Helldivers 2 Autocannon vs Laser Cannon: Which Support Weapon Is Better?

Quick answer: Take the AC-8 Autocannon when you want one weapon that does everything — it kills medium armor, staggers chargers mid-rush, clears crowds, and it can close Terminid bug holes and destroy Automaton Fabricators from range. Take the LAS-98 Laser Cannon when you want to keep your backpack slot free for a Shield Generator or Supply Pack — it has no ammo to carry, shreds Gunships, Overseers and Devastators, and reaches absurdly far, but it overheats and cannot destroy objectives. The Autocannon is the better all-rounder; the Laser Cannon is the better specialist that frees up a build slot. Both are verified against the current Devoid of Liberty: 7.1.1 patch line.

Key Takeaways

• The Autocannon needs a backpack; the Laser Cannon doesn't. That single difference decides most loadouts — the AC-8 takes your backpack slot for its ammo pack, while the LAS-98 leaves it open for a Shield Generator or Supply Pack.
• The Autocannon closes objectives. The Laser Cannon does not. The AC-8's explosive rounds shut Terminid bug holes and blow up Automaton Fabricators; the Laser Cannon's beam, despite its damage, is non-explosive and can't do either.
• The Autocannon staggers; the Laser Cannon overheats. The AC-8 interrupts charges and breaks enemy aim with every hit. The LAS-98 never runs out of ammo but will cook its heat sink if you hold the trigger.
• Both carry Heavy armor penetration (AP4). Neither is a dedicated anti-tank gun, but both punch through medium armor and hit weak points on heavies.
• No documented 7.x change to either weapon. The last meaningful buff was the Laser Cannon's range jump from 200m to 1,000m back in the March 2026 patch; nothing in the 7.1.0/7.1.1 notes touches them.

The "which support weapon" question is one of the oldest arguments in the Helldivers Discord, and the AC-8 Autocannon vs LAS-98 Laser Cannon matchup is the one that comes up most — because they look like they fill the same role (a single-target-plus-utility heavy gun) but they actually make opposite build decisions. One eats your backpack slot and pays you back with objective-clearing utility; the other gives the slot back and pays you with range and infinite ammo.

This guide breaks down exactly how each one performs against Terminids, Automatons and the Illuminate, what it means for the rest of your loadout, and which to pull in which situation. Everything below is framed by role, because Helldivers 2 is a co-op PvE game with three very different factions — there is no single "best" answer, only the right answer for the mission in front of you.

How the AC-8 Autocannon works

The AC-8 Autocannon is a heavy Support Weapon that fires explosive, armor-piercing projectiles. It's the Swiss-army knife of the stratagem list, and it's been a community staple since launch.

• It requires its own ammo backpack. This is the defining trait: the AC-8 deploys as a rifle plus a backpack, and that backpack takes your backpack slot. You cannot run an Autocannon and a Shield Generator Pack at the same time (without a teammate carrying one).
• Reloads are stationary, in 5-round clips. You drop to a knee to reload, feeding 5-round stripper clips into a 10-round internal magazine. You can top up any time you're at or below 5 rounds — but you're rooted for a beat while you do it. A teammate can hand-reload you for a much faster cycle, which is where the "Autocannon buddy" playstyle comes from.
• Heavy armor penetration on the explosive round. The AC-8's standard APHET rounds carry Heavy (AP4) penetration; the alternate Flak mode drops to Medium (AP3) but adds burst for airborne and clustered targets.
• It staggers. This is the trait players rave about most: each hit interrupts and knocks back. It stops a Charger mid-rush, breaks a Devastator's aim lock, and buys you the half-second that keeps you alive.

"Stagger, the AC staggers foes, stopping charges and breaking aim lock-ons." — r/helldivers2 player, on why they run the Autocannon

That stagger, plus the explosive splash, is why one r/helldivers2 regular summed up the appeal as simply "Autocannon has more utility and crowd clear."

How the LAS-98 Laser Cannon works

The LAS-98 Laser Cannon is a heavy energy Support Weapon that fires a continuous beam. It makes the opposite trade to the Autocannon on nearly every axis.

• It needs no backpack. The Laser Cannon deploys as a single weapon with no ammo pack, so your backpack slot stays open. That's the whole reason to bring it: you can pair it with a Shield Generator Pack, Supply Pack, Jump Pack or a Guard Dog and still have a Heavy-pen support gun.
• It has no ammo — it has heat. You never pick up ammo for it. Instead the beam builds heat the longer you fire; vent it by letting go, and it cools on its own. Hold the trigger too long and it overheats, forcing you to burn (and replace) a heat sink. Fired in disciplined bursts, it's effectively infinite ammo.
• Heavy armor penetration at the right angle. The beam carries Heavy (AP4) when you hit at a direct or shallow angle; glance it off heavy plating at a steep angle and the penetration degrades. It melts Gunships, Shriekers, Illuminate Overseers and Devastators, and it can cook a Hulk's eye or an Automaton emplacement from a distance.
• It reaches very far. The March 2026 patch (build 1.006.100, 2026-03-17) raised the beam's effective range from 200m to 1,000m, per the LAS-98 Laser Cannon page on the Helldivers Wiki — the single change most credited with bringing the Laser Cannon back into the meta, especially against Automatons who like to fight at range. Nothing in the current Devoid of Liberty: 7.1.1 patch line touches either weapon, so that range figure still stands.

The catch, and it's a big one for objective runs: the Laser Cannon cannot destroy structures. Its beam does carry demolition force, but because it isn't explosive, it can't overcome the demolition resistance on Terminid bug holes or Automaton Fabricators. Great gun, zero objective utility.

Autocannon vs Laser Cannon: the head-to-head

Here's the comparison that actually decides your pick. Think in tradeoffs, not raw power — both are strong.

Factor	AC-8 Autocannon	LAS-98 Laser Cannon
Backpack slot	Takes it (ammo pack required)	Leaves it free
"Ammo" model	Finite rounds; stationary clip reload	No ammo; overheats, then cools
Armor penetration	Heavy (AP4) explosive rounds	Heavy (AP4) beam, angle-dependent
Stagger	Yes — stops charges, breaks aim	No
Closes bug holes / Fabricators	Yes (explosive)	No (non-explosive)
Crowd clear	Strong (explosive splash, Flak mode)	Moderate (single beam)
Effective range	Long	Very long (1,000m since Mar 2026)
Reload downtime	Rooted briefly; faster with a buddy	None — just manage heat

The honest one-liner: the Autocannon wins on utility and objective-clearing, the Laser Cannon wins on build flexibility and sustained range. Everything else flows from the backpack decision.

Which is better vs Terminids, Automatons and the Illuminate?

Helldivers 2 has no single "best weapon," so segment it by faction — this is how the community actually decides.

Vs Terminids (bugs). Edge to the Autocannon. Bug missions reward crowd clear and the ability to shut bug holes, and the AC-8 does both while staggering Chargers out of their rush. The Laser Cannon can still cook Bile Spewers and chaff, but it brings nothing to the "close the breach" problem.

Vs Automatons (bots). This is the closest call and the most situational. The Laser Cannon is excellent here after the range buff — it reaches out and melts Gunships and Devastators before they're a threat, and the free backpack slot lets you run a Shield Pack to survive the bots' heavy ranged fire. But the Autocannon is the pick if your squad needs someone to pop Fabricators, since the Laser Cannon can't. Many players bring the Autocannon specifically to be the "Fabricator answer."

Vs the Illuminate (squids). Slight edge to the Laser Cannon for how cleanly it deletes Overseers (including Elevated Overseers) and Watcher-type flyers at range without ammo logistics. The Autocannon still clears Voteless swarms well with splash and stagger, so it comes back to whether you'd rather have crowd control and stagger (AC-8) or precise, backpack-free anti-Overseer range (LAS-98).

If you want the full faction-by-faction weapon breakdowns, see our dedicated guides for the best Automaton loadout, the best Illuminate loadout, and the best Terminid loadout.

How do you actually fire each one well?

Both weapons punish the same mistake — firing in a panic — but in opposite ways, so the handling is worth learning before you commit a loadout to one.

Managing Laser Cannon heat. The beam doesn't run out of ammo, it runs out of heat budget, and the game gives you a clear tell: an audible alert sounds just before the gun overheats. The discipline is simple — fire in 2-3 second bursts, feather the trigger, and the moment you hear that alert, let go. Left alone at that point the weapon cools on its own and you never lose a heat sink. Hold through the warning and you force an overheat, which burns one of your limited heat sinks and leaves you briefly weaponless. Treat it like a DMR, not a minigun, and the LAS-98 genuinely never runs dry.

Managing Autocannon reloads. The AC-8's weak moment is the reload: you're rooted on one knee while you feed a 5-round clip, and getting caught mid-animation by a charging Hunter or a Devastator volley is how most Autocannon deaths happen. Two fixes. First, top up early — reload any time you're at or below 5 rounds and behind cover, never wait for empty in the open. Second, the buddy reload: a teammate can hand-feed your Autocannon from your backpack far faster than you can solo-reload, which is the entire reason the "Autocannon pair" is a staple on higher difficulties. If you're diving with a regular squadmate, assign the roles and your effective rate of fire roughly doubles.

The takeaway: the Laser Cannon rewards patience (burst and vent), the Autocannon rewards positioning (reload safe, lean on a buddy). Neither is a hold-the-trigger weapon.

How your backpack slot decides it

The real decision isn't "which gun hits harder" — it's what you want in your backpack slot. This is the point most "best support weapon" lists skip.

• Run the Autocannon and your backpack is your ammo. You're committing the slot to the weapon, and in exchange you get objective-clearing, stagger and crowd control. You'll lean on Supply stratagem resupplies and teammate hand-reloads to keep it fed.
• Run the Laser Cannon and your backpack is a free design choice. The classic pairing is the Shield Generator Pack (survive bot alpha strikes) or the Supply Pack (self-resupply grenades and stims). On bug or squid missions a Guard Dog backpack covers your flanks while the beam handles priority targets.

As one r/helldivers2 player put it, the Autocannon "closes spawners. Lets you have another strat instead of a backpack" — meaning you trade the backpack item for the backpack gun, and free up a stratagem slot for an Eagle or orbital. It's the same slot math from the other direction. Neither is wrong; they're just different build philosophies.

When to pick each one

Pick the AC-8 Autocannon if:

• You want one weapon that handles medium armor, crowds, and objectives.
• You're the squad member who closes bug holes / destroys Fabricators.
• You value stagger to survive Chargers and Devastators.
• You're happy to commit your backpack slot and lean on resupplies.

Pick the LAS-98 Laser Cannon if:

• You want to keep your backpack slot for a Shield or Supply Pack.
• You're fighting Automatons or the Illuminate at range.
• You hate managing ammo and would rather manage heat.
• Your teammates already cover objective demolition.

Both are top-tier, both reward good trigger discipline, and the "right" answer flips with the mission. If you're still building out your anti-heavy answer, our best support weapons tier guide ranks the full list, and the Anti-Tank Seeker breakdown covers the newer homing option for Chargers and Hulks.

The real cost is the grind, not the gun

Neither of these is locked behind real money — like everything in Helldivers 2, you unlock support weapons with Requisition Slips you earn in missions, and you kit out your Ship Modules with Samples you extract. That's also the slow part. Grinding Requisition for every stratagem, clearing Warbond pages with Medals, and hauling enough Super, Rare and Common Samples to fully upgrade your Destroyer is dozens of hours of repeat missions. If you'd rather spend your play sessions actually diving instead of farming the unlocks, that's the time sink worth planning around.

Want to skip the grind and get straight to the builds that matter?

• Helldivers 2 — Save Time on the Grind — skip the slow Requisition, Medal and Sample farming so you can get straight to running the loadouts you actually want.

FAQ

Is the Autocannon or Laser Cannon better in Helldivers 2? Neither is strictly better — it depends on your loadout and faction. The Autocannon is the stronger all-rounder (crowd clear, stagger, and it closes bug holes and Fabricators) but it takes your backpack slot. The Laser Cannon is the better specialist for range and build flexibility, since it leaves your backpack slot free for a Shield or Supply Pack, but it can't destroy objectives.

Does the Laser Cannon need a backpack in Helldivers 2? No. The LAS-98 Laser Cannon deploys as a single weapon with no ammo backpack, which is its biggest advantage — you keep your backpack slot open for a Shield Generator Pack, Supply Pack, Jump Pack or Guard Dog.

Can the Laser Cannon destroy Automaton Fabricators or close bug holes? No. The Laser Cannon's beam is powerful but non-explosive, so it can't overcome the demolition resistance on Fabricators or bug holes. If you need to close objectives with your support weapon, bring the Autocannon instead.

Does the Autocannon stagger enemies? Yes. Every Autocannon hit staggers, which interrupts charging enemies and breaks the aim of Devastators and other ranged units. Players rate this as one of its best qualities for survivability against both Terminids and Automatons.

Were the Autocannon or Laser Cannon changed in the 7.1 patch? No Autocannon or Laser Cannon balance changes are documented in the Devoid of Liberty 7.1.0 or 7.1.1 patch notes. The last major change to either was the Laser Cannon's beam-range buff (200m to 1,000m) in the March 2026 update, which is still in effect.

Which is better against Automatons? It's close. The Laser Cannon is excellent at range against Gunships and Devastators and lets you run a Shield Pack, but the Autocannon is the pick if your squad needs someone to destroy Fabricators — the Laser Cannon can't. Many players bring the Autocannon specifically as the bot-base demolition answer.