Armour Penetration Analysis on Bugs! | Helldivers 2 Weapons Guide
In this video I breakdown where the armour is and what type it is on various bugs. Using the AR-23; AR-23P; Breaker and Slugger shotguns to compare and contrast.
#Helldivers2 #Helldiversguide
LINKS:
Visual reference guide (Steam Guide) - steamcommunity.com/sharedfile...
GAMING EXISTENCE DISCORD SERVER - / discord
FAQ/Corrections:
Q1) In some of your tests you miss the enemy with a shot. Is this discounted in your numbers?
A1) Yes, I only count actual hits when breaking down the numbers. The difficulty comes in for shots that look like they hit a certain section or not. For example, the Brood Commander AR-23 test may be 16 hits not 17, which would match the Nursing Spewer headshot test. Even at frame by frame a headshot might wing the body instead but it can be hard to be sure.
Q2) Were you aware that... Pilestedt, the CEO of Arrowhead, stated on Twitter that enemy armor values basically range from 0 to 9. Where 0 means there's no armor, 1, 2 and 3 means it will be Light Armor. Likewise, 4, 5 and 6 are Medium armor and 7, 8 and 9 are Heavy armor. Those same values carry over to Armor Penetration on weapons. If a weapon falls short of the armor value, it doesn't do any damage and deflects right off. If it matches the armor value, it will do 50% damage. If it exceeds the armor value, it does 100% damage. This is why some weapons with Light Armor Penetration can penetrate Light armors better than other weapons with Light Armor Penetration.
A2) I had missed this piece of information and appreciate you highlighting it! I will see if I can confirm this going forward in future videos. This information potentially matches up with my data. Most times I found the damage loss on Light Armour with the AR-23 was about 57-59.8%. Accounting for not knowing the exact damage to kill the target that percentage could be closer to the 50%. It will be interesting to get more information and find out!
Q3) Are you saying the AR-23P is better than the AR-23? Or the Slugger is better than the Breaker?
A3) This is not a tier list type of video. I sticked clear of ranking anything. The tests were also very narrow in their focus. I simply ran tests with armoured enemies to get some raw data to present.
In future with perhaps mods to create a test environment, I may do further videos where I can compare: ammo consumed; time to kill; accuracy at certain distances etc. And maybe have more evidence for weapons that perform better than others in certain situations.
Q4) Is the Breaker footage pre or post March 6 patch?
A4) It is pre the 6 March patch. I had just finished editing the video together on the morning of the 6th, a few hours before the patch landed. I elected to remove all the Railgun tests (I had done tests for each bug mentioned), but decided to leave the Breaker footage as I am analysing damage and shots required. The additional recoil and lower magazine I felt made little impact into the data I was presenting. Other than maybe the Stalker test and hitting the Bile Spewer in the mouth.
0:00 Intro
0:10 Brood Commander
3:24 Hive Guard
4:56 Nursing Spewer
6:27 Bile Spewer
8:30 Stalkers
9:58 Chargers
10:55 Bile Titan
The description has links to my written reference guide for this video. It also has a FAQ and corrections section. Feel free to drop a comment and I may well add it to that section. Thank you for watching and I will see you next time!
great work!
It seems like you're unaware of how armor values work in the game. Pilestedt, the CEO of Arrowhead, stated on Twitter that enemy armor values basically range from 0 to 9. Where 0 means there's no armor, 1, 2 and 3 means it will be Light Armor. Likewise, 4, 5 and 6 are Medium armor and 7, 8 and 9 are Heavy armor. Those same values carry over to Armor Penetration on weapons. If a weapon falls short of the armor value, it doesn't do any damage and deflects right off. If it matches the armor value, it will do 50% damage. If it exceeds the armor value, it does 100% damage. This is why some weapons with Light Armor Penetration can penetrate Light armors better than other weapons with Light Armor Penetration.
@@tEzekielt indeed, I did seem to miss hearing this information. I will look into it further and for future tests see if I can identify it. Edit* I will add your point to the FAQ when I have a moment. Thank you.
Just for consideration when you need to accurately hit something, you could use the Orbital EMS to stun the enemy in place.
We need a Liberator with the. armor piercing bullet that is full auto. That burst is weak AF. And the semi auto, wilp not shoot as fast as you press the trigger. There is always a couple of shot that will "jam" and not work. Its utter shit.
This guy right here has been appointed as the new Head Weapons Analyst for Super Earth Defense Force. Thank you for your service, Patriot!
what WheelchairBilly means is that you will most likely be the suitable candidate for this position according to the algorythm ;) Thank you for your efforts, diver
Here Here.
I heard EDF and I thought he was recruited to fight God for the second time.
Aim for the legs it will be still combat effective instead shoot the nerve line to take it out completely (starship troopers)
Games and theory
This will be a huge help to my friend Noah who is stupid.
😂
God damn it, Noah. 😂
lol
Damn it Noah, sorry you gotta thru this Joe
🤣
The info is as solid as I can find anywhere on the internet, all packaged in a beautifully executed video with very clean presentation. Friggin' bravo! :D
Best advertisement for using the slugger
The slugger doesn't fire pellets. It literally fires a slug. Hence the name. But I appreciate all the information provided and appreciate that this probably took a lot of your time to do. *Salute*
Ooohh, I tried it out for the first time today and wondered why I missed a few shots. Now I just feel stupid haha
It can also oneshot the stalkers if you get a headshot!
@@wishiwascooler And I'm pretty sure devastators if you can manage to get their eyes... But that's a lot easier said than done lol
Also the slugger can destroy fences and container doors . Which makes it super useful, unfortunately it cannot destroy bug nests.
@@elkmeatenjoyer3409Sounds like I gotta unlock it and try it out. Heard it was worse then the punisher, but I only dislike the low ammo on it.
This is how you do it. 15 seconds in, and Gaming Existence gets straight to the point of the video. S-tier KZheadr. No fluff or padding, just gets straight to the reason I clicked on the video. I NEVER "like and subscribe" but, dammit, if this the way he does business he's got me.
S tier indeed
its a great video and I think it was really informative but there is still a significant amount of fluff, I dont need an explanation of every bug as they come on screen, the first 25 seconds of the brood commander is has nothing to with its armour
4 real tho. So tired of the fluff
@@liamellis5250 An explanation of the bugs is not fluff, it’s useful for people are are less experienced with the bug types and makes the video viable for an audience that have not watched a lot of other Helldiver content, meaning its helpful to noobs.
@@liamellis5250 Not everyone is a pro like you Liam. Some people might not know this information, and it ties into why you would want to prioritize Brood Commanders over other targets.
loved this analytical breakdown, hope to see more information in a series about more guns, enemy breakdowns, and maybe even stratagems or overall game tips like how to progress through different mission objectives, how to read your map, etc. Subscribed for sure! Appreciate the hard work and clean editing!
I think much of the confusion about penetration comes from the translation from the real, behind the scenes numbers, to the descriptions on the weapons. Afaik the devs have confirmed on social media that armor penetration and armor value use a 10 point scale. If AP < AV, you get a 0 damage ricochet. If AP = AV, you get a reduced damage hit (the white marker with ~60% damage reduction). If AP > AV, you get full penetration and full damage. This knowledge is touched on in your FAQ section. What interests me more than the specifics of partial damage is the specifics of armor and pen numbers. I wonder if enough hit marker feedback could allow us to reverse engineer the numbers for bugs and weapons. So for example, let's look at the brood commander's head. It has light armor, so somewhere between 1-3. But the Slugger fully penetrates it, meaning it can't have a full 3 points of armor unless the Slugger is secretly a medium penetration gun. My guess is that the Slugger has an AP of 3 and the breaker and liberator are at either 1 or 2. Here's another example. You claimed that the Hive Guard's head and forearms have medium armor, but my guess is that it actually has light armor at AV = 3, because the Slugger gets a partial penetration (Slugger likely having an AP value of 3, the highest of light penetration). --- If you do a follow up about penetration, I would love to see a comparison among medium penetration weapons including support weapons, to see if what armor each of them can and can't fully penetrate.
This Video just proves that we REALLY need an Info Station in the game, on our ship, where we can see stats of encountered enemies and more discovered Weakpoints of them. In a game where it's so Important to Hit the Shots, it's also SOO IMPORTANT TO HAVE INFORMATION!!! EDIT: No my point to addition is, that there needs to be a system where you maybe have to find the weakpoints of a given enemy. Not to be "spoonfed" with already given information. 1. A new encountered creature will give the Index a slot. There is now an allround Info about such creature. 2. New Index updates will be proceduraly % given, when hit a weakpoint 'x' amount of times. 3. It is a needed feature for Sci-Fi / Fiction genres to have info about the world. EDIT 2: We need to give the devs more time, I am sure they will make this game step by step a better masterpiece.
Idk I like how the community is doing it for us. Kinda bringing the community together better
@criss26565 I agree, you either learn from playing or learn by seeking info from other helldivers, passing around info through the military
@@criss26565the community vibe of this game is immaculate
Working together with other players to build this database seems more fun to me. You get to play bug scientist as well as bug killer.
@@criss26565 would you also like to buy a board game, open the box, see all the components, but you'd have to go on the internet to find out the rules of the game?
For this research, you will help out many helldivers out there, so here a little bit for coffee or energy drinks, keep up the work.
Thank you! Unexpected and appreciated 😊
You are sweet like Liberty
Irl supper credits drop
Not all heroes wear capes
Yes, we do@@Omni0404
Great video, thanks! And I love the wider aspect ratio, always appreciate that from creators!
Absolutely love this video thank you so much for makin it man! been using the slugger a lot in the past week and ive been curious about what its strengths are in detail!
I believe a dev confirmed there are 10 levels of armour. Supposedly, there are multiple levels of "light" "medium" and "heavy" armour penetration. My guess is that 1-3 is light, 4-6 is medium 7-9 is heavy and 10 is some sort of impenetrable armour. When your armour penetration matches the enemy's armour level (on the spot you hit), you get the grey hit marker and deal very little damage, but you do deal damage. When you have higher armour pen than the enemy's armour level, you deal much more damage but still not full damage (red hit marker). To deal full damage, you need the "explosive" ammo type to hit at weak point AND penetrate the armour (red hit marker). If you have less penetration than the spot you hit, you deal 0 damage, your shot ricocheting. I am not a dev, but this is my understanding of the armour system and thus far it has proven anecdotally true.
You can crack through what even the toughest of armor with a powerful enough explosive I believe how you deal with armored targets is either you burn it or nuke it
I've seen ricochet shots still deal damage, even if it looks to glance of, it's just an indicator that the majority of the damage is lost.
I did some datamining. Most guns are 2, old spray&pray is 1. "Medium pen" guns are 3, including the slugger and revolver- they have mistakes in the description. Autocannon/AMR are 4, matching hulk faces. Chargers are 5. I think buildings may be higher.
0 being no armor with 1-3 being light, etc. makes more sense.
@@bluedot5555 that explains alot as i have noticed my revolver blows through the armor of hive guards and some bots. Part of the reason i have kept it.
Thanks for the research! It's also worth mentioning that soft body areas on bugs recieve reduced damage by standard weapons (the side of spewer for example). If a weapon has the 'explosive' characteristic, it doesn't get that damage reduction.
I like your vids
Thanks!@@tytolley2645
Hunt showdown was amazing, too bad cheaters run rampant
Helldivers content soon? Love your videos.
@@ThatOneGuyCookie no promises… ;)
Very helpful! One small note: the slugger has lower pellet spread than other shotguns because, it in fact, does not use pellets, and doesnt spread. Slugger! 😊
Well done this is very in-depth, I can tell you must have spent a lot of time and effort to get all the footage and test everything and it really shows.
Can I just say how extremely counterintuitive it is that "light armor penetrating" means that it deals reduced damage against light armor lol
because it's the base line doesn't mean it's reduced, imagine if there was a "no penetration" weapon then it would show that L.A.P does more dmg. but because l.a.p is the baseline compared to more pen makes it look like it does no damage
I really enjoy this game but absolutely stupid shit like the way they implemented armor in this game just ruins the flow of combat. All they had to do was look at something like DRG to see how to properly implement an effective but destructible armor system. But judging by their reactions to the recent player feedback on their changes, the devs have their heads too far up their asses to separate tedium from fun.
@@andyf3837drg? the game where you need to download mods in order to have a challenge? that game?
@@andyf3837git gud
@@oak1691 The first infographic in the video literally shows that there is a 60% loss in damage on light armor penetration to a Brood Commander for the baseline liberator assault rifle. It is literally losing damage. That means you're doing 22 dmg a shot instead of 55 per shot. That does mean it is reduced. The legs would result in full damage. The fact that it just tells you 'light armor penetration' but doesn't really key that in that you might still have damage loss is kind of disingenuous and not something someone really learns without doing tests like this. A non light armor piercing weapon would just mean it's only able to hit no armor areas but always has consistent damage with those areas. Medium armor penetration just seems like a requirement if you want to have consistent, baseline damage and LAP for when you want to focus on no armor areas for maximum damage over the consistent but lesser medium armor pen. That or just run the slugger shotgun and ignore all of it.
I can only imagine the look on your face after your exhaustive research was complete and you saw the patch notes
His research was not in vain as this give him more content and is more info. This also shows how large the damage difference between the shotguns and everything else. I wanna see where energy weapons fall!
I did have a little meltdown as I finished the video 2 hours before the patch! Then had to re-edit and remove the railgun stuff 😮
Best breakdown analysis I've seen so far. Look forward to the support details.
Great video, thank you! One thought I have about armor and especially the Stalkers is: It's mentioned in a tip (and it's been a pretty big part of Helldivers 1 gunplay) that the angle of a hit is relevant to armor penetration. I assume you're aware, since you made sure to hit enemies head on, but I think it might be the reason for those white hits on the Stalkers. Their body shape is basically angled (light) armor all over, so it makes sense they're likely to only take grazing shots, still penetrating due to low armor, but lowering penetration enough to get the lower damage score. (Especially when combined with the knowledge shared by Pilestedt that you acknowledge in the FAQ. I could easily see how a Stalker has an armor rating of only 1 or 2 in most places, but it gets upped whenever your shots hit at a bad angle.)
This is possibly the best and most straightforward video on Armour Penetration on the whole of KZhead. Thanks for your service, Helldiver. I'll definitely be pulling out the Slugger more often, and I might even stop being so hard on the AR-23P...
Personally I love the AR-23P i like it’s burst fire it’s armor penetration really helps and it’s accurate on top of it looking awesome
I’ve been playing since launch and probably watched every helldivers KZhead video out there and this is the most detailed breakdown I’ve seen yet. Thanks for all your effort. Definitely getting a subscription for this one!
He got at least 2 cause I subed too
@@calebthompson6215 3 Im helping!
I've been playing since launch doesn't really mean much when the game is so new.
Found this video and couldn't be happier to find such a comprehensive guide for someone trying to figure out how to deal with the hordes! Will suss your other videos too!
This is excellent mate. Exactly the sort of analysis and comparisons I hoped to see. Looking forward to the support weapon comparison, and interested in similar analysis of other enemies.
bro you're editting is some of the most impressive stuff I've ever seen! Phenomenal information paired with top tier editing! Hats off
Seeing all the work up put in you got my support
Insanely high quality content. Great job buddy :)
This is exactly the video I was looking for when it came to finding the weak spots on some of these bugs because I don’t have a whole lot of time to do trial and error to play and my friends without kids seem to be leaving me behind when it comes to skill, weapons, and Credits so this helps me out a lot to speed up my progress with the game.
-Leave no dwarf behind!- [UNDER INVESTIGATION BY MINISTRY OF TRUTH] Leave no Helldiver behind! -Rock & Stone- [REDACTED] For Liberty and Democracy!
Yeah I'm in a similar boat to you - I don't get much time in during the week and found the last patch made things difficult with some of the weapons I had. Early days at lower levels the AP Liberator is useful alongside something like the Stalwart to thin the chaff. Grenades (including launcher) also do good work on spewers. Look into the Arc Thrower as well - if you get the timing right for higher rate of fire (there are vids that explain it) it's pretty effective.
Some of the best content I have seen thus far on HD2. The diligence in your testing methodology and general approach is exactly what we need.
This is super helpful, thank you for running the tests! I'm bringing this to my squad for sure
This may just be the most comprehensive breakdown like this I've ever seen. Thank you
Delievered clearly with examples and great editing and no pointless fluff. Great video.
I always try to remember to leave a like with any video I got some benefit from, but I rarely go as far as to leave a comment if I don't already have something I want to say. However, as someone who has spent many hours doing analysis like this in other games, I know how painstaking and tedious it can be just to get the footage, let alone sort through it and edit into something coherent. This comment along with the like is the least I can do. I genuinely appreciate the time you invested into putting this video together. Hell, I'm also throwing a sub your way because I really like how scientific and data driven your analysis was rather than simply how the weapon "feels". Bravo, good sir.
Awesome in depth look into the mechanics. MVP!
I love the thought and care put into this video. Nicely job!
I’m really surprised you only have just a few thousand subs. The quality of your videos is super good and you seem to be pretty thorough with your information. Keep it up and I look forward to more videos!
Awesome. Your videos helped so much for me in DRG. Glad to know you're also helping dwarves spread managed democracy too! Can't wait to see Season 5 of DRG. Hopefully we'll see you when that arrives.
This is the most well put together I think I’ve ever seen on KZhead
Outstanding info!! Evenhanded, well-researched, and well-presented. Massive help to us!
Dude, this is the BEST break down of the bugs and how to take care of them. EVERY Helldiver needs to see this, it should be part of the darn training! While other creators are focusing on "YoU GoTtA BrInG ThIs ExAcT LoAdOuT Or yOu cAnT WiN" you're actually providing valuable information! Thank you so much!
Nice, very nice, now do automatons.
The video goes like this: "Red part hurt, auto cannon hurt more."
I've been on KZhead a long time and this is some of the best weapons analysis I have seen. Easily on point with Drift0r from back in the day.
Like and subscribed ! Keep up the good fight helldiver! 🎉
I've come back to watch this a second time. Thanks again. this video has lead to me choosing the slugger as my main weapon and im having a great time with it.
You keep a great pace and the info is presented clearly, thank you
Thank you! I started playing two days ago and there's a steep learning curve to this game. This video really helped.
Wonderful video, and thank you for the visuals making this as easy to understand as possible
This video is super helpful man. You've earned a sub.
Wow you did an amazing job here, this is very impressive. Congrats and keep going on contents like that.
New subscriber... excellent video. Please keep them coming! Big thumbs up. Thanks for your effort.
Amazingly detailed and produced guide. Well done.
Concise, clean, informative and easy to watch! Plus a write up and FAQ with updates and corrections?? Democracy couldn’t ask for a better researcher, analyst and scientist!
This is a really great video bud, well done!
Really great information here. Thank you for the visuals as a guide as well.
Thanks for the info! Really appreciate all the work that you went into for this one
great effort fam!! solid and informative work
This was super helpful. Awesome work. Hoping you make an entire series with dedicated videos about different support weapons and stratagems.
Beautifully laid out analysis throughout.
Excellent work Helldiver, Super Earth thanks you for your service!
I appreciate the work you put in here, man!
Literally the best break down video I've ever seen 100/100 🔥🔥
Fantastic break down, bud. Keep the Hell Divers content coming.
appreciate your dedication to bring this information forward! You are integral to the war effort
You are a blessing. Amazing video and your dedication is appreciated
Great vid, hope to see more on this level. Maths and breakdowns of mechanics we may take for granted or thought we understood.
very well done and showed. I rarely sub youtubers anymore, as I mostly don't want to get notified about every video and I have too many subscribed already. I have to make an exception for this one tho as this was really superbly done!
Amazing analysis video! Definitely needed some of this information
This video is one of the things I love to see for a game, something to help me learn more and efficiently deal with harder enemies. Super helpful video!
This is more than helpful, I didnt have any idea what was considered medium armour or if non piercing weapons even made a difference, thank you so much for taking the time
A great video! Been looking for info like this for a while
The effort you put into this video were worth it. Awesome video and amazing source of information!
Dude comes in like NPH in Starship Troopers, but with a smoother voice. Being new to the game, this info is worth its weight in super creds. You rock!
Thanks for the help and the work you put in!
Thank you for taking the time and effort to put together this video and get it out to us.
The dedication. Subbed!
Excellent breakdown. Thank you for your service, Diver.
Impressive quality content. Keep it up! 🎉
Love this video!! Super helpful, thank you so much for your research!
Awesome video man you did some really good research. I appreciate it
Amazingly detailed content that must have taken ages to compile and edit for our viewing pleasure. But rest assured, your effort is super useful very appreciated. Thank you, and good luck building your audience.
This was very informational, thanks for putting it together!
this is exactly what im looking for thank you!! havent seen vids like these yet
Excellent guide, subscribed keep going buddy
Great video, thanks for taking the time to do this!
Really appreciate this! I feel like the game designers did a great job with the visual and audio cues for weak points, and a lot of my game instincts were confirmed in this
This is a fantastic video. You've got my sub.
Great stuff! Love your detail, and would love to see more weapons, especially the new Punisher shotgun. I've been having comparable results to the Slugger, but no hard numbers
Well done, mate! Looking forward to the Charger video.
A truly useful video backed by data. Well done!
Amazing video! Thank for this breakdown!
Wonderful guide, thanks for your hard work!!
Really well made video, and it's also informative. I liked it very much!
Subscribed bud. Great video
Thank you! THIS is the kind of video i've been looking for. Super helpful.
Great info! Super detailed and helpful after the patch!
This is an excellent video for new comers, I recently started playing and struggling on solo missions this info will help me alot on choosing the proper weapons for each mission thanks
Thanks man, this helps clarify some thing i have noticed, but never been sure of.
This video is incredible. Well done
Amazing breakdown, thank you very much!