Highlights
- Choose armor perks wisely in Helldivers 2 for specific playstyles. Versatility is key to surviving battles effectively.
- Democracy Protects perk offers a 50% chance to survive lethal damage but may not be as consistent as other perks.
- Scout perk is great for stealthy players, while perks like Extra Padding offer simple but effective survivability boosts.
Surviving the tyrannical enemies of democracy in Helldivers 2 involves more than smart positioning. When push comes to shove, the armor a Helldiver is wearing will often determine if they survive or not.
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Armor perks are usually the deciding factor when it comes to choosing what suit to wear before diving. While the Armor Rating system in Helldivers 2 is the one that dictates a suit's general defensive effectiveness, perks grant additional benefits that augment certain playstyles. The following list includes all the armor perks in the game, ranked according to their versatility. All perks have their uses — the ones at the bottom are niche picks with very novel or specific goals, while the ones at the top are general-use perks that are effective regardless of what mission they're brought to.
As of writing, there are only eight armor perks in Helldivers 2 . This list will be updated to include new ones that may be added in future Warbonds.
8 Electrical Conduit
Electrician In The Field
- Reduces incoming arc damage by 95%
The Electrical Conduit perk came as part of the Cutting Edge Premium Warbond in Helldivers 2, and it offers a very specific bonus: it makes players almost immune to damage from lightning-based weapons. Arc Throwers, which are notorious for vaporizing teammates in friendly fire incidents, will deal very little damage to anyone wearing armor that has this perk.
While 95% arc damage resistance is great, admittedly, it's not that useful unless players are using arc weapons or tesla towers. Electrical Conduit isn't useless by any means, but since its use case is so specific, it deserves a spot here at the bottom of this list, where all niche armor perks will reside.
7 Democracy Protects
No Health, No Limbs, No Problem
- Gain a 50% chance to survive lethal damage. Prevents all bleeding damage if the chest is injured.
This armor perk is a literal lifesaver. It protects players from any form of lethal damage, whether it's a 500KG Bomb, a direct hit from an Automaton Cannon, or a random meteor strike from the heavens above. When Democracy Protects will leave its wearer with a sliver of health — assuming that it actually triggers. The bleed damage immunity is nice to have, but considering how rare chest injuries are incurred and how easily they can be fixed with Stims, th perk isn't that valuable in practice.
Surviving a massive explosion that leaves players with 1 HP and no functioning limbs is cathartic, but since Democracy Protects only has a 50% chance of triggering, it's hard to recommend it over all the others. It's great and often hilarious when it works, especially if it procs consecutively, but for anyone who wants a more consistent experience, then literally everything else is better.
6 Scout
Extra Sneakiness For Intrepid Hellcrawlers
- Markers placed on the map will detect nearby enemies every two seconds. Reduce the range at which enemies spot the user by 30%.
Scout is an excellent perk for stealthy divers who would rather sneak past patrols than go in guns blazing. It makes the wearer harder to detect, giving players ample time to move away from any enemy's line of sight without triggering alarms. The radar ping functionality also makes planning routes and engagements much easier.
This perk offers very little for when bugs and bullets start flying. It's great for premade groups or players attempting solo missions in Helldivers 2, but it's not as useful in public games with random people.
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5 Extra Padding
Extra Armor, Extra Survivability
- Gain +50 Armor Rating.
Extra Padding is a sweet and simple perk that gives bonus armor. While it sounds uninteresting, what it essentially does is it boosts the Armor Rating tier of an armor piece by one. This means Medium Armor with Extra Padding will have the same effectiveness as Heavy Armor but without the speed and stamina penalties. This is what makes the B-08 Light Gunner one of the best light armor sets in Helldivers 2.
Overall, this is an excellent perk for when players simply want to take extra hits before dying. However, keep in mind that hits to the head will still instantly kill a Helldiver regardless of their Armor Rating.
4 Med Kit
For Combat Medics and Stim Junkies Alike
- Increases initial Stim count and max Stim capacity by 2. Stim effect duration is increased by 2 seconds.
Armor with the Med Kit perk is perfect for players who want to get more out of their Stim injectors. Not only does it bump the max Stim count from four to six, but it also makes each injector last longer. For those who don't know, Stims give players infinite stamina and make them virtually indestructible. Having two extra seconds of Stim duration can spell the difference between life and death.
Taking this perk (as well as any of the next options) all boils down to personal preference. Players who are having trouble surviving high-difficulty missions may want to use Med Kit on a heavy armor piece until they develop a better game sense.
3 Servo-Assisted
Perfect for Slinging Stratagems
- Increase throwing range by 30% and all limbs gain 50% extra health.
Servo-Assisted is an excellent choice for Helldivers who rely on Stratagems to destroy buildings and bug holes. It increases the wearer's throwing range, and this affects both grenades and Stratagem balls. It's especially useful when doing Automaton side-objectives in Helldivers 2 as bot outposts tend to have machine guns and cannons guarding their perimeters.
The second half of this perk is nice to have, though it's most noticeable when paired with heavy armor. However, as mentioned earlier, injuries are very easy to fix, and unless players have no Stims left, the extra limb health will usually go unnoticed by the majority of players.
Helldivers 2: Best Medium Armor, Ranked
Different armor sets in Helldivers 2 offer unique perks. Here are the best medium armor sets in the game, ranked.
2 Engineering Kit
When Four Grenades Just Aren't Enough
- Increase initial grenade inventory and maximum capacity by 2. Reduce recoil by an additional 30% when shooting while crouching or prone.
This perk is essentially an offensive variant of Med Kit. Instead of Stims, players get more grenades, and instead of more Stim duration, wearers get better recoil reduction. Having more throwable explosives is always useful, especially when players need to deal with Automaton Scout Striders and Terminid Bile/Nursing Spewers. Recoil reduction is also universally welcome — it works extremely well with weapons like the Autocannon, allowing it to fire more quickly without losing accuracy.
Engineering Kit is only going to become more valuable once more specialized grenade types are introduced. Having a few extra Stun Grenades, for example, can make dealing with heavy units like Chargers and Hulks much easier, effectively increasing the variety of Stratagems and weapons that a player can bring to a mission.
1 Fortified
​​Say Goodbye To Blast Damage
- Decrease incoming explosive damage by 50%. Reduce recoil by an additional 30% when shooting while crouching or prone.
Fortified is arguably the best armor perk in the game simply because it negates one of the deadliest threats on the battlefield: explosives. It will keep players from dying to rockets, mines, exploding railguns, splash damage from plasma weapons, and more, assuming that the damage itself does not exceed the wearer's maximum health. Fortified will greatly increase the wearer's survivability against Automatons, and it's not bad against Terminids either if players are using the PLAS-1 Scorcher or similar weapons with the potential for self-damage.
Wearing heavy armor with the Fortified perk makes players extremely hard to kill in Automaton missions, especially if someone in the squad is using the Vitality Enhancement Booster to negate injuries. Luckily, this perk is present in all armor categories, so players can enjoy its benefits if they want to use Light or Medium armor instead.
