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When a major patch hits Helldivers 2, the meta will shake up a bit. When it comes to the Escalation of Freedom update, things changed, admittedly for the worst. However, after some testing and dying a lot, here are the best weapons to use after the Escalation of Freedom patch in Helldivers 2.

Best weapons after the Escalation of Freedom patch in Helldivers 2

The following weapons have been tested on the Helldive and Super Helldive difficulties, so they’re probably the best we can get right now.

SG-225IE Breaker Incendiary

Despite this having its magazines and recoil nerfed, the Breaker Incendiary excels at taking out groups of small Terminids with ease. It’s also the best weapon to take Shriekers out with because of its very generous pellet spread. Using it on anything armored will be useless, so this is more of a small fries killer.

It’s also not recommended to use against Automatons.

SG-451 Cookout

The Cookout is a gun that may easily dethrone the Breaker Incendiary for its damage output and stagger potential. It doesn’t have the crowd-clearing effects like the previously mentioned shotgun, but what it does have is a decent ammo economy and stagger power.

You’re not looking to kill mobs of enemies quickly with this thing, but you can stop a Brood Commander and variants of medium-sized enemies in their tracks with a shot to the face. 

Much like the Breaker Incendiary, this gun is also not recommended against Automatons.

Arc-12 Blitzer

The Blitzer is the perfect answer for people who struggle with ammo upkeep. It’s also versatile enough to deal decent stagger against small and medium enemies both against the Terminids or the Automatons. There are some drawbacks like its effective range and inconsistent damage output, but the pros outweigh the cons here.

The neat part about this arc shotgun is that there’s never really a bad time to bring it into any mission. Just don’t expect this to be the DPS monster like others on this list. 

LAS-16 Sickle

If you prefer the more standard gunplay of an assault rifle, the Sickle is the answer to that. Practically having no recoil, this gun is great for hitting the weak points of both the Automatons and Terminids.

The only drawback to this gun is also its other strength. If you fire this gun too often, you will be forced to reload. Practicing trigger discipline will help you never run out of ammo.

P-19 Redeemer

This gun has flown under the nerf radar after so many balance changes. The Redeemer has been a consistent automatic pistol since its launch. Now, with higher difficulties having objectives like eggs, forcing you to only have one free hand, the Redeemer is almost a staple for your loadout.

SG-22 Bushwhacker

If you’re in a pinch and want to increase the distance between you and a deadly medium-sized enemy, the Bushwhacker is your best bet. This works similarly to the Cookout, but without the fire. The only difference is that this doesn’t have that great of a killing potential.

GP-31 Grenade Pistol

Despite its ammo economy nerfs, the Grenade Pistol is a utility weapon that’s still incredible. You’re not using this to kill enemies or soften them up. You’re using this to seal Terminid Hive holes and destroy Automaton Fabricators. 

Think of this pistol as a backup for when you run out of grenades and explosive call-down Stratagems to take these objectives out.

Best Stratagem weapons after the patch

With primaries and secondaries out of the way, you can call in bigger weaponry via Stratagem to complement your build or give you versatility against tougher enemies.

Spear

If you want to destroy heavies like Hulks, Gunships, Tanks, Bile Titans, or the many variants of the Charger, the Spear is the best weapon to use. Just lock onto something, aim for their weak spot, and boom.

This does use up your backpack slot, so you can’t carry something like a Jump Pack, Guard Dog, or Shield Generator. 

Quasar Cannon

Another weapon that has received some significant nerfs is the Quasar Cannon. Despite all that, it excels at doing what the Spear does, just with longer cooldowns, but a free backpack slot. 

This weapon tends to do better against Automatons, namely destroying gunships and the laser towers that shoot you from afar. 

Arc Thrower

Yet another weapon that has received some major nerfs, the Arc Thrower is once again a strong contender for being one of the better weapons of the Escalation of Freedom patch. It has massive damage output and stagger, being good for softening up enemy groups and slowing them down at the same time.

Now that it can consistently hit targets more often without randomly misfiring, you can never go wrong with this against Automatons or Terminids.

Heavy Machine Gun

Finally, yet another weapon that had its lethality toned down is the Heavy Machine Gun (HMG). This thing can pack a punch and destroy heavies easily, if you can control its recoil and quickly target down weak spots. It’s also a versatile weapon against all enemy types.

The only major drawback is the recoil and the need to reload in place. Other than that, this thing can shred big targets with ease.

These weapons aren’t meta-defining by any means. The game gets really tough as you climb up difficulties. If anything, this list has become more of a “what’s actually viable in the endgame” since more things get nerfed than buffed.

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