Best Helldivers 2 loadouts for beating the toughest enemies

Choosing the best Helldivers 2 loadouts, featuring meta weapons and Stratagems, will help you complete the most brutal missions in the game. After many additions since launch and huge changes with the most recent Helldivers 2 patch, the current meta is quite varied, with plenty of viable support weapon Stratagems and other tools to pick from that are both fun and effective. With that said, knowing the Helldivers 2 sandbox well and tailoring your gear to the mission at hand and planning with your teammates is much more useful than just choosing the best gear for yourself. To help you fight for Super Earth with maximum effectiveness, I've explained some of the best Helldivers 2 loadouts for all difficulties.

Best Helldivers 2 meta loadout

Picking an overall meta loadout for Helldivers 2 is tricky as there are so many great weapons to pick now, but also some that are only good for certain enemy types. Coordinating pretty much every aspect of your loadout with your teammates – especially Helldivers 2 Boosters – is also quite crucial at the highest difficulties, so an army-of-one-style loadout might not be needed. Regardless, here’s the best general-purpose loadout for missions:

• Primary: Sickle energy weapon
• Secondary: Redeemer, Grenade Pistol, or Bushwhacker
• Grenade: Stun, or Gas
• Armor: Any light or medium armor (the passive perk is up to you)
• Stratagems: Railgun + Personal Shield Generator + Orbital Laser + Eagle 500kg Bomb

Overall, this build has plenty of versatility thanks to the range of weapons and Stratagems available to you, helping you tackle the weakest cannon fodder foes, all the way up to the most heavily armored Helldivers 2 enemies. The Sickle is a standout all-rounder and is very easy to use, while the Railgun is very powerful and can help you take down tougher enemies. The slowing effects of either the Stun or Gas grenades will help you make better use of some of the best Helldivers 2 Stratagems – the Orbital Laser and 500kg Bomb – while the Shield Generator is essential to keeping you alive.

If you're playing a more defense-based mission – perhaps one that's part of a Helldivers 2 Defense campaign – you should consider swapping one Stratagem for a sentry turret, such as the EMS Mortar, Gatling, or Autocannon Sentries. You could even use this loadout for Helldivers 2 solo missions, though I wouldn't recommend playing alone at these difficulty levels.

Unfortunately, some of the best gear isn't unlocked until you near or at level 20, namely the Shield Generator Pack and Railgun, and some excellent weapons are locked behind Warbonds. For example, the Sickle is found in the Helldivers 2 Cutting Edge Warbond, while the Grenade Pistol is in the Helldivers 2 Democratic Detonation Warbond. Although, there are so many great alternatives you can use to create a more specialized loadout when fighting each of the Helldivers 2 factions, so don’t think of this loadout as the ultimate goal that all players in your squad should use or aspire to when playing on the hardest Helldivers 2 difficulties.

Best Helldivers 2 Terminid loadout

The Helldivers 2 Terminids mainly use swarming tactics and melee attacks, seeking to overwhelm teams of Helldivers with pure numbers, slowing venom, and ferocious claws. They’re generally not as well armored as the Automatons and feature a lot of dangerous but fragile units that are susceptible to fire. Here's a good meta loadout for killing Terminids in Helldivers 2:

• Primary: Breaker shotgun, Breaker Incendiary, Cookout shotgun, Sickle
• Secondary: Redeemer, Grenade Pistol, or Crisper
• Grenade: Gas Grenade
• Armor: Any light or medium armor (the passive perk is up to you)
• Stratagems: Flamethrower + Personal Shield Generator + Orbital Naplam Barrage + Orbital Laser, Orbital Railcannon Strike, or Eagle 500kg Bomb

Fire is extremely effective against the Terminids so if you want to survive to kill as many as possible, you need to be the ultimate bug barbecue-r. The Flamethrower support weapon is essential as it can incinerate swarms and even burn through the armor of creatures like Helldivers 2 Chargers. Take the Personal Shield Generator to protect yourself from bile and other attacks and the Helldivers 2 Chemical Agents Gas Grenade to slow and confuse Terminids and you'll have a pretty solid loadout. 

As for other Stratagems, the Orbital Napalm Barrage is downright busted if you drop it on a nest or breach, scorching a massive area for well over 30 seconds, though the Eagle Napalm Strike is a good alternative. These are also even better with the Enhanced Combustion Helldivers 2 Ship Module.

Variety is key, however, so this Helldivers 2 loadout shouldn't be used by all four team members – four Flamethrowers would be quite ridiculous after all – but it's good for one or two people to pack to ensure swarms and many of the tougher enemies are dealt with. Other players can then use dedicated anti-armor weapons, such as the Autocannon, Quasar Cannon, Commando, and Recoilless Rifle to take down the largest of the Terminids, such as Impalers and Helldivers 2 Bile Titans.

Best Helldivers 2 Automaton loadout

Dealing with the Helldivers 2 Automatons requires hard-hitting weaponry that can be fired at a variety of ranges. Thankfully, there are many options when it comes to effective bot-killing weapons, but energy weaponry is a good place to start. Here's what I recommend for the best Helldivers 2 Automaton loadout:

• Primary: Scorcher energy weapon, Sickle, or Diligence
• Secondary: Grenade Pistol, Bushwhacker, or Redeemer
• Grenade: Thermite or Stun Grenade
• Armor: Any light or medium armor (the passive perk is up to you)
• Stratagems: Quasar Cannon or Railgun + Personal Shield Generator + Orbital Railcannon Strike, Orbital Laser, or Eagle 500kg Bomb

Currently, the Quasar Cannon and Railgun feel like the best options for fighting the Automatons, capable of killing Helldivers 2 Hulks and other big robots easily. Arguably the most important aspects of these weapons is that they doesn't take up a backpack slot, which means you can still use the Personal Shield Generator for more protection from Automaton guns. Stun grenades are also a great choice against the bots as they'll buy you valuable time to run, recover, or line up a deadly headshot. Thermite Grenades are an excellent option too now, with great anti-armor power to go with all your other Stratagems.

Of course, it's still a good idea for one or two team members to a different loadout. For example, having one player swap out the Quasar Cannon and shield pack for a Spear, Recoilless Rifle, or Commando is almost essential, adding more anti-vehicle and anti-structure firepower to the team so you can take down Helldivers 2 Gunships, Fabricators, and Tanks more easily.

Best Helldivers 2 loadout for beginners

Some of the best loadout options that are currently top of the Helldivers 2 meta aren't available until level 15, or even level 20, which can take a while to reach. While you try to level up fast in Helldivers 2, there are some solid alternatives and less powerful Stratagems you can unlock for lower difficulty missions, so I've created a loadout using only weapons and Stratagems unlocked before level 10 and no premium Warbonds. Broadly, I recommend choosing one Support Weapon Stratagem, one Orbital Offensive Stratagems, one Eagle Offensive Stratagem, and one Sentry Defensive Stratagem:

• Primary: Liberator assault rifle
• Secondary: Redeemer pistol
• Armor: Any medium armor
• Support Weapon Stratagems: Anti-Materiel Rifle, Stalwart, Recoilless Rifle, Grenade Launcher
• Offensive Stratagems: Eagle Strafing Run, Eagle Airstrike, Orbital Precision Strike, Orbital 120mm HE Barrage
• Defensive Stratagems: Gatling Sentry, Mortar Sentry

With lots of useful Stratagems available, it's a good idea to ensure you and your allies choose a variety to ensure you can tackle any foe in the low-to-medium difficulties. You need armor-penetrating and explosive weapons and Stratagems to deal with boss-type enemies, but also some that can deal with swarms of weaker foes.

Once you reach level 10, you can get things like the Autocannon, Orbital 120mm HE Barrage, Eagle 110mm Rocket Pods, and both Guard Dogs, which are all useful Stratagems to have in the moderate and upper difficulties, helping you get closer to the best possible loadouts in Helldivers 2 by level 20.

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