Helldivers 2 boss says the Autocannon is "the team's best weapon design," actually

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Director Johan Pilestedt is "overjoyed" to see the work behind the Autocannon get "the recognition it deserves"

Helldivers 2
(Image credit: Sony)

Helldivers 2 is full of powerful weapons to smash up bots and squash bugs, ranging from satisfying firearms to explosive orbital strikes that often do more harm to you and your team than the actual enemies. Out of them all, though, one weapon stands out to game director Johan Pilestedt for having the best design.

The weapon in question is the AC-8 Autocannon, which can be called in as a Stratagem from level 10 onwards. Responding to a Helldivers 2 player on Twitter who praised the gun for its "interesting design," which includes an "oversized charging handle" and "top loading fixed magazine from stripper clips," Pilestedt says he's "overjoyed" to see it get "the recognition it deserves" from fans. 

"I think it's the team's best weapon design. I am overjoyed that all the hard work they put into it gets the recognition it deserves," he writes. 

"Massive shout-out to 'Frippe' [Fredrik Eriksson, animator] and Patrik Lasota [head of product testing] who were the main drivers for it, and everyone else that contributed [of course]."

It's not just the aesthetics of the AC-8 Autocannon, which the Helldivers 2 devs love. Back when the game's first big balance patch was rolled out, one of Helldivers 2's designers pointed to the Autocannon as a "good example of a well-balanced weapon," noting that its power and range is counterbalanced by the need to "carry an ammo backpack or have a friend assist you." As such, it wasn't one of the weapons nerfed in the patch, unlike the Railgun and Breaker, which both saw significant changes. 

In other Helldivers 2 news, Pilestedt recently responded to a popular fan request to add a Guard Dog Flamethrower to the game – a companion robot that would have the power to spew flames at enemies (and potentially friends) automatically. The director warned us to be "careful what you wish for" as he revealed that other devs at Arrowhead Game Studios are rather excited by the idea, even if they expect that it would bring absolute chaos to the game thanks to friendly fire being turned on at all times. It's not been confirmed if it'll actually be added, but if it is, we can probably expect to fry a lot of teammates by mistake.

Our top 10 Helldivers 2 tips are perfect for helping you spread Managed Democracy on behalf of Super Earth. 

Catherine Lewis
Catherine Lewis
Deputy News Editor

I'm GamesRadar+'s Deputy News Editor, working alongside the rest of the news team to deliver cool gaming stories that we love. After spending more hours than I can count filling The University of Sheffield's student newspaper with Pokemon and indie game content, and picking up a degree in Journalism Studies, I started my career at GAMINGbible where I worked as a journalist for over a year and a half. I then became TechRadar Gaming's news writer, where I sourced stories and wrote about all sorts of intriguing topics. In my spare time, you're sure to find me on my Nintendo Switch or PS5 playing through story-driven RPGs like Xenoblade Chronicles and Persona 5 Royal, nuzlocking old Pokemon games, or going for a Victory Royale in Fortnite.