The best Helldivers 2 weapons and guns are changing all the time, as patches and updates add new weapons, nerf and buff them for rebalances, or just alter what you're likely to be fighting and what you'll need. As new Warbonds and public feedback alter the weapon pool in Helldivers 2, we're constantly keeping up to date, tweaking our weapon tier list below so you're fully able to understand what weapons are best for killing bugs, bots and even each other - accidentally, of course!
So yes, we've formed a tier list of all the best weapons in Helldivers 2 for you right here, with the best primary, secondary, support weapons and grenades all laid out clearly. Lock and load, Helldivers!
The best weapon in Helldivers 2
- Best Stratagem weapon(s): Railgun / Arc Thrower / Grenade Launcher
- Best primary weapon: Breaker Shotgun / Sickle
- Best secondary weapon: Redeemer Pistol
- Best grenade: High Explosive
The best weapon in Helldivers 2 has become a little blurrier since the game's launch, but we would say that the Railgun is still near the top even after losing penetration power, though now it shares with the Arc Thrower and Grenade Launcher, both of which are incredibly potent, though neither is as well-suited to killing the larger, more armored enemies.
Back to the Railgun, it has a short charging time before you fire it and needs to be reloaded after every shot, though it's pretty quick to do that, and has a large supply of ammo, effectively allowing it to be a substitute for your main weapon. It's not uncommon to see people only using the Railgun, firing targeted shots at the biggest threats and resupplying periodically while a Rover or other players thin out the weaker enemies.
Full Helldivers 2 weapons tier list
Below I've put all loadout and stratagem weapons into a tier list, including some details on the pros and cons of each one.
- S-tier
- Railgun (Stratagem): Devastating single-shot weapon that can be overcharged, though has lost some of its armor penetration in patches. Focus on headshots in Unsafe mode though, and you'll be fine.
- Breaker: Recent patches have given it a smaller clip and greater recoil, but it's still one of the best weapons, you just need to use more careful, precise shots.
- Arc Thrower (Stratagem): A charging lightning gun that preserves ammo and sends out shocks that leaps between enemies. Some people really like it, but it takes some learning and can leap to allies too.
- Grenade Launcher (Stratagem): A high-capacity grenade launcher that's very good against medium-tier enemies and can be used to destroy nests and fabricators. Just be careful around your friends!
- Scorcher: An explosive energy weapon that blows up robot armor especially well, doing very high damage. The only danger is its explosive nature means shooting enemies close up can kill you too - keep your distance!
- Sickle: This energy-based AR in the Cutting Edge Warbond is completely lethal, firing rapid blasts that cut down opponents swiftly.
- A-tier
- Liberator: Standard starting assault rifle, works in almost any situation.
- Stalwart (Stratagem): Versatile and powerful machine gun that clears smaller enemies effectively.
- Anti-Materiel Rifle (Stratagem): Lethal sniper rifle that can be used to break armor and do distant damage without much struggle. A great low-level Railgun substitute.
- Flamethrower (Stratagem): The most recent balance has given the Flamethrower a 50% damage boost, making it very potent. Serves great in close-to-medium range for handling Bug hordes.
- Quasar Cannon (Stratagem): A charging energy weapon that does massive damage and has infinite shots. Excellent against big enemies at range, but you do have to wait for it to cooldown after every firing.
- Autocannon (Stratagem): A powerful automatic cannon that's what you buy if you can't get the Railgun yet. Requires ammo feeding, like the Recoilless Rifle.
- Spray and Pray Breaker: A Breaker variant that has been kindly treated in the recent patch, with buffed fire rates and armor penetration.
- Redeemer Pistol (Secondary): A fast-firing uzi that chews up ammo, but also enemies.
- Recoilless Rifle (Stratagem): A rocket launcher that excels when coordinating with an ally and having them rapidly feed you rockets.
- Incendiary Breaker: A version of the Breaker that's more specialised against bugs and unarmored enemies at cost of robot effectiveness.
- High Explosive (Grenade): The starting grenade is ultimately the best one - the small blast radius compensated for by high damage and some armor penetration.
- Stun (Grenade): The Stun Grenade in the Cutting Edge Pass does no damage, but temporarily stuns enemies over a wide radius. An effective crowd control option.
- B-tier
- Punisher Plasma (Shotgun): An energy variant of the Punisher shotgun that deals in formidable explosive rounds.
- Laser Cannon (Stratagem): A beam laser that cooks robots well and doesn't use ammo. Recent patches have generally improved it to the top of the B-tier.
- Diligence: A solid ranged rifle that's good for precision damage on robot enemies.
- Diligence Counter Sniper: A bigger, punchier version of the Diligence that doubles down on its strengths but requires a stable firing position.
- Machine Gun (Stratagem): A heavier, slower, deadlier version of the Stalwart that packs a punch, but remains cumbersome.
- Spear (Stratagem): An anti-armor rocket launcher - very specialised, but very deadly against heavily-armored Automaton enemies such as Helldivers 2 Tanks and dropships. Problem is that lock-on makes it hard to target specific weaknesses.
- Knight: A quick SMG with a very high fire rate and one-handed option. Eats through ammo quickly, but lethal at close range.
- Expendable Anti-Tank (Stratagem): A decent way to clear armored enemies in a hurry, but the Recoilless is better. Benefits from an extremely short cooldown so can be called in more frequently than any other support weapon Stratagem.
- Senator Pistol (Secondary): A heavy revolver that does preserve ammo well, but does less damage than you'd hope and requires frequent reloading.
- Defender: An SMG that can be used one-handed. Decent against close hordes or as a quick response.
- Slugger: A Punisher variant that deals high-damage slugs, often staggering opponents, but hard to aim and use quickly. Good for middling-tier foes like Devastators.
- Incendiary (Grenade): A firebomb used for area denial. Decent in extractions or defense missions.
- Impact (Grenade): A zero-fuse explosive that's suited for precision blasts, but can't be used as effectively on bug holes or bot factories.
- Blitzer (Shotgun): The most expensive Cutting Edge weapon, the Blitzer fires arc lightning, but isn't that reliable. Good for crowds of low level enemies and not much else - certainly the low end of the B-tier.
- Punisher: A slow shotgun that was generally buffed in the recent patch, but only to the point of being mediocre.
- Heavy Machine Gun (Stratagem): An incredibly powerful gun that's also incredibly hard to aim, the recoil throwing the sights upwards. Somehow even more machine gun than the normal machine gun, you'll need to stay crouched to use this effectively.
- C-tier
- Peacemaker Pistol (Secondary): A serviceable starting pistol that's fine in a pinch, with balanced stats.
- Scythe: A recharging, accurate laser that's serviceable against robots, but not great against bugs.
- Concussive Liberator: An unremarkable explosive version of the standard AR that doesn't really live up to the promise and is functional at best.
- Dominator: A slow, impactful AR with armor penetration - but limited power.
- Frag (Grenade): An explosive that trades power for blast size. Suited for clearing groups.
- Dagger (Secondary): A laser pistol from the Cutting Edge Warbond that's only saving grace is its infinite ammo.
- Penetrating Liberator: The starting gun but with slightly worse stats, balanced by light armor penetration. A bit meh, frankly.
- Smoke (Grenade): A smoke grenade used for escaping enemies - something that rarely is a focus on Helldivers 2.
Of course, if you need to actually get any of these weapons, we'll explain how to unlock weapons in Helldivers 2 here.
Best weapons for Automatons
Bots in are the more heavily-armored Helldivers 2 faction and tend to fight at range, occasionally with glowing weak spots that need to be targeted, and are best fought with any of the following weapons:
- Breaker: This shotgun is good against everything, as mentioned.
- Railgun: If you're a high enough level to get it, this armor penetrating Stratagem can be used to two-shot Helldivers 2 Hulks if you hit their glowing, red eye (assuming you'll risk the Unsafe mode).
- Anti-Materiel Rifle: This powerful sniper rifle can blow holes in enemies and target weak points well enough for early players.
- Scorcher: Robots are more vulnerable to energy weapons, and the Scorcher is the best of that sort, also blowing up armor.
Best weapons for Bugs
Bugs in Helldivers 2 are generally less armored than bots (though there are exceptions), fight more in melee and close range, appear in greater numbers and have a vulnerability to fire. You should use any of the following:
- Breaker: I keep telling you that the Breaker is good.
- Incendiary Breaker: This inflammatory version of the game's best weapon is more specialized against certain kinds of bugs.
- Stalwart: When holding back hordes of insects, a rapid-fire machine gun that rarely need to be reloaded is a good bet.
- Flamethrower: A great weapon for keeping bugs back and it's surprisingly useful against even heavily-armored Terminids like Helldivers 2 Chargers. Just be aware of it setting the ground on fire.
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