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The never-ending debate between the Guard Dog and the Guard Dog Rover rages on in Helldivers 2. Although one undoubtedly packs a stronger punch (AR Guard Dog) than the other, the Liberator-equipped drone is still limited by its frustratingly small magazine and non-armor-penetrating ammo. This makes the unlimited laser-firing Guard Dog the ideal option to bring into missions, prompting several players to ask the devs for a buff to its overlooked sibling.
In fact, this has often been the answer when players ask which Helldivers 2 Guard Dog is better. As an aside, stop us if you’ve heard this one: you’re setting up your loadout before a solo operation, and you pick the AR Guard Dog along with three other stratagems. You drop into a mission, and you immediately call down your drone companion to assist you as you wreak havoc on Terminids. After a few minutes of roaming, you spot a patrol.
Alongside a few Scavengers and Hunters are a couple of Hive Guards, which should be easy to take down. Sadly, your Guard Dog can’t penetrate their thick carapace, so you’re forced to place all your attention on taking them down. While you were busy maneuvering around the Hive Guards’ sturdy outer shells, you eventually get overwhelmed by several relentless Hunters. It’s a tale as old as Galactic Wartime: the AR Guard Dog is powerful but becomes useless against shielded Terminids and Automatons.
So, for it to be truly viable, its assault rifle needs a massive armor-penetrating buff to compensate for its short lifespan and similarly small magazine. Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem to be a priority for Arrowhead Game Studios for the time being since newly appointed CCO Johan Pilestedt previously stated that most of their focus would be on weapon rebalancing. Here’s hoping an AR Guard Dog buff is part of the next batch of updates.
