inside the top of the leg. It's only visible from the rear. A Stalwart kills a charger in under a second this way, I'm pretty sure.

[@angryman2406]

I cannot begin to tell you how useful this video is to me; I am always ALWAYS the machine gunner in games where its an option and oftentimes, they get left behind and forgotten about in favor of more 'exotic' weaponry. I am so glad that as of yet, this playstyle is valid and useful throughout the difficulty levels. Subscribed!

[@rambo-cambo3581]

If we're doing bugs, I always insist at least one of us bring a normal machine gun, it's insanely powerful against a surprising variety of enemies Great against bots too

[@Ryan03091992]

One thing that is a pro for the HMG Emplacement, it destroys Hulks super quickly. The accuracy you get from it allows you to hit the centerpoint consistently and take down the mech in a mere 3 seconds or less. Had a friend mow down three Hulks in quick succession with the HMG Emplacement the first time he tried it out and he hasn't stopped bringing it since with great success.

[@siveonfarcloud4190]

HMG feels like it's doing more way dmg because it shreds everything with very small number of bullets, which is why it not should used "sustained fire". Also, it is ignored by enemies unless manned, does not trigger any breaches/dropships (as long as no one else is spotted) and it can kill a full Shrieker nest from any distance with a mag.

[@Ryan03091992]

@@siveonfarcloud4190 Good to know about the shrieker nest, we hadn't tried that on it yet. Yeah continuous fire isn't needed because it damages so well, granted it is fun haha.

[@steeljawX]

Does it have to go through the weakpoint or will it damage it over all consistently? Like I know you can maim Devastators like taking off their arms and stuff, but can you do that to hulks?

[@Ryan03091992]

@@steeljawX Yikes I would have to ask, I believe it does have to be the weak point since the chest armor is heavy while the weak point is medium high since railgun and anti-material can do the same.

[@wtfronsson]

I haven't tried the emplacement vs bots. I will just get instantly rocketed from crossmap, I can already feel it. Pretty awesome vs bugs though. Just a shame the game is currently crashing if there are too many objects on map. So the obvious loadout of EAT + Emplacement is kinda asking to crash.

[@qcdoomqc]

I 100% condone the hatred for Stalkers :p Great video man. I’m convinced the devs made the in-game tooltips completely useless so that the community develops into something bigger lol, because it’s crazy how little info they give. Keep up the great work my friend :)

[@Venom_Snake_dll]

Stalkers are not a problem, they do not attack you in groups and half magazine of the Breaker is enough to kill em. Hunters howevere, OH BOY THE HUNTERS, they are EVIL incarnate.

[@qcdoomqc]

@@Venom_Snake_dll haha i think they have input reading lol as soon as you put your aim on them they start jumping around and strafing xD But they go down real fast tho :p

[@dr.science_0177]

Same. I like how secondaries are ultimately silent

[@progenitor_amborella]

Sounds like you aren’t listening to the B R A S C H T A C T I C S

[@CaptainCap39]

I find it funny everyone has a problem with the lone stalkers that follow you and not the 300 hunters that come at you at once lol. Hunter’s are so much more annoying imo

[@lupvirga]

i love the MG more then the LMG. the medium pen just absolutely wrecks and cuts through all the bugs like butter.

[@anpan6282]

I don’t love the static reload. LMG kind of gives more bang for the ammo - I just complement the LMG with a primary weapon that does Medium Armor pen. Regular MG just doesn’t have enough ammo to be “jack of all trades” type gun with the kind of downtime it has

[@theFORZA66]

​@anpan6282 the static reload is not a problem. If being chased, start reloading, dive out of the reload, run more, and finish the reload as it saves your reload progress The mg is imho better than the stalwart once you get to higher difficulties. Stalwart is only good up to a point

[@lupvirga]

@@anpan6282 the static reload is, unironically, the best part. because is so strong you need something that limits it. it is something you need to play around instead of just playing like normal. It also ISN'T a jack of all trades, it's specifically a weapon that counters reinforcements vs using all the time. also, sometimes, you need that rapid Medium pen so you can keep a bug breach from getting too out of hand. the other primary medium weapons just don't fire fast enough to counter a swarm of hive guards, commanders, and bile spewers.

[@anpan6282]

@@lupvirga that’s fair. I’ll need to play around with it more

[@SergeantSniper]

@@lupvirga I dig it. I like the idea of a powerful firearm with mobility trade-offs, ideal for supporting a squad.

[@charlesmorton9845]

It's always smart to have two people for crowd control and two people for heavy. The crowed control having MG and a stalwart. And the heavy having a auto cannon, and recoiless. That way you can save ammo by having everyone for everything. So the recoiless can focus on heavy. The auto cannon can focus on large to medium. And the two machine guns can focus on the smaller enemies.

[@MarieAvora]

And don't forget the MG people to always carry an EAT

[@darzinth]

Scorcher+Stalwart is neat.

[@TheTechDweller]

100% agree on giving the more weaker or more awkward stratagems shorter cooldowns. Especially with how punishing some map conditions can be on higher difficulties. Being able to place a bunch of HMG emplacements over a 10 minute period defending an area would be sick.

[@1wayroad935]

The Stalwart is exactly what it's name implies. Simple reliability.

[@big_petebear8535]

Reliably out of ammo

[@hahaureadmyname]

MG-43 needs some love holy shit

[@chaffychaffinch]

This is a great little guide, exactly the kind of content I've been wanting from the helldivers 2 community. A lot of the tools we unlock at the early levels of the game tend to get overlooked in favor of the "cooler" stuff, but having a simple machine gunner on your team is an invaluable asset. I always love it when the end-game stats show just how many shots I fired and how many bugs I've killed just using the classic machine gun.

[@obverticusify]

Good video, nice work on the in-depth explanations. One thing I'd add is the actual armor penetration values. They are 2 for the Stalward, 3 for the LMG, and 4 for the new HMG. I believe it's 3 for the MG and Chaingun sentries and 4 for the HMG emplacement. Just to clarify, if a weapon's armor penetration is below the target's armor value, the projectile bounces. If it's equal, it deals 50% damage, and if it's higher, it deals 100% damage.

[@senor135]

for the MG sentry turret, i think it needs to get a significant advantage over the gatling, in one stat or another. I think either a significantly shorter cooldown or longer sustained fire time, would be good. For a shorter call-in cooldown, I'd try 90 seconds. Or for longer sustained fire time, id try somewhere between 300 rounds (upgraded) to 390 rounds (upgraded) to give it 27.3s or 35.5s of sustained fire, respectively. Or maybe being able to put down multiple at a time would be good. Similar to the un-upgrade Eagle Air Strike, we could throw down one MG sentry, wait 5 seconds or so, and throw down a second MG sentry. then there's the longer cooldown wait of 120s (or whatever would be fair). in this case, the two combined MG sentries would still have less sustained fire time than a single Gatling, still have less DPS than a single Gatling, but would have two angles to shoot from, and one sentry getting destroyed still leaves the second one able to shoot. MG43 support weapon also needs some love i think. maybe let it reload on the move just like the stalwart, or give it an extra magazine, or 200 rounds in each magazine. also i think it needs to reload more magazines per supply pickup. the ammo economy overall is rough for it, and between that and having to sit still to reload, im not sure the medium armor penetration is good enough for the trade off. Maybe 175 rounds per magazine, 4 total magazines, and resupply 2 magazines per supply crate... and maybe a 4.75s reload speed

[@waxblast7528]

Your timing on releasing this is about as good as my timing in 2001 when I told my parents to change the channel because "it's not like the other tower's about to get hit" lol Heavy mg

[@rykenxiv]

I KNOW! AND I WAS A AWAY ON HOLIDAY TOO!

[@A1Strider]

These are genuinely some of the best breakdowns and reviews i have seen on youtube in years, thank you kind Sir.

[@jcsee]

Thank you! You have taught me a few new strategem combinations.

[@deed0h]

best Helldivers data/deep dive content I've found. Thank you for your work citizen!

[@Derpartment]

I've been looking for this info everywhere! Thank you! Would love to see a breakdown of the other sentries as well. 😊

[@ryanegger5092]

Excellent video, fantastic work and a great benefit to the community

[@JobberV]

The intermission alone is worth a like. The rest of the video is also good, warms my sentry-loving heart.

[@davidwells8496]

Great analysis. Enjoying your vids and the data tables are a gold mine. Thank you for your work on this…and the othercomparison vids you’ve done. SUBSCRIBED!

[@HeavyFootedMoa]

10/10 intermission. The well researched and informative video was great too. It felt like the MG turret was a bit ammo starved and you proved it.

[@RamonAlek]

I love bringing this setup with me, Stawart, Slugger, resupply backpack, 500kg bomb and rocket pods, with this i'm ready for anything!

[@hollythefool1535]

Extremely good work and very informative, thanks.

[@rykenxiv]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@cashcrop_]

Thanks for the breakdown, Ryken. I always enjoy your analysis.

[@rykenxiv]

My pleasure! Love the work you do to - answering the questions we all wondering about!

[@aresix8239]

Ive been running supply and MG because well, it just feels super cool. Didnt even know i could change the rpm. Thanks for the video.

[@Kezukov]

Always appreciated the Darktide content, thank you for this wonderful Helldivers Breakdown!

[@zero11010]

Very well made content! Thank you.

[@LordKarnox]

Stalwart + Supply pack to deal with the swarms of hunters and other pests, Scorcher to deal with Hive Guard and spewers and even do work aganist charger bums, then Orbital Railcannon and 500kg + stun grenades to deal with Titans and more chargers seems very solid. Only thing you’d be missing is bug hole destruction, hopefully your teammates can deal with that or the grenade pistol coming out soon would be great!

[@Tommysugarcheeks]

Thanks for the video! Great work

[@cookiedrandan]

As long as my teammates have strategems for the bigger bugs, i love running the gattling sentry, mg sentry and auto cannon sentry with my mg43. It's great for holding down objectives and not getting overwhelmed. Also 3 sentries if deployed properly can protect one another well which is great when you're on the run too.

[@kaio0777]

This was so useful to me thank you 🙏🏾

[@ernestgibson8792]

this info is invaluable. thank you for your service

[@rykenxiv]

Glad it was helpful!

[@MW-qt9ts]

Just something I've always noticed between the standard Machine Gun sentry and the Gatling one is despite having much more ammo, the standard one seems to last longer. I think it doesn't waste as many bullets on corpses and firing while turning as the standard Machine gun does by merit of it just firing slower.

[@ifritksa]

thank you so much Ryken. great video and explanation. cheers

[@rykenxiv]

Thanks for watching! Glad you enjoyed!

[@BlankPicketSign]

Rounds per MINUTE is the standard for all weapons, so according to your data: Machine Gun Sentry: 660 RPM Gatling Sentry: 1,560 RPM HMG Emplacement: 660 RPM

[@TheGrimArcher]

Love your content Ryken, for both Darktide and Helldivers. Keep up the hard work.

[@rykenxiv]

Glad you like them!

[@BubbleShield570]

That's very true, I always use the Stalwart as primary. Always at the lowest RPM to conserve ammo, any higher RPM and you're sure to overshoot.

[@thenomad8732]

Very good video. Can't whait for the HMG in the future update. I love machingun are so fun to use.

[@lalouselim7408]

I love your vidéos and your vibe keep on the good work !

[@PoqpJlaH_nenera]

nice video not one that I asked for but one I truly needed

[@Harpst3rv5]

aw thought I was already subbed! I've loved all your Darktide stuff so far and am so glad you are DIVING into this now.

[@rykenxiv]

Glad you enjoy it! I'm having a HELL of a time digging up all the mechanics and whatnot!

[@lolstfurofl]

Im using the sentry turrets as decoy to pull out all bugs from a nest to close the holes or destroying all eggs. Works great.

[@devonrobinson3889]

Great analysis. Subscribed.

[@marchahmircambe3369]

Very helpful and top quality video as always 👍

[@rykenxiv]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@Philtopy]

Nothing beats good old Dakka. Thanks for this guide!

[@lukefourie]

I didn't even know you could change RPM! 😯 Another great vid! Thanks mate.

[@Pygex]

The HMG sentry needs some buffs yeah but one thing it has it can one clip 3 shrieker towers (with a little extra left in the mag) which is bonkers on Blitz missions. Given how annoying shriekers can get especially if there are multiples sets, I have at times brought it just because it's around 20 seconds to remove a whole nest (3 towers) across the map on a relatively low CD.

[@dondarkblade1460]

excellent breakdown video i will try that loadout on my next solo run thank you.

[@rykenxiv]

Good luck, Soldier! o7

[@anitaremenarova6662]

Excellent breakdown! Happy that the sickle now dethroned the defender as the best all-rounder primary. It was too good compared to all the other assault and sniper rifles with the added benefit of being one-handed. As for machine guns, I still wouldn't take Stalwart since it occupies an invaluable support weapon slot that could be much better utilized using heavy armor shredders like the EAT or Recoilless.

[@duoquendo]

that a nice video, i am going to test that loadout for sure

[@artemisp2819]

Great work, you earned my sub. Anecdotally in my static 9s group I have felt like the gatling has always outperformed machine gun sentry in every way. It's nice to see the actual numbers prove it.

[@aetius9]

The reason you use the MG sentry versus the Gatling sentry is that the MG sentry is more ammo efficient, especially on smaller targets. The Gatling tends to use more rounds than it needs, and dumps more rounds into nothing while it is changing targets.

[@dorkasaurus_rex]

very true, and they both can be used together for a full lockdown/full turret build for area defense missions. Machine Gun, Gatling, Autocannon AND Rocket sentries, all set up properly defending a certain area is VERY hard to get through.

[@zelphiricacid7520]

loved the intermission

[@Dexanimus]

SUPER EARTH THANKS YOU FOR YOUR INVALUABLE SERVICE.

[@solice55]

Great analysis. Thanks for the data! I think your idea of making the Machinegun Sentry on a shorter cooldown could work, but I think it would also work well to just have it able to fire the same number of rounds, albeit at the slower rate. That would allow it to be active longer with the lower DPS.

[@j.j.410]

Aight. Every other sentry gun guide didn't give me what you gave me in one 2 minute time slot. Thanks very much XD You have helped me both in darktide and helldivers XD Keep going Ryken, keep going.

[@Guitarfailtastic2857]

thanks for this video it was just what i was looking for!! for machine guns, my rpm rule of thumb is if my team is assaulting an area the rpm goes up, if we're moving out of an area and need cover fire (automatons) the rpm goes low to somewhat conserve ammo and let the user keep moving and laying more fire down-range and to get to a safe spot to reload. if roaming or getting ambushed it's user preference

[@toasterstrudel1313]

This has been eye opening, I think I’ll try out the stalwart over the flamethrower for bug missions for a little bit because of this.

[@golevka]

Thank you for this great data

[@rykenxiv]

Glad it was helpful!

[@Reginald-sc9tk]

Great vid, appreciate the details!

[@rykenxiv]

Thanks for watching! o7

[@jaredmatthews9403]

Great work

[@MasterJoeKerr]

Fantastic video

[@supman2600]

You're a saint! Keep the great videos coming :)

[@Hiigaranwarrior159]

I think one reason to take the regular MG sentry over the Gatling sentry is so that you don't cut down the rest of your squad with the higher rate of fire of the Gatling; the slower rate of fire of the MG means that someone could actually survive being in front of its line of fire if it acquires something on the other side of them where the Gatling would just destroy them without any chance for them to react, this means that the MG could be very useful as a panic button for high intensity situations where you have enemies all around you, but if you were to lay down a Gatling sentry it would just cut down everyone in the squad without giving them the option to maneuver. Additionally, even though it has less sustained firing time than the Gatling sentry, the MG sentry is arguably more efficient as it tends to kill enemies with just the right amount of ammunition before moving on to the next one where the Gatling will waste more ammo than it needs to on individual targets, this makes it exceedingly good at dealing with swarming enemies like scavengers, hunters, or rank and file bots. As far as man portable machine gun choices, I find I much prefer the MG-43 for its ability to chew through enemies with more armor and deal with lighter enemies with less ammunition use than the Stalwart, but I will not disagree that the Stalwart is useful as an ad-hoc Assault Rifle substitute if you're running a more specialized primary weapon like a marksman rifle or a shotgun, but I would not take it as a replacement for a primary unless I absolutely need to considering it takes up a stratagem slot and I thoroughly disagree with people who want it to be added as a another primary weapon instead of a support weapon.

[@ten-xlegacy4033]

I always use the MG sentry over the gatling specifically because the MG actually stops shooting while switching targets. Combined with the slightly higher turn speed, the MG sentry is much more useful and ammo efficient when thrown in less strategic areas, or when being overrun by a flanking patrol you hadn't expected, as it doesn't waste ammo and cut down teammates while swinging 180 to kill a random flanking scavenger

[@CrispBaker]

Yeah the EAT/Stalwart combo works real, real well. You don't need to be toting around a big gun with the EAT, which leaves room for the Stalwart to clean up the trash, especially as you can reload on the move. Only issue is if you need more than those two shots, but that's when you either rely on orbital/eagle strategems or your teammates.

[@joshuamiller7502]

Ill be honest Im a huge stalwart hater and a huge machine gun glazer. I LOVE taking it in high-level bug missions, I can nearly single handedly deal with ALL the enemies smaller than a charger. It lets me fill such a nice niche, i just love it.

[@hotcoldman9793]

Amazing video! Thank you for just stating facts and not stalling out like most youtube videos do now

[@rykenxiv]

Glad you enjoyed!

[@sauercarey]

This video pretty much covered my normal mid level build. A sickle (will likely switch to slugger when i unlock it), a Stalwart, supply pack, EAT, and an orbital railrun (or on mid-lower some variation of an eagle). I also use +2 grenade armor with impact grenades mainly for bug holes and spewers...

[@Iskaral1]

Superb deconstruction as always

[@rykenxiv]

Thank you!!

[@manuelhuber6146]

Nice work, well deserved like and follow aswell as the comment for the algorithm keep up the good work

[@rykenxiv]

Much appreciated!

[@manuelhuber6146]

@@rykenxiv Always enjoying good content creators, even when they just star out ^^

[@sillybugger3641]

I agree with the cool downs being reduced for machine gun sentry and hmg emplacement, or another thought would be to increase the ammo of both of them to match. I always thought the machine gun had more sustained fire which makes it viable for holding a position for an extended duration. food for thought

[@pair-a-dime]

Incredibly informative, very good job!

[@rykenxiv]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@duumguy6219]

I sometimes use plasma punisher, stalwart, and I mix up what kills my heavy targets. Autocannon, railcannon, air strikes, and jump pack. Getting a higher pov on the terminid field makes the punisher and stalwart great, easy headshots, easy shots into big crowds, spewers butts etc.

[@OJSTheJuice]

Can't wait to get the slugger, really want to run the Stalwart.

[@swordsman1_messer]

I will add my own thoughts. The Gatling sentry does have a habit of overshooting while engaging multiple targets from different directions even moreso than the MG sentry, meaning you can lose out on some of the Gatling’s potential. There is absolutely no reason to use the highest RPM settings for the MG-43 or the Stalwart outside of fun or if you don’t have a weapon that can’t stagger a Stalker efficiently like the Punisher or Slugger. Even if you have a target like a Devastator that absolutely must die, the improved RoF isn’t as worth it as sustained, accurate fire at weakpoints or limbs. An MG is better when pressing forward against Termanid chaff than the flamethrower, as you do not need to worry about constantly setting yourself on fire from fuel on the ground or backwashed into your face by Hunters.

[@beakwooda.k.aadregallus8788]

You will find you will want to improve Stalwart RoF to max when a squad of Brood Commanders charges your butt.

[@thoughtgaming492]

Would love to see the mg43 get some hefty buffs to its ammo. Just a bigger mag size so you dont have to reload it every 10 seconds would be amazing. Or one more clip so resupplies can provide 2 clips. Id even love to see an optional backpack that it comes down with that auto feeds rounds. You dont HAVE to take the backpack like you do with other backpack weapons, but if you do then you never have to reload it.

[@lammyjammy]

Yeah both the turret and the handheld version are very lacking right now. If the MG43 is gonna have a stationary reload, it should hold more rounds. It’s ammo economy is so bad for seemingly no reason. Low reserves overall, low belt size compared to the stalwart, and 1 measly belt replenished with a resupply. That really sucks. It needs a little something.

[@coliax8754]

That would be too strong. MG-43 has medium armor piercing, so pair it with a stickle for light enemies and you wont have ammo problems anymore

[@thoughtgaming492]

@@coliax8754 Medium enemies are not worth taking a dedicated weapon for. You can kill them with light weapons easily enough. The sickle can take them out no problem so theres no need to swap to the MG43. Stalwart will always massively outperform the MG43 because of this in terms of DPS, let alone ammo economy, and a 5 second long immobile reload. This build would be a voluntary handicap at any of the higher levels. The point of the stalwart is that it trades armor penetration for a mobile reload. If you gave the MG43 the exact same ammo as the stalwart youd still see a lot of stalwarts running around because of how crap a 5 second immobile reload is on a weapon thats basically supposed to function as a primary. The liberator penetrator is a good example of what you're saying being completely untrue. Lastly, the reverse of what you said will always be infinitely better. Taking the stalwart with a primary like the slugger or scorcher for mediums will 2 or 3x outperform taking the MG43 for mediums and a primary for lights.

[@coliax8754]

@@thoughtgaming492 nah, light weapons have issues with spitters and warriors while the mg-43 can just mow them down. My point is, that you cant give the mg-43 more bullets without making the salward obsolete

[@thoughtgaming492]

​@@coliax8754 Yes you can. The stalwart not only has more than double max ammo of the MG43, but also only gets back 30% of what the stalwart gets back per resupply pickup. You could increase the ammo on the MG43 by 50% and it still wouldn't even come close to the stalwarts ammo supply, and it would still require a hefty immobile reload. Im not asking for the MG43 to have more ammo than the stalwart, Im just asking for it to have more ammo. For example, if the MG43 simply had 3 belt clips instead of 2 for a 600 ammo capacity total, it would not only increase its max capacity by 25%, but it would double its resupply rate. Even after this, the stalwart has 100 more ammo per clip, 400 more max ammo, and gets 200 more shots per resupply. All while being able to reload on the move. You're crazy if you think that would make the stalwart obsolete. Also spitters can be taken down with a single clip from a light weapon, and weapons like the sickle have infinite ammo. And a single clip of light ammo can take down multiple warriors easily. The stalwart can also take down spitters and warriors with higher ammo efficiency than the MG43 can. Source: I do this every game in helldive. I dont waste support weapon slots on anything that can't get through charger armor and neither do 90% of other difficulty 9 players.

[@sillybugger3641]

awesome content! I appreciate the effort put in! any chance you could do the other sentries?

[@rykenxiv]

Thank you! Definitely - I'm just working out how to put them together so the video makes the most sense/value to watch!

[@primedestroyers2170]

been running the HMG turret, machine gun, EAT's, and the mech. Against bugs its really good

[@primedestroyers2170]

The HMG turret can solo all 3 shieker hives as well. Do note that if the turret gets destroyed while your on it you will die. Chargers are your worst enemy

[@searingllama5621]

Yay, nice to see some love for the Machine Guns. My current loadout is MG-43, Supply Pack and 2 free slots, with the Breaker Spray & Pray, Senator, Impacts and I wear the SC-15 Drone Master armor for the recoil reducing passive. I run the gun at the full 960 RPM for all occasions except for when the mission spawns Pouncers/Hunters instead of either Spewer variants where I run it down at 680 RPM in order to control the extra chaff spawns. I prefer the MG-43 in every instance over the Stalwart just because of the medium armor penetration letting it punch through any of the most common enemy spawns

[@dawinswaitingroom]

Great round up,much appreciated, coming from someone who has put 130 hours into HD2

[@Fidel17011984]

Great video! Please make more! Smashed like button

[@XxBrainWreckxX]

Been using the heavy machine gun it’s so good! It will be meta when it’s officially put into the game

[@mastervule1844]

Amazing vids. I promised myself not to fall into rabithole of obsession with Helldivers but looking at quality of your vids, I think that goes out of the window haha

[@rykenxiv]

Thank you! I love games that have a lot depth and nuance - makes the discovery all the more interesting to carry out!

[@marinjart94]

Good stuff!

[@4Hupf]

Great breakdown, as always. The range really surprised me.

[@rykenxiv]

Me too! It a surprise to find out for sure!

[@Limitbreak09]

Damm.. this video is crazy good! Thanks man!

[@rykenxiv]

Glad you liked it!

[@zanaduz2018]

Of course, they *just released* a new HMG barely a couple days after this released… 😅 It appears to be a demounted version of the emplacement guns, with a RoF selector equivalent to the MG-43. 75-round belt on it, so half that of the MG-43… Would need to test it myself.

[@hoshyro]

Only true Helldivers learn to love the Heavy MG

[@thelegendaryklobb2879]

Guard dog Rover is another cool option for MG/Stalwart builds instead of the supply backpack. It helps a lot with the crowd control and allows you to conserve ammo. While you focus on long distance and stronger enemies with the MG or Stalwart, the Guard dog eliminates the small pests, protects you from sneak attacks and will increase your DPS against stronger enemies when both fire at them.