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 Freedom’s Flame 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
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 at 1380 rounds per minute, or 23 shots per second, it can output an impressive 1150 DPS before running dry. It has a magazine size of 50 and comes with 7 spare mags. This makes for a total damage reserve smaller than the starting liberator, making it easy to burn through ammo if not careful. The Knight has very good handling, but some noticeable sway when standing still, a trait shared by all SMGs in Helldivers 2. One of the main downsides of this weapon is the harsh recoil. The recoil of an individual shot isn’t bad, but when combined with its absurd fire rate, it will kick like a mule when the fire button is held.
Each shot fired will kick the weapon upwards, as well as a bit from side to side, with a preference to the left. After a number of shots, an equilibrium will be reached between recoil/stabilization where the gun won’t kick upward anymore. All this to say that with some skill it’s possible to counteract the recoil, and in doing so allow you to concentrate fire into a nearby enemy. This means that the Knight can actually do a good job of keeping the player alive in close quarters combat. The SMG also comes with burst and semi-auto firing modes. Burst in particular comes highly recommended when you want to shoot anything that’s not in point-blank range. That being said, the Knight is an SMG that deals low damage per bullet (50), and comes with no zoom magnification options, so don’t expect any performance past 30 meters. As an SMG, the Knight is a one-handed weapon, which means you can fire it while on the run, with the caveat that this makes its low accuracy worse. Additionally, it can be used in combination with the Ballistic Shield support stratagem.
Unlike the rest of the SMGs in Helldivers 2 it lacks a laser sight. To make a long story short, the Knight is an ultimately unimpressive weapon because its close range DPS is the only feature it has going for it. However, it only carries an average 20k total damage in its reserves, so it’s unable to sustain its damage output for long. Furthermore, it gains a reduced amount of ammo back from ammo sources. Ammo boxes return a pitiful 2 mags to the Knight, while ammo resupplies give back 5. It’s low accuracy, close range DPS and light armor penetration make this an anti-bug weapon through and through. Compare this to the Breaker auto-shotgun family with their 35k-45k damage reserves and similar if not higher damage output, and it shows why the Knight struggles to find its niche in loadouts where close range primary DPS is required.
Verdict: A fun, but ultimately unimpressive weapon we wouldn’t recommend using on high difficulty missions. Veterans of the game doing supply backpack joyrides with it, notwithstanding.
Acquired: This weapon can only be obtained by buying the Super Citizen Edition DLC for the game. On the plus side, if you don’t have the gun, you ain’t missing much.
SMG-37 Defender
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 more damage per bullet (70), but has a slower fire rate of 520. As a result, the Defender ultimately deals a similar amount of DPS as the Liberator. The Defender holds 45 rounds and comes with 7 spare mags. Or, in other words, it has about 25k total damage in its reserves. A good amount for SMGs in Helldivers 2, and solid for primary weapons in general. As with all SMGs in the game, it handles quite well, but has noticeable sway even when standing still. Thanks to its low fire rate and recoil stats, the gun barely kicks up while firing in full auto mode. Despite this, it has poor accuracy, and shots can sometimes be seen landing to the left or right of the gun’s sights.
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 past 30m. The Defender’s low recoil makes it a decent option for those who need a primary they can use in conjunction with the Ballistic Shield stratagem. Its solid damage per bullet lets it two shot Devastator heads, and the shield lets the player get close enough to the bots to do so. Outside this niche, the Defender is just not that impressive of a weapon, if the comparisons to the Liberator didn’t give it away. Honestly, we can’t remember the last time we saw anyone wielding it in high level play outside the aforementioned shield niche. Its inaccuracy and solid damage reserves make it better at combating Terminids rather than the bots.
Verdict: Another unimpressive weapon that would have been made irrelevant if it weren’t for its synergy with the ballistic shield. It’s not that bad of a weapon, it’s simply outclassed by many other guns in both an anti-bug and anti-automaton role.
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
The SMG-72 Pummeler is a side grade to the Defender that trades some of its firepower for ammunition that can stun targets. It deals 5 less damage per bullet (65) and has a lower rate of fire of 475. It also carries 45 rounds in its mag and comes with 7 spare mags. As a result, it has a similar amount of total damage stored in its reserves (23,5k) but deals an anemic 515 damage per second. 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, don’t try shooting things past 30 meters. It has slightly higher recoil than the Defender, though it doesn’t mean much in the end.
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 move. 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 was 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. The Pummeler is better as an anti-bug weapon. The Terminids are easier to hit, and the stun is of greater use against a horde faction that tries to surround and melee you to death. On bot missions, it can also be wielded with the Ballistic Shield stratagem. It’s also strong enough to 2-shot devastator heads, with the caveat that it trades some of the firepower of the Defender for the ability to stun.
Verdict: If you’re bringing this weapon to a match, it’s for the ability to stun targets, because as a weapon it continues the trend of SMGs in Helldivers 2 being unimpressive weapons.
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)
Closing thoughts on SMGs in Helldivers 2
SMGs in Helldivers 2 are light 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 and somewhat inaccurate weapons, a fact further reinforced by their simple sights and low initial velocities on their projectiles. 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, which gives them a niche to occupy. Outside of that, only the Pummeler manages to find its place on higher difficulty missions thanks to the utility its stun brings to the mission. 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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