Helldivers 2's Quasar Cannon becomes even more of a fan-favorite as players realize it one-shots bot ships of every flavor, including the new Gunships

Helldivers 2 weapons
(Image credit: Arrowhead Game Studios)

Helldivers 2's Quasar Cannon is quickly becoming the hot new trend, as players realize it can take out Automaton Gunships and dropships in just one hit.

Arrowhead added the Quasar Cannon to Helldivers 2 just a week or so ago, but you could tell it was an immediate hit with players, as they were instantly begging the developer to nerf it. Around a week later, it looks like the Quasar Cannon is going from strength to strength among players for its pure firepower against the Automaton forces.

For example, in the clip just below, you can see a player one-shot a bot dropship in mid-flight. It's not just the Quasar Cannon's destructive capabilities that are impressive in this clip - the player hits something of a wild trick shot by timing the cannon's shot so that it collides with the dropship while it's still moving at high speed. 

pretty epic Quasar moment, shot down a bot drop on the way to the lone wolf in our squad (lead the target!) from r/Helldivers

It's not just the dropships that go down in a single hit. The Quasar Cannon can make incredibly short work of the pesky new Helldivers 2 Gunships, which have been harassing players and peppering them with missile and laser cannon fire since earlier this week. The Gunships are lethal, but the Quasar Cannon trumps them. 

It also turns out the Quasar Cannon is a dab hand at dispatching the Automaton Fabricators extremely quickly, similarly in just one hit. In the comments of the post, another player claims that the cannon can take out an Automaton tank in just two hits, so if you've got two players running the Stratagem weapon in the same squad, it's game over for the tank.

LAS-99 Quasar Cannon can destroy fabricators from r/Helldivers

"They'll have to bury me with my Quasar because I am never letting this thing out of my grasp," adds another subreddit post, accompanied by footage of a player taking down another dropship in a single shot. A similar subreddit post shows a player taking out a Bile Titan with one shot from well over 100 meters away, which is perfect for keeping those horrible bugs at bay.

Gunships might be weak to the Quasar Cannon, but the factories that create them definitely aren't. Helldivers 2 players are seriously struggling with taking down Gunships factories, since they only have one weak point, and even a Hellbomb won't get the job completely done. 

Check out our Helldivers 2 level cap guide for a look at how the latest update changed titles for players. 

Hirun Cryer

Hirun Cryer is a freelance reporter and writer with Gamesradar+ based out of U.K. After earning a degree in American History specializing in journalism, cinema, literature, and history, he stepped into the games writing world, with a focus on shooters, indie games, and RPGs, and has since been the recipient of the MCV 30 Under 30 award for 2021. In his spare time he freelances with other outlets around the industry, practices Japanese, and enjoys contemporary manga and anime.