How many stratagems can I bring?

Four slots per mission. The baseline is one from each role — anti-armor, crowd control, defense, support. A four-player squad ideally splits roles cleanly with no duplicates, which dramatically expands the team's options.

Best stratagems for beginners?

The GR-8 Recoilless Rifle (Lv5, anti-armor), HMG Emplacement (Lv10, defense), and Eagle Strafing Run (early, AoE) are the safe staples. Versatile from early to endgame — center your first loadouts around these three.

Do I really need to swap per faction?

Yes. Bugs need fire and AoE, bots need laser and anti-armor, Illuminate prefer energy weapons and support. The same loadout that crushes one faction will struggle against another — the 30-second swap before deployment is a huge upgrade.

Any tips for squad composition?

Split roles fully. Example — A runs anti-armor (Recoilless), B runs AoE (Eagle), C runs defense (HMG / turret), D runs support (resupply / shield). Duplicate loadouts cut the squad's options in half and waste cooldowns.

Helldivers 2 Stratagems｜Anti-Armor, AoE, Defense, and Support Picks

Stratagem Basics

You deploy with four stratagem slots per mission. Over 78 stratagems exist, but role-based thinking is what turns a chaotic loadout into a functional one.

Role	Purpose	Representative Picks
Anti-armor	Heavy units and armored elites	Recoilless Rifle, Spear
Crowd control	Clearing large groups	Eagle Strike, Orbital Barrage
Defense	Static defense and turrets	HMG Emplacement, Machine Gun Turret
Support	Healing, resupply, shields	Supply Pack, Shield Generator

Recommended Stratagems

GR-8 Recoilless Rifle (anti-armor) Reliable anti-tank tool from early to endgame. Highly versatile Eagle Strafing Run (AoE) Short cooldown AoE. Crushes groups

HMG Emplacement (defense) Wipes mid-tier enemies. Backbone of static defense Orbital Precision Strike (pinpoint) Drops bosses and armor with surgical accuracy Shield Generator (support) Sustained defensive bubble. Big survival uplift

Squad Composition

1

1 player — Anti-armor

Recoilless or Spear. The squad's heavy-target damage dealer.
2

1 player — AoE

Eagle Strike or Orbital Barrage to clear groups.
3

1 player — Defense and turrets

Emplacement and turrets for objective and extraction holds.
4

1 player — Support and healing

Shield, resupply, and healing keep the squad in the fight longer.

Avoid duplicate roles. Two players running the same role means the squad has no answer for the role you skipped. Coordinate over chat or voice before deployment — even one minute of planning helps enormously.

Adjust by Faction

The best picks shift per faction. Three-faction weaknesses and counter loadouts are in the Faction Guide, and the basic controls plus stratagem inputs are in the Beginner Guide.

★Honest Take: Splitting Roles Changes Everything

Honestly, Helldivers 2 jumps a full tier the moment your four-player squad commits to four distinct roles. Even in a random matchmaking lobby, eyeballing the others' loadouts and filling the missing role wins more games than any individual skill would. Squad-level optimization is the soul of this game, and it's where the genuinely great moments come from.