Helldivers 2delivers bombastic action and explosive combat around every corner and on every battlefield across the galaxy. Featuring dangerous foes like the cybernetic Automaton menace and the insectoid Terminid hordes, Helldivers need all the help they can get to push back theseenemies of democracy. In order to accomplish this monumental task, the game offers a wide variety of equipment beyond your typical primary/secondary weapons, from single-use rockets and sentry turrets to shoulder-mounted lasers and bombs dropped from orbit.
These Stratagems — special equipment and ordnance provided by Super Earth — make up the bulk of your most powerful tools on every battlefield. Every Stratagem is useful in some scenarios, but not all Stratagems are created equal. This list will delve into the best Stratagems you can bring with youon your next Helldive, covering both Support Weapons, backpack items, sentry turrets, and ordnance delivered straight from your Super Destroyer in orbit. Each entry will explore what makes each Stratagem so effective and in what scenarios it can be best utilized.
Updated by Jeff Brooks on Jun 05, 2025: This list has been updated and expanded to include several additional entries — including the Autocannon Sentry, Shield Generator Pack, and EMS Mortar Sentry — which add greater variety to the Stratagems that Helldivers will want to bring with them on any given mission. Additionally, the Quasar Cannon’s entry has been updated to include recent balance changes (Quasar Cannon cooldown between shots increased from 10 seconds to 15 seconds).
TheA/AC-8 Autocannon Sentryis by farthe most powerful of Helldivers 2’s sentries, though not quite thebest(more on that in another entry further down). The Autocannon Sentry will make its presence known on every mission, sometimes more than any other Stratagem available. Its 3-shot burst will ring across any battlefield, and it will make quick work of most targets it focuses on. Unlike its extremely versatile handheld Support Weapon counterpart, the Autocannon Sentry can actually deal significant damage to heavily armored targets like Bile Titans and Tanks, and not just when targeting weak points.
This power comes with some quickly noticeable downsides, however. The Autocannon Sentry draws a lot of attention to itself, so placement is key. If smaller enemies are able to get close, they’ll tear it apart in moments. This can be heartbreaking with its 3-minute cooldown. If you can find the right spot to deploy this Stratagem with a wide vantage point across the battlefield, it will rain destruction on enemies across the map. It runs out of ammo pretty quickly, however, and it will sometimes waste shots firing away at Bot Fabricators; it can’t be stressed enough how beneficial the Shock Absorption GelShip Moduleis here, increasing the Autocannon Sentry’s ammo by 50%.
Still considered the ‘best in slot’ backpack item you may have, theSH-32 Shield Generator Packis always a boon, regardless of the enemies you’re facing or the mission objectives you’re working to complete. Using up a whole stratagem slot for a backpack item always feels a little tough to swallow, but this unique item keeps you alive and killing for longer — full stop. Not only will it help you take a few additional hits before the shield needs to recharge, but it will also negate slowing effects — the cause of many a Helldiver’s untimely demise.
This backpack Stratagem is a gamechanger against the Terminids, who tend to overrun your position and keep you from getting away. But, even against the Automatons, being able to tank a few stray laser shots — or a maybe-too-accurate rocket to the face — is a godsend. There’s a fairly long recharge after the shield takes enough damage, and it cuts you off from using certain Support Weapons that come with their own packs, like the Autocannon or Recoilless Rifle, but the biggest downside to the Shield Generator Pack: you’llreallynotice when you aren’t using it.
Not the flashiest stratagem by a long shot, but theA/M-23 Ems Mortar Sentryis an incredible tool on the battlefield, no matter your mission objectives. The 3-minute cooldown means you won’t be dropping this sentry for every skirmish, but it’s got an incredible range and can make holding a position (like in the Evacuate High-Value Assets or Civilian Extraction mission types) — or assaulting an enemy base — that much easier by disabling enemy resistance. Because it’s a mortar, you’re able to tuck it away nicely, limiting the chance of enemies rushing and damaging it, and it lasts a surprisingly long time.
As an added bonus, it doesn’t damage allies, only slowing them temporarily, unlike its often evil twin, the regular Mortar Sentry. You aren’t able to control the EMS Mortar Sentry’s targeting like with a Stun Grenade or an EMS Orbital Strike, but the EMS fields it drops linger for a good while, giving you and your team crucial seconds to line up those killer shots on enemy weak points or reposition to a more advantageous position — or retreat entirely! It’s not able to slow down a persistent Bile Titan orFactory Strider, but every other ground-based enemy is susceptible to its volleys.
Eagle Airstrikeis a powerhouse and one of the best ‘workhorse’ Stratagems in the game. Delivering a powerful blast to a fairly focused, targeted area (limiting its team-killing potential), it requires a simple 4-button input to summon. It comes with 2 charges before Eagle Rearm (3 with theExpanded Weapons Bay Ship Module), and it will destroy almost every building in the game. Not only that, but it willclose Bug Holes and destroy Bot Fabricators— this is always a fantastic option, regardless of your mission objectives or enemy faction.
It doesn’t perform well against armored targets, though, so it’s important to bring along other counters to heavily armored enemies, but for every other situation, the Eagle Airstrike is an extremely reliable Stratagem that you’ll use over and over on every mission. There is no single better Stratagem to bring along on Blitz missions where you need to destroy Bug Nests or Bot Fabricators — along with any nearby enemies — on a quick 12-minute turn-around.
TheAutocannon is a phenomenal Support Weapon, and having one (or two) in any squad is a huge help, regardless of the mission objectives. This is because theAC-8 Autocannonis essentially the Swiss Army Knife ofHelldivers 2. It shines in such a wide variety of scenarios: it’s great at taknig out groups of weaker enemies; it quickly dispatches major threats like Devastators, Hulks, Brood Commanders, and Bile Spewers; it destroys mission objectives likeSpore SpewersandIllegal Broadcastsfrom across the map; and it closes enemy spawn points like Bug Holes and Bot Fabricators.
If any single weapon inHelldivers 2gives off a ‘one man army’ feeling, it’s the Autocannon. It can become even more devastating when an ally is wearing your ammo backpack, but even without that, the weapon is a terror on the battlefield. It is ineffective against Bile Titans and struggles against Tanks and Chargers, so it’s not the answer toeverything, but it solves enough battlefield problems to be worthy of its inclusion on this list.
TheLAS-99 Quasar Cannondidn’t launch with the game, being added later on in a late-March patch, but itmade a huge splash when it released, instantly leaping to the top of the meta. Offering a reliable (and rechargeable) method for dishing out serious damage to any high-priority targets on the battlefield, the Quasar Cannon is a must-have Stratagem in any squad. It has unlimited ammo, and it operates on a 15-second cooldown.
This massive laser cannon will instantly kill a Charger or Hulk with a well-placed shot, deal critical damage to Bile Titans, and all without running out of ammo! It’s not really the ultimate weapon, however. Previously, it had only a 10-second cooldown between shots, but its newer 15-second recharge canreallybe felt during more hectic encounters with multiple heavy units, and its 3-second charge time can leave you vulnerable to enemy fire/attacks, which will throw off your aim. The Quasar Cannon truly shines when planning ahead and making that first crucial strike in a battle — so for those who stumble into encounters, it won’t feel quite as effective as, say, an Expendable Anti-Tank.
Despite the recent recharge time increase to 15 seconds, the Quasar Cannon’s reusability and unlimited ammo still shines more brightly than the EAC-17 or the Recoilless Rifle.
TheEagle 500Kg Bombis one of the most impressive Stratagems from a visual standpoint, as it’s basically a small tactical nuke dropping directly on whatever it is you no longer want to see on the battlefield. It doesa lotof damage, and it is perhaps the best tool for dealing with Bile Titans. Unfortunately, it has a shockingly small blast radius, sometimes comically exploding right beside a Bile Titan and leaving it unscathed in the nuclear glow.
Once you get the hang of exactly where you need to place it for ultimate destruction, however, it becomes an indispensable tool on the battlefield. With the Expanded Weapons Bay Ship Module, you actually gettwoback-to-back uses before needing an Eagle Rearm, but between the two-uses-per-rearm and Eagle Rearm taking only 2 minutes with the Pit Crew Hazard Pay Ship Module, this is the go-to tool for eliminating the biggest threats on the battlefield.
The number one best Stratagem, inevitably, has to be theOrbital Laser. This massive beam of supercharged energy has a lightning-fast call-down time, and when it starts, it quickly cuts through the terrain, targeting the highest-priority targets in its sights, carving a path through enemies, Bug Holes, Bot Fabricators — and any allies in its way. This Stratagem is so good, it has a hard limit of only three uses per mission, and it has a five-minute cooldown between uses (4 and a half with the Zero-G Breach Loading Ship Module). This isn’t a Stratagem to break out when you encounter some mild resistance — this is a Stratagem to bring to bear when you’re back is up against a wall.
Best used to help clear out large Automaton bases, it’s also very useful for dealing significant damage to the heaviest, most dangerous units in the game (Factory Striders, Tanks, Hulks, and Bile Titans). A huge plus here is it’s ‘set it and forget it’ quality, allowing you to call down the thunder and continue to unleash hell on your enemies with your Support Weapon and other Stratagems while the beam carves up the battlefield. This Stratagem becomes less useful vs Terminids on higher difficulties due to the frequency of Bile Titan encounters, but even then, it’s still very useful for eliminating objectivesandcrowds of enemies in one fell swoop.
