Summary
- Lower difficulties in Helldivers 2 lack loadouts for solo players but offer more manageable weapon combinations for missions and enemies.
- Weapon-based loadouts like the R-36 Eruptor and MG-206 Heavy Machine Gun combo enable players to handle large fights with better efficiency.
- Eruptor and Heavy Machine Gun in Helldivers 2 provide a versatile jack-of-all-trades loadout, excelling at clearing enemies at or below difficulty level 5.
While it’s understandable why there aren’t any loadouts for solo players that can handle the highest difficulties in Helldivers 2 without using offensive Stratagems, the lower difficulties are a different story. Since heavily armored enemies are a rare occurrence on the bottom half of the difficulty levels in Helldivers 2, it would be nice to see more weapon combinations that can handle missions and enemies on these difficulties.
Placing the utility of a given loadout in Helldivers 2 on the weapons, allows players to take on large fights without having to manage the downtime between Stratagem call-in cooldowns. Such is the case for the R-36 Eruptor and MG-206 Heavy Machine Gun combo, which should arguably pave the way for similar weapon-based loadouts in Helldivers 2’s future.
Every Big Helldivers 2 Escalation of Freedom Change Explained
Helldivers 2 has recently received a massive update with Escalation of Freedom, and these are all the major changes included.
Helldivers 2 Needs More Jack-Of-All-trades Primary and Support Weapon Builds
Helldivers 2’s Eruptor Sets a High Bar for Other Primary Weapons
The 
R-36 Eruptor Rifle has the best of both worlds when it comes to mixing explosive damage with armor penetration. The weapon’s armor-piercing only applies to light and medium armor, but this is still impressive and rare for a primary weapon in Helldivers 2.
The Eruptor can switch between 50, 100, and 150-meter variable scope zoom lengths.
With a few well-placed shots, the Eruptor can take down all but the heaviest of Automaton and Terminid enemies in Helldivers 2, like those annoying Armored Bile Spewers and Automaton Hulks. Not to mention, the Eruptor is also one of the few primary weapons that can destroy bot factories and bug holes, which sets it well above plenty of other, underwhelming primary weapons in Helldivers 2. Overall, the Eruptor is a powerful weapon that can handle a variety of use cases, all with relatively great ammo efficiency.
Players Shouldn’t Sleep On Helldivers 2’s Heavy Machine Gun Support Weapon
The main appeal of the support weapon Stratagems in Helldivers 2 is typically their ability to handle the heavily armored targets that primary weapons can’t handle. Yet, despite the 
MG-206 Heavy Machine Gun not being suited for heavily armored targets, it’s still a top-tier add-clear weapon because of its light and medium armor penetration, so players shouldn’t underestimate it without giving it a chance first.
The recoil of the Heavy Machine Gun can often limit it to being a close-range weapon. However, the weapon allows players to change its RPM to fire at a slower, more manageable pace. Additionally, this weapon pairs extremely well with any body armor that has a perk that improves weapon handling.
When used together, the Eruptor and the Heavy Machine Gun loadout in Helldivers 2 is essentially as close to being a jack-of-all-trades as players can achieve when it comes to weapon-based loadouts, with few other weapon combinations being capable of such a wide variety of use cases. However, even builds like this still have a few shortcomings when taking on the variety of enemy types and mission objectives in Helldivers 2. The main weakness of this build is its ineffectiveness against enemy units whose weak points are protected by heavy armor, namely the Automaton Gun Ships and Terminid Bile Titans.
Consequently, this build truly shines when playing at or below difficulty level 5 in Helldivers 2, since heavily armored enemies typically don’t spawn on these difficulties. However, considering that the foundation of this loadout only consists of one primary weapon and one support weapon Stratagem, players can easily fill in some of the missing gaps for this build with grenades, secondary weapons, and the three remaining Stratagem slots. Otherwise, though, the Eruptor and Heavy Machine Gun weapon combo is a cut above most other weapon loadouts in Helldivers 2, so it should arguably serve as a benchmark for new weapons and any balancing changes to existing weapons.
Helldivers 2
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OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 83 /100 Critics Rec: 91%
- Released
- February 8, 2024
- ESRB
- Mature 17+ / Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, In-Game Purchases, Users Interact
- Developer(s)
- Arrowhead Game Studios, Nixxes
- Publisher(s)
- Sony Interactive Entertainment, PlayStation Publishing
WHERE TO PLAY
The Galaxy’s Last Line of Offence. Enlist in the Helldivers and join the fight for freedom across a hostile galaxy in a fast, frantic, and ferocious third-person shooter.
URGENT BROADCAST – SUPER EARTH ARMED FORCES
Freedom. Peace. Democracy. Your Super Earth-born rights. The key pillars of our civilization. Of our very existence. But the war rages on. And everything is once again under threat.
Join the greatest military force the galaxy has ever seen and make this a safe and free place to live.
BECOME A LEGEND
You will be assembled into squads of up to four Helldivers and assigned strategic missions. Watch each other’s back – friendly fire is an unfortunate certainty of war, but victory without teamwork is impossible.
LOADOUTS
Rain down freedom from above, sneak through enemy territory, or grit your teeth and charge head-first into the jaws of combat. How you deliver liberty is your choice; you’ll have access to a wide array of explosive firepower, life-saving armor and battle-changing stratagems… the jewel in every Helldiver’s arsenal.
REQUISITION
Super Earth recognises your hard work with valuable Requisition. Use it to access different rewards that benefit you, your squad, your destroyer ship and our overall war effort.
THREATS
Everything on every planet wants you dead. That’s what we’re dealing with. Each enemy has distinct and unpredictable characteristics, tactics, and behavior – but they all fight ferociously and without fear or morality.
THE GALACTIC WAR
Capturing enemy planets, defending against invasions, and completing missions will contribute to our overall effort. This war will be won or lost depending on the actions of everyone involved.
We stand together, or we fall apart.
- Engine
- bitsquid
- Multiplayer
- Online Co-Op
- Cross-Platform Play
- All platforms
- Franchise
- Helldivers
- Number of Players
- 1-4 players (online)
- Platform(s)
- PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, PC
- Genre(s)
- Third-Person Shooter, Extraction Shooter, Action, Science Fiction
