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Introduction to Stratagems
In Helldivers 2, Stratagems are powerful call-in abilities that provide essential support, devastating firepower, and crucial utility on the battlefield. Players can select up to four unique stratagems for each mission, making loadout choices a critical aspect of mission success, particularly on higher difficulties. These abilities are activated by inputting specific directional codes, which are displayed on-screen, though experienced Helldivers often commit them to memory. Proper utilization of stratagems can turn the tide against overwhelming enemy forces, whether you're facing the insectoid Terminids or the robotic Automatons.
Understanding Stratagem Categories
Stratagems in Helldivers 2 are broadly categorized by their function, indicated by the color of their deployment beacon: red for offensive ordnance, and blue for hardware, reinforcements, or supplies.
Support Weapons: Powerful firearms that occupy a dedicated weapon slot alongside your primary and secondary weapons. These often require a backpack for ammo or a special device.
Orbital Strikes: Airstrike-like attacks delivered from your Super Destroyer orbiting the planet. These include precision strikes, barrages, and lasers.
Eagle Strikes: Fast and spammable airstrikes delivered by an Eagle fighter, offering quick turnaround times after rearming.
Emplacements/Sentries: Stationary turrets, shield generators, or heavy weapons that provide automated or player-controlled defense.
Backpacks: Gear worn on your back that can provide supplies, special abilities, or ammo for certain support weapons.
S-Tier Stratagems: Optimal Choices for Any Mission
S-tier stratagems are considered meta staples, offering dominant utility or damage with minimal risk and short cooldowns, making them must-bring options for most mission types and against both major factions.
Quasar Cannon: This support weapon has made a significant impact on the meta, excelling in virtually every situation for its ability to deal with major threats, provided you aren't overwhelmed by numbers. It offers unlimited ammo and can ignore armor.
Auto Cannon: Provides excellent firepower and uptime, especially with allied assistance for reloading. It delivers amazing Area of Effect (AoE) firepower, can reliably take down most enemy types, and can destroy objectives like nests and eggs. It does, however, occupy a backpack slot.
Expendable Anti-Tank (EAT-17): Offers immense value due to its spammability and low cooldown (70 seconds). Each drop provides two rockets, making it a crucial early-game option for taking out big threats, including one-shotting Automaton dropships with a direct hit on thrusters.
Shield Generator Pack: Provides a substantial boost to survivability, crucial for enduring the constant onslaught on higher difficulties. It can soak up a lot of damage, especially against ranged units like Automatons.
Eagle Airstrike: A versatile and highly spammable airstrike, especially with ship module upgrades. It offers solid armor penetration and is effective against big enemies like Chargers and Hulks, as well as objectives like bug holes and factories.
Rocket Sentry: Received buffs to ammo economy, projectile damage, and explosion range, establishing it as a top turret. It can deal with any enemy type, making quick work of small to medium threats and eventually larger ones like Bile Titans and Factory Striders.
Orbital Laser: Known for its reliability and effectiveness against all three enemy factions. It auto-targets enemies while sweeping across an area, making it perfect for clearing large groups or powerful single targets. It has limited uses per map (three per squad).
Orbital Railcannon Strike: The pinnacle of precision bombardment, automatically targeting the largest enemy for quick elimination. It's excellent for taking out Chargers and other heavily armored foes. Its main downsides are a long cooldown and unpredictability against scattered mobs.
Eagle 500KG Bomb: A highly impactful offensive stratagem capable of destroying structures, large enemies like Bile Titans and Factory Striders, and entire bug nests if placed correctly. While powerful, it can sometimes be inconsistent.
Arc Thrower: A top support weapon that ignores armor, has unlimited ammo, and can hit multiple enemies, making it strong for AoE while focusing major threats. It's particularly effective when used in tandem with another Arc Thrower.
Stalwart: A light armor penetrating assault rifle with a large magazine, effective against medium-sized enemies and clearing hordes quickly.
A-Tier Stratagems: Highly Effective and Situational Powerhouses
A-tier stratagems are very good and can be incredibly impactful, often discussed as S-tier picks depending on playstyle, team composition, or specific mission objectives.
Railgun: A powerful anti-tank weapon, though it received nerfs, it remains a strong choice for breaking armor.
Heavy Machine Gun: Provides significant firepower for clearing hordes and can be impactful against medium-sized enemies.
Anti-Materiel Rifle: A sniper rifle with high-impact, heavy armor-penetrating shots, excellent for sniping various Automaton enemies including Striders, Berserkers, Devastators, Gunships, Hulks, and Tanks.
Spear: An auto-locking anti-tank rocket launcher that can one-shot most large enemies like Hulks, Tanks, Turrets, and Gunships against Automatons.
Recoilless Rifle: Another anti-tank option, often used in conjunction with a teammate to speed up reloads.
Grenade Launcher: Excellent for clearing bug holes, destroying objectives, and dealing with groups of smaller enemies. It has good damage and a generous explosive radius.
Guard Dog Rover: A drone backpack that provides automated laser fire with unlimited ammo, effective against smaller enemies and for guarding your back. However, friendly fire is a consideration.
Supply Pack: A backpack that provides ammo, stims, and grenades for yourself and allies, offering great utility, especially for support-oriented players.
Eagle Cluster Bomb: Great for clearing out large groups of smaller enemies and bug breaches, though it cannot destroy objective buildings.
Gatling Sentry: Makes defensive missions easier and protects flanks. It has a high fire rate and ammo capacity, outclassing the Machine Gun Sentry in many aspects.
Auto Cannon Sentry: Offers solid automated firepower, similar to the handheld Autocannon in its utility against various enemy types.
Mortar Sentry: Effective against both bugs and bots for halting enemy advances, particularly useful for defending positions. The shells do not deal friendly fire damage.
EMS Mortar Sentry: An excellent defensive stratagem that halts enemy advances by stunning them, creating opportunities for your team to eliminate them. It doesn't deal damage directly, so it avoids friendly fire.
Essential Early-Game Stratagems
For new Helldivers, prioritizing certain stratagems can significantly enhance early gameplay and remain relevant into the late game.
1. Expendable Anti-Tank (EAT-17): Unlocks at Level 2 for 3500 Requisition Slips. Highly spammable and invaluable for tackling armored enemies early on.
2. Supply Pack: Unlocks at Level 2 for 4000 Requisition Slips. Crucial for sustaining your squad with ammo, stims, and grenades.
3. Eagle Cluster Bomb: Unlocks at Level 3 for 4000 Requisition Slips. Excellent for crowd control and clearing out swarms of smaller enemies.
4. Grenade Launcher: Unlocks at Level 5 for 6000 Requisition Slips. Great for clearing bug holes and dealing with groups.
5. Gatling Sentry: Unlocks at Level 5 for 4000 Requisition Slips. Provides reliable automated defense, making defensive missions much easier.
6. Mortar Sentry: Unlocks at Level 8 for 7000 Requisition Slips. Effective for area denial and stopping enemy pushes.
7. Autocannon: Unlocks at Level 10 for 7000 Requisition Slips. Provides significant AoE firepower and can handle most enemy types.
8. Guard Dog Rover: Unlocks at Level 10 for 7500 Requisition Slips. Offers continuous automated support fire, useful for managing smaller threats.
Offensive Stratagems: Bringing the Pain to the Enemy
Offensive stratagems are designed to directly engage and eliminate enemy threats through heavy ordnance and airstrikes.
Eagle Airstrike / Cluster Bomb / 500KG Bomb: These Eagle strikes offer quick and powerful solutions for clearing enemies, destroying structures, or eliminating high-value targets. The Airstrike is versatile, the Cluster Bomb is for crowds, and the 500KG Bomb is for concentrated destruction.
Orbital Precision Strike: A reliable early-game option with a quick recharge, offering precise damage.
Orbital Laser / Orbital Railcannon Strike: These are high-tier orbital attacks for eliminating large or armored targets with precision.
Orbital Gas Strike: Effective for dealing toxic damage over time and confusing enemies, particularly good against bugs and squids.
Eagle Napalm Airstrike: Creates a wall of fire, excellent for clearing bug nests, holding back enemies, and cutting off choke points. Fire deals significant damage over time.
Defensive Stratagems: Fortifying Your Position
Defensive stratagems help establish and hold positions, deploy automated turrets, or provide area denial against enemy hordes.
A/M-23 EMS Mortar Sentry: Crucial for halting enemy advances without causing friendly fire damage, making it ideal for defense.
MD-6 Anti-Personnel Minefield: Excellent for creating choke points and sealing off entrances, blowing up enemies that rush through.
A/MLS-4X Rocket Sentry: Provides powerful automated anti-tank and anti-horde capabilities.
A/MG-43 Machine Gun Sentry: A good and consistent turret with a short cooldown, effective for taking out numerous enemies.
E/MG-101 HMG Emplacement: A player-controlled heavy machine gun with high ammo, effective for mowing down hordes. Requires the player to be stationary.
A/ARC-3 Tesla Tower: Very powerful against bugs and squids for area denial and crowd control, but has high friendly fire potential and can be destroyed quickly by ranged enemies like Automatons.
Shield Generator Relay: Creates a protective dome that blocks projectiles, highly beneficial against Automatons' ranged attacks.
Support Stratagems: Empowering Your Squad
Support stratagems often include powerful support weapons or backpacks that enhance individual or team capabilities.
Shield Generator Pack: As mentioned in S-tier, it's vital for personal defense.
Supply Pack: Essential for team sustain, providing crucial resources to keep the fight going.
Guard Dog Rover: Offers continuous suppressive fire against smaller threats, freeing up the Helldiver's main weapon for larger foes.
Autocannon / Quasar Cannon / Railgun / Expendable Anti-Tank / Arc Thrower / Stalwart / Anti-Materiel Rifle / Heavy Machine Gun / Grenade Launcher / Spear: These support weapons are often S or A-tier for their specific roles, providing significant offensive capabilities that a squad can build around.
Faction-Specific Stratagem Considerations
While many stratagems are versatile, some perform better against specific enemy factions due to their characteristics.
Against Terminids (Bugs): Focus on crowd control, AoE damage, and sustained fire to deal with swarms. Stratagems like the Eagle Cluster Bomb, Orbital Gas Strike, Autocannon, Grenade Launcher, and Flamethrower are highly effective. The EMS Mortar Sentry is also excellent for stopping bug breaches.
Against Automatons (Bots): Prioritize armor penetration, precision strikes, and cover. Stratagems such as the Quasar Cannon, Railgun, Expendable Anti-Tank, Anti-Materiel Rifle, Spear, Orbital Laser, Orbital Railcannon Strike, and Shield Generator Pack are invaluable for dealing with heavily armored units and ranged threats. Defensive turrets can be quickly shot down by bots, making careful placement or alternative strategies necessary.
Against Illuminate: While less information is available, stratagems that deal with shields and energy-based attacks would likely be beneficial.
Tips for Effective Stratagem Use
Coordinate with your team: Discuss loadouts to ensure a balanced approach, covering anti-armor, crowd control, and support needs. Avoid redundant stratagems in personal loadouts.
Consider the mission objectives: Some missions may favor defensive setups, while others require aggressive clear-out tools.
Understand friendly fire: Many offensive stratagems can harm teammates. Always be aware of your squad's position before deploying. A red beacon indicates offensive ordnance.
Learn stratagem codes: Memorizing codes allows for faster deployment in critical situations.
Utilize terrain: Place sentries on high ground for better sightlines and protection. Use napalm or minefields to cut off choke points or cover retreats.
Throw beacons onto enemies: For precise targeting, especially with Hellpods (excluding Orbital Laser, Orbital Railcannon, and Eagle 110MM Rocket Pods), you can throw the stratagem beacon directly onto large enemies.
Upgrade your Ship Modules: Ship upgrades can reduce cooldowns and improve the effectiveness of your stratagems.