Clever Helldivers 2 Technique Makes A New Underused Gun Much Better Against Automatons

Summary An animation cancel trick makes the Eruptor fire faster in Helldivers 2.

Reloading early can also save time, as reloading on empty takes longer with the Eruptor.

The Eruptor exploit will likely be patched in Helldivers 2, so take advantage of it while it lasts.

Helldivers 2 recently received some exciting additions to its arsenal of guns with the Democratic Detonation Warbond, but one of the most powerful possibilities isn't obvious without taking an unorthodox approach. Unusual strategies are nothing new for Helldivers 2, as the soldiers of Super Earth are constantly seeking out any advantage they can get against the Terminids and Automatons. Any absurd exploits tend to get patched sooner or later, but that's all the more reason to hop on any trick while there's an opportunity to put it into action.

True to its name, the Democratic Detonation Premium Warbond features some weapons that pack big punches, but explosive firepower tends to come at the cost of speed. This isn't necessarily a problem — the GP-31 Grenade Pistol, for example, doesn't need to unload a clip quickly to cause some serious devastation — but it can make the weapons feel more situational than many alternatives. The explosive sniper called the R-36 Eruptor feels like a halfway point between a regular gun and a Stratagem like the Autocannon, so it can be a game-changer at times and feel like dead weight at others.

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It's Possible To Fire The Helldivers 2 Eruptor Faster

An Animation Cancel Trick Makes The Eruptor Way Better

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As a bolt-action rifle, the Eruptor takes quite a while between shots, but it doesn't have to. As noted by Reddit user Wallbouncingtomato and showcased by Fallout Plays on YouTube, it's actually possible to perform an animation cancel on the chambering of the round between every shot by switching to another weapon or Stratagem and back at the right time. Getting the timing right can take a bit of practice, but switching to this technique as the standard significantly improves the rate at which the Eruptor can be fired and makes it more versatile on the battlefield.

The Eruptor might seem most useful against swarms of small enemies, but being able to fire quickly makes pumping rounds into beefy Automaton enemies effective as well.

The principal key to the timing is not to get overzealous, as attempting to cancel the animation immediately after firing won't end up working properly. It's best to work on the process in a situation that isn't high-stakes before trying to rely on unloading a clip quickly when it matters most. When done correctly, it should be possible to fire all five rounds in a clip in under five seconds, halving the time that doing it in the intended manner would take.

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Another key tip for using the Eruptor efficiently is to reload before finishing the clip, as reloading on empty can take a particularly long time. If pumping out the last round at just the right moment is worth the dead space after, that's one thing, but in many situations the extra bit of speed from the early reload is worth it. Since each bolt is chambered individually, reloading early on the Eruptor won't waste ammo like it would on a gun where a magazine is being tossed aside.

The Helldivers 2 Eruptor Trick Probably Won't Last Long

The Eruptor animation cancel seems like the kind of exploit that's especially primed for a fix, as the difference in its utility is too massive for developer Arrowhead Game Studios to comfortably ignore. Patches that downgrade weapons don't always go down smoothly, a point of tension that became clear when Helldivers 2 nerfed the overpowered Breaker and Railgun about a month after launch. The obvious unintended element of the Eruptor's utility makes for a very different situation overall, but it's easy to quickly transition to treating the exploit as the normal way to play.

Occasionally, mis-timing the animation cancel isn't the end of the world, as it's still faster than the normal method even with mistakes.

There's always a possibility that Arrowhead will eventually change the Eruptor to have a slightly faster chambering animation in general, but expecting it to ever officially fall under five seconds total is definitely too much to ask. Spreading Managed Democracy wouldn't mean much if it was easy, and maintaining major downsides to any weapons with unique advantages makes for significantly more interesting strategic gameplay on the whole. The Eruptor can be one of the most fun guns to use in Helldivers 2 for the moment, so it's best to take advantage of that moment while it lasts.

Sources: Wallbouncingtomato/Reddit, Fallout Plays/YouTube