Helldivers 2: Best Stratagems, Ranked

Helldivers 2 delivers bombastic action and explosive combat around every corner and on every battlefield across the galaxy. Featuring dangerous foes like the cybernetic Automaton menace and the insectoid Terminid hordes, Helldivers need all the help they can get to push back these enemies of democracy. In order to accomplish this monumental task, the game offers a wide variety of equipment beyond your typical primary/secondary weapons, from single-use rockets and sentry turrets to shoulder-mounted lasers and bombs dropped from orbit.

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These Stratagems — special equipment and ordnance provided by Super Earth — make up the bulk of your most powerful tools on every battlefield. Every Stratagem is useful in some scenarios, but not all Stratagems are created equal. This list will delve into the best Stratagems you can bring with you on your next Helldive, covering both Support Weapons, backpack items, sentry turrets, and ordnance delivered straight from your Super Destroyer in orbit. Each entry will explore what makes each Stratagem so effective and in what scenarios it can be best utilized.

5 Eagle Airstrike

Quick-Use Stratagem That Destroys Buildings & Common Enemies

Eagle Airstrike is a powerhouse and one of the best ‘workhorse’ Stratagems in the game. Delivering a powerful blast to a fairly focused, targeted area (limiting its team-killing potential), it requires a simple 4-button input to summon. It comes with 2 charges before Eagle Rearm (3 with the Expanded Weapons Bay Ship Module), and it will destroy almost every building in the game. Not only that, but it will close Bug Holes and destroy Bot Fabricators — this is always a fantastic option, regardless of your mission objectives or enemy faction.

It doesn’t perform well against armored targets, though, so it’s important to bring along other counters to heavily armored enemies, but for every other situation, the Eagle Airstrike is an extremely reliable Stratagem that you’ll use over and over on every mission. There is no single better Stratagem to bring along on Blitz missions where you need to destroy Bug Nests or Bot Fabricators — along with any nearby enemies — on a quick 12-minute turn-around.

4 Autocannon

The All-Purpose Multitool Of Helldivers 2

The Autocannon is a phenomenal Support Weapon, and having one (or two) in any squad is a huge help, regardless of the mission objectives. This is because the Autocannon is essentially the Swiss Army Knife of Helldivers 2. It shines in such a wide variety of scenarios: it’s great at taknig out groups of weaker enemies; it quickly dispatches major threats like Devastators, Hulks, Brood Commanders, and Bile Spewers; it destroys mission objectives like Spore Spewers and Illegal Broadcastsfrom across the map; and it closes enemy spawn points like Bug Holes and Bot Fabricators.

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If any single weapon in Helldivers 2 gives off a ‘one man army’ feeling, it’s the Autocannon. It can become even more devastating when an ally is wearing your ammo backpack, but even without that, the weapon is a terror on the battlefield. It is ineffective against Bile Titans and struggles against Tanks and Chargers, so it’s not the answer to everything, but it solves enough battlefield problems to be worthy of its inclusion on this list.

3 Quasar Cannon

Super-Powered Laser With A Long Cooldown Between Shots

The Quasar Cannon didn’t launch with the game, being added later on in a late-March patch, but it made a huge splash when it released, instantly leaping to the top of the meta. Offering a reliable (and rechargeable) method for dishing out serious damage to any high-priority targets on the battlefield, the Quasar Cannon is a must-have Stratagem in any squad. It has unlimited ammo, and only operates on a 10-second cooldown.

This massive laser cannon will instantly kill a Charger or Hulk with a well-placed shot, deal critical damage to Bile Titans, and all without running out of ammo! It’s not really the ultimate weapon, however. That 10-second recharge timer between shots can really be felt during more hectic encounters with multiple heavy units, and its 3-second charge time can leave you vulnerable to enemy fire/attacks, which will throw off your aim. The Quasar Cannon truly shines when planning ahead and making that first crucial strike in a battle — so for those who stumble into encounters, it won’t feel quite as effective as, say, an Expendable Anti-Tank.

2 Eagle 500KG Bomb

Huge Damage, Small Area

The Eagle 500KG Bomb is one of the most impressive Stratagems from a visual standpoint, as it’s basically a small tactical nuke dropping directly on whatever it is you no longer want to see on the battlefield. It does a lot of damage, and it is perhaps the best tool for dealing with Bile Titans. Unfortunately, it has a shockingly small blast radius, sometimes comically exploding right beside a Bile Titan and leaving it unscathed in the nuclear glow.

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Once you get the hang of exactly where you need to place it for ultimate destruction, however, it becomes an indispensable tool on the battlefield. With the Expanded Weapons Bay Ship Module, you actually get two back-to-back uses before needing an Eagle Rearm, but between the two-uses-per-rearm and Eagle Rearm taking only 2 minutes with the Pit Crew Hazard Pay Ship Module, this is the go-to tool for eliminating the biggest threats on the battlefield.

1 Orbital Laser

So Good, It Only Has 3 Uses Per Mission

The number one best Stratagem, inevitably, has to be the Orbital Laser. This massive beam of supercharged energy has a lightning-fast call-down time, and when it starts, it quickly cuts through the terrain, targeting the highest-priority targets in its sights, carving a path through enemies, Bug Holes, Bot Fabricators — and any allies in its way. This Stratagem is so good, it has a hard limit of only three uses per mission, and it has a five-minute cooldown between uses (4 and a half with the Zero-G Breach Loading Ship Module). This isn’t a Stratagem to break out when you encounter some mild resistance — this is a Stratagem to bring to bear when you’re back is up against a wall.

Best used to help clear out large Automaton bases, it’s also very useful for dealing significant damage to the heaviest, most dangerous units in the game (Factory Striders, Tanks, Hulks, and Bile Titans). A huge plus here is it’s ‘set it and forget it’ quality, allowing you to call down the thunder and continue to unleash hell on your enemies with your Support Weapon and other Stratagems while the beam carves up the battlefield. This Stratagem becomes less useful vs Terminids on higher difficulties due to the frequency of Bile Titan encounters, but even then, it’s still very useful for eliminating objectives and crowds of enemies in one fell swoop.

Helldivers 2

Franchise

Helldivers

Released

February 8, 2024

Developer(s)

Arrowhead Game Studios

Genre(s)

Shooter