AX/ARC-3 “Guard Dog” K-9
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“A humane, autonomous drone equipped with a modified Arc Thrower. Capable of projecting arcs of lightning through multiple targets. Does not need to recharge between shots.
— Ship Management Terminal
The AX/ARC-3 "Guard Dog" K-9 is a backpack Stratagem that provides support to the player.
Stratagem Statistics
General | ||
---|---|---|
Call-in Time | 9.75 seconds | |
Uses | Unlimited | |
Cooldown | Standard | 480 seconds |
With Morale Augmentation | 456 seconds | |
With Hand Carts | 432 seconds | |
With All Upgrades | 410.4 seconds |
Note: Bug prevents hand carts from affecting cooldown
Detailed Stratagem Statistics
AX/ARC-3 "Guard Dog" K-9 | |
---|---|
Main Health | 100 |
Main Armor | ![]() |
Ergonomics | 65 |
Cooldown | 480 sec |
Call-in Time | 5 s |
Reload Time | 3 s |
Attacks | |
Drone K-9 Arc | Arc |
Drone K-9 Arc | |
---|---|
Arc | |
Arc Range | 55 m |
Arc Velocity | 300 m/s |
Arc Aim Angle | 3 ° |
Damage | |
Element | Arc |
Standard | 250 |
vs. Durable | 45 |
Penetration | |
Direct | ![]() |
Slight Angle | ![]() |
Large Angle | ![]() |
Extreme Angle | ![]() |
Special Effects | |
Status | Stun Small |
Status Strength | 8 |
Demolition Force | 10 |
Stagger Force | 30 |
Push Force | 25 |
Tactical Information
K-9 Specific
- K-9 Guard Dog wields a modified downsized ARC-3 Arc Thrower engaging all eligible targets within 20-meters approximately every 5-seconds (3 to cooldown, 1 for target acquisition, 1 to charge a shot).
- Identical to Helldiver operated Arc Thrower support weapon, K-9 does not need to return to backpack for reloads and thus ammunition-wise not having any downtimes.
- The most noticeable difference is the increased horizontal turning angle of the arc-chains (90-degrees as opposed to 75-degrees) alongside the chains travelling back-and-forth and zigzagging unlike the arc-bolts of the regular Arc Thrower.
- In essence, K-9 practically is the safer close-quarters-combat alternative to GL-52 De-Escalator as long as both the operator and the squad-member Helldivers won't reside within the groups targeted by K-9 Guard Dog
- The increased horizontal angle alongside the seemingly infinite chaining of the arcs allows K-9 fully to utilize the whole 55-meter range of each arc.
General Guard Dog Tips
- The main benefit of Guard Dog stratagems is their fire-support by autonomously engaging hostile targets regardless of actions of the operating Helldiver. This is especially useful in scenarios where the Helldiver in a need of retreating from an area but cannot afford to slow down to shoot at enemies.
- Guard Dog also can be used to clear targets behind covers, especially ones behind elevated walls.
- Guard Dog stratagems are incapable taking down targets situated in extreme elevation differences such as right above or below them. This is due to them being armed with a fixed non-gimbled gun and utilizing downward quad-propellant rocket engines to hover. This leads the maximum operational vertical angle being approximately 45-degrees.
- Guard Dog also can be used to clear targets behind covers, especially ones behind elevated walls.
- Once a Guard Dog has locked on the first target, it won't disengage or switch targets until there is several seconds of line-of-sight lost or Guard Dog has completed its objective be it destruction or other main function.
- This can lead a Guard Dog keep aiming at but not suppressing their initial target beyond their engagement distance. The disengagement on out-of-reach and blocked line-of-sight of targets require ~5-seconds time to reset and acquire a new next closest target.
- Because it effectively functions as a backpack-mounted sentry, the Guard Dog is very helpful in engagements where there are numerous enemies that need to be quickly dispatched.
- Unlike the stationary defensive-stratagems such as A/MG-43 Machine Gun Sentry, Guard Dog (stratagems) will only initiate engagement with alerted hostile targets.
- Guard Dog is considered as a separate entity from their Helldiver-operator which won't gain the Scout Armor Passive while being active out of the backpack. In other words, hostile will spot and get alerted by Guard Dog itself before the Scout-Helldiver carrying the backpack.
- Although hostiles won't generally target specifically the Guard Dog itself, it can be still rendered temporarily inoperable by stray bullets or explosions. This is observable by Guard Dog docking back to backpack "spitting" sparks until the repair process has been completed (approx. 10-seconds).
Applicable Ship Modules
Department | Ship Module | Effect |
---|---|---|
Patriotic Administration Center |
Hand Carts | Decreases cooldown for all Backpack stratagems by 10%. |
Bridge | Morale Augmentation | Reduces cooldown time for all Stratagems by 5%. |
Media
File:AX ARC-3 "Guard Dog" K-9 Preview Video.mp4
Tutorial Video Demonstrating Use of the AX/ARC-3 "Guard Dog" K-9
Trivia
- The name "K-9" is a terminology used to reference "canine"-units (Canis lupus familiaris, or dogs) within armed forces, such as employed by military and constituted law enforcement bodies E.G. police departments.
Change History
Patch
Description
1.003.101
2025-06-12
(Mid-Patch)
Addition
- Added to the game.