Summary
Helldivers 2players in need of assistance call in support through Stratagems. These range from orbital attacks to air support to calling in heavy weapons. Players need to havea balanced loadout of Stratagemsto be fully prepared for the variety of threats that they face when landing on a new planet.
Player equipment inHelldivers 2is limited to one Support Weapon and one Backpack item in addition to the standard weapons and grenades that they start missions with. Because of this limit, it is vital that players choose their only Backpack Stratagem wisely. Mistakenly picking two Backpack items, or even just choosing the wrong item for the mission’s needs can be disastrous.
12HMG Emplacement
Turret That Needs A Helldiver To Operate
The Heavy Machine Gun Emplacement is a Stratagem that calls down a large turret. Unlike other Sentry Stratagems, this one does not automatically fire at enemies in its line of sight. The only way to operate it is for a player to stand on it and manually fire.
Rotating the gun takes a few seconds so it is critical to aim the HMG in the enemy’s general direction before they approach. While it does deal good damage, the fact that it forces the player operating it to remain stationary puts that player in danger. It also prevents them from using their own guns and other Stratagems.
11Machine Gun Sentry
Basic Sentry That Can Mow Down Unarmored Enemies
The Machine Gun Sentry is the first Emplacement Stratagem that can be unlocked in the game and is the weakest of the Sentries. It fires bullets that cannot pierce armor, so it can be used to good effect on low-level missions or to clear the area of unarmored enemies.
While it is slower than the Gatling Sentry and does less damage overall, the one thing this Sentry does better is that it holds fire while rotating. The Gatling Sentry can more easily cause friendly fire damage since it starts shooting even as it rotates to face the targeted enemy. However, once players can unlock other Sentries, this one is more or less obsolete.
10Incendiary Mines
Minefield That Is Especially Effective Against Bugs
The Incendiary Minefield calls in a small machine that spews its mines randomly in a wide radius around itself. When stepped on (by helldivers or their enemies), the mines have a small explosion that causes whatever triggers it to catch on fire.
Since Terminids are weak to fire, this can be an effective way to stop the bugs from advancing on the players' location from a specific direction. Be warned that the mines can be difficult to see on desert planets, so the risk of friendly fire is higher than with regular mines.
9EMS Mortar Sentry
Sentry That Stuns Enemies Nearby
EMS abilities impact a small area and stun anything caught in their effect. Automatons freeze up and even stop firing for a few seconds, turning fortified positions into shooting galleries for the players. EMS is also a great way todeal with Hulkssince they cannot protect the weak spots on their backs while stunned.
The EMS Mortar launches EMS strikes in a large area around itself, without needing line-of-sight. The fact that mortars can hit so many enemies makes it ideal for “Eradicate Enemy Forces” missions. The only downside to this Stratagem is that it is hard to predict where mortars will hit, so players can very easily be caught in the EMS blast and get stunned themselves.
Sentry That Does Not Need Line Of Sight
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The standard Mortar Sentry fires explosive rounds instead of EMS charges. Like its EMS counterpart, this Sentry does not need to see enemies to target them, making it ideal for holding locations like landing pads and the fortress found in many Automaton eradication missions.
The mortars deal high amounts of explosive damage to enemies caught in the blast, so it can quickly deal with fairly large groups of either Terminids or Automatons. Like all other Sentries, friendly fire risk is high because they fire whether there are helldivers nearby or not.
6Shield Generator Relay
Protect Allies From Incoming Fire
The Shield Generator Relay projects a shield in a large dome around the beacon’s original location. It protects players inside the shield from every kind of projectile in the game while still allowing projectiles to pass from inside it. Unlike the Shield Generator Pack, this shield cannot be destroyed by any damage done to it from the outside.
It stays on for thirty seconds and then has a ninety-second cooldown timer, so players need to choose when and where to deploy it. Protecting civilians duringevacuation missions, covering the squad while waiting for extraction, and other instances where players need to stay in one place are ideal uses for the Shield Generator Relay. It is not as effective, however, on missions where players will be constantly on the move.
5Rocket Sentry
Rockets Deal Explosive Damage And Pierce Armor
The Rocket Sentry operates similarly to the Gatling Sentry, with the obvious difference in ammo. It fires at enemies only when they are in its line-of-sight, and does not consider friendly fire before launching rockets. The fire rate is slower than the bullet-based Sentries and players standing behind this Sentry can be knocked off their feet by the back blast of air whenever a rocket launches.
This Sentry is great for use against armored enemies since explosives penetrate even thethick armor of Bile Titans. Since it fires so slowly, it should not be deployed against large waves of enemies or in close-quarters situations.
4Anti-Personnel Minefield
Protect An Area From Incoming Enemies
The Anti-Personnel Minefield lands on its beacon and throws mines out at random in a wide area around it. These mines explode for massive damage instead of setting their targets on fire when stepped on. They are larger and easier to see in any terrain than incendiary mines, which keeps friendly fire risk low, but players are usually killed instantly if they do accidentally set off one of these mines.
The explosions pierce armor, so mines are good for defending an area from waves of enemies even if that includes Chargers, Hulks, or other tough enemies. This Minefield is a great way to protect an area with incoming enemies, especially if the squad of helldivers can avoid it.
3Tesla Tower
Defend An Area With Electricity
Tesla Towers are a type of Sentrythat arc electricityout in a circle around them rather than fire bullets, mortars, or mines. Players can avoid taking damage by going prone near the tower, but getting hit by a melee attack can still cause the tower to hit them. Tesla Towers are great for holding areas against numerous enemies, especially if they primarily use melee attacks. A few hits from any source can destroy a Tesla Tower, so they can be easily destroyed at a range where they will not pose a threat.
This is a great Stratagem to deploy when evacuating civilians since the tower can be placed near Bot Dropships to take many of them out before they can fire. It is also great to use when defending an area like an ICBM launchpad.
