How to use the Railgun in Helldivers 2

One of the most impressive Helldivers 2 guns is the Railgun, a powerful weapon you can call down from your Super Destroyer during an operation to expand liberty to the galaxy.

Unfortunately, these powerful weapons don’t come with any clear instructions on the safest way to use them or how to get the most out of them. You have to learn in the field and it can be life or death if you don’t act quickly enough. Thankfully, we’ve spent time with other Helldivers and know how to use every advantage with the Railgun. Here’s everything you need to know about how to use the Railgun in Helldivers 2.

How the Railgun works in Helldivers 2

The Railgun in Helldivers 2 is a Support Weapon you can unlock, or find when completing an operation. After unlocking it, you can call it down as a stratagem from your Super Destroyer to aid you in combat or have an ally call it down if they have it unlocked.

When holding the Railgun, hold the trigger button on the right mouse button for mouse and keyboard players and R2 for PlayStation users, and wait for the weapon to charge. After your Railgun is finished, unleash liberty against any poor foe standing before you and do a large amount of damage to them. The Railgun only has one magazine, which means after each shot, you need to reload it and toss in a new battery. Although you only have 20 shots to use with the Railgun in Helldivers 2, and you have to reload after using it, it’s become one of my favorite weapons. It’s perfect for taking on a Bile Titan or a Hulk.

I use the Railgun on heavily armored foes in Helldivers 2. It’s perfect for taking down anything with heavy plating, although other weapons, like the Recoilless Rifle or the Expendable Anti-Tank, might be better at dealing large amounts of damage to armored opponents.

Difference between Railgun safe on and off in Helldivers 2

A critical trait about the Railgun is it has two settings: A safe mode you can keep on or off. There is a significant difference between the two of these modes. If you keep it in safe mode, the Railgun should operate normally when you charge it up, then fire it at the target in front of you, heavily damaging it. If you turn safe mode off, there’s a chance the Railgun can explode, potentially damaging other enemies around you if any of them are too close. The Railgun only explodes if you hold the charge setting for too long.

Although using the unsafe setting has risks, as long as you remember to fire your Railgun after charging it, there’s nothing to worry about. I’ve been using it for several missions in Helldivers 2 with safe mode off and it deals so much damage to enemies.