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The new Polar Patriots Warbond has released in Helldivers 2, bringing with it new weapons, armor, utilities, and cosmetic items for 1,000 Super Credits. One great thing about the Warbonds is that they never expire like Battle Passes in most live-service games, and they can be acquired by saving up Super Credits earned for free during missions in Helldivers 2.
With the new Warbond now released, players have flocked to it to unlock the new weapons as fast as possible to see if any will be difference maker in our fight against the Automatons and Terminids. The Pummeler SMG look like it will be a great choice for fans of the one-handed weapon, as well as the new Incendiary Impact Grenade, which could be a great version of the Impact Grenade when facing the Terminids. But, players are less excited about the Tenderizer Assault Rifle.
U/InLukeWarmBlood took to Reddit to discuss the new Tenderizer Assault Rifle, which can be unlocked on page 1 of the new Polar Patriots Warbond. In the post, they call the Tenderizer a “direct downgrade to the Liberator,” noting that it has “Less ammo per mag, same damage, less fire rate, a negligible recoil difference, and a few extra mags.”
When it comes to Assault Rifles, many of them are very similar to each other and it can be hard to find a reason to choose one over the other. “The Penetrator is equally as terrible, but at least THAT can shoot through medium armor. This is just as much of the suck but with even less of a reason to exist.”
Other users took to the comments to share their thoughts on the new Tenderizer.
U/ArtigoQ has a great suggestion that each weapon should have its own perk to give it a specific use case as many share similar stats when it comes to fire rate, capacity recoil, and damage.
“All the Tenderizer needs is its own special effect/niche. I would argue adding an effect like “Extra Limb Damage” would give it something different than the current lineup.”
They then give some examples of what these special effects could be,
“Liberator – General Purpose
Penetrator – Medium AP
Concussive – Knockback
Tenderizer – Extra Limb Damage”
Noting “That way, it can help disable elites (Stalkers/Brood Commanders/Strip bot guns) and finish off armor-stripped Chargers without outshining the other ARs in their niche.”
Arrowhead Game Studios has stated previously that weapons do have hidden stats such as headshot multipliers, increased limb damage, etc, that aren’t listed, which seems like an odd move as letting players know what the use of a weapon is would give players more of a reason to use it. When it comes to the new Tenderizer, I did spend a lot of time trying to determine if it had a Knockback effect as the Terminids seems to not swarm me as much as they can do. But, while in combat and dodging dozens of enemies at any one time, it was difficult to determine. If Arrowhead Game Studios made this information easily accessible then we would know for sure.
After checking out the new Tenderizer myself, I have to agree with the Reddit post. Stat wise, it is very similar to the default Liberator, except it fires slightly slower. In a way, this is a good thing as Assault Rifles tend to run out of ammo fast, so having a slightly slower fire rate allows you to be more accurate with your shots to make the most of the magazine.
When it comes to use cases, I find Assault Rifles to work best against the Terminids rather than the Automatons. Most of the heavy Automatons and bullet sponges when it comes to using regular bullets due to their metal bodies, so using an Assault Rifle feels useless for enemies outside of the grunt enemies. Whereas with the Terminids the Assault Rifles seems to do more damage and the faster fire rate can help with crowd control. But, overall, I don’t see much need to rush and unlock this when there are much better weapons available in your armory.
The new Polar Patriots Warbond comes as the Terminids are becoming stronger than ever following the Terminid Control System making them resistant to the Termicide. Now, the Helldivers need to eradicate them to prevent them from becoming too much of a threat. To help ensure victory, we highly recommend checking out our Helldivers 2 best weapons guide and best armor guide so you can find the best loadout to use so you can serve Liber-tea.
