Xbox’s forces have arrived in Helldivers 2 and not a moment too soon. Three Major Orders were hurled at the existing playerbase on PC and PlayStation 5 a little while before Helldivers 2’s Xbox launch, and these new recruits helped secure a swift victory in one of them already—the Illuminate Major Order, specifically. The Terminids and Automatons’ MOs remain and, with three days left for players to complete both, it’ll be a race to the finish line to see if players can secure the bots’ MO (currently at 77.8%) and have enough time to concentrate all efforts on the bugs’ MO (currently at 50.1%).
In the meantime, Xbox recruits obviously won’t have loadouts that are as comprehensive as veteran Helldivers unless they’ve already endeavored to purchase a handful of Warbonds. Plus, with potentially no knowledge of how some weapons work or what might adhere to their personal preferences in a co-op PvE shooter like Helldivers 2, new players may have no idea where to begin their journey through a backlog of permanent ‘battle pass’ content. But while the Halo 3: ODST and upcoming Dust Devils Warbonds are highly exciting, players would be remiss not to invest in Democratic Detonation sooner rather than later.
Helldivers 2’s Democratic Detonation is All You Need for an S-Tier Loadout
Helldivers 2’s Democratic Detonation Warbond is bar-none one of the best bangs a new player could get for their buck. In it, players will discover what may well turn out to be the gear they use for the foreseeable future:
- CE-07 Demolition Specialist light armor, CE-27 Ground Breaker medium armor, and FS-55 Devastator heavy armor sets.
- GP-31 Grenade Pistol (secondary), Expert Extraction Pilot booster, and G-123 Thermite (throwable) utilities.
- BR-14 Adjudicator, CB-9 Exploding Crossbow, and R-36 Eruptor primary weapons.
- Harbinger of True Equality, Eagle’s Fury, and Freedom’s Tapestry player banners.
- Harbinger of True Equality, Eagle’s Fury, and Freedom’s Tapestry capes.
- Courtly Bow, Boxer, and Squat emotes.
Democratic Detonation’s three pages of content also include a total of 300 SC.
Frankly, Democratic Detonation is worth the asking price of SC solely because of the 
R-36 Eruptor Rifle, which is arguably Helldivers 2’s best primary weapon. Its effectiveness can be perilous to the wielder at close range, but it can punch holes into nearly any single enemy unit and has an explosive AoE on impact that can vanquish nearby foes, too.
Hardly any aim is required, though it can help to make shots more meaningful, and Helldivers 2’s Eruptor can even solo side objectives like purging bug holes or spore spewers. No other argument for Democratic Detonation as one of players’ earliest Warbonds to secure is necessary, but it goes above and beyond to sweeten the deal with two more exceptional primaries and some of the best utility items the game boasts to date.
Helldivers 2’s GP-31 Grenade Pistol has been a fundamental tool since the release of Democratic Detonation. It isn’t advisable or practical as an actual weapon—its grenades routinely ricochet, and its precision is questionable—but the 
GP-31 Grenade Pistol is quite essential for objectives like bug holes or fabricators, as it adds another handful of grenades to players’ inventories without them having to equip an armor set’s passive to increase it further.
This is truly helpful, as well, when equipped in tandem with the 
G-123 Thermite Grenade, a special throwable that is difficult to logically replace with any other throwable once players witness how sensational it can be. Indeed, Helldivers 2’s Thermite sticks to whatever surface it lands on and proceeds to inflict 2,000 damage as an anti-tank tool, melting a lot of larger enemy units.
The Expert Extraction Pilot booster is contextual and niche, but players can rely on squadmates to equip the finest boosters regardless.
As for armor, the 
CE-07 Demolition Specialist Armor and 
CE-27 Ground Breaker Armor sets feature the Engineering Kit passive, which “further reduces recoil when crouching or prone by 30%” and “increases initial inventory and holding capacity of throwables by +2.” Meanwhile, the 
FS-55 Devastator Armor set features the Fortified passive, which “further reduces recoil when crouching or prone by 30%” and “provides 50% resistance to explosive damage.”
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
- Engine
- bitsquid
- Multiplayer
- Online Co-Op
- Cross-Platform Play
- All platforms
- Franchise
- Helldivers
- Number of Players
- 1-4 players (online)
- Genre(s)
- Third-Person Shooter, Extraction Shooter, Action, Science Fiction
- Platform(s)
- PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, PC
- OpenCritic Rating
- Strong
