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Desperate to find out Helldivers 2's best gun? Stop being a nerd and just "use the one you like the most"

You heard Arrowhead’s CEO. Stop crunching numbers, you massive geeks.

A helldiver firing a gun as a ship files overhead in Helldivers 2.
Image credit: VG247/Arrowhead Game Studios.

What’s the best gun in Helldivers 2? Good news, you can stop desperately testing every hand-cannon the game has to offer, because Arrowhead CEO Johan Pilestedt has revealed that all of your efforts are actually pretty pointless.

Yep, no matter how keen you are to maximise your firepower the next time you jump into a battle as dangerous as those fought over Malevelon Creek and Mort earlier this week, don’t start comparing numbers with your mates. I repeat, DO NOT slam open a great big spreadsheet and start inputting things like damage values in a manner your maths teacher might be proud of, soldier!

Responding to a bunch of players across both Helldivers 2’s Reddit and Discord hives, Arrowhead CEO Johan Pilestedt has taken to Twitter to reveal that the best gun to use in the game is actually just “the one you like the most”.

Why? Well, basically it’s because there are more factors at play in terms of what actually makes a weapon in Helldivers 2 good than the three or four stats that’re actually displayed in-game. Yes, a video game might not be telling you the whole truth and sneakily hiding things from you, the player. You should definitely write to your local politician about this.

“In regards to [Helldivers 2’s] weapon stats,” Pilestedt explained, “So many of you use the four stats we show as comparison, while each gun has maybe 50 stats in total. The numbers are a guideline but [do] not paint a complete picture.” That’s right, like the tenets of the code in the Pirates of the Caribbean films, they’re just guidelines!

So, no more delving into the official Discord to tap a dev or community manager on the shoulder and cheekily ask what the meta is, or what the next balancing patch will do to your favourite rifle. No more Reddit threads where you argue that the shotgun you currently happen to have equipped is actually secretly the best one for tough missions, you swear, really, stop underestimating it folks, you’re missing out.

Just use the boomy stick that you think’s cool. Play based purely on vibes and regular shots of democracy roleplay injected straight into your frontal lobe.

Abandon stats, embrace fun.

Also, if you're thing about buying Helldivers 2 for the first time today via Steam, make sure you check that the game you're buying is actually, you know, Helldivers 2.

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