This guide will provide an overview of the special weapons in Helldivers 2, the newest category added to the game. Not all weapons were created equal – and this guide will aim to show you the differences. Furthermore, we will try to answer on the question “Can this gun carry me through Super Helldive?”. This article is up-to-date as of the Urban Legends war bond, and we will update it accordingly as the game evolves. For more info on weapons in the game, as well as links to guides for other weapon categories, you can check our Helldivers 2: Weapons Meta article.
FLAM-66 Torcher
The FLAM-66 Torcher is the first primary flamethrower ever to make its way into the game, and the reason why the special weapons in helldivers 2 have a category of their own. It deals 3 damage per tick for a total of 375 DPS as advertised. Those are some pretty lame damage numbers for a primary weapon, but in reality it’s a lot stronger than one would expect. For starters, the Torchers flames penetrate heavy armor, and they deal 100% damage to durable body parts. Basically, this lets it bypass just about any form of damage resistance that enemies may have, and ensures that you’re always getting the maximum out of your weapon. And, of course, it’s a flamethrower…so you get to project that damage in an area in front of you while also setting enemies on fire for a bit of extra damage over time.
The Torcher also comes with a generous fuel allotment of 6 spare fuel canisters, each holding 80 fuel. The flamethrower consumes 10 fuel/s, so you can expect 8 seconds of continuous fire before needing to reload. Another powerful feature that often gets overlooked is its ability to set the ground on fire. This way, you can clean up swarms of low tier bugs and the voteless for a low ammo cost, stop an annoying pack of Termininds from chasing you over half the damn map, or create a zone of relative safety to perform stationary reloads. The final result is a unique weapon that can somewhat reasonably deal with just about any bug out there.
We say, “somewhat reasonably” because it’s not the fastest kill time out there. Small bugs and the voteless will die pretty fast to the combo of DoT and direct damage. Medium bugs and overseers can hang around for bit in the fire, but they do go down eventually. You can also attack chargers from the front as their armor rating is too low to resist the flames, but it’s going to take a while to burn through their large HP pool. We’ve talked a lot about bugs and the illuminate so far, and you might be wondering what about its performance against the automatons. To which we say…don’t bother. Because the Torcher has a range of approx 20 meters, and you’ll be a pile of giblets surfing the shockwave of a reinforced scout strider missile explosion before you get that close on the super helldive difficulty.
Other downsides are that the weapon basically has no stopping power. Bugs will move through the flames undeterred, the faster ones often getting a hit in before they burn up, and the illumiates will simply keep firing at you even as the flames burn them into a crisp. Contact with the burning bodies of bugs is practically guaranteed to set you on fire as well, adding to the frustration. Dodging backwards while using the weapon will also set you on fire by putting your legs into the flamethrowers’ path. Also, keep in mind that in order to fire this weapon properly, you need to ignite the small pilot light at its end. This costs no fuel, but takes a bit of time. Needless to say, exercise extreme caution when using this weapon, especially if teammates are nearby. Using armor with fire resistance or a supply backpack for stim-popping can make the weapon more comfortable, so keep them in mind.
Verdict: A reasonably effective anti-bug weapon, but one that comes with a lot of downsides. Utterly amazing at killing the voteless.
Unlocked: Page 2 of the Freedoms Flame premium war bond.
Total Cost: 130 medals (90 medals to page 2 and 40 medals for the gun). Take this info with a grain of salt, as the unlock costs to get to page 2 have been bugged.
JAR-5 Dominator
The Jar-5 Dominator used to be in the explosive category. Now it sits among the special weapons in Helldivers 2…mostly cause that makes sense, seeing as this gun doesn’t actually cause explosions. The Dominator is a semi-auto gun that fires jet-propelled ammunition, and probably the closest thing the game has to a Bolter from WH40k. Its rounds deal an impressive 275 damage, have medium armor penetration, and deal a massive amount of stagger that can be used to stun lock enemies. The gun has a magazine size of 15 and comes with 6 spare mags. Not only does this mean it holds a good amount of total damage in its reserves, but with a fire rate of 250 it can output respectable DPS numbers.
It does come with some caveats, however. While the projectile is pinpoint accurate, it’s also heavily affected by gravity, and it has a sluggish initial velocity of just 180m/s. The weapon also comes with no zoom magnification options, further limiting it to low-mid ranges. It kicks like a mule, handles like a brick when firing, and it has a 3.5 second long full reload animation. The recoil is strangely more manageable in first person, so learn to switch modes depending on what you want to shoot. You’ll have to learn to compensate for the projectiles in-flight behavior. However, it’s worth taking the time to get good, as the reward is one of the best single-target weapons in the game.
It’s high DPS and potent stagger also means you can brute force your way through engagements if there’s no time to aim properly. When it comes to fighting factions, the Dominators high damage output and accuracy, as well as medium armor penetration, make it good at taking on just about anything the game can throw at it. It was unsurprisingly considered the king of anti-automaton weaponry by many Helldivers at one point. It can do good work against the bugs and illuminates as well, but only bring it if you need a single-target option to round out your loadout. While it kills bugs great, be warned that its unwieldy nature can make fighting off swarms of small bugs a chore (especially hunters). It also does decent work at popping Charger butts and Strider legs, on account of it dealing above average damage to durable body parts.
Verdict: One of the best single-target weapons out there once you get accustomed to its sluggish projectiles. Definitely worth bringing on high difficulties. Before the buffs to other weapons it used to be the star of the show in an anti-automaton role, it’s still a single-target powerhouse that shouldn’t be underestimated.
Unlocked: Page 3 of the Steeled Veterans premium war bond.
Total Cost: 280 medals. (200 medals to page 3 and 80 medals for the gun)
Closing thoughts on Special Weapons in Helldivers 2
Similar to the Energy weapons category, special weapons in Helldivers 2 are a heterogeneous group of guns with little unifying features. It’s basically a category where the devs threw in the fancier stuff that wouldn’t fit in any other category. As a result, there’s not much to say about it, other than this category is doing fine at the moment, since both guns are quite competent at their job. Here’s hoping we get a primary chemical thrower one day, like a mini ToX Avenger from the first game. One can hope.
Image Credit: Arrowhead Game Studios.
