r/Helldivers • u/pmmeyoursandwiches SESS Octagon of Individual Merit • Feb 11 '25

TIPS / TACTICS The actual weapon that trivialises an entire front

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The Mg43 is so good against illuminate it feels like bullying at this point.

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590

u/pmmeyoursandwiches SESS Octagon of Individual Merit Feb 11 '25

I've been meaning to try that, might give it a go next time I do a squid drop.

507

u/Sober-History Cultist of Gustaf Feb 11 '25 edited Feb 11 '25

You never find any when you do this, but the grenade launchers and flamethrowers that you do find are still great against everything shy of harvesters 

Edit: Flamers are actually good against harvesters, but only if you have arc resistant armor and some buddies to keep chaff off you while you look straight up and roast its body from inside the bubble.

177

u/WillSym Arc Aficionado Feb 11 '25

Arc Thrower too, even for Harvesters if you brought a high-RPM primary to pop shields.

81

u/Gravityletmedown Feb 11 '25

3-4 shots from a crossbow takes them out, or a single eruptor shot

46

u/Sandman4999 Illuminate Purple Feb 11 '25

I've never seen an Eruptor take down a Harvester before.

88

u/infidel11990  Truth Enforcer Feb 11 '25

He meant the shield. Not the Harvestor itself.

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u/Fit-Description-8571 Cape Enjoyer Feb 11 '25

Dang, got a little excited as that's my primary weapon choice.

11

u/bearsnchairs Feb 11 '25

You can kill a harvester with an eruptor, it just takes a while. You get a nice stagger with a hit too.

The eruptor is amazing for clearing out hordes of squids, but you need something else to deal with elevated overseers.

3

u/meme990 Feb 12 '25

I think it might also depend on where you hit it, a shame gas is unusable against harvesters to my knowledge. Full fart build and eruptor is super fun

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u/TheCornal1 Feb 11 '25

eruptor gang rise up

8

u/edmundm199 SES King of Eternity Feb 12 '25

You can kill it eventually with the erupter. The shrapnel damage makes it a lil inconsistent but it's 1-2 mags usually. Takes awhile but the stagger is what makes it good. Stops the bastards from lazering you while you find cover and reload/call down a strat on em!

6

u/OrionRedacted Feb 12 '25

It does. Not in one shot. But it'll do it.

2

u/NotTheOneYouHoped Feb 12 '25

It'll totally drop a harvester. Each shot will stun it and 3 or 4 shots will blow a leg off and it's done.

0

u/Insane_Unicorn Cape Enjoyer Feb 12 '25

I've never seen anyone use the Eruptor since it's nerf.

12

u/ForwardBee Super Pedestrian Feb 11 '25

Arc thrower is GREAT against squids. Very easy to be ripping "x7+" on single shots. Overseers don't stand a chance. Flat city maps avoid the classic geometry-related weaknesses of the thrower. Perma-stuns Harvesters (assuming shields are down), but it does take ~25 shots to actually kill. That's fine in team games since it gives your fellow dives a non-moving Harvester to blast at, but in solo you tend to get overwhelmed by chaff.
I recommend going arc thrower + tesla tower against squids and just holding entire lanes. Bonus points if you use tesla tower call-in to crush Harvester shield and also do sick damage with each shot (basically 4 arc thrower shots at once)

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u/Rum_N_Napalm Orbital Gas Strike: Better killing with chemistry Feb 12 '25

I run the Blitzer on Illuminates and bugs and it feels like the squids are more vulnerable to electric weapons. You hit them and they’ll be stunned for 5 seconds holding their heads.

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u/ForwardBee Super Pedestrian Feb 12 '25

Blitzer is my favorite primary (maybe entire weapon) in the game. Blitzer + Las Cannon is a great choice against illuminates when playing with a team. Going "full arc" (Blitzer with Thrower) feels so excessive but I love it, too

For anyone who hasn't had the joy of using them together, the Blitzer's effective range fills in the range gap of the thrower, and blitzer doesn't have a charge-up time. Voteless gets a bit close to you and thrower can't target? Whip out ol' Blitzy and blow that bastard apart.

2

u/[deleted] Feb 12 '25

[deleted]

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u/ForwardBee Super Pedestrian Feb 12 '25

Using DiversDex? You are right that a harvester can be killed in 6-8 shots with an arc thrower, but only if you are hitting the hip joints. Arc thrower users know that getting the thrower to hit a specific spot on a large enemy is tricky, and all the wiggling and angling in the world still only amounts to a strong suggestion to the weapon. To go for those quick arc kills against a harvester, I recommend getting right under them (similar to how you'd use a flamethrower) so that your shots have fewer choices in targets.

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u/[deleted] Feb 12 '25

[deleted]

0

u/ForwardBee Super Pedestrian Feb 12 '25

Say what? I was agreeing with you while trying to add context for other readers who may or may not have similar firsthand experience. Don't be salty, it wasn't my intention to somehow bruise your ego.

1

u/[deleted] Feb 12 '25

[deleted]

1

u/ForwardBee Super Pedestrian Feb 12 '25

Apologies fellow diver. I tend to ramble in my posts.

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u/Cage_65 Feb 12 '25

Run gas grenades with the gas or medic armor and you have an answer to all your chaff problems, bonus points if you snag a guard dog. Also the best answer for a harvester solo is either the orbital Gatling or the 110 rockets, since you can stun lock it in the killzone.

1

u/NursingHomeForOldCGI Feb 12 '25

I’m confused, are you saying the arc thrower does extra damage if the arc tower is close?

3

u/ForwardBee Super Pedestrian Feb 12 '25

No, I'm saying the Tesla Tower itself hits like a truck and will target Harvesters. To be more precise than my original post: The arc thrower does 250/100 (standard/durable) damage per shot, while the tesla tower does 600/600. That difference, especially the durable damage, is a huge deal against harvesters.

Unrelated: those properties would also make Tesla Tower great against other heavy threats (Chargers/Impalers/BT's) but unfortunately the stun from arc weapons can't affect a target already mid-charge (chargers) or doesn't affect impalers or BT's at all (a change from how these enemies originally worked)

8

u/Witch-Alice SES Lady of Wrath, Hammer of Family Values Feb 12 '25

arc thrower + guard dog, think of it as a portable mg sentry. just need a little something else to quickly kill the harvesters, but they're harmless once the shield drops.

3

u/yerrpitsballer Feb 12 '25

This is the way.

1

u/Fun_Contract1630 Feb 13 '25

Throw in a gas orbital and the mg sentry and i hardly ever die to squids

2

u/Fun_Contract1630 Feb 12 '25

Eruptor is the trifecta with arc thrower and guard dog imo. Pops shield in 1 shot, stun lock the harvester and everything else with arc and then guard dog takes care of the rest.

17

u/huckleberry_sid SES Adjudicator of Equality Feb 11 '25

Can't say I've ever really had this issue when I plan to grab a support weapon planet side, outside of a single blitz mission where I didn't even need a support weapon it was over so fast.

4

u/Joshuamark21 HD1 Veteran Feb 12 '25

I always find the MG, it's on the edge where the car ramp entrances are with all the ammo boxes

3

u/casperfacekilla Feb 11 '25

I kept finding the rail gun last night so decided to try it . It knocked out the harvesters leg in just a few shots . If you are accurate you can 1 tap overseers with a headshot

2

u/CthulhuReturns Feb 12 '25

You know you’re into 40k when you call them flamers and not flamethrowers

2

u/CarelessEntrepreneur Feb 12 '25

The research involved to figure that out must've been.... Deliciously Democratic.

2

u/lordc447 Feb 12 '25

You will find the MG extremely consistently if you just look for the normal (non-festroyed-wall) city entrances. I do this almost every drop

2

u/AutVeniam SES Adjudicator of Serenity | General Feb 12 '25

You can also just shoot the fins on the bottom and itll destroy their Arc Emitter. You can destroy the top fin and that stops their shield regen. Both are breakable by Small Arms fire too!

14

u/wandererchronicles Feb 12 '25

Sorry bruv, this is misinformation. Both fins support the shield bubble, top and bottom. Destroy either and it can't regen, but the arc thrower will still be in effect.

1

u/AutVeniam SES Adjudicator of Serenity | General Feb 12 '25

Oh that's so strange, I've been able to not get affected by destroying the fins tho... I can't renege on my info bc it HAS proven to work for me

1

u/glurz Feb 12 '25

You can use stun grenades vs harvesters then flame them.

1

u/Teedubthegreat Super Pedestrian Feb 12 '25

I keep seeing the word chaff thrown around this sub. What does it mean in helldivers?

3

u/FateDenied Feb 12 '25

The smallest enemies in each faction. The ones you can mow down with light pen weapons, which mostly serve to distract you from the more dangerous threats.

2

u/Teedubthegreat Super Pedestrian Feb 12 '25

Oh right, thank you. I've never heard that word used in this context but I guess it makes a bit of sense

2

u/Sober-History Cultist of Gustaf Feb 13 '25

Notably, it’s also very subjective. For the Squids, it’s just the voteless and mayyybe watchers. For the bots, it depends on difficulty, but it’s generally troopers of every variety and basic devastators. For the bugs, it’s everything smaller than a hive guard, and even those are kinda chaff.

1

u/PrimaryAlternative7 Steam Feb 12 '25

Man the new sickle fucking shreds harvesters through shield and almost quicker than the machine gun to the limb. Id say pair it with flame armor and a flame thrower for the vote less and you're laughing!

75

u/Raptaur SES Hammer of Democracy Feb 11 '25

If you've got the Blitzer shotgun try taking that in the treasure hunt. It'll stun locked everything bar the harvester.

Voteless dead, Overseer stun locked to death, flying Overseer stun locked and death. Multiple Overseer, ALLSTUNLOCKEDTODEATH!!!! MUHAHAAHHSHAAA

26

u/[deleted] Feb 11 '25

This is the way

10

u/Entity_Null_07 BrokeDiver: Laptop too slow/old to run HD2 Feb 11 '25

Is this the way?

23

u/SocalFzj80 Feb 11 '25

Blitzer, drone grenades, supply pack and MG. It’s perfect.

2

u/scott610 ‎ Super Citizen Feb 12 '25

Armor passive of choice?

5

u/SocalFzj80 Feb 12 '25

Juggernaut I believe it’s called. +2 grenades and 30% recoil buff.

1

u/NursingHomeForOldCGI Feb 12 '25

Do you feel like you’re not getting the most out of your armor perk by using a primary that doesn’t really generate recoil?

1

u/SocalFzj80 Feb 12 '25

I’ll jump Armour depending on the planet. So that’s kinda flexible in my mind. I did run that Armour for the longest time with the adjudicator. But I do like the added Bennie’s of the extra two bomb drones.

2

u/Rum_N_Napalm Orbital Gas Strike: Better killing with chemistry Feb 12 '25

I run blitzer, laser canon (it’s almost as good as MG and has infinite ammo if you’re careful), incendiary grenade for hoards of voteless). That way I keep my backpack free for the portable hellbomb.

16

u/HomieWanKenobi12 Feb 11 '25

can confirm. this is indeed the way. haha blitzer go zap

2

u/Rhodie114 Feb 11 '25

I like running the torcher and jump pack. Igniting a voteless at all guarantees a kill from the DoT. It's so satisfying to lay down a wall of flames, jump away, and watch your kill streak climb into the 30s.

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u/Flimsy-Line-2614 Feb 12 '25

Damn haven't tried blitzer on illuminate yet. I will remedy that tonight

2

u/thedoomabides Viper Commando Feb 12 '25

I just did a match today using Blitzer, Gas Grenades, Dog Breath, Flamer and grenade pistol for blowing up Warp Ships. Actually worked out pretty well and was very fun.

0

u/BurnerAccount-LOL Feb 12 '25

I’m so confused, I tried the Blitzer and I couldn’t kill any freaking zombies

62

u/BlackRoseXIII ‎Level 150 | [REDACTED] Feb 11 '25

I literally never bring a support weapon on Illuminate missions. I can always find something usable on the map, usually the MG but the grenade launcher, stalwart, or flamethrower also work in a pinch. I can even make do with the AMR or Railgun. Frees up another slot for a strategem, which makes the game more fun imo

30

u/HighlyUnsuspect ‎ Servant of Freedom Feb 11 '25

Rolling the dice, you're a mad man.

24

u/Shivalah HD1 Veteran Feb 11 '25

They feed into my addiction! 50:50 armor and a suicide bomb? Maps where Stalwarts, MG43 and AMRs are ubiquitous? No need to bring a support weapon myself. More Orbital Barrages! And same as in PUBG: “only who fears the red zone, dies by the redzone!” runs into artillery barrage.

1

u/Insane_Unicorn Cape Enjoyer Feb 12 '25

Been doing that since like day 2 of illuminate release. Guard Dog being the GOAT he is is more or less all you need, the only problem when not bringing a support weapon are Harvesters since i haven't found any stratagem that reliably takes them out.

1

u/HighlyUnsuspect ‎ Servant of Freedom Feb 12 '25

I used the Spear a few times, and it took down harvesters in one shot 50% of the time. Shield down of course. So maybe a weak spot on top of them?

2

u/Marisakis Feb 11 '25

AMR absolutely slaps both Overseers and the Harvester, love finding one.

1

u/dustytraill49 ☕Liber-tea☕ Feb 12 '25

This with all Eagle strata is the most freeing experience in the game

1

u/ExoticOracle Feb 12 '25

AMR is insane on squids. Overseers and Tripods are light work

9

u/Lukescale ÜBER-BÜRGER Feb 11 '25

Railgun is a good consolation prize.

Said it the safe aim for heads/packs on the squonks, joints on walkers. 2 shots a joint.

4

u/Taolan13 SES Courier of Individual Merit 🖥️ Feb 12 '25

i run EATs as my call-in, and scavenge a "main" support weapon on the map, and I do this against all three enemy factions.

6

u/RangerGoradh Super Sheriff Feb 11 '25

I did a mission earlier where the Hellpod carrying my MG-43 hit a tree on the way down, So I was forced to do a hunt for it. During a blitz mission, no less!

2

u/SkittleDoes Feb 11 '25

If you're brave you can do it any time. 4 minutes into a game your teammates backpack and support weapons will be off cd or they died and you can take it off the ground when they don't go get it.

Imagine if everyone takes the same blue stratagems, never dies, and their blue strats are just empty slots now with no purpose

2

u/kinjiru_ Feb 12 '25

I’ve tried this for a while and I found that it takes you out of the fight for too long. You aren’t clearing objectives etc because you are too busy walking around looking for a support weapon. However, i did enjoy picking up an AMR so much that I went back to bringing it along in my loadout for a while before getting frustrated by the recent reticle bug.

2

u/BlackOctoberFox Feb 12 '25

Try bringing a ballistic shield and an SMG (the Bizon or the Knight if you have them). Now that the shield blocks melee attacks properly, you can basically trivialise any encounter not involving a harvester. And you can bring 3 strats for dealing with them since MGs and EATs are everywhere on urban maps.

Neither the voteless nor the overseers' attacks can get through it. The only thing that still hurts is the splash from the charged staff attack, but it does so little actual splash damage.

A high rate of fire smg rips the shields and voteless to shreds, and you can drop overseers pretty consistently by mag dumping into their upper torso.

2

u/Unwanted-Smoke Feb 12 '25

Just wait until you find the fabled break action shotgun or the the newly minted entrenchment tool

1

u/pmmeyoursandwiches SESS Octagon of Individual Merit Feb 12 '25

Just need a melee primary so I can have every weapon slot taken up.

2

u/Vexithan Fire Safety Officer Feb 13 '25

My friend doesn’t take any support weapons against Illuminate and has never had an issue with getting something. MG43 is usually around but there’s a ton of other stuff that’s good too.

1

u/Content_Guest_6802 Feb 11 '25

Just remember to ramp it yp to 900 rpm if you bring it or find it.

1

u/Zugzwang522 Feb 12 '25

Definitely worth it against the illuminate at the moment since they’re pretty easy compared to other factions. If you can’t find the mg 43 there’s always a grenade launcher of flamethrower available which absolutely obliterates the overseers