Helldivers 1:AR-19 Liberator

Helldivers 2

Helldivers 1

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Fully automatic assault rifle. Reliable and powerful, it is good for dealing with most threats.

— Armory Description

Unlock Requirement

The AR-19 Liberator is the standard-issue service rifle available to all Helldivers and is already unlocked from rank 1 for new players.

Upgrades

Upgrade		Requirements	Cost	Effect
	Bayonet		1	Greatly increases melee damage and range.
	Recoil Absorber		1	Increases the weapon's stability when firing in full auto.
	Extended Magazine	Recoil Absorber	2	Increases the amount of rounds in the magazine from 30 to 45.

Bayonet

• Affixes a long blade under the barrel of the gun, turning it into a simple but formidable melee weapon. Greatly increases melee damage and range but slows down melee speed.

Recoil Absorber

• A muzzle brake is attached to the barrel of the gun, directing the escaping gases in such a way that it compensates for a larger portion of the recoil and results in decreased spread and increased recoil control.

Extended Magazine

• Increases the number of rounds in the magazine from 30 to 45. The number of spare magazines that can be carried remains unchanged.

Weapon Stats

• Helldivers start with 6 magazines and can carry up to a maximum of 12. Each magazine contains 30 rounds by default (45 with the Extended Magazine upgrade). If 10 rounds or less remain in the magazine when the weapon is fired, the 'low ammunition' warning sound will play and red tracer rounds will fire. The low ammo warning plays much earlier for the Liberator compared to other assault rifles such as the AR-22C Patriot or AR-20L Justice. This is likely intentional to make sure new players learn the visual and audio cues for ammo management and reloading.

• The Liberator takes 2.5 seconds to reload when empty and 1.25 seconds with ammunition remaining in the magazine. Performing a tactical reload with ammo left in the magazine keeps a round in the chamber as well, giving the Liberator with the Extended Magazine upgrade a maximum of 46 shots before needing to be reloaded again.

AR-19 'Liberator' Detailed Analysis
Weapon Info			Additional Notes
Unlock Rank	Rank 1
Weapon Type	Primary
Weapon Category	Assault Rifle
Fire Mode	Full-auto
Damage
	Base	Upgraded	Additional Notes
Damage	75	75
Center Mass Damage	100	100
AP Ammo Armor Reduction	0	0
Statistics
	Base	Upgraded	Additional Notes
Cyclic Rate of Fire (RPM)	660	660
Capacity	30 + 1	45 + 1*	* Requires Extended Magazine upgrade
Starting Mags	6	6
Max Mags	12	12
Empty Reload Speed	2.5 s	2.5 s
Tactical Reload Speed	1.25 s	1.25 s	Keeps one round in the chamber
Min Spread	0°	0°
Max Spread	15°	10°†	† Requires Recoil Absorber upgrade
Spread Increase per Shot	1.5°	~0.73°†	† Requires Recoil Absorber upgrade
Max Range	30 m	30 m
Bullet Spread Simulation	todo

Gameplay Tips

• The Liberator is designed to be a learning tool for Helldiver recruits, evidenced by its ease of use and lack of any unique features, but it is by no means a weak throw-away weapon. When fully upgraded and in the hands of a capable soldier, the Liberator can become a staple weapon in a Helldiver's arsenal and fares well into midgame, but it is greatly outperformed by the other assault rifles on higher difficulty planets.

• The Liberator is best utilized in short, controlled bursts or semi-auto as it quickly becomes inaccurate when fired in full-auto. While the Recoil Absorber upgrade can mitigate this to some degree, full auto fire is ill advised for anything outside point blank range.

• The Liberator shines as a short to mid-range support weapon when combined with an ample supply of ammo, skillful use of the bayonet, and optionally the Cardio Accelerator perk. It is also accurate enough to pick off patrols at a reasonable distance with semi-auto or burst fire. Consider mixing up bayonet attacks with quick bursts of fire and your unlimited sprint to quickly reposition or close gaps and kill off light and medium troops, giving your team some breathing room to focus on bigger threats without getting flanked.

• Adding a Bayonet to this weapon will greatly increase its lethality and utility in close quarters combat and when low on ammunition. Most medium-level enemies can be killed with one or two stabs of the bayonet. The bayonet increases the recovery time between melee attacks however, which can lead to problems when engaging enemies that attack in swarms such as Bug Warriors, Cyborg Grotesques, or Illuminate Tripods. As with all weapons with bayonets, unshielded Helldivers can be killed with a single bayonet attack unless they are wearing Heavy Armor. Exercise caution when using melee near teammates!
  • The bayonet upgrade extends the range covered by the 'Melee Dodge' technique, allowing for more distance to be covered and a larger snap-aiming window with weapons while moving. Without a bayonet, this technique requires more precise timing to reliably use. Consult the Advanced Gameplay Techniques page for more information on Melee Dodging.

Notes

• The Liberator is based on the L85A2 variant of the British SA80, a family of bullpup assault rifles chambered in 5.56x45mm NATO.
• The Liberator curiously appears to lack any form of flip-up iron sights or attachment points for them; the real-life L85A2 is almost always issued with a 4x SUSAT scope with backup iron sights on top, however this is not the case with the Liberator's scope, leading one to assume the Liberator's scope is likely a variable zoom scope for use at multiple ranges.