I'm loving these multi-level strategies. It's a bummer to look up guides and how-tos for a challenging game, and all anyone ever recommends is a bunch of high-level, endgame gear that struggling newbies can't use. You're doing us all a big favor, Ratatoskr.
The early rank stratagems are quite versatile with the short cooldown making using it for each outpost a common strategy in comparison with long cooldown of a nuke. What I’d add is Sentry, mortar Sentry in particular is very good at drawing attention. You pop mortar sentry behind a rock outside the outpost and it would continually lobbed explosive into the base. You just have a work your way around and pop them in the back.
100% agree, I really appreciate how it’s more strategy and theory, rather than “this guns the best” Never even would’ve thought of the anti material rifle until now
One of my favorite things about the autocannon is that it can take out bug holes and fabricators from a distance. If you shoot the angled part of the exhaust port of a fabricator the round will ricochet down into the fab and blow it up. For bug holes you just have to get a shot at least partway in and it'll work. This is also a great way to save on grenades.
Something to note with the antimaterial rifle is that while it doesn't have a third person crosshair, it handles surprisingly well. You can usually eyeball the middle of your screen and aim that way if you don't have the luxury of time to be precise
They've gotta have some aim assist running even when you're not aiming at all. I have made too many shots just firing without thinking for it to be a coincidence.
@@rainbowkrampusgo into gameplay or display settings, change the “reticle” setting to viable from dynamic. Then it’ll stay on screen like most FPS. No more guesswork
even at level 20, i think the autocannon offers a lot, especially as a supportive role. i think people vastly underestimate it. on top of being able to one or two shot mid-hp enemies, it delivers some of the best group killing potential, as a couple shots will decimate a crowd. furthermore, if you aim it at a dropship, you can reliably destroy most if not all bots on it quickly, without having to be in range or extremely quick like on other explosive weapons. when it comes to heavier targets, it can still hang, though the interaction i want to point out is that you can shoot off a hulk's arms with little effort, leaving them as easier targets for the team. the ability to one shot so many walkers from the front at so many ranges is also crazy useful. i wholeheartedly believe it makes up for the backpack, and even rivals the railgun in usability, since it just does so many things. once you get to level 20, its not like youre hurting for stratagems to use against bigger targets anyway.
How to shoot off hulk’s arm with auto cannon? Where should i shot at it? The shots i got are making their armor turning red, but I don’t see their arm getting destroyed.
honestly it is better than railgun except for the hulks + tanks you encounter. still haven't found a way to counter them. I use autocanon sentry to just decimate them while i aggro their fire and stun them with EMS fire
@@theonlymann1485 It's very difficult to land this, but it can two shot a hulk if you land the shot directly on their visor. As for tanks, one eagle rocket pod run will do them in usually, but without using other stratagems, your only option is to try and get to the vent behind the turret.
@@SuperhotdogZz I haven't fought bots enough to confirm for certain, but if you're aiming at the arm itself and it's not working, try aiming at the joint between the arm and the torso and see if you get better luck. (I've been sick all week so I haven't really been playing or I'd probably know for sure).
I like to use recoilles rifle and have one of my buddies take the backpack as soon as a heavy armored target come I call him out to my location and usually 2-3 shot heavy enemies.
I don't see enough comments on this, so ill start the chain, thank you for helping newer players in this game. I might not need this video but I'm sure plenty others will thanks for your contribution to democracy Ratatoskr.
Finally someone talks about the anti-material rifles versatility! Lots of ammo, takes out high threat targets at range surprisingly easily, and is good in panic situations. Love this thing and don't see why people trash talk it, has to be a skill issue i guess?
It's kinda rough with teammates since they generally can't engage at the same distance. So they'll start pulling enemies all over the place, which makes aiming much tougher.
I fucking love it, however chargers become a problem if fighting bugs. Though the other bigger ones get 1 shot with headshots. Can amr break charger legs?
@@TheMMObro Not that I'm aware of. Explosive rounds like Autocannon or Grenade Launcher can break the back legs. To break the front or sides you need something beefier though.
@TheMMObro Dont know, i bring stalwart on bug missions to help horde clear and ammo pack for support. I don't like bugs as much as bots so i know less about them, i take eats to fight chargers so i can keep the mg
@rainbowkrampus i usually try to play directly behind my team, often flanking around bases or using a marksman to draw agro or take out enemies. I use the sniper primarily to take out the heavy units as i don't like the ammo economy of the recoilless. Auto cannon is good but i find it harder to aim at those difficult weak spots like on hulks so i use the sniper instead.
This and your other videos have been extremely helpful! Very informative, straight to the point, solid reasoning and argumentation with visual examples to back everything up. Great work! A similar video for the Terminids would be appreciated as well.
Yeah, the automatons have been kicking my butt because of how much precise aiming they require. As long as the mission isn't "rescue the scientists," I can typically do a 4 by myself or a 5 with a team, but for some reason I just can't get the hang of the precise targeting they require. Thanks for putting out these videos, they're awesome.
Dumb suggestion, but learn if you're failing to strafe the target with your cross hair or if you're failing to flick to the target. Try adjusting your sensitivity slightly up if you're seeing that the issue is the camera speed. I put some of my stuff to 70 from 50 cause I couldn't follow targets fast enough. If you have your sensitivity too high and you're over correcting, lower it. Hope that helps any!
The flamingo gives good advice. One other thing I have found is that the higher the frame rate, the better I can aim. If you can, adjust things so you have as high of a framerate as possible.
I honestly think the Automaton "rescue the scientist" missions might be bugged, because even at trivial difficulty (lowest) you are just getting non stop drop ships with no breaks and you end up with an army on you. Just my guess, i doubt the devs want it that hard for a noob.
@@RichSmithsonfor me it was bugged in that it did not give my completion for the Major Orders despite however many I did. We need 8 of those to get 12.5k credits and I can really use them to unlock stuff I want, but it’s not counting for me. Hopefully it does in the next few days🤷♂️
I'm def not one of those kinds of players but haven't really seen anyone disown it, just don't mind it that's all. It really has to do with the railgun, if you're lvl20, its pretty much the in-between
The anti-material rifle carried me from the moment I unlocked it through to 20. I still use it when fighting bots. It kills faster than the railgun could if you are able to take your time with the shots. If you have airstrikes or bombardments to deal with chargers, the rifle even kills bugs faster.
This is a great guide! I've been having a rough time with the automatons! And all the other videos talk about weak points but not the weapons and strategies on how to take them down when your not level 20 and have all the gear that these other videos have. So thank you again for your work
Great video! I play with a huge group of friends, all at different levels due to varied amounts of time we can sink in the game and these tips will make the automaton missions much more enjoyable for everyone. Thanks so much!
Legitametely the best how to content for Helldivers right now, and I've watched a lot. You helped me solo extreme on Bugs with the last video, suidicde mission here I come
Loving the multi-level guide and the rejection of the "meta". I'm especially fond of how you made the Anti-Material Rifle get a more love. A lot more things are viable in this game, especially if you use team reloading. The community needs to learn to work together.
Great to know. Thanks for these tips. In the few games our squad got to play today before crashing, we were getting smashed by automatons. I thought the auto-cannon would be the best bet, but clearly the anti-material rifle is way better.
Awesome Video for people who just started and don't have time to play the game 10 hours a day and are already Level 20. I've unlocked the antimatter rifle but haven't used it much, but it looks really awesome. Had a game where i played with the autocanon rifle and wondered why I dropped my watch dog because I didn't think about the bagpack :D I'll definitly giving the antimatter rifle a try now
THIS GUY GETS IT. I've been seeing vids all week about how good the auto-cannon is, but none have convinced me to trade out my anti-material rifle yet. I have yet to unlock and try out the rail gun tho. Will give it a shot.
Based on this video and being close to level 20, here is my setup: Primary: SMG-37 Defender (one-handed) Secondary: P-19 Redeemer (one-handed) Grenade: Non-impact variant (bug nests and bot factories) Stratgems: Railgun (kill them all) Barrier Backpack (pairs well with light armor) Eagle 110mm Rocket Pods (big turrets and tanks) Mortar Sentry (useful ANYWHERE, just don't get close to enemies)
@gorgeousgeorge7104 I did, it feels weaker, and I don't have one-handed mobility. I also changed my mind about the Railgun, I consider it situational (at least below Difficulty 5). I'm using Autocannon instead and bringing Orbital EMS Strike instead of the shield pack.
@@TheTraveler980 on low difficulties Railgun is not needed really it's an overkill. Defender is great against bots, not so great against bugs tho. Stalkers are VERY hard to kill with it
This is a great guide. My playstyle against the Automatons is a little different. I like bringing the recoilless as not only is it effective against many of the scarier bots, but it's also effective against many emplacements like bot-bunkers, and critically, you can shoot down drop-ships with it. I have found hanging out in the back of my squad to anticipate drop-ships is really effective.
I usually run the grenade launcher but the recoilless/expendable can take out their spawns? I might have to try it so I dont have to geometry the shot when I dont wanna deal with fighting a base when I run solos
What I'd add to this is that the recoilless is great, but it's very dependent on having a team who can either cover you while you load, or load for you. Without that, the downtime is brutal. If you're in a solo/duo scenario (or paired with randoms who are kinda dumb, or you're just really committed to moving fast), the Disposable AT is better, since it's fire and forget, and you can call in a fresh pack of 2 launchers every ~1 and a half minutes. @scygaming1090 You have to aim for one of the dropship's 4 engines - Otherwise it does nothing.
Wow thanks now i can be an effective team mate, battling automatons are on a different level compared to the bugs, its fun that there are approaches in different enemies.
I find that the auto-cannon becomes insanely valuable once you make sure to always crouch/lie prone while shooting, even better if you have a heavy armor with bonus to prone accuracy. This makes it ideal in my experience compared to the anti-naterial rifle as you can more reliably deal with ambushes as things become more chaotic and more dangerous in higher difficulties.
I personally prefer using the autocannon against automatons, but the railgun is a bit better overall due to not needing a backpack. The autocannon can do nearly as much as the railgun can, but has far more ammo capacity (10 shots per magazine and the backpack has like 10 extra magazines, so 100 shots or so). You can kill hulks in 2 shots to the face, tanks in 3 shots to the weak point, and anything lighter you can just shoot in their weak spots or more wildly and be very effective (like the scout walkers - 1 shot is enough). It does honestly feel like the personal shield and the railgun are both a bit too strong in too many situations right now.
Small correction, auto cannot load with 5 rounds clip. So all 10 clips on the backpack has 50 rounds in there. Boi would i wish i have 100 rounds in my backpack!
@@SuperhotdogZz Is that so? I know for a fact each visible loading takes a single one from the backpack, and that only loads 5 shots at a time (so from fully empty you need two of them).
These have been extremely insightful and useful videos, it's a shame that i only found them after struggling to finally reach twenty, where now i just use the rail gun and the Railcannon
Did a solo run last night to get the platinum trophy of throwing a grenade back . Started / finished a evacuate the civilian mission man I was going to give up but got it done 😂 needed this video . Going to run a solo again today with this strat . Thank you ! I’m lvl 35 🤟
This is a great video, makes me with I could actually load into a game. I feel like a crack addict trying to get my daily fix but the servers wont let me in
The shield is great especially since so many teammates tend to take artillery turrets. The rail gun is one of the best anti armor options in the game and pairs amazingly well with a shield of even a supply pack. You could even pick a jetpack but it's probably risky against ranged automatons. The marksman rifle is a good primary choice for automatons as well. You can get a decent scope on it and pop heads off loads of enemies. It's even good at destroying the rocket pods on destroyers. I might swap my 500 km bomb for the 110 pods and possibly the eagle strikes that can destroy automaton structures.
Don't shoot scout walker armor with your AMR. It's not always 3 times. Shoot them in the crotch/leg. Crotch is sometimes twice, but if you can mailslot it between their crotch and armor it'll 1 shot.
I'm very confused you recommend the expendable anti-tank/recoiless rifle vs the Cannon Turrets - I have fired literall 8+ of those at the turrets, even aiming specifically at the exhaust port, and still not managed to kill them. What am I doing wrong?
@@DenemeDokio From my experience, it's just very inconsistent, and it depends on when you hit the dropship. If you shoot it in motion, they tend to get splattered, if you shoot it while it's stationary and already offloading bots, then some will survive (unless you get lucky and the ship crashes right on top of them).
@@BackwardsPancake yeah, the ship also dissapears when you blow it up sometimes only for it to reappear on the ground. Hope they fix it and just make it consistently kill all the bots and then crush them if they are below it
Something else to note is how the shield pack works. As opposed to it having an HP shield what it does is that it blocks damage instances. Meaning: You can literally facetank a 500kg bomb and survive with no damage taken but your shield gone. It also makes you immune to CC effects so its BiS against bugs too.
I really wish the soundtrack from the first Helldivers was available for this one. Both great soundtracks, I just got a special place in my heart for the music from the first one.
Never even bothered to really try the anti material rifle but after that, I can see myself trying it. Surprided about the two headshots against the hulk. This weapon isn't as weak as I thought
The AMR is definitely a support weapon that's somewhat slept on. Had few randoms I've played with it "struggle" to understand that just shooting the body isn't as "efficient"(obviously)than shooting weakpoints like in this video. Of course with bugs is a bit different. Personally, I'd choose it over the autocannon for bots majority of the time due to its mobility/versatility. For bugs it'll be anything, but mainly the autocannon
Hey Ratatoskr, great video here, can you make a video on guide how to tackle missions especially that one that we need to rescue a bunch of civilians? we always failed that one, there's too many enemies in the vicinity to actually cleared it
A personal favorite of mine to use against the bots is the Grenade Launcher, it can do everything the anti material rifle can, as well as the autocannon, but at less range, however you get much greater splash radius with it's projectiles, so you can stop swarms of enemies very quickly, I've taken on challenging patrols with one belt of grenades and never had to stop moving
It is possible to take out devastators quickly with small arms fire. Taking their arms off renders them useless and can flat out kill them. The most dangerous devastator is the rocket one as rockets tend to one shot you. You can shoot those rocket pods off however. I find that being crouched or prone helps with aim. Cover is also your best friend against the bots. Bots can only track one target at a time so if you see some one pinned or get some one to draw fire you can flank the bots as their armor tends to be weaker in the back. Scout striders dont have the best tracking so its possible if they dont have support to run behind them to gun down the pilots. I personally find heavy armor really good against the bots as well. Its fantastic at soaking up stray shots and explosions, but take heed direct attacks can still brutally reduce you to jelly. I also like impact grenades for the bots as they will 1-2 shot all of their heavy infantry and are a good emergency weapon in a pinch. These are just a few things I found help full while in the trenches of Bot naam.
I prefer Breaker. I mostly use my primary for when I want to conserve support weapon ammo. So mostly just for blasting weak enemies. Something that can quickly mow down a horde, pick off single enemies and pose somewhat of a threat to beefier enemies is all it needs to do and I can't find anything that does the job as well. When I jump into a mission and try out a new primary, I always wind up missing Breaker and quickly change back. Granted I haven't unlocked everything yet so I may still replace it at some point. But I'm having a hard time imagining that I will based on what I've seen from the other options.
The autocannon also has the versatility of being able to destroy automaton factory buildings, I think it also works on bug tunnels although I haven’t tested it out and I don’t remember the weakspot on the factories but I do remember one-shotting the building
it might seem counter productive but dont kill the tanks right away, you can slap some stratgems on it and turn it into a trap. the tesla coil turret or the mounted turret turn the tank into a wicked friendly that still wants you dead but cant do nothing with you standing on it
have you tried using the anti materiel rifle on the groin of the devastators? That seems to be another weak point of the. Atleast with the railgun if I land a shot there it immediately cuts them in half and kills them while torso can eat two or three rounds unless I manage to hit the head, which can be tricky at longer ranges.
i found the autocannon very enjoyable up to level 20 and honestly beyond, but the shield and rail gun is definitely superior the explosive rounds are really versatile as you don't have to hit what you're shooting at i really enjoy being able to hit the troop bay in dropships from a distance and eliminating half up to entire drop waves being able to clear structures from a distance is also really nice the one thing i try to always make sure off is that i never fully unload the mag, as the full reload takes way too much time if you're in a stressful situation, just dodge and weave from cover to cover, keep your distance and reload regularly and the autocannon can put out some real good damage even if you're not great at aiming
I also recommend if you are the close encounter friend of the group to have your primary as the SG-225 “Breaker” shotgun. Very good against the Berserkers, the ones with the chainsaws. Very good when they get close up as the raw damage output in the short span can save your life.
One thing i want the game to explore is upgrades for the lower lv weapons because at high levels we will all be using a same few weapons and strategems
I don’t know if anyone noticed doing this but you can toss a nade into the vent and it’ll destroy the outpost. I’ve done it before on accident and didn’t realize you can do that
The best combo I've run is a railgun and an EMS strike and a gas strike. The gas (When it works and does damage) cleans up all the small enemies and the railFUN can deal with any larger threat that isn't killed by the gas. The really nice thing is that you can spam both as they have similar cooldowns being 75 seconds for both reduced to 67 seconds. Mainly you want to throw an EMS strike and throw a gas strike, stunning the enemies caught in it and making them stand still in the gas Gas strikes are bugged tho in multiplayer and don't damage enemies so be wary of the bug. it seems to work for missions where your friends join in mid mission but after that it becomes useless
I can't believe no one is mentioning the fact that impact nades are literally your best friend against automatons. tanks? 2 throws to the vent, 3 to the roof if you can't get behind it. tank towers? same thing. striders? just throw it in their face. groups of enemies? instantly gone. anything that has a rear vent is gone in 2 throws. and if you think they're bad cause they can't destroy fabricators in one throw, they actually can. you just need to be more accurate. if you have the breaker armor, use it. 6 impacts is no joke for bots OR bugs.
I think it needs to be said that the autocannon has a lot of value in the sudden oh crap situations where you're gonna have a hard time aiming for weak spots. It will two shot devastators and one shot striders which can give your team time to regroup
Yeah, honestly, I don't buy the AM rifle or the railgun being better than the autocannon. There are so many situations where you need to just dump rounds into hundreds of medium armour enemies on automaton missions. The Railgun is inefficient due to its charge time and lack of ammo. The AM rifle has less overall ammo and lacks explosive damage. The backpack slot isn't that big of a deal when you can drop shield emplacements and the guard dogs are pretty meh anyway.
@@thefabledenglishman6000even with all that said, there's still places for these regardless. I do agree with comparing of weapons best suited for what imo. So it's still overall good to have some mix-up in loadouts. Railgun a bit inefficient as you said due to those points but can do the same job as the autocannon, just slower obviously. The AMR is decent enough if you're actually keen on precise headshots, for bots at least. For backpacks, they're all great choices, specifically with guard dogs are still good. It does help with flanking or enemies out of view which is a plus, but can generally handle grunt enemies while you can deal with the more "elite" troops. In the end, it's truly based on preferences, while I do wholeheartedly agree some stratagems are "better" than others. I rather pick what's good for me and/or in team play
@thefabledenglishman6000 I think it's probably more efficient, but so is the DMR, and I find myself in situations while I'm using that where I just can't hit the tiny spot I need to under pressure. The autocannon puts those medium troops down fast and can do it from range which the grenade launcher has a tough time doing
can the railgun take out the dropships thrusters? im lvl 19 right now and so far ive been the designated Karl-Gustav carrier (recoilless rifle), to take out those ships asap. would be nice if the railgun could to that too.
Any recommendation for dealing with Bile spewers? They are so hard to deal with on the higher difficulties with the artillery and the spawn rate of them.
Rata doesnt even mention the orbital and eagle strikes that slaughter the robots. Orbital Laser will clear whole bases on it own, and the recoilless rifle and the spear's uses for building destruction when you need to deal with a jammer.
I think the conversation of anti personal rifle vs auto cannon is quite interesting. For me I prefer the auto cannon over the APR for a few reasons, the first being a more flexible ADS, the second being it's ability to close bug holes/destroy replicator factories from a distance, and finally because of it's niche benefit as an explosive weapon. For those who don't know explosive weapons do more damage to coded weak spots than other weapons do. It's what allows the auto cannon to do a special thing like 2 tap a charger for shooting it's back legs. The only downside to the Auto cannon in my opinion is the backpack slot. The lengthy potential reload is cancelable by diving so you can be a lot more risky with it. The backpack slot is valuable entirely due to 2 specific strategems. The resupply pack and personal shield. The former I don't have a use for since finding ammo is easy and I primarily duo. My duo partner doesn't need that ammo. As far as the personal shield goes I just choose not to run it because I feel like it builds bad habits for games like this. The only time I can see myself using this since I never plan on soloing is if I am running a support/sample carrier build. This lets me run into the field to grab samples from dead allies and also more easily call them back in and not worry too much about my positioning. Really the only time I need to consider having an open back slot is if my friend is running the RR. At that point I'd run the anti material rifle since we're likely playing it back a bit which is perfect for APR. But yeah, it's a pretty slept on strategem currently. Good video.
I also prefer autocannon it gives more leeway in emergency situation also the stealth only works partially in this game. i have tried sniping 1 bot and they sometimes magically know your position even if you hide behind a rock after sniping.
@@rz3264 yeah stealth isn't 100% great in this game. But there are times where I have with scout armor crawled right past bot patrols and into bot bases to grab samples, open up things via saluting, and grab an objective and not be seen. Compared to bugs where I've never been able to stealth.
Should definitely use orbital laser as well. While there is only 3 uses, it is a guarantee to take down any enemy type, or even entire large bases at times
I'm loving these multi-level strategies. It's a bummer to look up guides and how-tos for a challenging game, and all anyone ever recommends is a bunch of high-level, endgame gear that struggling newbies can't use. You're doing us all a big favor, Ratatoskr.
The early rank stratagems are quite versatile with the short cooldown making using it for each outpost a common strategy in comparison with long cooldown of a nuke. What I’d add is Sentry, mortar Sentry in particular is very good at drawing attention. You pop mortar sentry behind a rock outside the outpost and it would continually lobbed explosive into the base. You just have a work your way around and pop them in the back.
100% agree, I really appreciate how it’s more strategy and theory, rather than “this guns the best”
Never even would’ve thought of the anti material rifle until now
Grenade launcher with ammo pack unstoppable crowd control
@@jacobhaltom853 That's the best combo for hive-busting.
@@RobGThai "long cool down" it's like two minutes
One of my favorite things about the autocannon is that it can take out bug holes and fabricators from a distance. If you shoot the angled part of the exhaust port of a fabricator the round will ricochet down into the fab and blow it up. For bug holes you just have to get a shot at least partway in and it'll work. This is also a great way to save on grenades.
TIL! What a great tip. Thanks 🙏
Grenade launcher also works great for them. 1 clip = full medium size bug hole site
You just way that the Raiders open the door of the Fabricator and it's gone with less effort.
You just changed my life, I had no idea hahaha
dude... it ricoshates and kills me xD Dont use it on bot factories. Can cill other helldivers as well
Something to note with the antimaterial rifle is that while it doesn't have a third person crosshair, it handles surprisingly well. You can usually eyeball the middle of your screen and aim that way if you don't have the luxury of time to be precise
They've gotta have some aim assist running even when you're not aiming at all. I have made too many shots just firing without thinking for it to be a coincidence.
Yeah I noscope all the time with decent success. The round is so big that it's decently easy to hit
@@rainbowkrampusmy best guess is its one of the many games where your shots will roughly be in the center no matter what for sniper weapons
@@rainbowkrampusgo into gameplay or display settings, change the “reticle” setting to viable from dynamic. Then it’ll stay on screen like most FPS. No more guesswork
@@BozoActualActual man that's actually useful, thanks! always wondered if i should stick a sticker in the middle of my screen for that.
even at level 20, i think the autocannon offers a lot, especially as a supportive role. i think people vastly underestimate it. on top of being able to one or two shot mid-hp enemies, it delivers some of the best group killing potential, as a couple shots will decimate a crowd. furthermore, if you aim it at a dropship, you can reliably destroy most if not all bots on it quickly, without having to be in range or extremely quick like on other explosive weapons. when it comes to heavier targets, it can still hang, though the interaction i want to point out is that you can shoot off a hulk's arms with little effort, leaving them as easier targets for the team. the ability to one shot so many walkers from the front at so many ranges is also crazy useful. i wholeheartedly believe it makes up for the backpack, and even rivals the railgun in usability, since it just does so many things. once you get to level 20, its not like youre hurting for stratagems to use against bigger targets anyway.
How to shoot off hulk’s arm with auto cannon? Where should i shot at it? The shots i got are making their armor turning red, but I don’t see their arm getting destroyed.
honestly it is better than railgun except for the hulks + tanks you encounter. still haven't found a way to counter them. I use autocanon sentry to just decimate them while i aggro their fire and stun them with EMS fire
@@theonlymann1485 It's very difficult to land this, but it can two shot a hulk if you land the shot directly on their visor. As for tanks, one eagle rocket pod run will do them in usually, but without using other stratagems, your only option is to try and get to the vent behind the turret.
@@SuperhotdogZz I haven't fought bots enough to confirm for certain, but if you're aiming at the arm itself and it's not working, try aiming at the joint between the arm and the torso and see if you get better luck. (I've been sick all week so I haven't really been playing or I'd probably know for sure).
I like to use recoilles rifle and have one of my buddies take the backpack as soon as a heavy armored target come I call him out to my location and usually 2-3 shot heavy enemies.
I’m beginning to think Rata is secretly General Brasch or something
Remember your Brasch ABCs! Always Be taking Cover!
@@TheMagicalWizardPyroABtC
I don't see enough comments on this, so ill start the chain, thank you for helping newer players in this game. I might not need this video but I'm sure plenty others will thanks for your contribution to democracy Ratatoskr.
Finally someone talks about the anti-material rifles versatility! Lots of ammo, takes out high threat targets at range surprisingly easily, and is good in panic situations. Love this thing and don't see why people trash talk it, has to be a skill issue i guess?
It's kinda rough with teammates since they generally can't engage at the same distance. So they'll start pulling enemies all over the place, which makes aiming much tougher.
I fucking love it, however chargers become a problem if fighting bugs. Though the other bigger ones get 1 shot with headshots. Can amr break charger legs?
@@TheMMObro Not that I'm aware of. Explosive rounds like Autocannon or Grenade Launcher can break the back legs. To break the front or sides you need something beefier though.
@TheMMObro
Dont know, i bring stalwart on bug missions to help horde clear and ammo pack for support. I don't like bugs as much as bots so i know less about them, i take eats to fight chargers so i can keep the mg
@rainbowkrampus i usually try to play directly behind my team, often flanking around bases or using a marksman to draw agro or take out enemies. I use the sniper primarily to take out the heavy units as i don't like the ammo economy of the recoilless. Auto cannon is good but i find it harder to aim at those difficult weak spots like on hulks so i use the sniper instead.
This and your other videos have been extremely helpful! Very informative, straight to the point, solid reasoning and argumentation with visual examples to back everything up. Great work!
A similar video for the Terminids would be appreciated as well.
Yeah, the automatons have been kicking my butt because of how much precise aiming they require. As long as the mission isn't "rescue the scientists," I can typically do a 4 by myself or a 5 with a team, but for some reason I just can't get the hang of the precise targeting they require. Thanks for putting out these videos, they're awesome.
Dumb suggestion, but learn if you're failing to strafe the target with your cross hair or if you're failing to flick to the target. Try adjusting your sensitivity slightly up if you're seeing that the issue is the camera speed. I put some of my stuff to 70 from 50 cause I couldn't follow targets fast enough. If you have your sensitivity too high and you're over correcting, lower it. Hope that helps any!
The flamingo gives good advice.
One other thing I have found is that the higher the frame rate, the better I can aim. If you can, adjust things so you have as high of a framerate as possible.
@@rainbowkrampus "the flamingo" lol
I honestly think the Automaton "rescue the scientist" missions might be bugged, because even at trivial difficulty (lowest) you are just getting non stop drop ships with no breaks and you end up with an army on you.
Just my guess, i doubt the devs want it that hard for a noob.
@@RichSmithsonfor me it was bugged in that it did not give my completion for the Major Orders despite however many I did. We need 8 of those to get 12.5k credits and I can really use them to unlock stuff I want, but it’s not counting for me. Hopefully it does in the next few days🤷♂️
I love these titles for your thumbnails. Absolutely hilarious. Also, the videos are very helpful. Keep up the work!
THANK YOU for speaking facts about the anti-material rifle. So many "high level" players disown it.
Think it has a lot to do with the rail gun being a thing.
High level players would already have railgun unlock at that point tbh.
People tend to gravitate for ease of use, and the anti-materiel rifle needs more skill to be used than the railgun.
I'm def not one of those kinds of players but haven't really seen anyone disown it, just don't mind it that's all. It really has to do with the railgun, if you're lvl20, its pretty much the in-between
The anti-material rifle carried me from the moment I unlocked it through to 20. I still use it when fighting bots. It kills faster than the railgun could if you are able to take your time with the shots. If you have airstrikes or bombardments to deal with chargers, the rifle even kills bugs faster.
I haven't even been playing helldivers but your thumbnails crack me up and I end up watching these videos anyways
You should play HELLDIVERS 😂
@@ohnoitisnt666 totally would if I could afford it
This is a great guide! I've been having a rough time with the automatons! And all the other videos talk about weak points but not the weapons and strategies on how to take them down when your not level 20 and have all the gear that these other videos have. So thank you again for your work
Great video! I play with a huge group of friends, all at different levels due to varied amounts of time we can sink in the game and these tips will make the automaton missions much more enjoyable for everyone. Thanks so much!
Brilliant guide. Super clear well paced and intelligent. Thank you for the work.
Legitametely the best how to content for Helldivers right now, and I've watched a lot. You helped me solo extreme on Bugs with the last video, suidicde mission here I come
This is a well structured video. Thanks I managed to watch through. Been having a hard time in the event.
Loving the multi-level guide and the rejection of the "meta". I'm especially fond of how you made the Anti-Material Rifle get a more love. A lot more things are viable in this game, especially if you use team reloading. The community needs to learn to work together.
Thank you so much. Also P-19 Redeemer saved me from so many meat saws. It's insane. And that two shot hulk was good.
Subbed for attention to detail and multi-tiered approach, Good Shiiii
Well written script and thoughtful strat. Here’s my sub and like! 👍🏽
This is such an incredibly valuable video holy shit. I went from struggling at challenging difficulty to finishing insane difficulty.
Exactly the type of video I was looking for. Subscribed
Started using the anti material rifle today based on your video and it’s a GAME CHANGER! Thanks for the tip 🙏
Since I see no one talking about this but impact grenades kill tanks in about ~4 hits, HE works to just have to cook it. Useful in a pinch.
All level strategies are definitely best videos out there! I’m not a low level anymore but would’ve loved to find this sooner!
Just watched your review, you sold me on the game. Watching this while it's downloading. Thanks for the strats
Servers are full btw. You probably won't be able to play
It takes a try or 2
@@ch4osaeternum74 Even if you get in you can't get any rewards
Great to know. Thanks for these tips. In the few games our squad got to play today before crashing, we were getting smashed by automatons. I thought the auto-cannon would be the best bet, but clearly the anti-material rifle is way better.
Awesome Video for people who just started and don't have time to play the game 10 hours a day and are already Level 20. I've unlocked the antimatter rifle but haven't used it much, but it looks really awesome. Had a game where i played with the autocanon rifle and wondered why I dropped my watch dog because I didn't think about the bagpack :D I'll definitly giving the antimatter rifle a try now
already level 30, but just wanted to say that this is an excellent video, and there's always more to learn.
Good, concise explanation WITH examples. I will subscribe to you, sir!
Even as someone who's over level 20 already, this was still a helpful video. i learned a couple of things thanks
THIS GUY GETS IT. I've been seeing vids all week about how good the auto-cannon is, but none have convinced me to trade out my anti-material rifle yet. I have yet to unlock and try out the rail gun tho. Will give it a shot.
Based on this video and being close to level 20, here is my setup:
Primary: SMG-37 Defender (one-handed)
Secondary: P-19 Redeemer (one-handed)
Grenade: Non-impact variant (bug nests and bot factories)
Stratgems:
Railgun (kill them all)
Barrier Backpack (pairs well with light armor)
Eagle 110mm Rocket Pods (big turrets and tanks)
Mortar Sentry (useful ANYWHERE, just don't get close to enemies)
Try starting AR, it's also a great weapon. Breaker-Defender-AR are the holy trio of primaries 😁
@gorgeousgeorge7104 I did, it feels weaker, and I don't have one-handed mobility.
I also changed my mind about the Railgun, I consider it situational (at least below Difficulty 5). I'm using Autocannon instead and bringing Orbital EMS Strike instead of the shield pack.
@@TheTraveler980 on low difficulties Railgun is not needed really it's an overkill. Defender is great against bots, not so great against bugs tho. Stalkers are VERY hard to kill with it
@@gorgeousgeorge7104 I'll try the Breaker against the bugs.
needed this thank you!
This is a great guide. My playstyle against the Automatons is a little different. I like bringing the recoilless as not only is it effective against many of the scarier bots, but it's also effective against many emplacements like bot-bunkers, and critically, you can shoot down drop-ships with it. I have found hanging out in the back of my squad to anticipate drop-ships is really effective.
I usually run the grenade launcher but the recoilless/expendable can take out their spawns? I might have to try it so I dont have to geometry the shot when I dont wanna deal with fighting a base when I run solos
What I'd add to this is that the recoilless is great, but it's very dependent on having a team who can either cover you while you load, or load for you. Without that, the downtime is brutal.
If you're in a solo/duo scenario (or paired with randoms who are kinda dumb, or you're just really committed to moving fast), the Disposable AT is better, since it's fire and forget, and you can call in a fresh pack of 2 launchers every ~1 and a half minutes.
@scygaming1090 You have to aim for one of the dropship's 4 engines - Otherwise it does nothing.
This and the charger video is so helpful !! thanks a lot
Wow thanks now i can be an effective team mate, battling automatons are on a different level compared to the bugs, its fun that there are approaches in different enemies.
Oh this is a Rata video. I didn't even realize until I recognized his outro. Hah! Nice to see your content on helldivers :D
Great video! Keep up with more.
Unrelated, but your voice is so calming to listen to. You’d do really good with audiobooks lol
I find that the auto-cannon becomes insanely valuable once you make sure to always crouch/lie prone while shooting, even better if you have a heavy armor with bonus to prone accuracy. This makes it ideal in my experience compared to the anti-naterial rifle as you can more reliably deal with ambushes as things become more chaotic and more dangerous in higher difficulties.
There was a light armour in the store with the accuracy bonus too, one of the current meta sets considering armour protection is bugged right now.
I would also recommend to place a minefield at the spot where an automaton calls for reinforcements.
Unironically the level 20 loadout is a good middle of the road team support build for bugs too
I personally prefer using the autocannon against automatons, but the railgun is a bit better overall due to not needing a backpack. The autocannon can do nearly as much as the railgun can, but has far more ammo capacity (10 shots per magazine and the backpack has like 10 extra magazines, so 100 shots or so). You can kill hulks in 2 shots to the face, tanks in 3 shots to the weak point, and anything lighter you can just shoot in their weak spots or more wildly and be very effective (like the scout walkers - 1 shot is enough).
It does honestly feel like the personal shield and the railgun are both a bit too strong in too many situations right now.
Small correction, auto cannot load with 5 rounds clip. So all 10 clips on the backpack has 50 rounds in there. Boi would i wish i have 100 rounds in my backpack!
@@SuperhotdogZz Is that so? I know for a fact each visible loading takes a single one from the backpack, and that only loads 5 shots at a time (so from fully empty you need two of them).
Cool vids on the game. Really hope they buff everything else to be as good as the shields and railgun since they’re just so versatile.
3:04: "You can pick up your Anti Material rifle back up"
Lol gotcha!
These have been extremely insightful and useful videos, it's a shame that i only found them after struggling to finally reach twenty, where now i just use the rail gun and the Railcannon
Did a solo run last night to get the platinum trophy of throwing a grenade back . Started / finished a evacuate the civilian mission man I was going to give up but got it done 😂 needed this video . Going to run a solo again today with this strat . Thank you ! I’m lvl 35 🤟
This is a great video, makes me with I could actually load into a game. I feel like a crack addict trying to get my daily fix but the servers wont let me in
We are all here because the servers have sh*t the bed again.
The shield is great especially since so many teammates tend to take artillery turrets. The rail gun is one of the best anti armor options in the game and pairs amazingly well with a shield of even a supply pack. You could even pick a jetpack but it's probably risky against ranged automatons. The marksman rifle is a good primary choice for automatons as well. You can get a decent scope on it and pop heads off loads of enemies. It's even good at destroying the rocket pods on destroyers. I might swap my 500 km bomb for the 110 pods and possibly the eagle strikes that can destroy automaton structures.
Once you have all upgrades at hangar you can use two 500kg bombs or three airstrikes, why not
Don't shoot scout walker armor with your AMR. It's not always 3 times. Shoot them in the crotch/leg. Crotch is sometimes twice, but if you can mailslot it between their crotch and armor it'll 1 shot.
I just love it when you throw those Stratagems and they land perfectly
I'm very confused you recommend the expendable anti-tank/recoiless rifle vs the Cannon Turrets - I have fired literall 8+ of those at the turrets, even aiming specifically at the exhaust port, and still not managed to kill them. What am I doing wrong?
You can destroy an entire bot dropship along with all the bots being transported by shooting the thrusters with an AT rocket or Recoilless Rocket
Does not actually kill the bots on the ship as they just appear on the ground alive and angry.
@@DenemeDokio From my experience, it's just very inconsistent, and it depends on when you hit the dropship. If you shoot it in motion, they tend to get splattered, if you shoot it while it's stationary and already offloading bots, then some will survive (unless you get lucky and the ship crashes right on top of them).
@@BackwardsPancake yeah, the ship also dissapears when you blow it up sometimes only for it to reappear on the ground. Hope they fix it and just make it consistently kill all the bots and then crush them if they are below it
Something else to note is how the shield pack works.
As opposed to it having an HP shield what it does is that it blocks damage instances.
Meaning: You can literally facetank a 500kg bomb and survive with no damage taken but your shield gone.
It also makes you immune to CC effects so its BiS against bugs too.
Do you not have the always-visible reticle option on? It makes third person combat very possible, I almost never scope in even with precision weapons
great video man, thanks for the tips
has anyone ever told you you sound a little like Sam Harris? both in tone and cadence
I really wish the soundtrack from the first Helldivers was available for this one. Both great soundtracks, I just got a special place in my heart for the music from the first one.
Never even bothered to really try the anti material rifle but after that, I can see myself trying it.
Surprided about the two headshots against the hulk.
This weapon isn't as weak as I thought
The AMR is definitely a support weapon that's somewhat slept on. Had few randoms I've played with it "struggle" to understand that just shooting the body isn't as "efficient"(obviously)than shooting weakpoints like in this video. Of course with bugs is a bit different. Personally, I'd choose it over the autocannon for bots majority of the time due to its mobility/versatility. For bugs it'll be anything, but mainly the autocannon
Hey Ratatoskr, great video here, can you make a video on guide how to tackle missions especially that one that we need to rescue a bunch of civilians? we always failed that one, there's too many enemies in the vicinity to actually cleared it
Great work
A personal favorite of mine to use against the bots is the Grenade Launcher, it can do everything the anti material rifle can, as well as the autocannon, but at less range, however you get much greater splash radius with it's projectiles, so you can stop swarms of enemies very quickly, I've taken on challenging patrols with one belt of grenades and never had to stop moving
It is possible to take out devastators quickly with small arms fire. Taking their arms off renders them useless and can flat out kill them. The most dangerous devastator is the rocket one as rockets tend to one shot you. You can shoot those rocket pods off however. I find that being crouched or prone helps with aim. Cover is also your best friend against the bots. Bots can only track one target at a time so if you see some one pinned or get some one to draw fire you can flank the bots as their armor tends to be weaker in the back. Scout striders dont have the best tracking so its possible if they dont have support to run behind them to gun down the pilots. I personally find heavy armor really good against the bots as well. Its fantastic at soaking up stray shots and explosions, but take heed direct attacks can still brutally reduce you to jelly. I also like impact grenades for the bots as they will 1-2 shot all of their heavy infantry and are a good emergency weapon in a pinch. These are just a few things I found help full while in the trenches of Bot naam.
Which primary do you prefer?
I used to love the Slugger but now that I have the Scorcher and the Jar 5 it's outclassed. Curious on your take.
I prefer Breaker.
I mostly use my primary for when I want to conserve support weapon ammo. So mostly just for blasting weak enemies. Something that can quickly mow down a horde, pick off single enemies and pose somewhat of a threat to beefier enemies is all it needs to do and I can't find anything that does the job as well. When I jump into a mission and try out a new primary, I always wind up missing Breaker and quickly change back.
Granted I haven't unlocked everything yet so I may still replace it at some point. But I'm having a hard time imagining that I will based on what I've seen from the other options.
Slugger is an OK weapon I feel that the punisher is better. I have Heard that the Jar5 is not that good.
The autocannon also has the versatility of being able to destroy automaton factory buildings, I think it also works on bug tunnels although I haven’t tested it out and I don’t remember the weakspot on the factories but I do remember one-shotting the building
it might seem counter productive but dont kill the tanks right away, you can slap some stratgems on it and turn it into a trap. the tesla coil turret or the mounted turret turn the tank into a wicked friendly that still wants you dead but cant do nothing with you standing on it
love this game, happy its getting so much attention
Good stuff, though I'd rather figure these out for myself, puzzling out the weak spots has been a lot of fun.
Amazing video s thank you
have you tried using the anti materiel rifle on the groin of the devastators? That seems to be another weak point of the. Atleast with the railgun if I land a shot there it immediately cuts them in half and kills them while torso can eat two or three rounds unless I manage to hit the head, which can be tricky at longer ranges.
Excellent video
Ah Ratatoskr, he once made a video that helped players take down the cyborg menace.
Breaker shotgun allows you to make spear, autocannon viable and survivable
Fellow solo marksman gameplay enjoyer. Respect.
good vid very informative
i found the autocannon very enjoyable up to level 20 and honestly beyond, but the shield and rail gun is definitely superior
the explosive rounds are really versatile as you don't have to hit what you're shooting at
i really enjoy being able to hit the troop bay in dropships from a distance and eliminating half up to entire drop waves
being able to clear structures from a distance is also really nice
the one thing i try to always make sure off is that i never fully unload the mag, as the full reload takes way too much time if you're in a stressful situation, just dodge and weave from cover to cover, keep your distance and reload regularly and the autocannon can put out some real good damage even if you're not great at aiming
these videos need to get out there. its very helpful for us to spread freedom efficiently.
I also recommend if you are the close encounter friend of the group to have your primary as the SG-225 “Breaker” shotgun. Very good against the Berserkers, the ones with the chainsaws. Very good when they get close up as the raw damage output in the short span can save your life.
Nice never tried the antimat rifle now I wanna XD
One thing i want the game to explore is upgrades for the lower lv weapons because at high levels we will all be using a same few weapons and strategems
Thank you for your contributions to liberty, freedom, and democracy o7
I don’t know if anyone noticed doing this but you can toss a nade into the vent and it’ll destroy the outpost. I’ve done it before on accident and didn’t realize you can do that
The best combo I've run is a railgun and an EMS strike and a gas strike. The gas (When it works and does damage) cleans up all the small enemies and the railFUN can deal with any larger threat that isn't killed by the gas. The really nice thing is that you can spam both as they have similar cooldowns being 75 seconds for both reduced to 67 seconds.
Mainly you want to throw an EMS strike and throw a gas strike, stunning the enemies caught in it and making them stand still in the gas
Gas strikes are bugged tho in multiplayer and don't damage enemies so be wary of the bug. it seems to work for missions where your friends join in mid mission but after that it becomes useless
I can't believe no one is mentioning the fact that impact nades are literally your best friend against automatons.
tanks? 2 throws to the vent, 3 to the roof if you can't get behind it. tank towers? same thing.
striders? just throw it in their face.
groups of enemies? instantly gone.
anything that has a rear vent is gone in 2 throws. and if you think they're bad cause they can't destroy fabricators in one throw, they actually can. you just need to be more accurate.
if you have the breaker armor, use it. 6 impacts is no joke for bots OR bugs.
about devastators ... if you want to disarm them (literally) do not aim for their shoulders but for their elbows
I think it needs to be said that the autocannon has a lot of value in the sudden oh crap situations where you're gonna have a hard time aiming for weak spots. It will two shot devastators and one shot striders which can give your team time to regroup
Yeah, honestly, I don't buy the AM rifle or the railgun being better than the autocannon. There are so many situations where you need to just dump rounds into hundreds of medium armour enemies on automaton missions. The Railgun is inefficient due to its charge time and lack of ammo. The AM rifle has less overall ammo and lacks explosive damage. The backpack slot isn't that big of a deal when you can drop shield emplacements and the guard dogs are pretty meh anyway.
@@thefabledenglishman6000even with all that said, there's still places for these regardless. I do agree with comparing of weapons best suited for what imo. So it's still overall good to have some mix-up in loadouts. Railgun a bit inefficient as you said due to those points but can do the same job as the autocannon, just slower obviously. The AMR is decent enough if you're actually keen on precise headshots, for bots at least. For backpacks, they're all great choices, specifically with guard dogs are still good. It does help with flanking or enemies out of view which is a plus, but can generally handle grunt enemies while you can deal with the more "elite" troops. In the end, it's truly based on preferences, while I do wholeheartedly agree some stratagems are "better" than others. I rather pick what's good for me and/or in team play
@thefabledenglishman6000 I think it's probably more efficient, but so is the DMR, and I find myself in situations while I'm using that where I just can't hit the tiny spot I need to under pressure. The autocannon puts those medium troops down fast and can do it from range which the grenade launcher has a tough time doing
can the railgun take out the dropships thrusters?
im lvl 19 right now and so far ive been the designated Karl-Gustav carrier (recoilless rifle), to take out those ships asap. would be nice if the railgun could to that too.
Any recommendation for dealing with Bile spewers? They are so hard to deal with on the higher difficulties with the artillery and the spawn rate of them.
Auto cannon 2-3 shots them
They're going to need bigger servers.
How did you get your railgun to zoom that close? Is it affected by FOV? Mine is at 90 and I for the love of god couldnt see Hulk's head in FPS mode
Hold square and you can change scope zoom
Rata doesnt even mention the orbital and eagle strikes that slaughter the robots. Orbital Laser will clear whole bases on it own, and the recoilless rifle and the spear's uses for building destruction when you need to deal with a jammer.
Awesome guide FOR SUPER EARTH
Never heard of this game till it came out now I’ve sunk 40 hours already 😂
I think the conversation of anti personal rifle vs auto cannon is quite interesting. For me I prefer the auto cannon over the APR for a few reasons, the first being a more flexible ADS, the second being it's ability to close bug holes/destroy replicator factories from a distance, and finally because of it's niche benefit as an explosive weapon. For those who don't know explosive weapons do more damage to coded weak spots than other weapons do. It's what allows the auto cannon to do a special thing like 2 tap a charger for shooting it's back legs.
The only downside to the Auto cannon in my opinion is the backpack slot. The lengthy potential reload is cancelable by diving so you can be a lot more risky with it. The backpack slot is valuable entirely due to 2 specific strategems. The resupply pack and personal shield. The former I don't have a use for since finding ammo is easy and I primarily duo. My duo partner doesn't need that ammo. As far as the personal shield goes I just choose not to run it because I feel like it builds bad habits for games like this. The only time I can see myself using this since I never plan on soloing is if I am running a support/sample carrier build. This lets me run into the field to grab samples from dead allies and also more easily call them back in and not worry too much about my positioning.
Really the only time I need to consider having an open back slot is if my friend is running the RR. At that point I'd run the anti material rifle since we're likely playing it back a bit which is perfect for APR. But yeah, it's a pretty slept on strategem currently. Good video.
I also prefer autocannon it gives more leeway in emergency situation also the stealth only works partially in this game. i have tried sniping 1 bot and they sometimes magically know your position even if you hide behind a rock after sniping.
@@rz3264 yeah stealth isn't 100% great in this game. But there are times where I have with scout armor crawled right past bot patrols and into bot bases to grab samples, open up things via saluting, and grab an objective and not be seen.
Compared to bugs where I've never been able to stealth.
the game doesnt tell you this, but the amr is actually also an explosive weapon
Should definitely use orbital laser as well. While there is only 3 uses, it is a guarantee to take down any enemy type, or even entire large bases at times
The Orbit Laser is amazing and
Auto Canon
I keep hearing about the expendale rockets?. Do they take up a strat spot or no?
no more railgun sadly. doesn't work on armor the same any more
This video needs to be spread to the other helldivers so we can make short work of the robots offence!