Helldivers 2 Best Primary Weapons For Automatons, Bugs, Bots, Illuminate, Each Faction 2026

Helldivers 2 Best Primary Weapons For Automatons

Against Automatons, the best primary weapons prioritize medium armor penetration, stagger, or explosive damage to handle armored units like Devastators and Scout Striders.

Top Tier Recommendations

• PLAS-1 Scorcher: Widely considered the gold standard for bots. Its explosive rounds can kill Scout Striders from the front by damaging the pilot through the faceplate and can quickly dispatch Devastators.
• JAR-5 Dominator: Offers high damage and exceptional stagger, which can stunlock Heavy Devastators. It features medium armor penetration, making it effective against almost all bot infantry.
• R-63CS Diligence Counter Sniper: The best choice for precision play. It can one-tap Devastators in the head and provides the range needed to thin out patrols before they can call for reinforcements.
• SG-8P Punisher Plasma: Excellent for crowd control. The arcing plasma projectile creates a large explosion that staggers groups of bots and can damage enemies behind cover.
• R-36 Eruptor: A bolt-action rifle that acts like a mini-autocannon. It can destroy Fabricators and has enough power to kill Hulks if you hit their rear heat vents.

Specialized Picks

• CB-9 Explosive Crossbow: Can be used with a Ballistic Shield for a tanky playstyle. It deals high burst damage and can also close Fabricators.
• LAS-16 Sickle: Great for clearing "trash" mobs (small troopers) due to its near-infinite ammo and lack of recoil. However, it struggles against the heavier armor of Devastators unless you are highly accurate with headshots.
• PLAS-101 Purifier: A charge-up plasma rifle that rewards patient play with high damage and splash, capable of grounding Gunships in just a few shots.

Best Primary Weapons For Bugs

Against the Terminid (bug) faction in Helldivers 2, the best primary weapons typically focus on crowd control, damage-over-time (DoT), or high-stagger capabilities to keep swarming enemies at bay.

Top-Tier Recommendations

• SG-225IE Breaker Incendiary: Widely considered the best overall for bugs. It excels at clearing "chaff" (small enemies) by spreading fire DoT that continues to kill bugs after they've been hit, making it particularly effective against Shriekers.
• SG-8P Cookout: A top choice for dealing with Stalkers and Hunters due to its high stagger force. It combines the stopping power of a pump-action shotgun with incendiary rounds.
• ARC-12 Blitzer: Offers infinite ammunition and high stagger that can stun-lock enemies as large as Bile Spewers. It is ideal for close-quarters crowd control.
• JAR-5 Dominator: Best for medium-armored targets like Hive Guards and Brood Commanders. Its explosive rounds provide heavy stagger, though it has slow handling.
• SG-8 Punisher: Known for the highest stagger force among shotguns, it can push back Stalkers several meters, providing critical breathing room.

Specialized & Niche Options

• R-36 Eruptor: Useful for its ability to close bug holes from a distance. However, its slow fire rate makes it poor for close-range defense unless paired with a high-capacity support weapon like the Stalwart.
• LAS-16 Sickle: A strong energy-based choice with great accuracy and infinite ammo potential if managed correctly, though it lacks the stopping power to halt charging bugs.
• AR-23P Liberator Penetrator: A reliable "workhorse" for players wanting medium armor penetration on an assault rifle frame.

Quick Comparison Table

For higher difficulty missions, many players recommend a Support Weapon like the Quasar Cannon or Flamethrower to handle the heavy armor of Chargers and Bile Titans that primaries cannot easily defeat. 

Best Primary Weapons For Bots

Against the Automatons, precision and medium armor penetration are your best friends. Here are the top primary weapons currently dominating the bot front:

Top-Tier Precision & Utility

• PLAS-1 Scorcher: Widely considered the "king" of the bot front. Its explosive plasma rounds can bypass the frontal shields of Scout Striders and efficiently take down groups of grunts.
• R-63CS Diligence Counter Sniper: A precision beast that can one-shot most infantry and Devastators with a well-placed headshot. Its range allows you to pick off heavy units like Turret Gunners from safety.
• JAR-5 Dominator: This heavy-hitting "hybrid" offers high stagger and medium armor penetration. It's excellent for halting the advance of Berserkers and Devastators.

Crowd Control & Stagger

• SG-8P Punisher Plasma: Best for players who value area denial. Its high stagger can stun-lock Devastators, preventing them from returning fire.
• PLAS-101 Purifier: A charged plasma weapon that offers great ammo economy and high splash damage. It is particularly effective at clearing groups of low-level bots and Scout Striders.

Reliable General Use

• LAS-16 Sickle: Perfect for clearing light "chaff" bots. Its infinite ammo (if managed correctly) and high accuracy make it a solid choice for consistent suppressive fire.
• BR-14 Adjudicator: A versatile battle rifle with medium armor penetration that performs well against most bot variants in both semi-auto and full-auto modes.

Pro-Tip: If you're struggling with aiming, explosive weapons like the CB-9 Explosive Crossbow or R-36 Eruptor are excellent for dealing with armored units without needing pixel-perfect accuracy.

Best Primary Weapons For Illuminate

Against the Illuminate, the best primary weapons focus on stripping energy shields quickly or using explosive/splash damage to hit teleporting enemies and bypass shields.

Top-Tier Primary Weapons

• PLAS-101 Purifier: Often cited as the overall best choice due to its high stagger and splash damage, which can kill multiple Overseers in two charged shots.
• PLAS-1 Scorcher: Excellent for "punishing" grouped enemies; its plasma splash damages targets even through their shields.
• LAS-16 Sickle: A top-tier pick for shield-stripping and clearing "Voteless" (zombie) hordes. It has theoretically infinite ammo and high accuracy at mid-range.
• CB-9 Exploding Crossbow: Highly effective against cloaked or mobile enemies. It can also be used to blow up grounded warp ships by shooting into their doors once shields are down.
• SG-8P Punisher Plasma: Reliable for crowd control because its plasma bolts feature significant cleave and shield-penetrating properties.

Specialized & Honorable Mentions

• ARC-12 Blitzer: Great for close-quarters crowd control; it offers infinite ammo and can hit multiple enemies at once, though its recoil is high.
• R-36 Eruptor: Useful for its wide damage radius. It is particularly strong against elite units and can destroy warp ships in 2-3 shots.
• JAR-5 Dominator: A solid ballistic choice for those who prefer precision; it handles medium and light units consistently from a safe distance.
• LAS-5 Scythe: Frequently recommended for its ability to "swipe" across hordes of Voteless, setting them on fire and stripping shields at long range.

Quick Tips for the Illuminate Front

• Prioritize Shields: If you aren't using plasma or explosives, focus fire on shield generators (like Crescent Overseers) first to make them vulnerable to standard ballistic damage.
• Don't Rely on Stagger: Unlike Automatons, many Illuminate units resist traditional stagger, making raw damage and splash more valuable.
• Secondary Synergy: Pair these with the P-4 Senator for quick headshots on elite units or the Loyalist for its superior stagger-lock capabilities.

Best Primary Weapons For Each Faction

Choosing the best primary weapon in Helldivers 2often depends on your specific role and difficulty level, but certain weapons have emerged as clear favorites for tackling each faction's unique threats.

Terminids (Bugs)

The bug front requires high fire rate and crowd control to manage overwhelming swarms.

• SG-225IE Breaker Incendiary: Widely considered the "king" of bug missions due to its massive spread and fire damage that can clear entire patrols of small bugs with a single shot.
• SG-451 Cookout: A top-tier alternative to the Breaker Incendiary, offering heavy stagger that can stop Stalkers and Alpha Commanders in their tracks while dealing fire damage.
• ARC-12 Blitzer: Exceptional for infinite ammo and high stagger, allowing you to stun-lock medium enemies like Hive Guards and Brood Commanders indefinitely.

Automatons (Bots)

Bot combat prioritizes precision and armor penetration to hit small weak points (like heads) or bypass heavy frontal plating.

• R-63CS Diligence Counter Sniper: The gold standard for precision; it can one-shot Devastators in the head and safely pick off Troopers from a distance before they call in drops.
• PLAS-1 Scorcher: Highly effective for its explosive splash damage, which can destroy Scout Striders through their front shields and quickly take down Gunships.
• JAR-5 Dominator: A "heavy" primary that deals massive damage and stagger, making it perfect for stumbling heavy Devastators and ripping through Berserkers.

Illuminate (Squids)

Fighting the Illuminate requires high damage per second (DPS) to break through personal shields and weapons that can handle high-mobility targets.

• PLAS-101 Purifier: Its high stagger and splash damage are excellent for disrupting "Squid" rushes and penetrating their energy shields.
• LAS-16 Sickle: The high rate of fire and lack of recoil make it perfect for tracking fast-moving Voteless units and consistently melting shields.
• AR-2 Coyote: Often cited as the most versatile "all-rounder" for this faction, offering reliable mid-range performance and enough ammo to handle frequent skirmishes.

Universally Top-Tier

These weapons are considered "faction agnostic" and perform exceptionally well regardless of the enemy:

• R-36 Eruptor: Acts as a mini-autocannon, capable of closing bug holes, destroying bot factories, and killing medium enemies in 1–2 shots.
• Exploding Crossbow: Offers massive utility for objective destruction and powerful AOE damage that scales well against all three factions.