With four limited slots for Stratagem and so many primary weapons to choose from, it can be difficult to pick which loadout to use in Helldivers 2. When the grind for max levels and Medals finally stops, the experimentation truly begins—and lucky for you we’ve already tested a bunch of Helldivers 2‘s very best loadouts.
Helldivers 2: Best loadouts
Loadouts are made up of three compartments in Helldivers 2. You have armor, primary weapons, and Stratagems. There is no right or wrong way to play Helldivers 2. But it is important to match your loadout to your build, specifically to your armor weight (light, medium, or heavy).
Solo Helldivers should use a more balanced and versatile loadout that can adapt to different battle settings. You want to pick a loadout based on the mission you are entering. If you know you’re targeting a fully-armored enemy, equip armor-piercing weapons and powerful Stratagems. On the other hand, thinning hordes of enemies in 12-minute missions requires fast-firing weapons and Stratagems with immediate use.
Best loadout against the Automaton
- Armor type: Medium (DP-40 Hero of the Federation or SA-12 Servo Assisted)
- Primary weapon: R-63 Diligence or Liberator Penetrator
- Grenade: G-12 High Explosive or G-3 Smoke
- Support weapon: Stalwart or Expendable Anti-Tank
- Backpack: Supply Pack or Shield Generator Pack
- Artillery: Orbital 120MM HE Barrage
- Sentry: Mortar Sentry
| Loadout | Difficulty Levels | Details |
|---|---|---|
| DP-40 Hero of the Federation | Easy to Helldive | Fast-firing-rate machine gun that quickly kills hordes and deals sufficient damage to armor. |
| SA-12 Servo Assisted | Challenging to Helldive | Extra 50 percent limb health (less chance of breaking limbs from bullet penetration and melee attacks). 30 percent increase in throwing range. |
| R-63 Diligence | Easy to Hard | Light armor piercing with mid- to long-range precision, great for hitting weak spots but weak to heavy armor. |
| Liberator Penetrator | Hard to Helldive | Medium armor piercing rounds, making it a more viable choice against heavily armored enemies. |
| G-12 High Explosive | Trivial to Helldive | High-impact grenade, useful against medium and heavily armored enemies. Easily destroys Fabricators. |
| G-3 Smoke | Hard to Helldive | Limit the enemy line of sight to safely reposition or reload a support weapon. Useful during Bot Breaches and clearing Outposts. |
| Stalwart | Trivial to Challenging | One-shots heavily armored enemies. One-time use however. |
| Expendable Anti-Tank | Hard to Helldive | One-shots heavily armored enemies. One-time use. |
| Supply Pack | Challenging to Helldive | Replenishes ammunition, stims, and grenades. |
| Shield Generator Pack | Hard to Helldive | Protects Helldiver from incoming fire. |
| Orbital 120MM HE Barrage | Easy to Helldive | Multiple airstrikes across a massive radius. |
| Orbital Walking Barrage | Easy to Helldive | A barrage that moves forward, with multiple artillery strikes following one after another. |
| Mortar Sentry | Hard to Helldive | Limit the enemy line of sight to reposition or reload a support weapon safely. Useful during Bot Breaches and clearing Outposts. |
Due to the Automatons’ weaponry, limb damage from explosions is common. Use range when battling the Automaton. Pinpoint their weakness, aim for their back, exposed head, and limbs to bypass their armor. As you rise through the difficulty settings, switch to powerful weaponry like the Anti-Tank or Recoilless Rifle to take down tougher targets. The Shield Generator prevents incoming fire, while the Hero of the Federation armor increases your survivability even when your limbs break or you receive explosive damage from grenades, cannons, and launchers.
Best loadout against the Terminid
- Armor type: Light (SC-34 Infiltrator)
- Primary weapon: SG-225 Breaker or PLAS-1 Scorcher
- Grenade: G-16 Impact
- Support weapon: Railgun or Flamethrower
- Backpack: Supply Pack
- Artiller: Orbital Precision Strike or Eagle Napalm Airstrike
- Sentry: Rocket Sentry or “Guard Dog”
| Loadout | Difficulty Levels | Details |
|---|---|---|
| SC-34 Infiltrator | Easy to Helldive | Minimap markers generate radar scan every two seconds. Reduces enemy detection range by 30 percent. |
| SG-225 Breaker | Easy to Helldive | Aim for headshots at exposed Terminid flesh for a quick and easy kill. |
| PLAS-1 Scorcher | Challenging to Helldive | Highly mobile weapon with good damage, perfect for a light build. |
| G-16 Impact | Easy to Helldive | Pull the grenade pin and throw immediately to kill a small group of enemies within a single explosion. Throw into Nest holes for mission objectives. |
| Railgun | Challenging to Helldive | Charged armor-piercing shots to take down fully armored enemies. |
| Flamethrower | Easy to Helldive | Quickly kills low-tiered enemies and deals damage over time to flesh. Hold to use and pierce through enemy armor. Easily destroys Terminid Nests. |
| Supply Pack | Challenging to Helldive | Replenishes ammunition, stims, and grenades. |
| Orbital Precision Strike | Easy to Helldive | A precision shot that can kill a fully armored enemy. Best used in Elimination Missions and to ambush large enemies like the Charger. |
| Eagle Napalm Airstrike | Challenging to Helldive | Creates a wall of fire after heavy artillery strike to deal ticking damage and stop the Terminid from pushing. |
| Rocket Sentry | Hard to Helldive | Protects Helldiver from incoming fire. |
| “Guard Dog” | Easy to Helldive | Multiple airstrikes across a massive radius. |
Terminid are weak to fire, making weapons with fire damage essential when facing this faction. You can deal a ton of damage over time using the Flamethrower, grenades, and fire-based artillery strikes. The Orbital Precision Strike is perfect against fully armored enemies like the Brood Commander, Hive Guard, or Charger.
Finally, the best Helldivers 2 loadouts are relatively interchangeable depending on the mission objectives, selected difficulty level, and enemy types. Aim for flesh against the Terminid using fire and explosive damage and deal critical damage with precision to incapacitate any Automaton threats. All enemies have weaknesses in their limbs and exposed heads. Aim for these weaknesses to quickly immobilize the targets.
