What's the best armour in Helldivers 2? Tier list & how to unlock more

There's lots of different armour to choose from in Helldivers 2. This guide will go through the best for each situation and how you can get more.

Issy van der Velde

19th Feb 2024 17:18

Images via Arrowhead Game Studios

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There are lots of different armour you can unlock in Helldivers 2, so here's our tier list for all of them.

Helldivers 2 armour tier list

helldivers 2 player in the rain with cape billowing democratically

Light Armour

Light armour is by far the best to use in Helldivers 2. You might think it makes more sense to have greater protection, but at the highest difficulties, many attacks can one shot you anyway, so mobility reigns supreme in the fight for democracy. Light armour allows you to run faster and your stamina regenerate quicker, perfect for getting away from Terminid swarms or a danger close stratagem in a pinch.

If you can get a piece of Light armour with the Fortified or Extra Padding passives. These increase your explosive resistance and armour rating respectively, so they’re perfect for staying nimble and safe.

The FS-38 Eradicator is the best armour I’ve seen so far, as it’s Light and comes with the Fortified passive, meaning you’ll be 50 percent resistant to explosive damage—perfect for facing off against the deadly Automatons. It was available to buy in the Super Credits store, so keep an eye out for its return.

Medium Armour

Jack of all trades, master of none, Medium armour is great if you don’t want to think too much about your loadout between missions. If you buy DP-40 Hero of the Federation with the Democracy Protects Passive from page five of the Warbonds shop, you’ll have a 50 per cent chance to survive fatal damage.

This is a great perk, and while it may seem like this should put it in the top spot, I say it’s better to just avoid being hit than risk a coin toss on whether or not you survive, so the speedy Light armour still takes the top spot.

Medium armour offers some protection while also enabling decent movement, so it’s alright in most situations. You may find yourself wishing you could run faster, but with democracy on your side, dodging death half the time won’t make you miss the additional protection of Heavy armour.

Heavy Armour

Dead last is Heavy armour. This sacrifices mobility for the best armour ratings you can find in Helldivers 2, but since you’re so slow, you’ll end up taking way more hits. It’s useful when you’re being overrun by Automatons or trying to protect civilians as you evacuate them, but otherwise, this armour is more of a hindrance than a help.

Heavy armour with the Med-Kit perk, currently available on the Twitch drop armour set, would be ideal, but currently, none exists. This would be best as the extra Stims will keep you alive for a very, very long time. Fortified is good as it’ll allow you to really tank explosives and even dive in front of your teammates to save their lives.

How to unlock more armour

helldivers split image. on the left is a diver aiming their rifle, on the right is a propaganda image of a squad in victory poses

You can get more armour by spending Warbonds in both the free and premium stores and by using Super Credits in the second store. Armour in the Super Credits store is only there for a limited time, so buy it quickly if you want it.

Armour in the Warbond stores don't seem to have any time limit, but these stores may get updated eventually. Just complete missions to get medals and find Super Credits at points of interest.