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Helldivers 2featuresa number of powerful weapons, gorgeousarmor sets, andexplosive Stratagemsto add in endless variety in your builds and loadouts when facing down theenemies of Super Earth. Some of thebest loadouts in the gamefeature fun and creative combinations of weapons and Stratagems that can get you through most missions. Even among the best loadouts, however, any online shooter inevitably develops some sort of meta, some ‘ideal’ combination of abilities and equipment to give you the greatest chance of success.
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A game’s meta naturally evolves overtime as certain weapons are seen to perform specific tasks in the ‘best’ way, though it’s easy to lose sight of Helldivers 2’s ultimate premise as a team-based co-op shooter — no single build is going to handle every situation in the best way. So, this guide aims to break down several meta loadouts into their individual parts (primary weapon, secondary weapon, Stratagems) that are intended to complement each other. No one loadout is going to see you through the hardest challenges the game throws at you, but with a well-balanced team utilizing the best tools at their disposal, each squadmate will be able to contribute meaningfully toward a flawless victory for Democracy.
Updated by Jeff Brooks on July 24, 2025: This guide has been updated to include some of the awesome options introduced in the Democratic DetonationPremium Warbond. Namely, theGrenade Pistol(secondary) and theEruptor(primary) both shine incredibly brightly and have swiftly earned a place in the meta. The release of the Thermite Grenade, while underwhelming, also established the need to include a Grenade category here, highlighting the incredible variety of options available for different builds.
Helldivers 2
Primary Weapon Meta
The Eruptor Joins The Fray
Weapon Name
Weapon Type
Weapon Stats
Weapon Traits
How To Unlock
SG-225 Breaker
PLAS-1 Scorcher
Energy-Based
JAR-5 Dominator
R-36 Eruptor
The Breaker once dominated the Primary Weapon meta, but after a couple rounds of balance changes, the meta feels in a much healthier place overall. The PLAS-1 Scorcher and JAR-5 Dominator have both been brought to the foreground (the Scorcher because it was simply being overlooked by many, and the Dominator due to its recent buffs). These three weapons (Breaker, Scorcher, and Dominator) offer fantastic usability across many scenarios, though they do each excel in specific ways.
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Secondary Weapon Meta
Grenade Pistol Challenges Redeemer For Supremacy
P-19 Redeemer
Grenade Pistol
The P-19 Redeemer previously was theunequivocal leader in secondary options, but the release of the Grenade Pistol is certainly giving it a run for its money. Not because it’s strictly better, but because it delivers a strong use-case that the P-19 Redeemer simply can’t fill.
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Grenade Slot Meta
Wide Variety Of Options
Your Grenade slots are perhaps some of the most varied in their use cases. While the standard starter grenade is great for general madness and mayhem (and of course closing Bug Holes and Bot Fabricators), you might want to consider some of these other options if you’ve got Bug Holes and Bot Fabricators covered some other way.
Support Weapon Stratagem Meta
High Priority Targeting & Horde-Clearing Mayhem
Now, onto the more complicated meta options. Support Weapons cover the best hand-held firepower your ship can deploy at the drop of a Hellpod.Some weapons are noticeably weakerand won’t be making an appearance today, but there is no single ‘best’ option here. Not overall, anyway. Instead, this section will be detailing the sort of ‘best in class’ for different battlefield purposes. Below, we’re breaking down the best Support Weapons you wantbeing used in your squadto be ready for anything and everything thrown your way.
High-Priority Target Meta - Quasar Cannon / EAT-17 / Anti-Materiel Rifle / Autocannon
Stratagem Type
Stratagem Stats
Stratagem Traits
Quasar Cannon
Engineering Bay
Expendable Anti-Tank
Patriotic Administration Center
Anti-Materiel Rifle
Autocannon
These four weapons feature a variety of use-cases against high-priority targets, offering great tools against the most heavily armored enemies, medium-armored threats, and also specific mission objectives. While the Railgun once reigned supreme as the go-to for a variety of scenarios, several rounds of balance changes (including reducing spawn rates for certain enemy types like Chargers) have bumped the Railgun fully out of the meta, with other weapons fulfilling its functions better, but more specifically (more on that below).
The key to utilizing these powerful, high-priority target tools is not to havetoomany. A team fully loaded out with these above four weapons could easily get overwhelmed by the many smaller horde enemies without the proper tools to deal with those threats. Sure, you could counterbalance these weapons with other Stratagems geared toward horde clear, but awell-balanced teamshould include some horde-clear capabilities as well.
The Autocannon stands as a sort of bridge between the heavy-armor Support weapons and the horde clearing Support weapons, but aside from that, I wouldn’t recommend more than 2 of the heavy-armor penetration weapons in any given squad.
Horde Clear Meta - Arc Thrower / Grenade Launcher / Flamethrower / Stalwart
Arc Thrower
Grenade Launcher
Flamethrower
All four of these weapons work fantastically well not only at horde clear — keeping enemies from overwhelming your Railgun wielder(s) — but these also do significant damage to Medium-armor targets. You’ll need to be a bit more precise with your shots with the Grenade Launcher and Autocannon (not so much the Flamethrower), but you may be effective at taking down Chargers while also blowing up swarming bugs and bots.
A well-balanced loadout across your entire squad — sporting a couple high priority target weapons and a couple horde clear weapons — will allow for you and your team to deal with any situation the Automatons or Terminids can throw your way.
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Backpack Stratagem Meta
Help Yourself & Help The Team
Stratagem Name
Shield Generator Pack
Supply Pack
Offensive Stratagem Meta
Quantity & Quality
For yourbest offensive Stratagem options, you’ve got a wide variety of explosive options before you. Some can be pretty underwhelming, while others stand ahead as theclear meta options available to you. Like with the weaponry covered above,it’s important to have a spread of these meta options, as they all work beautifully with one another, filling different use-cases and delivering maximum carnage to theenemies of Democracy.
Orbital Laser
Orbital Cannons
Orbital Railcannon Strike
Eagle 500KG Bomb
Eagle Airstrike
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Defensive Stratagem Meta
For When You Need To Hold The Line
Patriot Exosuit
Robotics Workshop
Orbital EMS Strike
Autocannon Sentry
Mortar Sentry
This section deals with more defensive-minded Stratagems, but all of these mentioned here can be used offensively to devastating effect. There are few things quite as satisfying as a whole squad setting up a battery of Autocannon Sentries overlooking a large Bug Nest and raining destruction down on the whole area.
Orbital EMS Strike won’t stun or damageallies, but it will apply theSlow conditionandfully drain Staminawhen you or allies are inside the field.
Mortar Sentry isespecially usefulin the newEvacuate High-Value Assetsdefense mission type.
For more information for how to approachevery enemy typein Helldivers 2, check out our guides for taking onall Terminid enemiesandall Automaton enemy units.
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Which Stratagems do you feel need a buff (badly) in Helldivers 2?
