Puzzling out the best Helldivers 2 weapons is a trial-and-error process. While you have Stratagems that'll let you call down heavy weapons, there are also lots of primaries to pick from when sorting your character's loadout. As you progress through the game and gather Medals, you'll be able to unlock even more guns in the Warbond, including assault rifles, shotguns, and even energy weapons.

Some of these are really good, and some of them, well, they're not worth the effort or the Medals it'll cost you to claim them. Here I've laid out my rankings for the best weapons in Helldivers 2, though are few very late Warbond unlocks missing from this list such as the SG-8S Slugger, SG-225SP Breaker Spray&Pray, and the Plas 1 Scorcher. 

Though I'm on page seven of the Warbond, it requires hundreds and hundreds of Medals to claim these, by which time you will have made up your own mind about your favourite weapon anyway. I also haven't included the Premium Warbond weapons, since it doesn't seem fitting to rank them among those you don't have to pay extra for.

Helldivers 2 best weapons tier list

S-tier

AR-23P Liberator Penetrator

This assault rifle is the best primary weapon I've come across in Helldivers 2, and that's mainly due to its unique ability to pierce medium armour. Its clip might be a little on the lighter side, but it can shoot through just about any armoured bug. Save shooting a Charger in the face, it can pierce their leg armour, and it also has very good range.

P-19 Redeemer

Though there are only two base secondary weapons in the game, the best is undoubtedly the P-19 Redeemer. It doesn't hold many rounds, but it does so much burst damage that it's the perfect weapon to whip out when you're in a bad spot. Like the primary SMGs, it also makes an effective weapon for when you're carrying an objective in your other hand.

A-tier

R-63 Diligence and R-63 Diligence Counter Sniper

Considering you don't generally want enemies to get close to you in Helldivers 2, it makes sense that the marksman rifles would both be pretty strong. Of the two, my personal favourite is the Counter Sniper, which trades some of the basic version's ammo in exchange for superior stopping power. It also fires single rounds instead of a burst.

AR-23 Liberator

The standard Helldivers 2 assault rifle has exactly what you need—decent damage, range, and ammo capacity. It's not going to win any competitions for being the absolute best, but if you're looking for a reliable primary and don't like swapping weapons lots, it'll get the job done. If you switch to first-person aiming mode, it also has a scope with a handy targeting crosshair.

SG-225 Breaker

Why are shotguns one of the best precision weapons in the game? I couldn't tell you. While the SG-8 Punisher struggles in high-pressure situations because of its limited ammo and single slug reload, the SG-225 Breaker is perfect for them. This shotgun retains the weirdly long range of the other so you can pick off enemies, but since it reloads clips and fires full auto, you can let loose when you're getting mobbed.

SMG-37 Defender

The better of Helldivers 2's SMGs is so good because… well, it's more like an assault rifle. The SMG-37 Defender has better range, recoil, and a slower firing rate than its MP-98 cousin, but offers slightly higher damage than, say, your Liberator assault rifle. Due to that slow firing rate, it also doesn't eat through your ammo the way that the Knight does. If you're looking for a slightly more close-range focused weapon that still performs decently at mid-distance, you should try this out.

B-tier

MP-98 Knight

The MP-98 Knight has everything you'd expect from an SMG; high damage at close range, fast-fire rate, and little to no long-range accuracy. The problem is Helldivers 2 is the kind of game where you don't want to be close to enemies—if you are close to enemies, you should get away from them. A secondary like the P-19 Redeemer is all the SMG you need, i.e. it'll let you quickly blast everything that got too close so you can back away. Having a main weapon that only performs at close range necessitates a dangerous playstyle that'll get you killed lots on higher difficulties.

SG-8 Punisher

As mentioned above, the problem with the SG-8 Punisher is that it doesn't fulfil the role you want from a shotgun, i.e. hip-firing to blast enemies that are up close. Due to its weirdly precise damage cone, you often have to aim at close range if you don't want to shoot right past the enemy you're targeting. It also eats through its ammo very quickly and has a slow shot-by-shot reload. All in all, definitely the worst of the two shotguns.

P-2 Peacemaker

The standard Helldivers 2 sidearm is alright—certainly a lot better than the incredibly slow-loading revolver in the premium Warbond. However, it doesn't fulfil a focused role in the same way that the P-19 Redeemer does in getting you out of sticky situations. The P-2 Peacemaker is essentially a gun for finishing off an enemy coming at you when your primary is dry, and it does that just fine.

C-tier

LAS-5 Scythe 

This energy primary weapon is a confusing gun. The concept seems to be you trade lower damage for potentially unlimited ammo, provided you wait for it to cool down after you've fired the beam. The problem is this just doesn't work on mid-to-higher difficulties since you need to be firing lots in order to stay alive. And if you're not waiting for its cooldown, meaning you're reloading its heatsinks as you would with a magazine gun, what's the point? 

You may as well just bring a gun with actual bullets and decent damage rather than trying to play into the gimmick of this one. It's not like ammo is the biggest issue for primaries when you can find it in the world and Supply Packs exist.