In Helldivers 2, a rocket launcher with multiple uses is a comforting weapon to wield. Unlike the one-shot rockets of the EAT-17 or the cooldowns of the Eagle and Orbital stratagems, a rocket launcher with repeatable uses means there will always be an anti-tank option when it's needed. If multiple Bile TItans, Chargers, or Hulks decide to jump a squad of Helldivers from a dark alleyway, those divers won't have to bring up their stratagem menu just to begin defending themselves.
Helldivers 2: Best Mods to Install Right Now
This might come as a surprise but Helldivers 2 has a dedicated modding community, which has slowly been pumping several high-quality mods.
Out of the options in the game, two rocket launchers shine in this department: The 
GR-8 Recoilless Rifle and the 
ML5-4X Commando. Out of these two, which one should players use in their operations? After patch 1.001.104 and the conclusion of Arrowhead's 60-day campaign to fix Helldivers 2, there's now a little more nuance to take into account between these two rocket launchers.
Pros and Cons of the Recoilless RIfle
Extreme Flexibility And Firepower With A Slow Reload
|
Pros |
Cons |
|---|---|
|
+ High single-target damage |
- One rocket |
|
+ 5 extra rounds |
- 6 second reload |
|
+ Reload comes in two stages |
- Requires a backpack slot |
|
+ Superior Packing Methodology can reload all 5 rockets to backpack |
- Punishing if the player misses |
|
+ High Explosive programmable round can handle massive hordes |
- Long cooldown between call downs |
|
+ Works well with a second Helldiver reloading the user |
|
|
+ Better against Terminids, but has its uses against automatons |
Best Targets:
Everything except Gunships
- Brings down an Impaler in 1 shot
-
Takes out
Bile Titan
in 1 shot to the head
-
Destroys
Factory Strider
in 1 shot to the eye
-
Can kill a
Charger
Behemoth in one body shot (it will bleed out over time) or one head shot
- High Explosive rockets handle small enemies
The GR-8 Recoilless Rifle is a silver bullet against practically everything in the game. One rocket can bring down Bile Titans, Factory Striders, Chargers, and Hulks. Thanks to patch 1.001.104, the Recoilless Rifle now has the option to swap to High Explosive rounds, making it perfect for clearing out dense hordes too. In effect, this makes the Recoilless Rifle good against basically every kind of target except for large, spaced-out crowds of enemies.
However, the player using a Recoilless Rifle will have to trade a backpack slot for these amazing benefits and suffer through a painfully slow reload. A teammate with another Recoilless Rifle, or with the player's backpack, can give this weapon an instant reload, but it requires a second Helldiver to be close to the Recoilless Rifle user at all times.
Despite those negatives, the Recoilless Rifle's flexible targeting and high damage is well-worth the stratagem slot to take it. This rocket launcher can compete against Eagle airstrikes or Orbitals when it comes to anti-tank capabilities, but being able to blast through swarms or armored targets up to 5 times for each call down remains a valuable asset to have.
Pros And Cons of the Commando
Multishot Missiles With Few Aiming Requirements
|
Pros |
Cons |
|---|---|
|
+ 4 rocket shots before disposing of the launcher |
- Lower cooldown than the Recoilless Rifle |
|
+ 3 Shots can take down most heavy targets |
- Must be called down again after 4 shots |
|
+ Laser-guided Missiles |
- Cannot be resupplied or reloaded |
|
+ Easier to aim over long distances |
- Weakest single rocket compared to other rocket launchers |
|
+ Does not use a backpack slot |
|
|
+ Better against bots, but has its uses against Terminids |
Best Targets:
-
Hulk Bruiser
(one shot to the eye)
-
Hulk Obliterator
-
Hulk Scorcher
- Turrets (Two shot from any angle)
-
Factory Strider
(three into eye, or three into the belly)
-
Charger
(two missiles to the head for a kill, one rocket can strip leg armor, one rocket to glowing backside will cause a bleed out)
The ML5-4X Commando is at its best when it can be used to efficiently take out large threats at long range. While it will struggle with being more efficient than the Recoilless Rifle against heavily armored targets like Bile Titans or tanks, its laser-guided missile and 4-shot magazine make it particularly useful against multiple armored targets that can attack the player in larger numbers. Hulks and Chargers are the perfect example of this since they can go down from a single well-aimed rocket (one to the Hulk's eye, or one into the Charger's glowing rear). Failing that, Charger legs can be stripped of their armor with one rocket, and a Hulk's weapons can be ripped off with two rockets.
Heavily armored targets, large hordes, and swarms of armored targets that require two Commando rockets to take down, like the automaton. 
Gunship enemies are where the Commando falls short. However, part of the benefit of using the Commando is also being able to take down targets like Bile Titans, Factory Striders, and Impalers from a decently safe range without a strict aiming requirement. The Commando has to unload 3 to 4 rockets to bring these targets down, but the Commando's fast fire rate allows this to still be a useful option when the player needs it to be.
Commando Vs Recoilless Rifle
Which One Should You Use?
The two biggest factors to determine whether the player should bring the ML5-4X Commando or GR-8 Recoilless Rifle, are whether the player needs their backpack slot, and how many other anti-tank options their build has. Builds that need their backpack slot, and have plenty of hard anti-tank options, like 
Orbital Railcannon Strike or 
Orbital Precision Strike can use the Commando. In these builds, an Orbital Precision Strike or a similar stratagem would feel like a waste to use against Chargers and Hulks, while the Commando can efficiently one-tap them.
Builds with long-lasting stratagem weapons like the Autocannon, Railgun, and Recoilless can still benefit from having a Commando. Just call it down in situations where it will excel, drop the current stratagem weapon for it, launch the 4 rockets to clear out the threat, then pick up the original weapon again.
In comparison, if Helldivers don't mind using their backpack slot and need more anti-tank firepower, the Recoilless Rifle is the winner. Unlike the Commando, the Recoilless Rifle can handle the majority of situations a Helldiver can find themselves in, from hordes to armored targets. As long as the player can juggle its long reload time (or if a Helldiver helps them) and brings stratagems or weapons that can cover enemies like Gunships, then the Recoilless Rifle has very few downsides.
Helldivers 2
-
OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 83 /100 Critics Rec: 91%
- Released
- February 8, 2024
- ESRB
- Mature 17+ / Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, In-Game Purchases, Users Interact
- Developer(s)
- Arrowhead Game Studios, Nixxes
- Publisher(s)
- Sony Interactive Entertainment, PlayStation Publishing
WHERE TO PLAY
- Platform(s)
- PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, PC
- Genre(s)
- Third-Person Shooter, Extraction Shooter, Action, Science Fiction
- OpenCritic Rating
- Strong
