Best Stratagems in Helldivers 2

By Jesse Lennox February 14, 2024

There are a lot of factors to consider when designing your perfect build in Helldivers 2. I don’t need to explain the importance of things like choosing the best weapon, but other parts of your loadout play just as big a role when your boots hit the ground.

While Boosters are more passive bonuses, Stratagems come in all shapes and sizes that can make it not only overwhelming to pick from, but even harder to know which ones are the most effective. Your initial few are easy to come to grips with, but as you level up and unlock more, you will need to make sure you’re bringing the best of the best to survive the more challenging missions. Here are the best Stratagems that will make Super Earth proud.

Best Stratagems

Four soldiers near an airstrike in Helldivers 2. — Arrowhead Games

You will unlock Stratagems all the way up until level 20, but not all the best ones are locked until you hit that rank.

Railgun — Level 20

Okay, so not all the best Strategems in Helldivers 2 require you to be level 20, but the best of the best sure does. The Railgun is a single-target eraser. It may not be a one-shot kill, but you will blast a hole so deep through whatever is unlucky enough to be hit by it, regardless of armor, that all it will take is a few more taps to bring it down. Besides having a small windup before firing, there’s not much downside to this weapon aside from its lack of crowd control utility. The ammo is good, damage is unbeatable, and you can even toggle it into “Unsafe Mode” if you want more damage at the risk of it backfiring.

Shield Generator Pack — Level 20

Once you hit the more difficult missions around Hard and onward, you won’t find much relief from enemies. No matter how good a shot you are and how coordinated your team is, damage will happen. Switching on the Shield Generator Pack deploys a little bubble shield around your character, negating any incoming projectile damage for a short time. When things get hectic, and they will, you’ll be glad you have this on you to give yourself some breathing room and hopefully turn the tides back in your favor.

Eagle 500KG Bomb — Level 15

Do you have a problem you need to take care of? The Eagle 500KG won’t just solve it. It will delete it. This is basically a screen-clear weapon that we haven’t found many situations in which it wasn’t exceptionally effective at cleansing an area. The Eagle doesn’t care if you’re a bug or a man. If you’re in the blast zone, you’re going down, and this strike is never late.

Orbital Railcannon Strike — Level 20

The Orbital Railcannon Strike is almost the opposite of the Eagle in all ways but deadliness. Instead of blanketing an area of death, the Railcannon Strike will automatically target it precision strike only the biggest enemy within its area. When you’re fighting a boss like a Charger, it lets you focus on running, surviving, and getting rid of the smaller mobs while death rains down from above at no risk to you or your team.

Autocannon Sentry — Level 13

Last up, who doesn’t love a good sentry? You just set it up, get out of its way, and let it mow down mobs or watch your flank for you. This version also comes with armor-piercing rounds, so it may even do a better job protecting you than some teammates.