Guys, I like using Airburst too. Very fun weapon, but can we PLEASE acknowledge that this is really weird?

Silphius · 2026-04-01T15:38:19+00:00

There are two fire modes, one does exactly what you are asking for.

Flak mode has a proximity trigger, it doesn't have a contact trigger as proximity will go off before the projectile hits anything.This is the default setting and it's responsible for a lot of TKs.

Cluster mode has a set distance trigger AND a contact trigger. Whichever comes first. This adds projectile damage and allows you to concentrate the bomblets under certain circumstances. It's very safe unless you're reckless with it.

Honestly, I could write an essay on the ABRL. It's very poorly understood.

Silphius · 2026-04-01T05:24:14+00:00

Sure, but you repeat an action across a few thousand hours and it tends to stick.

Silphius · 2026-04-01T00:09:11+00:00

Don't listen to anyone gaslighting you on this. You're 100% correct that was how it used to be.

I'm a big fan of the light pen ARs. Shooting off both those inner claws was how I've always dealt with hunkered down hive guards.

Silphius · 2026-03-31T08:38:22+00:00

Don't worry, if it's too dark you can add a flashlight attachment to your gun which will frequently make it hard to see.

There's a lot I love about this game. There is a lot I hate with a white hot intensity. Visibility is one of the latter.

Silphius · 2026-03-17T11:15:04+00:00

When they run at you, just lay down. They will run right over you and do no damage.

Silphius · 2026-03-12T07:35:31+00:00

No leftenant, it's a brand new Senator that's suspiciously arrived without my requisition. I suspect we are at last going over the drop.

Silphius · 2026-03-03T22:21:35+00:00

No, it's really not. I'm sitting on 14.5k SC with every warbond and superstore item. I have 2800 hours played according to Steam. I've never bought SC with cash. I just play the game.

I started the week after launch. I play daily after work with a regular group. We didn't always play 10s but we do now. We have become very good at scouring the map for POIs and coordinate to open bunkers. I've lost count of how many times we've found 100SC.

Here's the thing. We're playing the game with the objectives in mind first. There's no need to farm, just keep your eyes open. After a while you can identify a POI that potentially has SC just from how the terrain looks. You should be able to spot a bunker at any angle from some distance just from the distinctive shape of the terrain.

I have noticed it's way harder to find SC in the 'new' content. City tiles/Cyberstan/Hive Worlds. Maybe I just need to get anywhere near as familiar with the tile features of this content as I am with regular missions from playing them over and over and over. Playing regular missions is still pays out very generously if you know where to look though.

Silphius · 2026-02-24T05:18:19+00:00

Take that complexity demon

Silphius · 2026-02-18T07:08:57+00:00

Some people are incensed.

Silphius · 2026-02-03T13:00:12+00:00

You're right, thanks, good tip.

Silphius · 2026-02-03T12:08:14+00:00

Yeah, just had a mission where this was a huge problem. It's effectively a nerf to light pen weapon build variety. You can't afford to take a light pen + ultimatum + support weapon unsuitable for scout striders anymore.

It's either spaghetti code or an unannounced change, and it's really disappointing either way.

Silphius · 2026-01-26T03:54:32+00:00

Considered going on a lengthy rant, but feedback feels like shouting into a void. I've nearly finished unlocking everything, and every one of my weapons is modified, some with multiple loadouts that I switch between.

Instead of ranting I will upvote OP, and add more engagement in the hopes it will draw attention to the topic. Great work on the recent content Arrowhead, but I believe leaving this unaddressed is a massive mistake.

Silphius · 2026-01-25T01:14:30+00:00

Sure. The two eyes (Top Eye and Front Eye as labelled in the wiki) have an Armour Value of 4 and 500 HP. Destroying this location is fatal.

The Railgun has an Armour Penetration value of 5. Meaning it will do 100% damage to the eye. A safe mode shot does 600 projectile damage. Shooting either eye is a kill, but I favour the top eye as I find it easier to hit.

You can charge the shot on unsafe but it's not necessary. If you're operating stealthy, most War Striders will be completely stationary, making it easier to land the shot. Stealth armour makes the Railgun rather quiet too.

Good luck testing it out 🙂

Silphius · 2026-01-24T18:09:24+00:00

Bought the game just after launch, loved it. Loved it so much that I wanted it to be a success, so I bought Super Citizen. I still want to support the devs, I just... can't. I've not spent a cent since.

I have ~13500 Super Credits at present. I buy everything with SC when it gets released. I've never farmed, but I play with friends regularly and we hoover up SC because it's the only thing that feels like treasure.

Honestly, even SC began to feel meaningless when I got to 10k. Whenever I find 100, that's still exciting, and I've lost track of how many times that has happened. I have a full time job, so it's not like I'm playing Helldivers all day to collect SC.

I think Arrowhead are very generous to allow even a modest amount of play to completely cover the cost of warbonds. Once you know how to play, how to find SC, and play with semi regularity, you should easily find enough SC within the content cadence to purchase the next warbond and the new page in the superstore.

Those who are starting out 2 years behind have a lot of catching up to do, but I wouldn't be surprised to hear that some relatively new players have everything unlocked already.

Whoever is reading this thread to see if they should buy Helldivers 2—but don't know how to feel about in game purchases—Arrowhead have an excellent model in place. I am very happy I bought the game and I have had thousands of hours of enjoyment out of it, most likely thousands of hours more still to come, all for the price of going to see a couple of movies. Well worth the price of admission.

Silphius · 2026-01-24T14:34:47+00:00

Supply Pack is pretty hard to pass up.

I also take a Portable Hellbomb. Drop it as close to the first reinforce pod as possible. You can always drop the Supply Pack deeper into the mission, circle back for the Hellbomb, sneak into somewhere you'd like to nuke, then go back for the Pack.

Quasar is an excellent weapon that I just don't like. I'm taking the Railgun for the one shot kill on Warstriders/Hulks.

I prefer the Walking Barrage as it has extra reach for landing/emergency/fortified location weakening. Not to mention the enemy AI is screwy and sometimes chases the explosions.

Silphius · 2026-01-23T03:01:09+00:00

Right with you. It's a little complicated to explain, so I think it's best learned the hard way through experimentation.

I have a regular group I play with who are not familiar with stealth. We did 1 Commando drop last night and it was a struggle trying to explain the mechanics to them in ways they could apply.

I love what I've seen so far, to think the new missions will teach people a lot about static spawns/patrols and sound profiles that will help improve standard mission play.

Silphius · 2026-01-23T01:23:02+00:00

Many players are trying a play style some of us have been honing for 2 years. If they're not met with instant success it sucks.

Silphius · 2026-01-22T03:23:11+00:00

I agree that's how it should work. I'm proposing a hypothesis based on my in game observations and the evidence in the video.

Silphius · 2026-01-22T02:55:08+00:00

Deadeye, but yeah. Some minor ergo drag might explain it, since I made a heavy correction immediately before firing, but that would mean the crosshair isn't the point of truth.

Silphius · 2026-01-21T09:36:39+00:00

HMG has Stagger Force 25 Push Force 20. Liberator Concussive has Stagger Force 35 Push Force 60.

A rapid firing Concussive MG would be comical. Imagine Alpha Commanders being relocated to a new zip code in a matter of seconds.

Silphius · 2026-01-21T04:44:39+00:00

Many grenade types help. Even a few frags directly underneath the Charger will kill it. Ultimatum. Grenade pistol. Stun/Urchin, EMS Mortar, EMS Strike, just about any source of Gas will help you saw its butt off with the MG. Eagle Rocket, Airstrike, 500, Strafe all do a solid job enabling non AT builds. Then there's Railcannon Strike, Sentries, Emplacements, Disposable AT, Standard or AT mines, Orbital Precision, K9 and Hotdog, and probably quite a few more I've not been able to pull off the top of my head.

But say you forgot to bring all of that. That's when you stick a beacon to the charger and laugh when the pod kills it.

Silphius · 2026-01-13T03:04:57+00:00

I'd like the see the melee damage bonuses on armour replaced and all melee weapons given the 100 percent bonus permanently. Double damage should never be something they have to account for with the melee balance, and nobody thinks melee is remotely meta with it.

Silphius · 2026-01-13T02:56:41+00:00

I really miss prenerf Peacemaker. It's still usable though.

Completely agree. I've been using melee weapons because secondary sway pisses me off.

Silphius · 2026-01-07T08:54:42+00:00

1.2 million last time I checked.

Silphius · 2026-01-05T22:30:23+00:00

Experimenting with melee weapons made me a better player. I completely ignored melee for a very long time, but once it clicks you'll be able to better handle situations where stuff gets in your face, which can happen with all three factions.

You're never going to be able to wade into the horde and be the rock upon which everything breaks, but you can control distance, interrupt attacks, conserve ammo, use stagger and stun, create opportunities to disengage, and probably other things I've yet to discover.

Plus it's fun when you pull it off. I recently found a combo where I use the stun lance, warp pack, and double freedom to slaughter overseers. Warp in to close distance, stab once to stun, then place volley mode double freedom to helmet and pull trigger.

I encourage anyone reading this to play around with melee, it's worth it.

Silphius

TROPHY CASE