Criterion
I've added a conclusion part (Top Guns) at the end of this essay, if you hate reading feel free to jump to it.
In this guide I will value guns based on 3 aspects below:
vs Scout (S for short): The enemies before alarm sounded, for example for cyborg missions they are Initiates, Squad Leader Soldiers, and Hounds (IFVs are an exception since no primary weapon works on them). This aspect evaluates how a gun can mute alarm, which is primarily useful for solo.
vs Troop (TR for short): The enemies after alarm sounded to which primary weapons can deal damage. In bug missions this mainly refers to Warriors and Elites. This aspect evaluates how a gun is useful on enemy majority, which is primarily useful for multi-player game.
Other (O for short): Special usage or deadly weakness.
For the first two aspects, I'll give a gun 0~4 scores based on the following rules:
4: Best guns for this task, no matter the pressure
3: Easy for this task when the situation is under control
2: Capable for this task if infinite time is given or at low pressure situations, the passing score
1: Only possible in special situations or special skill is required
0: Impossible in theory
The "other" part gives me the freedom to adjust the score of a gun when it has special usage or weakness. Only several guns have this score, and will be discussed at each specific situation.(based on my mood but I'll try to make it consistent)
Total score (TS for short) of a gun is calculated as: TS = 2S + TR + O. This is based on my strategy. In normal missions I mainly use my primary gun to mute scouts, so scout killing ability is what I value the most. If you think the mid-armored is more important you can feel free to adjust the factors and get your own total scores and ranking.
AR Series
AR-19 'Liberator'
Races Total Score Scout Troop Others Bug 9.0 4 1 0 Cyborg 2.0 0 2 0 Illuminate 3.0 1 1 0
vs Bug:
As every player's initiate gun, Liberator is generally good in bug missions. Its insufficient damage against stalkers will be a problem in solo, but won't be a problem in multi-player game. I've carried Liberator into bug difficulty 12 match rooms countless times, and often got a total kill several times as much as others. If you just begin the game, think the other two races are too difficult and decide to focus on Bugs, then Liberator is worth your research points. But for difficulty 13 ~ 15 its insufficient damage against stalkers will be quite lethal, and you may choose Patriot instead.
But this is based on that you won't handle Elites or even Brood Commanders with its round. If you are not accustomed to a gun that's only capable of killing scouts, just like most starters, then Liberator is not your dish because it's really useless after alarm.
vs Illuminate and Cyborg:
On the other hand, its too low damage makes Liberator almost completely useless in Cyborg and Illuminate missions. The in-game description saying it's capable of most threats is indeed describing Justice and Sickle instead.
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AR-22C 'Patriot'
Races Total Score Scout Troop Others Bug 10.0 4 2 0 Cyborg 8.0 3 2 0 Illuminate 8.0 3 2 0
Patriot is one of the two most powerful guns for bug missions (the other one is Sickle). Its superior rate of fire makes you quite easy to mute the alarm, and for illuminate missions Patriot will be a good Watcher killer. When the host chooses to challenge a difficulty 15 bug or cyborg mission Patriot will be my choice. This gun is definitely worth your points.
It's a better version of Liberator, but shares the same flaw: useless after alarm. Although it's a superior gun in my hand, I don't think it's good if you are not accustomed to a gun that's only capable of handling scouts.
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AR-20L 'Justice'
Races Total Score Scout Troop Others Bug 10.0 3 4 0 Cyborg 12.0 3 4 2, for works on butchers Illuminate 9.0 3 3 0
Some may say Justice is the best gun in the whole game. Its unstoppable property makes it a mid-armor killer in bug and cyborg missions. If you lack research point, want one gun for all situations and never change anymore, consider Justice as your choice.
But Justice requires precision, if you are a joystick beginner and can't shoot precisely, choose something with higher rate of fire instead.
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AR-14D 'Paragon'
Races Total Score Scout Troop Others Bug 12.0 4 4 0, 2 for slowing commanders, -2 for huge ammo consumption Cyborg 12.0 4 4 0, 2 for slowing butchers, -2 for huge ammo consumption Illuminate 8.0 3 4 -2, huge ammo consumption
There are two themes talking about Paragon: Burst Fire and Control.
Paragon can deal a superior burst damage, it can fire as fast as you press the trigger, thus it's a very efficient tool for killing mid-armors. Besides, its toxic slowing upgrade makes Paragon one of the few that can save you from a charging brood commander's claw.
Seems perfect? However, unfortunately Paragon's magazine is designed to be too small, thus it consumes tons of ammunition and needs reload quite frequently. Choosing Paragon often means you will also have to choose from taking an additional ammo, taking a resupply backpack, or taking stratagem priority as your skill.
But this is not a problem when it comes to boss fights. Paragon is the standard choice versus bug boss, and works perfectly.
MG Series
MG-105 'Stalwart'
Races Total Score Scout Troop Others Bug 6.0 2 2 0 Cyborg 5.0 2 2 -1, too long reload time Illuminate 6.0 2 2 0
Pros:
If you are a joystick starter and precision is distant from you, do try Stalwart. And if you want a versatile gun like Justice but haven't unlocked Justice yet, then Stalwart can be a good substitution.
Cons:
Stalwart has a wide initial spread, which is a lethal flaw for scout killing (especially for Illuminate) where accuracy is of vital importance. The initial spread can also be a threat for your teammates.
As for countering mid-armors, even its heavier version is not as good as those AOE ones, but enough to protect yourself in multi-player game. In Illuminate missions it's able to handle about 5 heavy tripods, but when there is more you should turn to your grenade or stratagem. Although this gun can protect you from outcasts, it's a little slow to kill them all, which will be an obstacle for you to turn to handle consequently spawned Council Member.
The long reloading time is a problem in Cyborg missions - when chased by hounds and your magazine gets empty, the situation will become quite awkward. For bug missions, before shooting Elites make sure there's enough ammo left in your magazine, and don't try to handle Brood Commanders with this gun, thus you can conquer this flaw.
Conclusion:
In my opinion, Stalwart is a mediocre gun. I've seen some guides and many players think it's good. This gun is quite controversial so I've executed quite many tests. For both countering scouts and enemy troops this gun is "not great but also not bad", so I'll use the word "mediocre" to describe it.
SG Series
SG-225 'Breaker'
Races Total Score Scout Troop Others Bug 5.0 3 0 -1, for a little lack of ammo Cyborg 17.0 4 4 5, 6 for annihilating a whole butcher horde using only one magazine, -1 for a little lack of ammo Illuminate 11.0 4 2 1, -1 for a little lack of ammo, 2 as a bonus for its scout killing ability
vs Cyborg:
The ultimate cyborg killer gun. Choose Breaker, choose the easy mode. And it's also my choice for cyborg RS no matter the difficulty. The magic is that Breaker is the only gun that kills butcher horde fast and economically.
vs Illuminate:
Shares some features with the ultimate illuminate killer gun Punisher. Breaker can kill Watchers with only one shot.
As for countering illuminate troops, it has two opposite and extreme performances: it's a killer gun vs outcasts and apprentices but is a complete trash vs tripods. So it's recommended to take Obliterator as well to counter tripods when you carry Breaker into battle field. Considering enemy troop majority is made of tripods so I gave Breaker 2 scores for this part, but you should remember that's not Breaker's duty after all.
Another advantage over Punisher is that Breaker can kill a single Obelisk very fast.
vs Bug:
Might be ok vs scout, I gave it 3 scores because its range is a little short.
Conclusion:
Breaker is definitely worth your points.
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SG-8 'Punisher'
Races Total Score Scout Troop Others Bug 0.0 0 0 0 Cyborg 0.0 0 0 0 Illuminate 13.0 4 1 4, as a bonus of its Watcher killing ability.
vs Illuminate:
It's categorized into shotgun but is indeed a sniping rifle. Multiple rounds makes it able to break through a Watcher's shield and then kill it within just one shot. Punisher is the most powerful Illuminate scout gun and at most time it will be my choice. But beware I also carry Obliterator to do what Punisher can't. If you seek a gun powerful on both scout and troops choose Scorcher instead.
vs other races:
However, in the other two race of missions, it's insane to use this gun. As a sniper it lacks the most important AP property.
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DBS-2 'Double Freedom'
Races Total Score Scout Troop Others Bug 7.0 2.5 3 -1, -1 for shoot-and-reload, -2 for short range, 2 for one-handed Cyborg 6.0 2 3 -1, -1 for shoot-and-reload, -2 for short range, 2 for one-handed Illuminate 10.0 2.5 3 2, 3 for instantly destroying an obelisk with a close shot, -1 for shoot-and-reload, -2 for short range, 2 for one-handed
If you really really need a one handed primary weapon, that's Double Freedom.
Its widest spread is a double-edged sword, while dealing massive damage to multiple enemies it's also a great threat for you teammates. If you are a beginner and can't move your finger away from the trigger, you shouldn't consider this gun.
Double Freedom's shoot-and-reload mechanics makes it not efficient when dealing massive enemies. This is especially obvious in solo. It can only be a perfect gun when pressure is low.
Generally speaking, Double Freedom doesn't have much sense of presence, you can safely ignore it until you have enough research points to waste, or if you are desperate for a practical one-handed primary weapon.
I haven't used it much so if you have any suggestions I'll be grateful if you can tell me.
SMG Series
Notice: all SMGs have a basic O score: 0, -2 for short range, 2 for one-handed. Won't be mentioned repeatedly below
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SMG-45 'Defender'
Races Total Score Scout Troop Others Bug 3.0 1 0 1 for stunning one commander Cyborg 1.0 0 0 1 for stunning one butcher. Illuminate 0.0 0 0 0
Defender's too low damage makes it even weaker than fully upgraded default pistol. It's recommended only for under difficulty 6.
The only reason I can think of why it exists is perhaps playing as a walking advertisement for better DLC SMGs.
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MP-98 'Knight SMG'
Races Total Score Scout Troop Others Bug 9.0 4 0 1, for stunning one commander. Cyborg 4.0 0 3 1, 1 for stunning one butcher. Illuminate 0.0 0 0 0
Well, I tried to solo a normal bug 12 mission using Knight, and it was surprisingly easy. High rate of fire makes it a reaper of scouts, and it kills stalkers almost instantly. But when alarm is triggered, you'll need grenade and static field to handle Elites.
In difficulty 12 bug scouts will jump to you and then try to sound an alarm, thus its short range is not a problem for solo. However, for multi-player games, for the other two races, and even for lower difficulties, it is.
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SMG-34 'Ninja'
Races Total Score Scout Troop Others Bug 8.0 3 2 0 Cyborg 3.0 0 3 0 Illuminate 2.0 0 2 0
Compared to Knight, Ninja sacrificed mini-stun and rate of fire, and got AP round in return, thus it's a little better when coping with mid-armors. However, its damage is still quite awkward. What's worse, lower rate of fire makes it not as efficient as Knight when handling Stalkers, so I don't recommend you guys use this gun instead of Knight.
Sniping Rifle Series
LHO-63 'Camper'
Races Total Score Scout Troop Others Bug 3.0 0 3 0 Cyborg 7.0 2 3 0 Illuminate 7.0 2 3 0
This gun has the most "sense of sniping rifle". If you love the feeling of playing a sniper, then this gun is your choice.
But you should admit the whole sniping rifle series is quite weak in Helldivers. Low rate of fire makes sniping rifles not even possible to mute alarm. What's worse, the most threatening enemies are heavy armored while your primary weapons can't deal any damage to them. When I was a rookie after passing the tutorial I also chose this gun as my beginning, but I soon gave up after I found it's really weak.
Generally speaking, Camper is a lighter version of Dum-dum, an ok toy for veterans who want to practice melee-aim or want a challenge. If you are to win the game please choose something else.
And its performance is a disaster for joystick players
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RX-1 Rail Gun
Races Total Score Scout Troop Others Bug 9.0 0 4 5, 6 for stuns behemoths and impalers, and massively stuns commanders, -1 for insufficient ammo. Cyborg 10.0 1 4 4, 3 for works on butcher horde, 2 for stuns warlords, -1 for insufficient ammo. Illuminate 0.0 0 1 -1, for insufficient ammo.
Rail gun is a tactical weapon in this game, an excellent support tool for its powerful situation controlling ability. Rail gun can force impalers to retrieve their tentacles, stop a charging behemoth, and stop a firing warlord. Besides, its unstoppable property also makes it a superior damage dealer against mid-armors.
One thing you should remember: just like the problem all sniping rifles have, it's not suitable for handling scouts, especially bug scouts. When you carry rail gun into Kepler Prime, you may consider using pistol on them instead.
Rail gun is the standard solution for 11~15 bug RS. Some veterans also carry it to execute difficulty 15 cyborg mission.
Because Illuminates' shield blocks its round, rail gun is a trash in Illuminate missions. I gave it 1 point at the troop part just in order not to make its total score a negative value.
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M2016 'Constitution'
Races Total Score Scout Troop Others Bug 2.0 0 2 0 Cyborg 4.0 1 2 0 Illuminate 1.0 0 1 0
Some veterans' favorite toy for having the longest bayonet, suitable for those who want to acquire Cyberstan Blademaster Certificate. And it's the cheapest gun in the whole game, with just one research point it can be fully upgraded: attaching its soul, a bayonet. This gun is prepared for veterans who's thirsty for challenge and can be safely ignored by beginners.
Grenade Launcher Series
CR-9 'Suppressor'
Races Total Score Scout Troop Others Bug 6.0 2 3 -1, for not able to handle melee-range enemies quickly enough. Cyborg 12.0 4 4 0 Illuminate 9.0 3 3 0
vs Cyborg:
The perfect gun on paper vs cyborg. A bayonet makes veterans no longer worry about the suicide problem if he stabs every hound. It's grenade mechanics is perfect for cyborg patrol squad. When there is a Suppressor user in squad it's almost impossible to trigger alarm if you don't encounter an IFV.
But in practice even a Suppressor expert can sometimes suicide.
Compared to Breaker, this gun has a safer reloading time, much more sufficient ammo, a longer range, far harder difficulty of using, and loses the ability of handling butcher horde. It's suitable for confident helldivers.
Just remember one sentence: don't suicide.
vs other races:
Well, compared to its cyborg performance, as a scout gun Suppressor is not that good vs the other races. The biggest problem for bug is it needs 3 shots to kill a Stalker, which is really slow. And though I haven't tested, this gun should be not able to pierce Illuminates' shield.
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PLAS-1 'Scorcher'
Races Total Score Scout Troop Others Bug 8.0 3 4 -2, for not able to handle melee-range enemies quickly enough. Cyborg 8.0 4 4 -4, for unable to handle hounds Illuminate 12.0 4 4 0, 3 for stops shield regeneration, -3 for unable to handle outcasts
Compared to Suppressor, this gun loses bayonet, therefore in cyborg missions hounds can be a deadly threat for Scorcher users. If you really want to carry Scorcher into cyborg missions, take a bubble shield as well. BTW, it's the only primary weapon that can kill Legionnaire from front, but can't stop them from alarming.
The true battlefield for Scorcher lies in Illuminate missions. It's perfect for both Watchers and Tripods. But a lower ballistic velocity makes it hard for you to steal head from a Punisher user, and the long reloading time makes you vulnerable after you cleared your current magazine.
But it can't handle outcasts that's already close to you, you'll have to switch to pistol instead. So when you decide to use Scorcher, don't take the pistol substitution skill PLAS-3 'Singe'. At your backpack slot anything else can't protect you from outcasts but a bubble shield does. In general Scorcher is one of the best guns vs Illuminate.
Due to the lack of a bayonet, I think bubble shield is a fixed partner gear for this gun.
Although it shares the same range with Suppressor on paper, I feel Scorcher is a little shorter. If someone knows the exact value tell me please.
Laser Series
All laser guns have a basic O score of 3 for consuming no ammo. Won't be mentioned repeatedly below
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LAS-5 'Scythe'
Races Total Score Scout Troop Others Bug 3.0 1 2 -1, -4 for too low damage Cyborg 1.0 0 2 -1, -4 for too low damage. Illuminate 1.0 0 2 -1, -4 for too low damage
As the only free laser gun, scythe has a too low damage. In cyborg missions when you spotted some hounds charging towards you, scythe can't even protect you from them.
What's worse, its low turning speed, or aiming speed makes only veterans who have mastered melee-aim can use it well. But even if you know such skill you can't mute the alarm because of its low damage.
Like Defender, this gun is completely a trash due to value problem. Do not waste your research point on it. If you like the idea of "continuous laser suppression", use Laser Cannon in support weapon instead. I think this gun serves only for the purpose of luring you guys to buy the other DLC laser guns.
Update: for joystick players:
If you think precision is distant from you, then Scythe will be good. You can get rid of laser-aim because its beam is already a laser-aim. If you can't aim for the center of enemies, most guns, such as Sickle, will lose a lot of damage and make them even worse than Scythe. In such condition Scythe becomes a giant compared to the other dwarves.
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LAS-16 'Sickle'
Races Total Score Scout Troop Others Bug 14.0 4 3 3 Cyborg 12.0 3 3 3 Illuminate 12.0 3 3 3
The laser edition auto rifle, or the laser version Justice. Consuming no ammo means you won't be vulnerable when reloading anymore. I don't think I need to explain too much, it's OP. But it requires precision.
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LAS-12 'Tanto'
Races Total Score Scout Troop Others Bug 8.0 2 3 1, -2 for short range Cyborg 7.0 0 3 4, -2 for short range, 3 for able to kill warlord Illuminate 4.0 0 3 1, -2 for short range
This gun is just like Sickle, but as an SMG its short range limited its usage. The best application for this gun is cyborg RS, where you can burn through warlords with it for emergency.
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LAS-13 'Trident'
Races Total Score Scout Troop Others Bug 12.0 3 3 3 Cyborg 10.0 2 3 3 Illuminate 10.0 2 3 3
The starters' favorite gun, such a high score explains why. To be honest Trident is very powerful, but the noobs who didn't know cease fire when ally is in range produced too many TKs and made Trident infamous. When I don't want to take any ammo, I'll often choose one between Trident and Sickle. And it's the standard solution for cyborg boss solo.
One true problem is its bad reputation. Some hosts may kick you instantly once he find you carried Trident dropping into battlefield, or you prepare to use it on the ship.
I beg you guys don't add any more bricks to its incorrigible reputation. When you are using this gun, remember you are not a turret, but a helldiver with legs. Before you pull trigger, please move to the position where you can't shoot your allies, and make sure after killing the enemy you won't hit any teammate behind it. And please don't even consider it if you can't move your finger away from the trigger
Arc Series
AC-3 Arc Thrower
Races Total Score Scout Troop Others Bug 10.0 3 4 0 Cyborg 4.0 0 4 0 Illuminate 0.0 0 0 0
A good gun vs bug. The essence of AC3 lies in its minimum charge, not the maximum. With a minimum charge its lighting chain can kill 2 scouts at one time, and a little more charge can kill a whole bug scout group. When you are handling Elites, one minimum charge + one maximum charge can kill a horde of them, no matter how many they are. The only flaw of this gun is that it's really inefficient against Stalkers. Besides, it's easy to TK for beginners.
As for cyborgs... Come on, you can't even protect yourself from hounds with it. This flaw makes AC3 completely a trash vs Cyborg. If you really wanna try, like Scorcher take a bubble shield as well. And for illuminates, shield can protect Watchers to safely trigger alarm, and then you can't protect yourself from the blade of outcasts.
In a nutshell, AC3 is a good toy vs bugs, and trash vs the other two races.
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AC-5 Arc Shotgun
Races Total Score Scout Troop Others Bug 4.0 0 4 0 Cyborg 3.0 0 3 0 Illuminate 7.0 0 4 3, 4 as a bonus for its unique tripod killing ability, -1 for hard to protect the user from outcasts
As an extreme gun designed to counter mid-armored enemies, AC5 is extraordinary in RS, especially in illuminate RS. A helldiver equipped with SH-32 Directional Kinetic Shield, MD-99 Autoinjector and AC5 can be the ultimate tripod crusher.
AC5 is one of the best guns for illuminate RS, and bug RS whose difficulty is not greater than 10, where the majority of enemy is Elites, instead of Brood Commanders.
Major flaw: quite vulnerable before outcasts, which is lethal for solo. In multi-player game your teammate can protect you.
And don't consider it if your finger is glued to the trigger. A noob with it is Thanatos for your teammate.
Sidearms
Attention: The 4 pistols don't share much similarity so I won't score them, I'll just write their major usages so you can get familiar with them faster.
All the 3 pistol substitution skills are included in the pistol DLC pack. They are for veterans, if you just started and have only bought the basic game, I don't recommend you buy and use them until you get more familiar with this game.
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P-2 'Peacemaker'
Major Usage: Life Savior
When you are downed, this thing can save your life - kill the enemies that can execute you and then try to get up. For example, cyborg hounds. All the other 3 pistol substitutions don't have this function because they share a long reloading time, which will give your enemy enough time to execute you. I've reset my rank some times and I feel the default pistol is definitely worth your research point, this little guy can truly save your life in even low difficulty missions, especially cyborg missions.
Another usage not that common has been taught in tutorial by that robot - when one of your allies or the survivors you are escorting is fighting/attacked with/by enemy in melee distance, switch to P-2 in order not to make TK.
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P-6 'Gunslinger'
Major Usage: Threatening Target Annihilator
A.K.A The Revolver. The feature of this pistol is: how fast you pull the trigger, how fast it can shoot. Plus its high damage, revolver can be used to handle a single one of some the most threatening targets by clearing the magazine within a moment and pouring death onto the target's head. In this meaning revolver is a pistol version Rumbler.
For Illuminate, they are: an Illusionist, an Obelisk, or a Council Member without its shield (But a shielded Council Member still can be quickly killed by just 2 magazine of rounds).
For bug missions, this mainly refers to Brood Commander. In low difficulties Brood Commander is spawned in the form of: 1 Brood Commander + 2 Elites. Choosing to use revolver can not only be fast, but also save the ammo of your anti-tank. In higher difficulties where Brood Commanders don't show up lonely, There are still some scenes you can find revolver useful.
For example, all Brood Commanders are trapped in a static field, but one of your teammates is caught up by one of them, and knocked down just before it. To save him you must kill that Brood Commander, but you can't use or it's hard to use anti-tank because it's easy to kill your teammate as well. In such situation revolver is one of the few solutions.
For cyborg missions, in revolver's one magazine damage range there are: a Hulk, and a Butcher (//TODO: butcher is not very sure). So it's quite useful to save your downed ally by killing the hulk that is heading towards him quickly with revolver. And in cyborg lv5 the only heavy enemy is hulk, which is spawned one by one, so primary weapon + 4 ammos + revolver can be the best cyborg lv5 solution.
Besides, revolver does hurt Warlord, to kill a full HP Warlord it needs around 3 magazines, so you can use revolver for emergent situation (e.g. when you lost your anti-tank and prepare to retrieve it).
When it's emergent, revolver can also be used on mid-armored enemies, especially if you chose a 4-score vs scout gun whose vs troop score is 0~2.
The Major Flaw
Long reloading time means this pistol can't save yourself when you are knocked down, so it suits only confident veterans.
And it occupies the skill slot, if you don't know how to melee-run you'd better choose Cardio Accelerator instead to match your teammates' marching pace.
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PLAS-3 'Singe'
Major Usage: Self-Defense When Soloing Black-Box-Type Mission
The direct damage of its projectile is even higher than its heavier version, Scorcher. Singe can kill Illuminate Hunter with one shot directly, while Scorcher depends on the burning damage which is slow. Both of them can kill Watcher with shield using just one shot, but singe can be used one-handedly.
When there are quite many black-box-type missions on the map I'll consider replacing revolver with Singe. And when using strange primary weapons, like Rail Gun in normal mission (instead of RS), which is prone to a support weapon instead of a primary one, I'll consider Singe to mend the lost primary weapon function.
The flaw of this pistol is even more serious - compared to revolver it loses an extra feature, you can't use it in dogfight because it's AOE which will hurt your teammate as well.
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FLAM-24 'Pyro'
Major Usage: Cosplay (Completely Trash)
Even worse after it's buffed. Now Pyro can ignite the ground, and ignite yourself as well. Its low damage makes it quite ridiculous when you prepare to burn your enemies into barbeque, and the ground flame is still quite efficient to kill yourself.
Top Guns
Top 5 Bug guns:
LAS-16 'Sickle', 14.0
LAS-13 'Trident', 12.0
AR-14D 'Paragon', 12.0
AC-3 Arc Thrower, 10.0
AR-20L 'Justice', 10.0Top 5 Cyborg guns:
SG-225 'Breaker', 17.0
LAS-16 'Sickle', 12.0
CR-9 'Suppressor', 12.0
AR-14D 'Paragon', 12.0
AR-20L 'Justice', 12.0Top 5 Illuminate guns:
SG-8 'Punisher', 13.0
LAS-16 'Sickle', 12.0
PLAS-1 'Scorcher', 12.0
SG-225 'Breaker', 11.0
LAS-13 'Trident', 10.0Top 5 Average guns:
LAS-16 'Sickle', 12.7
SG-225 'Breaker', 11.0
LAS-13 'Trident', 10.7
AR-14D 'Paragon', 10.7
AR-20L 'Justice', 10.3
Emmmm...., I wrote a program to calculate this ranking so that must be true. It used to be top 3 but I found Justice is not on the average board so I changed to top 5.
As for myself, in bug missions I favor Patriot; in illuminate missions I like Punisher; and for cyborg missions the ranking is right, Breaker or Suppressor will be my choice.
As for RS: Cyborg will still be Breaker, there is no problem; for illuminate I'll choose Paragon for solo and AC5 for multiplayer; for bug lv1~10 I'll use AC5 where the enemy majority is Warrior or Elite and Rail Gun for lv11~15.
Postscript: Update Log And Future Plan
2019.11.22:
Improved readability by converting score list to table, and inserted gun images
Added the "Top Gun" Section
Greatly lifted Breaker's score vs Illuminate
Added guide for joystick players who don't shoot precisely
Other small tweaks2019.11.23:
Removed the Stalwart's -1 score of the reason "long reloading time" vs illuminate: you can run much faster than outcasts. But I think this -1 score for cyborg shall be preserved.
Increased Stalwart's scout score from 1 to 2
Decreased Stalwart's troop score from 2 to 1: it's almost useless vs tripod horde, and it's hard to hit and kill an outcast. But it's not a completely trash like Punisher because it's still very efficient versus one single tripod.
The total score for Stalwart vs Illuminate is increased by 2.0, I've soloed a few rounds of Illuminate lv12 with 0 death carrying Stalwart. But I think what's op is Obliterator and the revolver.2019.11.24:
Increased Stalwart's vs Illuminate troop score by 1: perhaps it's not that bad.
The negative score of Scorcher for "unable to handle outcasts" is increased from -1 to -3: I underestimated how severe it is.
As a result on the Illuminate board Scorcher dropped from No.1 to the 3rd place.
I think I underestimated Stalwart's performance vs Bug scout, I was used to AR and not to a large magazine gun, this score might be increased after I tested it carefully with new strategy when Super Earth declares war on Bugs the next campaign.2019.12.8:
Added a sidearm section.Future plans:
Adjust cyborg 12.0 points guns
Add "how to unlock" part
Test more about Stalwart
Test more about Suppressor's performance vs Illuminate
Construct an algorithm to lift Justice to Average board no.1
No more update, AH's attitude towards cheaters make me decide not to play their game any longer.
Source: https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1892610630
More HELLDIVERS guilds
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- HELLDIVERS Guide 10
- Guide 9
- HELLDIVERS Guide 8
- HELLDIVERS: Lone Wolf Solo Guide
- Helliquette - a gentleman's guide to the galaxy
- Super Earth HELLDIVER Covert Operation Manual [a.k.a How to Solo a Helldive Planet]
- "Should I buy this DLC" Guide
- HELLDIVERS - Mission Planning Guide
- HELLDIVERS - How to Use Distractor Beacon