The Dust Devils Premium Warbond released on September 4th, following the major Into the Unjust update. It introduced a ton of exciting new gear, including the long-awaited Missile Silo Stratagem and, of course, the AR-2 Coyote, now considered the best Assault Rifle in Helldivers 2.
Let’s do a breakdown of its stats.
Stats
Damage: 75 (750 DPS)
- 850 DPS including Fire Damage.
Fire Rate: 600
Mag Size: 45
Recoil: 17
Armor Pen: Medium
- Incendiary
And let’s compare that to something we’re all very familiar with.
Damage: 80 (853 DPS)
Fire Rate: 640
Mag Size: 45
Recoil: 14
Armor Pen: Light
Damage: 95 (870 DPS)
Fire Rate: 550
Mag Size: 30
Recoil: 24
Armor Pen: Medium
The Coyote may have slightly lower base DPS compared to the BR-14 and AR-23, but its Incendiary rounds more than compensate by igniting enemies and adding an extra 100 DPS in fire damage.
You can also hit an enemy once or twice to ignite them, then let the fire damage finish the job, making the AR-2 highly ammo efficient.
Performance versus Bugs
Against the bugs, the AR-2 Coyote truly shines. It’s extremely ammo efficient, handles the new Rupture variants with medium armor effectively, and performs well against Spewers, Hive Guards, and the tanky Brood and Alpha Commanders. Its only weak point comparatively is Shriekers and Fire Damage, where the Incendiary Breaker still reigns supreme. With the IE Breaker, one shot guarantees ignition, which isn’t always the case with the Coyote.
Performance Versus Bots
When going against the bots, there are many weapons that outperform the Coyote. Its horizontal recoil makes landing consistent headshots on Heavy Devastators challenging. While its medium armor penetration allows it to handle Gunships and Striders, it’s still not the best weapon for those targets. The Coyote is a decent option against bots, but assault rifles as a whole are less effective compared to choices like the Purifier, Punisher Plasma, Eruptor, and Scorcher.
Performance Versus Squids
The Coyote is highly effective against squids, capable of eliminating Voteless in just 1-2 shots, especially with ignition. It tears through Overseers and Elevated Overseers, with its medium armor penetration allowing full damage on their lightly armored bodies and even enabling headshots through their medium-armored helmets.
The Coyote can also handle Stingrays, Fleshmobs, and even Harvesters if you focus on their joints. However, with 1,000 health, it might take over half a magazine of concentrated fire to bring it down.
Attachments: Recoil
The horizontal recoil is the worst thing about the AR-2. This can be easily fixed with the Muzzle Brake attachment, decreasing it by 40%.
You can then decrease the Vertical Recoil significantly by adding the Vertical Foregrip, but it does come at the cost of Ergonomics.
Vertical Recoil can be eliminated entirely by adding a Compensator and a Vertical Foregrip, at the cost of worse Ergonomics and Horizontal Recoil.
In our testing, the best AR-2 Coyote attachments were the Muzzle Brake paired with the Vertical Foregrip and equipped with a Reflex MK2 Sight. This setup offered the best accuracy with minimal horizontal recoil and easily controllable vertical recoil.
Attachments: Ergonomics
Iron Sights are the base selection for this weapon, and thankfully adding a scope doesn’t negatively impact Ergonomics.
So, feel free to throw on a Reflex sight to make first person ADS a little fancier.
As for the Muzzle Brake and Vertical Foregrip, this combination will take 10 points off your Ergonomics, making the weapon harder to jump as quickly between targets.
The Compensator also impacts ergonomics, meaning you’ll have to trade in turning speed for recoil management with this weapon.
