Helldivers 2 Best Loadout For Bugs, Bots, Illuminate, All Factions, Terminids 2026

Helldivers 2 Best Loadout For Bugs

Terminid (bug) loadouts in Helldivers 2 prioritize high stagger, fire damage, and anti-tank (AT) capabilities to manage swarms and heavy units like Bile Titans and Chargers.

The "Best All-Rounder" Loadout

This build balances crowd control with heavy armor elimination, making it effective for solo or team play.

• Primary: SG-22 Cookout (High stagger and fire damage to stop Stalkers and clear Hunters).
• Secondary: P-4 Senator or Grenade Pistol (For armor penetration or closing bug holes).
• Grenade: G-13 Incendiary Impact or G-23 Stun (Stun is vital for pinning Chargers for an AT shot).
• Support Weapon: GR-8 Recoilless Rifle or Quasar Cannon (Essential for one-shotting Chargers and headshotting Titans).
• Stratagem 1: Eagle Airstrike (Versatile for bug holes and medium clusters).
• Stratagem 2: Orbital Gas Strike or Eagle Napalm (Place directly on bug breaches for massive multi-kills).
• Stratagem 3: AX/AR-23 Guard Dog Rover (Automatic crowd management so you don't get swamped).

Specialized Playstyles

Essential Tips

• Armor: Wear Light Armor (e.g., SC-30 Trailblazer Scout). Speed is your best defense against bugs; if they touch you, you're usually already dead.
• Booster: Always bring Stamina Enhancement or Experimental Infusion to ensure you can outrun hunters.
• Targeting: Focus your AT weapons on the heads of Bile Titans and the unprotected legs/heads of Chargers for the fastest kills.

Best Loadout For Bots

To dismantle the Automatons effectively, your loadout should prioritize medium armor penetration, explosive resistance, and high-impact anti-tank capabilities.

Recommended Armor

• Passive Perk: Fortified – Essential for reducing recoil when crouching and providing 50% resistance to explosive damage from bot rockets and cannons.
• Weight: Heavy Armor is widely recommended to survive constant incoming fire, though Medium Armor (like the B-24 Enforcer) is a popular middle ground for mobility.

Weapons & Equipment

Primary:

• JAR-5 Dominator: High stagger and medium penetration to stop Devastators in their tracks.
• PLAS-1 Scorcher: Explosive damage that ignores armor on Scout Striders and kills most bots quickly.
• Diligence Counter Sniper: One-taps Devastators to the head at long range.

Secondary: P-19 Redeemer for chaff or GP-123 Grenade Pistol to destroy Fabricators and Striders.
Grenade: Stun Grenades are considered "S-tier" for freezing Hulks to easily hit their eye weak point.

Top Stratagems

• Support Weapon: AC-8 Autocannon is the gold standard; it destroys Fabricators, snipes Gunships, and two-taps Hulk eyes. Alternatively, use the Railgun (unsafe mode) or Anti-Materiel Rifle for precision sniping.
• Eagle Airstrike: The most versatile offensive tool for clearing bases and damaging heavy armor.
• Orbital Laser: Perfect "panic button" for clearing out heavy outposts or large groups of Hulks/Tanks.
• Orbital Precision Strike: A reliable, low-cooldown tool for taking out individual Tanks or Detector Towers.
• Sentry: The Autocannon Sentry or Rocket Sentry are excellent for anti-air and long-range fire support.

Best Loadout For Illuminate

When facing the Illuminate, the meta prioritizes stripping energy shields and managing teleporting units. High-fire-rate weapons and arc-based stratagems are generally preferred to deal with their shields and cloaked enemies.

S-Tier Loadout (General Purpose)

• Primary: LAS-17 Double-Edged Sickle — Excellent for stripping shields quickly and has effectively infinite ammo with heat management.
• Secondary: GP-31 Grenade Pistol — Essential for closing Illuminate saucers/spawn ships and taking out clusters of Voteless.
• Grenade: G-4 Gas Grenade or Incendiary Impact — Gas confuses and melts groups of Voteless (infantry), while fire keeps them from swarming.
• Support Weapon: AC-8 Autocannon — The "Swiss Army Knife" against this faction; it destroys Harvester tripods, Overseers, and landed ships with precision.

Top Stratagem Recommendations

• Defensive: MG Turret or Gatling Sentry — Essential for suppressing cloaked units and snipers. Their low cooldown allows constant repositioning.
• Offensive: Eagle Strafing Run — One of the best options because it hits five times and instantly drops shields for all enemies in its path.
• Utility: Orbital Gas Strike — Can destroy Warp Ships even with their shields up and clears entire streets of Voteless.
• Elite Hunting: Tesla Tower — Highly effective for area denial as it electrifies enemies and disrupts shield regeneration.

Specialized Builds

• The "Overseer Hunter": Use the PLAS-101 Purifier or Eruptor to two-shot elite units through their shields.
• The "Horde Clearer": Combine the M-105 Stalwart with a Guard Dog (bullet version) to maintain constant fire against teleporting rushes.
• Armor Choice: Wear extra padding Light Armor for mobility, as the Illuminate often use gravity wells and AOE attacks that require fast movement to dodge.

Best Loadout For All Factions

Optimal Helldivers 2 loadouts are designed to counter the specific biological or mechanical threats posed by each faction. While a universal loadout exists, specializing your gear for the enemy front is highly recommended.

1. Terminids (Bugs)

The bug front requires high mobility and "crowd clear" capabilities to manage massive swarms.

• Primary: SG-225 Breaker for high-burst damage or LAS-16 Sickle for infinite ammo against trash mobs.
• Secondary: P-19 Redeemer for emergency close-quarters defense.
• Grenade: G-12 High Explosive for closing bug holes.
• Armor: Light Armor with the Engineering Kit perk (extra grenades and recoil reduction) to stay ahead of the swarm.
• Stratagems: Railgun (Support) for Chargers/Bile Titans, Eagle 500KG Bomb for large nests, and Shield Generator Backpack to prevent slowing effects from hunter bites.

2. Automatons (Bots)

Fighting bots requires medium-to-heavy armor penetration and cover-based strategies to handle long-range firepower.

• Primary: PLAS-1 Scorcher or JAR-5 Dominator to stagger Devastators and penetrate Strider shields.
• Secondary: P-4 Senator for reliable medium armor penetration.
• Grenade: Thermite Grenade to stick onto Tanks and Hulks.
• Armor: Medium or Heavy Armor with the Fortified perk to reduce explosive damage from rockets.
• Stratagems: Autocannon (Support) is the "gold standard" for bots as it can destroy fabricators and every bot type except the heaviest tanks. Pair with Orbital Laser for clearing heavy outposts.

3. Illuminate (Squids)

This faction relies on energy shields and teleportation. High rate-of-fire weapons are essential for stripping shields quickly.

• Primary: PLAS-101 Purifier for its AOE blast that clears "Voteless" and stuns Overseers.
• Secondary: LAS-58 Talon or P-2 Peacemaker for precision leg shots on ground units.
• Grenade: G-4 Gas Grenades to confuse swarms or G-13 Incendiary for persistent area denial.
• Armor: Light/Medium Armor with Med-Kit to survive status effects and stunlocks.
• Stratagems: Stalwart (Support) for shredding shields, Shield Generator Pack to resist mind-control effects, and Gatling Sentry to automate swarm management.

The "One Build" (Universal Loadout)

If you prefer not to swap, this build remains viable across all three fronts:

• Primary: R-36 Eruptor (utility for holes/fabs/shields).
• Support: Autocannon or Expendable Anti-Tank (EAT).
• Armor: Democracy Protects (50% chance to survive lethal damage).

Best Loadout For Terminids

To dominate the Terminid swarms, the "best" loadout typically balances high-capacity crowd control with dedicated anti-tank capabilities to handle Chargers and Bile Titans.

The "Meta" All-Rounder Loadout

This build is optimized for solo or squad play, providing solutions for both fodder and heavies.

• Primary Weapon: SG-451 Cookout (highly recommended for its massive stagger and fire damage against Stalkers and Brood Commanders) or Arc Blitzer (for infinite ammo and crowd stun).
• Secondary Weapon: GP-31 Grenade Pistol (essential for closing bug holes from a distance).
• Throwable: G-123 Thermite (sticks to heavy armor to melt Chargers) or G-23 Stun (to freeze enemies for easy stratagem hits).
• Stratagems:
  • Support Weapon: Quasar Cannon (infinite ammo anti-tank) or Flamethrower (excellent for clearing hordes and melting Charger legs).
  • Backpack: "Guard Dog" Rover (the laser variant is a top-tier choice for clearing small bugs automatically).
  • Orbital: Orbital Napalm Barrage (perfect for wiping out entire bug breaches) or Orbital Gas Strike (short cooldown area denial).
  • Eagle: Eagle 500KG Bomb (dedicated Bile Titan killer).

Specialized Loadouts

• The Firestarter (Horde Clear):
  • Armor: Flame-resistant armor (e.g., from the Freedom's Flame Warbond).
  • Loadout: SG-451 Cookout + Flamethrower + Eagle Napalm Strike + Orbital Napalm Barrage.
• Anti-Heavy / Tank Hunter:
  • Support Weapon: GR-8 Recoilless Rifle or MLS-4X Commando for rapid anti-tank response.
  • Stratagems: Orbital Railcannon Strike + Autocannon Sentry (to shred armor from afar).

Recommended Armor & Boosters

• Armor Perk: Engineering Kit (+2 grenades and -30% recoil) or Med-Kit (+2 stims and increased stim duration) are the strongest choices for staying alive in the "kiting" playstyle needed for bugs.
• Best Booster: Stamina Enhancement (vital for outrunning Hunters) or Experimental Infusion (provides a speed/damage reduction boost when stimming).