How to use the Recoilless Rifle in Helldivers 2

The Recoilless Rifle is a decent place to start your Stratagem collection in Helldivers 2. This Stratagem requires consistent accuracy, patience, and supporting teammates that will give you a fast reload. But if you’re grinding solo, like I am, reloading this bad boy may have left you second-guessing your purchase.

Here is our guide on how to effectively use the Recoilless Rifle in Helldivers 2.

Helldivers 2: Recoilless Rifle guide

You can pick up the Recoilless Rifle relatively early on your in Helldiver 2 career. The description and video for this support weapon really sell the product, with an emphasis placed on its quick reload time and impressively strong projectiles. But, those using the rifle during missions may experience inconsistency with each projectile.

It is important to remember you can quickly go into first person mode with the Recoilless Rifle (use the scroll wheel or click R3 to do this.) You can still shoot in third-person mode but expect a reduction in accuracy and more frequent misses. When aiming in, focus on a particular weak spot of the target in front of you (these are highlighted as red areas on Automaton enemies or yellow muscle-like areas on Terminid enemies).

Never aim for the ground close to the enemy in hopes you take out multiple enemies at once. Unlike a grenade, the Recoilless Rifle won’t damage multiple enemies. Its primary purpose is to take down one singular massive target. You also shouldn’t aim for a headshot as you’ll likely miss it. Instead, you should aim for limbs to incapacitate enemies, which will allow you to fire the second shot in the same area to finish off your targets.

The Recoilless Rifle can easily obliterate low-tiered enemies, however, this isn’t the purpose of this support weapon. As it targets light armor, focus your projectiles on any enemies you hit where the armor icon shows a bullet penetration indicator. These are typically the larger enemies in swarms and any Eliminate Automaton or Terminid missions.

The Recoilless Rifle will take a minimum of two projectiles to take down larger enemies like the Chargers. Always ensure there is a safe and considerable distance between you and the closest enemy to avoid taking damage and being overwhelmed.

For solo players, this means you should clear the nearby vicinity of all low-tiered enemies, then focus on the rifle target afterwards. But for teams, you’ll want to distract enemies using high-firing rate weapons or precision marksman rifles to pick off any enemies that can call for reinforcements while the Recoilless Rifle user lines the weak spot shot.

Finally, make sure you are behind cover when you reload the rifle on your own. You have extra time to fire immediately if you have a teammate to reload using the support weapon backpack. Playing with other members lets you target the armored enemy while staying aimed-in, rather than having to reposition as a solo.