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A shortened version of the trusty Liberator has been added with June’s Warbond. Read this article to see how to get and use the AR-23A Liberator Carbine in Helldivers 2.
New weapons always cause a ruckus in the Helldivers 2 community. Unfortunately, some of them prove lackluster and almost unplayable until fixed, and others are just too good (and usually get nerfed to the ground). Hitting that sweet spot is the hardest part of designing new weapons. The Primary Weapon included in the Viper Commandos is somewhere in the middle, not downright bad, but far from overpowered. Just right. So, let’s see how to get and use the AR-23A Liberator Carbine in Helldivers 2.
How to Get the AR-23A Liberator Carbine
The Liberator Carbine is a new Primary Weapon, a part of the Viper Commandos Warbond, released in June 2024. First, unlock the Warbond using 1000 Super Credits, if you haven’t already done so. As with every Warbond item, you have to unlock Liberator Carbine using Medals. It is located on the first page of Viper Commandos and costs only 20 Medals to unlock.
After you unlock it, make sure you have selected it as your Primary Weapon in the Arrmory, or before the mission, on the Loadout screen.
The AR-23A Liberator Carbine has the following stats:
- Damage – 60
- Capacity – 45
- Recoil – 26
- Fire Rate – 920
- Weapon Traits: Light Armor Penetrating
How to Use AR-23A Liberator Carbine
The Liberator Carbine is a fast-shooting compact version of the Liberator. It behaves in almost the same way as the Liberator but is more geared toward short-ranged firefights. You can turn the Flashlight on or off, and there are three firing modes to choose from (Auto, Semi, and Burst). However, you cannot modify the scope, like you can for the standard Liberator, to further hammer home the short-ranged nature of this Assault Rifle.
The difference between the standard Liberator and the Carbine version is in the Recoil value and Fire Rate. The AR-23A Liberator Carbine shoots faster but has a higher recoil. Does this make a better or worse version of the Liberator?
In our experience, the Liberator Carbine proved to be a good choice. The increased fire rate results in a higher damage-per-second value, and the increased recoil can be dealt with. Since your crosshair will go up when you shoot (due to the Recoil), slightly pulling the crosshair down when shooting will keep it more or less in place. Also, changing to aiming mode, to look-down-sights/scope will further reduce the recoil. Add an Armor that reduces the recoil when crouching or prone (via Fortified or Engineering Kit Perk), or use it with the new Peak Physique Perk for increased weapon handling, and you’ll be placing shots wherever you want pretty fast.
In summary, Carbine is a neat Liberator variant, more suited to short-to-medium range combat. It’s better against swarms or larger targets, as accuracy is not the Carbine’s strong suit. We’d recommend shooting in short, controlled bursts. AR-23A Liberator Carbine is truly a neat choice to try out, especially in densely packed planets.
