Helldivers 2 Best Weapons Tier List

Consensus ladder for Difficulty 7+ drops. Filter chips use slot tags (primary / secondary / support / grenade). Best vs = faction(s) where the gun is S/A on both u.gg and GamesRadar when available. Weapon icons mirrored from community tier boards; faction icons from u.gg CDN.

PLAS-101 PurifierPrimary · S all factions

AC-8 AutocannonSupport · S+ universal

G-123 ThermiteGrenade · S+ AT sticky

GP-31 Grenade PistolSecondary · holes / fabs

Tier	Weapon	Slot	Best vs	Why
S	PLAS-101 Purifier	Primary	All (Terminids · Automatons · Illuminate)	GamesRadar “best overall” (Jun 10) + u.gg S+ every faction — charged AOE chaff + rapid uncharged DPS
S	R-36 Eruptor	Primary	All (esp. Automatons)	Democratic Detonation explosive — closes Bug Holes / Bot Fabricators / grounded Warp Ships; u.gg S+; GamesRadar S vs bots
S	CB-9 Explosive Crossbow	Primary	Terminids · Automatons	Same demo package as Eruptor with a different delivery curve — S-band on u.gg; GamesRadar A all fronts
S	AR-2 Coyote	Primary	Terminids · Illuminate	Dust Devils medium-pen incendiary AR — GamesRadar S on bugs/squids (B vs bots); u.gg S+ there
S	PLAS-1 Scorcher	Primary	Automatons · All-round	Mobilize energy staple — S on u.gg all factions; GamesRadar lists it among best universal picks
S	LAS-58 Talon	Secondary	All	Borderline Justice laser sidearm — S / S / S+ on u.gg Secondary board
S	GP-31 Grenade Pistol	Secondary	All (objectives)	Democratic Detonation — pocket demo for holes/fabs when primary isn’t explosive
S	GP-20 Ultimatum	Secondary	Terminids · Automatons	Servants of Freedom anti-tank pistol — u.gg S+ vs bots/bugs
S	P-4 Senator	Secondary	Automatons	Steeled Veterans heavy revolver — u.gg S+ vs bots, still S vs bugs
S	AC-8 Autocannon	Support	All	Only support with S+ on all three factions on u.gg — default backpack AT/medium clear
S	GR-8 Recoilless Rifle	Support	Terminids · Automatons	Classic AT — S+ vs bugs/bots; drops vs Illuminate (bring Autocannon/Airburst instead)
S	GL-21 Grenade Launcher	Support	All	S / S / S on u.gg — swarm clear + objective pressure without a backpack tax
S	S-11 Speargun	Support	All	Dust Devils AT spear — S across factions; 6.3.0 fixed gas-resistance quirk
S	B/FLAM-80 Cremator	Support	Terminids · Illuminate	Entrenched Division flamer backpack — S+ vs bugs/squids on u.gg
S	G-123 Thermite	Grenade	All	Democratic Detonation sticky AT — u.gg S+ every column; still the “delete heavy” throw
S	G-4 Gas	Grenade	Terminids · Illuminate	Chemical Agents crowd denial — S / S+ on organic fronts
A	SG-8 Punisher Plasma	Primary	All (skill)	u.gg S+/S/S+ vs GamesRadar B/B/B — parked at A until sources converge
A	DBS-2 Double Freedom · SG-97 Sweeper · JAR-5 Dominator	Primary	Terminids / flex	Strong shotgun / special package — A on both boards for organic clear, not universal S
A	R-72 Censor · R-63 Diligence	Primary	Automatons	Marksman / suppressed precision — GamesRadar S on Censor vs bots; weak on bugs
A	PLAS-15 Loyalist · P-113 Verdict · P-35 Re-Educator	Secondary	Illuminate / flex	Solid energy / heavy sidearms when Talon or Grenade Pistol is taken
A	EAT-17 Expendable Anti-Tank · LAS-99 Quasar Cannon · RL-77 Airburst	Support	Faction-specific	EAT/Quasar S on bugs/bots; Airburst / WASP spike vs Illuminate
A	G-13 Incendiary Impact · G-10 Incendiary · G-16 Impact · G-12 High Explosive	Grenade	Terminids / general	6.3.0 raised start/refill/max counts — more throws per dive; fire package for bugs
B	AR-23 Liberator · AR-61 Tenderizer · SG-225 Breaker · SMG-32 Reprimand	Primary	Low–mid diff	Playable comfort guns — fine through 6, loseable on 9–10 vs equal squads
B	MG-43 Machine Gun · LAS-98 Laser Cannon · MG-206 HMG	Support	Situational	Work when the mission fits; lose to Autocannon / GL / Speargun as defaults
B	G-6 Frag · G-50 Seeker · G-48 Giga Grenade	Grenade	Flex	Viable after 6.3.0 capacity buffs — not Thermite/Gas replacements
C	AR-23C Liberator Concussive · R-2124 Constitution · SMG-72 Pummeler	Primary	—	Bottom WR / grade band on current lists — meme or meme-adjacent only
C	P-2 Peacemaker · CQC stun melee set	Secondary	—	Starter / stun toys — swap as soon as you unlock Talon / Grenade Pistol / Senator

Note: Support weapons are stratagem call-ins (not backpack primaries). Bring a teammate reload for Recoilless / Autocannon ammo economy on long missions. u.gg boards still stamp May 2026 / 6.2.5 — disclosed because 6.3.1 is live, but published primary notes in 6.3.x are tiny (M7S scope) so the board remains the best per-faction signal.

What is live (read Aug 25, 2026): the numbered line is 7.0.2 of Devoid of Liberty. Steam + Arrowhead still list the 6.3.x Machinery of Oppression era underneath it. 6.3.0 (Jun 16, Arrowhead Zendesk + Steam news) shipped Galactic Campaigns / Control Centre, vehicle armour rebalance, throwable capacity increases, orbital/stratagem damage buffs, and enemy durable tweaks across all three fronts. 6.3.1 (Jul 7 SteamDB build 24036910) is the follow-up stability pass (voice-chat / FRV crashes) while the TCS+ campaign races — no weapon retunes.

What did NOT reshuffle the gun meta hard: 6.3.x barely retuned Primary weapons (notable: M7S scope). The big gun story is still the post-Polar Patriots / Dust Devils / Democratic Detonation package — Purifier, Coyote, Eruptor / Crossbow — which both u.gg and GamesRadar still crown.

Warbond status — changed today. Update 7.0.0 “Devoid of Liberty” shipped on 12 August 2026 with the Warhammer 40,000 collab, Castellan’s Creed, a Legendary warbond at 1,500 Super Credits. The rankings on this page were measured on 6.3.1 and re-checked against 7.0.0 — its balance pass was magazine-capacity buffs (Liberator, Defender/Pummeler, Stoker, the Breaker family, P-113 Verdict, M6C/SOCOM, P-19 Redeemer) with no damage or handling changes, so no tier verdict below moves. Castellan’s Creed weapons are not ranked yet; they need live usage data first. The separately delayed June roadmap Premium is still without a date. Which warbonds are worth their Super Credits in the meantime, and what each one actually unlocks, is broken down in our Helldivers 2 warbonds guide.

• Universal primary: Purifier.
• Universal support: Autocannon.
• Universal grenade: Thermite.
• Objective secondary: Grenade Pistol (or Ultimatum if you need pocket AT).

One “good enough” dive kit per front. Swap cosmetics freely — keep the role coverage.

Faction	Primary	Secondary	Support	Grenade	Why this kit
Terminids	AR-2 Coyote or Purifier	GP-31 Grenade Pistol	AC-8 Autocannon or B/FLAM-80 Cremator	G-123 Thermite / G-4 Gas	Incendiary + medium pen melts chaff; Thermite deletes Chargers; Gas holds breaches
Automatons	PLAS-101 Purifier or R-36 Eruptor	P-4 Senator or GP-20 Ultimatum	GR-8 Recoilless or AC-8 Autocannon	G-123 Thermite	Explosive / energy for fabs + Hulks; Recoilless for tanks; Senator for head-tap cleanup
Illuminate	PLAS-101 Purifier or AR-2 Coyote	LAS-58 Talon or GP-31 Grenade Pistol	AC-8 Autocannon or RL-77 Airburst	G-4 Gas / Thermite	AOE + fire for Voteless/Overseers; Autocannon/Airburst beat Recoilless’ weak Illuminate grade

Running a 4-stack: designate one dedicated AT (Recoilless / Speargun / Ultimatum) and let everyone else run Purifier + Autocannon for consistency.

Verdict: unlock the Polar Patriots Purifier and Patriotic Administration Autocannon first — one primary + one support that work on every front.

• Primary path: Liberator → Scorcher (free Mobilize) → Purifier (Polar Patriots). Coyote if you already own Dust Devils.
• Secondary: stick Redeemer until Grenade Pistol or Talon; Senator if you fight bots a lot.
• Support: Autocannon before Quasar/Railgun skill checks. EAT-17 is fine as a no-backpack AT while learning.
• Grenades: High Explosive → Thermite as soon as Democratic Detonation unlocks.

Weapon XP walls? The Helldivers hub covers leveling / medals / samples so you spend Super Credits on warbonds that actually move your kit — CTA below.

The tier table answers “what is strong.” This table answers “which of those S-picks matches the dive you are actually about to start.” It is not a restatement of the faction kits above — those assume a four-stack that already owns the warbonds. Read this if you are solo, Mobilize-only, or the designated AT.

How you play	Bring this	Skip this	Why
Solo / duo on Diff 7–9	Purifier + Grenade Pistol + Autocannon + Thermite	Recoilless as your only AT (no teammate reload)	One kit covers chaff, holes/fabs, and a heavy. Autocannon is the only support with S+ on all three factions on the u.gg board we cite below.
Designated AT in a 4-stack	Eruptor or Crossbow + Recoilless (bugs/bots) or Autocannon/Airburst (Illuminate)	A second Purifier when three teammates already run one	Someone has to delete tanks and fabricators on a timer. Eruptor’s demo package does that from the primary slot so the Recoilless can stay on heavies.
Mobilize-only / no Premium warbond	PLAS-1 Scorcher + Redeemer + Autocannon + HE / Impact	Waiting for Polar Patriots before diving 7+	Scorcher is the free Mobilize energy staple both boards still list as universal. 7.0.0’s magazine buffs hit Liberator / Breaker / Redeemer — they stay B-tier comfort, not S.
Chaff-clear specialist (bugs / squids)	AR-2 Coyote + Talon + Cremator / Autocannon + Gas	Coyote as your Automaton primary	GamesRadar parks Coyote S on bugs/squids and B vs bots (Jun 10, 2026). Dust Devils gates it — if you do not own that warbond, Purifier or Scorcher is the substitute, not a downgrade to Liberator.

Castellan’s Creed (Legendary, 1,500 Super Credits, shipped in 7.0.0) is not in this table. Official 7.0.0 notes list the warbond and the SEAF planet modifier; they do not publish live usage, so those guns stay unranked until a board updates.

The gun is only half the unlock: you still need Super Credits for the next Warbond.

If the newest named page is the hole, start with the Python Commandos Warbond weapons.

Players searching “Helldivers 2 7.0.2 patch notes” are usually asking whether the gun they unlocked yesterday got nerfed. The answer, read from the official notes on August 25, 2026, is no.

Sources, all fetched today: Arrowhead Zendesk 7.0.0 + Steam 7.0.0 news; Steam 7.0.1 / Patchbot 1150; Steam 7.0.2 / Patchbot 1219. If a creator clip dated after Aug 12 claims a Purifier or Eruptor retune, it is not in these notes.

These three sit in S together and they do different jobs. Bringing two of them in a four-stack is correct; bringing all three as “the best gun” on a solo drop is how you end up with no demo and no AT.

Scorcher (Mobilize, free) is the substitute if you own none of the three Premium warbonds — not a secret fourth S-tier, just the gun that still works until Polar Patriots or Democratic Detonation unlocks. 7.0.0–7.0.2 did not retune any of these four.

This is a consensus loadout list, not a vibes chart.

1. Patch truth: Arrowhead Zendesk Devoid of Liberty 7.0.0 (Aug 12) + Steam 7.0.0 news; 7.0.1 (Aug 17); 7.0.2 (Aug 25, read today). Earlier: Zendesk 6.3.0 + SteamDB 6.3.1 (Jul 7, 2026).
2. Faction grades / DPS boards: u.gg Primary, Secondary, Support, Throwables (scraped + interact Jul 15 freshness sweep; stamped May 2026 / patch 6.2.5).
3. Editorial cross-check: GamesRadar primary tier list (modified Jun 10, 2026) — browser-read Jul 15; Purifier S/S/S + best overall; Punisher Plasma B/B/B.
4. Warbond delay: MassivelyOP Jun 29 citing official Helldivers 2 social.
5. Where u.gg and GamesRadar disagree by a full tier (e.g. Punisher Plasma), we downgrade to A and call it out — S-tier requires ≥2 agreeing sources when both exist.

We do not treat PC Gamer Aug 2025 or stale IGN wiki Liberator lists as current meta. games.gg Mar 25 / 6.1.0 stamp is used only as a third historical check, not as live truth.