Helldivers 2lets the titular Helldivers suit themselves out with all sorts of armor, weaponry, secondaries, support weapons, and more. One of the most vital pieces of your loadout is whether you take a Backpack Stratagem. Backpack Stratagems take up your back as an equipment slot, restricting you to only one piece of equipment there. But what’s the best Backpack Stratagem to take up that slot with?
If you’re looking for what gear you want to bring on your next dive on a planet crying out for democracy, we’re happy to help. Here’s our ranking for the best Backpack Stratagems in Helldivers 2.
Different missions, planets, and enemies can affect what the best choice is. This list is general - all stratagems are viable, so pick what works best for you.
8AX/TX-13 ‘Guard Dog’ Dog Breath
The AX/TX-13 ‘Guard Dog’ Dog Breath is often considered the worst of the Backpack Stratagems. That’s because its weapon isn’t quite lethal in most cases. The Dog Breath lets out a stream of Sterilizer-esque toxic gas that slows and blinds enemies.
That makes it great for stopping large swarms of Bugs orhordes of Voteless, but it won’t be lethal. You’re usually better off bringing a Guard Dog that kills your enemies. Still, if you’re going for a full Toxic build, the Dog Breath is far from a useless machine.
You and your allies aren’t immune to Dog Breath’s breath. verify you bring anti-gas gear to reduce the impact of getting caught in the cloud.
7SH-20 Ballistic Shield Backpack
The Ballistic Shield Backpack is difficult to rank on account of how useless it is for some missions, but how superb it is for others. If you’re dropping against bots, the Ballistic Shield is a phenomenal choice. You’ll deflect most attacks, though explosive attacks are still going to get through. Tanks, Towers, Artillery, and most Hulk weaponry will get to you.
But against Bugs, the Shield doesn’t do too much for you. Nearly every Terminid is melee, making it so they can swarm you and get around the shield quickly. Voteless have the same tactic, and the Tripod won’t be held back by a shield.
The SH-20 Ballistic Shield Backpack takes up your backpack slotandone of your arms. Bring a one-handed weapon to capitalize on its defensive measures without rendering your primary useless.
6LIFT-850 Jump Pack
The LIFT-850 Jump Pack is meant purely for utility, making it difficult to rank. The good news is that that means you don’t have to worry about whether it’s good or not against the faction you’re dropping against since it does the same thing every time.
The Jump Pack is great for mobility, giving you the ability to jump and dash forward. Be careful when you dash, though - if you don’t pull back, you’ll ragdoll yourself. That mistake often proves fatal.
The LIFT-850 Jump Pack is a strong pick for City maps, such as those where you fight Illuminate. That’s because you can use it to jump over the walls of the cities.
5SH-51 Directional Shield
The SH-51 Directional Shield is a more versatile shield pack than the SH-20 Ballistic. This shield has a much larger width for one thing, making it so you can guard your allies behind you. One great use for this shield is to get in the passenger seat of a recon vehicle and lean out with it to keep a shield up for your vehicle.
While it’s great for defense, it also has the issue of taking up one arm and your backpack slot. Coordinate with your fellow Divers tobring one-handed weaponrythat can stay effective with these restrictions.
You and your allies can shoot through the shield from behind it. Make a phalanx with your friends and keep your heavy hitters safe.
4AX/LAS-5 ‘Guard Dog’ Rover
The AX/LAS-5 .Guard Dog. Rover is the laser weapon variant of the Guard Dogs. This version uses a constant beam to damage enemies nearby, returning to your backpack to cool down after it overheats.
The laser penetrates light armor, which means it’s great for fodder without being too ideal forhigher-strength enemies. It overheats quickly, but it’ll likely take down a good few enemies before it does so.
The Rover’s favorite target is Bug, but its second favorite target is your friend. Stay alert if someone around you has one of these on - it tends to take out some Divers when it pivots to change targets.
3B-1 Supply Pack
The B-1 Supply Pack is ideal for the solo player who prefers ammo-hungry weapons. This Backpack Stratagem gives you a walking Resupply pod on your back, complete with four containers. When you get more ammo, it replenishes those containers, effectively giving you a refreshing Resupply.
You can give that Resupply container to your allies, but you can use it as well. If you’re using weapons like the Eruptor or HMG, this Backpack will keep you firing for as long as you need to.
Prefer to play solo, or like to run off on missions to find Super Samples? Taking the B-1 Supply Pack stops you from needing to call a Resupply down away from your allies.
2SH-32 Shield Generator Pack
The SH-32 Shield Generator Pack is one of the best defensive options in the game. This pack surrounds you in a personal energy shield that can stop some incoming attacks, even making large explosions survivable in some cases.
The Shield Generator Pack has a battery to it, but it won’t start recharging until it’s been depleted. That can make managing its battery levels a bit of a headache. Still, there are very few choices you can make in the game that will give you more survivability than this one.
The Shield Generator is equally useful against all enemies. However, be wary of Bots depleting it from afar with ranged attacks.
1AX/AR-23 “Guard Dog”
The AX/AR-23 ‘Guard Dog’ is simple on the surface. It looks like it’s just a Liberator taking shots at your nearby enemies. And that’sexactlywhat it is - an autonomous, quickly-reloading, infinite-ammo, medium-armor-penetrating assault rifle taking aim at any threat nearby.
The Guard Dog is a great choice for any planet, any enemy, and any difficulty. While it may still take out a Diver or two by accident, not being beam-based makes it much easier to keep track of and dodge.
Prefer specialist loadout weapons like the Crossbow, Grenade Pistol, or Lance? Taking a Guard Dog effectively gives you a permanent Liberator as a weapon, giving you more versatility in choosing your weapons.
