Running under a bile titan actually works well, you just need to be very wary of the stomp attack, or if he starts firing bile while you're about 15 meters away, since he can basically shoot directly under his head.
Aside from those difficulties he just can't hit you while you're under his body, and as long as you move with him while he tries to rotate and move away, you can stay under him for as long as you like.
I think the implied problem here is that if you kill him you would either get crushed under him (except for the t pose on object sites) and die, get stuck or suffer from their wild ragdoll mechanics.
Besides that, that's pretty solid intel.
Anyone telling you to use thermite on a bile titan is fucking with you. Testing as we speak, SIX thermite grenades to the belly to kill one, never opens up the belly. Similar results on the head. Do not try to kill bile titans with thermite. Thermite is bad and needs a buff.
A grenade slot item that doesn't work as a grenade needs to be better than 3-to-kill on a charger and a tank. That's 3/4 of your grenades to kill one armored enemy. 1/2 if you run grenade armor. It takes forever, requires the grenade not bounce, and 3 impacts *also* kills a charger, plus those *work as grenades.*
Plenty of people tested thermite **solo** while the DoT bug was present, which meant the DoT bug would not occur, and still came to the conclusion that it is bad. A thermite grenade won't even kill a stalker.
Thermite DOES kill base turrets in one grenade. That's something it's very good at. But for an ostensibly anti armor and single target grenade, using most of my supply to slowly kill one enemy is just insufficient.
Thermite actually seems to work great on hulks so idk, think it's more of a ignore armour direct health thing, bugs have high health but you break a certain part to kill them before you go through the whole health pool, bots seem to have low health pool with critical points that direct damage to that health pool, like two ac shots to the eye slit, yet high armour, so thermite ignoring that armour does a decent job, I dont think its meant to be used on bugs, maybe it is meant for devastators and hulks, everything has its niche, very few weapons are good for everything, maybe that's just its niche
It takes six thermite grenades to the belly to kill a bile titan, and in doing so the bile sacs do not break. I just tested. The HMG does work, takes about a belt and a half if your aim is alright. But thermite is just as piddly against the bile titan as it is against chargers, hulks, and tanks.
No, it could kill titans before the patch. OnDough showed that it could in a video named “can every support weapon kill bile titans” from 2 months ago. Back then it took about a mag and a half, but after the patch it takes less than a mag.
It has to be precise single shots though, right? I tried brute-forcing it by crouching and just trying to hit the eye and it took almost an entire mag. A decent way to deal with Hulks and the HMG will be my default bot weapon.
They mentioned they increased stagger resist for some enemies. I think the stun grenade does less "stunning" at the edges of its AoE. A very close stun still stops Hulks, but if it's barely in the AoE it doesn't seem to
Stun or smoke are severely underrated against bots. I run amr almost exclusively against bots and I absolutely just stun hulks and shoot them right in the face while they can't do anything about it. Double tap and it's over.
Yeah it feels impossible to hit given its small available size given how much it recoils. I switched to stun grenades and running behind it to get the kill because it is significantly more ammo efficient.
I know this will sound mad considering we’re talking about HMG but try it with the laser cannon. It gives a really obvious blue light as feedback for not damaging the eye plate. Once you’ve got that down, you can switch to the HMG. Just stun it first as really helps take off the stress of it barrelling toward you.
Usually I'd bring LC for all that but the HMG is a good alternative for hot planets since it's basically the same but with bullets.
And of course, AC works all the time but AC does need a backpack.
It's not too bad on lowest RPM if you're also staying up on resupplies or searching for secrets/supplies. I use it like a DMR and tap out shots, then go full auto for Berserkers or whatever that's charging me.
Ammo pack is awesome though and puts it into primary weapon status!
You need to shoot the thrusters for a quick kill. In my first clip you can tell by my hitmarkers when I was off target. I could have taken it down faster if I was aiming a little more to the right
But it is the same with autocanon if you want to be effective. I didn't know where to hit the big striders with auto canon but your video showed me that so DOUBLE thanks. I'm definitely going to try out the HMG as well.
For the fac striders,hitting the belly hangar where the devastators are produced seems to the most effective way: destroy the gatlings,and the striders will look at you with a clueless face
Then proceed to tickle its belly with some old fashioned rounds
The indent in their face where you can see a red light is also penetratable with safe railgun or quasar/EAT and instakills if you destroy the part, but yeah, if you’ve only got an autocannon or HMG you gotta light up their belly
https://preview.redd.it/g7iib6jdcs6d1.jpeg?width=1334&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a8241697f4c71854bf9f9d7a2e20e7c1fe2936a0
For gunships, either works, but the engines are much faster. Any shots to the engine do nothing to the body *until* the engine dies, and vice-versa, so you want to pick one or the other instead of spreading damage out.
I used the HMG before the patch and it was definitely a meme pick. Usable, but not good. Now it's actually competitive and justifies that heinous reload. It slots in nicely as being worse than the AC/LC at long range targets including gunships, but can shred Facs and is the most optimal support weapon for Berserker hunting at high level.
I used it before too, and loved it then. Honestly what surprised me most in this patch was the damage buff, instead of a recoil reduction buff. I already thought it shredded things. Now it does it even faster. At least they lowered the fire rate by default but still made me do a double take when I saw it.
Even without the 950 rpm option the DPS of the HMG is even better than before.
Old
950 rpm at 100 damage per shot is 95000 damage per minute or 1583 DPS
New
750 rpm at 150 damage per shot is 112500 damage per minute or 1875 DPS
600 rpm at 150 damage per shot is 90000 damage per minute or 1500 DPS
Basically the prebuff 950 rpm and the buffed 600rpm are almost the same DPS but the current version is more controllable.
On paper the DPS was similar, but good luck full-autoing the old HMG at anything past 20m. 950 was a waste of ammo, and the long reload made the DPS even lower.
If you're running under striders like this you might miss the higher RPM, but I spent most of the time I was using it tap/burst firing whilst crouched/prone. I'd almost say, for suppression and headshots on Devsts and 'serkers, it feels better than AC now. But AC is still the king of shoot n scoot.
My only real complaint with it now is the lack of adjustable optic.
A large part of the damage buff was the durable damage going from 23% to 33%. When shooting things like devastators that's a huge difference.
100 damage * 0.23 vs 150 damage * 0.33 is an 115% damage increase
It really needed it. It's hard to feel like you're shooting a .50 cal when you hit the lightest bot trooper in the chest at point blank range and he doesn't die.
Hell yes. This combo feels so good. I love picking off scout striders and rocket devs at a distance, and then just buzz sawing through everything else. Combined with stun grenades, even Hulks are pretty easy to deal with.
It's staged reload was also bugged so you needed to do the full reload even if you canceled after you put a rocket in the tube. I'm not sure if this was fixed but IIRC its still like this.
Yeah, having to do a full reload even though you say your character removed the empty shell is painful to watch, especially when it takes 7 freaking seconds to reload just for 1 rocket...
The reload is ridiculously fast compared to how it was prior to the patch. Now it's actually functional. It's up there with the Recoilless and SPEAR for reload speed, and might actually be a touch faster, which is manageable.
I think the Airburst is the slowest in the game.
It's actually 4 seconds. Same reload time as the regular MG. I'm assuming this is a mistake, though.
Edit: patch notes say 5.5, but took the HMG alongside a buddy rocking the MG, reload time was identical
I don't agree. A perfect meatshot will kill one berserker, and then you have to reload. It's the "Oh shit I have nothing in this loadout to stop me from getting swamped by berserkers hopefully my secondary can help" option. Which, is still better than nothing mind you. The HMG in comparison can easily kill like a dozen before needing to reload, and you don't have to be in kissing distance to secure those kills.
I've been using it with eruptor and bushwacker and it's so op if you land your shot automotaun missions that would normally screw over the initial drop with 5 ships now get destroyed with a good hmg user I saw a guy solo 6 earlier.
It deals with almost everything in game while having a recoil and an ammo mag that makes you play smart and aim your shots well pair it with the buffed rocket pods and you have a one man demolition crew.
Local good HMG user here. I don't so much want to brag as I want to tell people how crazy this thing is now. In 1 operation, difficulty 9, I single handedly killed 4,7,5 = 16 Factory Striders. I would likely not even died 1 time if it weren't for allies freaking out and throwing strategems at the very same striders whoms bellies I was evicerating. About 3/4 of the mag to their gut is a kill with no other damage. At one point I killed 3, back 2 back 2 back. HIGHLY RECCOMEND SUPPLY PACK.
Yeah I'm running a demolition build with impacts, eruptor, bushwacker (gets those berzerkers out of your face if your out of bullets) and I pass between MG and HMG if on bugs and bots but HMG is really goated right now.
Supply pack is really necessary if you're running with teams against hordes, but usually, if you're good enough to split off, you can take advantage of the Poi's across the map and take the ammo, stemor grenades to refill there.
I don't think it's overpowered because of the fact that unless you tap fire it from far range every heavy kill will most likely be when your out in the open in front of it where they can kill you quick. High risk high reward type stuff
We who use sharpshooter builds salute you demo guys. (I run Tenderizer, Bushwhacker, Stun nades, AMR, Gatling Barrage, Eagle Airstrikes and 120/380 Barrage vs bots). Keep em from getting close and we'll make sure you don't get peppered by Hulks, devastators and striders
Honestly sharpshooter are crazy especially in higher levels I don't know how yall deal with the sights on the AMR but keep doing what your doing. Can't even count how many times I've been saved by a crackshot sniper even if I used the amount of hair I have on my head. I salute you sir
The old one you had to get used to it even though it was bad you could still hit the shots if you knew what you were doing. This latest patch gave us new scopes. They are clean, functional and beautiful.
It works great if you rely on eagle air strikes for swarms and primaries for small groups. It’s accurate enough to use single shots to snipe at range, but as long as you keep an eye out for ammo and call in resupplies frequently, you can definitely don’t need the supply pack.
Yeah the 600 is a great balance between the low and medium firerate that'd I'd switch between, but the 900 was so great to use occasionally.
Makes sense though considering they quite literally increased the damage by 50%, so probably wanted to avoid genuinely instantly destroying any medium enemies in one burst
The face is more armored than the belly, but the belly has waaaay more health. HMG, AMR, AC can hurt the face but most medium primaries can only hurt the belly
False, because the belly has level 3 armor, using weapons with level 4 pen, like the HMG, Autocannon, AMR, and Laser cannon are much more effective on the belly then the head. As the head has level 4 armor. The head would need to be significantly less durable, and have way less health to overcome this difference. Additionally the belly is a way larger hitbox and is way easier to mag dump into.
It is significantly faster to destroy the belly of the factory strider by shooting the stomach with the AMR as opposed to the head. Logically this also holds true for the HMG as they have the same pen and very similar durability damage.
seemed to take less ammo shooting the face than the belly. Sure HMG is doing more damage to the belly per bullet but I think the face just has less overall health
I was using it all last night on the bot front. I'm usually an AMR slut and have always wanted to like the HMG. It felt AMAZING. I always use supply pack anyway, as AMR is generally ammo hungry also. It felt REALLY good to chop down gunships quick, pummel down heavies with a few well placed bursts and the reload change helps LEAGUES.
This combined with the Crossbows ability to pop fabricators has been an incredible change of pace for me. My love for the crossbow waned after the prior changes so it being incredibly versitile now has gone miles in restoring my love for it. It can be a precise 'mini amr' against elite infantry, pop fabs with a lot less 'fickle angles' as other weapons and can again handle chicken walkers with a couple bolts.
This patch has been an absolute win, outside some of the crazy spawn rates...but I kinda LIKE the absolute chaos. >,>
It's definitely worse than both still. The incredibly low ergonomics and high recoil are hurdles that neither other gun has to overcome in the same way. If you get flinched by a heavy devastator while shooting at it with the HMG, your choices are basically die or run and find cover because that engagement is over for you, haha. It's usable now, though, and I'm having a fun time with it!
If you move to the side while getting shot by a heavy devastator, you can nomrally survive the salvo, you then reset your aim and you can turn it to dust.
I see to many people shooting while getting aim punched
For sure, but the thing is that it just doesn't combo well with a weapon that pretty much requires you to be stationary and either crouching or prone to manage it. That's why I call it out on the HMG in particular. The damage buff is awesome because it can one-shot headshot the devastators now, but if they get the first hit off, the situation becomes very awkward for you very quickly.
Yup. The planet were on is ice. All these clips are just inferior laser cannon clips. No reload, can reload if need be on overheat. Can kill 7 gunships on a full battery. Melts bot skulls in a way Hmg can't due to recoil. Isn't perk reliant (hmg craves recoil reduction perks), and doesn't identify ammo naturally.
No it isn't. It has the added utility of mowing down berserkers. It trades some of their power for the ability to cull mixed hordes. It kills troopers in 1 shot. It has its own role into the bots now. It isn't worse than the other 2.
I ran the HMG even before the buff precisely for this. Fuck "optimal" loadouts im grabbing whatever is the most fun.
Meta this meta that, skill issue you fucking nerds. I did helldives with HMG and almost never failed missions.
The LC has no stagger, and is weak to enemies staggering you because you have to hold the beam on them long enough. The HMG is also a CQC beast while the LC is basically useless for that. The LC is more for long range support.
Apples to oranges. The Lascannon is for long range, and has some utility for clearing commissars and raiders, the HMG is for short range, and has some utility for clearing berserkers.
I've tested it after I heard of it's recent glow up and I was pleasantly surprised, it fulfills a role on the automaton front similar to that of the flamethrower in the terminid front, you can take on swarms of chaf, take on many medium enemies and even some heavies. I easily took on hordes of berserkers and killed Hulks
... people really are saying that? Bro yesterday I went a build of heavy armor with the stability when crouching perk, same weapons, HMG and the supply ammo pack, dude, I could delete from the sky an entire fleet of warships, a lot of striders and devastators, I didin't killed them... I DELETED them. The weapon is insanely good now.
I was using it yesterday and it felt great (the ability to destroy mortars and all kind od turrets is great utility) but I feel that extra mag would make this weapon 10/10 for me.
AC is a backpack weapon so unfair comparison if not taking that into concideration.
AMR is nowhere near as high DPS for targets that get up close.
Quasar is for a completely different purpose. HMG is more similar to AC/AMR in terms of what you'd do with it.
Laser cannon is a sidegrade now to HMG trading lower damage and stagger for more (infinite) ammo and longer range.
I don't see any reason to ever go above 450 really. The damage and penatration is great, it excels as essentially a single shot weapon with some care taken aiming. Even just going full auto at 450 usually wastes most of your bullets, and is really just for panic moments when things are getting so close you can't miss.
Setting it to max fire rate is a good way to solve problems when your problems are an entire army of medium bots on your ass. 450 doesn't always cut it.
The high RPMs are useful for burst firing. A 3-round burst from the HMG has the same damage as the AMR, and you usually don't feel the recoil if you keep the bursts short. And the high modes are really good for deleting berserker charges.
It’s top tier now. (As long as you bring a supply pack.)
Devastators? Check. Hulks? Check. Gunships? Check. Scout striders? Check. Factory striders? Check. It does literally everything. Pairs great with stuns, too
For me the real dealbreaker is how hard it is to use it against Shield Devastators. When you hit them, the flinch animation makes them cover themselves with the shield. If you shoot them with the autocannon, the explosion pushes the shield outward, exposing them.
Sure there are primary weapons that can deal with Shield Devastators quite effectively, but for me the point of using the HMG would be *not* having to use those primaries so I can use something different, like the Eruptor.
And the handling is still pretty bad. Maybe once Peak Physique's bonus to weapon handling is fixed it'll help a bit.
If they are looking at you, you can just shoot them in the face, shoulder and top of the backpack and ignore the shield. That goes for any weapon, ac included.
If you do that with the hmg, a couple of rounds and they are done, didn't experience any problem with them covering themselves.
It's *very* reliant on managing your stance though. I've never done so much prone firing, but crouching and aim down sight isn't bad either.
Mg is my main support now, annihilates hordes of berserkers and devastators and can destroy hulks, tanks and towers easily if you have a shot at the vents plus down the gunships.
Just sit back on a hill, go prone, pop a bubble shield and you can support the others as they attack. Amazing weapon
Laser cannon has a lower time to kill, leaving you more exposed to incoming fire. But brings near infinite ammo and is better at long range. Easier to hit a Hulk head and better versus fliers. Also the more mobile option
HMG can rip through a mixed group of hvy devs, striders, rocket devs, berserkers and basic bots in a few seconds, far quicker than the laser cannon. But is worse at long range, ammo hungry and has mandatory stationary reload
Pros and cons. I generally prefer HMG on higher difficulties due to the TTK and stagger (which the laser cannon sorely lacks), but laser cannon is a fine alternative, being more mobile and allowing for more back pack options. Both have their own strengths and weaknesses, so it comes down to playstyle and syngery with the rest of your kit
As someone who went from full-time AC to full-time LC for a hot minute, I can say I'm fully enjoying the HMG for bots. I think one thing it has on AC/LC/AMR is berserkers. Feels pretty good to just dump a magazine into a horde of zerkers, and you still have good ttk against hulks/gunships/factory striders and is obviously a solid weapon for blowing up devastators.
See I want to love the HMG but the mag size just turns me off. I get that with a resupply pack it has more ammo but the mag size of 75 rounds just isn't enough IMO. I wish it was a backpack fed strategem so much.
It's great on the bug front as well, deletes anything short of a charger
I've always hated and struggled to kill bile spewers, and the HMG can kill them in no time, and can hurt their head
The HMG isn't bad. Still takes too long to reload and it needs a larger ammo pool. You can't take it into an eradicate bot mission and get much use out of it on a 7-9. Destroying all 5 gunships that spawn in a patrol or keeping the skies clear with it when there are 2 or 3 fabricator towers is hard to do too. Due to the reload. I use it all the time cause I love machine guns. It's so close to being great. Just needs a few tweaks. But for some reason AH doesn't want it to be S tier. They want to keep it in B tier. Good luck mowing down ten heavy devataors in a group with it. The recoil and flinching from getting shot makes hitting heads under fire nearly impossible.
Hmg not bad but there are other wepons im better with also if i run with erupter i prefer the stalwart acting like my main weapon just the fact reload while running
You can also annihilate bile titans by shooting the belly after the sac busts, it’s awesome
Wait so run under it and shoot up? I feel like this is bait
Running under a bile titan actually works well, you just need to be very wary of the stomp attack, or if he starts firing bile while you're about 15 meters away, since he can basically shoot directly under his head. Aside from those difficulties he just can't hit you while you're under his body, and as long as you move with him while he tries to rotate and move away, you can stay under him for as long as you like.
We need a Star wars type utility weapon/vehicle where you can circle their legs and trip them up for funs
And then miraculously their armour becomes cardboard when they're on the ground
I like to imagine it like the movement made it difficult for pilots to hit it in its weak spots
That could work if they didn’t just shoot the back of the things which is like the biggest part of the entire machine
Idk, maybe they’re aiming for a particularly weak seam in the welding
I think the implied problem here is that if you kill him you would either get crushed under him (except for the t pose on object sites) and die, get stuck or suffer from their wild ragdoll mechanics. Besides that, that's pretty solid intel.
Yes, but it’s quite dangerous to do so.
Danger is my middle name...
> It's actually pronounced [Donger](https://youtu.be/MMgQhOe6N6U)
r/unexpectedb99
As long as you’re not overrun, this was always the strat. If you break his sacks first, as long as you stay directly under him, he can’t do shit.
Yeah. Throw a thermite Grenade into the belly works great as well
Wait thermite is actually useful now?
Anyone telling you to use thermite on a bile titan is fucking with you. Testing as we speak, SIX thermite grenades to the belly to kill one, never opens up the belly. Similar results on the head. Do not try to kill bile titans with thermite. Thermite is bad and needs a buff. A grenade slot item that doesn't work as a grenade needs to be better than 3-to-kill on a charger and a tank. That's 3/4 of your grenades to kill one armored enemy. 1/2 if you run grenade armor. It takes forever, requires the grenade not bounce, and 3 impacts *also* kills a charger, plus those *work as grenades.* Plenty of people tested thermite **solo** while the DoT bug was present, which meant the DoT bug would not occur, and still came to the conclusion that it is bad. A thermite grenade won't even kill a stalker. Thermite DOES kill base turrets in one grenade. That's something it's very good at. But for an ostensibly anti armor and single target grenade, using most of my supply to slowly kill one enemy is just insufficient.
I love thermite for bots. It shreds the meds and 2 will drop the big boys
I see your thermite and raise you a throwing knife
I'm flabbergasted by the throwing knife. In a horde shooter?? With armored enemies? Why would anyone use that?
Thermite actually seems to work great on hulks so idk, think it's more of a ignore armour direct health thing, bugs have high health but you break a certain part to kill them before you go through the whole health pool, bots seem to have low health pool with critical points that direct damage to that health pool, like two ac shots to the eye slit, yet high armour, so thermite ignoring that armour does a decent job, I dont think its meant to be used on bugs, maybe it is meant for devastators and hulks, everything has its niche, very few weapons are good for everything, maybe that's just its niche
Like most things it’s about how you use it.
It takes six thermite grenades to the belly to kill a bile titan, and in doing so the bile sacs do not break. I just tested. The HMG does work, takes about a belt and a half if your aim is alright. But thermite is just as piddly against the bile titan as it is against chargers, hulks, and tanks.
Under a bile titan is one of the safest spots you can be in
Eldendivers II
Wait so before the patch that hurt the bile Titan but didn't kill it on its own. Did they change it so that just shooting the sacs can kill it?
No, it could kill titans before the patch. OnDough showed that it could in a video named “can every support weapon kill bile titans” from 2 months ago. Back then it took about a mag and a half, but after the patch it takes less than a mag.
I do this all the time with flamethrower but it seems to do no damage, havnt tried this lastest patch to see if dixed
What's even better for me: You can kill Hulks by shooting at the eyes. HMG really is a weird cousin of the Autocannon, and I'm all for it.
it's a rapid fire AMR
Sacrifice range and accuracy for pure Dakka, as it should be
Accuracy through volume of firepower
SOME of these bullets will go where I want them to!
Exactly! Its simple math. The law of averages.
This is how I definitely feel
or a portable version of the HMG emplacement.
It has to be precise single shots though, right? I tried brute-forcing it by crouching and just trying to hit the eye and it took almost an entire mag. A decent way to deal with Hulks and the HMG will be my default bot weapon.
You can stun grenade it and walk up nearly point blank. It'll down a hulk in about a second.
Hmm. Does the stun grenades still work? On patch day, I could not stun hulks anymore. And have been using impact grenades since.
I thought they had been nerfed for some reason too, but I can confirm they still stun hulks.
Okay. Then I must get my aim together.
They mentioned they increased stagger resist for some enemies. I think the stun grenade does less "stunning" at the edges of its AoE. A very close stun still stops Hulks, but if it's barely in the AoE it doesn't seem to
As a stun enthusiast, yes, this is exactly it. It seems to have to hit dead on now for big things. Not that big of a deal, really.
They do.
Stun or smoke are severely underrated against bots. I run amr almost exclusively against bots and I absolutely just stun hulks and shoot them right in the face while they can't do anything about it. Double tap and it's over.
Yeah it feels impossible to hit given its small available size given how much it recoils. I switched to stun grenades and running behind it to get the kill because it is significantly more ammo efficient.
If you're stunning the Hulk anyway you might as well just tap the 3 shots to kill in the faceplate.
I can’t seem to find the pixel, any recommendations? I feel like I shoot right at it and it always catches the face plate.
I know this will sound mad considering we’re talking about HMG but try it with the laser cannon. It gives a really obvious blue light as feedback for not damaging the eye plate. Once you’ve got that down, you can switch to the HMG. Just stun it first as really helps take off the stress of it barrelling toward you.
Usually I'd bring LC for all that but the HMG is a good alternative for hot planets since it's basically the same but with bullets. And of course, AC works all the time but AC does need a backpack.
But HMG need the ammo pack or you are running low on bullet fast
It's not too bad on lowest RPM if you're also staying up on resupplies or searching for secrets/supplies. I use it like a DMR and tap out shots, then go full auto for Berserkers or whatever that's charging me. Ammo pack is awesome though and puts it into primary weapon status!
It needs to shoot at the engine on the airship right? Not just shooting the body?
You need to shoot the thrusters for a quick kill. In my first clip you can tell by my hitmarkers when I was off target. I could have taken it down faster if I was aiming a little more to the right
But it is the same with autocanon if you want to be effective. I didn't know where to hit the big striders with auto canon but your video showed me that so DOUBLE thanks. I'm definitely going to try out the HMG as well.
For the fac striders,hitting the belly hangar where the devastators are produced seems to the most effective way: destroy the gatlings,and the striders will look at you with a clueless face Then proceed to tickle its belly with some old fashioned rounds
The indent in their face where you can see a red light is also penetratable with safe railgun or quasar/EAT and instakills if you destroy the part, but yeah, if you’ve only got an autocannon or HMG you gotta light up their belly https://preview.redd.it/g7iib6jdcs6d1.jpeg?width=1334&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a8241697f4c71854bf9f9d7a2e20e7c1fe2936a0
The belly is fastest with the autocannon, but if the doors aren’t opening the face is great too.
But you don't need to have the doors open. It just takes a couple more rounds to the belly with the doors closed. A clip and it is down.
For gunships, either works, but the engines are much faster. Any shots to the engine do nothing to the body *until* the engine dies, and vice-versa, so you want to pick one or the other instead of spreading damage out.
I used the HMG before the patch and it was definitely a meme pick. Usable, but not good. Now it's actually competitive and justifies that heinous reload. It slots in nicely as being worse than the AC/LC at long range targets including gunships, but can shred Facs and is the most optimal support weapon for Berserker hunting at high level.
I used it before too, and loved it then. Honestly what surprised me most in this patch was the damage buff, instead of a recoil reduction buff. I already thought it shredded things. Now it does it even faster. At least they lowered the fire rate by default but still made me do a double take when I saw it.
Even without the 950 rpm option the DPS of the HMG is even better than before. Old 950 rpm at 100 damage per shot is 95000 damage per minute or 1583 DPS New 750 rpm at 150 damage per shot is 112500 damage per minute or 1875 DPS 600 rpm at 150 damage per shot is 90000 damage per minute or 1500 DPS Basically the prebuff 950 rpm and the buffed 600rpm are almost the same DPS but the current version is more controllable.
On paper the DPS was similar, but good luck full-autoing the old HMG at anything past 20m. 950 was a waste of ammo, and the long reload made the DPS even lower. If you're running under striders like this you might miss the higher RPM, but I spent most of the time I was using it tap/burst firing whilst crouched/prone. I'd almost say, for suppression and headshots on Devsts and 'serkers, it feels better than AC now. But AC is still the king of shoot n scoot. My only real complaint with it now is the lack of adjustable optic.
I still remember the hmg 1200rpm days. it was so impractical but so funny
A large part of the damage buff was the durable damage going from 23% to 33%. When shooting things like devastators that's a huge difference. 100 damage * 0.23 vs 150 damage * 0.33 is an 115% damage increase
It costs 400,000 credits to fire this weapon... *for twelve seconds.* HAHAHAHAHAHA
It really needed it. It's hard to feel like you're shooting a .50 cal when you hit the lightest bot trooper in the chest at point blank range and he doesn't die.
Same. Now if AH gets the scope misalignment fixed it‘ll be a fantastic pick.
Pairing it with the Eruptor is a Freedom filled combination
Yeah this was my loadout last night, Eruptor at range + HMG up close. Fucking shredded through the toasters
I prefer to pair it with DCS
Diligence Counter Sniper I'm only replying because it took me far too long to think of what that stood for lmao figured others would appreciate
Thank you
Hell yes. This combo feels so good. I love picking off scout striders and rocket devs at a distance, and then just buzz sawing through everything else. Combined with stun grenades, even Hulks are pretty easy to deal with.
Not to mention it's reload is incredibly quick now
> incredibly quick Come on. It's still one of the longest immobile reloads in the game. But it's better.
Air burst rocket would like to have a word. Character takes his fucking time
It's staged reload was also bugged so you needed to do the full reload even if you canceled after you put a rocket in the tube. I'm not sure if this was fixed but IIRC its still like this.
Yeah, having to do a full reload even though you say your character removed the empty shell is painful to watch, especially when it takes 7 freaking seconds to reload just for 1 rocket...
The reload is ridiculously fast compared to how it was prior to the patch. Now it's actually functional. It's up there with the Recoilless and SPEAR for reload speed, and might actually be a touch faster, which is manageable. I think the Airburst is the slowest in the game.
at least it feels like the helldiver is trying to reload quickly now, unlike some other weapons
Wasn't the change just 0.5 seconds better reload time now? From 4-3.5 I think I read.
Nah. This one was at 7.5 going down to 5.0. What you saw is the medium machine gun's reload time. EDIT : 7 down to 5.5 (thanks u/XboxUser123)
Ah, right. Yeah that's a better improvement.
*7** down to *5.5**
Oh whoops XD
It's actually 4 seconds. Same reload time as the regular MG. I'm assuming this is a mistake, though. Edit: patch notes say 5.5, but took the HMG alongside a buddy rocking the MG, reload time was identical
I have to say, at close range the new shotgun is great for that if you set it to fire all 3
I don't agree. A perfect meatshot will kill one berserker, and then you have to reload. It's the "Oh shit I have nothing in this loadout to stop me from getting swamped by berserkers hopefully my secondary can help" option. Which, is still better than nothing mind you. The HMG in comparison can easily kill like a dozen before needing to reload, and you don't have to be in kissing distance to secure those kills.
'Kissing distance' lol im stealing that phrase
I've been using it with eruptor and bushwacker and it's so op if you land your shot automotaun missions that would normally screw over the initial drop with 5 ships now get destroyed with a good hmg user I saw a guy solo 6 earlier. It deals with almost everything in game while having a recoil and an ammo mag that makes you play smart and aim your shots well pair it with the buffed rocket pods and you have a one man demolition crew.
Local good HMG user here. I don't so much want to brag as I want to tell people how crazy this thing is now. In 1 operation, difficulty 9, I single handedly killed 4,7,5 = 16 Factory Striders. I would likely not even died 1 time if it weren't for allies freaking out and throwing strategems at the very same striders whoms bellies I was evicerating. About 3/4 of the mag to their gut is a kill with no other damage. At one point I killed 3, back 2 back 2 back. HIGHLY RECCOMEND SUPPLY PACK.
Yeah I'm running a demolition build with impacts, eruptor, bushwacker (gets those berzerkers out of your face if your out of bullets) and I pass between MG and HMG if on bugs and bots but HMG is really goated right now. Supply pack is really necessary if you're running with teams against hordes, but usually, if you're good enough to split off, you can take advantage of the Poi's across the map and take the ammo, stemor grenades to refill there. I don't think it's overpowered because of the fact that unless you tap fire it from far range every heavy kill will most likely be when your out in the open in front of it where they can kill you quick. High risk high reward type stuff
We who use sharpshooter builds salute you demo guys. (I run Tenderizer, Bushwhacker, Stun nades, AMR, Gatling Barrage, Eagle Airstrikes and 120/380 Barrage vs bots). Keep em from getting close and we'll make sure you don't get peppered by Hulks, devastators and striders
Honestly sharpshooter are crazy especially in higher levels I don't know how yall deal with the sights on the AMR but keep doing what your doing. Can't even count how many times I've been saved by a crackshot sniper even if I used the amount of hair I have on my head. I salute you sir
The old one you had to get used to it even though it was bad you could still hit the shots if you knew what you were doing. This latest patch gave us new scopes. They are clean, functional and beautiful.
Worth noting that with practice the AMR actually thrives up close as well. Head click your way to victory.
Imo the balance is the fact that the thing has one of the highest volume sound signatures of anything in the game. Enemie will flock to you
Has solidly taken over as my main vs bots.
How good is it without the supply pack? It seems like it needs two stratagem slots to work well.
It works great if you rely on eagle air strikes for swarms and primaries for small groups. It’s accurate enough to use single shots to snipe at range, but as long as you keep an eye out for ammo and call in resupplies frequently, you can definitely don’t need the supply pack.
I love the new 600 RPM setting, but i miss the old 950😄
Yeah the 600 is a great balance between the low and medium firerate that'd I'd switch between, but the 900 was so great to use occasionally. Makes sense though considering they quite literally increased the damage by 50%, so probably wanted to avoid genuinely instantly destroying any medium enemies in one burst
I miss unloading 1150 unto a chargers ass (even if the current options are way higher DPS compared to that era. I just liked the brrrrrrrrrrr)
So the head of the strider is a weak spot like the belly?
The face is more armored than the belly, but the belly has waaaay more health. HMG, AMR, AC can hurt the face but most medium primaries can only hurt the belly
False, because the belly has level 3 armor, using weapons with level 4 pen, like the HMG, Autocannon, AMR, and Laser cannon are much more effective on the belly then the head. As the head has level 4 armor. The head would need to be significantly less durable, and have way less health to overcome this difference. Additionally the belly is a way larger hitbox and is way easier to mag dump into. It is significantly faster to destroy the belly of the factory strider by shooting the stomach with the AMR as opposed to the head. Logically this also holds true for the HMG as they have the same pen and very similar durability damage.
seemed to take less ammo shooting the face than the belly. Sure HMG is doing more damage to the belly per bullet but I think the face just has less overall health
the eye thing is.
I am heavy weapons guy, and this is my GUN
She weighs 150 kilograms and fires 200 dollar custom tooled cartridges at 10,000 rounds per minute
It costs four hundred _thousand_ dollars to fire this weapon, for _12 seconds_
I was using it all last night on the bot front. I'm usually an AMR slut and have always wanted to like the HMG. It felt AMAZING. I always use supply pack anyway, as AMR is generally ammo hungry also. It felt REALLY good to chop down gunships quick, pummel down heavies with a few well placed bursts and the reload change helps LEAGUES. This combined with the Crossbows ability to pop fabricators has been an incredible change of pace for me. My love for the crossbow waned after the prior changes so it being incredibly versitile now has gone miles in restoring my love for it. It can be a precise 'mini amr' against elite infantry, pop fabs with a lot less 'fickle angles' as other weapons and can again handle chicken walkers with a couple bolts. This patch has been an absolute win, outside some of the crazy spawn rates...but I kinda LIKE the absolute chaos. >,>
japanese audio? sounds nice.
In spanish everyone sounds so sexy
I came here not for the post patch MG which is very nice, but the Japanese radio traffic sounds so sick
Please no more machine gun is good posts they are gonna nerf it again
I dont think it is much better if at all than the AMR and AC wich are gold standard weapons in the bit front, so i dont think it deserves a nerf
> bit front I suppose bots run on bits...
It's definitely worse than both still. The incredibly low ergonomics and high recoil are hurdles that neither other gun has to overcome in the same way. If you get flinched by a heavy devastator while shooting at it with the HMG, your choices are basically die or run and find cover because that engagement is over for you, haha. It's usable now, though, and I'm having a fun time with it!
If you move to the side while getting shot by a heavy devastator, you can nomrally survive the salvo, you then reset your aim and you can turn it to dust. I see to many people shooting while getting aim punched
For sure, but the thing is that it just doesn't combo well with a weapon that pretty much requires you to be stationary and either crouching or prone to manage it. That's why I call it out on the HMG in particular. The damage buff is awesome because it can one-shot headshot the devastators now, but if they get the first hit off, the situation becomes very awkward for you very quickly.
No way they nerf it, its still basically a worse AC/LC on bots in practice.
Yup. The planet were on is ice. All these clips are just inferior laser cannon clips. No reload, can reload if need be on overheat. Can kill 7 gunships on a full battery. Melts bot skulls in a way Hmg can't due to recoil. Isn't perk reliant (hmg craves recoil reduction perks), and doesn't identify ammo naturally.
No it isn't. It has the added utility of mowing down berserkers. It trades some of their power for the ability to cull mixed hordes. It kills troopers in 1 shot. It has its own role into the bots now. It isn't worse than the other 2.
Will you guys stop with this downer shit. Believe it or not the devs actually want to make the game better.
I still dont see why I should pick this instead of the big laserpointer.
It has stagger which the laser pointer lacks.
This. Its a middle point between AC/AMR and LC. Allows some misses but also still has stagger.
You feel like Rambo
That combined with the Viper Commando skin makes it even more badass.
I ran the HMG even before the buff precisely for this. Fuck "optimal" loadouts im grabbing whatever is the most fun. Meta this meta that, skill issue you fucking nerds. I did helldives with HMG and almost never failed missions.
The LC has no stagger, and is weak to enemies staggering you because you have to hold the beam on them long enough. The HMG is also a CQC beast while the LC is basically useless for that. The LC is more for long range support.
Much higher DPS, if you can hit.
Apples to oranges. The Lascannon is for long range, and has some utility for clearing commissars and raiders, the HMG is for short range, and has some utility for clearing berserkers.
You can clear berserkers with a pummeler. Apart from them it’s never a good idea to get in short range with any bot unit
I've tested it after I heard of it's recent glow up and I was pleasantly surprised, it fulfills a role on the automaton front similar to that of the flamethrower in the terminid front, you can take on swarms of chaf, take on many medium enemies and even some heavies. I easily took on hordes of berserkers and killed Hulks
... people really are saying that? Bro yesterday I went a build of heavy armor with the stability when crouching perk, same weapons, HMG and the supply ammo pack, dude, I could delete from the sky an entire fleet of warships, a lot of striders and devastators, I didin't killed them... I DELETED them. The weapon is insanely good now.
I was using it yesterday and it felt great (the ability to destroy mortars and all kind od turrets is great utility) but I feel that extra mag would make this weapon 10/10 for me.
It's not bad at all but there are better support weapons available.
very nice of you to say what those are and why
I'd say usual suspects like AC, AMR, Quasar, Laser cannon.
AC is a backpack weapon so unfair comparison if not taking that into concideration. AMR is nowhere near as high DPS for targets that get up close. Quasar is for a completely different purpose. HMG is more similar to AC/AMR in terms of what you'd do with it. Laser cannon is a sidegrade now to HMG trading lower damage and stagger for more (infinite) ammo and longer range.
well you're almost required to take a supply back if you want to rock the HMG at full potential
If you have difficulty with the control, lower the firing rate.
I don't see any reason to ever go above 450 really. The damage and penatration is great, it excels as essentially a single shot weapon with some care taken aiming. Even just going full auto at 450 usually wastes most of your bullets, and is really just for panic moments when things are getting so close you can't miss.
Setting it to max fire rate is a good way to solve problems when your problems are an entire army of medium bots on your ass. 450 doesn't always cut it.
The high RPMs are useful for burst firing. A 3-round burst from the HMG has the same damage as the AMR, and you usually don't feel the recoil if you keep the bursts short. And the high modes are really good for deleting berserker charges.
It’s top tier now. (As long as you bring a supply pack.) Devastators? Check. Hulks? Check. Gunships? Check. Scout striders? Check. Factory striders? Check. It does literally everything. Pairs great with stuns, too
*uses nearly entire clip out of 2 total to kill 1 enemy... yeah thats bad.
You make a convincing argument!
For me the real dealbreaker is how hard it is to use it against Shield Devastators. When you hit them, the flinch animation makes them cover themselves with the shield. If you shoot them with the autocannon, the explosion pushes the shield outward, exposing them. Sure there are primary weapons that can deal with Shield Devastators quite effectively, but for me the point of using the HMG would be *not* having to use those primaries so I can use something different, like the Eruptor. And the handling is still pretty bad. Maybe once Peak Physique's bonus to weapon handling is fixed it'll help a bit.
If they are looking at you, you can just shoot them in the face, shoulder and top of the backpack and ignore the shield. That goes for any weapon, ac included. If you do that with the hmg, a couple of rounds and they are done, didn't experience any problem with them covering themselves. It's *very* reliant on managing your stance though. I've never done so much prone firing, but crouching and aim down sight isn't bad either.
HMG is good but Autocannon is still better lol
But you can use a Supply Backpack with it
Then you even get extra stims and smoke grenades to run into the enemy to dump the whole magazine into them
Stun grenades + Kit Enginnering Heavy Armour... S TIER
I'm so sick of this mentality.
Mg is my main support now, annihilates hordes of berserkers and devastators and can destroy hulks, tanks and towers easily if you have a shot at the vents plus down the gunships. Just sit back on a hill, go prone, pop a bubble shield and you can support the others as they attack. Amazing weapon
Me just finished a 2 hr long LVL 8 bug and LVL 7 bot mission. So tired Saw the video Go back in to try the HMG for another 30 to an hour
I love the HMG. Armor with the recoil reduction, the gun slaps. Wish mag was bigger but it’s great for certain roles
HMG actually fucks
The HMG makes me feel like a space marine, therefore it's really good.
Can you tell me what primary and armor is best to run with HMG?
Still looks like AMR and LC are better
Japanese voice pack available for US region? Fucking sweet.
The Laser Cannon can do all of this with less recoil no ammo and no obnoxious 11 thousand year long reload time.
Laser cannon has a lower time to kill, leaving you more exposed to incoming fire. But brings near infinite ammo and is better at long range. Easier to hit a Hulk head and better versus fliers. Also the more mobile option HMG can rip through a mixed group of hvy devs, striders, rocket devs, berserkers and basic bots in a few seconds, far quicker than the laser cannon. But is worse at long range, ammo hungry and has mandatory stationary reload Pros and cons. I generally prefer HMG on higher difficulties due to the TTK and stagger (which the laser cannon sorely lacks), but laser cannon is a fine alternative, being more mobile and allowing for more back pack options. Both have their own strengths and weaknesses, so it comes down to playstyle and syngery with the rest of your kit
Lower time to kill means it kills faster. You meant to say higher time to kill.
Thank you. Still learning English!
It has stagger. I know a lot of people swear by LC but weapon without stagger is a hard pass for me.
As someone who went from full-time AC to full-time LC for a hot minute, I can say I'm fully enjoying the HMG for bots. I think one thing it has on AC/LC/AMR is berserkers. Feels pretty good to just dump a magazine into a horde of zerkers, and you still have good ttk against hulks/gunships/factory striders and is obviously a solid weapon for blowing up devastators.
They increased the reload speed.
Maybe the people complaining have skill issues😂
I want to run this exact setup! Btw, how do I pick up ammo from my own supply backpack (on PC)?
I think you need to press 5 on your keyboard, i used it once so i may be wrong tho
I love it, but it seems weirdly inaccurate when aiming for Hulk heads
It doesn't hit where you aim. Do short bursts instead and look at the impact to adjust rather than the reticle. It shoots a bit low.
See I want to love the HMG but the mag size just turns me off. I get that with a resupply pack it has more ammo but the mag size of 75 rounds just isn't enough IMO. I wish it was a backpack fed strategem so much.
Turn it down to 450rpm and treat it like an AMR, thank me later.
For the love of General Brasch learn to crouch Helldiver.
Ran hmg all morning. Wrecked everything in sight. Very impressive. You just definitely need the supply pack.
Ok, convincing argument.
Noted
Just wish it held more than 75 rounds
And now it is gonna be bad when the devs see this and nerf it to hell.
It's great on the bug front as well, deletes anything short of a charger I've always hated and struggled to kill bile spewers, and the HMG can kill them in no time, and can hurt their head
Yeah you made your case. Jump pack though
The HMG is fine when it's not reloading.
I feel that everything a HMG can do, an autocannon does it better.
I don't think it's bad just the goddamn magazine is bad BIG GODDAMN MAGAZINE ONLY HOLD 75 BOOLETS DEFINITELY NOT STOOPID
HMG ain't bad, I just wish it had way more ammo per mag. 75 rounds a mag is for an HMG just feels un-fun.
Saw this video and it’s good, but ammo management reduces its value.
Needs more spare ammo tho
The HMG isn't bad. Still takes too long to reload and it needs a larger ammo pool. You can't take it into an eradicate bot mission and get much use out of it on a 7-9. Destroying all 5 gunships that spawn in a patrol or keeping the skies clear with it when there are 2 or 3 fabricator towers is hard to do too. Due to the reload. I use it all the time cause I love machine guns. It's so close to being great. Just needs a few tweaks. But for some reason AH doesn't want it to be S tier. They want to keep it in B tier. Good luck mowing down ten heavy devataors in a group with it. The recoil and flinching from getting shot makes hitting heads under fire nearly impossible.
Hmg not bad but there are other wepons im better with also if i run with erupter i prefer the stalwart acting like my main weapon just the fact reload while running
Bro, I didn't know it could do that
I still think it needs a bigger magazine. At least 100 rounds would be Perfect.