In Helldivers 2, you’re only as good as your loadout. Thankfully, virtually any build—maybe besides melee-oriented builds—is viable if players have concocted an immaculate loadout of primary and secondary weapons, throwables, and stratagems.
As for myself, I only run light armor, and I like to exploit stratagems to clear outposts, objectives, and hordes of enemies as efficiently as possible. With Helldivers 2 back on the bot front, I’m violently reminded of why I lean on an anti-tank build I’ve curated so that no Automaton is a match for me.
No Matter the Enemy Faction, I Like to Pack a Punch in Helldivers 2
Part of why I love Helldivers 2 is that it often has me reconsidering my build, even if it’s merely a stratagem or secondary weapon substitution, depending on which enemy faction I’m confronted with. For instance, Helldivers 2’s Into the Unjust update taught me the value of an M-105 Stalwart or an MG-43 Machine Gun with swarms of smaller yet lethal enemies abounding, and I grew accustomed to having one or the other in my loadout at all times.
Hundreds of hours of playtime ago, before I was aware of how OP Helldivers 2’s Eruptor is, bug holes had been a nuisance to me since I enjoy running the GP-20 Ultimatum as my main secondary and G-123 Thermite as my throwable since they can melt Chargers, Bile Titans, and Hulks, and I was sure I wasn’t going to be able to reliably close all bug holes scattered across a map unless I swapped the Ultimatum for the GP-31 Grenade Pistol or Thermite for a more generic, traditional throwable.
Miraculously, the R-36 Eruptor became a crucial element of my build after realizing—among foundations of reasons that I wield it exclusively as my primary weapon now—that its heavy armor-penetrating, jet-assisted explosive shells behave like grenades and close bug holes in a single shot, meaning I would no longer have to worry about needing to swap my secondary or throwable.
This way, my primary, secondary, and throwable are all ridiculously strong. But while stratagems like the AX/LAS-5 “Guard Dog” Rover are fun and aid with crowd control on bug or squid missions, I feel naked and powerless on bot missions if I don’t have the following stratagem loadout when I dive in:
- Orbital 380MM HE Barrage
- Eagle 500KG Bomb
- GR-8 Recoilless Rifle
- A/MLS-4X Rocket Sentry
Helldivers 2’s Bots Call for All the Heavy Artillery I Can Muster
Unlike on Terminid planets, which require a bit more finesse regarding enemies like Hunters and Stalkers that are incredibly aggro and can outrun me, I can feel relatively free to exclusively wield heavy weaponry and wreak havoc on Helldivers 2’s Automaton and Illuminate planets. I adore the Eruptor, for example, but I’m asking for debilitating limb injuries, if not a swift self-death, if I shoot an explosive round at a bug barreling toward me at close range.
Automatons, on the other hand, are quite easy to outmaneuver. I could probably choose something more efficient to substitute for the Rocket Sentry. However, unlike bugs’ Scavengers, Pouncers, Warriors/Bile Warriors, Bile Spitters, Nursing Spewers, Hunters, Stalkers, and Shriekers, I don’t believe the bots’ Troopers and Commissars—nor squids’ Voteless in Helldivers 2—are a big enough threat to warrant me equipping a supply stratagem permit like the Stalwart.
I appreciate the Rocket Sentry’s short cooldown, making up for how ephemeral it is on the battlefield, and how its devastating anti-tank rockets can make quick work of the heaviest units bots throw at me, especially if I’ve found an optimal perch with a terrific vantage for it to snipe enemies and provide suppressing fire at a distance while I progress an objective or lay siege to a Fortress.
I no longer fret about a nearby Hulk if I have Helldivers 2’s Rocket Sentry nearby, and it doubles as a great diversion that enemies lunge at before they aggro to me. As long as I’m on bot missions, you can guarantee I’ll be raining nukes and punching holes into the heaviest of Automaton armor with what I have on me.