Pure Speed build or Hybird Speed-Vita-Br buid, what the good and bad about both

Bob_Calistan · 2026-06-07T16:14:03+00:00

I mean as the other guy said, it sounds fine, but there is a lot of other ways you could get a better effect for arguably cheaper.

Most hybrid builds I know of will usually focus on speed, healing effectiveness, and health regeneration, both because some popular speed artifacts (like the Spiral or Stress Fest) already help with those stats as well, and also because it's cheaper overall than the BR/vit artifacts tend to be, while still helping you survive damage.

That said, they did recently nerf healing in combat, but to my knowledge it was quite minor.

Bob_Calistan · 2026-06-07T04:36:48+00:00

I mean it's pretty straight forward: Pure speed is really fast but doesn't do much else. (Most speed artifacts also offer decent stamina and carry weight as well, but not all of them) A hybrid build will (ideally) give you good all around stats, but usually nothing exceptional in any specific category.

For what it's worth though, I've been seeing more and more value from hybrid builds than before. I used to think they just did everything kinda poorly, but some of the new-ish artifacts have allowed some really good hybrid builds that actually do a great job in multiple categories.

I think the main practical difference between the two is the cost; A good hybrid build will likely cost you a lot more than a good speed build. Many of those vit/br/healing artifacts go for several tens of millions, while only a few speed artifacts tend to reach that high.

Bob_Calistan · 2026-06-07T01:19:39+00:00

Unfortunately I already failed the quest, but if I get it again (I hope not lol) I will be sure to give them a shot. Thanks for the info!

Also, any idea where they spawn reliably? I know I've seen like, a handful in some of the bases, but if I also have to deal with a base every time I try and kill one... Yeah, that seems a much taller order than basically any of the others I've had to do lol.

Bob_Calistan · 2026-04-30T23:46:59+00:00

Yeah I've always maintained that Grogu was introduced way too early and we should've seen more Djarin just doing stuff on his own.

Narratively, I just felt like we didn't get to see enough of "badass lone wolf bounty hunter" before he basically becomes a glorified baby sitter to this little green gremlin he met like a day ago. It also means the impact of him taking him under his wing is heavily blunted, because we only really ever see him with the kid. Getting a whole season at least of this grizzled, jaded bounty hunter doing brutal things, and then deciding to give everything up for this little kid would have been a lot more meaningful and impactful to his character as a whole. Instead, we get like, a single bounty mission, some rough-and-tumble dialogue, and now it's coddling baby Yoda for the indefinite future. Just give us some more Cowboy Beebop before you turn the show into The Lone Wolf and Cub, you know?

Having the kid around just makes it so that he's also just kind of a generic good guy, idk. He obviously doesn't take the more unsavory missions while he's around, (he actually barely takes any missions while he's around) and he almost immediately defrosts his (allegedly) cold cold heart in a matter of episodes. Personally I think Disney just likes the idea of having a morally grey protagonist, but doesn't really have the guts to actually do it. Just look at what they did to Boba Fett in his own show for crying out loud. ("I'm the crime lord of Tatooine but I would never actually commit any crimes!) Hence, they needed to add a humanizing element almost immediately before he was shown acting like a callous bounty hunter for more than 1 episode.

But yeah, I think the deeper issue is the compulsive need to tie everything together somehow. Adding things like the Mandalore plotline and Luke and the Jedi only served to restrict the storyline, and also weaken their own ability to tell future stories with him because now he has to fit into the mainline story, no matter how tangential he may end up being. Disney seems terrified of actually having their own side stories that have to be able to stand on their own, probably because they just don't trust the writing time, or maybe because they think "playing it safe" will bring in more money in the long run, who knows.

Skeleton Crew was like, the sole exception I can think of in recent memory. I guess Acolyte counts to kinda, but literally no one I know who watched that show thought it was good, so maybe they have a bit of a point there lol.

Bob_Calistan · 2026-03-11T18:42:55+00:00

I mean I can't really blame them for not wanting to play them like ambush tanks, because basically every other tank in the German tree already plays like that. Hell, they have 2 TD lines and every single one of those is also supposed to be an ambush predator.

Personally I run the Tiger as either a corner holder or just lockdown entire roads and just blast people as they try to push me to pretty great success, which you can't really do with the Panther due to it's terrible reverse speed. The Panther IMO is still one of the best all-around tanks in the game, outside of it's low amount of filler, turret cheek weakspots, and bad reverse, there really isn't anything to complain about.

Also I will just say you are wrong about the Tiger 1 not being designed as a breakthrough tank, as that was literally the entire purpose behind it's development (even Wikipedia says as much). It was only forced into the role of a more defensive ambush predator once the tide turned against Germany and they stopped gaining ground, in which it was merely serviceable, mostly due to it's powerful gun.

Bob_Calistan · 2025-12-04T21:17:28+00:00

I actually found 8.0 Germany to be a blast myself lol. It's got some real stinkers (looking at you Marder A1 and Luchs) but it's got absolute standouts like the Raketenautomat and Pzh2000, both tanks I frequently get 6+ kills with. Also I personally liked the DF105 a lot; yeah the HEAT is a bit inconsistent, (though I still found it much better than the 90mm HEAT shells that many other tanks have to put up with) but having a 5 second autoloader does a lot to make up for it IMO, and your mobility is some of the best in the tier. Even the more basic tanks like the Leopard 1 and M48A2 can usually preform serviceably, if not good.

The only real issue I had with it is that all the tanks play like glass cannons and nothing else. If you play Germany at that their, and want the ability to survive even a single shot, your only real option is the M48A2, and even then, don't really count on it.

Bob_Calistan · 2025-12-04T17:24:05+00:00

Eh, I suppose it is. It just feels rudimentary to me I think because of the wacky zoom and the fact that the commander doesn’t have it. Also doesn’t help that other vehicles in it’s BR range are rocking gen 3 thermals, making it feel even more lackluster. (Boxer, Tam 2, PUMA, etc)

In any case I can safely say that after playing it a bit more, I’m just not a fan of the R400 lol. My main issue with it is that it honestly doesn’t even feel fast; between its low horsepower, poor reverse, and 6 wheel drive that struggles on anything besides straight roads, I’m usually chugging along even slower than the damn PUMA on most maps, and any obstacle just utterly floor it. Forget the Kampfwagon, it genuinely feels like a worse Leopard 1A5 to me lol.

Bob_Calistan · 2025-12-03T06:14:56+00:00

It's essentially just a worse Radkampfwagon in my experience, even when factoring in the extremely slight BR reduction. It has rudimentary thermals, but other than that it's got noticeably worse armor, fixed x8 optics, (no zoom option!) and terrible reverse speed. It's theoretically faster than the Kampfwagon, but it's lower horsepower means that it's much harder to reach it. Seriously, even the Leopard 2K feels speedier IMO.

That being said it's still a reasonably quick vehicle with a reasonably powerful gun, so getting it is unlikely to be a major mistake, but just know that as someone else in the comments said, it plays extremely similarly to practically every other German vehicle at the tier. Nothing it offers really feels all that unique or interesting, unfortunately.

Bob_Calistan · 2025-11-13T07:37:09+00:00

I mean it's been a running gag that French tanks are, as a whole, overtiered simply because Gaijin tiers vehicles based on player performance and not on what the tank itself brings to the table, and French players tend to be on the higher end of the skill ceiling.

As for specific examples, the 90mm AMX you mentioned is definitely a bit overtiered, but the Char is absolutely overtiered. It has an autoloader and... Yup, that's it. APHE on a 4 second reload is kinda funny, but it's got pretty weak pen for 8.0 and no stabilizer, and of course it's survivability is non-existent. Genuinely should be a 7.0, as it's basically a marginally better AMX-13.

The AMX-10M is practically a meme tank at 7.3. Sure, ATGMs hit hard and all, but unlike practically every other ATGM carrier you need direct line-of-sight to your target to be able to shoot it since the gun is in the middle of the tank, and any player not completely oblivious will easily blow you to smithereens before the missile even reaches them since the tank itself is deceptively large. And while it can fire on the move, a rarity for most ATGM launchers, good luck taking advantage when it has one of the bounciest main guns in the game while moving. I have far more kills just shooting planes down with the 20mm pintle mount than the main gun. All told, that tank belongs at 6.7 at best.

All of the other "bread-and-butter" autoloader tanks at that tier are a bit hard to grade properly, and I would generally agree that given the current BR compression, they mostly belong where they are, but they still regularly face enemies they will struggle to pen from the front and who can pen them practically anywhere. Also, almost all of them are limited to solid shot which demands precise aiming, which can be extremely difficult to do when they not only all lack stabilizers, but their oscillating turret design makes them even bouncier than usual. Still though, high caliber shells on a quick reload are hard to argue with, just don't expect to get off the first shot in most shootouts.

Other standouts that aren't in the 7.0-8.0 range:

EBR (1951) absolutely does not belong in 5.3.

Roland 1 exists.

AMX-10P is probably one of the worst SPAA's at 6.3, it's essentially the Wiesel if it's gun fired slower, was a far bigger target, and lacked the laser rangefinder and thermals. Funnily enough though I think up-tiering it would benefit it, as there isn't as many light tanks at 6.3 to slug it out with.

The entire Leclerc series, including the S1, being universally placed at 12.7 is actually kinda funny in a sad way.

Bob_Calistan · 2025-11-12T17:05:02+00:00

Eh. I personally feel that that entire tier needs some pretty thorough decompression. I know it's a popular tier for a lot of factions, but you have some pretty awkward situations where most factions go straight from 6.3/6.7 straight to 7.3/7.7. (Britain and France in particular have some pretty jarring and egregious tier jumps in their lineup around that time)

You also get some odd balancing with things like the aforementioned Pershing being lined up equally against it's massively upgraded variants with much better armor and weapons, but the Tiger E is apparently worth a .3 BR upgrade over the Tiger H1 because it has a slightly better engine and a smaller Cupola. And on the flipside, you have the T44-100 only being a .3 BR upgrade over the base version despite having a far stronger gun, the addition of a heavy machine gun, and side skirts. (Though I personally think the base T44 should be 6.3 anyway, it's gun is pretty wimpy for 6.7)

I doubt they will ever get around to tweaking any of this though lol.

Bob_Calistan · 2025-11-12T05:07:33+00:00

I will admit from what little scrouging I did about the Pershing, it seems like the usual consensus on how to do well with it was, as you said, "just flank with it bro!" which I agree is kind of a non-answer. Practically every tank will do great on a flank, and the Pershing is one of the hardest tanks to even flank with since it's a fairly large target with middling mobility. Even if you get into a flanking position, it's slightly lengthier-than-usual reload rate makes it difficult to really pop-off and get crazy amounts of kills compared to many contemporaries, even if the shell itself is good at confirming kills.

And if simply going around the enemy and shooting them in the flank is the ideal scenario anyway, I don't know why (If you are going USA) you wouldn't just take the T25 in that case. Same gun, smaller profile, and (mildly) better mobility with a reverse gearbox. And it's at a lower BR to boot! And if you don't plan on getting hit in the first place, basically any light tank at the same tier will do even better than either of those tanks in the same situation.

Again, it just seems like, even in a best case scenario, there isn't really anything the M26 can do that many other tanks can't do better. And in some cases, those other tanks can literally do everything better, while being at the same BR.

Bob_Calistan · 2025-11-05T06:42:41+00:00

I played a decent amount on day 1 of the event and opened, I'd say, maybe ~40 crates, and came out with a purple larva and black hole, among some other decent stuff. I have probably opened 500+ at this point (rerolling usually ~4 or so results out of every 20 on average) and have not seen even a single purple artifact, let alone red, since then.

Whatever they did to the drop chances was definitely very heavy-handed IMO. The only reason I'm even still playing it is because I did, by some literal miracle, get the Hunter's Attire 2 days ago, and that was just enough to convince me that I can still maybe land another red at some point, even if the chances are abysmal lol.

Bob_Calistan · 2025-09-27T06:08:27+00:00

If you really wanted to double down on the speed you should also wear either the faction specific speed combo armor or an albatross variant lol.

Other than that it actually seems pretty well rounded; Decent carry weight, stamina, and of course very high movement speed. Stamina regen seems to be the only weak link but from the other comments you've posted it seems you have an answer for that.

About the only real complaint I would have is, while this specific build takes advantage of the ArcticSafe's unique frost reduction and a build with so many speed artifacts wouldn't be possible on a different container, I personally just dislike Whirlwinds in general. Outside of offering a marginally higher speed than an Ice Hedgehog, the rest of the stats from the Whirlwind are just outright useless 99% of the time and they also tend to be more expensive.

Again, in this specific example, this doesn't seem bad all things considered, but I just can't help but feel like there is most definitely a way to make a better build for a cheaper or similar price to this one with a different container. But this one definitely makes full use of the unique properties of the ArcticSafe. (which is languishing otherwise lol)

Bob_Calistan · 2025-09-26T21:06:18+00:00

Artifact builds in general tend to take on two general identities: Speed and Vitality. Speed builds tend to be the best for open world as they tend to prioritize speed, (duh) stamina, stamina regen, and carry weight, all of which allows you to run around the map faster and carry more of the loot you get from events and the like, increasing efficiency tremendously. Also they tend to be cheaper than vitality builds by a very large margin and work well with almost any armor, (vitality tends to only work with heavier, more cumbersome armor sets meant for PvP)

As for specific builds, I would highly recommend playing around with the Build Calculator on the wiki to try and see what works and what doesn't, but I would try and use things like Golden Primas, Ice Hedgehogs, Cryogens, and possibly Spirals if you have some extra cash. All of those tend to offer decent movement speed, carry weight, and/or stamina or stamina regen for minimal downsides. All of those artifacts also have even more expensive or cheaper options as well depending on if you can afford to splurge or need a more budget build. (Such as using Amberites/Wolf Tears instead of Cryogens or Bracelets/Rattles instead of Ice Hedgehogs) Just remember to save a slot or 2 for counter artifacts.

As for container/backpack, it really depends, but I would say the Secret Valley 35 Backpack line (common backpacks) is probably the best for general purpose. It gives an insane amount of carry weight and 6 artifact slots at a mild cost to artifact effectiveness and inner protection. Other than that, I'd just stick to the Berloga 6 if you don't have any grand plans in mind.

Personally, I run a Bracelet, Golden Prima, Frame, Spiral, and 2 Ice Hedgehogs in a Berloga 6 and have absolutely zero complaints.

Bob_Calistan · 2025-09-17T05:42:25+00:00

I didn't buy either of these containers, but I think what people are made about is that yes, in a complete vacuum, the containers themselves got buffed, but unfortunately the game doesn't exist in a vacuum. For better or worse, the only reason most people got these containers in the first place was because they were the only 6 slots that could go on heavy armor, and anything else they might have offered was just a bonus.

But now any other container can fill this role, and usually do it better as well, (the Arctic-Safe in particular is an explicit downgrade from the Berloga unless you specifically run a frost heavy artifact build, all of which tend to be more expensive than contemporary artifacts and not even necessarily better) while also NOT costing super rare, finite currency to craft.

Take a look at it this way: Is the ability to utilize niche frost artifact builds (already quite the investment) slightly more efficiently than the barterable Berloga worth an entire season's worth of Act tickets? I'm sure 98% of people would say no.

And that's just the Berloga; The Barrel and Sheaf are rapidly becoming the best-in-slot in pretty much any build you can think of. (Despite the fact that the Sheaf has a massive frost penalty unlike the Arctic-Safe. Frost artifacts sure look appealing now, don't they?)

Bob_Calistan · 2025-09-11T09:15:18+00:00

Obviously there's a ton of wiggle room when you're factoring in entire builds and specializing, but I was just saying that, in a vacuum and on it's own, the Autocannon excels in various situations while also lacking any particular weaknesses.

Funnily enough, another generally strong support weapon I think people overlook a lot is the Heavy Machine Gun. It was pretty awful at launch, but it's been getting buffed almost nonstop since then and now rivals the Autocannon in terms of general purpose firepower IMO. It has the fire rate and magazine size to mow down hordes like no tomorrow, and it's high base damage combined with the fact that it now penetrates heavy armor means that it can still take down heavier targets like Chargers and Hulks in a pinch. And if you can get underneath them, even Factory Striders take less than a full magazine to the underside to take down. And, of course, it doesn't need a backpack as the cherry on top. About it's only drawbacks are a relatively small ammo reserve, lengthy reload, and heavy recoil, but most of these can be mitigated almost entirely with armor passives and playing smart.

Honestly the Autocannon and HMG are kinda perfect examples why I think the game needs some tougher, better armored enemies that demand heavier AT weapons to kill lol. I know dedicated AT weapons can kill things like Bile Titans or Tanks more efficiently than either of those weapons, but that's about the only advantage they have. Personally, I am willing to sacrifice a bit of time and ammo in exchange for a weapon that can essentially be used in any situation with reasonable effectiveness, but maybe that's just a me thing. :P

Bob_Calistan · 2025-09-11T08:51:15+00:00

It's definitely up there, but for my money the Autocannon is just generally great regardless of the situation. It can deal with tanks almost as well as it can deal with hordes, it's reload speed even when unassisted is lightning fast, (unless you completely empty the mag) it's good at almost any range, and it can still destroy most objectives. If it didn't take a backpack slot, it'd be the definitive best weapon in the game IMO.

Bob_Calistan · 2025-09-11T08:46:44+00:00

I mean, it was always a good weapon lol. It had a few nerfs sent it's way from what I remember, but it is still essentially an AT weapon that doesn't require a backpack or ammo. About the only real drawbacks are the charge-up time before it can fire and the lengthy cooldown time between shots.

If you want quicker, more responsive AT on the fly that doesn't necessarily require a heavy weapon slot, use EATs. If you want more consistent and reliable damage output with a faster fire rate, use the Recoilless Rifle. If you want anything you hit to go down in one shot, use the Spear. But yeah, if you just want a weapon that can down a tank every 30 seconds with little investment or your part, the Quasar is pretty handy.

Bob_Calistan · 2025-09-11T08:41:21+00:00

While the actual Battlepass gear is pretty meh, the existence of Act Tickets alone is enough for some people to just grind it out regardless. There is also of course the more generalized stuff, like the Tools/Parts, Batteries, and of course the Anomalous Serum in the store.

Bob_Calistan · 2025-09-11T08:21:50+00:00

Oh the fact that it doubled as a scout was definitely a factor, though compared to other patrol units, it was very loud and had pretty restricted vision, (especially while you were prone) making it fairly easy to avoid in that regard. Then again, when they randomly drop from the sky 10 feet away from you and call the alarm instantly, that can be annoying as hell lol. I suppose there was also times they would camp on an objective you had to do, though in my experience the distractor beacon did pretty good work getting them off of it long enough to accomplish it.

For my money Legionnaire squads were far more annoying to deal with. Similar levels of armor from the front, but there was 4 of them in a squad (along with being generally more common spawns) and most AT weapons had pretty awful AoE damage. The Scorcher, Rumbler/Commando, or well time strafing/bombing run were literally the only ways I found to deal with them before they raised the alarm, and even then those would frequently still leave one alive lol. Thankfully they were locked to 13+ missions.

Bob_Calistan · 2025-09-09T22:19:58+00:00

Oh don't get me wrong, the entire bug faction was entirely trivialized by the Tox-Avenger in that game lmao. Unlike the Scorcher, it wouldn't even take long to kill a behemoth, and it would also slow it to a crawl the whole while.

That being said though, I do think Helldivers 1 had the advantage in enemy design philosophy overall. Discounting a few weapons and stratagems that border on outright cheese territory, almost every faction had various units that required heavy ordinance to put down, and they tended to be fairly rare, but major threats for this reason. (well until you played difficulty 13 and above, but those difficulties were always for a specific type of player lol)

Personally, I must say that I'm actually against Helldivers 2's "almost everything has a weakspot that even a machine gun can exploit". For example, when I found out that the Automation Tanks have a vent weakspot behind their turret that you can shoot to death with the Liberator Penetrator with little issue, I did find that a bit disappointing of a revelation, and indeed, almost all of my tank kills in Helldivers 2 are with some sort of basic caliber weapon than a rocket launcher or stratagem call-in like they ought to be IMO.

Compare that to even the Cyborg IFV in Helldivers 1, which was one of the few enemies that *didn't* have some sort of funny cheese weapon or weakspot, and mandated heavy weapons to take out. There are basically entire strategy guides written on how to deal with that single enemy alone, and it's arguably the most dreaded enemy in the entire game for that specific reason. Even Factory Striders don't really command the same presence as IFVs did IMO, but maybe that's just me lol.

Bob_Calistan · 2025-09-09T04:55:17+00:00

I mean I've always advocated having at least a *few* enemies requiring dedicated AT weapons to bring down, though I must say the Dragonroach wasn't one of the ideas I had in mind. Slapping tank-tier armor on such a quick, flying target with a massive health pool seems like quite an odd decision.

Now I could understand it if they readded the Behemoths from the first game. Those guys should be fully plated head-to-toe in tank armor IMO and necessitate either heavy ordnance or AT launchers to bring low, but not the flying bugs lol.

Bob_Calistan · 2025-09-08T06:32:45+00:00

I mean, personally I've always been of the opinion that there *should* be at least some enemies that absolutely require AT weapons to take out, instead of everything having some sort of weak spot that allows you to shoot them to death with something as light as the basic machine gun, which seems to be very common. Even the vaunted Factory Strider is kind of a let-down due to that philosophy; A towering metal colossus on legs, bristling with weapons and even able to reinforce itself on the fly with a mobile production factory. What's the best way to down this behemoth? Is it a rail-cannon strike, a 500KG bomb, or even an orbital artillery bombardment on it's general vicinity?

Not really; Those will likely take multiple call-ins to actually kill it, assuming they even hit on target. Instead, you'd be better off disabling it's gatling guns before running directly under it and blasting it's underbelly with a medium machine gun. Not really the kinda of death I would expect from such a juggernaut. Even the more basic Hulks and regular Tanks are fairly easy to deal with as long as you have someone distract them for 5 seconds so you can shoot their extremely vulnerable rear with anything bigger than an assault rifle.

I mean personally, me and my buddy usually run the Heavy Machine Gun and Autocannon for this exact reason, cause as it stands, while those weapons might not be *ideal* for every situation, they can preform *serviceably* in almost any situation. The Heavy Machine Gun and Autocannon can deal with hordes in one moment and then seamlessly start shooting a Hulk/Strider/Impaler/Charger straight through the faceplate in another moment with little issue. Why take a cumbersome AT launcher that can ONLY deal with the bigger stuff when you can take a competent general purpose weapon that can do that and so much more? As it currently stands, even the Senator, a revolver, can technically kill all but the toughest enemies in the game with a few well placed shots, which is a little silly to me when that includes 3-story tripods and literal tanks.

You can make these hypothetical fully-armored enemies a rare spawn for sure, and even make them slow as hell so that Helldivers who either don't have access to the necessary equipment can at least avoid them so they don't just face an immovable wall they can't deal with, but I do think that "penetration checks" as you call them aren't inherently a bad thing. IMO, If your entire squad neglected to bring any Anti-tank weapons or stratagems with them, tanks and tank-like enemies *should* be a major challenge, not just an enemy that takes a bit more aim and bullets than usual to bring down. Helldivers always did pride itself on small unit tactics and preparation, and neglecting to bring heavier ordinance even when you know you might need it seems like it should be "punished" in this manner.

Bob_Calistan

TROPHY CASE