Helldivers 2 Best Loadout: Bugs, Bots, Illuminate, Warbonds

The best Helldivers 2 loadout depends on the front: shotguns, a stim-heavy armor passive and big single-target stratagems for the Terminids; armor-piercing precision and anti-tank for the Automatons; and sustained fire plus explosives for the Illuminate's Crushers and Wretches. The game is on patch 7.2.3 (November 11, 2026), the newest Premium Warbond is Scope of Authority (October 20), and the October 20 update buffed several shotguns, the Sickle line and the Killzone and Halo Legendary weapons. This guide gives a full loadout for each faction, explains which recent Warbond items earn a slot, and lists what Update 8.0 changes for loadouts in December.

Checked against Arrowhead's Devoid of Liberty 7.2.3 patch notes and the Scope of Authority Warbond announcement on November 12, 2026.

Weapon numbers come from Arrowhead's patch notes and enemy armor values from the community Helldivers Wiki. The loadouts themselves are editorial recommendations, not official ones, and any of the slots can be swapped for a weapon you shoot better with.

What makes a good Helldivers 2 loadout?

A good loadout answers three problems at once: crowds of small enemies, armored heavies, and objectives such as Bug Holes or Fabricators. You get a primary, a secondary, a throwable, an armor passive and up to four stratagems to cover them.

• Primary and secondary handle chaff. Pick the primary for the faction's common enemy, then a secondary that covers its blind spot.
• The throwable is your emergency heavy kill. The G-123 Thermite is the standout: stuck to a Charger's head or torso it kills on detonation, it destroys a Hulk Bruiser wherever it lands, and it can kill a Crusher outright.
• The armor passive matters more than the armor class. Med-Kit adds two stims and two seconds of stim duration, Siege-Ready raises primary reload speed by 30% and ammo capacity by 20%, and Fortified halves explosive damage.
• Stratagems should include at least one anti-tank answer. If you take a backpack-fed support weapon, skip backpack stratagems; the full ranking is in the Helldivers 2 best stratagems tier list.

What is the best loadout against the Terminids?

Bring a buffed shotgun, the Med-Kit passive and two big single-target stratagems. Bugs swarm, poison and now fight in caves, so close-range volume and spare stims count for more than range.

Swap the Railcannon for the Eagle Airstrike on missions with many Bug Holes, since its explosions destroy them. The FLAM-40 Flamethrower is a strong alternative to the Quasar against Chargers, which take 150% fire damage, but it is risky in tight caves with teammates.

How do you handle the Noxious strain and bug caves?

The Noxious strain arrived on November 3. Noxious Scavengers are fast and fragile and poison on every bite. The Noxious Spewer moves quickly, its Web Spit stops you sprinting, its head has medium armor and its abdomen has none, but bursting the abdomen triggers a Web Explosion that snares every Helldiver and bug nearby. Light poison hazes your vision and drains health; heavy poison raises the damage and disables sprinting. Stims cure both. Bug caves now appear on more biomes, and patch 7.2.3 fixed fire not spreading inside them, so flame weapons work underground again.

What is the best loadout against the Automatons?

Bots punish open ground and reward precise, armor-piercing shots. Take a precision primary, a Recoilless Rifle for Hulks and Striders, and Eagles for Fabricators.

For Factory Striders, one EAT-17, Recoilless or Quasar shot breaks the eye cover and exposes a head that Heavy-penetration weapons can finish; its legs take two Recoilless, EAT-17 or Quasar shots. War Strider fronts are where the AMW-20 Apex shines, since one shot destroys a hip joint. If you prefer the head of a Hulk Bruiser, the RS-422 Railgun and APW-1 Anti-Materiel Rifle each destroy it in one shot.

What is the best loadout against the Illuminate?

Bring a heat-based or medium-penetration primary, an Autocannon and crowd-control stratagems. Devoid of Liberty added the Crusher and Wretch, and both change how you fight squids.

A recent press loadout from Power Up Gaming (October 8) runs a similar core: Double-Edge Sickle, Siege-Ready armor, Machine Gun Sentry, Eagle Airstrike and Gatling Barrage, with the GR-8 Recoilless Rifle as its support weapon.

How do you kill Crushers, Wretches and Harvesters?

• Crusher: 6,000 health, a club that can kill in one hit, and regeneration of about 30 health per second. Break the Heavy-armored helmet, then shoot the exposed head, which is fatal. Explosives work well; single-shot anti-tank weapons such as the Recoilless or Meltagun do not.
• Wretch: 450 main health, fast and able to pounce. Cut the legs or bladed arms; removing the head does not stop it. It takes 1.5x fire damage, and the wiki recommends the MG-43, MGX-42 Bullet Storm or flame weapons. Wretches target sentries first, so a Machine Gun Sentry buys time.
• Harvester: destroy any one of its three shield generators and the shield is gone for good. A single anti-tank rocket destroys a hip joint, which is fatal. Its exterior shrugs off explosions until the carapace breaks.
• Overseer: the head is the weak point and needs Medium penetration or higher.

Which recent Warbonds are worth it for your loadout?

Scope of Authority is the best pick for bot players and snipers, while Castellan's Creed suits Illuminate fronts thanks to the Bolt Pistol and Meltagun. These are the 2026 Warbonds from August onward:

If you own older Legendary Warbonds, 7.2.0 made them stronger: the M90A Shotgun went from 605 to 726 damage, the MA5C Assault Rifle and StA-52 Assault Rifle had their recoil roughly halved in places, and the StA-11 SMG went from 90 to 100 damage. On the free side, the M-103 Supply FRV is now a permanent Requisition unlock, the TD-220 Bastion tank unlocks at Level 30, and the M-104 Incinerator FRV is the reward for the campaign running November 3 to 16.

What will Update 8.0 change for loadouts?

Arrowhead's November developer blog confirms the next major update arrives in early December with several loadout changes:

• Jump, Hover and Warp packs will be usable while carrying two-handed items, opening new support weapon and backpack pairings.
• A new utility belt will hold remotes and detonators so they no longer take up your hands or backpack, which makes the Solo Silo and C4 easier to run.
• Gas clouds will no longer slow Helldivers, which makes gas stratagems safer to use near your own squad.
• The Hellbomb backpack will arm or pick up from the ground with a long press.

Check the Helldivers 2 hub after the December patch, since backpack-based loadouts are the most likely to change.

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