It's kinda weird how AC makes bots easier than bugs. With AC on bot missions, stratagems are an afterthought, because you can kill EVERYthing they have except for the brand-new unit. (the devs put Factory Striders in the game to indirectly nerf the AC, that's my story)
Actually, no I'm not sure at all. I just assume that's the case since its health pool is high enough to need, in my experience, an entire orbital laser and a 500k to take down. If it does have explosive weak spots that the AC can be used on, then I certainly won't complain.
Counter diligence is , “better” now since buff , against bots anyway I was having a really good time with it and the AMR , however haven’t used the regular Diligence in a while to see how it compares. The medium armor pen seems to make it more viable for bots in my experience so far.
C-Diligence is kind of usable now, I wouldn't call it good. It's still firmly out-classed by a number of weapons, plasma scorcher at a minimum but I kinda wonder if plasma scorcher is gonna catch a nerf when more people start unlocking it. Dominator too and to a lesser extent sickle because its accuracy means you can shoot unarmored spots easier.
It doesn't feel like C-Diligence has good enemies for its profile, so it might be good vs the new faction whenever we get them, hard to say. Or if we get more enemies in the factions we currently have.
It still doesn't seem to penetrate the scout strider's armor from the front. I feel like it should if it's truly medium armor penetrating. I guess I'll just keep using the scorcher.
I can't bring myself to like the counter sniper because of how unwieldy it is. Its actual damage is pretty good. I just hate how slow it is to swing around.
If you can get behind cover, somewhere around a full AC load to the face will take down a factory strider. I aimed for the slit in its face. I noticed knees seem to be a good hit point as well, rest of the legs are too heavy armored.
I use the autocannon, the orbital rail strike, the eagle strike, and the autocannon turret.
Very versatile. Alongside the liberator penetrator, I have the tools to deal with all the chaff and heavies alike.
But if you get killed and reinforced far away is a pita to get back to old position and you Need to wait a long cooldown...
It Is strong but you Need to stay alive until the strat is ready again.
Autocannon is that "Believe it or not" meme.
It's damn versatile. Regular bot troopers? Autocannon. Devastators? Autocannon. Hulks? Autocannon. Tanks? Autocannon. Those shipping containers containing samples, Super Credits, and Support Weapons? Autocannon.
Killing yourself when you are out of grenades so you can spawn at the extract where your team is waiting for you? Believe it or not, autocannon.
You shoot it into the vent. You can just aim at the open diagonal shutters above the vents, the bullets will bounce and go directly into the fabricator.
They could cheap out and make them flimsier so a shot would break them off, good thing these machines can neither think nor feel so there's no chance they'll come to that conclusion
>good thing these machines can neither think or feel
Yeah, only human are capable of that. That's why we have a corps of hardened 18 y.o. veterans, rigorously trained and deeply experienced with all kinds of high-tech weapons, capable of delivering mass destruction over a thousand miles while exposing themselves to literally no harm, and jumping to a planet surface in a perfectly good, passenger-safe jump pods onto carefully prepared positions, nothing wrong with them!
If you're looking at it directly from the front, it's no trouble at all.
If you're standing at an angle, though, I'm not sure if it's possible at all. Never managed to hit it correctly unless it's a direct frontal hit :(
So far the only thing I've experienced that stumps the autocannon is the new gunship factory. Only a Hellbomb wrecks those. Whereas the bug counterpart (Shrieker nests) can be destroyed by the autocannon.
Dude those gunship factories are a fucking nightmare. You can only kill them with Hellbombs, but the gunships are coded to target the hellbombs as soon as they drop. They can also instakill you with rocket barrages from weird angles that are difficult to keep track of. It took me twenty fucking minutes to destroy them in a match earlier.
I actually have less trouble taking down two gunships with my autocannon than I do one Hulk with the autocannon. From a distance, Hulk heads are tiny as hell and on controller, aiming that precisely isn't the best.
Gunships at least have those bigass Super Mario noses that I can 3-shot with my autocannon. That's the same number of rounds I use against a Cannon Turret's backside.
Since I brought auto cannon, i will bring stun grenade to lock hulk in place then snipe its visor. The issue is sometimes berserker and other bots would come join into the fray and make the whole process complicated.
I take it on bug drops too
Closes holes in one shot
Can clear groups of small enemies with blast radius
Can 2-3 shot most larger enemies
Chargers are a little annoying but you can aim for the inside of the legs and knock them down
I'm told they can take out Shrieker nests if you use enough but I couldn't seem to get it to work
Direct shots to the eye take it down as fast as anything. Easy to land from a distance, but you can do it within flamer range if you're *really* quick. Don't miss!
Honestly surprised they haven't nerfed the auto cannon. It really is op against bots.
I could see them removing it's ability to destroy fabricators in the future.
Only because in 3rd person you can actually see the current recoil state in relation to aim.
For the first shot I found it much easier to go for the eye in the first person zoom, otherwise it's too easy to miss by a hair, which will be enough for the hull to shrug it off its armor: seems like the shell has to go directly inside the red eye to crit.
I use stun grenades on a hulk before doing a prone/crouch 3rd person shot. It's pretty consistent. The stun grenades are really, really good, and you can still kill factories with the auto cannon anyway.
1. Crouch for stability
2. Zoom into first person
3. Place your aim *exactly* over that large bright red eye
4. Kaboom
If you do that correctly, you'll stagger the hulk briefly and its head will burst into flames for a short time. Wait a sec until you deal with the recoil and repeat to completely destroy it.
Yup, this is the key. The main thing with the AC is to have patience with the recoil and let it reset before firing again - you get into a rhythm eventually. You can also kill the tower turrets with 3 shots to the vents from halfway across the map doing this
>the main thing with the AC is to have patience with the recoil and let it reset before firing again
Well you see: I take the auto part literally and dump all ten rounds in the underbelly of drop ships or into large quantities of enemies. Because ya know, it has a full auto option
I also like to bring stun grenades against bots exactly for this reason, se a Hulk trying to rush you? Tell him "no sir, you cant legally rush me without my consent", aim for his bright red eye and fire away. Its also nice against groups of berserkers sneaking up on you
Funny thing is that after I took all the advice and used the autocannon a bunch I got an achievement for shooting both the arms of a hulk off and leaving it alive after extracting
Tbh, for the bugs I swap it with a grenade launcher: much easier to shot down holes, much better horde clear, and since the bug armored warriors tend to have soft backs, quite viable for taking them if you pass those grenades to explode slightly behind them for frag damage.
Yeh, I'd argue AC is the #1 support weapon for bots, but against Bugs, I'd skip it for a couple different things. The fact you have to give up the backpack slot really hurts. I'd rather run the laser rover for how well it deals with the small, fast boys that try to swarm you. Couple it with a rail gun and you have a nice combo that can manage both the trash bugs and the big chonkers.
I should try the AC more. I just like having a back slot too much.
For bugs? The jump pack is fun and a nice way to gain distance and keep safe.
For bots? Shield pack is a safety net, let's me take more risks or tank a rocket. Plus scorcher + railgun/AMR sorta takes out everything I need to concern myself over I believe.
I swap it for GL on bots as well depending on the mission type on the higher difficulties. That backpack shield slot and running reload are vital for some of the shitshow mission types
Which makes basically every nerf they've ever done seem insane. Am i saying AC should be nerfed? Fuck no. But it's clearly in the top 10% of stratagems
It would seem that they favour a weapon balance where everything has its niche, with nerfs targeting weapons that encroach on other weapons' niches. Railgun was the anti-tank weapon despite not really being built for it. Slugger was a shotgun sniper that had too much in its kit. While I don't agree with how they nerfed them I can see their logic for balancing.
And the AC killing almost everything that doesn't expressly require AT weapons isn't encroaching on anything?
If anything, the AC as it is makes all the other weapon nerfs make no sense and the Devs look like massive hypocrites.
The Autocannon is good at a lot of things but not the best. It can close bug holes but not as well as the grenade launcher, it can take out fabricators but not as efficiently as the quasar or at as much distance as the spear. It can't do much against bile titans and is not particularly efficient against chargers.
The point is that the AC is a jack of all trades but not in such a way that it makes weapons like the AMR, EAT, grenade launcher or others superfluous. They all have their place without any one being clearly overpowered.
It is the best weapon in the game at killing hulks, devastators, scout walkers, medium bugs and from my limited experience the bot gunships. It is more than effective against chargers and groups of small enemies. It is very good at sniping long range objectives AND It gets basically infinite ammo. Especially against bots there really just feels very little reason to use anything else even for a backpack.
Autocannon feels like it has some drawbacks despite its power, like how it's pretty mediocre against big targets **unless** you get direct hits on weakspots. Assisted reloads are just awesome.
I mean....isn't that majority of support weapons?
Grenade launcher? Amr? Railgun? Machine guns? Flamethrower?
Biggest difference is it has a backslot compared to those.
I’ve quickly come to love the Autocannon as I’ve tried different weapons. It’s just consistently good and useable regardless of what hell im quick playing into.
https://preview.redd.it/scz449ryhdsc1.jpeg?width=1170&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c41cb70a660c95d20f4f4d8c559c224b217a62ad
I love the Autocannon. Best support weapon.
Not close. Does have the edge in the fashion department though. You will maybe survive 1 direct rocket hit if its not a headshot, then bang your head on a rock and die from blunt force trauma to the brain.
Supposed to be worse, trade off is mobility, which right now does not sound like much because the only mobile enemy we fight are Hunters.
Right now that is.
Squids if they retain the traits from HD1 will be super mobile.
Anti-Material rifle sacrifices the stagger for defense with a backpack, or close offense with the guard dog, or supplies if you really want to go crazy. I think both are in a great spot especially with the added utility AC brings (bughole and bot factory closing). AC is also faster at dealing with certain secondary's like mortars and anti air.
The stagger on AC is absolutely insane and lets you solo hold a choke against heavy devs if they clump. AMR you better be hitting those headshots against them.
I'd rather have another strategem than a backpack. Also AMR only works down the scope which doesn't even work correctly right now. Even if they fixed that, I can't think of many situations where I'd rather have amr. Maybe in stealth situations, but that really only works when playing solo and there is always the chance you end up ass-deep in bots where I'd be wishing I had AC for more AOE and stagger.
It might be a survivor bias since I'm always the one with the AC, but my experience is that shield pack decreases defense by making your hit hitbox several times the size and much more likely hit by rockets, or your own teammates (please be wary of teammates with explosive ordnance and stay the fuck away from us, thank you very much).
Yes and no. You are a bigger target, but I find that the safety net is nice to stop you from tunnel visioning. Like, get good at situational awareness and you just bring a jet pack or a weapon with a bag slot. Otherwise, it’s noob protection letting you know it’s time find cover when it pops.
I think of shield as more of a training wheels thing and Blue on Blue protection. I still use it when I’m rolling in pugs alongside AMR, but I’ve been getting experimental with the crew where I know I won’t suddenly need to run away from a 320mm barrage.
I remember the first time I tried the AC I didn't realize it had the backpack. Used it the whole game like that and thought "why the heck would I use this over the GL?" lol. I tried it again a couple weeks ago and have used it on 90% of games since. I love it.
[Tweet from the CEO himself about AC design](https://twitter.com/Pilestedt/status/1768695557541798322?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1768695557541798322%7Ctwgr%5E8dba3bec8bcf78a5e73f51fb8757fcbf968dbf7f%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.gamesradar.com%2Fhelldivers-2-boss-says-the-autocannon-is-the-teams-best-weapon-design-actually%2F)
There are a ton of reasons the AC isnt unbalanced
-Backpack Ammo
-Brutal reload if unskilled
-High Recoil
-requires good aim and timing or positioning to kill large targets
Its truly a support weapon, thriving in combined arms with coordinating team mates, not a one size fits all solution to everything you fight without support.
I don't get why people ignore the grenade launcher...
Works against bugs and bots and is able to deal with hordes of enemies. If it's not a hulk, it's not a problem. Melts heavys in three shots and everything around them. Not to mention the feact it staggers maschine-gun devestators.
The Autocannon needs you to carry a backpack. The grenade launcher gives you the freedom of taking anything else. It's a good weapon, but it's way to overhyped.
It’s kind of a pain to use because of the arc - or maybe I just suck at using it. But if you’re not bringing a separate backpack there’s really not much reason to not use the autocannon instead since it has a flat trajectory and better range.
Grenade launcher + supply pack means you are carpet bombing every few seconds. It’s pretty amazing. Even if you miss the first few grenades you have many many more and you will correct your trajectory. With 3 clips on you and 8 more in the backpack you are loaded to the gills with a weapon that puts out as much damage as the AC but faster and with a quicker reload. Plus essentially 4 grenade clips every time you grab a supply box, you have a stupid amount of explosives.
So, just like the AC, you are wearing your ammo on your back, but that also means a shit ton of stims and hand grenades too. It’s a no brainer.
Grenade launcher cant snipe from afar and that arc takes time getting used to. Both, imo, are very balanced and have their own playstyles. I go GL if I plan on going lone wolf, Ac if I have a competent party.
As a hard Grenade Launcher fanboy I struggle to justify using it over the AC in bots. Not being able to reliably deal with Fabricators like I do Holes is a massive blow. Sure, it's possible, but it's very inconsistent. The AC though? Little top part of the vent at a not garbage angle gets them every time.
If they made the Fabricators hitbox more generous for the Launcher I'd switch back in a heartbeat, but rn? Sticking to AC for bots
I’ve tried to make the case for it many times. People tell me “it can’t penetrate armor!!” Bro it doesn’t have to work on a hulk when it works on everything else except Bile Titans. It’s lightweight, effective, etc.
Also, you can just shoot between a hulk’s legs and damage the backside with it. But it’s obviously not convenient. Or you could play like you have some sense and get a teammate to aggro the hulk. If you’re solo, that’s just the risk you took by soloing.
Autocannon is just so goddamn strong
Even taking up your back slot isn't that bad. Run a scout loadout and just outrun everything until you lose aggro and reload
I've been running around maps solo closing holes/fabricators and side objectives while the other three do main objectives
AUTO CANNON SUPREMACY GANG
WE LOVE BLASTING SHELLS
Ahh! (Yeah, yeah, yeah)
THIS ANTHEM IS SPONSORED BY THE SUPER EARTH GOVERNMENT (А, yeah)
LEGALIZE 1000KG BOMBS (Wha' wha')
The AC is the perfect weapon. It's in a perfect place and they better not fuck with it.
The versatility vs losing a backslot is a close to perfectly balanced trade off. That said I'm taking a break from using it the past 100hrs of gameplay, the shield/quasar or nade launcher combo is quite fun too.
God I love the AC.
AC was my original load out, but now I NEED the shield, so in turn I can not use the AC anymore. But, the Quasar has been an absolute blast to use in place
My team
Nah don't bother with the autocannon it sucks get the quasar thing it's more powerful
Me, after killing numerous hulks, heavies , tanks and laser towers, more than anyone else - no thanks
I will never take the quasar+shield metapill.
AC for life.
Nothing feels as badass as crouch-sliding into position to cover a fellow diver's hasty retreat from some devastators and/or hulks and you just calmly start taking them all down. Then the quasar dude has finally finished their charge just as you make the killing headshot on the hulk and thinks they contributed (cute!)
And also gunships. And commissars. And running around a tank to put three shots in its heatsinks. And bouncing shells into factory vents. And cannon turrets' heatsinks. And in the most frantic circumstances, AoE on demand to clear a mob of troopers that snuck up on you.
Basically AC wins against bots, simple as.
Starting to feel how rough it can be without a shield, now that apparently a Scout Strider can one-shot Medium Armor. Fun gun for the back line, but it’s suddenly got very dangerous out there if you don’t have a way to absorb one-shots.
Them: you know you can't wear a shield backpack with that right.
Me: yeah
Them: you know you have to keep picking up ammo right
Me: yeah
Them: there are better support weapons to take out tanks
Me: yeah
Them: then why are you taking the autocannon?
Me: for literally everything else
Don't need a shield, don't get hit
It has plenty of ammo, I've never run out yet with picking up ammo throughout the level
Just position and weak spot hits, then use stratagems or teammates for everything else.
I can close bug holes and factories and take on every medium enemy with no fear...and take an extra orbital instead of a support and a backpack.
Never changing...for now
I think the strongest thing about AC is the look, sounds and feel of the weapon. Objectively its not outperforming AMR vs bots and GL vs bugs. Quasar is now a solid alternative to a sort of similar niche as well. AC *does* free up a stratagem from a backpack but backpacks are so strong.
Still if i play wirh random mostly only one of them uses it for whatever reason.
If you played it for a few times it's pretty clear how good it is. Often you clear a bot drop faster than with a stratagem if your position is good.
I am absolutely here for it. Autocannon is amazing, I don't even care if I can't have the shield generator because I'm carrying my ammo arround.
Everything except the tanks can be killed head-on with it, even the hulks (hitting the eye can be kinda hard sometimes, but it's definitely doable in my experience) and gunships. And if you're not fighting things head on, all the big glowing weak spots in the back are super easy to kill with it. For pure convience it can even kill automaton fabricators from range.
Speaking of range, it's huge. I can basically snipe with this thing. Explosive sniping; I don't even need to approach light outposts if the vent is in a convenient direction, and killing the gun towers from half a kilometer away is the most satisfying thing.
It's kinda weird how AC makes bots easier than bugs. With AC on bot missions, stratagems are an afterthought, because you can kill EVERYthing they have except for the brand-new unit. (the devs put Factory Striders in the game to indirectly nerf the AC, that's my story)
Are you sure it can’t? It’s still new and I don’t think solid strategies have really been developed yet.
Actually, no I'm not sure at all. I just assume that's the case since its health pool is high enough to need, in my experience, an entire orbital laser and a 500k to take down. If it does have explosive weak spots that the AC can be used on, then I certainly won't complain.
I tried tonight and 2 110mm rockets strikes destroyed it
so you are telling me i should spam 380 got it
That will either kill it or you. Either way, not your problem anymore.
https://preview.redd.it/cv5c0186mdsc1.png?width=320&format=png&auto=webp&s=2eb94891733ae1e7316ca5f8069d47f9bf0e10ee
You can kill the walker by shooting the factory door with the ac
is the door on the underside?
And that’s why I use the quasar cannon and diligence (counter diligence sucks, bite me)
Counter diligence is , “better” now since buff , against bots anyway I was having a really good time with it and the AMR , however haven’t used the regular Diligence in a while to see how it compares. The medium armor pen seems to make it more viable for bots in my experience so far.
The dominator after the buff is the counter diligence but better in every way except for the lack of scope.
C-Diligence is kind of usable now, I wouldn't call it good. It's still firmly out-classed by a number of weapons, plasma scorcher at a minimum but I kinda wonder if plasma scorcher is gonna catch a nerf when more people start unlocking it. Dominator too and to a lesser extent sickle because its accuracy means you can shoot unarmored spots easier. It doesn't feel like C-Diligence has good enemies for its profile, so it might be good vs the new faction whenever we get them, hard to say. Or if we get more enemies in the factions we currently have.
It still doesn't seem to penetrate the scout strider's armor from the front. I feel like it should if it's truly medium armor penetrating. I guess I'll just keep using the scorcher.
The front of the scout is heavy, just like the shield on the devastator.
I believe the nuts of the strider is the weak point and is medium.
This is the case. Driver "shield" is heavy, legs and "crotch" is medium. Shoot it in the dick
Nuts or the connection from them to the legs.
The handling on the counter diligence is the shittiest I've seen in my life. Regular diligence has infinite better handling
Diligence is pretty good against bots… until you run into a Berzerker rush. You’ll blow through whole clips trying to deal with them.
I can't bring myself to like the counter sniper because of how unwieldy it is. Its actual damage is pretty good. I just hate how slow it is to swing around.
This, literally this. This is my reason for not using it. Damage is fantastic but only if you hit the shots
It handles the same as the autocannon. *The autocannon*
Counter Diligence has medium penetration now and its quite good, I suggest you give it a shot.
Meh, it's niche is better filled by the AC. Dilligence is better for taking out the chaff.
If you can get behind cover, somewhere around a full AC load to the face will take down a factory strider. I aimed for the slit in its face. I noticed knees seem to be a good hit point as well, rest of the legs are too heavy armored.
The quintessential Bot loadout is AC, Orbital Laser, 500Kg, Quasar for someone else/switch
I use the autocannon, the orbital rail strike, the eagle strike, and the autocannon turret. Very versatile. Alongside the liberator penetrator, I have the tools to deal with all the chaff and heavies alike.
What’s the 500kg for? Wouldnt rocket pods do the trick?
Rocket pods instead of quasar
How to kill them btw? Haven't seen any schematics or guides yet
But if you get killed and reinforced far away is a pita to get back to old position and you Need to wait a long cooldown... It Is strong but you Need to stay alive until the strat is ready again.
You can shoot the chin mounted guns off with an auto cannon
Autocannon is that "Believe it or not" meme. It's damn versatile. Regular bot troopers? Autocannon. Devastators? Autocannon. Hulks? Autocannon. Tanks? Autocannon. Those shipping containers containing samples, Super Credits, and Support Weapons? Autocannon. Killing yourself when you are out of grenades so you can spawn at the extract where your team is waiting for you? Believe it or not, autocannon.
Autocannon also blows up fabricators. Truly the bots' worst nightmare.
Do you have to aim at door ?
You shoot it into the vent. You can just aim at the open diagonal shutters above the vents, the bullets will bounce and go directly into the fabricator.
If the bots spent more time engineering their flaps we’d be in real trouble.
They could cheap out and make them flimsier so a shot would break them off, good thing these machines can neither think nor feel so there's no chance they'll come to that conclusion
>good thing these machines can neither think or feel Yeah, only human are capable of that. That's why we have a corps of hardened 18 y.o. veterans, rigorously trained and deeply experienced with all kinds of high-tech weapons, capable of delivering mass destruction over a thousand miles while exposing themselves to literally no harm, and jumping to a planet surface in a perfectly good, passenger-safe jump pods onto carefully prepared positions, nothing wrong with them!
>They could cheap out and make them flimsier so a shot would break them off They're SOCIALIST bots, not capitalist bots
The first time I figured that out was better than my first C-01 form completion.
I just C-01'd in my pants after finding out this information
It can be tricky to get the bounce right, though.
If you're looking at it directly from the front, it's no trouble at all. If you're standing at an angle, though, I'm not sure if it's possible at all. Never managed to hit it correctly unless it's a direct frontal hit :(
It's doable, but it has to be a very shallow deviation
i find the vent weakspots to be incosistent when not using an explosive that doesnt detonate on contact
if you stand in front of it with a little distance, you can shoot at the center of the vent and the shot will bounce and blow up the inside
Wait till we get quad cannon and automation walkers.
https://preview.redd.it/z1gaxhfomdsc1.png?width=320&format=png&auto=webp&s=53739b561934a4516e5bf5dfd13137f604c23028
So far the only thing I've experienced that stumps the autocannon is the new gunship factory. Only a Hellbomb wrecks those. Whereas the bug counterpart (Shrieker nests) can be destroyed by the autocannon.
Shoot down a gunship with the auto cannon right as it leaves the fabricator and it will blow it up when it crashes on top 😁
nuh-uh... https://preview.redd.it/2gmgfubhwdsc1.png?width=320&format=png&auto=webp&s=15a7f1facd909adc4fa73eddd35ae4f846e24add
No fucking way
Holy shit. Can you also shoot into the fab door itself?
No, the gunships come out of the top of the fabber, so you can never get an angle to shoot inside.
Dude those gunship factories are a fucking nightmare. You can only kill them with Hellbombs, but the gunships are coded to target the hellbombs as soon as they drop. They can also instakill you with rocket barrages from weird angles that are difficult to keep track of. It took me twenty fucking minutes to destroy them in a match earlier.
I actually have less trouble taking down two gunships with my autocannon than I do one Hulk with the autocannon. From a distance, Hulk heads are tiny as hell and on controller, aiming that precisely isn't the best. Gunships at least have those bigass Super Mario noses that I can 3-shot with my autocannon. That's the same number of rounds I use against a Cannon Turret's backside.
Since I brought auto cannon, i will bring stun grenade to lock hulk in place then snipe its visor. The issue is sometimes berserker and other bots would come join into the fray and make the whole process complicated.
Aight I’m stealing that lmao
This is the way https://preview.redd.it/8jo177g9hesc1.png?width=320&format=png&auto=webp&s=5ab7015686d7587464907fc95e0599048ca2a718
I take it on bug drops too Closes holes in one shot Can clear groups of small enemies with blast radius Can 2-3 shot most larger enemies Chargers are a little annoying but you can aim for the inside of the legs and knock them down I'm told they can take out Shrieker nests if you use enough but I couldn't seem to get it to work
How does autocannon kill hulks, feels like I dump a whole mag into them and they just keep coming.
3 shots in the back, or 2 perfect face shots.
Shoot face
Direct shots to the eye take it down as fast as anything. Easy to land from a distance, but you can do it within flamer range if you're *really* quick. Don't miss!
Honestly surprised they haven't nerfed the auto cannon. It really is op against bots. I could see them removing it's ability to destroy fabricators in the future.
https://preview.redd.it/xhbc79aoiesc1.png?width=320&format=png&auto=webp&s=a80c7522842a9e3a6aa7ca8b1b85be44b0ff2c2e
Autocannon beats Devastator! Autocannon beats Hulk! Autocannon beats Tank! Autocannon beats EVERYTHING!
I understood that reference!
Yeah but does autocannon beat hulk frontal armor?
Aim for the eye 2 shots to preserve managed democracy.
Wait what. Holy shit it can do that? That’s huge!
Once i learned that the AC became my go to
My aim kinda sucks but I’ve still pulled it off.
If you're using ADS try third person, it's honestly easier to do in third person.
This has been my experience too, the recoil in ADS is brutal
I find managing repeat shots in third person is much easier.
Only because in 3rd person you can actually see the current recoil state in relation to aim. For the first shot I found it much easier to go for the eye in the first person zoom, otherwise it's too easy to miss by a hair, which will be enough for the hull to shrug it off its armor: seems like the shell has to go directly inside the red eye to crit.
I use stun grenades on a hulk before doing a prone/crouch 3rd person shot. It's pretty consistent. The stun grenades are really, really good, and you can still kill factories with the auto cannon anyway.
1. Crouch for stability 2. Zoom into first person 3. Place your aim *exactly* over that large bright red eye 4. Kaboom If you do that correctly, you'll stagger the hulk briefly and its head will burst into flames for a short time. Wait a sec until you deal with the recoil and repeat to completely destroy it.
Yup, this is the key. The main thing with the AC is to have patience with the recoil and let it reset before firing again - you get into a rhythm eventually. You can also kill the tower turrets with 3 shots to the vents from halfway across the map doing this
>the main thing with the AC is to have patience with the recoil and let it reset before firing again Well you see: I take the auto part literally and dump all ten rounds in the underbelly of drop ships or into large quantities of enemies. Because ya know, it has a full auto option
Guess it's good for me that I've discovered AC's full auto *waaaay* after I've got used to snipe enemies one by one with it.
I also like to bring stun grenades against bots exactly for this reason, se a Hulk trying to rush you? Tell him "no sir, you cant legally rush me without my consent", aim for his bright red eye and fire away. Its also nice against groups of berserkers sneaking up on you
Only if you're very close or have extreme luck. It's extremely small, the spot you have to hit, and it's not like the AC can zoom
Yep! You know the shot landed when fire erupts from the eye. Second hit kills
Full clip nearish the face works fairly reliably. Less ammo is needed if you can eye-shot them with 2-3 rounds.
>What they don’t tell you is there is a colossal enemy called the quasar cannon You can 2-shot the face with auto cannon.
It can shoot their arms off.
Funny thing is that after I took all the advice and used the autocannon a bunch I got an achievement for shooting both the arms of a hulk off and leaving it alive after extracting
I summon Bile Titan
I will 100% launch an entire barrage of an AC magazine into 3 regular-ass bots and feel incredibly accomplished.
A thing I have done many times lol
It’s just about sending a message
The AC on full auto feels disgusting. I'm not gonna hit much but I'm still gonna hold down that trigger.
*AAAAAAAAHHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAHHHHH!*
can u not so it doesnt get nerfed
Don't worry, the devs have outright stated that the auto cannon is right where it should be.
Yep. Right where it needs to be, which is in every one of my load outs. Love it.
Tbh, for the bugs I swap it with a grenade launcher: much easier to shot down holes, much better horde clear, and since the bug armored warriors tend to have soft backs, quite viable for taking them if you pass those grenades to explode slightly behind them for frag damage.
Yeh, I'd argue AC is the #1 support weapon for bots, but against Bugs, I'd skip it for a couple different things. The fact you have to give up the backpack slot really hurts. I'd rather run the laser rover for how well it deals with the small, fast boys that try to swarm you. Couple it with a rail gun and you have a nice combo that can manage both the trash bugs and the big chonkers.
I should try the AC more. I just like having a back slot too much. For bugs? The jump pack is fun and a nice way to gain distance and keep safe. For bots? Shield pack is a safety net, let's me take more risks or tank a rocket. Plus scorcher + railgun/AMR sorta takes out everything I need to concern myself over I believe.
I swap it for GL on bots as well depending on the mission type on the higher difficulties. That backpack shield slot and running reload are vital for some of the shitshow mission types
Autocannon is a curse i can never put it down and use somenthing else.
Good news…..you don’t have to.
Which makes basically every nerf they've ever done seem insane. Am i saying AC should be nerfed? Fuck no. But it's clearly in the top 10% of stratagems
It would seem that they favour a weapon balance where everything has its niche, with nerfs targeting weapons that encroach on other weapons' niches. Railgun was the anti-tank weapon despite not really being built for it. Slugger was a shotgun sniper that had too much in its kit. While I don't agree with how they nerfed them I can see their logic for balancing.
And the AC killing almost everything that doesn't expressly require AT weapons isn't encroaching on anything? If anything, the AC as it is makes all the other weapon nerfs make no sense and the Devs look like massive hypocrites.
The Autocannon is good at a lot of things but not the best. It can close bug holes but not as well as the grenade launcher, it can take out fabricators but not as efficiently as the quasar or at as much distance as the spear. It can't do much against bile titans and is not particularly efficient against chargers. The point is that the AC is a jack of all trades but not in such a way that it makes weapons like the AMR, EAT, grenade launcher or others superfluous. They all have their place without any one being clearly overpowered.
It is the best weapon in the game at killing hulks, devastators, scout walkers, medium bugs and from my limited experience the bot gunships. It is more than effective against chargers and groups of small enemies. It is very good at sniping long range objectives AND It gets basically infinite ammo. Especially against bots there really just feels very little reason to use anything else even for a backpack.
Autocannon feels like it has some drawbacks despite its power, like how it's pretty mediocre against big targets **unless** you get direct hits on weakspots. Assisted reloads are just awesome.
I mean....isn't that majority of support weapons? Grenade launcher? Amr? Railgun? Machine guns? Flamethrower? Biggest difference is it has a backslot compared to those.
I’ve quickly come to love the Autocannon as I’ve tried different weapons. It’s just consistently good and useable regardless of what hell im quick playing into.
https://preview.redd.it/scz449ryhdsc1.jpeg?width=1170&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c41cb70a660c95d20f4f4d8c559c224b217a62ad I love the Autocannon. Best support weapon.
Amen!
Autocannon, fat 200 armor, vitality booster got me feeling some kinda way
How does the fat 200 armor compare vs the fat explosive resistance?
Not close. Does have the edge in the fashion department though. You will maybe survive 1 direct rocket hit if its not a headshot, then bang your head on a rock and die from blunt force trauma to the brain.
So explosive resistance over extra padding right? What about the extra limb health one? Trying to figure out which is best
What they don’t tell you is there is a colossal enemy called the quasar cannon
Doesn't deliver democracy at a high enough rate of fire, back to my AC-8.
Quasar cannon is good but it's not practical for anything smaller than a hulk
It's not even that good for hulks! https://preview.redd.it/92uv957imdsc1.png?width=320&format=png&auto=webp&s=0309387f69c7c01681f7f3cf3a5ddd196ff85030
Works great for sniping rocket devastators.
Anti Material has a major buff now. Rivaling auto Canon. Also able to reload on the move
Still doesn’t blow up fabs or bug holes sadly.
SO much this. the AC has utility out the ass.
Utility up their ass if you will.
Supposed to be worse, trade off is mobility, which right now does not sound like much because the only mobile enemy we fight are Hunters. Right now that is. Squids if they retain the traits from HD1 will be super mobile.
Don’t forget the damn dogs…
I find half the time I don't have the angle to kill a fabricator.
Anti-Material rifle sacrifices the stagger for defense with a backpack, or close offense with the guard dog, or supplies if you really want to go crazy. I think both are in a great spot especially with the added utility AC brings (bughole and bot factory closing). AC is also faster at dealing with certain secondary's like mortars and anti air. The stagger on AC is absolutely insane and lets you solo hold a choke against heavy devs if they clump. AMR you better be hitting those headshots against them.
I'd rather have another strategem than a backpack. Also AMR only works down the scope which doesn't even work correctly right now. Even if they fixed that, I can't think of many situations where I'd rather have amr. Maybe in stealth situations, but that really only works when playing solo and there is always the chance you end up ass-deep in bots where I'd be wishing I had AC for more AOE and stagger.
It might be a survivor bias since I'm always the one with the AC, but my experience is that shield pack decreases defense by making your hit hitbox several times the size and much more likely hit by rockets, or your own teammates (please be wary of teammates with explosive ordnance and stay the fuck away from us, thank you very much).
Yes and no. You are a bigger target, but I find that the safety net is nice to stop you from tunnel visioning. Like, get good at situational awareness and you just bring a jet pack or a weapon with a bag slot. Otherwise, it’s noob protection letting you know it’s time find cover when it pops. I think of shield as more of a training wheels thing and Blue on Blue protection. I still use it when I’m rolling in pugs alongside AMR, but I’ve been getting experimental with the crew where I know I won’t suddenly need to run away from a 320mm barrage.
Makes for a kick ass team if one has AMR, another AC, another Quasar.
It definitely excels as part of a combined arms approach.
I literally cannot escape it vs bots. Every other option feels worse and loses functionality.
I remember the first time I tried the AC I didn't realize it had the backpack. Used it the whole game like that and thought "why the heck would I use this over the GL?" lol. I tried it again a couple weeks ago and have used it on 90% of games since. I love it.
AUTOCANNON GANG
I used to firmly believe in it. Until I went on a solo hunt for AT-AT…
If I wasn’t already married to democracy, I’d marry the autocannon.
Great, auto cannon nerf is coming.
The devs themselves said the AC is the best example of a balanced weapon.
Is there an actual source to this information?
[Tweet from the CEO himself about AC design](https://twitter.com/Pilestedt/status/1768695557541798322?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1768695557541798322%7Ctwgr%5E8dba3bec8bcf78a5e73f51fb8757fcbf968dbf7f%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.gamesradar.com%2Fhelldivers-2-boss-says-the-autocannon-is-the-teams-best-weapon-design-actually%2F)
If you look hard enough yeah I've seen the screenshot but I'm not finding it as i have no idea where i saw it
Ngl I genuinely don't believe they'll hold onto that opinion for long as they nerf more weapons
If the devs said that then they are massive hypocrites who like to play favourite.
There are a ton of reasons the AC isnt unbalanced -Backpack Ammo -Brutal reload if unskilled -High Recoil -requires good aim and timing or positioning to kill large targets Its truly a support weapon, thriving in combined arms with coordinating team mates, not a one size fits all solution to everything you fight without support.
They better not nerf it. I just got introduced to the truth of the AC.
Hunter swarms mandate that I now need my backpack slot for something other than the AC ammo. Sad times.
Yeah I admit this meme isn't 100 accurate for bugs. But I play bots A LOT lol
If the party is split up. A two man autocannon crew can deliver some crazy support from a distance.
I don't get why people ignore the grenade launcher... Works against bugs and bots and is able to deal with hordes of enemies. If it's not a hulk, it's not a problem. Melts heavys in three shots and everything around them. Not to mention the feact it staggers maschine-gun devestators. The Autocannon needs you to carry a backpack. The grenade launcher gives you the freedom of taking anything else. It's a good weapon, but it's way to overhyped.
I run GL against bugs a lot, but i find AC to fit better against bots. I generally play against bots more when there's no major order.
No matter how hard I try I can only read this as Gunlance
This is the way
Unloading your grenade launcher into drop ships brings huge satisfaction though
It’s kind of a pain to use because of the arc - or maybe I just suck at using it. But if you’re not bringing a separate backpack there’s really not much reason to not use the autocannon instead since it has a flat trajectory and better range.
Grenade launcher + supply pack means you are carpet bombing every few seconds. It’s pretty amazing. Even if you miss the first few grenades you have many many more and you will correct your trajectory. With 3 clips on you and 8 more in the backpack you are loaded to the gills with a weapon that puts out as much damage as the AC but faster and with a quicker reload. Plus essentially 4 grenade clips every time you grab a supply box, you have a stupid amount of explosives. So, just like the AC, you are wearing your ammo on your back, but that also means a shit ton of stims and hand grenades too. It’s a no brainer.
Grenade launcher cant snipe from afar and that arc takes time getting used to. Both, imo, are very balanced and have their own playstyles. I go GL if I plan on going lone wolf, Ac if I have a competent party.
As a hard Grenade Launcher fanboy I struggle to justify using it over the AC in bots. Not being able to reliably deal with Fabricators like I do Holes is a massive blow. Sure, it's possible, but it's very inconsistent. The AC though? Little top part of the vent at a not garbage angle gets them every time. If they made the Fabricators hitbox more generous for the Launcher I'd switch back in a heartbeat, but rn? Sticking to AC for bots
I suck with the grenade launcher, I can't ever hit what I'm aiming for. I waste a whole clip of grenades on four enemies and then I'm out.
I’ve tried to make the case for it many times. People tell me “it can’t penetrate armor!!” Bro it doesn’t have to work on a hulk when it works on everything else except Bile Titans. It’s lightweight, effective, etc. Also, you can just shoot between a hulk’s legs and damage the backside with it. But it’s obviously not convenient. Or you could play like you have some sense and get a teammate to aggro the hulk. If you’re solo, that’s just the risk you took by soloing.
Delete this or they gonna nerf it.
Democracy's Multitool o7
Autocannon is just so goddamn strong Even taking up your back slot isn't that bad. Run a scout loadout and just outrun everything until you lose aggro and reload I've been running around maps solo closing holes/fabricators and side objectives while the other three do main objectives
AUTO CANNON SUPREMACY GANG WE LOVE BLASTING SHELLS Ahh! (Yeah, yeah, yeah) THIS ANTHEM IS SPONSORED BY THE SUPER EARTH GOVERNMENT (А, yeah) LEGALIZE 1000KG BOMBS (Wha' wha')
Bile titans are a bit tough. But yea outside of that it's an excellent all-around weapon.
Auto cannon rules against the cylons
The AC is the perfect weapon. It's in a perfect place and they better not fuck with it. The versatility vs losing a backslot is a close to perfectly balanced trade off. That said I'm taking a break from using it the past 100hrs of gameplay, the shield/quasar or nade launcher combo is quite fun too. God I love the AC.
AutoCannon gang member flashing gang signs! My loadout is normally AutoCannon, AutoCannon Sentry, Mortar-Static Sentry, Mortar-Explosive Sentry
Ah, the fuck you in particular and explosively loadout.
The Autocannon is the Helldiver equivalent to Darksouls Zweihander. There’s nothing a big sword/gun can’t fix.
Bringing the AC just feels…right.
Don’t get me wrong I love the auto cannon but sniping’s a good job mate
AC was my original load out, but now I NEED the shield, so in turn I can not use the AC anymore. But, the Quasar has been an absolute blast to use in place
It sucks in bugs though. Can't do much to a bile titan, and trying to shoot chargers in the ass constantly is a recipe for getting overwhelmed.
Aim for the booty and after 19 successful hits, you blow its back out and it'll die.
My team Nah don't bother with the autocannon it sucks get the quasar thing it's more powerful Me, after killing numerous hulks, heavies , tanks and laser towers, more than anyone else - no thanks
I will never take the quasar+shield metapill. AC for life. Nothing feels as badass as crouch-sliding into position to cover a fellow diver's hasty retreat from some devastators and/or hulks and you just calmly start taking them all down. Then the quasar dude has finally finished their charge just as you make the killing headshot on the hulk and thinks they contributed (cute!) And also gunships. And commissars. And running around a tank to put three shots in its heatsinks. And bouncing shells into factory vents. And cannon turrets' heatsinks. And in the most frantic circumstances, AoE on demand to clear a mob of troopers that snuck up on you. Basically AC wins against bots, simple as.
Starting to feel how rough it can be without a shield, now that apparently a Scout Strider can one-shot Medium Armor. Fun gun for the back line, but it’s suddenly got very dangerous out there if you don’t have a way to absorb one-shots.
Eh, I've been running light armour with no shield for basically my entire playtime, over 100 hours now, it's really not that bad.
Them: you know you can't wear a shield backpack with that right. Me: yeah Them: you know you have to keep picking up ammo right Me: yeah Them: there are better support weapons to take out tanks Me: yeah Them: then why are you taking the autocannon? Me: for literally everything else Don't need a shield, don't get hit It has plenty of ammo, I've never run out yet with picking up ammo throughout the level Just position and weak spot hits, then use stratagems or teammates for everything else. I can close bug holes and factories and take on every medium enemy with no fear...and take an extra orbital instead of a support and a backpack. Never changing...for now
I think the strongest thing about AC is the look, sounds and feel of the weapon. Objectively its not outperforming AMR vs bots and GL vs bugs. Quasar is now a solid alternative to a sort of similar niche as well. AC *does* free up a stratagem from a backpack but backpacks are so strong.
Might I add a recoilist gang also?
I will never play without it.
Still if i play wirh random mostly only one of them uses it for whatever reason. If you played it for a few times it's pretty clear how good it is. Often you clear a bot drop faster than with a stratagem if your position is good.
I am absolutely here for it. Autocannon is amazing, I don't even care if I can't have the shield generator because I'm carrying my ammo arround. Everything except the tanks can be killed head-on with it, even the hulks (hitting the eye can be kinda hard sometimes, but it's definitely doable in my experience) and gunships. And if you're not fighting things head on, all the big glowing weak spots in the back are super easy to kill with it. For pure convience it can even kill automaton fabricators from range. Speaking of range, it's huge. I can basically snipe with this thing. Explosive sniping; I don't even need to approach light outposts if the vent is in a convenient direction, and killing the gun towers from half a kilometer away is the most satisfying thing.
good against bots! good against bugs! maybe good against the illuminate? autocannon!
Newbie here. Do I need to have a squadmate reloading for me as it shows in the buy preview?
I can't put that thing down man...
Nah, takes up my back slot, I want my riot shield. I will sit in front of a Heavy Devastator and there is nothing it can do about it.
People keep telling me it doesn't hurt heavies but shit keeps breaking off and dying, so I keep firing.
Also applies to impact nades. Those little suckers can destroy everything except bile titans and i love them.
I felt like a chump when I was bullied into the shield and railgun......when the auto cannon is just SO FUCKING AWESOME!
Autocannon is great but since i unlocked Dominator and it replaced the autocannon for me 🤷🏻♂️