Helldivers 2: Best Primary Weapons, Ranked (2024)

Super Earth's arsenal in Helldivers 2 contains a wide variety of small arms for players to use, from assault rifles to laser guns, automatic shotguns, and many variants of each archetype that offer completely new ways of spreading democracy. Each weapon does have its strengths and weaknesses, and players will need only the best if they want to liberate the galaxy.

There are 29 primary weapons in Helldivers 2, but only 24 are unlockable as of writing. While there's no doubt that more will be added to the game in future patches, here are some of the best guns players and their friends can use right now.

Updated August 8, 2024 by Marc Santos: Helldivers 2 has received numerous balance patches that touched some of its best and worst-performing primary weapons. Naturally, this resulted in a shift in overall power rankings among the available choices. We've updated this list to account for those buffs and nerfs by adding new weapons and adjusting the ranking of the guns that we originally picked.

12 LAS-5 Scythe

Pinpoint Accuracy With Zero Recoil

• Damage: 350/sec
• Fire Limit: ~8 seconds (Beam)
• Recoil: 1
• Stun Time: 0.0s

The LAS-5 Scythe may seem completely underwhelming at first, but it is surprisingly strong against all types of Automaton infantry, especially armored Devastators and chainsaw-wielding Berserkers. It suffers from its inability to stagger targets, but such a thing doesn't matter against bots who rarely ever get staggered by anything but the meanest of guns. The Scythe's pinpoint accuracy and non-existent recoil means it can melt weakpoints very easily.

The Scythe's biggest strength is its access to virtually unlimited ammunition. Since it uses a Heat mechanic, players can finish a mission without ever reloading this weapon as long as it doesn't overheat. However, this weapon's DPS (listed as 350/sec in-game) is rather low compared to other primary weapons, and it's terrible against bugs and melee enemy swarms that are barreling toward players.

11 AR-23 Liberator

Reliable General Purpose Assault Rifle

• Damage: 60
• Capacity: 45
• Recoil: 15
• Fire Rate: 640 (Full Auto/Burst/Semi)

One of the best weapons in Helldivers 2 is given to players right at the start of the game. The default Liberator is one of the most reliable guns in the arsenal, sporting average stats across the board. It's lethal against anything that isn't heavily armored, which means even fresh recruits can be effective without unlocking any new guns.

Players can't go wrong by bringing a Liberator to any battlefield, though there are other weapons that outperform it when it comes to damage output. It can only pierce light armor, so one will have to find some other way to deal with heavy infantry, large bugs, and vehicles.

The Liberator has Explosive and Penetrator variants locked inside the Helldivers Mobilize and Steeled Veteran Warbonds. The Explosive version can stunlock enemies at the expense of having less ammo and a slower ROF. Meanwhile, the Penetrator trades ammo capacity, raw damage, and the full-auto firing mode for the ability to pierce medium armor. Both have their uses, but they pale in comparison to the default weapon's versatility.

10 SMG-37 Defender

Slow Pace, High Damage

• Damage: 70
• Capacity: 45
• Recoil: 10
• Fire Rate: 520

The Defender falls under the same category as the Liberator. It is an automatic weapon that excels at eliminating light targets. Compared to the Liberator, this gun kicks less and hits harder, but it also fires noticeably slower.

One of the main draws of the Defender is its ability to be wielded with one hand. If players are doing missions that require them to transport SSSDs and other devices, consider taking this SMG along so the team never loses firepower.

Mathematically, the Defender will outpace the Liberator in terms of DPS. However, since both are very comparable when it comes to performance in practical situations, choosing between these two primary weapons is mostly up to player preference.

9 CB-9 Exploding Crossbow

Blow 'Em All To Bits

• Damage: 420
• Capacity: 5
• Recoil: 35
• Fire Rate: 50

The Exploding Crossbow's slow projectiles and low effective range is immediately compensated for by the fact that it's basically a grenade launcher. This weapon will destroy any light infantry within 9 meters of its explosive payload, and it's not bad against medium targets either (it might take a few shots to take them down, though).

This weapon's value comes mainly from its utility. It's one of the few non-support weapons in the game that can close Bug Holes and destroy Fabricators. As such, the Exploding Crossbow could open up new loadout combinations, especially with weapons like the Flamethrower, Laser Cannon, and any of the machine guns.

8 R-36 Eruptor

A Special Gun For Very Specific Problems

• Damage: 570
• Capacity: 5
• Recoil: 75
• Fire Rate: 25

The Eruptor is a special case. It's a bolt action sniper rifle that fires jet-propelled, explosive rounds. Unlike the Dominator, this one fires actual exploding rounds that can destroy buildings, vehicles, and even groups of enemies that get caught within the small blast radius of its bullets. It's surprisingly versatile — the Eruptor works great against bots and bugs, assuming it's used according to its strengths and weaknesses.

This rifle is slow and feels more like a support weapon than a primary weapon. However, considering how easily the Eruptor can destroy objectives (especially Automaton side objectives) from afar, it definitely deserves to be recognized as one of the best primary weapons in the game.

7 BR-14 Adjudicator

Hard-Kicking, Armor-Piercing Battle Rifle

• Damage: 80
• Capacity: 30
• Recoil: 40
• Fire Rate: 550 (Auto/Semi)

Despite launching in a rocky state, several buffs turned the Adjudicator into a reliable battle rifle with heavy-hitting rounds. It's a great pick for players who are looking for an automatic weapon that can punch through armor, but for those who prefer precision over power, the Liberator Penetrator is a good alternative.

The Adjudicator is much better against Automatons than Terminids simply because of how easily the latter can swarm players. Its harsh recoil and low rate of fire makes it somewhat difficult to clear swarms with, but when players are fighting bots, they'll find that this weapon's damage profile is enough to get rid of Devastators with its precision and Berserkers with its sheer firepower.

6 JAR-5 Dominator

Hard Counter For Heavy Infantry

• Damage: 300
• Capacity: 15
• Recoil: 75
• Fire Rate: 250 (Burst/Semi)

The Dominator is an unlockable weapon that's effective against medium armor. It fires explosive bolts that deal serious damage and can stun heavy targets like Terminid Brood Commanders, Spewers, Stalkers, and armored Warrior variants. Like the Scythe, this gun is significantly more effective against Automatons across all Helldivers 2 difficulty levels. — it can take out Berserkers and Devastators with ease, and since normal Automaton infantry move very slowly, lining up shots with the Dominator becomes less of an issue.

This gun suffers from high recoil, a small magazine capacity, and slow handling. However, each shot from the Dominator packs a very mean punch, making it great for taking out beefy targets.

5 SG-8S Slugger

Slow Yet Solid Shooter

• Damage: 280
• Capacity: 16
• Recoil: 120
• Fire Rate: 80

The Slugger is a variant of the Punisher shotgun that fires single, high-damage slugs instead of buckshot. This weapon deals immense damage to enemies and is capable of punching through medium armor. The Slugger can take down priority targets like Chargers, Stalkers, Devastators, and Scout Striders with relative ease.

The downsides of this weapon are its slow rate of fire and low total ammo count. It also reloads one slug at a time, though this isn't much of an issue since players can cancel out of the long animation at any time.

4 PLAS-1 Scorcher

Explosive Plasma Bolts Scorch Flesh and Armor Alike

• Damage: 100
• Capacity: 15
• Recoil: 20
• Fire Rate: 250

The PLAS-1 is the final weapon of the Helldivers Mobilize Warbond, and it's easily one of the best primary weapons in the game when it comes to fighting Automatons or anything with medium or even heavy armor. It can destroy Automaton Striders even if it hits their front shields, and it can strip the armor off Charger legs too. The PLAS-1 can kill most light infantry in 1-2 shots as well, a testament to the power of its exploding projectiles.

However, the weapon's ammo efficiency is incredibly lackluster. With just 15 shots per clip and six magazines in reserve, players will be hard-pressed for ammunition if they find themselves dealing with too many enemies during a mission. Also, the gun's explosive munitions can result in friendly fire.

3 SG-225 Breaker

DPS King Versus Soft Targets

• Damage: 330 (1650 DPS)
• Capacity: 13
• Recoil: 55
• Fire Rate: 300 (Full Auto/Semi)

The Breaker is one of the hardest-hitting primary weapons in the game. It's great for taking out Chargers in Helldivers 2, and it will absolutely shred anything in close range. However, it does suffer from a somewhat miserable ammo economy.

Originally, the Breaker was able to accurately lay down fire even up to medium range thanks to its tight pellet spread and manageable muzzle climb. Patch 1.000.100 has since increased the weapon's recoil, making the Breaker slightly less effective at these ranges by forcing players to pace their shots more slowly. This doesn't affect its DPS, however, which means this shotgun is still the best when it comes to chewing things up in close range.

2 Breaker Incendiary

High Damage Flame Spitter

• Damage: 240
• Capacity: 25
• Recoil: 41
• Fire Rate: 300 (Burst/Semi)

The incendiary variant of the Breaker is more or less tied with the regular version in terms of performance. However, this one is much better at clearing hordes of enemies thanks to its larger pellet spread and, of course, the lingering fire damage that it causes. One burst from this weapon is usually enough to get rid of multiple small Terminids at once, but mileage may vary in the Automaton front.

This shotgun's max ammo and recoil values were nerfed in the Escalation of Freedom update. While this does mean that players will have to pace their shots more, the nerf does not affect the weapon's damage output. It will still be great at dispensing flaming democracy, but players should expect to run out of ammo much more frequently.

1 LAS-16 Sickle

Mow 'Em Down With Infinite Ammo

• Damage: 55
• Fire Limit: 9 seconds
• Recoil: 2
• Fire Rate: 75

As far as fully-automatic, assault rifle-style weapons go, the Sickle might just be the best. It has comparable stats to the Liberator, except it has no recoil, almost twice the magazine size, faster empty reloads, and virtually infinite ammo. The only real downsides of this gun are its poor accuracy and the fact that it needs to wind up before it can shoot.

The Sickle is easily one of the best weapons to use against bugs in Helldivers 2 because they throw so many unarmored targets at players. Just point the Sickle in the general direction of a bug breach, and let it rip.

Helldivers 2

Shooter

Systems

OpenCritic Reviews

Top Critic Rating:83/100 Critics Recommend:90%

Platform(s)

PC , PS5

Released

February 8, 2024

Developer(s)

Arrowhead Game Studios

Franchise

Helldivers

Publisher(s)

Sony

Multiplayer

Online Co-Op

ESRB

M For Mature 17+ Due To Blood and Gore, Intense Violence

PS Plus Availability

N/A

Number of Players

1-4

Cross-Platform Play

PC & PS5