After a transformative 'buff everything' patch, Helldivers 2's bottom barrel guns are the new top dogs

There is no other game I've had a better time playing than Helldivers 2 this year, but it's weird to think about just how different it was just a few months ago. Back then, picking a loadout was always this exercise in compromise: There were only a handful of guns and stratagems powerful enough to take on the largest Terminid and Automaton bullies, and the gap between my "favorite" guns and the "best" ones couldn't have been wider.

I'm glad to say that's not the case anymore. While I do miss when Helldivers 2 had proper boss fights, its meta, which used to revolve around a small club of nukes, railguns, and rocket launchers that could punch through the thickest armor, has never been more inclusive. Two months removed from Arrowhead's transformative "buff everything" patch, I've stopped asking myself "What will work here?" before dropping into a mission and instead wonder "What wouldn't work here?"

The community is on board with Arrowhead's new balancing direction, too. There were a rough few months there where seemingly every numbers tweak Arrowhead made went over like a lead balloon with its loudest fans on Reddit and social media, with demands to stop the nerfs often elevating to bullying. But many divers still playing daily believe the game's never been in a better spot. That's also the take of Dr. Pooplove, a prominent Helldivers 2 YouTuber who tirelessly assesses guns in helpful weapon tier lists with the goal of not taking the comedic co-op shooter too seriously.

"I would say while it's still not perfect, the game is in its most fun state ever now and I love that you really can't pinpoint one 'meta' anymore," Dr P. told PC Gamer over email. "Many different loadouts and strategies feel viable, strong and most importantly fun to bring out on the battlefield."

It's true. When I matchmake into a random squad now, I'm seeing folks maining the Arc Thrower, Laser Cannon, and even my beloved, misunderstood Adjudicator. Helldivers 2's balance has never felt more aligned with the spirit of a semi-casual co-op shooter, and as a knock-on effect, the community seems less concerned with sticking to "the meta," a trend that Dr. P can get used to.

"Even if you can determine a certain loadout to be 'the best,' I find it much more fun to mix things up and try out new strategies and synergies with the variety of tools this game has to offer," Dr. P said. "I think the vibe of this game is meant to be a bit lighthearted and satirical where accidents are bound to happen and the odds aren't always meant to feel in your favor, so I don't try to take the game too seriously as failure can even be part of the fun."

Even in an environment where everything can be good, Helldivers 2 still does have a meta, it's just more interesting than it used to be. The rocket launchers and nukes we relied on to beat high-difficulty missions in February are still as effective as ever, but weirder weapons that existed for months on the fringes are not only viable now, but proving to be absolute powerhouses. Some notable juggernauts in our modern Helldiving times:

Explosive guns kill everything

Possibly the single biggest winner of Arrowhead's sweeping changes to enemy armor are explosive weapons. The Explosive Crossbow, Eruptor (whose shrapnel mechanic was recently restored), and JAR-5 Dominator have become standout primary guns for their ability to blow the head off just about any threat in the game. The raw damage output of these guns can be so high that they often serve the role that a support weapon usually fills, but that's okay, because having a slow-firing missile gun in your primary slot frees up that support slot for a less conventional weapon choice like the Stalwart.

Sure, the Eruptor and Dominator handle like semi trucks and the crossbow has that pesky drop to contend with, but that hasn't stopped them from becoming one of the most common picks among my teammates. Their popularity underlines that explosive damage is now unquestionably the best kind of damage in Helldivers, even if I gravitate toward punchy machine guns.

Don't sleep on the Arc-12 Blitzer

The Blitzer was a joke when it first hit the game. It was sort of like a primary variant of the Arc Thrower, except its fire rate, damage, and range were so low that it was seriously useless. Arrowhead gave the Blitzer some love by boosting nearly all of its base stats and now it's one of my favorites. Its chain-targeting is super effective at melting enemies that cluster up, and while it doesn't have the raw damage output of a gun with explosive splash damage, the Blitzer is an incredible co-op weapon for its capacity to stunlock enemies in place as long as you hold down the trigger.

Fire guns are finally worth the trouble

Barbeque is on the menu. Or more like back on the menu—Arrowhead's last round of patches restored fire damage to its former glory, and paired with recent damage buffs to just about everything, Helldivers 2's small collection of incendiary guns are back to pulling their weight against Terminids. The incendiary shotguns are especially powerful: The Breaker Incendiary is the standout for its wide spread and fire rate that can set a whole horde ablaze in seconds (no surprise there considering the regular Breaker also rules), but the SG-451 Cookout is decent alternative if you prefer pump-action shotties.

But arguably the biggest win for fire weapons as of late is the Crisper, the secondary flamethrower with a small frame and big bite. This thing is everything you want in a backup weapon: it's quick on the draw, kills small enemies very quick, can get swarms of bugs off your back, and creates the flexibility to go wild with the rest of your loadout.

The PLAS-101 Purifier is a bot-killing phenomenon

Another deeply disappointing gun when it was first introduced, the PLAS-101 Purifier of the Cutting Edge warbond has received some of the best upgrades in Helldivers 2 patch history. Inheriting some of the qualities of its cousin, the PLAS-1 Scorcher, the Purifier can now be fired in semi-auto bolts or charged for area-of-effect damage. It checks every box for a bot killer: It can be fired precisely and to quickly take out the weak points of armored bots, take out smaller enemies individually or with one big charaged blast, and its explosive charge blasts can even dispose of armored Scout Striders and shielded Devastators.

The full-auto Scorcher is a monster in its own right—you can't go wrong with either at this point—but both share the downside of low ammo capacity.

The Senator

Arrowhead really said "We heard you like the revolver, so now it penetrates heavy armor." It's absolutely wild that a secondary gun can decapitate Devastators or even take out gunship engines single-handedly, but somehow the Senator feels perfectly balanced in its new role. After all, you only get six shots and, even with a speedloader, it takes ages to reload. The hand cannon is the perfect companion to finish off enemies, but it won't bail you out of an advancing horde like the Crisper or P-19 Redeemer.