‘It’s almost useless’: Helldivers 2 player doesn’t understand why everyone uses this Stratagem

Strategems are a core part of the Helldivers 2 experience, and without them, it’s almost impossible to fight off the endless hordes of bugs and bots. But certain Strategems are of questionable quality, and players are now calling one “almost useless.”

“I don’t get the popularity of the 500KG bomb,” Reddit user sajty23 said in a March 18 thread. The thread has garnered over a thousand Helldivers discussing this single Strategem, which is part of the Eagle-One arsenal that usually gets a ton of praise. The user said the 500KG bomb is “almost useless” due to its huge explosion that deals very little damage. “It’s a meme Strategem at best,” they wrote. The Eagle 500KG bomb Strategem is indeed a very popular choice, particularly with new players who see its massive mushroom cloud and hear the big boom and think “Hell yeah.”

“Big boom monky brain happy,” reads the top reply. This abstraction is probably the best way to explain the widespread use of the 500KG bomb. It looks pretty and sounds awesome, and that’s about all our monkey gamer brains need. Most replies share this sentiment, with players citing “fun” as the primary driving force behind the Eagle 500KG Strategem.

To be far, it can be very effective if you play your cards right. If you land the bomb at precisely the right angle, it can obliterate a Bile Titan or two, but you will have to be as accurate as possible and carefully decide when and where to use it.

The 500KG bomb also looks better than it performs. The huge explosion doesn’t equal a huge blast radius, even though it should. Ever since launch, Helldivers 2 players have been arguing that the 500KG bomb looks and feels much more powerful than it actually is. The bomb is only hot and strong in the very center and does not perform well as an area-of-effect weapon.

But if you still think it’s not that great, just take the Orbital Strike.