This weapons guide for Helldivers 2 will provide an overview of the marksman rifles category in Helldivers 2. Not all weapons are equal in the game – and this guide will aim to show you the differences. Furthermore, we will try to answer on the question “Can this gun carry me through Super Helldive?”. This article is up-to-date as of the Freedom’s Flame war bond, and we will update it accordingly as the new patch arrives. For more info on weapons in the game, as well as links to guides for other weapon categories, you can check our Helldivers 2: Weapons Meta article.
R-63 Diligence
The R-63 Diligence is probably going to be one of the first weapons a fledgling helldiver is going to unlock, seeing as it’s available on page 2 of the free starting war bond. As a semi-auto marksman rifle, this is a single-target weapon that expects its users to keep their distance and take their time to connect bullets to enemy weakpoints. The weapon is accurate, handles well, and has very little noticeable bullet drop off at range. On the other side, there’s a decent amount of recoil and sway when standing, so learn to crouch before firing to stabilize the gun. The Diligence comes with 8 spare mags each holding 20 rounds as well as 25m/75m/150m zoom magnification options.
Let’s be quick about it and say that this weapon has some issues. The Diligence naturally performs poorly against the bugs, as it’s a long-range single-target weapon going up against a horde faction, most of whose units quickly and relentlessly push towards the player. It performs better against the automatons, who prefer long range engagements over horde tactics. However, the diligence also suffers here because of its 125 damage profile. The main bulk of dangerous mid-sized bot units usually consist of devastators. Devastator heads have 125 HP but as projectiles are subject to damage falloff as soon as they leave the barrel, the Diligence lacks the ability to oneshot them.
It also lacks medium armor penetration, further decreasing its ability to deal with bots. Thankfully, the devs reworked its sights to be simple and clean, so it no longer suffers from scifi-sight-itis. A severe and unfortunate illness that affects weapons in sci-fi themed games, where their sighs are designed to look cool rather than be functional. The final result is that the Diligence is not particularly suited to fight any faction on higher difficulties. That being said, the gun can be acquired easily at the start of the game, and it’s an upgrade over the standard liberator in many regards, so we encourage new players to try it as an anti-bug weapon.
Verdict: A low-mid difficulty marksman rifle that new players can grab at the very start of the game. Fans of this type of weapon archetype will graduate to the Diligence Counter-Sniper pretty quickly, though.
Unlocked: Page 2 of the Helldivers Mobilize war bond.
Total Cost: 16 medals. (8 for the page and 8 for the gun)
R-63CS Diligence Counter Sniper
The R-63 Diligence Counter Sniper compared to the base variant deals more damage and has medium armor penetration. While 140 damage per bullet might seem like a negligible buff, in reality it lets the gun hit many breakpoints, especially on small enemies. In exchange, the gun carries a lot less ammo than its predecessor. It holds 15 rounds in its mag and comes with 6 spare mags. Much like with the previous gun, it’s quite accurate and has little bullet drop off. Its handling is a bit worse, but since the buff, it hardly maters. Once again, crouch to stabilize the gun to make dealing with its sway and increased recoil easier.
The magnification options are greater than its predecessor at 50/100/200 meters, and the bullet has slightly faster initial velocity. One of the buffs it received cleaned up its scope so you can actually see what you’re shooting at. These features allow it to shoot enemies at pretty extreme ranges. The amount of total damage this weapon carries in its reserves is frankly pitiful. This means that going for weakpoints is imperative, and that missed shots are harshly penalized. That being said, those who can aim well will find this weapon to be a competent one. Because of the increased damage, small enemies will die to it in one shot. And because of the increased penetration, it won’t take many bullets to bring down medium-sized enemies either, provided you can hit weakpoints.
This set of features makes the gun competent at both factions, but honestly it’s best to stick to an anti-automaton role with it. Again, a precision single target weapon with low ammo reserves might not be an ideal choice when going up against a horde faction. Against the Automatons it provides better value over its predecessor since it can one shot devastators. Although it has medium armor penetration, it deals too little damage when dealing with large body parts, and its reserves are too small for it to be able to reasonably engage the vents on tanks and turrets. It can dig into scout strider leg joints to take them out from the front if the need arises, at the cost of a nice chunk of your magazine. The end result is a weapon that is strong enough to justify taking the time to connect bullets to weakpoints of mid-tier enemies, and ultimately a great improvement over the base version of the gun.
Verdict: An anti-automaton weapon of reasonable effectiveness, provided you can reliably hit weakpoints. It won’t perform any miracles, but if you need a long range gun for bot missions, it is an option even on higher difficulties. That being said, in this role it often finds itself in competition with the far superior Anti-materiel rifle support weapon, which in turn devalues it further in the eyes of some.
Unlocked: Page 7 of the Helldivers Mobilize war bond.
Total cost: 460 medals. (420 to page 7 and 40 for the gun)
Closing thoughts on marksman rifles in Helldivers 2
Marksman rifles in Helldivers 2, true to their name, are accurate long range single-target weapons. To help facilitate long range combat, they come with clear sights, high initial bullet velocity and little in the way of bullet drop off. On the battlefield, they are a scalpel that removes enemies with surgical precision. Though, honestly, at the time of writing only the Counter sniper is strong enough to reward use in such manner. The weaker R-63 Diligence, with its light penetration and lower damage per bullet, but much higher ammo reserves, is best used being spammed against bugs.
Image credit: Arrowhead Game Studios.
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