A lightly-armoured reconnaissance vehicle mounted with a heavy machinegun.
stats
Call-In Time
15.75 Sec
Uses
Unlimited
Cooldown Time
480 Sec
traits
| Vehicle
Requirements
25000
lvl 25
The M-102 Fast Recon Vehicle is a Supply Stratagem in Helldivers 2. Also known as the FRV, it's a light vehicle of the Super Earth Armed Forces, added in the Omens of Tyranny update, premiering along with the return of the Illuminate. It has a chance to appear in the field in missions that occur within civilian city-colonies, generally near friendly side objectives such as the SEAF SAM Site or communications towers. Outside of that, it is a vehicle stratagem, called down from the Super Destroyer.
Players must enter the following sequence, using the default Ctrl+WASD keys or the controller D-Pad in order to call down this Stratagem during a mission:
Usage[]
The FRV can seat up to 5 Helldivers: a driver in control of vehicle movement; a rear gunner armed with a heavy machine gun mounted on a pintle ring; and 3 passengers who may use their primary, secondary, or support weapon while aiming. Each position must enter the vehicle from their respective side.
The vehicle has 5 driving modes: Neutral, Reverse, Drive, Low Gear 1 and Low Gear 2. The driver uses a paddle shifter to switch gears. As with a conventional automatic transmission, the Drive gear will automatically cycle through lower gears to achieve high speed, while the Low Gears limit speed in favor of torque for ascending hills or climbing obstacles.
The FRV carries a limited fuel supply of 60 liters. Its wide wheelbase and favorable power-to-weight ratio allow it to navigate steep terrain. The tires can be individually damaged, greatly reducing traction. While an FRV without tires can still be driven, it will be difficult to maneuver.
Like the various exosuits, the FRV can ram into enemies, and push around vehicles and other obstacles. The vehicle is modestly armored, though all occupants are exposed to outside fire and melee attack as well.
Controls[]
Key
Command
Sprint
Shift gear R → N → D → 1 → 2
Crouch
Shift gear R ← N ← D ← 1 ← 2
Melee
Horn
Change Camera
Switch seats (PC)
Climb
Handbrake
Drop
Toggle headlights (PC)
Controller users can switch seats by pressing O.[1]
Controller users can use the hand brake by pressing Square
The FRV is deployed into the field via Pelican when called in as a stratagem. Much like all Pelican-deployed stratagems, the crew will fire upon nearby enemies with the aircraft's chin-mounted autocannon as they approach the drop zone.
The FRV's body is medium armored, however its doors and tires are only lightly armored. This means that the vehicle's primary defense is its speed, as most medium-sized enemies have the armaments to easily destroy it.
Due to its light weight and soft suspension system, the FRV is prone to rolling over when speeding over rough terrain. It is advised to negotiate jumps and uneven terrain carefully and deliberately.
The FRV is a rear-wheeled drive vehicle. This makes it very good with acceleration, but very prone to oversteering due to it's massive rearward momentum. Additionally, losing the rear tires will render it substantially more difficult to maneuver.
The FRV's sole armament is a rear-mounted MG-206 Heavy Machine Gun with 100-round capacity and 4 spare magazines, which cannot be replenished. The RoF can be toggled between 450, 650, and 750 RPM. The weapon's heavy-penetration allows it to engage a plethora of enemies.
It is recommended to reload HMG while there is still a round in the chamber, as the bolt-pull animation adds an extra second to the process. The weapon also cannot be reload-cancelled like the mobile version, so there is a notable delay during this time.
Due to the vehicle's height and medium armor, the turret gunner is largely safe from small melee-only enemies, namely Scavengers and Voteless. Taller enemies like Berserkers, Stalkers, and Warriors are high enough to hit the gunner with their attacks.
The FRV is capable of running over most light and medium enemies. It itself is a decent battering ram against chaff. However, each enemy run over will slow it down slightly, so ensure that the vehicle is going at a high rate of speed before attempting to run over a large horde.
The car must be moving a certain speed to cause collision damage. This is typically around 30kph/18mph. At higher speeds, lighter infantry are gibbed on impact, and medium enemies are staggered while damaged.
Heavy and superheavy-armored units are generally immune to being run over.
Bile and spore terminids may cause a tire to rupture when run over. This can be somewhat mitigated by ramming them with the body of the car itself, rather than the wheels, but still carries an inherent risk.
Running into a solid obstacle at high speeds or rolling over will cause the turret gunner to go flying.
While passengers can shoot out with their weapons, caution is advised when multiple Helldivers are shooting outside, as friendly fire still applies and one can accidentally shoot their teammates who are doing the same. As much as possible, coordinate to only shoot within a 45-degree outward angle on each side.
Flamethrowers and explosive weaponry are especially ill-advised. If they must be used, they should be facing outwards and not be crossing the vehicle.
The passengers are now capable of using stratagems and throw grenades while inside the FRV, but it requires them to aim outside first.
If going solo, the driver is capable of quickly attacking by changing seats to the right, where they will be able to use their current weaponry and stratagems. Note that there is a small delay between switching from passenger to driver, which is something to take into account when being chased.
Enemy AI is somewhat fixated upon spotting a Helldiver in an FRV. This can be used to one's advantage, as it can be used to corral enemies from overwhelming friendly positions or lead them into an orbital barrage.
The vehicle can also be used as a barricade against small and medium enemies if positioned to block a bottlenecked route, as the AI will typically ignore the vehicle if nobody is inside it.
The FRV can seat a passenger holding objective and collectible equipment, such as SSSDs or stronghold high-value samples. However, the driver traditionally cannot drive while holding any of the two.
For an efficient setup, it is recommended that a two-man team collect equipment; one drives and another holds it.
The SH-32 Shield Generator Pack can help mitigate damage to the FRV when as the shield protects part of the vehicle. 4 Helldivers all using shield gen backpacks can effectively render the FRV largely impervious to small-arms fire.
The directional shield also protects the vehicle by a wider angle on it's own, but requires the user aim outside and expose themselves.
The FRV can become jacked off the ground by certain obstacles such as bollards. While there isn't much in the Helldiver's toolkit that can dislodge a stuck FRV (without risking damage), it may help to attract the attention of patrolling enemies.
General Driving Tips[]
Helldivers 2 has a somewhat realistic approach to driving, instead of an arcade-y one found in most other games. It is not recommended to always go on full power, as the FRV is very prone to rolling when destabilized at high speed.
The vehicle is front-heavy and is not very aerodynamic. It is recommended to brake and slow down when about to go over an incline, as it has a tendency to crash and roll on landing.
As much as possible, either go slow when going over bumpy patches of terrain, or avoid bumps altogether.
When rolling, steer towards the direction the vehicle is about to roll over to, as this increases the chance of the car righting itself.
As patriotic as it is, it is not recommended to always run over enemies at every opportunity, as they may be concealing bumps or rocks that will cause the car to flip when running over them at high speeds.
When parking the car on an incline, it is recommended to use either the brake or E-brake (reload key), and park against the incline's direction to reduce the chances of the car rolling on it's own.
The standard foot brake stops all 4 wheels, while the E-brake only stops the rear wheels. This makes the foot brake good at stopping quickly, while the E-brake is good for drifting tight corners as it gives more oversteer to the rear.
For a brief breakdown of the automatic transmission:
Reverse - The vehicle goes backwards
Neutral - Cuts power between the engine and transmission, vehicle cannot move under it's own power.
Drive - Vehicle cycles between the lowest-to-highest gears automatically. Allows vehicle to efficiently reach it's full potential, but may not provide enough torque, or provide too much speed in some circumstances.
1st Gear - Low Gear with high torque. Vehicle has low top speed and the engine is locked to 5000RPM, but accelerates rapidly, allowing it to climb and navigate inclines and rough terrain easier.
2nd Gear - Low Gear with low torque. Vehicle accelerates slowly, top speed is lowered, and the engine is locked to 5000RPM, allowing for more delicate and precise maneuvers. This is also useful for getting out of low-traction roads, like ice, where gunning it on drive or first gear will cause wheelspin
It should be noted that there is no Park option, meaning the vehicle will continue to roll when the driver exits the vehicle on an incline or while still in motion.
The FRV has higher speed on normal terrain. difficult terrain (such as mud or shallow water) roughly halves it's top speed. As a general rule, first gear is best used while off-roading to allow it to negotiate rough terrain and jumps easier, second gear is best used in flat terrain with obstacles, and drive is best used when going flat-out on clear ground.
The FRV has an optimal top speed of around 95kph/60mph. However, finding a stretch of road clear and long enough to achieve this is very rare.
Losing tires has different effects on the vehicle:
A front tire lost will cause it to understeer and potentially flip when braking at high speeds. Loss of both front tires will heavily diminish the vehicle's ability to turn.
A rear tire lost is a hit to the vehicle's acceleration, top speed, and stability. The vehicle will swerve violently to the side with a flat tire. Loss of both rear tires will heavily diminish the vehicle's stability and speed, sometimes making it impossible to move at all.
The loss of all 4 tires renders the vehicle largely unusable, beyond being a lightly-armored pillbox with a machine gun.
The tire pressure of the wheels are fairly high, and it is possible to be ragdolled if the tire is poped while one is next to it.
The FRV is best deployed to biomes with plenty of flat or hilly terrain, such as wastelands, deserts, and frozen terrain. Its is ill-advised to bring in jungle/swamp biomes, rocky mountains, or small extermination maps, as the FRV's size does not allow it to navigate the area effectively.
The FRV can ford shallow water, but not deep ones (typically ones that force helldivers to swim).
Care should be taken when driving through cities, as they have few passages through their perimeter walls. It is somewhat easy to be trapped in a cul-de-sac, requiring exit on foot through side alleys, or returning the same way entered.
Hitting native exotic flora with the vehicle should be avoided, as many of them have very detrimental effects in one way, or another.
Spike Plants - Will cause massive damage to passengers as all the seeds explode at close range. Most often however, the damage is lethal.
Moor Mushrooms - Nothing if simply run over, but will launch the vehicle up a considerable distance if it is shot while the vehicle is on a mushroom patch.
Ice Plants - Triggers the cold nova effect that saps all passengers' stamina inside, but will not affect the vehicle itself.
Bug Mines - Causes minor acid DoT, however, its most dangerous aspect is that it launches the vehicle slightly upwards upon explosion. This is not that harmful if running over them slowly, but may cause the vehicle to spin out of control or flip if running over one at high speeds. If multiple mines are triggered at once, it may cause the vehicle to fly violently if traveling at high speeds.
Volcano Plants - Explodes and sets fire to everyone around it. Is typically lethal for the passengers and destroys the vehicle's tires.
Bugs[]
Previously, the FRV had a bug where it might damage, or outright kill it's occupants while disembarking, if the terrain is uneven, or the vehicle has a flat tire. While no official patch has confirmed to fix this, the current and future builds of the game has largely eliminated the chances of this happening.
The Pelican will sometimes drop the FRV far from the designated beacon, even if the terrain is clear.
If a Bile Titan, Impaler, or Charger, causes the FRV to fly for whatever reason, it may get stuck in the terrain. If the driver is still inside when this happens, anything they're carrying will also get stuck in the terrain if they are killed.
When flipping over while accelerating on an inclined surface, there is a chance that the FRV will be sent flying several meters into the air.
When running over enemies, their corpses may get stuck on the vehicle's mesh and continue to be dragged around. The effect of this varies. Sometimes it is merely a visual distraction. And sometimes it may cause the vehicle to launch several hundred meters into the air, which will either result in the driver's death, or being launched out of the map's boundaries and executed by the Super Destroyer crew for perceived treason.
Despite having a tire destroyed, it may sometimes still appear intact. The wheel however, will clip into the ground and the damage to the vehicle's performance will still be present.
Through a bug, it is possible to ride with an holdable object AND drive at the same time. This involves getting into the front passenger seat, then using the "switch seat" vehicle button (crouch key by default) once inside.
The game may say "mission failed" upon doing this with an objective item, but this will not actually fail the mission and it will proceed as normal.
Gallery[]
Video[]
Trivia[]
The M-102 has been present in the game since the start; however, they were previously only found in the environment as destroyed, rusting wrecks in several locations.
By default, Helldivers have a black and yellow FRV. S.E.A.F. Army-issued FRVs have their own paint scheme of light gray and blue. There is no difference in performance between the two.
There are some accessibility modes with regards to gearshift:[2]
Super Earth Armed Forces, added in the Omens of Tyranny update, premiering along with the return of the 
Illuminate. It has a chance to appear in the field in missions that occur within civilian city-colonies, generally near friendly side objectives such as the SEAF SAM Site or communications towers. Outside of that, it is a vehicle stratagem, called down from the Super Destroyer.
Helldivers: a driver in control of vehicle movement; a rear gunner armed with a heavy machine gun mounted on a pintle ring; and 3 passengers who may use their primary, secondary, or support weapon while aiming. Each position must enter the vehicle from their respective side.
