The best Helldivers 2 weapons and tier list

Our Helldivers 2 best weapons tier list ranks the strongest guns you can bring into battle, and with the Illuminate faction, Urban Legends warbond, and Killzone gear changing up the meta, how are thing looking right now? What are the best options for spreading Managed Democracy?

Months of updates have continually expanded the armory of weapons available to Helldivers, while ongoing updates and patches have regularly altered how many of them perform - the rise and fall of the Railgun has played out like a soap opera thanks to tweaks.

However, recent updates have done a lot to buff weapons that were lacking to rebalance the game and ensure there are many viable options, rather than nerfing the most powerful than than they were, and most of weapons are now usable when playing Helldivers 2, especially on the lower difficulties. We've ranked all the Helldivers 2 weapons and guns below in a full tier list, so you can equip everything you need before dropping into the battlefield.

Full Helldivers 2 weapon tier list

Your options for viable weapons available in Helldivers 2 is a long list, thanks to various Helldivers 2 patches aimed to buff and balance the power of weapons and stratagems that were sorely lacking. In particular, weapons like the Sickle and the Breaker are formidable against any opponent, while Stratagem support weapons such as the Railgun and Commando make for excellent loadouts.

We’ve sorted every loadout and stratagem weapon into a tier list ranging from S to D, and detailed why we’d put them there. If you want the best Helldivers 2 loadout, you’re going to want to pay attention to those in S-tier.

Helldiver 2 S-tier weapons

Excellent weapons that are perfect for most missions and enemies.

• Railgun (Stratagem): Devastating single-shot weapon that deals extremely high damage when overcharged in Unsafe Mode. Focusing on headshots and weak spots for maximum effect.
• Quasar Cannon (Stratagem): An extremely powerful energy weapon that fires a massive laser blast. It even has infinite ammo and doesn't need a backpack. Excellent against big, armored enemies, but power is offset by a significant cooldown time between shots.
• Flamethrower (Stratagem): Arguably the best weapon for dealing with bugs. The massive cloud of fire can incinerate hordes of small Terminids and even some larger bugs at close-to-medium range, and the Enhanced Combustion Helldivers 2 Ship Module makes it even better. Just try not to set yourself on fire.
• Sickle: This energy-based AR from the Helldivers 2 Cutting Edge Warbond is completely lethal, firing rapidly and capable of cutting down opponents swiftly, both bug and bot. It also has infinite ammo (in theory) if you effectively manage its cooling. Recent nerfs haven't been able to restrain this one - it's still utterly lethal.
• Breaker: While not as powerful as it was at launch, it's still one of the best weapons, you just need to use careful, precise shots.
• Scorcher: An explosive energy weapon that fires small bolts quickly and does very high damage per-shot. The only danger is that its explosive nature means shooting enemies close up can kill you too so keep your distance!
• Commando (Stratagem): An expendable rocket launcher that holds four rockets that can be somewhat controlled after firing thanks to laser guidance. It combines some of the benefits of the Expendable Anti-Tank and the Spear, making it great for dealing with large, armored enemies.
• Recoilless Rifle (Stratagem): A rocket launcher that deals high damage to any enemy and can destroy lots of structures. Excels when coordinating with an ally and having them rapidly feed you rockets.
• SG-451 Cookout shotgun: Added with the Helldivers 2 Freedom's Flame Warbond, this isn't quite the spray and pray chaos that the Incendiary Breaker used to be. But it's a beast if you want fire damage, with a constant and controllable rate of fire.
• Spear (Stratagem): An anti-armor rocket launcher that cannot be fired without a target lock - very specialised, but very deadly against heavily-armored enemies such as Helldivers 2 Tanks, Dropships, and Helldivers 2 Bile Titans.

Helldivers 2 A-tier weapons

Great weapons with minor drawbacks or specific niches.

• Autocannon (Stratagem): A powerful automatic cannon capable of destroying structures with excellent range. It's what you should buy if you can't get the Railgun yet. Requires a backpack, like the Recoilless Rifle, but holds loads of ammo.
• Incendiary Breaker: A version of the Breaker that's more specialized against bugs and unarmored enemies thanks to extra fire damage. Nerfs have decreased its ammo and made recoil worse, but it's still in the upper echelons.
• 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.
• 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 don't fire it at close range as the grenades will bounce unpredictably!
• Eruptor: The best weapon in the Helldivers 2 Democratic Detonation Warbond, the Eruptor is a bolt-action rifle that fires exploding shrapnel shells. It can wipe out enemies, sometimes many at once, and can even destroy nests and fabricators. But it is cumbersome and slow to use, and risks killing you if fired at an enemy that's too close.
• Anti-Materiel Rifle (Stratagem): A lethal sniper rifle that can be used to break armor and deal distant damage without much struggle. A great low-level Railgun substitute and useful against the Automatons.
• SMG-72 Pummeller: A solid SMG that fires concussive rounds that have a stunning effect on enemies.
• Stalwart (Stratagem): A versatile and powerful machine gun that clears smaller enemies effectively thanks to a huge magazine. Great against weaker Terminids and you're completely mobile while reloading, unlike the slightly more powerful Machine Gun.
• Redeemer Pistol (Secondary): A fast-firing machine pistol that chews up ammo, but also enemies at close range. Reliably cuts through unarmored enemies and can be drawn and fired quickly.
• Senator Pistol (Secondary): A heavy revolver that preserves ammo and leaves heavy holes in enemies. A very solid option.
• Incendiary Grenade: A firebomb used for area denial. Decent in extractions or defense missions.
• AG-22 Bushwhacker: This triple barrel shotgun can fire one or all of its barrels for precision and power and is good up close if you can time it well.
• High Explosive Grenade: The starting grenade is ultimately the best one - the small blast radius compensated for by high damage and some armor penetration.
• G-13 Incendiary Impact grenade: This explodes on impact coating enemies and the surround area with white phosphorus which then damage enemies that pass through it. Good for battlefield control, though recent nerfs to fire have taken it down a peg.
• AR-61 Tenderiser: This rifle trades magazine size for more stopping power and is one of the more powerful ARs as a result.
• P-72 Crisper: This short range, pistol-style flamerthrower secondary is great if you want fire damage sometimes, and don't want to sacrifice your primary weapon to get it. Useful to pull out if you're in a close range huddle of enemies.
• Jar-5 Dominator: This slow but powerful shotgun fires jet propelled rounds that hit like a truck, trading fire rate for stopping power.
• Diligence: A solid ranged rifle that's good for precision damage on robot enemies.
• Thermite Grenade: Burns whatever it sticks to for several seconds before exploding. Requires good aim to be effective as failing to stick an enemy with it makes it quite useless, but it's an excellent anti-armor grenade and one is enough to destroy a fabricator.

Helldiver B-tier weapons

Good weapons that can serve you well with the right loadout and playstyle.

• Laser Cannon (Stratagem): A laser beam weapon that, like the Quasar Cannon, has no backpack and infinite ammo (in theory). Cooks all enemies but Automatons are especially susceptible to it.
• Airburst Rocket Launcher (Stratagem): Fire proximity detonation rockets that then release a hail of cluster bombs in a wide area. Very powerful, especially against aerial enemies such as Helldivers 2 Shriekers, but massively likely to cause friendly-fire incidents. Be very careful.
• Defender: An SMG that can be used one-handed and is quite similar to the standard Liberator. Decent against close hordes or as a quick response.
• StA-52: The Helldivers 2 Killzone crossover assault rifle deals similar damage to the Liberator but has a faster fire rate and larger magazine, although it's balanced by more unwieldy recoil.
• Adjudicator: A decent assault rifle with medium armor penetration limited by a small magazine.
• Grenade Pistol (Secondary): This sidearm fires a single grenade, dealing solid damage over its blast radius. Pairs very nicely with Stun Grenades but suffers from low ammo reserves.
• Stalwart (Stratagem): A versatile and powerful machine gun that clears smaller enemies effectively thanks to a huge magazine. Great against weaker Terminids.
• 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.
• Arc Thrower (Stratagem): A charging lightning gun that has truly infinite ammo and sends out shocks that leaps between enemies (and allies). It's got great range and a decent stunning effect, making it good for crowd control, but isn't the greatest for actually killing things stronger than the most basic Terminid and Automaton infantry forces.
• Exploding Crossbow: A novelty weapon that packs a surprising explosive punch. It won't be to everyone's taste but it's certainly usable.
• Slugger: A Punisher variant that fires high-damage slugs. The Helldivers 2 Escalation of Freedom update buffed it notably - it's no gamebreaker yet, but it's good for dealing with mid-tier Bots.
• Diligence Counter Sniper: A bigger, punchier version of the Diligence that doubles down on its strengths but requires a stable firing position.
• Liberator: Standard starting assault rifle – works in almost any situation.
• Knight: A quick SMG with a very high fire rate and one-handed option. Eats through ammo quickly, but lethal at close range.
• Punisher: A slow-firing but punchy shotgun that has the benefit (and drawback) of reloading per shot, removing ammo waste but also slowing reloads.
• Flam-66 Torcher: This shorter range primary flamethrower is pretty good when dealing with close groups at short to medium range. It's lack of loger range damage can be an issue though.
• Stun Grenade: The Stun Grenade in the Cutting Edge Pass deals no damage but temporarily stuns enemies over a wide radius. An effective crowd control option, particularly against Automatons.
• Spray and Pray Breaker: A Breaker variant with a larger magazine, faster fire rate, and duckbilled choke, making its spread pattern largely horizontal.
• Frag Grenade: A small explosive that trades power for blast size, with extra shrapnel damage. Suited for clearing groups, especially bugs, and you can hold up to five of them.
• Scythe: A highly accurate and easy-to-use laser beam weapon that's serviceable against both robots and bugs and has the added bonus of being able to set enemies on fire.
• Dagger Pistol: A pocket version of the Scythe that's effective against weak enemies and can quickly ignite or finish off mid-tier enemies.
• SG-20 Halt: A shotgun from the Helldivers 2 Truth Enforcers Warbond that uses two types of ammo you load independently, meaning you can empty both ammo types before needing to reload. It deals great stun damage on medium armored enemies but is less effective against heavy armor.
• CQC-19 (Secondary Melee): This stun lance deals decent damage for a secondary, and certainly packs a punch when fighting against hordes of Voteless. Its fast attack speed also makes it a great utility for destroying shields. However, you also leave yourself open to close range damage, where taking a ranged secondary might be preferable.

Helldiver 2 C-tier weapons

Average weapons that are usable but far from being must-picks.

• Machine Gun (Stratagem): A rapid-fire, high-capacity weapon that packs a punch, but is both cumbersome and sometimes hard to control. You're also dangerously immobile while reloading.
• Heavy Machine Gun (Stratagem): An incredibly powerful gun that's also incredibly hard to aim, the recoil throwing the sights upwards, somehow even more than the normal machine gun. You'll need to stay crouched to use this effectively and be prepared to spend a lot of time reloading.
• Peacemaker Pistol: A serviceable starting pistol with balanced stats that's fine in a pinch.
• Liberator Penetrator: The starting gun but with slightly worse stats, balanced by medium armor penetration. A bit meh, frankly.
• Arc Blitzer: Like the Arc Thrower, the Blitzer fires arcs of electricity but doesn't require charging. It's also handy for applying a slightly weaker stun effect, but poor range and damage means it's lacking.
• SMG-32 Reprimand: An SMG that is very effective against Automatons and has strong base stats. Most effective at close-range but suffers at picking off far targets due to high recoil. With a low magazine size and long reload time compared to the other SMGs, it has its uses but isn’t worth taking on all missions.

Helldivers 2 D-tier weapons

Weapons whose performance is sub-par and aren't worth packing in your loadout.

• Liberator Concussive: An unremarkable explosive version of the standard Liberator with a massive drum magazine that doesn't really live up to the promise and is functional at best.
• PLAS-101 Purifier - With a slow charge to fire and a concussive effect that's as dangerous to you as the bugs, this is one of the worst weapons I've used in Helldivers 2.
• AR-23A Liberator Carbine - An assault rifle that feels more like an SMG. It ups the fire rate for more DPS but is harder to control as result.
• K-2 Throwing Knife - General opinion on the throwing knife is that it's fun to use but doesn't really have a clear purpose as a grenade alternative. It's not stealthy, can't be retrieved and isn't always a one hit kill.
• Smoke Grenade: A smoke grenade used for escaping enemies - something that rarely is a focus in Helldivers 2.
• PLAS-15 Loyalist: Similar to the Purifier but goes in your sidearm slot. That makes it slightly better, but still not worth taking in our experience.

Of course, if you need to actually get any of these weapons, we've explained how to unlock weapons in Helldivers 2 here. Obviously, your chosen loadout is also supported by several other Stratagems that can rain destruction on the enemies of Super Earth. We've laid out the best Helldivers 2 Stratagems if you want tips there too.

Illuminate best weapons and loadout in Helldivers 2

The best weapons for the Illuminate in Helldivers 2 means dealing with horde melee units and powerful ranged enemies. As such, you’ll want a loadout that brings weapons that are useful for crowd control, but also pack a punch against shielded foes.

Here’s what we recommend using for the Iluminate in Helldivers 2:

• SG-451 Cookout shotgun: If you can watch your ammo, the SG-451 is effective against nearly everything the Illuminate will throw at you and deals great fire damage. Use the Breaker if you don’t have access to this weapon.
• Anti-Materiel Rifle: If you have a decent aim, a well–placed headshot will make quick work of any shielded enemies. We wouldn’t recommend using it for Voteless crowds though, so pair it with a good secondary or Stratagem that works against them.
• Flamethrower: Devastating against Voteless hordes, but also decimates other stronger Illuminate units.
• Senator: Despite it being a secondary, don’t underestimate this revolver’s uses against shielded enemies - especially Harvesters.
• Recoilless Rifle: This deals immense damage to shields, and is particularly efficient at taking down Harvesters with little resistance. It’ll also destroy Illuminate ships quickly.
• Guard Dog: Take any version of this and it’ll clear crowds of enemies with ease, as well as provide handy cover when you need to reload.

Automatons best weapons and loadout in Helldivers 2

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:

• 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).
• Sickle: A laser weapon that shreds through bots and is highly accurate, making it great for focusing on tiny heads.
• Quasar Cannon: An all-round beast when it comes to destroying anything Automaton, including the bulkiest units, aerial vehicles, and even Fabricators.
• Commando: This heavy rocket launcher is good for the Automatons' larger forces, like the walking factories and tanks.
• Spear: The lock-on works on most large types of bots and can effectively target things like cannon turrets and fabricators. It's ammo is quite limited, but with such powerful rockets, every shot is practically guaranteed to be useful.
• Scorcher: Robots are more vulnerable to energy weapons, and the Scorcher is the best of that sort, also blowing up armor.

Terminids best weapons and loadout in Helldivers 2

Terminids 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 against bugs:

• Flamethrower: A great weapon for keeping bugs back, even heavily-armored Terminids like Helldivers 2 Chargers. Just be aware of it setting the ground on fire.
• Sickle: Spray and pray while managing your cooling to blast those weaker bugs apart.
• Incendiary Breaker: This fiery version of one of the game's best weapons is well-suited for killing bugs, but it's limited ammo can be an issue. The regular Breaker is also great if you don't have this version.
• Stalwart: When holding back hordes of insects, a rapid-fire machine gun that rarely need to be reloaded is a good bet, especially if you can still maintain some mobility for backing up.
• G-13 Incendiary Impact grenade - Layering the area with white phosphorus is a great way of damaging any bugs trying to get near you.
• SG-451 Cookout shotgun: There's so much fire with this thing it can sometimes be hard to tell what's happening, but it's great against bugs.

© 12DOVE. Not to be reproduced without permission