Helldivers 2 Weapons Overview

How is the weapon arsenal organized?

Helldivers 2 separates your firearms into two groups. Your primary and secondary weapons plus a grenade type come from your loadout screen and Warbond unlocks. Support weapons — machine guns, autocannons, recoilless rifles, railguns, arc throwers, flamethrowers, and more — are stratagems called down from orbit during the mission.

Primary weapons cover several families: assault rifles, submachine guns, shotguns, marksman rifles, energy weapons, and explosive or arc-based exotics. Most balance patches adjust the roster, so treat any fixed tier list with suspicion and check patch notes before rewriting your loadout.

1. Primary

   Set the everyday role

   Choose a reliable answer for the light or medium enemies you expect most often.

2. Secondary and grenade

   Cover the weak moment

   Keep an emergency tool ready for reloads, close pressure, or utility tasks.

3. Support weapon

   Assign the heavy answer

   Bring dedicated anti-armor, sustained fire, or area denial where the squad lacks it.

What is armor penetration and why does it matter?

Every weapon has an armor penetration rating, and most enemies have armored body parts. If your weapon cannot penetrate a target’s armor, shots ricochet or deal reduced damage — which is why dumping a full magazine into a Charger’s faceplate does nothing. Practical rules of thumb:

• Standard primaries handle light infantry on every front.
• Medium-armored targets (Hive Guards, Devastators) need aimed weak-point shots or medium-penetration weapons.
• Heavily armored targets (Chargers, Hulks, Tanks, Harvesters) demand dedicated anti-armor support weapons or offensive stratagems.

Which support weapon roles should a squad cover?

Support weapons fall into broad roles: sustained fire (machine guns, Stalwart), anti-armor (recoilless rifle, expendable anti-tank, railgun), area denial (flamethrower, grenade launcher), and utility hybrids (autocannon, arc thrower). Some support weapons reload faster with a teammate carrying the linked ammo backpack — a strong reason to pair up on higher difficulties.

How do you choose for each faction?

• Terminids: swarm clear and mobility. Shotguns, incendiary options, and flamethrowers shine; bring one anti-armor answer for Chargers and Bile Titans.
• Automatons: precision and cover play. Marksman rifles and medium-penetration primaries reward weak-point aim; anti-armor handles Hulks and Tanks.
• Illuminate: burst damage to break shields quickly, plus crowd control against hordes of the Voteless.

For the offensive stratagems that pair with these weapons, see the stratagems overview.