Smarter Guard Dogs makes the three shooting guard dog backpacks aim the way you wish they did.
NEW IN 2.0
- More efficient aiming: less hesitation in big fights, and no shooting into cover at enemies the dog can't see.
- Skips armour it can't hurt (optional): the Guard Dog leaves Hulks, Heavy Devastators, Chargers, Tanks, emplacements and other Heavy armour alone; the Rover also leaves Devastators and Scout Striders. The K-9 skips nothing.
- Guard Dog range: it deals with enemies in range instead of waiting on ones too far to hit.
- Rover spreads its fire, lighting the closest unlit enemies first.
- Laser follows the Guard Dog's barrel and turns off while the dog reloads.
- About 70% lighter on your PC.
ALSO
- Won't shoot through you, and looks ahead when you spin around (the K-9 also avoids arcs that would chain back to you).
- Closest threat first.
- No shooting the dead: moves on the moment its target dies.
- Optional targeting laser, only on your screen: green while firing, flashing red when the safety stops a shot.
Only your own dog is affected. Works hosting or joining, and finds what it needs again after game patches. Hot Dog and Dog Breath are not changed.
OPTIONS (Arsenal / HD2 Mod Manager)
- Smarter Guard Dogs - the core. Keep this on.
- Targeting laser - turn off to hide the laser.
- Armour skipping - turn off to let the dogs shoot everything.
REQUIREMENTS
- Bingus Shared Loader v15 or newer (last in the load order): https://ayakamods.com/mods/bingus-shared-loader.3861/
INSTALL / UPDATE
Add Smarter-Guard-Dogs-2.0.0.zip in your mod manager (remove 1.x first), check the options you want, purge/deploy, and restart the game.
NOTES
- Don't combine it with other mods that change guard dog targeting (e.g. Laser Rover Targeting Optimization).
- A few heavies haven't been seen in testing yet (Vox Engine, Jet Brigade Hulk Bruiser, some Illuminate); the dogs treat those like the base game does until an update adds them.
- Made and tested on the September 2026 game version.
- How it works: a Lua addon that hides specific enemies from your dog's target list and asks it to pick again. No DLLs, no game code patched, and everything is put back when not needed.
TROUBLESHOOTING
Attach SmarterGuardDogs.log to your bug report.
CHANGELOG
2.0.0 - Armour skipping (optional), no shooting into cover, Guard Dog range, Rover fire spreading, less hesitation, laser follows the barrel and turns off while reloading, ~70% lighter.
1.1.0 - Targeting laser option, more efficient targeting.
1.0.x - Player safety, closest threat first, retarget on kill, fast Rover switching.
CREDITS
- retrox - Laser Rover Targeting Optimization: the original idea and research (independent re-implementation, no shared code).
- Sentry Aim Retention (CowboyBingus) - the retarget-on-loss idea.
- CowboyBingus - Bingus Shared Loader.
- Armour values: Helldivers Wiki (helldivers.wiki.gg).
NEW IN 2.0
- More efficient aiming: less hesitation in big fights, and no shooting into cover at enemies the dog can't see.
- Skips armour it can't hurt (optional): the Guard Dog leaves Hulks, Heavy Devastators, Chargers, Tanks, emplacements and other Heavy armour alone; the Rover also leaves Devastators and Scout Striders. The K-9 skips nothing.
- Guard Dog range: it deals with enemies in range instead of waiting on ones too far to hit.
- Rover spreads its fire, lighting the closest unlit enemies first.
- Laser follows the Guard Dog's barrel and turns off while the dog reloads.
- About 70% lighter on your PC.
ALSO
- Won't shoot through you, and looks ahead when you spin around (the K-9 also avoids arcs that would chain back to you).
- Closest threat first.
- No shooting the dead: moves on the moment its target dies.
- Optional targeting laser, only on your screen: green while firing, flashing red when the safety stops a shot.
Only your own dog is affected. Works hosting or joining, and finds what it needs again after game patches. Hot Dog and Dog Breath are not changed.
OPTIONS (Arsenal / HD2 Mod Manager)
- Smarter Guard Dogs - the core. Keep this on.
- Targeting laser - turn off to hide the laser.
- Armour skipping - turn off to let the dogs shoot everything.
REQUIREMENTS
- Bingus Shared Loader v15 or newer (last in the load order): https://ayakamods.com/mods/bingus-shared-loader.3861/
INSTALL / UPDATE
Add Smarter-Guard-Dogs-2.0.0.zip in your mod manager (remove 1.x first), check the options you want, purge/deploy, and restart the game.
NOTES
- Don't combine it with other mods that change guard dog targeting (e.g. Laser Rover Targeting Optimization).
- A few heavies haven't been seen in testing yet (Vox Engine, Jet Brigade Hulk Bruiser, some Illuminate); the dogs treat those like the base game does until an update adds them.
- Made and tested on the September 2026 game version.
- How it works: a Lua addon that hides specific enemies from your dog's target list and asks it to pick again. No DLLs, no game code patched, and everything is put back when not needed.
TROUBLESHOOTING
Attach SmarterGuardDogs.log to your bug report.
CHANGELOG
2.0.0 - Armour skipping (optional), no shooting into cover, Guard Dog range, Rover fire spreading, less hesitation, laser follows the barrel and turns off while reloading, ~70% lighter.
1.1.0 - Targeting laser option, more efficient targeting.
1.0.x - Player safety, closest threat first, retarget on kill, fast Rover switching.
CREDITS
- retrox - Laser Rover Targeting Optimization: the original idea and research (independent re-implementation, no shared code).
- Sentry Aim Retention (CowboyBingus) - the retarget-on-loss idea.
- CowboyBingus - Bingus Shared Loader.
- Armour values: Helldivers Wiki (helldivers.wiki.gg).
