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The Helldivers 2 fast recon vehicle, or FRV, is a car that can help you and your squad deal with the invading Illuminate and other forces that oppose Super Earth. The jeep in Helldivers 2 is an effective tool for moving around the map quickly, so you can complete your objectives much faster than usual. However, it's a challenge to control, and there are two additional variants to keep track of: the Supply FRV and the Incinerator FRV.
Either way, if you’re looking for a vehicle to grab or just want to know more about how to control the FRV in Helldivers 2, here’s exactly where you can find one, and how to drive it.
Helldivers 2 Fast Recon Vehicle explained
The Helldivers 2 Fast Recon Vehicle, or Jeep as players are calling it, was added in the 01.002.001 patch. It’s a car with enough spaces to fit four people, and also holds a mounted machine gun to fend off the Helldivers 2 Illuminate hordes that will try to overwhelm you.
The FRV can be obtained as a strategem, but can also be found in certain areas on a somewhat random basis (usually near markers of human civilization).
How to get the FRV in Helldivers 2
The FRV, or M-102 Fast Recon Vehicle, can be obtained in Helldivers 2 as a Stratagem for 25000 Requisition Slips, for any player of level 25 or up from the Super Destroyer shop. However, you can also find the FRV jeep as a random occurrence on any planet with urban colonies.
The FRV location will appear on the map as a little car icon, as seen above. However, they have also been known to appear without the icon present, so be sure to keep an eye out when exploring during Illuminate missions. Be sure to also keep in mind that the Fast Recon Vehicle will usually spawn in a city, so drop near an urban centre if you want to find a car near the beginning of a mission.
At the moment, FRVs are not available as part of the Helldivers 2 Stratagems. However, Arrowhead has stated that completing a Major Order in the future will unlock the jeep as a Stratagem to call in during missions. “Keep following the Major Orders issued by Super Earth High Command and you will get the keys to your very own FRV,” the developer writes.
How to get the Supply FRV
The Supply FRV has been added as part of the 6.3.0 update, and at time of writing can only be obtained by doing missions on the planet Basquine VIII.
It's a FRV variant for HD2 that comes with an automated turret on the roof, instead of a player controlled one. It also has an interaction point on the back to ejects supplies for players to use.
Finally, it's important to know that the automated turret will need to be reloaded when it runs out of ammunition. To do that, get out of the vehicle and interact with the buttons on either side of the back of the vehicle.
It's believed that the Supply FRV will be accessible at the end of the Major Order in which it was introduced (assuming that it's successful).
How to get the Incinerator FRV
The Incinerator FRV was also added as part of the 6.3.0 update. It can only be called in on the planet Sangis, though again, this is a limited time change that looks likely to differ at the end of the major order.
More similar to the standard Fast Recon Vehicle, it replaces the mounted heavy machine gun with a flamethrower, with all the ups and downs that implies. It's better for hordes and can be fired for long durations, but targeting enemies too close to you risks setting the vehicle on fire.
How to drive the Fast Recon Vehicle in Helldivers 2
When you find the FRV, press the interact key against any of the doors or the mounted machine gun to enter that particular seat. In the driver’s seat you can use the Left Stick on controllers to steer, with R2 and L2 for accelerating and braking.
There are also several FRV gearbox modes available to you while driving, with controls featuring five different modes: Reverse, Neutral, Drive, First, Second. Similar to driving a car in real life, you’ll need to manually change these gears as you’re driving to maintain control over the vehicle. You can alternate between by using the L1 and R1 buttons.
Another thing to note is there are now two accessibility options turned on by default: Auto reverse vehicles and Reverse gear inputs throttle. What these basically do is help your manoeuvrability by braking to reverse (similar to how most modern video games handle car controls) and using braking to throttle while reversing. Feel free to turn those off if you prefer a more manual style of input.
FRV tips
With the basics of Helldivers 2 cars out of the way, here are some tips to be aware of while zooming around during your missions.
- It’s better with mates. There’s no problem grabbing the car yourself and driving to the next objective, but teams who play together, stay together. Grab the car and pick up your teammates like a good taxi driver to take everyone to the next objective.
- Get someone on the mounted turret. The machine gun on the back of the FRV packs a serious punch. It’ll not only deal with those pesky Voteless hordes but also make quick work of flying enemies such as the Jetpack Overseers and Watchers. Better yet, the gun rotates by a full 360 degrees so the gunner will have full view of any threat coming at you.
- You can lean out the window to shoot. Anyone sat in the passenger seats has the ability to lean out the window and shoot at enemy units. With the vehicle moving fast, it can be hard to hit enemies at such speeds, but using a Helldivers 2 weapon such as the Scorcher or Commando will make landing shots easier. Be aware that firing from the passenger seats can still inflict friendly fire, so plan your shots accordingly.
- The turret has limited ammo. The mounted gun has four belts of ammo to use, and the reload time is pretty slow. Make sure your teammates can cover you from their passenger seats when it’s time to reload. And have a back-up plan in case the gunner runs out of ammo.
- Don’t take the vehicle off-road. Hills are the FRV’s worst enemy. If you decide to take it outside of the colonies, make sure you keep your speed low to avoid flipping the car. Doing so will damage the vehicle greatly and throw everyone out.
- Cars will explode with enough damage. The FRV isn’t invulnerable to damage. With enough hits from melee and ranged enemies, it’ll start smoking which is a surefire sign to get out and avoid being killed by the explosion. You should also be aware that tires can be popped too, leaving you with a much harder vehicle to control should you lose any wheels.
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