Knowing Helldivers 2's best stratagems will help players prepare for the game's more difficult missions. Overall, these abilities allow players to call in all sorts of support, from weapons, to orbital attacks, and more. To help new Helldivers out, we created a guide of the best Stratagems in Helldivers 2. We hope this helps you as you try and build the perfect setup for your character.

What Are The Best Stratagems in Helldivers 2?

Overall, we recommend unlocking the following Stratagems:

  • Supply Pack
    • Uses: Unlimited
    • Call-In Time: 5 Seconds
    • Cooldown: 480 seconds (eight minutes)
  • Gatling Sentry
    • Uses: Unlimited
    • Call-In Time: 3 Seconds
    • Cooldown: 180 seconds (three minutes)
  • Rocket Sentry
    • Uses: Unlimited
    • Call-In Time: 3 Seconds
    • Cooldown: 180 seconds (three minutes)
  • Jump Pack
    • Uses: Unlimited
    • Call-In Time: 5 Seconds
    • Cooldown: 480 seconds (eight minutes)
  • M-10 Stalwart Machine Gun
    • Cost: 3500 R
    • Uses: Unlimited
    • Call-In Time: 3 Seconds
    • Cooldown: 180 seconds (three minutes)
  • Railgun
    • Cost: 10,000 R
    • Uses: Limited
  • Eagle Airstrike
    • Uses: 2
    • Call-In Time: N/A
    • Cooldown: 15 seconds
  • *Eagle 500 km Bomb
    • Uses: 1
    • Call-In Time: 0 Seconds
    • Cooldown: N/A
  • Spear
    • Uses: Unlimited
    • Call-In Time: 3 Seconds
    • Cooldown: 480 seconds (eight minutes)
  • Orbital Barrage (Gatling, 120MM HE, 380 MM HE)
    • Uses: Varies
    • Call-In Time: Varies
    • Cooldown: Varies

These stratagems all have their own uses and should be helpful in completing the objectives.

Firstly, Supply Packs allow you and your teammates to resupply on ammo without having to call in a Resupply stratagem. Having instant ammo right away might be a factor between life and death for some players. We recommend at least two people carry it at all times.

We recommended both the Gatling and Rocket Sentry for a couple of reasons. Overall, the Gatling Sentry's extremely fast rate of fire makes it great for holding the line. Need some cover while extracting, or perhaps while you work on a terminal? The Gatling sentry provides great additional cover. Additionally, we love the Rocket Sentry for those tough encounters against difficult bosses like the Bile Titan.

Furthermore, the Sentries also distract enemies in case you need to make a great escape.

Overall, you really don't need the Jump Pack, but in a game where you can't jump, it's pretty darn useful. Sure, it needs to charge, but you'll be thanking it when it gets you out of a jam. Furthermore, the Jump Pack allows you to traverse the map faster and reach elevated heights. And if Star Wars has taught us anything, it's that having the higher ground really is important.

However, if you prefer weapons, check out the M-105 Stalwart or Spear. The former rips through most regular enemies, with a massive magazine before reloading. Personally, I love it due to its fast reload speed, big mag, and solid damage. It deals less than other Machine Guns, but makes up for it with its rate of fire.

However, the Railgun has increasingly become the most popular Support weapon in Helldivers 2. This powerful weapon, unlockable at Level 20, penetrates the armor of every difficult enemy you'll face. Whether you're going face to face with Bile Spewers or Bile Titans, the Railgun is your best friend.

For explosives, we love the Spear since it homes in on enemies. Some heavy Armor Terminids move rather quickly, meaning you really can't mess around. The Expendable Anti-Tank is nice because it has a fast cooldown. However, the Spear will deliver more accuracy with a lot of power. If neither of those suit you, then we recommend the Auto Cannon, which works against light armor foes.

Lastly, most Orbital attack Stratagems are good. However, we recommend two in particular when it comes to more difficult levels. The Eagle Airstrike, though it has only two uses, Instantly kills all enemies in the area with a carpet of explosions. *Furthermore, if you want to take on big enemies like the Bile Titan, you might consider using the Eagle 500 km Bomb. Though it has one use, it essentially wipes almost every enemy out in one hit.

UPDATE – A recent Helldivers 2 update decreased the spread of the 380mm and 120mm Orbital Barrages. However, they compensated this with increased duration. In all honesty, we feel it makes the stratagem slightly better, now that we have a better idea where our attacks land. Furthermore, increased duration, no matter how brief, means more bombardment as you spread democracy.

However, feel free to use an unlimited Stratagem like the Orbital Barrages in the Orbital Cannons Stratagem menu. While I recommended the ones with limited uses above, it's okay for some teammates to use ones with unlimited uses. Each barrage covers an area of different sizes to eliminate hostile threats. These work pretty well if you're planning on taking down an Outpost or weakening a large group of enemies.

And that wraps up our guide on Best Stratagems in Helldivers 2. Of course, feel free to experiment with the others to find the one that works best for you. Overall, all Stratagems are relatively useful, and should help you complete your objectives. Just remember not to get too close to your teammates' deadlier stratagems, or you might be their next victim. Good luck out there on the battlefield!

For more Helldivers 2 content, check out our beginner's guide! In our review of Helldivers 2, we gave the game a 9/10.

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