Helldivers 2 Support Weapon tier list and the best ones to use

Airburst Rocket Launcher

Terminids: B
Automatons: C
Illuminate: C

Fires proximity detonation cluster bomb or flak rockets that saturate a wide area. Very powerful against enemies that lack armor and hordes (particularly swarms of Helldivers 2 Shriekers) but it's not very easy to use and is massively likely to cause friendly-fire incidents. Be very careful.

Anti-Materiel Rifle

Terminids: D
Automatons: B
Illuminate: C

A lethal, high-caliber sniper rifle that can be used to break armor and deal distant damage without much struggle. A good low-level Railgun substitute and useful against the Automatons, but performs poorly against the other factions.

Arc Thrower

Terminids: D
Automatons: D
Illuminate: D

A lightning gun that has truly infinite ammo but needs to be charged to fire and send out a shock that leaps between enemies (and allies). It's got good range and a decent stunning effect, but the lightning doesn't chain to as many enemies as you hope it would, or deal as much damage.

Autocannon

Terminids: B
Automatons: B
Illuminate: C

A versatile full-auto cannon with excellent range that can fire armor-piercing rounds for high-damage or flak rounds that trade damage for a larger area of effect. However, it also has an ammo backpack and you'll frequently be stuck with its stationary reload.

Belt-Fed Grenade Launcher

Terminids: D
Automatons: C
Illuminate: C

A rapid-fire grenade launcher with a backpack that continuously feeds it ammo. It sounds great but low ammo reserves and poor damage compared to the normal Grenade Launcher mean it's not great, even though you never have to reload. It's also cumbersome but doesn't lock you down like the Maxigun.

Breaching Hammer

Terminids: C
Automatons: A
Illuminate: C

The Breaching Hammer is incredibly powerful, even capable of demolishing Automaton fabricators and Illuminate Warp Ships, but, since it's a melee weapon, using it against the Terminids and Illuminate isn't a good idea. The Warp Pack, Shield Generator Pack, or Jump Pack are essential if you want to use the hammer effectively.

C4 Pack

Terminids: A
Automatons: S
Illuminate: A

A backpack that comes with six sticky explosive charges that can be lobbed out and detonated all at once. It's great for stealth builds and you can kill basically anything with enough C4, including some structures. But be aware that it also takes up your support weapon slot because of the detonator, so you limit your loadout options a bit.

Cremator

Terminids: S
Automatons: B
Illuminate: A

The Cremator is the sole support weapon of the Helldivers 2 Entrenched Division Warbond and is a doozy. Sacrificing your backpack slot gets you a large fuel tank for continuous fire-spraying and heavy armor penetration to melt more robust enemies faster than the regular flamethrower.

Commando

Terminids: A
Automatons: S
Illuminate: A

An expendable rocket launcher that holds four rockets that can be laser-guided after firing. Being expendable means it has an inherently short cooldown too but is balanced by relatively low per-rocket damage, but it's still an excellent alternative to the Expendable Anti-Tank.

De-Escalator

Terminids: C
Automatons: C
Illuminate: C

The mix of explosive damage and arcing electricity make this seem good but it's not great overall. You also need to bear its painfully slow per-round reload if you're using it. The regular Grenade Launcher is far better.

Defoliation Tool

Terminids: C
Automatons: C
Illuminate: C

The Defoliation Tool deals good damage and benefits from increasing armor penetration, from medium to heavy, the longer you continuously shred the same enemy, but getting up close with enemies to hack them up isn't advisable. It can be fun but the hammer is better!

Epoch

Terminids: B
Automatons: A
Illuminate: B

Like a souped-up Purifier and Punisher Plasma, this launcher fires a hefty anti-tank plasma projectile with a noticeable drop. You can rapidly fire low-power shots or charge up a few more powerful ones before needing to reload, but charge it up for too long and the Epoch will explode and kill you.

Expendable Anti-Tank

Terminids: A
Automatons: S
Illuminate: A

A simple rocket launcher that you chuck away after firing its single rocket. It deals hefty damage, but not as much as the Recoilless Rifle. However, it also doesn't take up a backpack slot, and has a very short cooldown, letting you call it in very frequently. You also get two launchers per call-in.

Expendable Napalm

Terminids: B
Automatons: C
Illuminate: B

It's not as universally useful as the Expendable Anti-Tank but can be useful against the bugs and squishy Illuminate enemies. Just be aware of its surprising fire shrapnel detonation radius that can result in friendly-fire incidents.

Flamethrower

Terminids: A
Automatons: C
Illuminate: A

One of the best weapon for dealing with organic enemies, such as shambling Illuminate Voteless, swarms of small Terminids, and even some larger bugs at close-to-medium range. Just try not to set yourself on fire. However, there are weapons in the Helldivers 2 Freedom's Flame Warbond that are as good if not better.

Grenade Launcher

Terminids: S
Automatons: S
Illuminate: S

A high-capacity grenade launcher that's very good against practically all enemies - it recently gained heavy armor penetration and is now exceptionally good. You can use it destroy nest holes, fabricators, andwarp ships too! Just don't fire it at close range as the grenades will bounce unpredictably.

Heavy Machine Gun

Terminids: C
Automatons: C
Illuminate: C

A powerful machine gun that can damage most enemies but has considerable recoil, a surprisingly small magazine, tiny reserves, and a very slow stationary reload. You'll need to stay crouched to use this effectively and be prepared to spend a lot of time reloading.

Laser Cannon

Terminids: C
Automatons: C
Illuminate: C

A laser beam weapon that has no backpack and infinite ammo (in theory). Requires good aim on a target to keep up damage while the laser is firing, and even set them on fire, but the damage isn't that great overall. There are better options available.

Leveller

Terminids: A
Automatons: S
Illuminate: A

An expendable rocket launcher that fires a large warhead, that deals massive damage in a large area, balanced with a very limited range due to projectile drop. While you only get one launcher per hellpod, it is in a relatively short cooldown, and there is little a direct hit can't destroy.

Machine Gun

Terminids: B
Automatons: C
Illuminate: A

A rapid-fire, high-capacity gun that packs a punch with medium armor penetration and works surprisingly well against the Illuminate. However it's quite cumbersome and forces you to perform dangerous stationary reloads.

Maxigun

Terminids: D
Automatons: C
Illuminate: C

Nothing spews bullets more than the Maxigun, but it comes at a significant cost. It has to briefly spin up before firing, it has very high recoil that makes it hard to control, you can't move or dodge while firing, and you can get through the ammo backpack quite quickly.

One True Flag

Terminids: D
Automatons: D
Illuminate: D

A pointless melee weapon that is a total waste of a Stratagem slot. You should never use the flag unless you are a committed role-player who wants to rub their support for Super Earth into the faces of the enemy.

Quasar Cannon

Terminids: S
Automatons: A
Illuminate: A

A very powerful energy weapon that fires a high-speed, anti-tank laser blast. It has a long cooling period after firing a shot, but has infinite ammo and doesn't need a backpack, which makes it a fantastic alternative to the Recoilless Rifle and such.

Railgun

Terminids: A
Automatons: S
Illuminate: A

Single-shot weapon that deals high damage when overcharged in Unsafe Mode. It's pinpoint accurate too meaning it demands good aim for maximum effect, focusing on headshots and weak spots.

Recoilless Rifle

Terminids: A
Automatons: S
Illuminate: B

A rocket launcher that deals high damage to enemies and structures - it's simple and effective. However, it has an ammo backpack and a slow stationary reload, so you need to be careful or get a buddy to help with a team reload.

Solo Silo

Terminids: D
Automatons: A
Illuminate: D

A Stratagem that sounds great but is underwhelming in practice. The missile is very powerful but impractical, especially when you're fighting the Terminids or Illuminate as melee units can easily destroy the silo.

Spear

Terminids: B
Automatons: A
Illuminate: C

An anti-armor rocket launcher that cannot be fired without a target lock - very specialised, but very deadly against heavily-armored enemies such as Helldivers 2 Tanks and Helldivers 2 Bile Titans. Bear in mind that targeting can be finnicky against certain enemies, particularly Helldivers 2 Factory Striders.

Speargun

Terminids: S
Automatons: S
Illuminate: A

The impaling spears are solid in terms of damage but the gas clouds they release after impact are what make this weapon so great. You can shroud an area in noxious clouds that confuse most enemies and dissolve hordes, making the Speargun a superb crowd control weapon - the spears can even destroy nest holes and warp ships!

Stalwart

Terminids: A
Automatons: C
Illuminate: B

A weaker machine gun with light armor penetration that rips through smaller enemies and hordes thanks to a huge magazine and high fire rate. You can move while reloading too, unlike the other machine guns.

Sterilizer

Terminids: D
Automatons: D
Illuminate: D

A flamethrower-style weapon that sprays harmful, blinding and slowing gas. Sounds good but is actually quite useless. Gas grenades and the Speargun are far, far better.

WASP Launcher

Terminids: D
Automatons: B
Illuminate: B

A multi-missile launcher with lock-on features that isn't the most intuitive to use but can still output good damage. The WASP's main problem is it has low ammo reserves, so you can't use it much, and its impractical against the Terminids