ARC-3 Arc Thrower

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Last updated: 1.001.100
Current patch: 1.005.001

Support WeaponHellpodChargeup

Stratagems
Engineering Bay
Supply
Support Weapon
ARC-3 Arc Thrower
Weapons
Support Weapons
Heavy Energy-Based
ARC-3 Arc Thrower
“

Projects an arc of lightning at close range. Charges up to project bolts, and may discharge through multiple targets.

— Ship Management Terminal

The Arc Thrower is a support weapon that projects an arc of lightning that can chain between multiple targets.

Stratagem Statistics

General
Call-in Time Standard 7.75 seconds
Upgraded 4.75 seconds
Uses Unlimited
Cooldown Standard 480 seconds
With Morale Augmentation 456 seconds
With Streamlined Request Process 432 seconds
With All Upgrades 410.4 seconds

Detailed Weapon Statistics

ARC-3 Arc Thrower
Sway 1
Ergonomics 50
Cooldown 480 sec
Call-in Time 3 s
Attacks
Arc Thrower Arc
Arc Thrower
Arc
Arc Range 55 m
Arc Velocity 300 m/s
Arc Aim Angle 3 °
Damage
Element Arc
Standard Damage Arc Icon.svg250 Arc
vs. Durable Damage Arc Icon.svg100 Arc
Penetration
Direct Armor AP7 Icon.png Anti-Tank III
Slight Angle Armor AP7 Icon.png Anti-Tank III
Large Angle Armor AP7 Icon.png Anti-Tank III
Extreme Angle Armor AP0 Icon.png Unarmored I
Special Effects
Status Stun Small
Status Strength 8
Demolition Force 20
Stagger Force 35
Push Force 10

Tactical Information

  • A single shock of the Arc Thrower can take down swarms of small enemies, such as:
    • Small Terminids such as Scavengers, Warriors, and Hunters, holding off hordes of bugs singlehandedly due to the arcing lightning.
    • Against the Automatons, it will one-shot all Troopers and quickly kill groups of Devastators and Berserkers.
    • Against the illuminate, it will hold off hordes of Voteless, stunning any it does not immediately kill.
  • Thanks to the level 7 Penetration, the Arc Thrower is able to damage even very large enemies such as the Bile Titan.
    • Many heavy-units such as Charger, Hulk, and Fleshmob can be stun-locked with rapid firing.
    • The stun effect can prevent Harvesters from using primary attacks.
  • How to increase chances of hitting the target:
    • Get to the high ground. Shoot from above.
    • Aim a bit above the target.
    • Avoid shooting enemies moving from left to right, or from right to left from you.
    • Avoid situations when there are barriers between you and the target. For example, piles of corpses, mines, or structures.
  • The arc cannot be aimed at specific limbs. If you are facing an enemy (like a Warrior) head on, the arc will always hit the head. Attacking from the side will hit the body. Medium-sized Automatons can also be headshot if you are lucky.
  • The initial arc travel requires 1 cubic meter of clearance in the path towards the target. Helldivers must maintain clearance from objects like fences and walls, otherwise the arc will be interrupted before reaching the target.
  • Arcs have an initial firing angle of 3-degrees. Shooting the initial bolt from a harsh angle will not initiate arc-chaining (e.g., right atop of targets while hovering above with LIFT-860 Hover Pack).
    • Each fired arc may chain 1 time (3 with Circuit Expansion). The damage degrades with each chain following the formula: 1 / (1 + Max Chain Count). Without Circuit Expansion, damage dealt will be 100% -> 50%. With Circuit Expansion, damage dealt will be 100% -> 75% -> 50% -> 25%.
    • The chained arcs also have a maximum targeting angle of 60-degrees. And similar to real-life lightning-bolts, the arc-chain generally travels the "shortest and straightest" path rather than "zigzagging" between targets. In other words, one arc-chain will only clear one single line of targets in a row.
    • The arcs will chain indiscriminately between targets, which includes Helldivers and Civilians. Clearing a crowd of mixed factions with an Arc Thrower is highly discouraged, as it can quickly lead to a Helldiver being labeled a traitor and bombarded by the Super Destroyer.
    • Each arc may only select targets within 55 meters of its initial position, this range limit resets with each target hit.
  • The truly infinite ammo of the Arc Thrower allows for a Helldiver to be very self-sufficient and removes the reliance on ammo pickups or Resupplies for support weapon ammunition. Combined with energy weapons, such as the LAS-5 Scythe or ARC-12 Blitzer, a helldiver can completely eliminate their reliance on ammo.

Applicable Ship Modules

The following Ship Modules affect the ARC-3 Arc Thrower:

Department Ship Module Effect
Patriotic
Administration
Center 		Streamlined Request Process Decreases Support Weapon stratagem cooldown by 10%.
Bridge Morale Augmentation Reduces cooldown time for all Stratagems by 5%.
Engineering
Bay 		Circuit Expansion Lightning arcs, fired from weapons and turrets, jump to two additional enemies.
Streamlined Launch Process All Support Weapons launch immediately once called in, reducing overall deployment time.

Media

  • Tutorial Video Demonstrating Use of the ARC-3 Arc Thrower
  • ARC-3 Arc Thrower in action
    ARC-3 Arc Thrower in action

Change History

Patch
Description

1.001.100
2024-09-17

Changes

  • Range increased from 35 to 55.
  • Now has a moderate stun effect that builds up on its targets.
  • Now jumps additional times.
  • Durable damage increased from 50 to 100.

1.001.002
2024-08-06

Fixes

  • Fixed arc weapons not shooting out any bolts when line of sight to enemy is blocked by an obstacle. Bolts will now fire but they will hit the obstacle.
  • Fixed arc weapons misfiring when shooting enemies quickly that are aligned horizontally.

1.000.200
2024-04-02

Changes

  • Reduced distance from 50m to 35m.
  • Increased stagger force.

Fix

  • Fixed charging inconsistencies; It will now always take 1 second to charge a shot.

1.000.104
2024-03-26

Fix

  • Game no longer freezes when firing arcs from the Arc Thrower.

1.000.103
2024-03-20

Fix

  • Shots now count towards "Shots fired" and "Shots hit" stats.


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