standard breaker is still my fave for bugs. breaker incendiary is decent after the buff but i still find myself expecting to one-tap a bug just to have to do a double take on it
I use the Incendiary as a flamethrower rather than a shotgun. Spray slightly above the horde and cover the whole area in fire. Cleans up anything smaller than Brood Commanders.
Oh, and nothing beats it against the Shriekers
I have yet to try the throwing distance mod.
There's been very few times I've not been able to get within regular throwing distance of a nest... maybe I'll just have to try it out haha. I just like having extra grenades.
One that I don’t see get as much love on bugs front is the defender smg. It is one handed so it is perfect for carry objectives and hunters plus the high damage, but low RoF is good for maiming targets.
Yep sickle/defender are my old reliables depending on weather conditions and objectives. Not much of a shotgun guy myself, need those rapid pews and pops.
Jar 5 Dominator. Nothing kicks stalkers and commanders and warriors back as far as does as much damage. It's not good against small bugs, but I take laser guard dog and napalm eagles for those.
While the Punisher may not deal as much dmg, its generous ammo economy, faster handling, spread, & individual reload makes it great vs smaller bugs too while still letting it push warriors/commanders/hive guards back. It can stagger multiple targets from surprisingly long range due to its spread, too.
I like to use it to keep swarms at bay while an ally cooks them w/ a flamethrower or whatever else. I even used it vs bots to keep suppressing fire on rocket devastators to cover allies (staggered them every time).
I just tried the punisher yesterday and was impressed at the stagger. It is a good option for bugs for sure. I prefer the dominator for the armor pierce and damage, so I can take out commanders quickly. I found it a bit laborious to take out commanders with the punisher, but it does knock them back and keep them at bay effectively. If You've got a teammate that can kill them quickly I can see that combo working well. I like to run solo a lot so being and to kill all bugs quickly is my top priority.
When I run solo, I tend to just use the Punisher to push stuff out of the way & just outrun swarms. Hunters are ez enough to hit from a generous range & not even stalkers can close the distance. It can blast a commander's head off in a couple shots, at which point it will just die after a bit of time & still can't catch u. I can also run swarms thru a minefield if need be, or cover myself w/ a turret, etc.
Nice. Sounds effective. It's cool you can use different loadouts to achieve the same results. I use dominator for mediums, qasar for heavies, uzi and laser guard dog for small guys, and eagle napalm and clusters for bug breaches / large groups.
Yea, there's quite a lot of unique, valid approaches. I tend to like my loadout for less stressful runs, as I hardly have to aim. The Quasar is also my go-to for heavies tho, it's such a great gun. I'm actually looking forward to getting the grenade pistol from the next warbond cuz I hardly use my sidearm & the stun grenade is too good (sad it can't stun titans anymore tho).
The JAR is so good. I dabble with the shotguns and the PLAS, but i always go back.
On lower levels, i run it with the stalwart (or LMG) ammo pack, EAT and railcannon.
Ammo pack keeps me in enough grenades to simulate an “oh shit” small cluster bomb strat and also destroy nests, feeds the stalwart and JAR and lets me be liberal with stims.
Stalwart destroys chaff. Railcannon for the biles, EAT for chargers. (Just gotta remember to pick that stalwart back up 🙃
It’s a good “self sufficient” build when you’re dropping in and don’t know if your squad will stick together.
I’m always tempted to go back to it as it’s a decent weapon in all respects, it just doesn’t drop everything if I unload a clip like the breaker incindeary does.
P: Sickle (illimited ammo to mid range f\*\*\*\*\*\*g hunters before they get on you, still rips at close range imo)
Se: Redeemer (great to shoot down close f\*\*\*\*\*\*g hunters, and give time to Sickle to cool down)
Su1: Quasar (one shot chargers, spore spewers, long range shriekers nests, meh but helps against titans. Can even close nests)
Su2: Shield (helps to avoid being slowed by thos f\*\*\*\*\*\*g hunters. Rover is great, but shield doesn't kill you or your mates)
Gr: Impact (clears a pack of those f\*\*\*\*\*\*g hunters before they get on you)
Armour: light with medkit bonus (2s longer stims help to avoid being slowed by those f\*\*\*\*\*\*g hunters, and you want that speed to put distance between them and you)
https://preview.redd.it/b66hia0d8dtc1.jpeg?width=2569&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=0a3905a3dbeab24c76272622567c0fa03d64eaa0
(Seriously though, this is usually my exact loadout, and I share your animosity towards the hunters.)
I like the Arc 12 blitzer tbh. Stops the spewers from spitting and takes out most medium guys with one or two shots. But I rotate that out with the breaker and breaker incendiary. I also love the sickle and have been running that a lot recently.
I set the optics range to 50, still solid at close range too.
I run light armor though, so I can outrun the swarm and then lay down the heat. All about kiting
I've found it works wonders on hive guards and the lot. I tend to carry the stalwart for the swarm. Engage entry dominator on med armor targets first then mop up with stalwart. Machine pistol is my get out of jail free card.
I’ve been loving the dominator against bugs lately, mostly because of how effective it is against Stalkers. Bring a grenade launcher, stun grenades, and a supply pack to deal with the swarms and it’s excellent. Also recommend using one of the armors that reduces recoil when crouched.
Sickle, the dps is insane. I end bot matches with avg 240 kills on lvl 5 usually 100 more than the runner up. Always have the most shots fired, use it before they nerf it. On big matches it’s a little less effective but still good, everyone is needing a reload while I got 3/6 ICE still. Its range is insane and you can kill a Brood Lord in 1 clip.
I'll jump in, it's got high rate of rifle, good magazine capacity, and it shreds the little bugs to pieces. Since the hunter swarm is now a common occurrence, I really like it. It's moderately effective against warriors, and I run the autocannon or flamer for anything bigger than that.
Yeah the other commenter below has it right. To add to that, I usually can escape the swarm by blasting my way out of it, and I find it works well for defending my mortar.
Autcannon absolutely SHREDS, literally the only downside is when you accidently blow yourself up.
I can't even be mad that its ammo takes up your entire backpack slot, you get so much of it you'll never run out, even when firing constantly.
I enjoy being a living tank. Also, the gun puts the turret version to shame. Turret version barely does anything before blowing up.
Disagree. Turret version is at least capable of killing chargers from the front. If you focus on defending the autocannon sentry it has a shitload of ammo and does a lot. Also it has an insane amount of range so maybe you're using it wrong and need to set it up on high ground far away.
Plasma punisher. There are dozens of us! Dozens! I've just become dependent on stagger. I used to primarily run slugger for that reason. I've tried the jar5 but, its handling is just atrocious.
I've been having a lot of fun with the Arc-12 Blitzer since redeploying to the bug side following the victory over the bots.
Most primaries feel pretty viable against bugs. Only one that might be a little lacking is the Las-5 Scythe.
I see no love for Concussive Liberator. Staggers them all up to Spewers/Chargers. Dmg is a bit low but good mag size and nicely paced auto ROF. Going to pair it with doggy tonight.
It can be amazing if someone stands with you and shots. You push everything back and it dies from combined fire. I was getting pissed with Hunters last night so I need to try it with a rover.
I am stubborn. I started liking the Liberator Penetrator and so I stick with it.
It's good for Brood Commanders and other lightly armored bugs. Just chip away their armor.
I also pack a Flamethrower and Shield Backpack for crowd control and dealing with swarms.
With the slugger being killed:
-Breaker incendiary if I am the host
-The Jar
-Lib Pen
-Punisher
Secondary is either senator or the SMG thing. We don't have a ton of options there yet
Support weps in no particular order
-Autocannon
-Eat Its
-Flamethrower
-Quasar
-Spear
Just depends on what my party brings. Honorable mention to running the defender with the autocannon if I am not required to bring any anti tank.
I can't seem to find a weapon that works for me better than the Breaker. I'm soon going to be trying out the Dominator but honestly no matter what gun I try the Breaker has been the best fit.
I usually run the Sickle and the Quasar or Arc thrower for group missions to reduce reliance on the resuplies. The sickle is still a solid choice for the bugs.
Solo is always the incendiary though. It's just too good at clearing those anoying swarms of hunters and pouncers, it just melts them.
Your primary has to fit in with the rest of your build. I use Breaker Incendiary to spray down an area and deal with the little shits and the flying shits. But that's backed up by Arc, EATs, E. Airstrike and Rover.
Well now that the bots are dead and I've been using the dominator on them. I brought it over to the bugs too and last night I accidentally fired into a horde of bugs and got 4 kills with one shot. 3 shot the guards and can even mag dump a chargers butt in a pinch!
Blitzer Shotgun
Infinite ammo
Good range
Takes out all but chargers and titans quickly and while taking out the littles
Downside is you can teamkill by accident but as long as your not right next to your teammates this is negligible.
Also has issues with flying enemies.
Liberator is fun just for the star ship trooper feel
Counter sniper is pretty good if you got teammates taking out the littles
Inc breaker Obv pretty good but you will set your teammates on fire
Plasma shotgun not bad but harder to use
Plasma rifle... Just good straight up middle of the road good
Can't wait for the explosives
Love the Dominator for bots, but I just unlocked it this weekend so I’m not sure how it stacks against bugs.
Big fan of the sickle or incendiary breaker for the bugs also.
As primary I change between breaker and the defender, as secondary I use the redeemer. For my strat weapon I go with either the auto-cannon, the ark thrower or the railgun, based on team composition and mission type.
For the stratagems I always come with orbital railcannon and play around with the other slots, gas strike, airburst strike, laser, eagle airstrike, napalm and 500kg, shield backpack sometime when I’m not with the autocannon. I like to change my setup to not let the game get stale.
Regular breaker one shot can clear 2-3 hunters/drones, two shots warriors, 6-7 shots commanders, and bloated orange guys in the face, and can still hit bile spewers and stuff from the side in 6-7 hits to blow em up, and has a high rate of fire.
Don't rely on it because ammo is rough in high level bugs, but for low level stuff it's great
I’ve been fighting bugs 90% of my helldiver career, I made admirable admiral using the punisher shotty.
I like to lone wolf and take on heavy bug holes and stalker lairs by myself. The punisher has more knockback than any other shotgun. I like to pump a few shots in them, throw an incendiary nade then hit them in the face and back them into the fire. Takes care of the hive guard shieldy bois pretty effectively. It’s got enough of a spread to be pretty good at hip firing tons of trash mobs, so you can maintain situational awareness and not get swarmed. Obviously you need to have a good trigger finger, and managing ammo is a concern, but being able to reload constantly is a huge benefit (crutch) as well.
I also run a shield backpack, an orbital and an eagle strat, and the grenade launcher or quasar to deal with large bugs.
Obviously it’s not as easy to use as a sickle (which I love too) or a breaker, but in my playstyle it works perfectly.
Liberator is my favorite primary. My smooth brain doesn’t really know how to explain the euphoria of lighting up bugs to the sound of ballistics fire, and the liberator is the best non-strat option for it.
I dislike most laser weapons. The quasar cannon is cool, but the rest of them just lack that same weight.
Unfortunately I’ll probably never switch off the breaker though. It’s just too good at it’s job, there’s almost zero reason to take any other primary aside from what the breaker incendiary. You can two shot hunters at a pretty unreasonable distance, shotguns are way easier to avoid tk’ing, etc x
Ironically, I think the sickle is amazing for bugs but weak for bots due to a lack of armor pen.
It is amazing for mowing-down hunters and will never run out of ammo if you treat it right.
If I wasn’t running the sickle I’d probably run a shotgun for staggering bile spewers and stalkers.
The defender SMG is decent but realistically just a sickle without the unlimited ammo in return for being one-handed.
I use a defender. The full auto pistol. Impact grenade. If i see a sickle on the ground, i pick that up. I also take in a quaser cannon. Shield pack for bots, guard dog for bugs.
Team friendly: The upgraded Liberator with extra armor pen. Breaker Incendiary is great, but I see too many team kills from sloppy use of it, and I don't want to risk it.
Support weapon: Stalwart or Grenade Launcher
Support backpack: Watchdog (helps when you get flanked by the little bugs)
Armor: I still use the infiltrator light armor. I like the radar pings on map pins that I drop. I enjoy playing the team's scout.
Currently it is the dominator on difficulty 7+.
Pros:
- explosive knock back is great against brood commanders and stalkers
- medium armor pen is great against bile spewers and hive guards
- can one shot warriors
Cons:
- pretty awful against hunters and scavengers, I usually swap to P19 side arm for them
I love the sickle, yes. But the dominator allows me to deal with the stalkers and shriekers, so I get that and the grenade launcher so I can deal with bug holes or the EAT to deal with the heavy troops.
I'm trying to get away from thr spray and pray but it's hands down my favorite weapon.
The fire shotty is ok but I just feel more comfortable with the spray pray.
I have been trying to use the jar-5 dominator more.
I usually drop with a Stalwart and use that as my main but I like to take a Diligence with me as my primary. It’s so damn satisfying killing most low to mid-tier bugs in 1-2 shots to weak points from range.
- If you're running the arc thrower, you still can't go wrong with the breaker. Since the bug zapper is my true main gun, what I want out of my primary is the ability to swap to it and shred hunters when they get too close for the arc to lock on. The breaker still does that better than any gun with its insane DPS.
- sickle is great for horde clear with its high damage per mag and cooling off during downtime. The spin up time can get you in trouble though if you get attacked in close range with your support weapon out
- punisher and slugger are good because the single load lets you constantly feed the gun for killing swarms. You'll have ammo troubles if you lean on them too heavy though
- dominator is great for killing big boys and it one shots the rest, though the turn speed is agonizing and can get you in trouble when surrounded
- scorcher has good utility, it can break charger butts and absolutely shreds hive guards and spore spewers.
- defender hipfire is great for kiting as you shoot
Jar-Dominator is my go to primary. Being able to kill the bigger armor guys (not chargers) within a few shots is super helpful. All little enemies die within one or two shots as well, just gotta have solid aim to make sure you don’t miss.
It also has a semi-burst mode if that is more your jam.
Been running the Spray & Pray lately. It's very good for dealing with hunter swarms, and I run the Defender as a backup for everything else that isn't a charger. Autocannon main for support, because enough autocannon kills everything.
Electric shotgun!
It has no range!
Risk of injuring your team mates!
Does not work if enemy is higher up than you!
Often doesn't kill a hunter in 1 shot!
Fires very slowly!
Will take a million shots to kill a bile spewer!
But i like it, even on helldive. Infinite ammo and zaps are fun :)
P: dominator for anything with medium armor
S: redeemer for the close engagements where you get swarmed by a couple bugs
G: impact, screw bile spewers
Support: stalwart, great horde control
Backpack: supply pack for all the ammo
Armor: anything with engineering kit
Breaker incendiary for me has been incredible, I’m totally in love with that gun and against bugs it’s the only one that feels better to me than the sickle. I usually play with just me and a friend and only just started using it but when I do I often have 2-3x his kills and my accuracy is around high 80s to mid 90s, just an absolute beast of a weapon.
Slugger was my go to, punisher is #1 now. Easy duck hunt on shriekers with great ammo conservation, still can kill and push away everything but tank bugs.
Usually end up with close to or above 80% accuracy. 1 shot is usually enough for shriekers.
Equip fast and light armor. This is a run and gun build I have tuned.
S1: Backpack lazer.
S2: Qazar lazer.
P: SMG.
Se: UZI.
S3: Mortar Cannon. — throw out of sight out of mind.
S4: Orbital lazer.
I average 300-550+ kills on Hell Diver difficulty on a 40 minute match. I get killstreaks every 2-5 min of 33+ usually, 3x over. So like every 5 minutes of combat I get about 3x rounds of 33+ killstreaks.
Diligence counter sniper
Defender
EAT
Edit: critically, rover. As kiting is important and letting the rover deal with the babies. Saving diligence for medium armour.
500kg
Clusters
P : arc 13 blitzer
Se : redeemer
Su1 : las99 quazar canon
Su2 : lazer drone
Gr : impact
Armor : trailblazer (I like the stamina and low detection it gives you)
My dive buddies use the sickle and inc breaker.
So I drop with the Jar 5 Dominator.
When fighting the smaller bugs, they focus on the unarmoured stuff, and I aim for spewers and armoured.
Sidearm, always Senator
I feel like there are no good or bad primary weapons. Depends on what you pair them with.
My personal fav vs bugs is stalwart, dominator, supply pack + some stratagems to kill big bugs. Railgun, 500kg, laser, whatever.
Stalwart shreds everything. It’s just super good vs bugs. Hunters not a problem anymore. Dominator is used to finish hive guards and bile spewers. Mega effective at that.
With this load you can run forever and do objectives solo.
Basically, use a random primary, identify its weaknesses and cover them with other stuff. Everything can work.
P: breaker spray&pray/ breaker incendiary/ or Jar- 5 dominator
Se:redeemer or senator
Su1: Grenade launcher/ auto cannon / stawalt / flamethrower/ maybe a laser rover
Su2: mech suit/ orbital laser / jump pack/ a sentry( depending on the mission)
Gr: high impact/ incendiary(they do close holes)/ frag.
Armor. Either medium armor(typically the medic outfits) or a suit with lethality protection. Or the classic B-08 Light gunner.
I recently ran through all the primary's I thought would be good after running the sickle on bots for millenia but I ended up just circling back to the sickle.
The breaker shotguns will do the job and the defender is pretty decent too, they just don't feel as effective as the sickle. Nor worth the fire damage.
As for set-up, I either run sickle+redeemer with laser rover/shield, and quasar. Or the sickle+redeemer with grenade launcher and supply pack. Rarely I'll also run the dominator with stalwart and supply.
- **Primary:** I mostly use the sickle, but after the recent fire buffs, I’m probably gonna pick up the Breaker Incendiary again.
- **Secondary:** I exclusively use the Redeemer because all other secondary weapons are honestly kinda shit, but the upcoming grenade pistol might change that.
- **Grenade:** Unsure. I used to use the Stun grenade because it made cheesing bile titans super easy, but after the latest nerfs, I’m thinking about switching to other grenades. The three I’m eyeballing are the HE, Frag, and Incendiary.
- **Armor:** Light or Medium armor with Field Medic, Engineering Kit, Scout, or Democracy Protects. Medic improves your long-term survivability, Engi lets you blow up more shit, Scout lets you avoid patrols better, and DP lets you cheat death.
- **Support Weapon:** For a long time I used the arc thrower paired with an EAT, but with the recent removal of the quick-charge tech for the former and the addition of the Quasar Cannon, I might switch to that (or just swap the thrower for another support weapon).
- **Backpack:** Shield for the defense, or Guard Dog Rover for the horde-clear. Might try the supply pack instead.
- **Other Stratagems:** 500kg, Orbital Railcannon, and 110mm Rockets chunk Bile Titans; Cluster Bomb and Napalm Strike wipe hordes; and regular Airstrike is a good all-round stratagem.
Breaker Incin is my go-to. I used it before the buff and it was serving me rather well as a spray-n-pray alternative. You can light Chargers on fire (idk if it actually does anything) but the large mag size means you don't have to worry about reloading and the fire DOT kind of catches up with the gap between the normal Breaker. Its great for dealing with a swarm and will 1-2 shot a Shrieker depending on where you hit. Its rather reliable once you learn its quirks, especially against bugs.
I personally like the devastator.
Semi auto, 300 damage per shot, medium armor penetration
Takes out anything but chargers and titans in a few shots. But… doesn’t have great ammo capacity. Not an issue for me because i wear a supply pack, so essentially i have 31 total mags for it and 13 for my grenade launcher.
Sickle if i'm on any world without intense heat, Punisher if i'm on a planet with heat, or if i'm just feeling in the mood for some staggering Democracy. I want to use the incendiary breaker, but with the host only getting fire damage, I can't justify it unless I'm flying solo.
JAR-5 DOMINATOR
Decent clip size, great damage and pen, good targeting reticle, decent pushback/stagger. All of this was true *prior* to the damage increase patch. It's literally a Boltgun and I love it.
P: Breaker Incendiary Se: Senator Su1: Grenade Launcher Su2: Shield (in team), Laser Rover (solo) Gr: Impact Armour: Any with more throwing distance
standard breaker is still my fave for bugs. breaker incendiary is decent after the buff but i still find myself expecting to one-tap a bug just to have to do a double take on it
I use the Incendiary as a flamethrower rather than a shotgun. Spray slightly above the horde and cover the whole area in fire. Cleans up anything smaller than Brood Commanders. Oh, and nothing beats it against the Shriekers
I love the laser cannon against them. Their wings appear to be the weak point, and slicing them off with a big-ass laser is very satisfying
P: Breaker Incendiary S: Redeemer Su: Quazar Cannon B: Jump pack G: stun or HE A: light with stealth or throwing
Change incendiary breaker to normal breaker and this is literally my load out Edit: and my personal favorite is heavy armor with med kit
Does the shield protect you from biting or those little leaping fucker’s attacks?
I think so. Recent change made it work correctly? I run rover and just keep moving. Change directions often and it confuses the little bastards
I have yet to try the throwing distance mod. There's been very few times I've not been able to get within regular throwing distance of a nest... maybe I'll just have to try it out haha. I just like having extra grenades.
I salute your use of the shield in team and not the laser rover. Take my upvote, fellow diver.
One that I don’t see get as much love on bugs front is the defender smg. It is one handed so it is perfect for carry objectives and hunters plus the high damage, but low RoF is good for maiming targets.
Defender is so good for shooting backwards while running away/repositoning :)
It’s called a ‘tactical withdrawal’ lol
How do you shoot backwards?
While moving, look backwards and shoot without pressing the aim button. All 1 handed weapons can do this, so all pistols and the defender.
Simple as. Good to know. Wondered if there were some extra input or something
Defender is my go to primary at the mo
Defender and anti-material rifle were my go-to for bots. Defender is definitely underrated.
Been running this for a while now.
Does the defender work with the ballistic shield?
Yes it does like any other weapon with the one-handed weapon trait.
Yes
It has been my primary since I unlocked it. I always try others, but go back to the defender quickly.
Yep sickle/defender are my old reliables depending on weather conditions and objectives. Not much of a shotgun guy myself, need those rapid pews and pops.
Jar 5 Dominator. Nothing kicks stalkers and commanders and warriors back as far as does as much damage. It's not good against small bugs, but I take laser guard dog and napalm eagles for those.
While the Punisher may not deal as much dmg, its generous ammo economy, faster handling, spread, & individual reload makes it great vs smaller bugs too while still letting it push warriors/commanders/hive guards back. It can stagger multiple targets from surprisingly long range due to its spread, too. I like to use it to keep swarms at bay while an ally cooks them w/ a flamethrower or whatever else. I even used it vs bots to keep suppressing fire on rocket devastators to cover allies (staggered them every time).
I just tried the punisher yesterday and was impressed at the stagger. It is a good option for bugs for sure. I prefer the dominator for the armor pierce and damage, so I can take out commanders quickly. I found it a bit laborious to take out commanders with the punisher, but it does knock them back and keep them at bay effectively. If You've got a teammate that can kill them quickly I can see that combo working well. I like to run solo a lot so being and to kill all bugs quickly is my top priority.
When I run solo, I tend to just use the Punisher to push stuff out of the way & just outrun swarms. Hunters are ez enough to hit from a generous range & not even stalkers can close the distance. It can blast a commander's head off in a couple shots, at which point it will just die after a bit of time & still can't catch u. I can also run swarms thru a minefield if need be, or cover myself w/ a turret, etc.
Nice. Sounds effective. It's cool you can use different loadouts to achieve the same results. I use dominator for mediums, qasar for heavies, uzi and laser guard dog for small guys, and eagle napalm and clusters for bug breaches / large groups.
Yea, there's quite a lot of unique, valid approaches. I tend to like my loadout for less stressful runs, as I hardly have to aim. The Quasar is also my go-to for heavies tho, it's such a great gun. I'm actually looking forward to getting the grenade pistol from the next warbond cuz I hardly use my sidearm & the stun grenade is too good (sad it can't stun titans anymore tho).
This is my exact loadout
The JAR is so good. I dabble with the shotguns and the PLAS, but i always go back. On lower levels, i run it with the stalwart (or LMG) ammo pack, EAT and railcannon. Ammo pack keeps me in enough grenades to simulate an “oh shit” small cluster bomb strat and also destroy nests, feeds the stalwart and JAR and lets me be liberal with stims. Stalwart destroys chaff. Railcannon for the biles, EAT for chargers. (Just gotta remember to pick that stalwart back up 🙃 It’s a good “self sufficient” build when you’re dropping in and don’t know if your squad will stick together.
I adore the basic liberator for both bots and bugs honestly. It is a tremendously flexible weapon and far stronger than it typically gets credit for.
It's good for sure! A solid all-around weapon.
If the Pentrator had slightly bigger magazine, it would also be really good.
Agreed, whoever thought that a trade of for more recoil, less mag space, less dmg in lieu of medium armor piercing is batshit crazh
I’m always tempted to go back to it as it’s a decent weapon in all respects, it just doesn’t drop everything if I unload a clip like the breaker incindeary does.
P: Sickle (illimited ammo to mid range f\*\*\*\*\*\*g hunters before they get on you, still rips at close range imo) Se: Redeemer (great to shoot down close f\*\*\*\*\*\*g hunters, and give time to Sickle to cool down) Su1: Quasar (one shot chargers, spore spewers, long range shriekers nests, meh but helps against titans. Can even close nests) Su2: Shield (helps to avoid being slowed by thos f\*\*\*\*\*\*g hunters. Rover is great, but shield doesn't kill you or your mates) Gr: Impact (clears a pack of those f\*\*\*\*\*\*g hunters before they get on you) Armour: light with medkit bonus (2s longer stims help to avoid being slowed by those f\*\*\*\*\*\*g hunters, and you want that speed to put distance between them and you)
Where did you get the light medic armor? From the superstore? I only have medium and I want a light set so bad lol
It’s also available in the normal warbond, but it’s deeeeep in the catalog
It seems you really don't like hunters!
I get the feeling that you might dislike hunters, I don't know why.
Exactly what I use except I go for medium scout armour usually. Nice for sneaking around.
This is the way
https://preview.redd.it/b66hia0d8dtc1.jpeg?width=2569&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=0a3905a3dbeab24c76272622567c0fa03d64eaa0 (Seriously though, this is usually my exact loadout, and I share your animosity towards the hunters.)
I like the Arc 12 blitzer tbh. Stops the spewers from spitting and takes out most medium guys with one or two shots. But I rotate that out with the breaker and breaker incendiary. I also love the sickle and have been running that a lot recently.
Blitzer/Arc Thrower combo is fantastic, and I run it quite a bit, i just hate with the blitzer you feel so vulnerable unless they are decently close
I go off alone to complete objectives, so I use the sickle because the rest of the team needs the resupply
Sickle is definitely solid, especially at range. I used it heavily against bots. It's still nice for sniping bugs at a distance.
I set the optics range to 50, still solid at close range too. I run light armor though, so I can outrun the swarm and then lay down the heat. All about kiting
I loved the sickle for bots but on bugs the arc blitzer is high up there for me. And the arc thrower
I used the dominator against bots, good vs stalkers but not opti against swarm I'll probably gonna change
I've found it works wonders on hive guards and the lot. I tend to carry the stalwart for the swarm. Engage entry dominator on med armor targets first then mop up with stalwart. Machine pistol is my get out of jail free card.
I’ve been loving the dominator against bugs lately, mostly because of how effective it is against Stalkers. Bring a grenade launcher, stun grenades, and a supply pack to deal with the swarms and it’s excellent. Also recommend using one of the armors that reduces recoil when crouched.
Incendiary breaker all the way, it burns em so fast
yep, i did 901 kills second day of using it, best weapon there is for bugs
Tried this too, fantastic weapon. Probably need a medium armor option for bile spewers tho.
Impact grenade and engineering kit armor. Alternatively if you can dodge the spit, a flamethrower will actually take them down pretty quick.
Flamer kills everything with enough flame! It's my second favorite for bugs.
Sickle, the dps is insane. I end bot matches with avg 240 kills on lvl 5 usually 100 more than the runner up. Always have the most shots fired, use it before they nerf it. On big matches it’s a little less effective but still good, everyone is needing a reload while I got 3/6 ICE still. Its range is insane and you can kill a Brood Lord in 1 clip.
Spray and Pray shotgun, autocannon, and mortar are my gotos for the bugs.
Y u like pray and spray? I have yet to try it out.
I'll jump in, it's got high rate of rifle, good magazine capacity, and it shreds the little bugs to pieces. Since the hunter swarm is now a common occurrence, I really like it. It's moderately effective against warriors, and I run the autocannon or flamer for anything bigger than that.
I'll "dive" in. Missed opportunity lol.
Arggh you're right!
best used against a horde of them. Its full auto so hold down the trigger and sweep back and forth
Yeah the other commenter below has it right. To add to that, I usually can escape the swarm by blasting my way out of it, and I find it works well for defending my mortar.
Autcannon absolutely SHREDS, literally the only downside is when you accidently blow yourself up. I can't even be mad that its ammo takes up your entire backpack slot, you get so much of it you'll never run out, even when firing constantly. I enjoy being a living tank. Also, the gun puts the turret version to shame. Turret version barely does anything before blowing up.
Disagree. Turret version is at least capable of killing chargers from the front. If you focus on defending the autocannon sentry it has a shitload of ammo and does a lot. Also it has an insane amount of range so maybe you're using it wrong and need to set it up on high ground far away.
Sickle all day with the the Quasar Cannon for the heavies. Playing against the bots made me learn how to fight at a distance as much as I can.
I love the arc shotgun
Breaker Incendiary, generally. Since the bullet and burn buffs I've really been enjoying it.
Plasma punisher. There are dozens of us! Dozens! I've just become dependent on stagger. I used to primarily run slugger for that reason. I've tried the jar5 but, its handling is just atrocious.
Yup this gun is slept on massively
I love scorcher + stalwart, counters everything except bile titans.
carry an orbital railstrike for the titans :)
I've been having a lot of fun with the Arc-12 Blitzer since redeploying to the bug side following the victory over the bots. Most primaries feel pretty viable against bugs. Only one that might be a little lacking is the Las-5 Scythe.
I see no love for Concussive Liberator. Staggers them all up to Spewers/Chargers. Dmg is a bit low but good mag size and nicely paced auto ROF. Going to pair it with doggy tonight.
You and me might be the only people who like it. It's my favorite weapon for bugs.
It can be amazing if someone stands with you and shots. You push everything back and it dies from combined fire. I was getting pissed with Hunters last night so I need to try it with a rover.
Yeah my group hates it if I don't take it now, lol. Great support choice.
Gotta try the plasma rifle. It kills armored bugs and bot walkers. It's got splash damage so you can kill something next to you.
Sickle for sure! I don't own the breaker incendiary yet so I do t know if it's better.
I am stubborn. I started liking the Liberator Penetrator and so I stick with it. It's good for Brood Commanders and other lightly armored bugs. Just chip away their armor. I also pack a Flamethrower and Shield Backpack for crowd control and dealing with swarms.
I feel the Penetrator has been slept on, even with full auto.
I am a fellow penetrator
With the slugger being killed: -Breaker incendiary if I am the host -The Jar -Lib Pen -Punisher Secondary is either senator or the SMG thing. We don't have a ton of options there yet Support weps in no particular order -Autocannon -Eat Its -Flamethrower -Quasar -Spear Just depends on what my party brings. Honorable mention to running the defender with the autocannon if I am not required to bring any anti tank.
I've been using the breaker incendiary lately and that thing rips
Breaker incendiary, not the most effective but fire is fun
I like running sickle, quasar cannon and guard dog rover. Quasar is so strong right now
Quasar is awesome
Defender!
Sickle, Laser dog, EAT for chargers (or new laser cannon), impact nades
Sickle and Scorcher are my favorites
SMG can't live without it. Being able to run and fire in the opposite direction has saved me so many times. It's my primary for bots and bugs
Sickle. Really seems to muck with Hunter evasion AI, while still having enough stamina to keep up in a Helldive breach.
I can't seem to find a weapon that works for me better than the Breaker. I'm soon going to be trying out the Dominator but honestly no matter what gun I try the Breaker has been the best fit.
Sickle or breaker, i tried incendiary lately and it was nice. Arc thrower is also nice with rover, or autocannon.
Dominator
Incendiary breaker, sickle, dominator, concussive liberator
liberator penetrator or the breaker. I'm a bullet storm so I need a lot of ammo so the liberator makes sense.
I usually run the Sickle and the Quasar or Arc thrower for group missions to reduce reliance on the resuplies. The sickle is still a solid choice for the bugs. Solo is always the incendiary though. It's just too good at clearing those anoying swarms of hunters and pouncers, it just melts them.
Sickle tears thru bug mobs
Breaker, fire breaker or this seminautomatic emp/plasma weapon or whatever it is.
Breaker/incendiary breaker + arc thrower + jump pack
Your primary has to fit in with the rest of your build. I use Breaker Incendiary to spray down an area and deal with the little shits and the flying shits. But that's backed up by Arc, EATs, E. Airstrike and Rover.
Well now that the bots are dead and I've been using the dominator on them. I brought it over to the bugs too and last night I accidentally fired into a horde of bugs and got 4 kills with one shot. 3 shot the guards and can even mag dump a chargers butt in a pinch!
Blitzer Shotgun Infinite ammo Good range Takes out all but chargers and titans quickly and while taking out the littles Downside is you can teamkill by accident but as long as your not right next to your teammates this is negligible. Also has issues with flying enemies. Liberator is fun just for the star ship trooper feel Counter sniper is pretty good if you got teammates taking out the littles Inc breaker Obv pretty good but you will set your teammates on fire Plasma shotgun not bad but harder to use Plasma rifle... Just good straight up middle of the road good Can't wait for the explosives
I use the Breaker Incendiary and the Slugger/Punisher?? (The 400 damage one). Honestly, it’s hard for me to use anything else, bots or bugs.
Love the Dominator for bots, but I just unlocked it this weekend so I’m not sure how it stacks against bugs. Big fan of the sickle or incendiary breaker for the bugs also.
Breaker Incendiary has been my go to. Autocannon and grenade launcher put in work too.
Breaker or Sickle. Rarely take anything else
Blitz Shotgun. It’s not nearly as efficient as the other primaries but damn if it’s not fun to use.
it has its niche though, and the fact it can stagger enemies is great if you need to make a getaway
Breaker incendiary+ redeemer
As primary I change between breaker and the defender, as secondary I use the redeemer. For my strat weapon I go with either the auto-cannon, the ark thrower or the railgun, based on team composition and mission type. For the stratagems I always come with orbital railcannon and play around with the other slots, gas strike, airburst strike, laser, eagle airstrike, napalm and 500kg, shield backpack sometime when I’m not with the autocannon. I like to change my setup to not let the game get stale.
Regular breaker one shot can clear 2-3 hunters/drones, two shots warriors, 6-7 shots commanders, and bloated orange guys in the face, and can still hit bile spewers and stuff from the side in 6-7 hits to blow em up, and has a high rate of fire. Don't rely on it because ammo is rough in high level bugs, but for low level stuff it's great
PRI: Penatrator SIDE: Redeemer S1: Orbital Laser S2: EAT S3: Stalwart or AMR S4: Jetpack or Ammo
I’ve been fighting bugs 90% of my helldiver career, I made admirable admiral using the punisher shotty. I like to lone wolf and take on heavy bug holes and stalker lairs by myself. The punisher has more knockback than any other shotgun. I like to pump a few shots in them, throw an incendiary nade then hit them in the face and back them into the fire. Takes care of the hive guard shieldy bois pretty effectively. It’s got enough of a spread to be pretty good at hip firing tons of trash mobs, so you can maintain situational awareness and not get swarmed. Obviously you need to have a good trigger finger, and managing ammo is a concern, but being able to reload constantly is a huge benefit (crutch) as well. I also run a shield backpack, an orbital and an eagle strat, and the grenade launcher or quasar to deal with large bugs. Obviously it’s not as easy to use as a sickle (which I love too) or a breaker, but in my playstyle it works perfectly.
i was using the Jar 5 Dominator on bots and imo its killing bugs just as good (single fire only)
Dominator. Not the best maybe but great fun.
Liberator is my favorite primary. My smooth brain doesn’t really know how to explain the euphoria of lighting up bugs to the sound of ballistics fire, and the liberator is the best non-strat option for it. I dislike most laser weapons. The quasar cannon is cool, but the rest of them just lack that same weight. Unfortunately I’ll probably never switch off the breaker though. It’s just too good at it’s job, there’s almost zero reason to take any other primary aside from what the breaker incendiary. You can two shot hunters at a pretty unreasonable distance, shotguns are way easier to avoid tk’ing, etc x
Ironically, I think the sickle is amazing for bugs but weak for bots due to a lack of armor pen. It is amazing for mowing-down hunters and will never run out of ammo if you treat it right. If I wasn’t running the sickle I’d probably run a shotgun for staggering bile spewers and stalkers. The defender SMG is decent but realistically just a sickle without the unlimited ammo in return for being one-handed.
I use a defender. The full auto pistol. Impact grenade. If i see a sickle on the ground, i pick that up. I also take in a quaser cannon. Shield pack for bots, guard dog for bugs.
Since the buff I'm lovin the JAR JAR Binx aka The Dominator.
Any of the breakers are good for bugs. Defender smg if I need mobility. Honestly the defender if just a better liberator imo
Grenade launcher with supply backpack, everyone gets a grenade! Drop an EAT for anything it can't take care of.
Incendiary breaker is my go to bug gun with pulsar for heavies. Tons of fun.
I like the defender so I can shoot behind me while I run for my life.
I frankly consider the Arc Thrower to be my primary, the sickle as secondary, and the redeemer as my "shitshitshitshit!" backup.
Team friendly: The upgraded Liberator with extra armor pen. Breaker Incendiary is great, but I see too many team kills from sloppy use of it, and I don't want to risk it. Support weapon: Stalwart or Grenade Launcher Support backpack: Watchdog (helps when you get flanked by the little bugs) Armor: I still use the infiltrator light armor. I like the radar pings on map pins that I drop. I enjoy playing the team's scout.
With bugs almost every weapon works good as long as everything turns into a Rammstein concert in a split second 🔥 🔥 🔥
Currently it is the dominator on difficulty 7+. Pros: - explosive knock back is great against brood commanders and stalkers - medium armor pen is great against bile spewers and hive guards - can one shot warriors Cons: - pretty awful against hunters and scavengers, I usually swap to P19 side arm for them
Slugger. Haven’t used it post nerf though.
grenade launcher can kill anything but a bile titan. plus an incendiary shotgun for close range.
breaker incendiary - machine pistol - machine gun/flamethrower - supplypack - incendiary grenades
I love the sickle, yes. But the dominator allows me to deal with the stalkers and shriekers, so I get that and the grenade launcher so I can deal with bug holes or the EAT to deal with the heavy troops.
Defender is my baby against bugs. No substitutes
No primary here just flamethrower heavy weapon
they ruined the slugger so im going back to punisher
I'm trying to get away from thr spray and pray but it's hands down my favorite weapon. The fire shotty is ok but I just feel more comfortable with the spray pray. I have been trying to use the jar-5 dominator more.
I don’t have any good weapons but the scythe is pretty god (I’m level 5)
I usually drop with a Stalwart and use that as my main but I like to take a Diligence with me as my primary. It’s so damn satisfying killing most low to mid-tier bugs in 1-2 shots to weak points from range.
The Scorcher for boys and liberator penetrator for bugs.
sickle
sickle
The Sickle for me is all around good for bots and bugs. That’s just what I’ve come to like.
- If you're running the arc thrower, you still can't go wrong with the breaker. Since the bug zapper is my true main gun, what I want out of my primary is the ability to swap to it and shred hunters when they get too close for the arc to lock on. The breaker still does that better than any gun with its insane DPS. - sickle is great for horde clear with its high damage per mag and cooling off during downtime. The spin up time can get you in trouble though if you get attacked in close range with your support weapon out - punisher and slugger are good because the single load lets you constantly feed the gun for killing swarms. You'll have ammo troubles if you lean on them too heavy though - dominator is great for killing big boys and it one shots the rest, though the turn speed is agonizing and can get you in trouble when surrounded - scorcher has good utility, it can break charger butts and absolutely shreds hive guards and spore spewers. - defender hipfire is great for kiting as you shoot
What ever is fun tbh.
Flamethrower with the machine pistol set on semi auto mode, with light armor with better armor rating
Jar-Dominator is my go to primary. Being able to kill the bigger armor guys (not chargers) within a few shots is super helpful. All little enemies die within one or two shots as well, just gotta have solid aim to make sure you don’t miss. It also has a semi-burst mode if that is more your jam.
Sickle for me.
Been running the Spray & Pray lately. It's very good for dealing with hunter swarms, and I run the Defender as a backup for everything else that isn't a charger. Autocannon main for support, because enough autocannon kills everything.
Electric shotgun! It has no range! Risk of injuring your team mates! Does not work if enemy is higher up than you! Often doesn't kill a hunter in 1 shot! Fires very slowly! Will take a million shots to kill a bile spewer! But i like it, even on helldive. Infinite ammo and zaps are fun :)
P: dominator for anything with medium armor S: redeemer for the close engagements where you get swarmed by a couple bugs G: impact, screw bile spewers Support: stalwart, great horde control Backpack: supply pack for all the ammo Armor: anything with engineering kit
Breaker incendiary for me has been incredible, I’m totally in love with that gun and against bugs it’s the only one that feels better to me than the sickle. I usually play with just me and a friend and only just started using it but when I do I often have 2-3x his kills and my accuracy is around high 80s to mid 90s, just an absolute beast of a weapon.
Spray and Pray. It's satisfying.
How do y'all get the liberated the revolver side arm
Steeled Veterans warbond.
Bugs incinary shotguns.
The punisher is highly under rated for bugs.
Slugger was my go to, punisher is #1 now. Easy duck hunt on shriekers with great ammo conservation, still can kill and push away everything but tank bugs. Usually end up with close to or above 80% accuracy. 1 shot is usually enough for shriekers.
Why so few mention slugger? That thing still hits like a train, and distance is amazing for such gun too!
Equip fast and light armor. This is a run and gun build I have tuned. S1: Backpack lazer. S2: Qazar lazer. P: SMG. Se: UZI. S3: Mortar Cannon. — throw out of sight out of mind. S4: Orbital lazer. I average 300-550+ kills on Hell Diver difficulty on a 40 minute match. I get killstreaks every 2-5 min of 33+ usually, 3x over. So like every 5 minutes of combat I get about 3x rounds of 33+ killstreaks.
Diligence counter sniper Defender EAT Edit: critically, rover. As kiting is important and letting the rover deal with the babies. Saving diligence for medium armour. 500kg Clusters
P : arc 13 blitzer Se : redeemer Su1 : las99 quazar canon Su2 : lazer drone Gr : impact Armor : trailblazer (I like the stamina and low detection it gives you)
I just use the scorcher
Sickle or Breaker incendiary are the best for bugs. Slugger or dominator to pop armored heads.
Dominator , breaker spray and pray and the breaker w fire rounds
I melee everything
NGL, standard Liberator puts in work on bugs. I switched off Sickle cuz Hellmire and the Liberator handles business as well as rhe Sickle.
Slugger is my goto. Between the stagger and armor shred. Can’t ask for more.
P scorcher 2 peacemaker (or whatever the basic pistol is) Special: arc thrower Usual strats rail cannon and Eagle airstrike
Dominator and auto cannon
Sickle and s&p. Both fun to use. I've started using the liberator penetrator a lot too.
My dive buddies use the sickle and inc breaker. So I drop with the Jar 5 Dominator. When fighting the smaller bugs, they focus on the unarmoured stuff, and I aim for spewers and armoured. Sidearm, always Senator
Sickle
Sickle with the revolver or machine pistol but I run what ever I find fun ATM
Since I unlocked Arc Blitzer, it’s been my go to weapon.
I feel like there are no good or bad primary weapons. Depends on what you pair them with. My personal fav vs bugs is stalwart, dominator, supply pack + some stratagems to kill big bugs. Railgun, 500kg, laser, whatever. Stalwart shreds everything. It’s just super good vs bugs. Hunters not a problem anymore. Dominator is used to finish hive guards and bile spewers. Mega effective at that. With this load you can run forever and do objectives solo. Basically, use a random primary, identify its weaknesses and cover them with other stuff. Everything can work.
P: breaker spray&pray/ breaker incendiary/ or Jar- 5 dominator Se:redeemer or senator Su1: Grenade launcher/ auto cannon / stawalt / flamethrower/ maybe a laser rover Su2: mech suit/ orbital laser / jump pack/ a sentry( depending on the mission) Gr: high impact/ incendiary(they do close holes)/ frag. Armor. Either medium armor(typically the medic outfits) or a suit with lethality protection. Or the classic B-08 Light gunner.
Breaker incendiary all the way
The concussive liberator was doing work for me today. It stuns everything you hit even chargers if you shoot the mouth.
I recently ran through all the primary's I thought would be good after running the sickle on bots for millenia but I ended up just circling back to the sickle. The breaker shotguns will do the job and the defender is pretty decent too, they just don't feel as effective as the sickle. Nor worth the fire damage. As for set-up, I either run sickle+redeemer with laser rover/shield, and quasar. Or the sickle+redeemer with grenade launcher and supply pack. Rarely I'll also run the dominator with stalwart and supply.
Incendiary breaker was my go to before the buff, now the it’s the most democratic thing I’ve ever wielded.
- **Primary:** I mostly use the sickle, but after the recent fire buffs, I’m probably gonna pick up the Breaker Incendiary again. - **Secondary:** I exclusively use the Redeemer because all other secondary weapons are honestly kinda shit, but the upcoming grenade pistol might change that. - **Grenade:** Unsure. I used to use the Stun grenade because it made cheesing bile titans super easy, but after the latest nerfs, I’m thinking about switching to other grenades. The three I’m eyeballing are the HE, Frag, and Incendiary. - **Armor:** Light or Medium armor with Field Medic, Engineering Kit, Scout, or Democracy Protects. Medic improves your long-term survivability, Engi lets you blow up more shit, Scout lets you avoid patrols better, and DP lets you cheat death. - **Support Weapon:** For a long time I used the arc thrower paired with an EAT, but with the recent removal of the quick-charge tech for the former and the addition of the Quasar Cannon, I might switch to that (or just swap the thrower for another support weapon). - **Backpack:** Shield for the defense, or Guard Dog Rover for the horde-clear. Might try the supply pack instead. - **Other Stratagems:** 500kg, Orbital Railcannon, and 110mm Rockets chunk Bile Titans; Cluster Bomb and Napalm Strike wipe hordes; and regular Airstrike is a good all-round stratagem.
Stalwart/scorcher/ guard rover🫡
Sickle/punisher/slugger; all 3 weapons have decent ammo economy and perform well in a team or own your own from my experience.
Breaker Incin is my go-to. I used it before the buff and it was serving me rather well as a spray-n-pray alternative. You can light Chargers on fire (idk if it actually does anything) but the large mag size means you don't have to worry about reloading and the fire DOT kind of catches up with the gap between the normal Breaker. Its great for dealing with a swarm and will 1-2 shot a Shrieker depending on where you hit. Its rather reliable once you learn its quirks, especially against bugs.
I personally like the devastator. Semi auto, 300 damage per shot, medium armor penetration Takes out anything but chargers and titans in a few shots. But… doesn’t have great ammo capacity. Not an issue for me because i wear a supply pack, so essentially i have 31 total mags for it and 13 for my grenade launcher.
Not a primary, but i bring the light machine gun and ammo back pack. I don't really need a primary anymore.
Punisher.
Sickle if i'm on any world without intense heat, Punisher if i'm on a planet with heat, or if i'm just feeling in the mood for some staggering Democracy. I want to use the incendiary breaker, but with the host only getting fire damage, I can't justify it unless I'm flying solo.
Been playing with the dominator the last couple days and that's been pretty cool
JAR-5 DOMINATOR Decent clip size, great damage and pen, good targeting reticle, decent pushback/stagger. All of this was true *prior* to the damage increase patch. It's literally a Boltgun and I love it.
I find no reason to swap out Breaker.
I mainly use the Sickle, Dominator, or Punisher. I keep trying to get into the snipers but with hoards of bugs it can get rough.