{"id":810591,"date":"2025-12-07T08:46:40","date_gmt":"2025-12-07T08:46:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hFoSMJKnHDfRup6nQSsAoY"},"modified":"2025-12-07T08:46:40","modified_gmt":"2025-12-07T08:46:40","slug":"the-new-helldivers-2-gun-that-everyone-immediately-declared-garbage-is-actually-a-misunderstood-masterpiece","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/the-new-helldivers-2-gun-that-everyone-immediately-declared-garbage-is-actually-a-misunderstood-masterpiece\/","title":{"rendered":"The new Helldivers 2 gun that everyone immediately declared ‘garbage’ is actually a misunderstood masterpiece"},"content":{"rendered":"
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While everyone in my circles booted up Helldivers 2 last week excited to unlock the exploding crossbow, grenade pistol, and the wild micro-missile-firing Eruptor<\/a>, my eyes were locked on a different prize. Resting comfortably on the first page of the Democratic Detonation warbond is a new rifle that sticks out: the BR-14 Adjudicator. It's the only gun in the warbond that doesn't blow stuff up, which is weird, but I was excited to test what appeared to be a new assault rifle. Maybe it would finally give me a reason to hang up my Liberator.<\/p>\n

Then the warbond came out and everywhere I looked the Adjudicator was catching flak. YouTubers declared it a bottom-tier garbage gun<\/a>, and its reception on Reddit was only marginally more nuanced<\/a>. The consensus among Adjudi-haters is it's a confusing gun that doesn't fulfill a role in Helldivers because of its super high recoil, low fire rate, and tiny 25-round magazine. After spending a week with the Adjudicator, I think these reviews are incomplete to the point of misleading. A lot of people are misunderstanding what the Adjudicator is good at, and why it has quickly become one of my favorite primary guns in Helldivers 2. Hear me out.<\/p>\n

We can all agree on one thing\u2014the Adjudicator is <\/em>a confusing a gun. If you just happen upon it on the loadout screen, it's like Arrowhead doesn't want you to figure this thing out.<\/p>\n

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\"helldivers<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>

(Image credit: Arrowhead Game Studios)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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  • Damage:<\/strong> 80 (ok that’s pretty high)<\/li>\n
  • Capacity:<\/strong> 25 (ok that’s very low)<\/li>\n
  • Recoil:<\/strong> 50 (what does 50 recoil mean)<\/li>\n
  • Fire rate:<\/strong> 550 (hmm…)<\/li>\n
  • Weapon traits:<\/strong> Medium penetrating (heck yes)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    It's officially a marksman rifle that defaults to a single-shot mode like the Diligence Counter Sniper, but viewed exclusively through that lens, the stats say it's just a worse Diligence. The Adjudicator's rounded body and shorter barrel looks like an assault rifle, and an optional full-auto mode supports the idea that you're supposed to use it that way. But that bouncy recoil is so dramatic that you won't get far holding down left-click on an advancing bug wave like you can with a Liberator.<\/p>\n

    The official in-game description is only a minor help, at least specifying that it kinda sucks at culling large hordes:<\/p>\n

    “An accurate, armor-penetrating rifle, the BR-14 Adjudicator delivers righteous judgment to medium-sized enemies, though its restrictive magazine limits its effectiveness against large groups.”<\/em><\/p>\n

    How to enjoy the Adjudicator<\/h2>\n

    So if the Adjudicator is a bad assault rifle and middling marksman rifle, why bother? It took me a few nights of playing around to figure the gun out, but Reddit user Spence199876<\/a> was quick on the uptake in this helpful post from last week:<\/p>\n

    “It is a battle rifle<\/strong>, it's meant to bridge the gap between assault rifle and DMR, so it's just a high caliber assault rifle basically (for all the military folks, think M14, FAL and G3).”<\/p>\n

    A battle rifle! I mean, duh, that's presumably what the “BR” stands for in its codename, but that label can mean all sorts of things in videogames. Spence compares it to real-life battle rifles, but to me, the Adjudicator makes even more sense if you think of it like Halo's battle rifle, a high-damage burst gun excellent at medium-long range.<\/p>\n

    The Adjudicator is GOOD.<\/a> from r\/Helldivers<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n