How to use the Autocannon in Helldivers 2

There are several weapons you can use alongside your teammates in Helldivers 2, including the devastating Autocannon. It’s capable of punching a hole straight through the enemy, but you have a limited number of shots before you have to reload.

Despite having fewer shots than traditional weapons in Helldivers 2, the Autocannon is one of my favorite weapons. It requires coordination, though, and asking your allies to lend you a hand should make it easier to utilize this weapon against Terminids or Automatons as you bring them democracy. Here’s what you need to know about how to use the Autocannon in Helldivers 2.

How the Autocannon works in Helldivers 2

The Autocannon is a Support weapon in Helldivers 2, and is a massive cannon your character can carry after calling it down from your Super Destroyer shortly after landing. Your character can be the one to summon it, or an ally in your squad can request the order and send one down for you.

When firing the Autocannon, I find it best to crouch down or stand still during a battle. As the name suggests, it’s a massive cannon your character can fire into the enemy, capable of punching holes through heavily armored adversaries. Shortly after the first shot, the Autocannon does sway quite a bit. Standing still, crouching, or lying prone can help prevent this, and you want to make sure to wait a few seconds between these shots to improve your aim.

Although the Autocannon is the weapon you want to grab, take note of the ammunition backpack on the other side of the drop pod. Without the ammunition pack, your character cannot reload the Autocannon, which means you need an ally to carry it for you, or you must carry it yourself. If you plan to coordinate with a small squad of Helldivers, the person who picks up the backpack must stay close to you whenever you need to reload. You can do this yourself, but this prevents you from carrying any other support backpack during your Helldivers 2 mission, such as the Guard Dog or the resupply backpack.

A clip from the ammunition backpack replenishes half a magazine for your Autocannon, and the backpack carries 10 of them. You can reload the Autocannon five times to its total capacity before replenishing the backpack, which you can do after calling down the Supply Drop stratagem. Because of your few shots with your Autocannon, I recommend picking and choosing your targets throughout your mission, which might mean saving it for battling against a Hulk, one of the tanks, or when a Crusher comes bursting after your squad. It’s similar to how you’d use the Railgun.

The Autocannon is a tremendous firepower to carry with you in Helldivers 2. Make sure you don’t fire it wildly at your enemies, and you can get the most out of it from every mission you embark on to offer further democracy to the Automatons and the Terminids.