Does Helldivers 2 have a ‘best’ armour? Let’s talk about that.
Helldivers 2 is a game about dying a lot. It’s about many other things, too, but dying a lot is core to its overall game loop. That means players very quickly begin thinking about survivability, and that leads to Google searches about the best armour in Helldivers 2 as players begin to look for an edge.
So, to help you out, I went hunting.
Helldivers 2: Best Armour for your first few hours
It’s pretty clear that Helldivers 2 has plans to release armour sets well into the future. Right now, however, the pickings are fairly slim. There’s some great sets already amongst the launch window armours — there just aren’t that many of them. There’s also currently no one-size-fits-all armour that is perfect for every mission or playstyle, so I’ve tried to break those out where I can.
All of the games’ armour sets are divided into three categories: Armour, Helmet and Cape. New Armour can be purchased from either the Acquisition Centre using Warbonds earned through play, or from the Superstore using Super Credits bought with real money. The Superstore sets are available for 48 hours and have so far been pretty cheap to buy.
Each set of armour is filed into one of three weight categories — light, medium and heavy. Again, so far, there’s no hard consensus on which is best overall — it’s more a calculation of how important stamina will be on-mission. The best practice for now is to scope out your upcoming mission and switch up your armour as required. For missions with heavy resistance that require bunkering down and little running around, don heavy armour. For combat-light missions that require you to cover a lot of ground quickly, then light armour is the go. For everything else, there’s medium armour.
Many armour sets available in the game come with certain status buffs. I’ve seen this advice repeated a lot around the traps, but I still recommend it: The best Helldivers 2 armour for players who are just getting started is anything with either the Democracy Protects or Med-Kit armour passives. Both of these traits are extremely useful early on. Democracy Protects does exactly what it says on the tin, and gives you a 50% chance of surviving lethal damage. I can’t stress enough how unbelievably good it is to have that trait while you get your feet wet, and it will keep you going until you finally unlock boosters that will do a similar job. Med-Kit’s utility is very simple — it grants you two free, extra med stims. That’s just good early-game value. Two extra stims for the low, low price of Free Ninty Nine.
Those of you who preordered Helldivers 2 will have been granted some special armour sets for doing so. The TR-9 Cavalier of Democracy, TR-7 Ambassador of the Brand, and TR-62 Knight sets are all classed as medium weight. Those who picked up the Super Citizen Edition (basically the digital deluxe edition) get the DP-53 Saviour of the Free set. It also falls into the medium-weight class. Of these sets, the TR-9 Cavalier of Democracy and the DP-53 Saviour of the Free sets both have the Democracy Protects passive.
Best Armour Against Terminids
I’ve seen people saying that the Terminids, the bug enemies, are nowhere near as tough to deal with as the Automaton robot enemies. This is bulldust. Anyone who’s gotten up into the higher difficulty levels will tell you that the bugs are an overwhelming force to be reckoned with. Broadly, you’re better off taking medium armour against the bugs. This is because it provides a little protection without taxing your stamina too much if you need to run like hell. Most bug missions have you blowing up nests or wiping out eggs, in addition to fending off hordes of the bastards en route. As such, packing as much extra ammo and ordinance is useful on any given day. That means, you should keep your eye out for the Engineering Kit perk, which right now feels like the most powerful passive for facing bug foes.
Engineering Kit increases your starting inventory and grenade cap by 2, and it reduces weapon recoil by 30%. Ridiculous, I agree. Taking armour with this passive will put you in good stead for clearing out bug dens and larger mobs with grenades. The real value, though, is it helps give close-range mobs a more reliable pray-and-spray, which would be valuable on its own.
Right now, the CE-35 Trench Engineer armour is the most reliable way to get the Engineering Kit perk. You can find it on Page 3 of the Warbonds progression screen. Unlocking it costs 10 Medals.
Best Armour Against Automatons
If your squad is battling against the bots and having real trouble, don’t worry, you aren’t the only ones. Automaton enemies live by the creed “incoming fire has right of way”. They will rain fire down upon you, rarely giving you a moment to send anything back. As a result, dressing your Helldivers 2 character in heavy armour is your best bet. Any sets with the Extra Padding or Fortified passives will be ideal.
Extra Padding applies a boost to your overall armour rating, which in turn increases your overall survivability. It isn’t much, but it could mean the difference between getting your Helldiver to safety long enough to jam a stim in their neck and not.
Fortified, on the other hand, reduces the recoil on your weapons by 30% when crouched or prone. It also applies 50% extra protection against explosions, which rocks. Because the Automatons never stop firing, you’ll probably find yourself crouched behind cover more often than not. If you’re wearing an armour set with the Fortified passive, that will play right into your hands. This is doubly true if you’re using the Autocannon or Anti-Material Rifle Stratagems and plan to take the bots out from a safe distance.
Right now, the B-01 Tactical Armour (aka your starting amour) comes with the Extra Padding perk and, therefore, makes for a good start. It’s also recommended that you make the most of exploring every level and racking up Super Credits found in-world. You never know when an armour with this passive will drop in the Superstore.
There you have it, a quick guide to some of the best armour in Helldivers 2 right now. As things stand, it’s about what your armour grants you as a passive more than anything else. That meta will evolve as the game continues to grow and change over time. What’s your favourite armour so far? Get in the comments and help your fellow Helldivers spread managed democracy across the galaxy.
Helldivers 2 is out now on PS5 and Steam.
For more on Helldivers 2, don’t forget to check out our hub of Managed Democracy right over here.
Image: Arrowhead Game Studios, Kotaku Australia
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