Highlights
- The new Democratic Detonation Warbond in Helldivers 2 introduces exciting weapons with explosive mechanics to combat armored enemies effectively.
- Players can unlock unique items like the G-123 Thermite Grenade, BR-14 Adjudicator rifle, and CE-27 Ground Breaker armor to enhance their gameplay.
- The Booster like the Expert Extraction Pilot Booster reduces extraction time, providing tactical advantage, while weapons like the GP-31 Grenade Pistol offer unique combat options.
The Democratic Detonation Warbond, released on April 11, features many new and exciting items. Like the Cutting Edge Warbond before it, many weapons feature a common mechanic. This mechanic, as the name suggests, is explosives. Many players have been waiting for hard-hitting armaments to deal with the problem of armored enemies, and this new Warbond seeks to provide multiple solutions for them.
Helldivers 2: 9 Best Items From The Cutting Edge Warbond
The Cutting Edge Warbond introduced new sets of armor and unique weapons, most of which center around arc damage.
These weapons are the most exciting parts of the Warbond, with other aspects like armor sets featuring existent passive abilities leaving some players disappointed. The new weapons, ranging from a sidearm that fires grenades to a crossbow that fires explosive bolts, let players have their pick of weaponry that is nothing like what was available before.
1 G-123 Thermite Grenade
Sticky Grenade That Deals Damage Over Time
- Page 1 of Democratic Detonation
- 15 Medals to unlock
The G-123 Thermite Grenade is the first sticky grenade in Helldivers 2. It is designed to be thrown at an armored target where it will stick to them and deal damage over a few seconds. Many players have found this grenade lacking because its damage output is insufficient to justify giving up the area of effect damage that most grenades do.
Since its primary use is for dealing with heavily armored enemies like Hulks and Chargers, the fact that it takes multiple grenades to kill one of them makes most players choose to avoid it.
2 BR-14 Adjudicator
Marksman Rifle That Pierces Medium Armor
- Page 1
- Costs 20 Medals to unlock
Most of the primary weapons that helldivers have at their disposal can only pierce light armor. This forces players to rely mostly on offensive Strategems to take out enemies with medium or heavy armor. The Adjudicator is a rare primary weapon that actually can pierce medium armor, meaning that players can take out Scout Striders, Hive Guards, and other enemies without having to aim for their weak spots.
Despite penetrating medium armor, this gun is not as swift at killing enemies as energy weapons like the Sickle or the Scorcher. It does have minimal recoil, however, so players looking for a niche assault rifle may be happy with it nonetheless.
3 FS-55 Devastator Body Armor
Heavy Armor With An Intimidating Appearance
- Page 3
- Costs 64 Medals to unlock
Heavy Armor is controversial among the player base. On the one hand, players can survive a handful of extra attacks. On the other hand, they are slowed down and don't regenerate stamina as quickly.
The FS-55 Devastator Armor has the standard stats for heavy armor — 150 Armor Rating, 450 Speed, 50 Stamina Regen — and comes with the Fortified passive. This passive gives the player increased accuracy by reducing recoil. Players who want extra protection and accuracy will like this armor, as will players who like its intimidating and unique look.
4 CE-27 Ground Breaker Armor
Servo-Assisted Medium Armor
- Page 1
- Costs 18 Medals to unlock
The first armor that players can unlock from the Democratic Detonation Warbond is the CE-27 Ground Breaker. It is medium armor, with a speed, armor rating, and stamina regeneration of 100. Like other armor sets, this one has a matching helmet that is reminiscent of gas masks used in real wars. Its unique appearance makes it stand out from other armor sets that share the base-level stats.
Helldivers 2: Coolest Armor, Ranked
For many Helldivers 2 players, looking the part is just as important as protection. These armor sets are some of the coolest in the game.
The Ground Breaker armor has the Fortified passive, granting players reduced recoil while crouching or prone. This makes it a great choice for players that favor precision weapons like the Anti-Material Rifle.
5 Expert Extraction Pilot Booster
Lower The Time It Takes To Extract
- Page 2
- Costs 55 Medals to unlock
By default, it takes a Pelican two minutes to arrive after players call for extraction at the end of a mission. To many players' dismay, there are planets where this timer is doubled to an agonizing four minutes. During this window, players have to stay close to the landing zone or the ship aborts its approach. Players can fail the mission if they are overwhelmed and run out of reinforcements during this tense mission finale.
Helldivers 2: All Boosters, Ranked
Boosters are passive buffs to different traits that Helldivers have. Some are universally useful while others are only helpful in specific situations.
This Booster reduces the time it takes the Pelican to arrive by about 15%. So the timer can be reduced by up to 27 seconds, which can feel like a lot for players facing waves of Bile Titans or Tanks. However, when weighed against other Boosters, this is a lackluster use of an entire slot in a player's loadout.
6 CE-07 Demolition Specialist Armor
Fortified Light Armor
- Page 2
- Costs 45 Medals to unlock
This light armor has an armor rating of 67, a speed of 536, and stamina regeneration of 118. These stats set the CE-07 Demolition Specialist apart from other light armors because it offers slightly more protection at the cost of making the player a little bit slower. This makes it fall between most light and medium armor in terms of game mechanics.
The Fortified passive ability that it comes with reduces recoil for players when they crouch or go prone as well as increases the number of grenades that they can carry. This is reflected in the bandoliers of grenades on its chest. Players who like light armor and precision weapons, or those who like the distinct black and red pattern on it, should spring for this armor when they can.
7 GP-31 Grenade Pistol
Fire Grenades From A Sidearm
- Page 3
- Costs 60 Medals to unlock
The Grenade Pistol is the most unique secondary weapon in Helldivers 2 at the time of launch for the Democratic Detonation Warbond. It fires actual grenades rather than bullets and holds eight of them. It has to be reloaded between each shot, making its fire rate fairly slow, but the power and radius of its explosions more than make up for the low ammo count and reload times.
Players can use this sidearm to effectively take out groups of enemies, close Bug Holes, and other things that normally can't be done except by using Support Weapons. This means that players can effectively use a Grenade Pistol to free up a slot for a different Strategem rather than using a Grenade Launcher since the weapons fill the same role. Players looking for a sidearm to use proactively should buy this gun when they unlock Page 3 of the new Warbond.
8 CB-09 Exploding Crossbow
Unique Weapon With Powerful Explosions
- Page 3
- Costs 80 Medals to unlock
The CB-09 Exploding Crossbow is an interesting weapon. As its name describes, it fires explosive bolts that quickly kill clusters of unarmored enemies as well as damage armored ones. The bolts also have a surprisingly large explosive radius, making it impossible for players to use them at close range without accidentally hurting or killing themselves.
The bolts are affected by gravity, which keeps its range lower than some other precision weapons. Players have to learn to adjust their aim for this when attacking targets that are very far away. With some adjustment, this unique weapon can be a powerful force in the player's arsenal.
9 R-36 Eruptor
High-Powered Precision Weapon
- Page 2
- Costs 60 Medals to unlock
The R-36 Eruptor is the first bolt-action weapon introduced to Helldivers 2. It fires explosive rounds, which do extra damage to the target that it hits, along with a small radius of explosive damage hitting enemies next to them. Players can make quick work of armored enemies like Devastators, which the Eruptor can kill in just two hits.
​​​​​​​The downside to this gun is that it has an extremely slow rate of fire because it is a bolt-action rifle. Players can offset this by using it only at a distance, which is easy since it comes with a powerful scope. Given its power and range, the Eruptor's positives more than make up for its lack of close-quarters combat, especially when players are prepared with a sidearm like the Redeemer pistol.
