This Overpowered Helldivers 2 Chainsword Combo Melts Bile Titans In Seconds
High Command greenlit the CQC-9 Defoliation Tool on December 2 as part of the Python Commandos warbond; 48 hours later, Helldivers 2 had its first unhinged field test. Hover Pack on, content creator TheColeBrew rocketed into a Bile Titan’s chest and spun the blade midair.
Helldivers 2 just handed everyone a new toy, the CQC-9 Defoliation Tool, greenlit for deployment on December 2 as part of the Python Commandos warbond. Within 48 hours, someone figured out the most chaotic way to test it: slap on a Hover Pack, aim at a Bile Titan, and rev the chainsword midair. It should not work. It absolutely does.
The midair chainsaw test that should have gone wrong (but didn't)
Content creator TheColeBrew posted footage of a Helldiver launching straight into a Bile Titan with the chainsword already grinding. The player passes through the Titan's giant bug torso like a human drill bit, dealing constant damage the entire time. Whether that counts as true armor penetration or a little bit of friendly collision weirdness is up for debate. The important part: the Titan dies, the diver walks away.
"We (CriticalHitVentures) and I have discovered You can swing the chainsaw mid flight YEEEEAAAAA"
— TheColeBrew (@TheColeBrewTv), December 4, 2025
Yes, this is canon now
Back in February, during Helldivers 2's first anniversary celebration, Game Master Joel said everything that happens in-game is canon. Wins, losses, weird tactics, all of it. So somewhere in Super Earth's official military history, there is now a sanctioned maneuver that boils down to: launch a soldier with a hover pack into a Titan's thorax and hold the throttle.
"Epic. Its cannon now."
— @B25Roman, December 4, 2025
How the chainsaw drill actually works
The trick relies on the LIFT-860 Hover Pack. Unlike the Jump Pack's short hops, the Hover Pack gives you sustained flight, which lets you keep your body pressed against a target's hitbox. The chainsword deals continuous damage and has a ramping armor penetration mechanic that kicks in the longer you stay on target. Keep contact long enough and the penetration stacks overwhelm big enemies before they can react. It looks like a glitch; it behaves like a mechanic.
The community immediately split (of course)
Half the playerbase is busy inventing mobility-melee mashups and cackling. The other half is on Reddit saying the chainsword feels underpowered, that it hogs both hands, and that it eats a stratagem slot it doesn't deserve. Meanwhile, folks like Critical Hit Ventures are out there doing field science.
- Bile Titan: The now-famous hover-charge where you phase through the bug while the chainsword chews it up until it drops.
- Charger Behemoth: A Jump Pack-assisted leap onto the heavily armored back plate, brace both feet, grind the top armor until it breaks, kill the Charger from an angle that usually shrugs off damage.
- Automaton War Strider: Grind the ankle joint nonstop; the bot stands there like it's stunlocked while the saw eats the support, the leg gives out, and the whole machine tips over like a tree. A clip from u/pohwelly shows the ankle job in action.
So where does this leave your loadout?
Mobility gear plus sustained melee is suddenly a legit anti-armor plan. Jump Packs create brief windows to latch on; Hover Packs let you maintain contact and let the chainsword's penetration scale do its thing. And for the first time in ages, the CQC-1 One True Flag finally has real competition.
Have you tried the hover-drill yet, or are you sticking with the usual heavy fire options? If you've pulled off an absurd melee kill in full Python Commandos gear, I want to hear about it.