Re-Ranking the BEST and WORST Primary Weapons in Helldivers 2

[@hrntt2184]

I love the Liberator. I'm level 100 and returning to the liberator has liberated me. I just love the way you throw the clip away during the reload animation. The perfect scope. The crisp accuracy. The way enemies of super earth fall to it's kiss. The generous magazine capacity. The lightning fast handling. The necessary damage to pop devastator heads and tear through unarmoured flesh. Love thy liberator and you too shall be liberated. S-Tier.

[@DrPooplove]

Whoa! S Tier let’s go

[@user-vi7zu4ul6b]

There’s a reason it’s the CCO’s favourite gun

[@MChi3f]

FINALLY! A fellow liberator enjoyer. You may find use in the text below: I have a loadout people sleep on. Im talking straight hibernating on. I'm telling you, this is the best dual faction loadout I have found so far. (Hear me out) Liberator Carbine Grenade Pistol Stun grenades --- Orbital Gatling Eagle Airstrike Shield Backpack Railgun Unsafe ----- Medium armor with: Democracy protects, extra padding, or med kit. Democracy Protects is insane with shield but armors with ratings over 100 reduce headshot damage, so take your pick. ----- For medium enemies and above, use railgun unsafe. For horde clear and aggression, use carbine. Drop gatling barrages on tanks and bot drops/bug breaches/ general hordes and use eagle air to blow up multiple tanks or horde clear, or to soften up a bile titan. Gatling can also soften up the bile titans and kill tanks. ---------------- I feel i need to mention a few things. THe only way this is going to work is if you are proficient in close quarters combat but know when to back up, then push back. This setup if mainly for aggressive playstyles. If you are unable to safely close the distance to enemies successfully and consecutively, you wil find that this build struggles. It can function at any range, so long as you burst fire and use the railgun for menium and heavy enemies. The carbine can 100% melt devastators if you head tap them or unload into the stomach. But you need to be able to close the distance for that to work. Typically if I see an enemy with medium to heavy armor i just switch to railgun anyways. The stun nades will help line up shots and give breathing room. If you are a long range fighter, you will find that this setup absolutely sucks for you. Because this is close range aggression focused.

[@hrntt2184]

@@MChi3f that’s beautiful. I’ll give this exact loadout a chance tonight

[@iansagat2711]

This how I feel about the adjudicator

[@jalontf2]

600+ hours here. I don't want to beat a dead horse, but Arc Blitzer not being S-tier against the bugs is truly a crime.

[@martinnorman9012]

stop tasering me

[@iansagat2711]

559 hours here.......agreed

[@gremlin384]

Agree.

[@redrumcoke2363]

Do you guys like it more than the Breaker Incendiary for bugs?

[@lawrencemalone-px6qe]

10 hours here. Gun feels like a support weapon against the bugs and I haven’t even had it for more than a couple games. It’s not even funny how strong this is compared to every other primary I’ve tried vs the bugs

[@hesherson]

38:18 final list

[@Myrkin]

S Tier for Terminids: Cookout Shotgun, Breaker Shotgun, Breaker Incendiary Shotgun, Crossbow Explosive. S Tier for Automatons: Crossbow Explosive, Dominator Explosive, Punisher Plasma Energy, Scorcher Energy (AKA "Highest S possible.").

[@baid-]

Thanks

[@LordIndigo]

people seem to make such a fuss about the Sickle's half second spool up as well as it's cooldown. I think these two drawbacks can be managed easily enough with good positioning and you can always reload a heatsink super quickly if you overheat to get another 86 lasers shots down range. I do think it's more built for bots and is more medium-ranged but its sheer volume of fire and infinite ammo potential still lets me rip through hordes of chaff pretty well, it's A-tier on bugs, or B-tier at least. And honestly just for Arrowhead giving it a new sickass sound effect this patch it should honestly just go S-tier, sounds cool af

[@儀水鏡の妖怪霊]

Or you can be crazy like me and take the Dagger as secondary with any heat weapon. Switching between 2 heat weapons (Laser Cannon included) as one is overheating is a great way to maintain your combat effectiveness, saving a lot of heat sinks and leaving no moment of vulnerability.

[@iansagat2711]

I run the jump pack with sickle that extra little space u create is all u need

[@themainman2827]

Yeah, bots allows you more tactical aproach and controlled shots, and the sickle shine against them, but for bugs is mostly desperate shooting and close combat, so something with big punch like shotguns are better.

[@Tikonor]

This guy is playing on console of course he will suck with it

[@ryanpoulter6286]

Yeah, I haven't used my sickle in a while, but I would just tap fire all the time to keep it warmed up.

[@__Razer]

I love how for each and every weapon, you show clips of it being used against both factions while explaining your reasoning for placement in the tier. Not a lot of tier-lists have this! That's why I subscribe to your channel. A couple things, I'm not a Blitzer main, but I've had pretty good success with weaving melee attacks in between shots to at least push a hunter off me and then blast it with the next shot. I noticed you didn't melee at all with the Blitzer even when Hunters pounce you within view. The Cookout vs Automatons can one-shot troopers with single pellets and fire DoT. This makes it great for big groups of troopers commonly seen on Automaton Extreme difficulty 6 and 7, even at pretty long range where the spread allows it to pepper a large area. I'm surprised to see the DCS so low vs Terminids. I accidentally brought it with me on a Terminid mission this patch, and I felt like I was using a JAR-5 Dominator with superior handling. It one-taps all the chaff and focused weakpoint shots make short work of medium enemies. The magazine size leaves some to be desired, but it's on par with the Dominator for capacity. You lose explosive trait and have less stagger/push force, but in exchange, you don't need to wear a specific armor to handle it, and it fires quietly, so you can pick off enemies without drawing attention beyond 30m. The projectiles are also much faster and combined with the scope makes hitting moving targets at medium to long range a lot easier.

[@DrPooplove]

Thank you! I hope it can serve as a bit of a gun guide as well which is what I try to go for

[@Lordseapig]

You are using the purifier wrong, and you show cased it with your video. It's a long-range engagement. Once you are in medium to short range, you're in trouble. ​ Treat it like a sniper rifle, and you can get multiple shots off rather quickly, the explosion and stagger help take out bot patrols. You are correct about it in the short range it's hot garbage because with a charge up and explosion you will end up dying defending yourself. I just think it's as unfair to judge it's effectiveness close up as the highest metric, when you don't judge flame thrower on its effectiveness at long range as it's highest metric. @DrPooplove

[@arthercasillas2755]

I agree. Most KZbinrs play like a B roll. He actually took the time to highlight each weapon in action. Great presentation!

[@Larknok1]

The first tier list showing the Lib Carbine the respect it deserves. Lots of other folks don't crouch with it / use Engineer armor, and it shows. +50% fire rate on the base Liberator = +50% dps, which turns situations where the liberator fails to stop 2 or 3 enemies from getting to you into situations where they evaporated way before reaching you.

[@deanrantz1112]

This is my Abjudicator There are many others like it but this one is mine...My Abjudicator is my best friend. It is my life. I must master it as I must master my life.........................................

[@iansagat2711]

Adjudicator is my favorite primary

[@ReddwarfIV]

​@iansagat2711 Same. IMO it's the best jack-of-all-trades gun, which is a useful trait in a primary if your heavy weapon is specialised.

[@iansagat2711]

@@ReddwarfIV exactly kills all medium enemies...........just feels great when I use it............been using the the breaker again since the buff just cos it's something new but if u combine the adjudicator with the lmg and a back pack you gonna be putting in that work lol

[@ReddwarfIV]

@@iansagat2711 I usually brought Spear, Recoilless, Autocannon or Railgun. Those last two are technically all-rounders, but it's better to not waste the ammo on smaller targets.

[@iansagat2711]

@ReddwarfIV I eat to much ammo with adjudicator and im addicted to stims

[@noahtaylor4303]

While it's not the best tool for the job, the Diligence Counter Sniper CAN kill gunships. It requires roughly 10 shots to a single thruster, allowing for a one-clip kill while still missing some shots. Useful in a pinch, and extremely easy to pull off if the gunship is flying directly at you.

[@nickosman1556]

Why not just using a stratagem for it ?

[@aarepelaa1142]

​@@nickosman1556 well probably the best is railgun 1 shotting them at like 70% charge I'd say, the anti tank sniper and autocannon 2 shot to the engine, lasercannon takes like a 3rd of the charge to kill, rockets usually 1 shot, maybe airburst not always but why are you even bringing it to bots? heavy machine gun is too unwieldy to really hit the engines properly but it probably takes them out at a decent pace, also doesn't help the fact that going prone for minimal recoil does nothing due to not being able to aim high enough half the time. Also the HMG emplacement kinda shreds them.

[@ExValeFor]

@@nickosman1556 because sometimes you can't.

[@frencerenniermendoza5047]

​@@ExValeForyup. Especially after being reinforce far from the support weapon or the cooldown of those support weapon is still high. Anything that can deal with those pesky gunships immediately is really helpful

[@CelestialDesign]

​@@aarepelaa1142anti material, railcannon, hmg, then autocannon is your top 4 anti-gunship list. (Railgun and amr are essentially identically solid at this task, its strictly a difference of playstyle).

[@GoatedGam3r]

467 hours in the game and this load out is the best I’ve had. The crossbow is a great primary for both enemies, just rock the laser cannon or auto cannon. Thing is, you’ll be using the support weapon as your primary and the crossbow for heavier enemies. Then use the lazer guard dog, grenade pistol, and thermite grenades.

[@vink6256]

Im level 42(ish) currently ingame but am addicted to this game already and have been playing *every* day, my loadout is crossbow, grenade pistol, and thermite for bots, with xtra grenade and lower recoul armor buff. Currently can solo up to like level 6-7ish (8 with just objectives) and ive found it absolutely broken to use heavy machine gun and supply pack, eagle airstrike and orbital flame barrage. Orbital flame clears out heavy outposts of any signs of life, eagle airstrike is just rlly good. Supply pack is more for heavy machine gun and also if youre a stim addict like I am. The heavy machine gun is amazing though, it rips through hulks and below like theyre nothing, and for anythung above that you have thermites. Crossbow also very useful as a support weapon kind of thing to help take out large groups at once (berserkers, chaff, and rocket devastators.)

[@GoatedGam3r]

@@vink6256 I would expect someone who’s level 100+ to have this loadout nicely done. Also try the combination of the 500kg bomb, orbital precision strike, and the railcannon strike. Those 3 together are fucking deadly

[@eliwilson1146]

Ill try this. Will it work with a different backpack slot?

[@GoatedGam3r]

@@eliwilson1146 if you’re referring to the labor cannon then yes it will

[@Johnnekaiser]

About the Scythe Weapon, As a person who uses It ALOT on both bugs and bots, I can say you are Correct. It does tend to be a little cumbersome when you are dealing with smaller bugs. But I will say that If you pair it with the Guard Dog Rover. It is S Teir for Horde Clearing if the two are going Ham at a Swarm of enemies. I also run the Dagger and The Laser Cannon too for a full laser build. You may not have that PUNCH Like a Recoiless Rifle, But with your unlimited ammo if you manage your heat. It is a life saver for sure

[@themainman2827]

I like laser build too, but the Dagger is a waste of space. I use the laser cannon as main weapon and in the cooldown i change to the Scythe. As secondary weapon i equip the grenade pistol, basically as a tool to destroy containers and fabricators/nests, so i dont have to waste precious normal grenades.

[@Colonel-Sigma]

I love the knight, it's basically a one-handed mini Stalwart. Absolutely shreds, I always bring it with my mech pilot build.

[@Odog78]

I want the spray and pray able to bully the small bugs and it's still not there yet. It should stagger hunters and below. Unfortunately, I believe it will always be the dollar store version of the fire shotgun alternatives

[@TheVoicelessPoet]

Yeah, it either feels good for you or it doesn't. And unfortunately for me, even with the wider spread I feel like I'm emptying the entire mag just to save my life. God forbid a Hive Guard shows up too.

[@tvanza7791]

Yea needs med armor pen or 315 damage I feel. It's just a worse Incendiary still.

[@TheVoicelessPoet]

@@tvanza7791 I think asking for armor pen is a bit much. It's a pellet gun, it's meant for chaff. But pure damage maybe? I'm still kinda confused about what Durable damage is but maybe it needs more of that.

[@tvanza7791]

​@TheVoicelessPoet yea, I totally agree with you. Durable damage is the amount of damage it does against armored areas. Med armor pen is most likely asking for too much. But yea maybe 300 damage with more durable could help solve the issue.

[@sunnychiu3872]

Lmao dollar store fire shotgun. Perfect description. I think it just needs more damage. And maybe less recoil and better handling. Right now it’s sitting at the same damage as the fire one which doesn’t make sense. It should probably sit above the fire shotgun and below the regular breaker. The only upside it has over the fire one is double the ammo. But then it also needs double the shots to kill anything. So again making it inferior to the fire one.

[@Moodyman90]

It's funny how much fun people have when their primary weapons actually feel like they're suppose to be a primary weapon.

[@Kitkat-986]

If you're relying that much on your primary weapon, you're doing it wrong. Strategms should be getting at least as many kills as your primary weapon.

[@Moodyman90]

@@Kitkat-986 look, I've played games where I didn't fire a single shot from my primary weapon, the fact that's possible thanks to orbitals and Eagles and even support items doesn't mean my primary weapon should be a glorified sidearm in terms of effectiveness in the face of them.

[@Kitkat-986]

@@Moodyman90 I do appreciate the primary buffs, but in many cases, the stratagem buffs were much more impactful even if the buffs were not as extreme.

[@serlistogiette4168]

​@@Kitkat-986what

[@miemsliva4464]

​@@Kitkat-986​Aside from that not making a ton of sense the way you worded it, saying the changes were 'impactful' is a little bit of an awkward point, as while yes they were universally made more effective against all the enemies, this was made to keep most effectivr against heavier enemies. Even things like Eagle napalm went from 500 damage to 1500 damage (bomb explosion). But it's honestly so much better in my eyes for the primaries (and secondaries) to be better to rely on, so that you do not NEED to use something like a Gas strike, Orbital Gatling, Eagle Strafe/Airstrike/Napalm to take out a small group of 3-4 devastators and 12 Troopers.

[@Erick-Tus]

The slugger has ''less spread'' because it isn't a buckshot with 12~20 pellets, but rather a single humongous slug that flies with less accuracy than a rifle round, however with much much more force and stopping power.

[@ryuduhayabusa320]

Do you not play on highest difficulty? Scout striders dont exist anymore there

[@TheNaturalTweak]

Doesn't change much besides bringing the Counter Sniper up a tier. Rocket Striders are the biggest problem on higher difficulties but that is completely solved by the Railgun. Unfortunately limiting your loadout diversity.

[@simula152]

Don't they still have the same leg/middle weakspot that can be penned by medium armor pen?

[@TheVoicelessPoet]

@@simula152 yes, but nothing light pen can even scratch them.

[@ump-4576]

@@TheVoicelessPoet So long as they haven't fired off all of their rockets, you can use light pen weapons to shoot them on either side of the chassis and they go down in just a few shots, making light pen weapons with low recoil pretty good against them. While I'm definitely not advocating for their use either, this makes shotguns feel at least usable on higher difficulties if you can get close to them since it only takes one or two good shots to a rocket

[@ninjesasuke]

all good points here. don't forget to toss your impact grenades at their feet for an instant kill!

[@arocker216]

Great list and I agree with most, although I personally would move sickle up a lot to low A tier, some rifles/smgs in A like liberator carbine down to B, scythe maybe up to low B, scorcher down to high B or at least low A, and breaker incendiary down to high A for bugs. Sickle has the downsides you said for sure but its accuracy and infinite ammo feels great at least with a team, breaker incendiary has ammo issues and lacking DPS which can really be an issue when you have to dump a good portion of your total ammo to kill a charging/spitting/priority/etc bug and kinda requires ammo pack or screwing over your team and taking all ammo pickups and resupplies, and the others are probably just slight preference things. Ranking them depends a lot on team, rest of build, and difficulty too but can’t factor in everything in one list.

[@irohmoua5820]

I like how this guy actually reviews the weapons, shows footage of his gameplay, and only speaks on his personal thoughts rather than shoving it in your face that his opinion is right. That’s a level of humbleness that not a lot of other tier list makers have. This guy is great.

[@DrPooplove]

thank you!

[@GodPain93]

a Flamethrower not being S tier against Bugs is a Crime and i will report you to my Democracy Officer

[@DrPooplove]

Haha that’s mostly because I think the Crisper and Flam-40 are better selections!

[@GodPain93]

@@DrPooplove but this is the Primary Weapon List so why cross compare? i use the Torcher as a primary for Hordclear and keep my support weapon free for something like the Spear, AMR or Recoilless with that i can take the Grenadepistol and Stungrenades and have full coverage for all Situations against Heavys, Horde and Nestclearing. The placing of the Weapon should be acording how they stack up against other Primarys and not Secondaries or Support Weapons imo

[@itsmrrex6818]

I never thought about using the crossbow but now that I started using it, it is truly the best primary weapon in my opinion

[@miisotrash]

I was waiting for THIS exact video Ever since the moment we got the new game patch Much love, keep us more informed of how we can spread managed democracy more efficiently fellow Helldiver

[@DrPooplove]

Took me a while but glad I could do my part for Democracy!

[@ilovedemocracyy]

AR buffs were decent, but I wished that they went further with magazine changes. Tenderizer - has to be treated like marksman rifle and you don’t want to mag dump the weapond, this weapond used to have 10 magazines. Adjudicator - too much recoil without good stopping power (supposed to be battlerifle). Liberator carbine - bad ammo economy, magazine size should be increased to 60. Liberator penetrator - sacrifices too much for medium penetration, just give it 45 round magazine. Liberator - Still has low damage and theres no reason why it couldn’t be further improved.

[@TheVoicelessPoet]

@@ilovedemocracyy you have to keep in mind the normal Liberator shouldn't be overly strong since it's the default starting weapon. But yeah, it could still be upped just a notch. I feel like it wouldn't be too much trouble just to give the Liberator Pen more ammo. As it stands now it's only situationally better, and only a slightly stronger choice to use against bots compared to the normal Liberator, it could be argued that you should just use the Tenderizer instead.

[@ilovedemocracyy]

@@TheVoicelessPoet Gun progression is important and Liberator should remain as balanced starting weapond. AR’s are not even close to being overpowered and devs seem to tuning them extra carefully compared to rest of weaponds.

[@seanrowell9400]

The adjudicator is amazing. Sounds like a skill issue

[@Larknok1]

Look, I'll take a 60 round Lib Carbine, but you straight sleeping on how good this is if you can aim quickly. Just SHREDS warriors and hunters. Crouch and go wild.

[@dubbymazlo]

Just give the Liberator and Carbine a 60 drum mag Concussive with a 70 or 80 drum mag and maybe a 3 burst fire mode Penetrator gets the regular 45 mag and 70 damage Tenderizer with 50 drum mag with 100 damage Adjudicator with a 45-50 drum mag

[@davidloewen4294]

13:30 Bro got POPPED

[@fuhduh2544]

about the spray and pray i gotta say though, that horizontal spread makes it amazing to chop off alpha commanders' legs

[@eliwilson1146]

From the hip, for Democracy

[@Creshex8]

I personally don’t understand how this could be placed below the Punisher for bugs either. Rounds reload plus a significantly lower fire rate just makes the Punisher unable to handle hoards or Alpha Commanders like the S&P can.

[@650GG]

Firing the Blitzer without aiming allows you to run around makes it S tear for me

[@ryenpdf]

Blitzer is currently my go-to for bugs. Infinite ammo, freaking good range, staggers, and spreads through enemies is just to good man. I wished it staggered chargers but I don’t mind it because I’ve got my RR to do the trick. Easy S tier for me, above the cookout.

[@Terron29]

SO happy that the liberator penetrator finally got that 45 round mag! Easily my fave primary now. Love it.

[@wsawbi6402]

Unless there is some downside that I am not aware of, you should not ads with the Arc Blitzer. As long as you center your camera at the enemy you can hipfire it reliably. This lets you be a bit more mobile between shots which is especially good for bugs because it lets you keep your space between shots

[@rastordusquick686]

i agree with most of what you said. About the schyte, his niche is being paired with the laser drone, add in a laser cannon and you have an ever mobile, never reloading loadout, simply by switching from canon to rifle. each second your diver is dishing out DPS out oh and it scale so well with 4 players. we did 9 and 10 (bugs), able to deal with breachs without using strata if we didnt want to.

[@VernaldoNiisama]

I need to mention the eruptor against bots has a particular use of completely hollowing out a dropship that isn't carrying a walker or tank. Often ending hulks even if you can get the shot up into near the weakspot that makes the shrapnel all hit into said weakpoint. Also wanted to say that the plasma changes you mentioned when talking about the purifier are great, and the scorcher is just, amazing. . . er, amazinger.

[@override83]

I been running the Blitzer the last month against bugs, and I freaking love it. I love not worrying about ammo, and the knockback/stun really helps against Brood Commanders and even Chargers if you can add up a few shot. It's also very satisfying to hear the "pop" when you blow up a Warrior. Also, the Hive Guards, aka Shrimp bugs as I call them, it can 2-3 shot them, depending on RNG gods. However! A huge drawback is that it can knockdown and instant-kill teammates if you're not careful with it. There has been a handful of times when I'd die, and a teammate would pick it up, and accidently kill fellow Divers because it is shot recklessly in a crowd of enemies with the fellow Divers within range of the chain reaction it has. Also, and this is a big one for me, yes, it kills fast, but it's very RNG on who it attacks. There has been plenty of times it wouldn't even touch a Hunter that's in my face and hit the bug(s) behind it. And when the corpses pile up in a chokepoint, it has a tendency to shoot at corpses and not touch the bugs behind said corpse. Overall, my favorite gun against Bugs, but there is definitely frustrating tendencies with it.

[@Terron29]

Great upload mate. Great to see some love for the scorcher. I really like that weapon. I do often end up coming back to breaker/breaker incendiary but that scorcher is just fun as hell.

[@djbull7007]

300+ hours here, I might be biased. But against bots when doing headshots, the Slugger shotgun is so OP. I've noticed that you also tend to not aggravate enemies when closer with this shotgun, so there are a certain stealth-element to it. It's a oneshot headshot, and it packs the same punch from afar than it does up close, which is why I use this for stealth missions. I'd put it in S-tier vs. bots just for that.

[@DEMOCRACYE710]

I want the liberator penetrator to be good. When I was in the early game, I had a lot of fun with it and felt reliable. But when you go anywhere like 5 or above it's pretty bad. And this is coming from someone with 500 some hours. It needs the drum that the liberator cuncussive has.

[@Nightwolf11210]

Alternatively (and hear me out here) run it in single fire and deliberately aim for heads where you can. You can tap fire with little to no recoil and knock out enemies more reliably with far better ammo conservation. Granted its still far from S tier, but I find it a much better experience when treated like a DMR.

[@whyisdiscostevetaken]

338 hours here: Blitzer is S-Tier against bugs. As you mentioned when you were talking about the Scorcher, the bugs run your ammo dry. There's more of them, they're very fast and they get in your face. The Blitzer answers all of these problems. It autotargets, it staggers, it spreads, its ammo is literally infinite with no cooldowns. Sure, you may not be able to snipe Shrieker nests with it, but it dominates CQC against multiple, quick targets and the stagger will prevent bug breaches.

[@kllstkllst5831]

A good solution for scorcher backblast with hunters jumping at you is to melee them before diving or running backwards as they'll be stunned for a sec while you gain distance to shoot. Good luck with 5+ of them on you at once though, best bet there is an early stim and an impact (and a prayer) unless you have time to swap weapons.

[@Bitbatgaming]

I love my scorcher on the bots so much to the point where I wouldn’t even pick any other weapon. I refuse to change. And part of that is my flaw when playing this game.

[@charlymccroskey6306]

Speaking for my boy the scythe.. it may not shine alone, but as a piece in a full laser load out, with the Laser cannon and the rover, juggle the cannon with the scythe to avoid over heating, and concentrate fire on whatever your drone is already shooting. (Aside from obvious priorities) I've been using this load out from day one (out of stubbornness) with the orbital laser and the orbital rail cannon for large targets now thermite for the grenade and a laser pistol cause I'm a sucker for a full set. This load out when all together has always been viable and I know I'm not the only one doing it, but after they recently buffed everything It's become super fun now.

[@amoineau]

Great video ! Good explanations, concise enough and reasonable placements. Thank you.

[@FirePhoenix103]

So I've been using the Liberator Penetrator since I unlocked it. Mainly due to its bullpup design which I really enjoy. The issue I'm having it's been feeling rather bad to use consistently and I've been enjoying the LMG support weapon as my main DPS. Glad to hear there are better options cause I want to stray away from using a support weapon as a primary

[@wanderson8596]

Nice vid! I like how you rate the weapons in HD2. As a newbie diver, my fav primaries are breaker(bugs) and counter sniper(bots). Sometimes I take counter sniper against bugs because it’s so amazing at range to take out hunters and stalkers before they start jumping around which is admittedly hard for it to handle even in cqc, with practice, you can unload tons of dmg into a horde quickly. I am working on unlocking crossbow because I want to be Chewbaca more than anything in the universe 😂

[@Train115]

The Adjudicator is my favorite, the handling is great, and it is really good at taking care of small enemies precisely. While being flexible enough to keep you alive from larger enemies. I wish that single fire was still the default fire mode like when it was added, but at least it saves what mode you were on.

[@MChi3f]

I have a loadout people sleep on. Im talking straight hibernating on. I'm telling you, this is the best dual faction loadout I have found so far. (Hear me out) Liberator Carbine Grenade Pistol Stun grenades --- Orbital Gatling Eagle Airstrike Shield Backpack Railgun Unsafe ----- Medium armor with: Democracy protects, extra padding, or med kit. Democracy Protects is insane with shield but armors with ratings over 100 reduce headshot damage, so take your pick. ----- For medium enemies and above, use railgun unsafe. For horde clear and aggression, use carbine. Drop gatling barrages on tanks and bot drops/bug breaches/ general hordes and use eagle air to blow up multiple tanks or horde clear, or to soften up a bile titan. Gatling can also soften up the bile titans and kill tanks. It is also quite spammable with a 68s cooldown even without the 5% stratagem cooldown decrease from upgrades. ---------------- I feel i need to mention a few things. THe only way this is going to work is if you are proficient in close quarters combat but know when to back up, then push back. This setup if mainly for aggressive playstyles. If you are unable to safely close the distance to enemies successfully and consecutively, you wil find that this build struggles. It can function at any range, so long as you burst fire and use the railgun for medium and heavy enemies. The carbine can 100% melt devastators if you head tap them or unload into the stomach. But you need to be able to close the distance for that to work. Typically if I see an enemy with medium to heavy armor i just switch to railgun anyways. The stun nades will help line up shots and give breathing room. If you are a long range fighter, you will find that this setup absolutely sucks for you. Because this is close range aggression focused.

[@DrPooplove]

@@MChi3f sounds solid although not sure I could stomach the carbine vs the bots

[@Quickstein]

Build seems really ammo-hungry. Maybe swapping the shield pack for the supply pack?

[@MChi3f]

@@Quickstein You could do that but I personally dont have a problem with the ammo because by the time i have 1-2 mags left, i can get a resupply or ammo box that I found. Consistently on bots i have no issue. I really only get low on ammo for bugs, but I can just resupply or find a box in nearly every scenario. The spammable Gatling Barrage helps a lot by saving you ammo where if you brought a long cooldown strat, youd lose a few mags. You can use the gatling every 68s, and this is without the 5% stratagem cooldown decrease from upgrades.

[@MChi3f]

@@DrPooplove I suppose that is fair. You love the Dominator but I tested setup after setup with it and I just cannot get it to work for horde clear scenarios when I am surrounded (which I often am, no matter what game I play). The slow fire rate and reload time makes me a free meal for hunters, and a nice ingredient for the shredded helldiver soup that the 5+ heavy devastators in front of me are planning on making later in the evening, in which case they invited the whole extended family of bots too.

[@Jakekelley-hs8bk]

Can't imagine using the Liberator carbine on difficulty 9+ against the bots, or even why you'd want the exact same loadout for bugs and bots

[@CREEBANDZ510]

SG-225 Breaker and SG-225IE Breaker Incendiary are still my absolute favorite primary guns in the game by far. This will most likely never change. The og SG-225 Breaker is my number 1 because of its super high damage, high fire rate, buckshot spread, crowd control etc. The SG-225IE Breaker Incendiary is my second favorite. It can do everything the Breaker can with the added bonus of setting everything on fire and damaging overtime, plus it has a much higher magazine size. The reason I like the OG Breaker even more is simple, because of that crazy high damage it deals. It kills everything so, so fast. After the SG-225 Breaker and SG-225IE Breaker Incendiary, the only other primaries I use are the AR-23 Liberator, the AR-23P Liberator Penetrator, and the Jar-5 Dominator which is another amazing variant of the Breaker.

[@BSasafrasK]

still disagree on scorcher, scythe, and sickle against bugs, scorcher is just a way to advertise a free meal that cooks itself to a hunter patrol. I'd swap their tiers personally. the scythe clears hordes via fire damage if you don't have time to focus fire for example.

[@Creshex8]

By the video footage, he is clearly only using the sticks to aim, which grants absolutely zero advantage on the PS5. If he were using the motion controls or a mouse, he would definitely get a big performance bump with some of these weapons. When aiming with displacement, the Scythe can sweep and set fire to bugs much faster, and no recoil makes headshots on any bot nearly effortless.

[@vangavrish3797]

A good analysis, imo the blitzer still belongs to the category B, the potential to be overwhelmed on the bug front is too high. On the bot front it really, really lacks in range. Another thing to mention is that at higher levels the plas1 scorcher behaves a bit worse against the bots because reinforced striders now require near a full mag of quickdumping (if u are stressed out).

[@wingfootmcnova9130]

The Dominator and Punisher Plasma are both solid weapons but I think you're crazy to put them above the Diligence Counter Sniper for the bots. Though the Dominator does a little more damage its slow bullet speed reduces its accuracy and its slower rate of fire reduces its DPS. I'd be fine with both of these things if it just had a scope but it doesn't which makes its effectiveness at range quite poor. The Counter Sniper has the AMR scope and if you miss those Devastator headshots a few quick shots to their chests still takes them down. It also only takes 4 shots to a Strider's top leg to down them. I always bring the Counter Sniper to bot missions unless I'm running the AMR as my support. The Punisher Plasma is great against Striders and little troopers but against Devastators it just takes so much time. Yes it stun locks them which is nice but it takes so many seconds which is just not great on higher difficulties.

[@adriancollado9275]

I have to play with the slugger more, but I am so glad it has its stagger back. Along that same line, I have to disagree with you about the original breakers' use vs. the bots. It absolutely shreds when aiming at the waist of rocket devastators and berserkers and paired with a railgun. Either way, it is such a great gun to unlock early in the game, especially for new players, and the buffs are so good for it. Great video man thank you!

[@TheVoicelessPoet]

I've heard people say that since the Slugger got left behind, it still just doesn't pack enough punch against the adjusted enemies. It's like the Cookout which shouldn't have more stagger, feels like it has more stagger than the Slugger right now. I think, I don't use the Slugger myself but that's what I've heard for avid Slugger enjoyers.

[@zfreak2808]

This ranking gets a stamp of approval from me. Dominator and Scorcher in S tier for bots- check, Eruptor in A tier for both bots and C tier for bugs- check. Agree that Dominator is probably A tier for bugs, but it depends on your load out and team make up. It's not good against hunters due to ammo efficiency, but I carry a grenade pistol and extra stims for hunters. I also run with a team that spreads their load outs across arc thrower, spray and pray incendiary, etc. It can be a pain in the butt to run a Dominator with bad randos.

[@r6TrdSlow]

With how many views these tier lists get, and the new update changing a few of these - might be worth an updated video? Either way, love the videos man That said, somehow the extra 15 ammo per mag in the Lib Pen has made it so much more fun to use on Bugs - for me at least. Takes out commanders faster than the stalwart does on max fire rate, and can reliably deal with the spewer faces - including armored ones

[@DrPooplove]

Yeah if they only changed the purifier I might have passed but considering they changed a lot more I think it’s worth another update. But they do take time to make so will be a bit

[@r6TrdSlow]

@@DrPooplove makes sense to me. And absolutely - I do understand how much goes into these videos and I appreciate them when you post haha. Even more, I appreciate the thought that you put into them. Very fun to watch and listen to when working

[@sirbenkenobi9495]

I’m inverted on opinions with the Adjudicator. I don’t have many qualms switching firing modes, and I like the versatility of being able to go in for CQC and long range engagements. I’d be better served with an SMG or a sniper in either situation, sure, but having both is nice.

[@dubbymazlo]

A simple change for the Purifier would be to double or triple the damage considering you must CHARGE UP every shot...

[@Creshex8]

Or maybe expand the AOE radius even more and give it a scope. Preferably make changes that would give it distinctions over comparable weapons, like the Plasma Punisher or crossbow.

[@BboyMikazz]

I usually hate these kind of long videos where i just want to know to tier but the away you explained these guns made me stayed watching the whole video

[@DrPooplove]

thanks! yeah I was hoping for it to also be a bit of a gun guide too

[@BboyMikazz]

@@DrPooplove The erupter seems weak against bots though. I just played the erupter and i need 3 shots to kill the rocket launcher armored bot

[@quantum2330]

i love the spray and pray, it's like the incendiary breaker without fire and twice the reserve ammo, that's what makes it good so good in my book, which is why i think it deserves to be up with the other breakers in S tier vs bugs, you can deal twice as much raw damage vs the incin breaker before needing to resupply, so if you have ever been using the incin breaker and run out of ammo, and had no other options in your loadout, the spray and prey is probably a better option for that loadout choosing a primary weapon obviously depends on your loadout however, so if your like me and love using the quasar cannon/railgun, and hand grenade sidearm, shield backpack, orbital precision, and orbital laser, well, the incin breaker just doesn't cut it for how much trash you need to clear out on a regular basis but if your taking the auto cannon, some eagle airstrikes, machine gun sidearm, then yeah the incin breaker will be a batter option because you have weapons that will still work in the situations where you may run out of ammo.

[@blaze9872]

I just bought the game this week and I love the diligence marksman out of the few guns I have access to so far.

[@thereprehensible435]

The flamer primary doesn't _"Reach behind"_ striders to kill the pilots, it lights the bipedal mech's seat on fire similar to how it leaves patches of flame on terrain... And thus the pilot is burned from below by their flaming seat. the easiest way to do this is to aim for the underside of the mech's crotch and to hit that as the flames burn upward a lil bit. You can also aim for the gap between the crotch and the torso to ignite the seat from within.

[@SaintAnimus]

I really love the Adjudicator on single fire. It's a great gun against both sides imo. Though there are better enemy specific options. As someone with only two warbonds, I think it is a great choice.

[@BD-or5yh]

The pummeler vs the bugs. Stops stalkers in their tracks. 45 round mag. One handed run and gun from hunters. Low recoil is always great. Pair with grenade launcher, supply pack, rail cannon original for bile titans, thermite grenades for chargers, napalm airstrike to cut off large hordes from advancing / big breech

[@therebeloutlaw1442]

Tried testing your ranking today, a lot of these guns you put in A tier for bugs are definitely not it.

[@JuanR0d]

yeah every AR is shit lol, idk what he is smoking on high difficulties

[@JohnJohn-r4l]

34:00 bro got pulled to hell

[@CrystallineFoxCF]

The liberator Penetrator after the most recent buffs is 100% my go to weapon for bots, it can penetrate the armor of basically everything below the hulks, and with the increased mag size on the HMG support weapon, and the high armor pen on the senator, the bots are far more manageable for me without having to use a more 'specialized' loadout on higher difficulties.

[@ebreed707]

I highly recommend a 'full-fire' build - i.e. flamethrower support, Torcher primary, and Crisper secondary- against bugs paired with a jump pack. It's not the most 'meta' build by any measure but it is fun as hell and will keep you alive, especially once you get comfortable with the effective range of each respective burner. Hope y'all enjoy!

[@zeroethics3082]

Fav Bug Build = Eruptor Primary for further away, Stalwart for up close, Supply Pack, Thermite, Any Sidearm, last 2 Stratagems of your choice. Bot Build = Yea...Ballistic Shield and Crossbow is SO MUCH FUN!! Also, comments section is correct...the Blitzer is awesome against bugs.

[@R451Ns]

been really loving using the Liberator Concussive with a fire build on bugs, throw down a napalm barrage on a breach, using the concussive to keep any stragglers in the fire and watch some Xenos burn.

[@apiscator444]

Great that your doing 2 lists

[@SnailSnail-lo4pm]

21:30 You're forgetting to account for tap firing. You can fire as fast as a regular breaker and ignore the burst restriction by simply spamming left click. I'd honestly put it over the cookout because you can output constant fire.

[@Enclume2]

Wow I'm surprised at the choices but loved the explanations. I came back to the game and used the Breaker, it was nice like before but I didn't feel powerful enough. I started running Diligence on bots and I feel like Rambo, this things one shots all the small bots from very far and can be shot pretty fast to down a patrol. It wrecks Dominators with well placed shots. I'll try the CS Diligience definitely though. For bugs I have a hard time, been using the Sickle but might change based on your recommendation. I'm usually a run&gun type of player so I don't love slower guns like the Crossbow even though everyone says it rocks.. guess I have to test it out. Thank you for this!

[@r1zmy]

I'd put the Adjudicator higher on the tierlist for both bugs and bots because it's really good againts swarms of hive guards, bile spewers, and broodmothers, and it can reliably take down devastators on the upper torso in a pinch. It's practically better than the Liberator penetrator in every way except for magazine capacity.

[@sadpee7710]

so the thing that made the blitzer kind of click for me conceptually was hearing that, while you're between shots and your character is pumping the gun, you should use this down-time to *melee,* use the jump pack or dive. especially that melee part, alternating between zapping and smacking the bugs makes the space in between shots feel a lot smaller. you're going to be close to the enemy anyways since it functions like a shotgun, additionally all melee hits stagger bugs and interrupt their attacks. so you stun lock them even more effectively.

[@crybski502]

Would love to see a similar tier list from you on the heavy weapon/ equipment stratagems!

[@xfighter3100]

i always wanted the purifier to give off a Predator Plasma Caster vibe from the charge up. it needs more punch and to be made into a medium armor penetrating weapon but im overall happy with a lot of the buffs, especially since now, the knight smg is actually usable

[@snotlicker3191]

The Crossbow is so goated now I love running it with thermites , the revolver and The Spear on both bugs and bots

[@Kitkat-986]

Have you tried the desert eagle from the cold themed warbond? I like it even more than the revolver.

[@Creshex8]

I don’t think the crossbow is going to survive the nerf hammer in its current state. It’s just too powerful. Taking out Devastators is an absolute joke.

[@ifriedham]

With the torcher, you've got to focus more on aiming low for it to really shine. I try to aim at the enemies' feet so it hits them with both the direct damage as well as the burning ground damage. It's become my all time favorite against the bugs

[@CobarGG]

I personally like new spray and pray more then any other shotgun in a game while fighting bugs. It feels just okay at the first glance, but when you kill a stalker in 0.5s you really understand what a powerhouse youre holding in your hands. It shoots really fast and has an enormous drum mag (and alot of them unlike IE) so in long term you outdamaging both the regular and incendiary breaker versions. Give it a try guys!

[@CanadAssassiN]

FINALLY SOMEONE GAVE THE LIBERATOR CARBINE AN A THANK GOD sooooo many people try to use it at medium to long range and just put it in trash tier because they dont understand what its purpose is for ofc its not the best for close quarters but if you gave it to me out of a random box, id be happy

[@MrPink-bm9fd]

I love the lasers vs the bugs tbh

[@joshf1247]

Finally somebody who ranks the crossbow as S tier

[@zappli45]

From what I heard, the purifier is gonna get quite the buff and apparently is already in their internal build of the game. Supposedly will be able to quick fire like the scorcher and hold charge to have the blast.

[@themainman2827]

Laser weapons and quasar cannon are amazing. Not have to worry about ammo and equip any useful backpack you want is great when you learn to play without screaming and runing all time. Keep your mind cool and your guns will stay cool, simple as that.

[@timothypremo6954]

I love the list. The Cookout in my opinion is at least A tier against the bots. It can stagger lock small patrols, holding devestators and berserkers in there place while one shotting the chaff.

[@Ren99510]

Tenderizer is actually my main for bot dives now. Its so versatile and accurate. Berserker scare the crap out of you and need to mag dump? Do it. Sitting up comfy and needing to headshot that shield devastator before he ruins your day? Do it.

[@jessepigg5762]

I don’t necessarily watch these videos to learn about which gun is the best and which is the worst. I like to watch these videos to learn more about how to play these weapons better and when you mentioned the flame secondary with the concussive that lit up my view on the weapon. I just hope others watch these videos for that reason too.

[@NolsHub]

I personally think the Breaker Incendiary is really good against the bots if you are using it from range. You can end up turning yourself into your own artillery and peppering a wide area with flames. You end up killing more targets with less ammo consumption (unless using precision weapons) and less need for precision

[@JeancarlosRPerez]

Cant wait until tier lists become 3 parts 😂 for the Illuminates (im going to personally think they will show up in the anniversary)

[@luminousparadox7529]

Like a ww2 vet all I need is that adjudicator action for both bugs and bots (700+ hours) its beyond s tier

[@Frenchtoastedfruitloops]

I just take the scorcher or the counter sniper depending on my mood for both fronts lol. They are the 2 best weapons overall imo. They are less specialized but kill everything you aim at if you’re accurate. Btw accuracy should really be what people compete for not kills. Getting a high kill count in a game like this doesn’t mean much lolz.

[@ryanpoulter6286]

I'm with you there my super sweet breakfast man. It amazes me that I'll often bring mg43 and be most accurate on the team.

[@Frenchtoastedfruitloops]

@@ryanpoulter6286 xD oof. Tbf the light and medium mg are really accurate when burst fired. Cant say the same of the heavy mg…. Lol

[@ReidMitchell-dl8nl]

27:00 something I don't think i heard you mention, is that you can actually use the plasma to shoot the bots that are on dropships; you can effectively kill the bots before they even touch the ground.

[@sambrown9475]

Im new to the game so this has been extremely helpful. Have you done a video on advanced weaponry yet?

[@DrPooplove]

I haven’t yet but I want to. I might wait until the next update first though so it can be up to date

[@sambrown9475]

@@DrPooplove that's a smart move cant wait to see the video

[@T.K.9]

At super helldive, some weapons are real good against Bugs. Some are good against Bots. Some are good on both. Bugs: My load out both weapons and stratagems always be a mix of being able to hold off a swarm and also have tank killing capabilities. This means it's vital I have a fast firing primary (spray n pray for example and the og breaker incendiary albeit it having 4 mags now) And the new addition of napalm barrage are good against bug holes that opens up. Pop it and then run to the next objectives. Works on Bots as well. For Bots: fast firing guns is not as important for a primary. Stagger is. The pulse shotgun is actually good. Scorcher too even though it don't have stagger. Smh with stagger is good too but the normal smg is good with ballistic shield, it pops bot heads easily unless it's a tank or a hulker. Recoilless is big dawg now. You can 1 hit a strider on the side of it's head. Prepare to get it nerf again. Commando was good for stealthy missions as it 1 hit fabs. Now it takes 2 shots which kinda sucks.

[@Asidchild]

I have officially spec’d into Erupter Specialist. I had the chance to try it pre-buff and everything I found about it that made it unviable was so patriotically reversed that I smile every time I pull the trigger

[@VVychmyNeko]

As Purifier Main, Shooting the hulk at the front can hit their heatsink, thus killing them after a few shots about 5-7

[@toothpicksniffer9610]

this video is what i needed bro, just got into the game 2 days ago and ur list is the most comprehensive so far. 10/10 goat

[@DrPooplove]

Thank you!!

[@Kitkat-986]

The list is far from perfect, a lot of the guns he calls low tier actually are solid in their niche. I mostly agree with the stuff he ranks in the top three tiers though. Liberator concussive is F tier. I want to like it, I really tried to make it work, but it just can't kill anything.

[@HeckingLoser]

One thing a lot of people forget about the normal Diligence is its ability to absolutely destroy practically every variety of bot trooper. Tons of ammo in the mag lets it precisely melt through their ranks like no other primary I've used. If you need to kill devastators, pair it with an autocannon. For heavies, stratagems can always deal with those, or your other team members, if you actually bother to stick near them (99% of players forget this simple trick).

[@Drbeattles]

the normal diligence is a solid unit. its got almost everything. good damage, good ammo, great handling. even on the bug front it can quickly dispatch almost anything short of an armored spitter.

[@dart3903]

I personally do Scorcher/Breaker/Breaker Incendiary for bugs and Scorcher, Sickle, Diligence for Bots. Usually with Laser cannon or AMR. It just works for me.

[@Ehrathorn]

Use semi-automatic with the tenderizer.. you can fire very quickly and stay even more accurate than full auto. Think of it as the M-16 of the ARs, longer barrel, more accurate, higher velocity. Semi-auto is the way to go with the AR-23

[@nickrl113]

I like the Diligence Counter-Sniper vs bots but the sluggish handling can sometimes make it worse in terms of kill efficiency versus the base DMR. This seems to be mostly a matter of me playing on M&K-- I can quickly score headshots on multiple devastators with the DMR, while it feels like I'm fighting the DCS's slow aiming speed vs my mouse movements and missing weakpoints. Automatons have a very large glut of medium armor enemies with light armor weak points, so the superior magazine size and handling tends to net me more kills per reload. The ones that have heavy armor with medium armor weakpoints are much better dispatched with a heavy armor penetration gun anyway. Usually that's the AMR, or the Senator in a pinch. It's simply too many bullets and too much time to tickle a hulk to death with medium armor penetration due to the damage reduction. EDIT: It's probably important for me to mention that my loadout style usually allocates my primary slot for dealing with the bulk of enemy groups, my secondary picking up some kind of emergency heavy damage role, and my support weapon for heavier enemies. Stratagems typically cover my anti-tank and objectives-- yes, this does mean I have a rather difficult time with getting rid of outposts in the presence of jammers or AA guns. But it's fun to have to get your hands dirty in some scrappy fight for the strategem jammer every now and again.

[@UNPSC-0]

Also I’d like to point out, the Blitzer, for bugs especially is an S tier, if used correctly that is. First off is the friendly fire, and second off is the mentioned ‘gap’ in its damage. But said gap is irrelevant alongside teammates, and being able to stun all smaller enemies, to keep them in flames or gas with the grenades or teammates with said armaments, makes it one of the best ‘support’ type weapons, along with being able to use it to one shot all smaller enemies, plus that medium armor penetration, it’s amazing. If solo, pairing it with a heavier armor, Autocannon, thermites, and things like the eagle airstrike, your basically unstoppable, and with teammates, your basically a shock trooper.

[@KincaidCalder-vn6bo]

Holy radius a fellow ITR enjoyer found in the wild.

[@UNPSC-0]

@@KincaidCalder-vn6bo Hello explorer!

[@KincaidCalder-vn6bo]

@@UNPSC-0 hello Mr. UNPSC! I’m very sorry that I can’t continue my service, as I do not own a PC.

[@UNPSC-0]

@@KincaidCalder-vn6bo One day you shall Explorer. Stay safe : )

[@UNPSC-0]

One of the few games where the standard weapons and armor actually make sense? And they’re a mid tier, viable option, like they should be and I love that.

[@pablocuixeres830]

I would definitely put the Purifier in A-tier agains the bots. Putting it in C is ignoring two very importants aspects: range and ammo economy. You can't be the guy in front with this weapon, but you can be the guy behind, staggering and killing groups of devastators from distance, without running out of ammo for a long long time. If you like that supporting role, it's hand down the best weapon for it. Also takes down the attack ships very quickly because of the splash damage. If they add the functionality of chosing between fast fire and heavy charged hits, it would make it even better because it would mean you can also use it in close combat situations. The scorcher would become obsolete if they don't buff it aswell IMO. For now it's for sure the worst weapon for close combat situations, but don't sleep on the advantages I mentionned if you play with other divers! I just hope they don't reduce the ammo of something like that, that would be very disappointing.

[@psychocat2607]

Exactly. Its my most like primary vs bots. I still use it sometime vs bugs but it doesnt really matter because I play arc thrower. Blitzer is still bettee vs bugs. With the purifier, you never run out of ammo and devastator are a joke. Tho, Like the arc thrower, its a hard weapon to use because of the charge time which doesnt help the bad view.

[@nitrolight1778]

I use purifier against gunships. 4 shots to an engine take one down and it lets me run Arc Thrower to kill hordes of Berserkers and Devastators of all types.

[@psychocat2607]

@@nitrolight1778 yo wtf are you my clone? I also use purifier with arc thrower.

[@Shade______dumbnamerestriction]

BTW something weird that I've noticed with tesla weapons is that the arc target acquisition feels inconsistent, a bush will block the arcs, bots & bugs corpse will block the arcs & if the enemies are too close it also won't connect to the target

[@DC-le2zu]

Arc Blitzer combined with the laser dog rover I am basically invincible on bug missions even on the higher difficulties.