Helldivers 2 is Arrowhead Game Studios' third-person co-op shooter where you fight as expendable soldiers of Super Earth against alien Terminids and robotic Automatons. The game features a persistent Galactic War where every player's missions contribute to liberating or losing planets. With its emphasis on friendly fire, limited ammo, and call-in stratagems, Helldivers 2 captures the satirical military tone of Starship Troopers while delivering genuinely challenging cooperative gameplay.
Picking the right build determines how your experience plays out. These builds are ranked by overall effectiveness — factoring in damage, survivability, gear requirements, and how well they scale into endgame.
Quick Rankings
| Role | Tier | Playstyle | Core Gear |
|---|---|---|---|
| Support | A | Stay near teammates, distribute supplies, and keep everyone alive during extraction. | Shield Generator Pack, Supply Pack, Guard Dog Rover, Stims |
| Anti-Tank | S | Position behind the team, prioritize heavy targets, and keep heavy weapons loaded. | Quasar Cannon or Recoilless Rifle, Expendable Anti-Tank, Orbital Railcannon Strike |
| Crowd Control | S | Frontline fighter clearing chaff enemies while heavies focus big targets. | Breaker or Incendiary Breaker, Flamethrower, Eagle Airstrike, Orbital Gatling Barrage |
| Stealth | B | Avoid patrols, complete objectives silently, call backup only when necessary. | Light Armor with Scout passive, Smoke stratagems, Suppressed weapons |
| Tank | A | Hold the line at objectives, absorb damage, and provide sustained suppressive fire. | Heavy Armor (Fortified), Shield Generator Pack, Autocannon, Orbital Shield |
A-Tier: Support
Brings Shield Generator Pack, Supply Pack, and healing stratagems to keep the team alive. The Shield Generator Pack blocks incoming projectiles while letting you shoot out. Support players carry extra stims and handle sample extraction. Essential on Helldive difficulty.
Core Setup
| Slot | Choice | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Primary Weapon | Breaker | The most popular primary weapon — a semi-auto shotgun with excellent damage per shot and good range for a shotgun. |
| Core Gear | Shield Generator Pack, Supply Pack, Guard Dog Rover, Stims | Maximizes build potential |
| Stat Priority | Medium Armor (stamina balance) > Extra Padding passive | Optimal scaling |
| Key Mechanic | stratagems | Stratagems are called in by inputting directional codes (like fighting game inputs) on the D-pad. |
How to Play Support
Stay near teammates, distribute supplies, and keep everyone alive during extraction.
Brings Shield Generator Pack, Supply Pack, and healing stratagems to keep the team alive. The Shield Generator Pack blocks incoming projectiles while letting you shoot out. Support players carry extra stims and handle sample extraction. Essential on Helldive difficulty.
What makes this role work: The synergy between Breaker and stratagems creates a gameplay loop that outperforms other options. Core gear like Shield Generator Pack, Supply Pack, Guard Dog Rover, Stims amplifies this further.
Pros:
- Highest overall performance
- Clear stat priority (Medium Armor (stamina balance) > Extra Padding passive) makes gearing straightforward
- Works in all content types
Cons:
- Popular pick, resources may be contested
- Needs specific gear to reach full potential
S-Tier: Anti-Tank
Specializes in killing Chargers, Bile Titans, and Hulks with heavy weapons. Recoilless Rifle, Quasar Cannon, or Spear are the primary anti-armor tools. The Expendable Anti-Tank has no cooldown and comes in pairs. Without anti-tank, teams get overwhelmed by heavies on difficulty 7+.
Core Setup
| Slot | Choice | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Primary Weapon | Railgun | A support weapon stratagem that fires a charged shot penetrating medium armor. |
| Core Gear | Quasar Cannon or Recoilless Rifle, Expendable Anti-Tank, Orbital Railcannon Strike | Maximizes build potential |
| Stat Priority | Heavy Armor with Fortified passive > Extra Padding | Optimal scaling |
| Key Mechanic | friendly fire | All damage from all sources hits teammates. |
How to Play Anti-Tank
Position behind the team, prioritize heavy targets, and keep heavy weapons loaded.
Specializes in killing Chargers, Bile Titans, and Hulks with heavy weapons. Recoilless Rifle, Quasar Cannon, or Spear are the primary anti-armor tools. The Expendable Anti-Tank has no cooldown and comes in pairs. Without anti-tank, teams get overwhelmed by heavies on difficulty 7+.
What makes this role work: The synergy between Railgun and friendly fire creates a gameplay loop that offers reliable performance. Core gear like Quasar Cannon or Recoilless Rifle, Expendable Anti-Tank, Orbital Railcannon Strike amplifies this further.
Pros:
- Most versatile option
- Clear stat priority (Heavy Armor with Fortified passive > Extra Padding) makes gearing straightforward
- Works in all content types
Cons:
- Lower peak damage than S-tier
- Needs specific gear to reach full potential
S-Tier: Crowd Control
Uses the Breaker shotgun or Arc Thrower with Eagle Airstrike and Orbital Gatling Barrage to eliminate swarms. The Flamethrower is excellent against Terminid bug breaches. Crowd control is the most needed role since small enemies are the biggest source of team deaths.
Core Setup
| Slot | Choice | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Primary Weapon | Autocannon | A support weapon with sustained fire capability and medium armor penetration. |
| Core Gear | Breaker or Incendiary Breaker, Flamethrower, Eagle Airstrike, Orbital Gatling Barrage | Maximizes build potential |
| Stat Priority | Light Armor for Sprint Speed > Democracy Protects passive | Optimal scaling |
| Key Mechanic | extraction | Every mission ends with an extraction phase where you call a Pelican shuttle to a designated point and survive 2 minutes of incoming waves. |
How to Play Crowd Control
Frontline fighter clearing chaff enemies while heavies focus big targets.
Uses the Breaker shotgun or Arc Thrower with Eagle Airstrike and Orbital Gatling Barrage to eliminate swarms. The Flamethrower is excellent against Terminid bug breaches. Crowd control is the most needed role since small enemies are the biggest source of team deaths.
What makes this role work: The synergy between Autocannon and extraction creates a gameplay loop that offers reliable performance. Core gear like Breaker or Incendiary Breaker, Flamethrower, Eagle Airstrike, Orbital Gatling Barrage amplifies this further.
Pros:
- Best survivability
- Clear stat priority (Light Armor for Sprint Speed > Democracy Protects passive) makes gearing straightforward
- Works in all content types
Cons:
- Slower clear speeds
- Needs specific gear to reach full potential
B-Tier: Stealth
Uses light armor with Scout passive to reduce detection range, completing objectives without triggering patrols. Works well on Automaton missions where alert chains bring devastating reinforcements. Less viable on Terminid missions where bugs spawn from breaches regardless.
Core Setup
| Slot | Choice | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Primary Weapon | Quasar Cannon | An energy-based anti-tank weapon with no ammo — it recharges over time (~15 seconds). |
| Core Gear | Light Armor with Scout passive, Smoke stratagems, Suppressed weapons | Maximizes build potential |
| Stat Priority | Light Armor < Detection Range reduction | Optimal scaling |
| Key Mechanic | sample collection | Samples (Common, Rare, Super) are found throughout missions and used to unlock ship upgrades at the Super Destroyer. |
How to Play Stealth
Avoid patrols, complete objectives silently, call backup only when necessary.
Uses light armor with Scout passive to reduce detection range, completing objectives without triggering patrols. Works well on Automaton missions where alert chains bring devastating reinforcements. Less viable on Terminid missions where bugs spawn from breaches regardless.
What makes this role work: The synergy between Quasar Cannon and sample collection creates a gameplay loop that provides a unique approach. Core gear like Light Armor with Scout passive, Smoke stratagems, Suppressed weapons amplifies this further.
Pros:
- Strong in group/team content
- Clear stat priority (Light Armor < Detection Range reduction) makes gearing straightforward
- Excels in its niche
Cons:
- Weaker solo performance
- Requires deep game knowledge
A-Tier: Tank
Uses heavy armor with Fortified or Extra Padding to absorb damage while holding positions. Paired with the Shield Generator backpack and an Autocannon for sustained fire. Anchor the team during defensive objectives and extraction.
Core Setup
| Slot | Choice | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Primary Weapon | Scorcher | An explosive primary weapon that fires small AoE rounds. |
| Core Gear | Heavy Armor (Fortified), Shield Generator Pack, Autocannon, Orbital Shield | Maximizes build potential |
| Stat Priority | Heavy Armor > Fortified passive > Max Armor Rating | Optimal scaling |
| Key Mechanic | war effort contribution | All players collectively fight a Galactic War on a shared war map. |
How to Play Tank
Hold the line at objectives, absorb damage, and provide sustained suppressive fire.
Uses heavy armor with Fortified or Extra Padding to absorb damage while holding positions. Paired with the Shield Generator backpack and an Autocannon for sustained fire. Anchor the team during defensive objectives and extraction.
What makes this role work: The synergy between Scorcher and war effort contribution creates a gameplay loop that provides a unique approach. Core gear like Heavy Armor (Fortified), Shield Generator Pack, Autocannon, Orbital Shield amplifies this further.
Pros:
- Unique, rewarding playstyle
- Clear stat priority (Heavy Armor > Fortified passive > Max Armor Rating) makes gearing straightforward
- Excels in its niche
Cons:
- High skill floor, punishing when misplayed
- Requires deep game knowledge
Build Progression Path
- Start with Anti-Tank — the most forgiving option for learning the game
- Transition to Support once you understand core mechanics and have access to Breaker
- Keep a Crowd Control setup for content that keeps killing you
- Try Tank for a fresh experience once you've mastered the basics
Gearing Tips
- Invest in your primary weapon first — it gives the biggest power spike
- Dive (press dodge while sprinting) to avoid most attacks including Charger charges, Bile Titan spit, and Automaton rockets. It provides i-frames during the animation.
- Call stratagems on top of objectives to multitask — drop an Eagle Airstrike on a bug nest while simultaneously closing the nest with a Hellbomb.
- Don't spread upgrade resources across multiple builds until endgame
See our tier list for current meta rankings, or the beginner's guide if you're just getting started.
