In Helldivers 2, mastering the battlefield often comes down to choosing the right support weapons. These powerful tools can turn the tide of battle, providing crucial firepower and strategic advantages that can make or break a mission.
In this article, we’ll dive into the five best support weapons in Helldivers 2, exploring their strengths, weaknesses, and tips for maximizing their potential. Whether you’re a seasoned veteran or a recruit, these weapons will help you spread democracy throughout the galaxy.
5 Best Support Weapons in Helldivers 2
Heavy Machine Gun
- Call-in Time: 3 seconds
- Cooldown Time: 480 seconds
- Input: ⇩⇦⇧⇩⇩ = Down, Left, Up, Down, Down
- Ammo Capacity: 75 rounds per belt (2 spare belts)
- Reload Time: 5.5 seconds
- Weapon Traits: Medium Armor Penetration
- Best Against: Automatons
Using this weapon is the closest you’ll come to feeling like the Arnold Schwarzenegger wielding a minigun in Terminator 2. The MG-206 Heavy Machine Gun (HMG) in Helldivers 2 is a powerhouse that can decimate anything in its line of fire and does so with devastating efficiency.
Since the HMG has medium armor penetration, it excels at taking down Automatons. The HMG’s high damage output is perfect for fewer, more armored targets like Automatons, allowing you to shred through their armor and neutralize them. It should be noted that you can’t damage heavily armored targets unless you hit their weak spots (including the eye of a Hulk).
However, this weapon isn’t as effective against Terminids. The Terminids’ rapid and erratic movement can make it difficult to land consistent hits with the HMG, and its limited ammo capacity means you can burn through your supply very quickly. While the HMG is great for taking down heavily armored targets, it’s not ideal when faced with swarms of smaller enemies like Terminids.
Running the Support Pack can help alleviate this issue, allowing you to resupply yourself and your teammates with more ammo.
The Heavy Machine Gun is an incredibly powerful weapon, but it comes with a hefty challenge: recoil. The immense force kicks the sights upwards, making it hard to aim accurately unless you burst-fire or stay crouched/prone. Mastering this recoil is key to unleashing the full potential of the HMG.
The HMG’s immense recoil can be mitigated by equipping armor with the Engineering Kit or Fortified passive, which further reduces recoil when crouching or prone by 30%. This allows you to maintain better control and accuracy during prolonged engagements.
When using the HMG, it’s crucial to cycle between fire rates. Use the low fire rate for more controlled shots against a Standard Devastator, while reserving the high fire rate for melting through an Annihilator Tank, Cannon Tower, and Hulk. The high fire rate is especially effective when targeting the weak spots of heavily armored enemies, allowing you to deal massive damage quickly.
Stealth is also an important tactic when wielding the HMG. Despite its heavy firepower, it cannot penetrate the thick armor of a Hulk or Annihilator Tank. Instead, try to sneak up and take advantage of openings to deliver precise, devastating blows.
As seen in the video below, you can shred big enemies if you hit their weak spots:
Treat the HMG as a support weapon rather than your primary weapon. Use it to take out medium to heavily armored enemies, conserving your ammo for critical moments. For smaller enemies, rely on your primary weapon to save your precious HMG rounds for when they matter most.
Flamethrower
- Call-in Time: 3 seconds
- Cooldown Time: 480 seconds
- Input: ⇩⇦⇧⇩⇧ = Down, Left, Up, Down, Up
- Ammo Capacity: 12.5 seconds total (4 spare canisters)
- Reload Time: 3.75 seconds
- Weapon Traits: Heavy Armor Penetration, Incendiary
- Best Against: Terminids
Nothing truly beats the satisfaction of blasting your foes with flames. The FLAM-40 Flamethrower will roast anything within a short distance that you aim at (including fellow Helldivers), and it is very good at doing so. It doesn’t matter what difficulty level you are on; the Flamethrower is a bug-roasting machine!
The Flamethrower was long ignored until the damage-over-time effects were fixed in Patch 1.000.302. Since then, it has become one of the best bug-killing weapons in the game.
The Flamethrower is exceptionally effective against bug hordes at close range. Its ability to unleash a continuous stream of fire makes it ideal for dealing with large numbers of fast-moving bugs like Hunters and Warriors. When bugs swarm in close quarters, the flamethrower’s wide arc of flames can quickly engulf and eliminate multiple bugs simultaneously, preventing the horde from overwhelming you.
The intense heat not only causes immediate damage but also creates lasting patches of fire that continue to burn any bugs that try to advance. This makes the flamethrower excellent for relentless bug attacks, providing both offensive power and a defensive barrier against oncoming bug breaches and patrols.
For those Helldivers who despise dealing with a Charger, this is the weapon for you. The Flamethrower is extremely effective at killing a Charger. Go ahead and try it yourself!
If you accidentally set yourself on fire, diving will put the fire out and stop the damage.
The only Terminid that is difficult to kill is a Bile Titan. Yes, it’s possible to kill them with a flamethrower, but they have a very high health pool, and it’s hard to get within range of the flamethrower. Make sure that you or your teammates have other ways to deal with a Bile Titan.
While the flamethrower is excellent against Terminids, it struggles to be effective against Automatons. Inherently, the flamethrower’s flame has a limited range. Given the Automatons have a vast arsenal of long-range machine guns and rockets, it will be difficult to get close enough with the flamethrower. We advise you to use the flamethrower for strictly Terminid operations.
The fire damage of the flamethrower is boosted by 25% when you have the Enhanced Combustion Ship Module (Fire damage is increased by 25% for relevant Stratagems). If you are a flamethrower enthusiast, this upgrade is a must; just be prepared to pay an arm and a leg for it.
Do you smell that? That’s not bugs burning; that’s the smell of democracy.
Quasar Cannon
- Call-in Time: 3 seconds
- Cooldown Time: 480 seconds
- Input: ⇩⇩⇧⇦⇨ = Down, Down, Up, Left, Right
- Ammo Capacity: Unlimited
- Cooldown Time: 15 seconds
- Weapon Traits: Explosive
- Best Against: Terminids and Automatons
The LAS-99 Quasar Cannon (or as we simpletons like to call it, the Queso) is a unique, energy-based Support Weapon. It fires a powerful explosive shot after being charged up, dealing damage comparable to that of the EAT. It is ideal for taking out heavily armored targets.
Being an explosive weapon, the Quasar Cannon is capable of taking out enemy structures like Bug Holes and Automaton Fabricators. It can even one-hit some heavily armored units like a Charger or Hulk.
The main draw behind the Quasar Cannon is its unlimited ammo. As an energy-based weapon, it requires no ammunition to reload or fire. Instead, it needs a short 3-second charge-up before firing, which is visually indicated in both First-Person and Third-Person views via a charging bar.
This leads us to the biggest drawback of the Quasar Cannon: its cooldown time. Currently, the cooldown between shots is 15 seconds. In the fast-paced gameplay of Helldivers 2, this can feel like an eternity. Remember, having unlimited ammo doesn’t mean you should fire at everything you see; save the Quasar Cannon for the big enemies.
Before its nerf in Patch 1.000.300, it was easily the best weapon in the game. Initially, every Helldiver was using the Quasar Cannon. Essentially, it was an EAT with unlimited ammo and a reasonable 10-second cooldown between uses. While the post-nerf cooldown is now 15 seconds, it remains a great Support Weapon and useful in any mission you undertake.
The Quasar Cannon can also take out an Automaton Dropship in one shot if you aim at the engine thrusters. Destroying dropships has the potential to eliminate the Automatons inside, so don’t hesitate to fire when you see one.
Another neat interaction: cold planets reduce the cooldown time of the Quasar by 2.5 seconds, while hot planets increase it by 2.5 seconds. Keep this in mind before you drop.
There is no backpack requirement for the Quasar Cannon, allowing you to utilize any of the backpack stratagems in the game, such as a Shield Generator for protection or a Guard Dog to pick off those pesky Hunters that swarm you.
To somewhat circumvent the long recharge times, you can call in a second Quasar Cannon. With one equipped and the second on the ground, fire the first one, then pick up the second and fire. By the time you fire the second Quasar, the first one will be at least halfway cooled down. We call this strategy “Juggling Quasar Cannons.”
We demonstrated this technique in the video below:
This strategy works great for defending objectives but does not work well when you are on the move.
Overall, the Quasar Cannon is fantastic and a ton of fun to use! Just make sure teammates don’t run in front of you when charging up a blast.
Expendable Anti-Tank (EAT)
- Call-in Time: 2 seconds
- Cooldown Time: 70 seconds
- Input: ⇩⇩⇦⇧⇨ = Down, Down, Left, Up, Right
- Ammo Capacity: 1, single-use
- Weapon Traits: Explosive
- Best Against: Terminids and Automatons
Much like the reinforcements of fellow Helldivers, the EAT-17 Expendable Anti-Tank will be called in frequently. As the name implies, the Expendable Anti-Tanks (EATs for short) are single-use rocket launchers designed to be discarded after use. You cannot reload this weapon; you merely throw the empty launcher on the ground.
Each EAT Hellpod comes with two separate rocket launchers, giving you some flexibility. Share one with a friend, save one for later, or spam both at that Bile Titan charging you down.
The real magic happens when you have a 4-man team running EATs. Coordinate the call-ins with your teammates to maximize the number of EATs on the battlefield. Here’s a strategy:
- Player 1 calls in EATs.
- 17.5 seconds later, Player 2 calls in EATs.
- 17.5 seconds later, Player 3 calls in EATs.
- 17.5 seconds later, Player 4. calls in EATs.
- 17.5 seconds after this, Player 1’s cooldown for EATs will be finished, and the cycle continues!
If done correctly, someone will be calling in EATs every 17.5 seconds (70/4 = 17.5 seconds). This ensures a constant supply of explosive firepower. Rockets will be flying everywhere, and empty launchers will litter the ground…it’s beautiful.
There is no backpack requirement for this Supply Weapon either, so feel free to run your favorite backpack when using EATs.
The biggest issue with this weapon is that you often forget how fast the cooldown time is and don’t remember to call it in (we’re all guilty of this skills issue). You have to be on your toes to use this weapon at its maximum potential.
If you’re aiming to be the sweatiest try-hard player, this is the stratagem you should run. Don’t forget to call them in!
Autocannon
- Call-in Time: 3 seconds
- Cooldown Time: 480 seconds
- Input: ⇩⇦⇩⇧⇧⇨ = Down, Left, Down, Up, Up, Right
- Ammo Capacity: 10 rounds (5 per clip), 10 clips in backpack
- Reload Time: 1.75 seconds with round in chamber, 5 seconds when empty
- Weapon Traits: Medium Armor Penetration, Team Reload
- Best Against: Terminids and Automatons
The AC-8 Autocannon is a shoulder-mounted cannon that fires explosive rounds, holding a maximum of 10 rounds in the chamber. This weapon is the king of destroying medium-armored enemies. Bile Spewer, Stalker, Heavy Devastator, Berserker —none stand a chance; they’re toast. All of these enemies fall to a few shots from the Autocannon. It also rips apart small enemies just as effectively.
The Autocannon excels at taking out enemy structures. Spore Towers, Bug Holes, Illegal Broadcasts, Automaton Fabricators—anything standing upright won’t be doing so for much longer.
Despite shooting explosive rounds, the Autocannon cannot damage heavily armored enemies head-on. To destroy these types of enemies, you’ll need to hit their weak spots.
One unique element of the Autocannon is how it’s reloaded. You can only reload 5 rounds at a time, meaning you are unable to reload until you have shot 5 rounds (or half of your ammo). Counterintuitively, it’s better to waste a couple of rounds and reload than it is to save those extra rounds.
Unlike other weapons on this list, the Autocannon requires a backpack to reload. Thankfully, the backpack carries a ton of ammo. In total, it holds 50 rounds (10 clips). The Autocannon can also be team reloaded; sharing is caring.
Miraculously, the Autocannon has managed to avoid any nerfs throughout the lifespan of Helldivers 2. It has been excellent since the game launched and is universally loved by the Helldivers 2 community.
It feels like you have unlimited ammo with the Autocannon; I can’t remember the last time I ran out of ammo for it. On top of all this, it’s a complete blast to use. Highly recommend it!
Equipped with these powerful support weapons, you’ll be ready to tackle any challenge Helldivers 2 throws your way. Each weapon has its unique strengths and requires different strategies to maximize its effectiveness. Whether you’re cutting down Automatons with the Heavy Machine Gun, roasting bugs with the Flamethrower, or blasting through enemy structures with the Autocannon, mastering these tools will make you an invaluable asset to your team.
Remember, coordination and teamwork are key, so communicate with your fellow Helldivers and deploy these weapons strategically. Now, go forth and spread democracy across the galaxy with explosive precision!
For more Helldivers 2 content, check out our breakdown of each Difficulty Level.
