When it comes to your firepower in Helldivers 2, the weapons you procure during missions easily trounce whatever you’re deploying with. The only downside is that you can never count on which ones you will find, if any. Therefore, whatever you slot into your loadout needs to be able to keep up with the threats you’re likely to encounter. Most weapons tend to have a stronger utility when facing different enemy types, but there still exists a hierarchy of guns that simply outclass the others.
If you’re in need of the strongest weapons to spread democracy across the galaxy and make Super Earth proud, here are the best weapons you should drop with in Helldivers 2.
Best Helldivers 2 weapons
Depending on what enemies you expect to face in a mission, mainly either bugs or robots, you may want to change up your weapon to give you an edge. Any of these weapons are perfect to pick based on the threat or are generally good in all situations so you don’t have to think too hard.
PLAS-1 Scorcher Plasma Rifle
Our first pick is technically just an energy weapon, but it feels like an entirely new class all on its own. This is a medium-range weapon that shoots “bolts” of heated gas that explode wherever they land. This makes it amazing for crowd control if you can sneak shots into the heart of a group.
The downsides are twofold. First. explosions are dangerous. Helldivers 2 is notoriously unforgiving with friendly fire, so you have to have a good amount of situational awareness to not catch a teammate or yourself in the blast radius. The second is that it normally only has 10 rounds before needing a reload, though you can upgrade that to 20.
Breaker
If there was any shotgun we’d trust on a run, it’d be the Breaker. Of all the weapons in this class, this one has the best balance of damage and range. Naturally, it is still best suited for close encounters, but it’s more versatile than the other shotguns. While this version is balanced well for most missions, you could swap it for the incendiary variant if you know you’re going up against bugs or enemies with no armor.
Just be cautious of your ammo use. Being a fully automatic weapon, you can chew through your reserves before you know it.
Liberator
Don’t assume your trusty Liberator can’t keep up with the later weapons. In terms of being an all-purpose assault rifle, this gun may not excel in any specific situation, but it won’t ever fail you. This is a solid choice to fall back on if you are grinding out missions and don’t want to think too hard about min-maxing your loadout. You can also opt for the explosive version for more damage if you can handle the recoil.
Scythe
Laser weapons are the most situational type in Helldivers 2, and are really only being worth bringing out against robots, but the Scythe is not only the most fun, but also the best in our eyes. The most appealing aspect of this gun is that it doesn’t consume any ammo at all, and instead just needs to cool off after firing. So long as you can manage that, you’ll never be caught off guard. Being able to melt through enemies with a sustained energy beam never gets old.
Redeemer Pistol
We needed to include at least one secondary weapon on this list, and the Redeemer instantly came to mind. Even though it is technically called a pistol, this is much more of a small machine gun or SMG in terms of function. Its strength is also its downside, though, because while being able to unload its ammo at such a rapid pace will certainly save you in a pinch, it will also leave you on empty after a use or two.
