Helldivers 2 Support Weapons Ranked: The One Stratagem You Should Always Call In
Helldivers 2 lives and dies by its support firepower. Anti-Materiel Rifle, Stalwart, Recoilless Rifle—pick right and you’ll mulch bugs, bots, and squids; pick wrong and they’ll mulch you. With 25-plus support Stratagems vying for a slot, the toughest fight is choosing your loadout.
If you play Helldivers 2 the way it wants to be played, the 'support' slot is doing most of the heavy lifting. Those bugs, bots, and squids do not politely explode on their own. Problem is, there are north of 25 support stratagems now, which turns loadout screens into decision purgatory. So here’s a clean, no-fuss tier breakdown of the current standouts and the 'maybe don’t' picks, with quick notes on what each one actually does in a fight.
S Tier
These are the meta movers: big damage, big utility, and answers for almost any mess if you use them right.
APW-1 Anti-Material Rifle – Fires heavy-penetration rounds that neatly delete armored targets from a safe distance. It’s a top-tier problem solver.
EAT-17 Expendable Anti-Tank – Fire-and-forget boomstick. Pull it, point it at something chunky, and watch the armor disappear. Great against the heavy stuff.
LAS-99 Quasar Cannon – Energy-based tank buster that punches through Factory Striders, Tanks, and Hulks. Charge, fire, erase.
S-11 Speargun – Newer to the game and very mean. Excellent for staggering high-priority nuisances like Bile Titans and Chargers, and it leaves a nasty gas cloud behind for extra pain.
MS-11 Solo Silo – A single remote-guided missile you steer yourself. Land it right and you can one-tap Bile Titans and Factory Striders. Silly precise, hilariously effective.
A Tier
Strong picks that can carry their weight, but each has a quirk or limitation that keeps it just shy of the absolute top.
MG-43 Machine Gun – The reliable one. Solid damage, medium armor penetration, and rarely a bad choice.
M-105 Stalwart – Crowd-control hose. It shreds light armor and clears swarms fast.
GR-8 Recoiless Rifle – Two shell types let you swap between anti-armor and anti-horde duties. Flexible and potent.
AC-8 Autocannon – Explodes things nicely and handles crowds too. The catch: reloads are slow enough to make you sweat.
MG-206 Heavy Machine Gun – Kicks harder and doesn’t love long range, but up close it mulches anything foolish enough to approach.
RS-422 Railgun – Not the most gratifying to operate, but extremely effective against Nursing Spewers, Brood Commanders, Berserkers, and Overseers. Results over vibes.
PLAS-45 Epoch – Charge up a brutal plasma shot and turn priority targets into soup. Straightforward and strong.
EAT-700 Expendable Napalm – Think EAT-17’s cousin, but with incendiary cluster bombs. It paints the area in fire and leaves everything burning.
B Tier
These are fun and totally viable, just outclassed by better tools in their lane.
RL-77 Airburst Rocket Launcher – Fires cluster rockets that do good work on light and medium armor. Not flashy, not bad.
MLS-4X Commando – A rocket launcher with laser guidance, so you can tag what you actually want to blow up. Handy when you need precision.
StA-X3 W.A.S.P. Launcher – Micro missiles for medium targets at long range. Great at sniping Elevated Overseers from a comfortable distance.
GL-21 Grenade Launcher – High-damage grenade spam that shines on Terminid missions. Very satisfying when you’re painting the ground.
LAS-98 Laser Cannon – A sustained beam that melts heavy armor. Devastators and Hulks do not enjoy this.
GL-52 De-Escalator – Lobs grenades that can also stun, which is clutch, but you’ll be reloading constantly.
C Tier
Usable and occasionally clutch, but usually a compromise. Pick with a plan.
FLAM-40 Flamethrower – Once a go-to for mass roasting, now mostly a crowd-control tool. Still fun, less lethal.
FAF-14 Spear – Homing anti-tank missile that’s strong when it locks correctly. The issue: sometimes it doesn’t lock the thing you actually need dead.
ARC-3 Arc Thrower – Chains lightning through enemies and stuns them. Good control, middling kill speed.
CQC-1 One True Flag – Melee mayhem for believers in hands-on democracy. Hilarious, situational.
SG-88 Break-Action Shotgun – Tight, accurate double-barrel out to about 50 meters, but it’s hard to justify over stronger shotguns.
D Tier
If you’re trying to win and not just goof around, these are the last thing you should bring.
TX-41 Sterilizer – Emits caustic gas that slows and blinds, which sounds nice until you remember there are a dozen better ways to control or kill targets.
Trench Shovel – Great for digging. As a weapon, not so much.
That’s the current lay of the land for support picks. Your squad, your biome, and your enemies can change what feels best, but if you stick to the top half of this list, you’ll rarely regret it. What’s your go-to support stratagem right now?