In this guide, we look to see what the SMGs in Helldivers 2 have to offer. Unsurprisingly, not all weapons are created equal, and nowhere is this more apparent than in Helldivers 2. Basically, if the question is “Can this gun carry me through Super Helldive”, here we try to provide the answer. This article is up-to-date as of the Borderline Justice premium war bond. Of course, we will keep it up-to-date as the game evolves. Check out our Helldivers 2: Weapons Meta article for links to the rest of our weapon guides.
MP-98 Knight
-70 dmg(7 durable). -50 round mag. -7 spare mags. -1380 RoF. -28,000 total dmg. -1,610 DPS. -Light pen.
The MP-98 Knight not only has the highest fire rate among SMGs in Helldivers 2, but the highest fire rate of any gun currently in the game. With a blistering RoF of 1380 rounds per minute, or 23 shots per second, it can output an insane 1610 DPS before running dry, and makes a sound like god revving a chainsaw. So, what we’re looking here is the game’s premiere bullethose weapon. The Knight has very good ergonomics, but some noticeable sway when standing still: a trait shared by all SMGs in Helldivers 2. One of the balance patches significantly toned down the insane spread values present in this category, and no weapon benefited more from the change than this one.
There used to be a whole section here on how to manage its harsh recoil, but that’s a thing of the past. Now, bullets will usually go where you’re aiming at, so we applaud the boys in white lab coats for figuring out how a gun is supposed to work. That being said, as an SMG, this is still “mostly” a low range affair. We say “mostly”, because the insane fire rate means that accuracy can be brute forced by sheer volume of lead being tossed at the enemy. The absurd DPS is this gun’s main selling point; It’s above even auto-shotgun territory. The MP-98 Knight now has the accuracy to make sure it gets put to good use, and the short tactical reload of 1.7 seconds isn’t hurting its damage output either.
The burst fire mode isn’t a useless gimmick for once because a light tap of the mouse button is enough to burn through one buckets worth of ammo, and it helps out when aiming for weakpoints. The Knight does a good job at keeping players safe in close quarters combat, as expected. Not as great at horde clear as AoE guns, but it does fine against packs of small foes. Larger enemies don’t last long under fire either. Sometimes it’s almost comical: You point the gun at the enemy, there’s a brief BRRRRT, and the enemy is gone as if deleted from existence. Its reliance on brute force gives the Knight an almost shotgun-like quality
Unlike shotguns, this one doesn’t have the ammo reserves to keep it going for long. This lackluster ammo economy is how the devs have tried to keep it balanced. There is, of course, the lack of medium armor penetration as well, but this time it’s a fair trade given the weapons damage output. The MP-98 Knight is a siege ready/supply backpack gun if there ever was one, is what we’re saying. Finally, it’s a one-handed gun, so you can pair it with the Ballistic/Directional shield backpack.
Notes on Weapon Customization: When fully leveled up, this weapon gains a significant boost in performance. Accuracy buffs slightly extend its effective range and make putting bullets into weakpoints easier, regardless of whether you’re mag dumping or firing in burst mode. Access to an extended mag also helps keep this thing firing for longer, which is a great boon for a bullethose weapon expected to fight in close range combat.
Attachment notes:
– Optics: A set of low powered scopes and simple reflex sights that won’t mess up the Knight’s ergonomics values. It’s a close range weapon, so that’s somewhat expected. The 1.5x tube red dot at lvl 4 is our pick because the zoom makes aiming just a bit easier…but this is honestly personal prefference territory. There’s a 2x tube red dot sight at lvl 24, and it’s the only that comes with a malus to ergonomics.
– Underbarrel: The Vertical Foregrip is your only choice here, so there’s no reason not to grab it. There’s no laser sight option for those who like using shields, though.
– Muzzle: This category is a lot more interesting because all of them can find use depending on play style. The Muzzle brake is unsurprisingly the best one for accuracy – for those who like to use burst fire mode. The Flash hider is a bit of both vertical and horizontal recoil reduction, but more importantly, it greatly reduces the Knight’s obnoxious muzzle flash, which at 1380 RoF can obscure entire enemies – good for those who have a tendency to fire in long bursts in first person mode. The Compensator is a decent pick for those who stick to low ranges/third person mode – good for dealing with bugs, who, as a faction, like to get up close and personal.
– Magazine: The Extended mag is the only option you have access to here. You’ll have to pay for its 70 round mag capacity with a -15 malus to ergonomics, a slower reload and total mag number reduction to just 5. In a horde shooter, you generally want to keep shooting for as long as possible, and weapons that rely on burst of damage to chunk foes really benefit from having access to bigger mags. In our opinion, this is an upgrade worth having.
Verdict: It’s not as overpowered as some might claim, but its a decent primary to have. Might want to grab a supply backpack.
Acquired: This weapon can only be obtained by buying the Super Citizen Edition DLC for the game.
SMG-37 Defender
-80 dmg(8 durable). -45 round mag. -7 spare mags. -520 RoF. -28,8k total dmg. -693 DPS. -Light pen.
At the time of writing, the SMG-37 Defender is the only one of the SMGs in Helldivers 2 that doesn’t come from a premium war bond/DLC. It can be obtained quite early on in the game, which would explain why it’s so often compared to the starting Liberator. On the topic of which, it deals the same amount of damage per bullet, but has a slower fire rate. As a result, the Defender ultimately deals a bit less DPS than the Liberator. This is interesting because on launch it used to be considered a direct upgrade to the base Liberator, while today the standard Defender is basically a downgrade in most regards.
As with all SMGs in the game, it handles quite well, but has noticeable sway even when crouching. Thanks to its low fire rate and recoil stats, the gun barely kicks up while firing in full auto mode, so it’s quite easy to control. Couple this with a basic sight with no zoom magnification, as well as a sluggish initial bullet velocity of 285 m/s, and once again don’t expect performance outside of short range engagements. We’re going to place our cards on the table and just say that this isn’t a particularly good weapon, or one that has anything interesting going on for it outside its synergy with Ballistic/Directional shields; an already very niche playstyle.
This isn’t because of some design flaw: it’s just statistically unimpressive. Featuring moderate DPS, moderate ammo reserves and low engagement range, it can still get the job done. The point is that it’s hard to justify bringing it out of the arsenal when so many other weapons can do a far better job. Honestly, we can’t remember the last time we saw anyone wielding it in high level play outside the honeymoon phase after the weapon customization system was introduced. Speaking of which:
Notes on Weapon Customization: Once fully leveled up, this weapon gains a noticeable boost in performance. It’s not enough to change the nature of the gun so to say, it still remains a low tier weapon, but the buffs to accuracy help eliminate some of the inconsistencies felt when firing the base version. The most interesting feature is the gnarly-looking 75 round helical mag it gets at lvl 24. At least this way, it can be used as a backup weapon to clean a large amount of weak foes off you.
Attachment notes:
– Optics: Similar story to the Knight: a set of low powered scopes and reflex sights that don’t affect the ergonomics of the weapon. Perfectly adequate for the short ranges this weapon is designed for. The second unlock is a 1.5x tube red dot scope for those who want a bit more magnification.
– Underbarrel: There’s an option of a Vertical Foregrip to help with vertical recoil, although the effect is barely noticeable. The Angled Foregrip is beyond overkill, as SMGs have the highest ergonomics score of any weapon. The stock preset is a laser pointer/flashlight combo, and it remains an option for those who want to run the SMG with a shield.
– Muzzle: For us, the option that ended up being most valuable was the Muzzle brake since it cleaned up some of the awkwardness present when trying to hit weakpoints. The Flash hider felt like it had no effect on the gun’s recoil, while the Compensator didn’t provide as much value as expected due to already low vertical recoil stats.
– Magazine: The Drum mag is the best option here, hands down. Not only is having a 75 round mag pretty insane, but it gives some personality back to the Defender. The malus to ergonomics and reload speed is barely noticeable, so we have no problems recommending it. It does drop the number of spare mags down to 4 however, but you still get a similar amount of ammo.
Verdict: Another unimpressive weapon that would have been made irrelevant if it weren’t for its synergy with the ballistic shield. In terms of performance, it’s outclassed by so many other guns that we simply can’t recommend it: if the comparisons to the basic liberator didn’t give that away. In fact, it might just be the worst pick among SMGs in Helldivers 2 at the moment.
Unlocked: Page 3 of the Helldivers Mobilize free war bond.
Total cost: 50 medals. (35 medals to page 3 and 1 medals for the gun itself)
SMG-72 Pummeler
-70 dmg (7 durable). -45 round mag. -7 spare mags. -475 RoF. -25,2k total dmg. -554 DPS. -Light pen.
The SMG-72 Pummeler is a side grade to the Defender that trades some of its firepower for ammunition that can stun targets. Once again, the same story repeats itself: Great handling, noticeable sway even while standing still, simple sight with no zoom magnification options and an even slower initial bullet velocity of just 210m/s. If you haven’t gotten bored with this sentence yet, stick to close range combat with this one.
What makes this gun unique among SMGs in Helldivers 2 is its stun effect. It’s not the usual stagger or push force that bullets impart to enemies, but rather a small stun effect that’s very similar to the one on stun grenades or the EMS stratagem. As one would expect, stunned enemies can’t perform any actions. Keep in mind, the effect is weaker than those on the grenades and won’t hold enemies in place for longer than approximately 2 seconds. This effect alone lets the gun carve out its niche as a support tool in the Helldivers arsenal. In a way, this is a similar niche to the Liberator Concussive, except the stun effect is tied to a gun that can actually do some damage when enemies get close (albeit, not much).
The stun was strong enough to stun lock Stalkers or even hold Chargers in place to make hitting them with stratagems/support weapons easier. The last sentence is in the past tense because at some point the devs indirectly nerfed the Pummeler by buffing stun and stagger resistances on medium and some heavy targets. It can still perform those feats somewhat, but it’s slower or takes more effort. As a result, it’s no longer held in as high regard as before. It’s also a primary support weapon so much like the Liberator Concussive or the Pacifier assault rifle, it runs into the problem that despite the stun being a powerful boon to have on a team, half the time it’s much easier to kill the enemy instead.
Notes on Weapon Customization: When fully leveled up, the SMG-72 Pummeler doesn’t get as much of a boost as expected. There are some recoil mitigating options that don’t end up being particularly important in the end. The best feature is the same 75 round helical mag as the one on the SMG-37 Defender.
Attachment notes:
– Optics: Several reflex sights and a 2x tube red dot optic at lvl 24. Personal preference: take your pick. As a support weapon designed to keep enemies stunlocked, we tend to find that accuracy isn’t as high priority as usual.
– Underbarrel: You can choose to equip a laser/flashlight combo or not. So, uhh…enjoy the veritable bounty of options here?
– Muzzle: The usual suspects: The standard choice of vertical (Compensator) or horizontal (Muzzle brake) recoil mitigation, or a bit of both (Flash hider). The Hider felt like it did barely anything at all. The Compensator felt even less useful, as the Pummelers even lower fire rate means it has a good amount of time to stabilize before the next round is fired. The Muzzle brake is the best one where accuracy is concerned, but that’s accuracy you might not even need on a weapon such as this one.
– Magazine: Yup, it’s the drum mag, same as with its brother. This is a weapon designed to keep targets stunlocked, and having a higher magazine size helps you do exactly that (in other news, water is wet).
Verdict: If you’re bringing this SMG to a match, you’re doing so for the stun, because it’s not strong enough to be used as a primary workhorse weapon: a tale shared by all primary support weapons. Adjust your loadouts to account for its weaknesses.
Unlocked: Page 2 of the Polar Patriots premium war bond.
Total cost: 120 medals. (60 medals to page 2 and 60 medals for the gun itself)
SMG-32 Reprimand
The SMG-32 Reprimand is the first and, at the time of writing, only SMG in Helldivers 2 that can penetrate medium armor. It has a somewhat sluggish RoF of 490, but when you take into account that it deals an impressive 125 damage per bullet, you end up with a gun that can output 1020 DPS before running dry. The Reprimand is a step in the right direction for SMGs for sure, but in typical Arrowhead fashion it has been “overbalanced”, so it isn’t as good as it first might appear.
For starters, its inaccurate even by SMG standards. To the point where if you take aim at an automaton head that’s just 15m away, you’re going to see a quarter of your shots miss even if you fully stabilize the gun before firing each round. Not only that, but it has more recoil per shot than guns that canonically fire ammunition of a higher caliber. In true SMG fashion it has pronounced sway, low initial bullet velocity, and a very basic sight with no zoom magnification options. Although with how inaccurate it is, this probably doesn’t matter much if we’re honest.
Needless to say, crouching before firing is good practice with any weapon, but it’s doubly important with this one. As with all SMGs, the Reprimand comes with a fire mode selector which lets you switch between semi/burst/full auto mode. However, it ends up being mostly useless since the weapons fire rate is low enough that skilled players can simply enact the same level of control by taping the fire button. It comes with 9 spare mags, but it only holds 25 rounds in its magazine, so prepare to reload often. Additionally, this means the gun comes with a solid 31k total damage in its reserves, the highest among SMGs in helldivers 2 by far.
Against the bots its performance is unremarkable. It can do good work in close quarters combat, but otherwise its inaccuracy means all that damage output can’t be focused well on enemy weakpoints. For some reason, the Reprimand is the only two-handed SMG in the game, and therefore the Ballistic Shield Stratagem isn’t an option. A missed opportunity for sure, and all those waiting for a medium pen bullet weapon that can be used with it will have to wait. Against the bugs it’s much better, as there’s less need for accuracy, but there it tends to burn through ammo rather quickly. It’s nothing fancy against the Illuminate either, too inaccurate to hit weakpoints and ammo starved when fighting the voteless.
Verdict: Probably the best SMG in the game at the moment. Still only a mid-tier weapon.
Unlocked: Page 2 of the Truth Enforcers premium war bond.
Total cost: 130 medals. (90 medals to page 2 and 40 medals for the gun itself)
StA-11 SMG
-70 dmg(7 durable). -48 round mag. -7 mags. -1050 RoF. -26,8k total dmg. -1,225 DPS. -Light pen.
The StA-11 is yet another one-handed, light armor penetrating SMG. If Arrowhead are just going to be launching the same weapon with slight stat tweaks, then we might as well just start copying our previous texts with some words shuffled around. Let’s see if you’ve heard this one before. Great handling/noticeable sway/iron sights/poor bullet velocity/low range. God bless the Ctrl+C/Ctrl+V function.
On a slightly more serious note, there is actually a niche for this gun to fulfill. It’s the only proper bullet hose SMG outside the Knight, which can only be acquired by purchasing the Super Citizen edition of the game. The StA-11 was, of course, given out for free, and we’re sure fans of the low damage/high fire rate weapon archetype will appreciate it. It deals 70 damage per bullet, has a fire rate of 1050 and slightly less recoil than the Knight. Its recoil pattern is predictable, always up and to the left, so even when the gun is spewing out its 1225 DPS, keeping it on target is not difficult.
It holds 48 round in its mag, and comes with 7 spare mags. Almost the same unimpressive amount of total damage in reserves as the Knight, again. It has a much faster reload though, just above 1.5 second for tactical reloads and 2.5 for full reloads. Combine with the Siege Ready armor perk, and you’ll be spending more time firing than not, which is great for this kind of gun. The StA-11 is ultimately a Knight side grade. Compared to other light armor pen. weapons in this category, it’s pretty high on the list for general use, but as with most SMGs, it’s an OK-tier primary weapon that is outclassed by many other guns.
Much like the Knight before it, it’s competent against swarms of bugs/voteless, while still having the DPS to bring down a heavier enemy if it comes too close. But it lacks medium armor penetration and is guaranteed to run out of ammo in quick order without the aid of Siege Ready armor or the supply backpack.
Notes on Weapon Customization: None whatsoever. Shame, it could use a better optic at least.
Verdict: A light armor penetrating bullet hose for close quarters combat. Fun for those who like four digit fire rates, but its ultimately an just “all right” weapon.
Unlocked: Given for free on Dec. 2024.
Closing thoughts on SMGs in Helldivers 2
SMGs in Helldivers 2 are light (and usually) one-handed weapons. This means they have great handing stats and usually a low amount of recoil per bullet, but a noticeable amount of sway even when standing still. They’re low range weapons: a fact reinforced by low initial bullet velocities and significant damage drop off at range. They used to limit their range in a different way: by making them have absurd spread values that made bullets come out at bizzare angles. Now the bullets simply lose power as they travel, which is an infinitelly better way of doing things, lets be real here.
Combined with either unimpressive damage output or total damage in reserves, SMGs in Helldivers 2 ultimately end up being somewhat unremarkable weapons. SMGs are the only category of primary weapons that can be wielded in conjunction with the Ballistic Shield stratagem (sans the crossbow), which gives them a niche to occupy. Their situation is somewhat reminiscent of the assault rifle category before stronger options such as the Adjudicator or Tenderizer were introduced. As with many primaries out there, they could use a buff or a change to give them a stronger identity.
Image Credit: Arrowhead Game Studios.
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