Summary
Helldivers 2has been slowly growing players’ arsenals since its launch with frequently released content updates. One of the latest updates for the game has introduced two new support weapon stratagems, the Heavy Machine Gun and the Quasar Cannon.
It’s important to note that these two support weapons fit into separate categories in terms of what they are best suited for. Specifically, the Quasar Cannon is designed for single, heavily armored targets, while the Heavy Machine Gun is more for rapidly dispatching hordes of enemies that have little to no armor. These new weapons inHelldivers 2arguably bring a lot to the table that players should consider replacing their current support weapons with.
As a ballistic, rapid-fire weapon, thenew Heavy Machine Gun inHelldivers 2naturally fits into the ‘ad-clear’ category of support weapons. This type of support weapon is perfect for shredding hordes of light and medium enemies, but these weapons generally don’t have much use against heavily armored enemies inHelldivers 2. Similar weapons in this category include:
Where the Heavy Machine Gun sets itself apart from similar support weapons inHelldivers 2is its ability to penetrate enemy armor, which most of the other ad-clear weapons that are currently in the game aren’t capable of. Because of this, the Heavy Machine Gun is a viable option for a wider variety of missions compared to other ad-clear Support weapons, since higher-difficulty missions will spawn enemies with increased armor. However, this weapon has a much longer reload speed and a slightly shorter range compared to similar weapons, though this is justified because it has higher damage and armor-piercing capabilities.
Reloading the Heavy Machine Gun requires players to remain stationary.
The Quasar Cannon in Helldivers 2 Is a Jack Of All Trades
TheQuasar Cannon support weaponis slow-firing and high-damage, best suited for taking out beefy targets, which puts it into the ‘artillery’ category of support weapons. Similar weapons in this category include:
Unlike other artillery support weapons, the Quasar Cannon is both an energy and an explosive weapon, which gives it unique properties. Notably, the Quasar Cannon being a laser weapon means that it will automatically reload itself. Rather, unlike other laser weapons, the Quasar Cannon will never fully overheat, so it effectively has unlimited ammo. Considering that some support weapons have extremely long reload times and/or force players to carry ammo via abackpack stratagem inHelldivers 2, the Quasar Cannon’s ammo efficiency is a game-changer.
While the Quasar Cannon doesn’t need to be reloaded, it must be charged before firing and fully cooled down before it can fire again.
With the Quasar Cannon being an explosive weapon with heavy armor-piercing capabilities, this makes it exceptional for taking out heavily armored targets. Also, it can surprisingly destroy a wide variety of other objects, including Terminid hives, bot factories, and Automaton reinforcement dropships, among other things.
While this weapon’s damage output and ammo efficiency make it worthy of beingthe new meta inHelldivers 2, it does have a few weaknesses that players should be aware of. Specifically, the long charge time before this weapon can be fired can leave players vulnerable to attacks. Also, the projectiles from this weapon travel relatively slowly, so it can be difficult to hit targets that are in motion.
Otherwise, few support weapons can stand their ground against Bile Titans, Hulks, Tanks, and Sentry Towers, whereas the Quasar Cannon can take these enemies out in just a few well-placed shots. Ultimately, this weapon is truly an all-in-one support weapon that can be valuable in any and every mission type; so much so that players should consider the possibility of the Quasar Cannon getting nerfed in a future update, asweapon balancing changes inHelldivers 2are a common occurrence.
