In my last post, I offered a high-level overview of how to play Helldivers 2 with an emphasis on welcoming our Xbox audience in a few weeks. Here, I will offer my opinions of the myriad support weapon stratagems available to purchase with requisition slips in the Patriotic Administration Center.
The Patriotic Administration Center
The Patriotic Administration Center is where Helldivers can upgrade their Super Carrier and unlock most of the various stratagems used to deliver democracy to the enemies of Super Earth! When you start a new game, it looks quite simple, and the bulkhead behind the screens clearly says, "Under Construction." This (and more) will change as upgrades for the Super Destroyer are purchased.
Like everything else in the game, this is built to allow up to 4 players to use this station simultaneously. No one in the squad ever needs to feel left out because someone else got there first. The same design philosophy carries over to the Galactic War Table on the bridge and the armory.
Stratagems
There are three broad stratagem categories: Eagle strikes, orbital barrages, and support weapons. When starting a mission, Helldivers choose up to four personal stratagems to equip for the duration in addition to any default stratagems, such as resupply pods. These are available immediately upon planetfall, but have varying recharge times, and some have a limited number of uses.
Helldivers 2 uses a unique control system for stratagems and terminals. Directional arrows on a controller or keyboard are used to input codes. Then, a grenade-like stratagem ball is thrown to indicate where the stratagem should land. These sometimes don't behave as expected, and can bounce erratically or even stick to enemies, teammates, or yourself. This is usually fatal. Be careful.
This post is about support weapons and other drop pod items, but if there is interest, I may cover the others as well.
Just remember, "The cost of one Stratagem is more than the average annual income for a Super Citizen," But don't worry, no price is too high for freedom, and there are no in-game penalties for using as many as possible!
Support Weapons
Helldivers enter their hellpods with their armor, primary weapon, secondary weapon, and grenades already selected, although this can also be changed in the loadout menu at the last minute. Support weapons are either found randomly on the map at Points of Interest, or chosen as stratagems to guarantee availability. Obviously the latter is more strategically viable.
Some weapons fill your backpack slot for spare ammunition. A teammate can carry the backpack and act as a loader, but this is best reserved for teams with good communication, and ideally sharing an external voice chat system like Discord. Other weapons leave your backpack slot open for an additional stratagem option. Maybe you will be the loader for a teammate while retaining your own support weapon, or maybe you want a different backpack stratagem.
MG-43 Machine Gun: the default support weapon issued during training, and often found in urban maps, is still a viable weapon for high-level players. Recoil can be a problem, but controlled bursts are incredibly effective. The biggest downside is the stationary reload, meaning you cannot reload on the move. However, its medium armor penetration makes it viable against most enemies, including everything on the Illuminate front from hordes of voteless to the vulnerable hips of Harvester tripod walkers.
APW-1 Anti-Materiel Rifle: while technically not a sniper rifle, this is a solid option for long-range target engagement. It can also be found on the map sometimes. It staggers most enemies it does not kill outright. It also serves its intended role quite well, since it can break many objects. I like its ability to open crate doors. It does not destroy the broadcast tower for "Terminate Illegal Broadcast" objectives, though. Note that this weapon has no crosshair whatsoever in 3rd-person view, but can be fired from the hip if you feel lucky.
M-105 Stalwart: this light machine gun trades down to light armor penetration in exchange for a bigger magazine and the option to reload on the run. It also turns up in the wild during missions. If your primary weapon is more of a specialist weapon, this can serve as a primary assault rifle, except better than the Liberator in almost every way. This shines against the Terminids and their swarms of light-armored bugs.
EAT-17 Expendable Anti-Tank: Comes in pairs, can be dropped often, kills almost everything. Share with a friend, or take down two targets in rapid succession. This is a good choice for those who want to seed the map with anti-armor ordinance like it's going out of style. I've been using it more often recently, and it's fun. You can also find single launchers sometimes, especially at sides where SEAF soldiers had fortifications or a valiant last stand.
GR-8 Recoilless Rifle: The first backpack weapon players can unlock, and one of the most powerful man-portable options in the entire game. It has a stationary reload, but can fire more often than the EAT-17 above. Team reload turns you into a rocket turret. By default, it has a HEAT (High Explosive Anti Tank) shell, but can be programmed as a HE (High Explosive) shot instead for antipersonnel use.
GL-21 Grenade Launcher: fed with 10-round belts of grenades, this is one of the most potent anti-personnel weapons available, and it's unrivaled for clearing Terminid nests since it can rapidly close several bug holes. You'll sometimes find these just laying around, waiting to be used by a resourceful Helldiver.
LAS-98 Laser Cannon: because sometimes a continuous beam of heat energy is what you need to sweep away chaff or wipe out a big threat. Like the AMR, it can break crate doors but not destroy tougher objectives like transmission towers. My only complaint is its inability to penetrate the most heavily-armored targets. It uses a heat meter instead of limited ammo, but be aware that hot and cold climates both affect the rate of cooling. It can drop an Automaton hulk with enough focused fire on the eye slit, or burn out an Illuminate fleshmob, before it overheats. And if it does overheat too much, you carry a few spare heatsinks. "Reload" to eject the one you burned out and drop in a fresh one.
FLAM-40 Flamethrower: because sometimes you just want to set everything on fire. Heat damage can bypass armor. Setting the ground on fire gives unparalleled area denial. Caution: you and your fellow Helldivers are also flammable. I very much enjoy this weapon, but caution against using it unless you have flame-resistant armor. It's a lot of fun, though.
AC-8 Autocannon: the second backpack weapon, this time in the form of a 10-shot shoulder-fired cannon fed with 5-round clips of ammunition. If you time reloads before shooting it empty, the stationary reload is sped up considerably by not having to chamber a round as part of the process. Toggle between APHET (Armor Piercing High Explosive Tracer) for hard targets or flak for horde control. Flak is also superb for those Illuminate fleshmobs. This is a great all-rounder option, trading off on a bit of the GR-8 Recoilless Rifle's power against the biggest enemies for more versatility and rate of fire.
MG-206 Heavy Machine Gun: This is the MG-43 on steroids. Slower fire rate, much more recoil, and enough power for all but the biggest enemies in the game. Handling is atrocious, but with practice, it can be managed well. Short 2-3 round bursts can stop most foes, and if you need to open up on big threats, you can do a lot of damage. I recommend only using it if you have armor which improves handling or recoil control though.
RL-77 Airburst Rocket Launcher: another backpack weapon. I haven't used this much, honestly. Misuse makes its user more of a liability, but I have also seem people use it to good effect and completely dominate the battlefield. It has options for flak or cluster bombs. I suggest learning to use it on easy solo missions, and understanding that other players may be skittish if you bring it on a team mission.
MLS-4X Commando: like the EAT-17, this is a disposable launcher. Unlike the EAT, this has four rockets which can be guided using the blue laser. I quite like this on the Automaton front as a powerful retort to their elite units, which usually fall to one shot, and its capability to launch the entire salvo against bigger threats adds versatility.
ARC-3 Arc Thrower: do the enemies of Democracy make you wish you could cast lightning like a Sith lord? Here's how! It also arcs from one enemy to another within limited range. Most effective against hordes. These also turn up from time to time at Points of Interest.
LAS-99 Quasar Cannon: Like the laser cannon, this is a heat-based weapon with evffectively infinite ammunition. However, it charges up to fire a single powerful explosive blast instead of a continuous beam, making it more comparable to the GR-8 Recoilless Rifle by trading reload time for cooldown time. As a bonus, it can cool down while you keep fighting with your primary and secondary weapons. Many players use this on higher difficulty levels, and may even call in a second cannon so they can swap between them, because the cooldown timer keeps working after it is dropped, too.
RS-422 Railgun: pretty high on the list for another weapon one can find on even trivial missions, right? This is a powerful energy weapon with two modes 'safe' and 'unsafe.' One is reasonably powerful, but the other is completely overpowered except for the non-trivial risk of blowing up the railgun. And yourself. High-risk, high-reward like nothing else outside warbonds.
FAF-14 Spear: guided rockets with a handy fire-and-forget system. One in the tube, and three more in a backpack. The only downside other than the small ammunition reserve is the inability to target anything small. This is exclusively for hunting big game.
StA-X3 W.A.S.P. Launcher: a crossover weapon from the Killzone crossover event which happened before I started playing, but made available permanently for all players. This is another backpack weapon with a targeting system similar to the Spear, but with a larger pool of targets it can lock on to, and the option to fire anywhere from 1 to 7 rockets at the designated target depending on its size.
Backpacks
If you are not using a support weapon which requires a backpack, there are also several backpack options you can choose to call in as stratagems.
B-1 Supply Pack: four miniature supply crates with ammo, stims, and grenades. Keep your team topped off for the fight, or keep yourself supplied in the field!
LIFT-850 Jump Pack: launch yourself into the air, and ensure a soft landing when you come back down! Essential for traversing the map quickly, and helpful for getting over obstacles. Warning: colliding with trees, cliffs, or other obstacles can cause you to lose control and encounter a less-gentle landing.
AX/LAS-5 "Guard Dog": Do you want a guardian angel drone to act as a personal sentry and shoot anything that dares invade your personal space? Look no further! Just be aware slight burns may be inflicted on yourself and your teammates as collateral damage when the sweeping beam moves from one target to another. It will need to pause and cool down if fighting gets too thick for too long.
AX/AR-23 "Guard Dog": Like the model above, but serving up freeodom in bullet flavor. Medium armor penetration also gives more versatility. Usually less hazardous to yourself and your team. Returns to the backpack to reload as needed, and can be commanded to top itself off if you have a moment.
SH-20 Ballistic Shield Backpack: protects your back passively. Protects your face proactively while you blaze away with any one-handed weapon, or even go medieval with melee. Very effective against bullets and lasers.
SH-32 Shield Generator Pack: a bubble of pure democracy (and technology) which absorbs a lot of damage before it threatens your patriotic hide. If depleted, it will recharge over time. If you need to prioritize staying alive, this is incredibly useful.
Vehicles
If you really want to wage war in style, call a Pelican to deliver one of these options!
M-102 Fast Recon Vehicle: Do you miss the Halo Warthog? This has room for a full team of four players, and comes with a heavy machine gun turret on the back. Great for quickly traversing a map, or for drive-by attacks on objectives, especially if the passenegrs pop out and shoot. Built with all the safety features you should expect from Super Earth equipment, just be aware of how easy it is to shoot your own team during all this mayhem!
EXO-45 Patriot Exosuit: the technically-not-a-Space Marine Dreadnought comes with 14 rockets on one side and a minigun on the other to serve the Emperor even in death bring justice to the enemies of Democracy until ammo runs out or you get blown to smithereens. These can go toe-to-toe with a lot of tough foes.
EXO-49 Emancipator Exosuit: Like the option above, but with twin-linked autocannons on both arms. MOAR DAKKA! WAAAAGH!
Huh, I don't know what came over me there.
Final Thoughts
There are also two support weapons one may find on the map, but which cannot be selected as a stratagem.
SG-88 Break-Action Shotgun: found next to deceased colonists, this somewhat underwhelming scattergun can fill your support weapon slot. It exists, so that's something, I guess. No one seeks these out though.
Entrenchment Tool: the classic folding soldier's shovel. If there are sample signals coming from underground, there will be a shovel nearby. Pick it up, "aim" at the ground, and "fire" to start digging! It's also a passable melee weapon, so you may not want to just drop it afterward. Some mad lads have even been known to go full World War I and build entrenched defensive positions.
The core stratagem support weapons are incredibly powerful assets, and even with the proliferation of warbonds and their unique additions to this list, I see players still relying on these all the time. I like to use the Jump Pack for mobility, the Shield Generator Pack for extra defense, and the bullet dog for backup along with weapons which don't take up that precious backpack slot. Your mileage may vary, of course, and I also like bringing the Recoilless Rifle or Autocannon when I want serious firepower. None of these weapons are bad, and I encourage players to experiment to see what fits your playstyle and the different foes you face.
Images and video clips in this post are linked from the Helldivers wiki. The video clips are from in-game assets owned by Arrowhead Studios.
