Helldivers 2 - a guide on the arc thrower and mastering arc lightning

The arc thrower in Helldivers 2 has been one of my most favorite support weapons to bring into my missions. It's as strong just as it is confusing, and I'm hoping to shed some light on not only the arc thrower but how arc lightning works in this game as a whole.
Really interested to see what you all think about the arc thrower, so please share your experiences and opinions in the comments below!
Like and subscribed if you enjoyed!
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Chapters:
00:00 Intro
00:52 Couple of Disclaimers
01:41 Video Structure
02:20 Arc Thrower Basics
04:30 Arc Lightning Behavior
10:12 Gameplay and Use Cases
12:52 Tips, Tricks, and Oddities
19:53 Overall Thoughts
Background Music: Left Bank Two by the Noveltones

[@sahara8771]

The high damage against Bile Titans thing was the PS5 bug. It's also why the Arc Thrower's range was nerfed, a dev saw it "slapping Bile Titans" and nerfed it because of that. Also it used to be able to open crates, but can't anymore.

[@Wallbouncing]

Thanks for clarifying that! Appreciate you checking out the video!

[@alexandreparent5754]

Its a similar justification that railgun got nerfed that hard too if I remember well

[@xlr8ed398]

Wow that's a fucking tragic way to get nerfed

[@bentlyman1]

I don't have epilepsy but already a plus in my book for thinking of the viewer. I like that man

[@Wallbouncing]

Oh yeah of course! I also don't have epilepsy but seeing so much flashing lights did put a strain on my eyes so I figured it may make others feel the same. Appreciate your comment and thanks for checking out the video!

[@czairkolmoslink5952]

So before the range change you used to break crates. After you stop having the ability to break crates. It was like a hidden Nerf to the arc thrower as its destructibility was lowered. The Bile Titan was a crossplay bug, like the railgun. This bug let it one-shot bile titans. This was part of the reason the range was nerfed. I love the arc thrower, but haven't used it much because of all the bugs it still has. It should also have its 50 range back and be able to open up crates again.

[@Wallbouncing]

Thanks for clarifying about those two points and thanks for sharing your opinion. I didn't use the arc thrower much when it still had 50m range. I feel like 35m is already ready far it's crazy to know just far it could've reached haha. Thanks for watching!

[@czairkolmoslink5952]

@@Wallbouncing 35 is pretty long, I think 50m would help you against the bots as you want range weapons against them. After the indirect nerf, the argument that it deals with hulks isn't good anymore. So I like the 50. Happy I was able to clarify. Hope you have a good day

[@TheLomsor]

The bit about breaking armor is interesting. Many people complain how there isn't any other way to deal with heavies besides AT Strategems. But someone with an Arc Thrower could open up heavies to be damaged by primaries.

[@Wallbouncing]

Oh yeah, the arc thrower is great for stripping armor off of chargers and if your teammates are close by they can capitalize and clean them up faster. Thanks for checking out the video!

[@Lemone_99]

Yeah anything that has its side armor stripped gets shredded by stuff like the grenade launcher

[@tylerhall7300]

Thermite grenade kills hulks easy

[@Forgelock3d]

Arc thrower blinds chargers. Shoot them 1x or 2x then step to the side sl8ghtly they charge your last seen position

[@Wallbouncing]

Oh wow is that real. That's actually a sick game mechanic. Thanks for sharing that. Definitely got to keep an eye out for that! Thanks for checking out the video!

[@Destroyer.2000]

Here's a pretty good arc thrower build that I've brought on multiple bug helldives for anyone who wants to have a go at using this weapon. Eruptor Redeemer Stun Grenade 500 kg Bomb Expendable EAT/Rail Cannon/Cluster Bomb/Orbital Airburst Strike (Your pick) Guard Dog "Rover" Arc Thrower (Obviously) Eruptor: closing bug holes, killing bile/nursing spewers/killing stalkers (This weapon should be your go-to stalker killer) Redeemer: killing any immediate threat that gets to close (mainly hunters) Stun Grenade: Easy charger killer (you need 6 headshots with the arc thrower to kill a charger. The stun lasts long enough to get 3-4) 500 kg Bomb: Bile titan killer, group of stunned charger killer, also a good way to get rid of a very specific light bug nest with 3 bug holes right next to each other in a pit. Expendable EAT: Kills bile titans, chargers, and spore spewers/shrieker nests from afar. Rail Cannon: Throw and forget solution to chargers and sometimes bile titans (you're gonna have to deal with the cool down, though) Cluster Bomb/Orbital Air Burst Strike: Chafe killer (Air burst is great for throwing on bug breaches, too. It can even kill chargers sometimes) Guard Dog "Rover": Kills anything that gets too close to your personal space (biggest weakness of this build is hunters getting within jumping range of you. It takes too long to charge an arc thrower shot, so you have to reposition while relying on your redeemer and guard dog) Additional notes: You could swap the Eruptor for another primary for handling enemies up close and swap your redeemer for the Grenade pistol, but the ability to take out bug holes from afar is very strong. People may not realize that bug holes only spawn bugs if you are within a certain range of the nest. A good example is the heavy bug nest with 10 holes. With the Eruptor, you can straddle the rim of the nest and close the bug holes without any extra bugs being summoned, barring a bug breach. The moment a person runs down the ramp into the nest, all the bug holes will start summoning bugs on a timer and won't stop until the person exits the nest.

[@Wallbouncing]

Appreciate the build recommendation and this is a very solid build choice. I feel that this is very good coverage for all situations, be it close quarters, heavies, and the utility to help your load out perform better. Thanks for your tip about the bug holes too. I did not know the behavior of the spawning so that was very cool to learn! Thanks for your comment and thanks for checking out the video!

[@ferdithetank7535]

I like this build a lot, been using pretty much the same, except I like to swap between Redeemer and Senator for secondaries to pair up with Eruptor. Senator helps dealing with spewers that come too close to be dealt with Eruptor/Arc Thrower due to shrapnel/charge time. Also for strategems I prefer Precision Strike if there are no annoying planet modifiers, Jump Pack to get out of sudden patrol crescendos and Tesla Tower for style points.

[@welcometoreality437]

I use this but for chafe my go to is the Napalm strike, you get 2-3, already does explosive DMG and now DoT works a single strike can clear a bug breach. I don't bring a backpack and just get one from teammates after cooldown (usually shield).

[@Pyromaniac77777]

Been waiting for a vid like this for the Arc Thrower, thank you

[@Wallbouncing]

Thanks for your kind words and thanks for checking out the video! Appreciate it!

[@bananaboye3759]

It still staggers chargers, it's just that the stagger only slows them down a little and nerfs their turning instead of stunning them. I wish hulks got the same treatment instead of a complete stagger removal

[@Wallbouncing]

Oh, thanks for sharing that. To me it looked like they would continue to charge, unaffected by the arc shot, but good to know that it at least slows them a bit. Also, yeah it sucks that hulks now just shrug off every arc shot. Thanks for checking out the video!

[@derain95]

We are shooting high voltage at a machine,it should at least call it to glitch, stumble a little and have re aim at us. Not a 100% stunlock but enough to open up more game play choices than stratagems or run/die. Just enough that when you are in flame range and you keep it stunned you can get around it and hit the yellow weakspot, risk reward.

[@EricThePooh]

As an Arc Thrower main, I learned so much from this! I was expecting this to be a basic guide I'd click out of. Really good stuff Might I suggest workshopping your title and thumbnail a bit more? I think you'd get more clicks if you highlight how thoroughly you breakdown the targeting. The current title/thumb wasn't that compelling to me, though I'm glad I clicked

[@Wallbouncing]

Thanks for checking out the video and for your suggestion. I did change the title and thumbnail based on your feedback, which I thought was very reasonable, and I wanted to get your thoughts on it if that's fine. Thanks again for your comment and glad you learned a lot from this video!

[@EricThePooh]

@@Wallbouncing I like it a lot! It's consistent with your visual style and it teases a question someone might not know they have about the gun. Definitely helps set it apart from other videos on the arc thrower Forgive me if I missed it, but did you figure out roughly how wide the cone angle is? I'd be interested in knowing that, if just for my own curiosity lol

[@Wallbouncing]

@@EricThePooh I said how I believe the cone is 45 degrees in the video but I misspoke and meant to say it's 90 degrees. I would see it hit enemies more directly to the side sometimes but when I slow down the footage it looks like it does seem to approach at an angle that makes that near sideways jump make more sense. Hope that answers your question and thanks for your opinion of the change! Thanks for watching again!

[@sadpee7710]

really informative and well put together video. i was trying to find info on how the arc thrower worked like 2 hours ago and could find something good, remember thinking to myself "i wish wallbouncing makes a video on it" and here you are. amazing timing. coincidentally.

[@sadpee7710]

i am curious if the lightning works the same for the blitzer as the arc thrower. it doesn't feel like it, maybe they share code and the arc throwers issues are just way more noticeable when you're forced into close range? either way i feel as though the blitzer misfires way more and is way more inconsistent. maybe that's too anecdotal + i haven't tested it enough to say. but. edit: maybe it's just that the tesla weapons get a bad angle for locking on if you're scoped in at close range. hip firing is fine

[@Wallbouncing]

Awesome, thank you! Your comment made my night! Glad you enjoyed the video and thanks for checking it out!

[@Wallbouncing]

I have not tried the blitzer enough to know the arc lightning there works. The tesla tower and the arc thrower both fire a single arc towards a single target, and the blitzer fired 3 (probably because it's a shotgun). I may need to spend some time understand how that arc lightning works, if it is different, but at the moment not confident enough to make any specific claim. I do have the arc blitzer on my lists of things to look over so keep on the lookout for that eventually!

[@Gaelic-Spirit]

There was actually a short period of time around the Cutting Edge warbond where everyone on the bug front was using the arc thrower at the same time because it still had that 50m distance and destroyed the bugs It was basically a one shot sniper with aim assist

[@ferdithetank7535]

Btw, it's more on the topic of armor perks design failures, but I'd like to share OhDough's suggestion to make arc resistance from Superconduit armor perk spread to your teammates as well. That way if you bring Arc strategems you can ensure it's not instakilling fellow divers even if they get hit by stray lightning. Right now it's kinda pointless since it requires your entire team or at least someone other than you wearing it in order to benifit from it at all, unless you're standing still in your Tesla coil's range like a dummy. It's such a disappointing implementation of a really cool idea.

[@scotthicks7050]

Thank you for the flashing light warning. Love all of your content. I would love to see a feature on punisher plasma.

[@Wallbouncing]

Appreciate your kind words and thanks for checking out my other videos as well. I do enjoy the punisher plasma and it is a very unique weapon that I intend to make a review on so stay tuned! Thanks for checking out the video!

[@cathode6252]

Thanks a lot, bro! Now finish strong with an ARC-12 Blitzer analysis. Did you think this would be easy?

[@Wallbouncing]

The arc blitzer is on my list for an eventual breakdown, and to be honest I didn't think this would be easy. The tesla tower was confusing as is, and having to dive back into the arc lightning rabbit hole was a bit daunting but it's the only way to try and answer all these questions I have about it so it was worth it! Thanks for checking out the video!

[@Wallbouncing]

Hey again! Checked off the list of arc weapon reviews (for now) and uploaded an arc-12 blitzer analysis video! You feel personally connected to these arc review videos so I just had to reach out and send an update haha

[@cathode6252]

@@Wallbouncing awesome

[@xgravewalker23x54]

You’ve inspired me to try out an arc build. Great video man. Continue showing ways to spread managed democracy 😤

[@Wallbouncing]

Appreciate your kind words and hope you have a great time with it! Thanks for checking out the video!

[@FairwellNoob]

The arc thrower does one shot hive guards. The problem is that you can't see their head get popped like with brood commanders or warriors. One distinctive feature of enemies having their head popped is they enter a "berserker" mode where they move incredibly fast after getting shot in the head, which is what happens with hive guards. They will eventually die if they bleed out

[@FairwellNoob]

stalkers do get one shot if arc thrower hits the head aswell.

[@Wallbouncing]

Thanks for that tip, didn't know that about the hive guards. Appreciate you checking out the video!

[@Kalvaaja]

Fellow Arc Thrower enthusiast here. From my experience the close range misfire "bug" usually happens when there's corpses around. Haven't noticed an environmental factor to it, but also haven't really been looking at that in detail. Also, as a disclaimer, I haven't really enjoyed the Arc Thrower in bot missions, so all of the following is almost completely based on fighting bugs. You can get the lightning to behave pretty consistently in close combat, but it requires very precise aiming to get the lightning going if something's right in your face. You also need at least about an arm's length between the barrel and your target and aim directly at the enemy. If your aim even slightly off or if the target is right at the end of your barrel, it will likely misfire. To get the most consistent CC lightning behavior with bugs, fire at them right after they take a step back from you after striking. This is a rather unhealthy plan to begin with, so it's generally a better idea to just run or dive to get the distance. Scavengers and pouncers are quite harmless and easy to run around anyway, but hunters pose a real problem and require really good timing and reading their attack animation. The lightning is surprisingly powerful against Stalkers, but usually in situations where you can pick them off with the Arc Thrower, you would have fared just as well with almost any other weapon. So, after all this theorizing, I recommend using the Breaker or anything equally fast and powerful you're comfortable with against anything that gets within three steps of you. TL;DR: the Arc Thrower can be used consistently in close-quarters combat by aiming and timing the shots perfectly. It doesn't work at point-blank range, or if your aim is even slightly off. If you want to live the Arc life, get a shotgun too.

[@Wallbouncing]

Glad to get some insight on my video from a fellow arc trooper. Thanks for sharing your insight and appreciate your tips and thanks for checking out the video!

[@jackplisken4738]

tbh . i think you need to be pretty blind to TK teammates with arc or blitzer .+ a little trigger discipline is required which not many have

[@redturner2325]

Thanks for this, great guide!

[@Wallbouncing]

Appreciate the kind words! Hope you have a fun time with the arc thrower!

[@HIMPDahak]

I see the most 'misfires' when there are any form of obstruction (corpses, map clutter, walls, etc) within the targeting cone. It seems to get confused and just doesn't fire anything. Side kiting is the way to go with it since the corpse piles in particular mess it up hard.

[@isocryd]

I concur with 6:40. I’ve seen my shots hit a charger at an odd angle and go straight to a teammate, at a 90 degree angle from my shot. Also, I’ve observed lightning arcs to behave in a way that I can only describe as “flying shoelaces”, where the lightning will travel forwards, wriggling as it flies like a physical object. This is easily observable from a greater height at a distance while someone else is tazing enemies.

[@Wallbouncing]

Thanks for your comment and I always welcome the discussion. I personally have seen some pretty egregious cases of the arc where it looks like it does a straight 90 degree turn towards a unit. When I watch the clip in slow-motion to review it, I would see a very tiny change of direction right before impact that can at least make the argument that the arc chain was somewhat reasonable. Given that 'flying shoelace' behavior of how much wriggling the lightning does while traveling, it makes even the angle in which the lightning strikes the target not always consistent. I'm never going to say my account is absolute fact. These are just theories based on observation. I do appreciate any discussion about the lightning as it'll help the community as a whole if we could nail down the way this thing works. Appreciate your comment and appreciate you taking the time to check out the video!

[@lux2248]

9:35 this is actually not the case for the initial hit on the enemy. between your and the targets center-of-mass needs to be a line of sight, so you might not be able to hit your targets when you or them are partially covered. thats probably also the cause of the "misfire" you mentioned later aswell and the clip where you're trying to hit the Hulk shows that pretty well

[@Kiroy919]

Thumbs up, just for the flashing light warning

[@sub7se7en]

Because of the range nerf and the slow down in how quickly you can charge a follow up shot it doesn't feel quite as good to use. Personally, it feels pretty bad for me. I used to quite like it.

[@andresjgarzonmanzano8956]

You are great explaining stuff. Personally, I never shoot this thing when I see a fellow Helldiver close to me. 😂

[@Wallbouncing]

Appreciate it the kind words! Means a lot and thanks for checking out the video!

[@kshimi]

this gun is wonderful, and as they say, there is ZERO way to avoid friendly fire and we must be ready to reinforce at any time!

[@Wallbouncing]

The gun is wonderful and I do feel like there's ways to try and prevent team killing your squadmates, but accidents do happen so yeah be ready to reinforce! Thanks for checking out the video!

[@zemufinman1639]

11:50 Stagger doesn't matter when you one shot, David got a crit headshot on Goliath

[@25xxfrostxx]

I liked the arc thrower but I don't use it much after the nerf. When you could fire it faster after the first full charge, that compensated for the fact that a good number of the attempts to fire don't work. Rate of fire made the fact that a lot of shots go into a dead body or right into the dirt hurt less because you could try again. I don't get what they were talking about with it "slapping bile titans across the map". I have never seen an arc thrower kill a bile titan, likely because I don't know anyone crazy enough to try.

[@loudi8063]

The arc used to be able to destroy structures such as loot containers, but after the range and stagger chance it hasn’t been able to do so anymore

[@Wallbouncing]

Thanks for your input and appreciate the clarification! Also, thanks for making the time to check out the video!

[@MC-hr1py]

I'm finding it a little hard to go back to the Arc Thrower since the Blitzer buff. I love the quicker fire rate and it feels much better at closer quarters than the thrower. I was using the Thrower almost exclusively as my support weapon but the blitzer feels too good right now. Blitzer and Railgun with grenade pistol and stun grenades is my fav build at the moment.

[@Wallbouncing]

I've been using the blitzer all weekend and am actually working on a review video for it right now! I have to say that post patch it is a lot better of a weapon. It is better at close quarters compared to the arc thrower too! Love to get your opinion about the video when I upload it as I'd like to know what someone who uses the blitzer a lot thinks about it. Thanks still for checking out the video!

[@MC-hr1py]

@@Wallbouncing Will do man. Bout half way through this video and dig the detail you provided. Will sub and keep an eye out for your blitzer vid. I think the biggest difference between the two is I can managed hunters better with the blitzer because if they get too close, I can do a melee and then hit them with my next shot immediately, with the arc and that one second build up it doesn't work as well in that situation.

[@Wallbouncing]

@@MC-hr1py Appreciate that, and yeah I felt with the blitzer you can weave in a melee in between the shots to maximize that charging downtime!

[@Wallbouncing]

@@MC-hr1py Hello! Just uploaded my review on the arc blitzer and if you ever find the time I'm curious as to see what someone who uses the blitzer frequently thinks about it!

[@KorbanDallas1914]

As a arc main i love how the blitzer buff lets me pick other stuff because as amazing the arc thrower is it always took other options from the loadout.

[@m_bunz]

Here’s a tip for those considering using arc thrower against bile titans. A bile titan can be killed easily with an arc thrower, provided you can do the following: - Break either of its side armour from its left or right flank - Shoot its head from the front while aiming up high to get the lightning to arc through the exposed surface from the broken armour While it’s not consistent, I have been able to kill a few bile titans this way with the arc thrower. Fyi, you do not need to be on high ground for this.

[@TheWagn156]

I was hoping you would go into the ship upgrade and if it's worth it. Does it make arc thrower a lot more effective? Wondering before I invest my samples.

[@Wallbouncing]

Hello! Thanks for your comment. As for your question, I would say that personally it does make your arc thrower a tad more effective. I wouldn't say it would make it incredibly stronger, but just a little bit more. Since I believe the chance to chain to an additional target decreases with each chain, that ship upgrade will now unlock that chance to chain to a 4th target but it won't be very high so don't expect it consistently chain to 4 targets. If you are a shock trooper at heart go for it, otherwise I feel that the Superior Packing Methodology and the XXL Weapons bay are better tier 4 ship upgrades to get first. I'd say Circuit Expansion would be my 3rd or 4th ship tier 4 ship upgrade choice and the last one would be Atmospheric Monitoring as I rarely use the wide AOE orbital barrages. Hope that answers your question and thanks for checking out the video!

[@Popsickle666]

Fellow arc trooper here, great video for people learning this weapon. If you make a Blitzer video you'll find a new inconsistency. Will the Blitzer spread to multiple targets or focus one?

[@Wallbouncing]

I have yet to use the blitzer, but knowing it fires multiple arcs instead of one like the arc thrower and the tesla tower I'm sure it comes with its own sets of pros and cons (and headaches). I do have it on my list to review eventually so stay tuned for that! Thanks for checking out the video!

[@Wallbouncing]

Longtime arc trooper and born-again blitzer enjoyer here to report that I tried the blitzer, was super confused about the lightning inconsistency and just uploaded a review video about it and wanted to get an experienced blitzer's feedback on it!

[@lightskininpain8568]

I almost exclusively run arc thrower n jump pack so this was really helpful. Also does the arc thrower still kill bile titans? I headshot one last night but idk if that was just convenient timing

[@Wallbouncing]

It kills bile titans just not really well. I've had my arc thrower kill bile titans buts only after some of my teammates put a good minute or two of work inot it and I just happened to stroll on by. If you were to kill it single-handedly just by yourself with the arc thrower it could take 45-55 shots to do it. Thanks for watching!

[@ferdithetank7535]

​​@@WallbouncingI believe it works similar to flamethrower, once the upper body armor gets exposed, it takes the full damage from below instead of only a fraction. I've managed to kill titans with Tesla Tower after it got hit by Railcannon strike/Precision Strike, and OgDough has a clip of him killing one with just Arc Thrower in ~60 shots. Not even worth bothering in general, but if you're out of options and see it's armor cracked, might as well try😌

[@ClaraCleary2005]

My partner and I have actually done multiple missions with only electric stratagems and weapons. It's a fun challenge but not for the faint of heart, the blitzer is not as effective against bots as other weapons and we sadly have not been able to complete a mission with the loadout against the bots.

[@timiddorangaming]

Does each chain "reset" the range? Can it bounce to enemies beyond 35m if my first target is 30m away?

[@Wallbouncing]

Yeah, so the 35m range is for that initial target. If you were to hit something at 30m, it can hit something that's 10m behind that and so on until you've maxed out the bounces. As to how far the chain distance is, I'm not so sure, but I have seen the chain jump really far. Since the chain distance can go so far it really makes the actual range you can be effective with the arc thrower quite far. A common tactic would be to kill something at the end of the range, so 35m away, and just keep shooting at that corpse and have it chain to enemies behind it so you can still engage safely. Hope that answers your question and thanks for checking out the video!

[@cyrene03]

love the weapon, but the misfires are so frustrating

[@Wallbouncing]

I'm in the same exact boat as you. I love the arc weapons, even the tesla tower, but the misfire and the inconsistent targeting makes it difficult to say I love it 100% haha. Thanks for checking out the video!

[@Yzaccc]

You probably already said this in the video but with the arc thrower if you were to aim to the left of the enemy would a cone form on the right or is it just random?

[@Wallbouncing]

Thanks for your question. If an enemy was directly in front of you and you were to the aim the arc thrower to the left and fire, the lightning would travel a little to the right if it targets them and from what I've seen, this would be able to influence the cone that forms to chain behind that enemy. I wouldn't say it's guaranteed because the lightning changes angles mid-air, but from what I observed and experienced, it has more than often behaved in this way. I hope that answers your question and thanks for checking out the video!

[@Yzaccc]

@@Wallbouncing this does answer my question thank you. Also really good video it really helped with my arc thrower gameplay.

[@mrROAR104]

Good info for people who want to use the arc thrower that said, I'm honestly just not sure why I would ever use this over the arc blitzer as that's only 5m less range, doesn't need to be charged, can hit multiple enemies to stun, and more. Gun actually lost any place it actually had in loadouts with the rework, and subsequent nerf to staggering hulks. Nothing it can do better than anything else, and no viable role it fills in game far as I can tell.

[@Wallbouncing]

Thanks for your comment and I agree with your point. Similar to what you were saying, when the plasma punisher got buffed I tried it out and I thought to myself that aside from how fast you can pull out the weapon and aim with it, the eruptor can do what this can and do more on top of it. Beyond that, the exploding crossbow pulls out to aim just as fast, has more damage and works pretty much the same way, which all the more puts the plasma punisher in a weird spot. I have yet to use the blitzer enough to see just how much it outclasses the arc thrower, but I appreciate you insight about the weapons and the arc thrower. Thanks for checking out the video!

[@OriginalOmgCow]

Crossbow nerf made that kind of moot really.

[@Phr00tage]

I use the arc thrower because it is versatile in handling enemies lower than bile titans (it can and does kill chargers pretty well) and doesn't take a backpack slot.

[@Pr0g4m3m4s7eR]

The blitzer doesn't arc the same way the thrower can. And it doesn't damage chargers as much. The blitzer arcs between targets in a side line. The thrower arcs from one target to the one behind. Being a fan of both weapons, I would say the thrower is more versatile than blitzer which is fair considering it takes a support slot

[@shapshane8241]

can you weapon swat arc thrower with blitzer to mitigate their low firerate?

[@Wallbouncing]

Unsure if you can weapon swap the blitzer to make it shoot faster, but not sure if the arc thrower will benefit from weapon swapping because you can charge right away after shooting (there's no charge cooldown). Hope that answers your question and thanks for checking out the video!

[@ShadowofProvidence]

When you stun a charger, and blast its head it takes like 6 shots. If you aim for the leg, how many shots does it take to break the front leg armor? could it be faster to take out the leg and shoot it with a primary vs the ~7s to focus its head?

[@Wallbouncing]

It arguably could be fast, and from what I recall it takes around 3-4 shots to it's front leg armor to strip it off. What makes this difficult is that the leg is not very large and most of the time the charger will be coming at you head on and due to the way the autolock works you'll need to be at specific angles to influence the arc shot to hit the leg and not the head. If you were to do it consistently without trouble, the question is now is it faster than a straight head on shot. I want to say yes and if you have a high dmg primary you could outpace additional arc thrower shots but due its the practicality of it I'd recommend continuing to use the arc thrower to the face in general. In the moments where the charger is going for a teammate and you do get some good side leg shots then yeah swap out to your primary and I think it'll be faster. Hope that answers your question and thanks for checking out the video!

[@ShadowofProvidence]

@@Wallbouncing Cheers. That does make sense. If you can commit 4s to a leg, just do 2s more to its face for the kill

[@jaredwattier1749]

I love using the arc thrower and the blitzer for bugs. Got short range and long range. Its easy mode

[@Wallbouncing]

Glad to hear you're having a good time with the arc weapons. I always have a good time with them too (when they don't misfire haha)

[@jessemiron8257]

Something got nerfed with the Arc Thrower a few weeks ago that stopped the 1 - 2 shots on bile Titans. I used it as my main until the crash bug happened, picked it back up and it hasn't been the same. 😢

[@Wallbouncing]

Wish I could've at least experienced a 1 shot to a bile titan in my lifetime with the arc thrower, but it still does a decent job at cooking the rest of the bugs haha. Thanks for checking out the video!

[@sylokthedefiled7650]

Heads up, blitzer feels GREAT after patch. Might be worth a look

[@Wallbouncing]

Oh yeah I definitely will. A lot of people have been telling me about the blitzer so it's moving up that list haha. Thanks for watching and stay tuned for that!

[@MC-hr1py]

I haven't gone back to the thrower since I bought the blitzer post patch

[@Wallbouncing]

Thanks for mentioning the blitzer! Just made a review video about it and was curious to see what a fellow blitzer thinks about it!

[@denodagor]

I both wish it wouldn't ever arc sideways so i can be sure it won't hit other divers, but also kinda want it to not have to hit only targets in a line. I've seen the arc thrower turn 90º to the side to hit a helldiver once...the arcing is very goofy and unpredictable

[@mrROAR104]

only does that if they're within a very close range to the target. The arcing isn't goofy and it is predictable

[@gabrieldidan]

how many ark thrower shots does it take to break bile titan carapace not kill it but just open the carapace???

[@LizardOnAMushroom2358]

Too many to be reliable. I've mained the thing for a while, and idk if I've ever broken the carapace of its attacking me

[@gabrieldidan]

@@LizardOnAMushroom2358 itis because atm im using the spear which dumpsters on bile titans(if it hits the body and not the legs)then i change to a exlposion gun and hit the opening), it is just i have seen it happen to the charger but i can not remember if i have done it to the bile titans.

[@Wallbouncing]

When shooting it from above, I was able to maybe break the carapace after about 20-25 shots. I was never able to strip off the armor when shooting it from below. Hope that helps! Thanks for checking out the video!

[@rzkrdn8650]

Good video bro

[@Wallbouncing]

Appreciate your kind words! Thanks for making the time to check out the video!

[@ferdithetank7535]

Compared to Blitzer, Arc Thrower doesn't look great IMO. The slowdown while holding the trigger along with nerfed range and existing arc targeting issues make it borderline unplayable, especially against bots. It's supposed to be good at mid/close distances, but literally can't hit things that are already shooting at you or right at point blank. The upsides of having infinite ammo and "auto aim" don't even work when that said aim doesn't work for no good reason and you simply don't live long enough to benifit from ammo economy. I think devs should give it back the 50m range along with fixing arc targeting issues, while also make it ALWAYS deal headshot damage, regardless of where you hit the enemy. That alone would improve consistency drastically.

[@Wallbouncing]

Thanks for sharing your insight about the arc thrower. I do feel like fixing the inconsistent shooting would make this gun 10x better, if it did get its range and even a damage boost then I'd have my cake and eat it too haha. Thanks for your comment and thanks for checking out the video!

[@iamramen2781]

any info on how to deal with the automaton air ships with it because they are the only thing i cannot deal with with a arc thrower loadout

[@Wallbouncing]

You can shoot enemies as they are dropping from the air ship, but the air ship is something the arc thrower can autolock on in on itself so I wouldn't recommend getting close to it and trying that. For my arc thrower loadout against automatons, I like to use the arc thrower as my "primary" and use my primary weapon slot for the eruptor to nuke the bots as they are clumped up before they drop and then use the arc thrower to clean up what's left. If it drops a tank I use an eagle and if its a factory strider I just run away haha. Hope that helps and thanks for checking out the video!

[@iamramen2781]

@@Wallbouncing oh I mean the air troops from the fabricator

[@Wallbouncing]

@@iamramen2781 Oh, as for those things yeah they are way to high to deal with it. I believe they hover around 80 meters or so above you and I'd say you can take a scorcher as your primary weapon as it is able to hit it and deal with it adequately. Hope that helps!

[@ferdithetank7535]

I little bit late on the advice, but hope you'll find this helpful. If you don't like bringing extra support weapon strategem such as EATs(I know I don't, because picking them in a rush can be troublesome and looking for your Arc Thrower afterwards while being in combat sucks), try using Medium armor pen primaries such as Scorcher, Eruptor or Dominator. Those can destroy gunships in reasonable time as long as you hit the thrusters. I'd also suggest picking Laser Cannon (not the Quasar, the other one xD) for bots and gunships specifically, it does everything you need to while also having infinite ammo/good handling.

[@isenpie]

whoa! what cape is that? the one in your intro?

[@Wallbouncing]

Thanks for checking out the video! That cape (I forgot the specific name) comes from the Super Citizen Edition of the game. It has sand from Super Earth rubbed into it which I think gives it that sheen.

[@isenpie]

@@Wallbouncing cool man! Thanks for the video! I just got my ship upgrade for that, too!

[@janmoy4670]

It is not that the arc thrower ignores armor of chargers, it has a armor penetration rating of 7. No enemy has higher than 6. It is the only support weapon with this armor penetration @wallbouncing

[@Wallbouncing]

Oh thanks for letting me know. I've seen people reference armor penetration ratings and the actual damage number of support weapons but was unsure where people got that source from. Do you happen to know where I can find it? Thanks for checking out the video!

[@janmoy4670]

@@Wallbouncing The armor penetration system is weird in this game. if your armor penetration value matches the armor you do 50% damage. It always has to be 1 higher to do full damage. Light armor is 1-2, medium armor is between 3-4, heavy armor is 5-6. Devastator shields do not conform this behavior. The problem with the description of weapons is that it gives a false impression of the penetration you are actually doing. In addition, you cannot see the values of support weapons in game. The scorcher for example does damage in 2 parts; 1 part is the projectile which has 2 AP and 2nd part is the explosion that does damage with 3 AP. The 250 damage is misleading. "docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1Kc0RSe5YgQ2cgd7oTSqcHY_FtFjlYK7Lv93bFvujtbg/edit#gid=0" Link to the sheet

[@janmoy4670]

@@Wallbouncing I believe my original message got deleted because I posted a link to the excel sheet. That excel sheet has the damage values and ap values.

[@FairwellNoob]

The railgun on unsafe is also AP7, and the spear's AP is also AP8

[@Rafael96xD]

Just scream: UNLIMITED POWEEEER!!! Thats how you play it.

[@TheMMObro]

I don't like the arc thrower anymore bc of the fire rate decrease. It was fun when you were proficient at speed firing it lol.

[@Wallbouncing]

The fire rate consistency change did take a lot of damage output away from the arc thrower. I think the arc thrower is at a fair, but slightly worse spot than it is with all these updates in regards to stat changes and enemy changes. I think resolving the whole misfire issue so that even with the constant charge time I'm able to least make sure my shots do hit is going to bring this weapon to above average. Thanks for checking out the video!

[@r390gt1lm]

wtf they fixed arc? Last time I was using it, it didnt connect to flying enemies. Also why does it and the arc shotgun sometimes hit noting at all, takes like 5-7 shots for it so finally connect

[@Wallbouncing]

I didn't see any patch notes bug fixing that issue but from what I've seen it does shoot and arc to flying enemies such as shriekers. The automaton gunships are too far to get a shot on. As for when it shoots and hits nothing, the developers identified that to be an issue as well that they are currently working on. It's a very frustrating part about all the arc weapons and I hope they are able to fix it soon. Thanks for watching!

[@r390gt1lm]

@@Wallbouncing Yea I posted the comment before you mentioned the misfire in the video. It is really anoying and does get me killed often, so hopefully they fix it. But looking at what sony is doing to the game, I dont think i will be playing the game anymore

[@Gaelic-Spirit]

I think you're wrong about the RNG, from clips shown in this video you can see it chain between units every time when they're in the same place, like the berserker example. I think the only reason it doesn't chain is when there is no enemy in the scanned area that can be hit

[@ffx95]

I tried using it after the nerfs. I stopped using it completely. That range nerf really crippled it IMO.

[@Wallbouncing]

I didn't get to use it much before the range nerf. I feel like the range is pretty good at the moment but man if this was to still have 50m of range it would be intense. Thanks for checking out the video!

[@ffx95]

@@Wallbouncing it was great! And with enough practice you could follow the rhythm and make it shoot twice as fast if done right. Sometimes it would kill bile titans really quick but that was the ps5 cross play bug so they decided to nerf it. It was my go to weapon for bugs. Only thing is it wasn’t great in planets with shrugs and foliage it would glitch and not register a hit.

[@petty5709]

Is it me, or does the jump pack feel anemic since the last update?

[@Wallbouncing]

Oh what do you mean? To me it still feels pretty much the same. Do you think it's a bit lacking nowadays?

[@petty5709]

If you say it's the same, I'll take your word for it. It's just that I was on Hellmire the other day, and I usually take a jump pack on those planets to avoid the tornadoes, and I wasn't able to jump on the same rocks as I was used to.

[@Wallbouncing]

@@petty5709 I'll be looking out for it the next time I use it just to make sure!

[@HansKlopek]

I want an orbital arc strat

[@Wallbouncing]

Oh man, I couldn't even begin to imagine the friendly fire with that haha. Thanks for checking out the video!

[@Findyification]

now they nerf the arc dmg LOL 1. cant stun lock hulk no more 2. cant break charger armor head no more

[@Wallbouncing]

The stagger no longer applying to the hulk from the arc thrower does suck but the silver lining is that you can still kill both of those heavies in a moderate amount of time in my opinion. Thanks for checking out the video!

[@elimgarak1127]

Corpses shouldn't affect how this gun functions at all.

[@bullmooseathletics]

"Arc thrower can take out chargers in 7-8 shots" shows a clip of it taking 12 shots to kill a charger...

[@Wallbouncing]

Oops, my bad on that haha. I should've used a clip with me only doing headshots with it onto the charger. Thanks for checking out the video!

[@loboseesthings6269]

Ps5 player get a vibration when it's fully charged.

[@Wallbouncing]

Controller vibration is a great way to know that it's charge. Makes me want to pick up a controller to play just for that. Thanks for checking out the video!

[@kwisatzsawyer]

Lots of good info, but your comments contain advice that won't work well for higher difficulties.

[@EricThePooh]

I'm curious what advice you're referring to? I use the arc thrower a ton in higher difficulties and I didn't feel there were any bad suggestions

[@Wallbouncing]

Thanks for your comment and appreciate the feedback. I covered all the information I felt like was worth sharing about the arc thrower, and of the arc lightning, and came with the intent of simply sharing what information I felt was useful. Whether some people find the tips and information I shared as something they can use that's totally up to them, I just think a toolbox full of tools is better than with just having a select few. Appreciate you checking out the video!

[@kwisatzsawyer]

@@EricThePooh 1. The weapons doesn't work at close range. This is a deal breaker w/ bugs. 2. It sucks with tanks, this means you need another strategy for them 3. It's a team killing monster. Don't kill your fellow helldiver.

[@EricThePooh]

@@kwisatzsawyer I'm sorry dude, but this is a get gud situation. It's easily a top tier pick for both factions even up to Helldive. There are weaknesses you have to work around, but it doesn't take long to get the hang of it

[@kwisatzsawyer]

​@@EricThePooh It's unpredictable, buggy, and more effective killing teammates accidentally than the enemy. Not top tier unless fratricide is your goal. Then it's second best in the game.

[@Tenmo8life]

SInce it doesnt stagger chargers anymore its just a useless nerfgun

[@Wallbouncing]

Even though it doesn't stagger chargers so well you can still take one out quicker than most other support weapons. Granted it's not the best across the board, I still think it's viable for even higher difficult missions. Either way, appreciate you sharing your opinion and for checking out the video!

[@ShinobiNeon]

My guide to the arc thrower: Don't use it.

[@Wallbouncing]

:(

[@Dylan5589]

It’s my go to against bugs

[@FairwellNoob]

Bait used to be believable

[@Zola_cero]

Best way to shock is to refund the game and leave an opinion

[@KekePalmer.]

Wah wah wah

[@COA5T]

Come bro do not go around doing this. Each person purchased the game with their own finances, so let them decide how to handle this. There are people who are unaffected by the account linking altogether so let's not run around trying to kill their enjoyment of the game. They did not and are not doing anything wrong.

[@areafurrynone1913]

Dawg I don’t like the PSN issue but if you behave like this then we won’t miss you 🤷‍♂️

[@LizardOnAMushroom2358]

Shill post

[@lukaslee7380]

​@@areafurrynone1913 exactly bruh, we do not need these ultra butthurt crybabies, like if you're gonna treat the PSN issue like the end of the world, and you're gonna quit over an something this small, did you even like the game in the first place, or did you just hop on the hype train