The best Helldivers 2 weapons

Puzzling out the best Medals, you'll be able to unlock even more guns through Warbond, including assault rifles, shotguns, energy weapons, sidearms, and even melee weapons.

Some of these are really good, and some of them, well, they're not worth the effort or the Medals it'll cost you to claim them. Still, since the massive weapon overhauls that the game received through updates, there are a lot more viable options than there used to be. There are currently 12 different Warbonds:

• Steeled Veterans (SV)
• Cutting Edge (CE)
• Democratic Detonation (DD)
• Polar Patriots (PP)
• Viper Commandos (VC)
• Freedom's Flame (FF)
• Chemical Agents (CA)
• Truth Enforcers (TE)
• Urban Legends (UL)
• Servants of Freedom (SF)
• Borderline Justice (BJ)
• Masters of Ceremony (MC)

I've ranked the guns contained in each and have marked them with the letters shown above so you can see where they come from. If a weapon doesn't have a Warbond, that most likely means it was added to the game for free.

Helldivers 2 best weapons tier list

SS-tier

LAS-58 Talon (Borderline Justice)

The Talon is a little like the LAS-7 Dagger; an energy sidearm that technically has infinite ammo provided you don't overheat it and have to reload the heatsink. The key difference is that the Talon is the only infinite ammo energy secondary that offers medium AP, allowing you to quickly whip it out and blast tougher enemies in the head, before swapping to something else. This is genuinely one of the best sidearms in the game if you land precision hits, especially against bots, giving you a cheap ammo-free way of dealing with a lot of enemies.

LAS-16 Sickle (Cutting Edge)

The LAS-16 Sickle has always been a popular choice among players—turns out having an assault rifle with infinite ammo is pretty damn good. While it was less effective against bugs due to its charge time and tendency to overheat when you're getting swarmed, it was always a decent pick against bots. Now, it's also one of the best weapons to take against the Illuminate faction.

As with other energy weapons, the Sickle has an overheat mechanic. You can fire for a while, but if you don't wait for the gun to cool down, you'll have to replace the heatsink which you only have three of. Still, if you favour a run-and-gun playstyle and bring a secondary you can fall back on, the Sickle is a great all-round ammo efficient option, especially if you want to bring a heavy weapon against bots or Illuminate instead of a machine gun.

R-36 Eruptor (Democratic Detonation)

This explosive bolt-action rifle is the hardest hitting primary weapon in Helldivers 2—it destroys bug holes, Automaton fabricators, as well as rogue transmission towers or spore stalks from a distance. It'll also make short work of most elite enemies with its medium armour penetration, though it is quite slow loading.

Though it's not quite the monster it was when it first came out, since it had its shrapnel effect returned, it's a lot stronger now. The only disadvantage with the Eruptor is that you need to pair it with a secondary like the Redeemer or a heavy weapon like the Stalwart to deal with any enemies that get in close—the Eruptor's shrapnel and explosive effect can straight up kill you if you're nearby.

CB-9 Exploding Crossbow (Democratic Detonation)

Though it can be a little tricky to learn its firing arc at first, the CB-9 Exploding Crossbow is a pretty effective weapon for sniping groups of enemies or single targets at decent range. Coupled with its lack of muzzle flash, this makes it one of the game's few potential stealth weapons, allowing you to take out enemies quickly without being discovered.

Since the crossbow received a hefty damage buff and an increase to explosion radius, it feels a lot deadlier. You can also hold it one-handed and so use it with a shield or while carrying an objective. If you do run this weapon, as with the Eruptor, I'd recommend bringing a primary or heavy weapon for dealing with close enemies.

SG-225 Breaker

While the SG-8 Punisher struggles in high-pressure situations because of its limited ammo and single slug reload, the SG-225 Breaker is perfect for them. This shotgun retains the weirdly long range of the other so you can pick off enemies, but since it reloads clips and fires full auto, you can let loose when you're getting mobbed. It also just deals a massive amount of damage and is available midway through the regular Warbond vs. most of the other really good weapons.

SG-225IE Breaker Incendiary (Steeled Veterans)

The SG-225IE Breaker Incendiary is a fantastic pick against bugs since it spreads fire amongst groups of enemies and damages them over time. This gun has the same wide projectile spread as the SG-225SP Breaker Spray&Pray, but the key difference here is that every projectile sets enemies on fire. This can be very strong when you're moving and firing, blasting into tightly packed groups of enemies, then repositioning as the fire damages them over time.

Since it loads clips and fires fast, too, you can also effectively blast any enemies that get up close. It's worth noting that, as well as bugs, this gun fares quite well against the Illuminate due to their hordes of voteless enemies, though its less good against bots.

PLAS-1 Scorcher and PLAS-101 Purifier (Polar Patriots)

While it's not the best pick for bugs, the PLAS-1 Scorcher is one of the best-in-class for dealing with Automatons, and is also strong against the Illuminate. This is primarily due to its explosive AoE effect, which can take out Scout Striders and shielded Devastators, as well as one-shotting regular bot enemies at range. With the Illuminate, its AoE effect is quite good against grouped up voteless enemies.

Its only real disadvantages are its relatively modest ammo supply and the fact that you have to spend a lot of medals to unlock it in the final page of the regular Warbond. Still, if you don't have the JAR-5 Dominator unlocked, or you're looking for something with a little more range against bots than the SG-8S Slugger, this gun is a great pick.

The PLAS-1 Purifier, on the other hand, used to be annoying to use in that you had to hold down the trigger for a fixed charge time or it literally wouldn't work. Now, however, it's been fixed and is really strong. You can either fire it like the Scorcher, or increase the power and size of its explosions by charging it up, which makes pretty ammo efficient and versatile, especially against bots.

P-19 Redeemer

Though there are only two base secondary weapons in the game, the best is undoubtedly the P-19 Redeemer. It doesn't hold many rounds, but it does so much burst damage that it's the perfect weapon to whip out when you're in a bad spot. Like the primary SMGs, it also makes an effective weapon for when you're carrying an objective in your other hand.

GP-31 Grenade Pistol (Democratic Detonation)

The GP-31 Grenade Pistol isn't incredibly powerful damage wise, but it's very strong in of utility. If you want extra grenades for blowing up Automation fabricators or sealing bug holes, you'd usually have to take an armour set with the Engineering Kit ive, but with this secondary you get eight whole grenades you can fire into them from a distance—it's effectively a mini-grenade launcher.

It does take a little time to learn its firing arc, but once you do you can absolutely blitz bug nests. Where you only get regular grenades from supply packs, this weapon reloads a grenade for every ammo box you pick up as well, giving you a lot more grenades to work with in general.

Perhaps my favorite part of this gun is that it allows you to experiment with taking other options besides regular explosive grenades. If you've got the grenade pistol's eight shots on hand to serve that purpose, you could bring incendiary grenades for bugs or even stun grenades for bots to mix things up.

S-tier

R-6 Deadeye (Borderline Justice)

Though I wouldn't recommend it against bugs, the R-6 Deadeye is now one of my favourite picks against bots due to its range, damage, and how you feel like a cool space cowboy while using it. This level-action marksman rifle loads one shot at a time, but has eight rounds capacity, and let me tell you, that's more than enough to kill anything you need to.

Due to its somewhat slow reload, you'll ideally want to slot in rounds often to keep the mag topped off, but besides that you've got a weapon that works at pretty much any range thanks to its scope, and has great stopping power.

LAS-17 Double-Edge Sickle (Servants of Freedom)

The key difference that the Double-Edge Sickle has in comparison to the regular version is that its limiters are turned off, allowing you to fire it indefinitely with increased damage. While that sounds amazing, the drawback is that it starts to reduce your health as it burns you. Is that worth it in a game where limited stims are your only form of healing? Probably not, but ultimately it's a tactical decision that's up to you. If you do bring this I'd recommend wearing fire-resistant armour to lessen its effect and a shield generator to make you a little harder to kill.

PLAS-15 Loyalist (Truth Enforcers)

Essentially a pocket version of the PLAS-101 Purifier; the PLAS-15 Loyalist is a great sidearm pick against bots, especially if you can't bring the Scorcher or Purifier for whatever reason. Though it has a slightly longer charge time and low-ish ammo reserves, it provides the same powerful explosive effect that flinches bigger bots, takes out scout striders, and can even kill groups of enemies when they're clustered together.

It's a slightly harder pick to justify now the LAS-58 Talon exists, giving you medium AP and technically unlimited ammo, but it's a strong anti-bot secondary regardless.

SMG-32 Reprimand (Truth Enforcers)

This is, for my money, the best SMG in Helldivers 2. The Reprimand is a little similar to the Defender in that it's a slower firing SMG, but both its medium AP capabilities and high damage really put it above the others. Its mag size is quite small, so I recommend using it on burst, or even better, semi. This lets you accurately pick off bugs, bots, or Illuminate, yet you can still switch to full auto if you need to burn your mag and annihilate something more dangerous.

With nine mags overall, its got a pretty generous ammo supply provided you use it sensibly. The only downside to the Reprimand is that you can't use it one-handed like other SMGs for carrying shields or objectives.

P-4 Senator (Steeled Veterans)

It's been a long road of gradual buffs for the P-4 Senator, but with both its damage increase, and the addition of the speedloader way back—which lets you reload faster when out of ammo—this six-shooter is now a really solid pick. With its increased stopping power, the P-4 Senator will deal with just about any dangerous enemy that gets up close, with the exception of Hulks and Chargers. While it's still not quite as versatile as the P-19 Redeemer, it's definitely one of the best secondary weapons in the game now, especially if you're good at landing headshots.

SG-8S Slugger

The SG-8S Slugger is one of those rare weapon variants that actually sures the original, offering far more value than the SG-8 Punisher. This gun is a solid pick against bots due to its high precision damage. It also performs well at headshotting bugs, though you might find yourself getting swarmed without an appropriate secondary like the P-19 Redeemer. The SG-8S Slugger's primary disadvantage is that it struggles to deal with groups of enemies the same way that that SG-225 Breaker does.

JAR-5 Dominator (Steeled Veterans)

Though it gets edged out by the PLAS-1 Scorcher when facing Automatons due to that weapon's explosive damage, the JAR-5 Dominator is a decent pick against bugs due to its high-damage and medium armour piercing. If you enjoy the SG-225 Breaker, this gun will feel familiar, though its higher recoil makes it a little harder to handle. The JAR-5 is best used for hitting weak points and head-shotting enemies as with the SG-8S Slugger—especially if you switch it to first-person mode and take advantage of its scope.

A-tier

SG-451 Cookout (Freedom's Flame)

If the Breaker Incendiary is the fire version of the Breaker Spray&Pray, then the SG-451 Cookout is the fire version of the SG-8 Punisher. It's an incredibly similar gun, the main difference being that its buckshot now spreads fire to any enemy it hits. This gun is an excellent pick against bugs, giving you the ability to set them ablaze, but with a bit more power than the Breaker Incendiary for facing the Predator Strain and those annoying Stalkers. The Cookout also seems to flinch bugs, too, giving you some breathing room.

PLAS-39 Accelerator Rifle

This energy sniper rifle is undoubtedly high damage and a strong pick against bots, but its main problem is its lack of ammo, with only three bursts per magazine. With no alternative fire mode, you're forced to fire in bursts and burn through your bullets. If you're tired of taking the Scorcher or Purifier against bots, then this might be a fun alternative, but it's definitely an inferior weapon in comparison to the Purifier, which feels just as powerful, and is far more ammo efficient.

StA-11 SMG

If you're not a big fan of the Knight's hard to control recoil, but also don't like the Defender's slower fire rate, the StA-11 SMG is the perfect middle ground. For me, the StA simply feels like a better version of the Knight, but I'm someone who favours reduced recoil more than a faster fire rate, especially in a game like Helldivers 2 where you're constantly fighting enemies at variable ranges and not just right up in your face.

GP-31 Ultimatum (Servants of Freedom)

The GP-31 Ultimatum is a little like the GP-31 Grenade Pistol but for bigger objectives, firing a chunky short-range explosive you can use to take out spore spewers, shrieker nests, or even tougher bot objectives like radar jammers and sensor towers. The main drawback, however, is that it only holds one shot and is very short ranged, meaning you have to fire it like a grenade launcher and judge the arc correctly.

While the grenade pistol is fantastic against bugs due to its hole sealing efficiency, it doesn't seem worth it to sacrifice your secondary for something that your airstrikes, orbitals, and heavy weapons can do just as well. The only niche case I can see for the ultimatum is when you drop into a bot map near a radar jammer and have to take it out quickly, but it's not worth carrying around just in case that happens.

LAS-5 Scythe 

The LAS-5 Scythe used to be an absolutely dreadful gun, but since a series of buffs to its damage and mag capacity, it's actually a strong pick against bots now. It'll easily deal with regular chaff enemies but can also headshot Devastators at incredible range due to the fact that it's a laser. It also sets enemies on fire if you shoot them continuously, which is pretty effective against Berserkers. While it's a good choice against bots, I wouldn't recommend it against bugs where you're more likely to get swarmed and overheat the weapon in a crucial moment.

SG-20 Halt (Truth Enforcers)

This multi ammo type pump action shotgun is a great concept, allowing you to switch between medium AP fletchette rounds and stun shot, giving it more versatility than your average slugger. The problem is that swapping between these ammo types is overly fiddly at the moment, especially if you're playing on controller. Its second stun-based ammo type also doesn't have all that much going for it—why stun enemies when you can just kill them instead? That said, it's a decent shotgun even if you just use the fletchette rounds.

P-113 Verdict (Polar Patriots)

While the P-113 Verdict used to feel like a medium-armour penetration variant of the regular P-2 Peacemaker, its recent damage buff gives it the edge over the default sidearm. While it doesn't get quite as much ammo as the Peacemaker, it doesn't need it provided you aim a little more carefully and go for headshots. Its medium-armour penetration is also a nice bonus, letting you tackle enemies that the regular sidearm wouldn't be able to.

AR-23P Liberator Penetrator

A series of buffs during past patches has meant that the Liberator Penetrator is now significantly more usable. This armour-piercing variant of the regular Liberator feels quite similar in a lot of ways, but provides the handy medium armour penetration tag for shooting through tougher enemies. If you don't really like using a marksman rifle, and don't have anything better, you could switch this gun to semi-auto and bring it against bots. Either way, the Liberator Penetrator is definitely a viable medium AP alternative to the regular version of the gun now.

AR-23A Liberator Carbine (Viper Commandos)

This assault rifle is most comparable to the SMG-37 Defender, by which I mean, it's somewhere inbetween an assault rifle and an SMG in of functionality. This gun has the same damage as the regular Liberator assault rifle, but it has a much faster fire-rate, and so increased DPS. While it's not the best pick against bots, it feels decent against bugs, especially if you want something a little more close-range focused than the regular Liberator. The only caveat is that the increased fire rate means it eats through ammo—consider bringing a Supply Pack if you plan to use it.

SG-22 Bushwhacker

The SG-22 Bushwhacker is a cool gun in concept; a three-barreled sawn-off shotgun that can fire each barrel individually or all three at once. As with the P-4 Senator, it falls into the category of "a gun I pull out at last minute to discourage some big enemy that's about to murder me", but since it also stuns and knocks back enemies, in many ways it's more effective than the former.

For example, if a Stalker gets up close and is about to take a chunk out of you, blast it in the face with this and you'll buy yourself a little time to make space. Though it doesn't quite have the damage or projectile spread you'd expect from a sawn-off, it's great when used purely as a last-ditch method of discouraging dangerous close-up enemies. It's also got a pretty generous ammo pool.

SMG-72 Pummeller (Polar Patriots)

The Pummeller doesn't feel all that different to the SMG-37 Defender. It has the same slow fire rate, similar ammo capacity, and like any SMG it can be used one handed when carrying an objective or a ballistic shield. The key difference is that for a slight decrease in damage, the Pummeller applies a stun effect to enemies it hits, similar to the Liberator Concussive. Since the stun effect isn't an AoE, it only applies to enemies you're shooting, making it a bit pointless. After all, it's better to kill enemies quickly than just stun them in place. Still, it doesn't feel like a massive downgrade from the Defender, so it's certainly a viable choice if you enjoy that SMG.

BR-14 Adjudicator (Democratic Detonation)

The third marksman rifle to appear in Helldivers 2 is a little similar to the Liberator Penetrator, which probably explains why Arrowhead changed this weapon's classification to assault rifle after releasing it. It has medium armour penetration and decent stopping power, but it's a very ammo hungry gun, and you'll eat through your reserves quickly. I definitely recommend switching fire mode from full-auto to semi, since this will slow ammo consumption and help you cope with its recoil.

While I still think the Diligence Counter Sniper is ultimately a better pick against bots due to its accuracy, this gun is worth unlocking if you enjoy the feel of the Liberator Penetrator and want a better medium armour penetrating assault rifle to use.

R-63 Diligence and R-63 Diligence Counter Sniper

Considering you don't generally want enemies to get close to you in Helldivers 2, it makes sense that the marksman rifles would both be pretty strong. Of the two, my personal favourite is the Counter Sniper, which trades some of the basic version's ammo in exchange for superior stopping power and medium armour penetration. It also fires single rounds instead of a burst. While the regular Diligence performs fine against bugs, it'll do far better when facing Automatons.

AR-23 Liberator

The standard Helldivers 2 assault rifle has exactly what you need—decent damage, range, and ammo capacity. It's not going to win any competitions for being the absolute best, but if you're looking for a reliable primary and don't like swapping weapons lots, it'll get the job done. If you switch to first-person aiming mode, it also has a scope with a handy targeting crosshair and variable zoom distance.

SMG-37 Defender

The better of Helldivers 2's SMGs is so good because… well, it's more like an assault rifle. The SMG-37 Defender has better range, recoil, and a slower firing rate than its MP-98 cousin, but offers slightly higher damage than, say, your Liberator assault rifle. Due to that slow firing rate, it also doesn't eat through your ammo the way that the Knight does. If you're looking for a slightly more close-range focused weapon that still performs decently at mid-distance, you should try this out.

B-tier

CQC-2 Saber (Masters of Ceremony)

For all those hoping that the CQC-2 Saber would finally make melee builds viable, I'm afraid I have some bad news. Still, this weapon is pretty fun and strong against basic mobs provided you supplement it with the Viper Commando's armor that boosts melee damage and perhaps a ballistic shield. It still isn't enough to stop you getting swarmed by bugs or Illuminate voteless on higher difficulties, but if you want something fun to bring on a lower difficulty while messing around with friends, the saber fulfills that role at least.

Arc-12 Blitzer (Cutting Edge)

The Arc-12 Blitzer is another example of a weapon that used to be terrible, but that through patch-based buffs, now finds itself as a pretty good pick against the Illuminate. Unlike other energy weapons, the Arc Blitzer can't overheat and fires infinitely, chaining lightning between enemies in a similar way to the Arc Thrower. This makes it great against the Illuminate's voteless hordes, and since it has medium AP, it can deal with tougher targets as well. That said, watch out for friendly fire with this one.

P-72 Crisper (Freedom's Flame)

This flamethrower sidearm might seem kind of bad, but it's more of a specialist anti-chaff tool. You won't get much out of it if you spray fire directly onto enemies, but if you light up the ground behind you, enemies chasing will ignite and take damage—a great way of dealing with swarms. Sadly, it's got a pretty low mag count and not much flame per mag, but if you use it wisely, it can be a handy tool when you're getting overwhelmed by smaller enemies.

AR-61 Tenderiser (Polar Patriots)

We've gotten quite a few assault rifles recently, but the Tenderiser doesn't stand out much. It's basically a Liberator with less recoil, smaller mag size, but higher mag count overall. It's definitely better suited to bots than it is bugs, just because the frequent reloading is bad when you're being swarmed. It comes with scope options and a semi-auto mode, but at the same time there's not much point bringing it against bots over, say, a marksman rifle. It's nice having a wide selection of assault rifles in Helldivers 2, but this one feels kind of pointless.

AR-23C Liberator Concussive (Steeled Veterans)

This version of the Liberator assault rifle was originally called the AR-23E Liberator Explosive before Arrowhead changed the name to the AR-23C Liberator Concussive to differentiate between explosive effects and its concussive stun effect. Rather than an explosive AoE, this weapon trades some of the base Liberator's potency for a stun effect it can apply to enemies. Since the most recent patch it now has a drum mag with significantly more ammo, but it's not quite enough to make it worth bringing considering its lacklustre damage.

SG-8P Punisher Plasma (Cutting Edge)

Hey, want a primary weapon that's also a grenade launcher... kind of? The SG-8P Punisher Plasma is a weird gun; an energy shotgun that fires an explosive ball of plasma in a downward arc similar to the grenade launcher. This deals AoE damage and momentarily stuns nearby enemies, making it a useful tool against swarms and troublesome foes when used in co-ordination with your team.

I'd recommend this gun for bots more than bugs. Though not as ideal as the PLAS-1 Scorcher, it's good at flinching all of the really annoying Automaton enemy types and can take out Scout Striders with a frontal hit as with the grenade launcher. The main downsides to the SG-8P are its pitiful mag size meaning frequent reloads and, since it fires slow moving balls, hitting individual targets. Also, be warned: this gun can hurt you and your squates since it's explosive.

SG-225SP Breaker Spray&Pray

The problem with the S-225SP Breaker Spray&Pray is that it lacks the single target damage of the gun's regular variant, as well as the burning effect of the SG-225IE Breaker Incendiary, making it less worthwhile in both cases of tackling single targets and dealing with groups. That said, you might not have the Warbond to get the incendiary version. While I'd recommend both of the other versions above this, if you want a gun for mowing down swarms of standard bugs, this'll at least do that much.

MP-98 Knight

The MP-98 Knight has everything you'd expect from an SMG; high damage at close range, fast-fire rate, and little to no long-range accuracy. The problem is Helldivers 2 is the kind of game where you don't want to be close to enemies—if you are close to enemies, you should get away from them. A secondary like the P-19 Redeemer is all the SMG you need, i.e. it'll let you quickly blast everything that got too close so you can back away. Having a main weapon that only performs at close range necessitates a dangerous playstyle that'll get you killed lots on higher difficulties.

SG-8 Punisher

The problem with the SG-8 Punisher is that it doesn't really fulfill a focused role. This weapon fires buckshot, but lacks the projectile spread of the SG-225SP Breaker Spray&Pray, making it a poor choice for dealing with swarms. At the same time, it's edged out in of single-target damage by the SG-8S Slugger, which fires a single projectile. It'll certainly serve on lower difficulties but there are far better choices available.

P-2 Peacemaker

The standard Helldivers 2 sidearm is alright, however, it doesn't fulfil a focused role in the same way that the P-19 Redeemer or P-4 Senator do in getting you out of sticky situations. The P-2 Peacemaker is essentially a gun for finishing off an enemy coming at you when your primary runs dry, and it does that just fine.

C-tier

R-2 Amendment (Masters of Ceremony)

This marksman rifle is essentially a light AP version of the Constitution, but with clip instead of round reload. It has the same fast-stabbing bayonet for close quarters, but honestly, without the Constitution's medium AP, this gun effectively feels like a worse version of the Diligence. Sure, the bayonet melee is kind of fun, but considering melee builds are basically unviable in Helldivers 2, it's nowhere near strong enough in my book to justify itself as a pick.

R-2124 Constitution

This old timey rifle is more of a ceremonial gun than one you're actually intended to take into combat. Still, it's slightly superior to its R-2 Amendment cousin due to its medium AP. This marksman rifle has also got a bayonet on the front, making its melee attack stronger. Its primary drawbacks are that it's absurdly slow to reload and only has five shot capacity. Beyond that it actually has very generous ammo reserves and no other gun has such impeccable rustic vibes.

FLAM-66 Torcher

The FLAM-66 Torcher is the first of its kind; a non-Stratagem flamethrower you can bring into missions instead of the bigger version. Similar to the Crisper, the better way to use it is to shoot the ground and ignite enemies ing over, but bringing a primary to do what a secondary already can feels a little pointless. There's no reason I can see why you wouldn't just take the Stratagem flamer instead of this, or the Crisper if you want a fast way to spray fire on the ground while staying mobile, and not sacrifice your primary slot.

LAS-7 Dagger (Cutting Edge)

Though the LAS-7 Dagger has received buffs like the LAS-5 Scythe, its smaller mag capacity makes it a bit of a tough pick. You usually want your sidearm to be something powerful you can fall back on in emergencies, so taking a fairly weak—but infinite ammo—laser pistol designed to deal with chaff enemies feels a bit pointless. When you can bring the LAS-5 Scythe or LAS-16 Sickle as infinite ammo primaries with better capacity, why would you ever want this as a secondary?