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The Guard Dog and Guard Dog Rover are unquestionably two of thebest Defensive Stratagemsavailable to players inHelldivers 2. However, as with many of the Stratagems, there are no concrete damage numbers players can use to compare them against each other. This is problematic for players who need to be efficient with theirStratagem unlocking.
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After playing with each, it is clear that both are not created equal — they have different damage per second numbers and different damage types. In addition, how you can keep maximum up-time differs between the two. Keep reading to learn the ins and outs of each, as well as which enemies the Guard Dog and Guard Dog Rover are best against.
Helldivers 2
Differences Between Guard Dog & Rover
The primary difference between the Guard Dog and the Guard Dog Rover is their ammo type.The Guard Dog Rover is an energy-based weapon, similar to the Laser Cannon. The Guard Dog, in contrast, is a machine gun with traditional bullet ammo.
“Guard Dog” Rover
Call-in Time
Unlock Level
480 seconds
↓ ← ↓ ↑ ← ↓ ↓
S, A, S, W, A, S, S
As with most energy weapons in the game, The Guard Dog Rover doesless damage per second in exchange for never running out of ammunition.Instead, it will overheat during prolonged engagements, and return to your back until it cools off. During this time, your backpack icon on your status bar will be red. However, the amount of heat it builds seems very reasonable, and it has anear constant up-time.
↓ ↑ ← ↓ ↑ → ↓
S, W, A, S, W, D, S
The Guard Dog rapidly shoots enemies in its radius withhigh damage rounds, similar to the machine gun sentry. However, also like the machine gun sentry,it runs out of ammunition pretty quickly. When that happens, the Guard Dog returns to your back, where it has a limited number of reloads (similar to your carried magazines for other weapons). Once these magazines are depleted, the Guard Dog will go dormant on your back, and the backpack icon will be red.
To get more ammunition for your drone, you’ll need to take a supply charge from aResupplyorSupply Pack. Picking up ammo packs in the world does not refill the drone.
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When you need to make a big impact on the battlefield in Helldivers 2, you’ll want to ship out with one of the best Offensive Stratagems equipped.
Friendly Fire Concerns
The drone in both Guard Dogs can and does attack enemies in a 360 degree radius, which can occasionally cause it to zap your fellow Helldivers. It can also shoot its user, especially if you are running erratically. Overall,the Guard Dog Rover tends to be responsible for more friendly fire, due to its constant beam of damage.
Advantages Against Different Enemies
In general, both Guard Dogs excel at clearing out small, squishy enemies. This makes them very useful for protecting you from sneaky Scavengers or Troopers that sneak up from behind. Once you begin to test it against more dangerous enemies,the Guard Dog Rover excels against bots because it easily zeros in on weak points. Meanwhile,the standard Guard Dog has more armor penetration against tanky Terminids, whose weak points are usually on their rear, and not targetable by the drone anyway.
Bottom Line - Best Choice For The Mission
Each of these Guard Dog Stratagems is useful in different scenarios, and they each come with their own strengths and weaknesses. This is less a ‘forever choice’ and more of a consideration toward what you might need on your next mission. To summarize their major differences:
For more about defeating the various enemies in Helldivers 2, check out our list of theten hardest enemies, and ourcomplete list of enemies.
