Gemini on Question 15, Sep 12

To achieve maximum efficiency when wiping out an enemy squad (a patrol or reinforcement drop) in Helldivers 2, you need a loadout that prioritizes Area of Effect (AoE) damage, fast time-to-kill, and crowd control.

Because wiping a squad before they can call for reinforcements (a Bug Breach or Bot Drop) is the most efficient way to play, here is the ultimate "Squad Eraser" Loadout, optimized for instantly deleting groups of light-to-medium enemies.

The "Squad Eraser" Loadout

Weapons & Armor:

• •Primary: SG-225IE Breaker Incendiary (for Bugs) OR LAS-16 Sickle / PLAS-1 Scorcher (for Bots). The Breaker Incendiary's wide spread and fire damage-over-time can passively wipe out half a bug patrol in three blind shots. The Sickle offers infinite ammo and a high rate of fire for mowing down Bot troopers.
• •Secondary: GP-31 Grenade Pistol. Used to plug bug holes/fabricators, but also acts as a pocket explosive to fire into the center of a tightly packed patrol.
• •Grenade: G-23 Stun or G-16 Impact.
• •Impact: Instantly deletes a cluster of 5-6 small enemies.
• •Stun: Freezes the entire squad in place so they can't call reinforcements, setting them up perfectly for a Stratagem.
• •Armor: Light or Medium armor with the Engineering Kit passive (reduces recoil, +2 grenade capacity).

Stratagems:

• •Eagle Cluster Bomb: The absolute undisputed king of squad wiping. It drops in a wide horizontal line, instantly killing all light and medium enemies inside it. You get 4-5 uses before needing to rearm.
• •Eagle Airstrike: Slightly smaller AoE than the Cluster Bomb, but has the added benefit of destroying medium/heavy armor and enemy structures.
• •Support Weapon: GL-21 Grenade Launcher OR ARC-3 Arc Thrower. The Grenade launcher allows you to bounce 3-4 explosives into a squad in under two seconds. The Arc Thrower chains lightning between multiple enemies, ignoring armor and requiring no ammo.
• •Backpack: AX/LAS-5 "Guard Dog" Rover. This laser drone will constantly fire on enemies without you having to do anything, easily finishing off any stragglers that survive your initial strike.

The Execution (How to wipe the squad efficiently)

Having the loadout is only half the battle; how you initiate the fight dictates the efficiency.

The "Stun & Strike" Method (The most efficient tactic in the game):

• 1.Spot the patrol before they spot you.
• 2.Throw a Stun Grenade directly into the center of the squad. This freezes them in place and, crucially, prevents them from shooting a flare (Bots) or releasing pheromones (Bugs).
• 3.Immediately throw an Eagle Airstrike or Eagle Cluster Bomb at the stunned group.
• 4.As the bombs hit, fire your Primary or Grenade Launcher into the dust cloud to mop up the 1 or 2 stragglers that might have survived at the edges.
• 5.Result: Entire patrol wiped in under 5 seconds with zero reinforcements called.

Faction-Specific Tweaks

• •Against Terminids (Bugs): Bugs tend to cluster tightly and rush you. Swap the Eagle Airstrike for the Orbital Airburst Strike. If you throw an Airburst onto a Bug Breach, it will fire three massive shrapnel blasts over a 10-second window, single-handedly wiping out 30+ bugs for the cost of one Stratagem.
• •Against Automatons (Bots): Bots spread out and shoot back, and they have more medium armor (Devastators). Swap the Grenade Launcher for the Autocannon. The Autocannon has explosive AoE rounds that stagger Devastators. You can wipe a bot squad by rapidly firing 4-5 Autocannon rounds into their center mass.