Best weapons in Helldivers 2 with full tier list

The best Helldivers 2 weapons and guns are laid out in our tier list below, constantly updated to reflect the newest changes to the meta, new weapons from Warbonds, and balancing updates to the game. The Helldivers 2 armory has dozens of weapons,  not even mentioning all those summoned mid-mission through Stratagems, and some are good for killing bugs, some better suited for bots, and some are just good generally. For those who are determined to have the best chance against the enemies of democracy, here's all the best weapons in Helldivers 2, including the best primary, secondary, support and throwable weapons all laid out for you in our comprehensive tier list!

The best weapons in Helldivers 2

• Best Stratagem weapon(s): Quasar Cannon
• Best primary weapon: Sickle
• Best secondary weapon: Redeemer Pistol
• Best grenade: High Explosive

Since the game's launch, there are plenty of viable weapons to use, but right now the best weapon in Helldivers 2 seems to be the Quasar Cannon. 

The reasons for that aren't complex. It's incredibly powerful, has infinite ammo, and is highly versatile too, being able to take out all sorts of armored targets and structures, making it one of the top picks. Although it's closely followed by the explosive and armor-piercing powerhouses that are the Railgun, Recoilless Rifle, and Expendable Anti-Tank.

Full Helldivers 2 weapons tier list

Below I've put all loadout and stratagem weapons into a tier list from C to S, including some details on the pros and cons of each one. Obviously, the ones in S-tier appear in the best Helldivers 2 loadouts and are superb picks for any mission.

• S-tier
  • Quasar Cannon (Stratagem): An extremely powerful energy weapon that fires a massive laser blast. It even has infinite ammo and doesn't need a backpack. Excellent against big, armored enemies, even at range, but you do have to wait for it to cool down after every shot. 
  • Railgun (Stratagem): Devastating single-shot weapon that can be overcharged, though has lost some of its armor penetration in patches. Focus on headshots/weak spots in Unsafe mode, and you'll be fine.
  • Sickle: This energy-based AR from the Helldivers 2 Cutting Edge Warbond is completely lethal, firing rapidly and capable of cutting down opponents swiftly, both bug and bot. It also has infinite ammo (in theory) if you effectively manage its cooling.
  • Breaker: Recent patches have given it a smaller clip and greater recoil, but it's still one of the best weapons, you just need to use more careful, precise shots.
  • Scorcher: An explosive energy weapon fires small bolts quickly and does very high damage per-shot. The only danger is that its explosive nature means shooting enemies close up can kill you too - keep your distance!
  • Recoilless Rifle (Stratagem): A rocket launcher that deals high damage to any enemy. Excels when coordinating with an ally and having them rapidly feed you rockets.
    
• A-tier
  • Autocannon (Stratagem): A powerful automatic cannon capable of destroying structures with excellent range. It's what you should buy if you can't get the Railgun yet. Requires a backpack, like the Recoilless Rifle, but holds loads of ammo.
  • Flamethrower (Stratagem): After a couple of buffs in recent patches, the Flamethrower is very potent against bug hordes at close-to-medium range, and the Enhanced Combustion Helldivers 2 Ship Module makes it even better. Just try not to set yourself on fire.
  • Grenade Launcher (Stratagem): A high-capacity grenade launcher that's very good against medium-tier enemies and can be used to destroy nests and fabricators. Just be careful around your friends!
  • Eruptor: The best weapon in the Helldivers 2 Democratic Detonation Warbond, the Eruptor is a bolt-action rifle that fires exploding shrapnel shells. It can wipe out enemies, sometimes many at once, and can even destroy nests and fabricators. Still, it's cumbersome and slow to use, and risks killing the user if fired at an enemy that's too close.
  • Stalwart (Stratagem): A versatile and powerful machine gun that clears smaller enemies effectively thanks to a huge magazine. Great against the Terminids.
  • Anti-Materiel Rifle (Stratagem): Lethal sniper rifle that can be used to break armor and do distant damage without much struggle. A great low-level Railgun substitute and useful against the Automatons.
  • Expendable Anti-Tank (Stratagem): A decent way to clear armored enemies in a hurry, but the Recoilless is better. Benefits from an extremely short cooldown so can be called in more frequently than any other support weapon Stratagem.
  • Incendiary Breaker: A version of the Breaker that's more specialised against bugs and unarmored enemies thanks to extra fire damage.
  • Spray and Pray Breaker: A Breaker variant that has been kindly treated in the recent patch, with buffed fire rates and armor penetration.
  • Redeemer Pistol (Secondary): A fast-firing machine pistol that chews up ammo, but also enemies at close range. Reliably cuts through unarmored enemies, and can be drawn and fired quickly.
  • Grenade Pistol (Secondary): This Democratic Detonation sidearm fires a single grenade, dealing solid damage over its blast radius. Pairs very nicely with the Sickle and Stun Grenades, but suffers from low ammo reserves and bad resupplying. Use sparingly.
  • High Explosive Grenade: The starting grenade is ultimately the best one - the small blast radius compensated for by high damage and some armor penetration.
  • Stun Grenade: The Stun Grenade in the Cutting Edge Pass deals no damage but temporarily stuns enemies over a wide radius. An effective crowd control option, particularly against Automatons.
    
• B-tier
  • Laser Cannon (Stratagem): A laser beam weapon that cooks robots well and doesn't use ammo. Recent patches have generally improved it to the top of the B-tier.
  • Spear (Stratagem): An anti-armor rocket launcher - very specialised, but very deadly against heavily-armored Automaton enemies such as Helldivers 2 Tanks, Dropships, and Helldivers 2 Gunships. However the lock-on can be extrememly finnicky and doesn't let you target specific weaknesses.
  • Impact Grenade: A zero-fuse explosive that's suited for precision blasts, but can't be used as effectively on bug holes or bot factories.
  • Defender: An SMG that can be used one-handed and is quite similar to the standard Liberator. Decent against close hordes or as a quick response.
  • Dominator: A slow, impactful AR with explosive power and medium armor penetration. A decent weapon for staggering larger enemies.
  • Arc Thrower (Stratagem): A charging lightning gun that has endless ammo and sends out shocks that leaps between enemies (and allies). It's not as good as it once was but can reliably stagger most enemies, making it good for crowd control.
  • Senator Pistol (Secondary): A heavy revolver that preserves ammo well, but does less damage than you'd hope and requires frequent reloading.
  • Diligence: A solid ranged rifle that's good for precision damage on robot enemies.
  • Diligence Counter Sniper: A bigger, punchier version of the Diligence that doubles down on its strengths but requires a stable firing position.
  • Liberator: Standard starting assault rifle, works in almost any situation.
  • Punisher Plasma: An energy variant of the Punisher shotgun that deals in formidable explosive rounds, making it more like a grenade launcher.
  • Machine Gun (Stratagem): A heavier, slower, deadlier version of the Stalwart that packs a punch, but remains cumbersome.
  • Knight: A quick SMG with a very high fire rate and one-handed option. Eats through ammo quickly, but lethal at close range.
  • Incendiary Grenade: A firebomb used for area denial. Decent in extractions or defense missions.
  • Punisher: A slow-firing but punchy shotgun that has the benefit (and drawback) of reloading per shot, reducing ammo waste but also slowing reloads.
  • Arc Blitzer: The most expensive Cutting Edge weapon, the Blitzer fires arcs of electricity, but isn't that reliable. Good for crowds of low level enemies and not much else - certainly the low end of the B-tier.
  • Heavy Machine Gun (Stratagem): An incredibly powerful gun that's also incredibly hard to aim, the recoil throwing the sights upwards, somehow even more than the normal machine gun. You'll need to stay crouched to use this effectively and be prepared to spend a lot of time reloading.
    
• C-tier
  • Slugger: A Punisher variant that fires high-damage slugs, but is hard to aim and use quickly. Recently nerfed and lost its ability to break fences and other weak structures, and can no longer reliably stagger enemies.
  • Adjudicator: A marksman rifle best used on full-auto and at shorter ranges. Medium armor penetration is nice but the poor recoil and small magazine make it unwieldy overall.
  • Peacemaker Pistol: A serviceable starting pistol with balanced stats that's fine in a pinch.
  • Scythe: A highly accurate laser beam weapon that's serviceable against robots, but not great against bugs.
  • Liberator Concussive: An unremarkable explosive version of the standard AR that doesn't really live up to the promise and is functional at best.
  • Frag Grenade: An explosive that trades power for blast size. Suited for clearing groups.
  • Thermite Grenade: Burns whatever it sticks to for several seconds before exploding. Other grenades are more useful and its burn radius is so small that failing to hit an enemy with it makes it almost pointless.
  • Dagger Pistol: A laser pistol from the Cutting Edge Warbond that's only saving grace is its infinite ammo.
  • Liberator Penetrator: The starting gun but with slightly worse stats, balanced by medium armor penetration. A bit meh, frankly.
  • Smoke Grenade: A smoke grenade used for escaping enemies - something that rarely is a focus on Helldivers 2.
  • Exploding Crossbow: A weapon that feels like more of a novelty with little remarkable about it. The explosive bolts can't destroy fabricators or nests either.

Of course, if you need to actually get any of these weapons, we'll explain how to unlock weapons in Helldivers 2 here.

Best weapons for Automatons

Bots in are the more heavily-armored Helldivers 2 faction and tend to fight at range, occasionally with glowing weak spots that need to be targeted, and are best fought with any of the following weapons:

• Sickle: A laser weapon that shreds through bots and is highly accurate, making it great for focusing on tiny heads.
• Quasar Cannon: An all-round beast when it comes to destroying anything Automaton, including the bulkiest units, aerial vehicles, and even Fabricators.
• Breaker: This shotgun is good against almost everything, as mentioned.
• Railgun: If you're a high enough level to get it, this armor penetrating Stratagem can be used to two-shot Helldivers 2 Hulks if you hit their glowing, red eye (assuming you'll risk the Unsafe mode).
• Anti-Materiel Rifle: This powerful sniper rifle can blow holes in enemies and target weak points well enough for early players.
• Scorcher: Robots are more vulnerable to energy weapons, and the Scorcher is the best of that sort, also blowing up armor.

Best weapons for Bugs

Bugs in Helldivers 2 are generally less armored than bots (though there are exceptions), fight more in melee and close range, appear in greater numbers and have a vulnerability to fire. You should use any of the following:

• Flamethrower: A great weapon for keeping bugs back and it's surprisingly useful against even heavily-armored Terminids like Helldivers 2 Chargers. Just be aware of it setting the ground on fire.
• Sickle: Spray and pray and manage your cooling to blast those weaker bugs apart.
• Breaker: I keep telling you that the Breaker is good.
• Incendiary Breaker: This inflammatory version of the game's best weapon is more specialized against certain kinds of bugs.
• Stalwart: When holding back hordes of insects, a rapid-fire machine gun that rarely need to be reloaded is a good bet.

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