Stratagems in Helldivers 2 come in many different types, from Eagle air strikes to deployable sentry turrets, but the most important Stratagems are support weapons like the AC-8 Autocannon in Helldivers 2. It’s always recommended to have a support weapon stratagem and the Autocannon sits in the top tier as one of the best ones. Here is how you can get and use the AC-8 Autocannon in Helldivers 2.
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How to Get AC-8 Autocannon in Helldivers 2
The AC-8 Autocannon is a Support Weapon stratagem that requires Rank 10 and can be unlocked with 7,000 Requisition under the Patriotic Administration Center section at the Ship Management Terminal in Helldivers 2.
Getting this weapon as early as possible will help you out massively when trying to play on higher difficulties. If you are not yet on Rank 10, you should save your Requisition credits to get the AC-8 Autocannon as it’s one of those weapons you will keep using even when you are at a higher rank and playing on Suicide difficulty and above.
AC-8 Autocannon Stats
Here are all the stats of the AC-8 Autocannon in Helldivers 2:
- Call-in Time: 3 seconds
- Uses: Unlimited
- Direct Damage: 260
- AoE Damage: 150
- Magazine Capacity: 10
- Spare Ammo: 10
- Fire Modes:
- Semi
- Automatic
- Traits:
- Medium Armor Penetrating
- Team Reload
How to Use AC-8 Autocannon in Helldivers 2
Since AC-8 Autocannon is a Stratagem in Helldivers 2, you will need to equip it in the loadout screen as one of your Stratagems when starting a mission. Once you have dived onto the surface, call it down by holding your Stratagem button and inputting the Autocannon’s code which is Down, Right, Left, Down, Down, Up, Up, Right. However, remember that the Autocannon comes in two parts, the cannon itself and its ammo backpack which is used to reload the ammunition of the AC-8 Autocannon in Helldivers 2.
Both of these will drop down in the same hellpod so make sure you also equip the backpack not just the weapon. This also means you cannot equip a backpack stratagem like the Jetpack when you want to use the Autocannon. If you want to use another backpack, you can have your teammate carry the Autocannon ammo backpack instead which will allow them to reload your Autocannon when you need it.
The Autocannon is best used against heavier and larger enemies including the boss enemies. While it does have an alternate fire mode which makes it fully automatic, this will increase the recoil to the point where it’s highly inaccurate so make sure you always use it on the semi-automatic fire mode.
A full magazine of an Autocannon has 10 rounds and the reloading without the help of another Helldiver can be slow but you can make it faster by making sure you reload after firing 5 rounds. Reloading 5 rounds takes half the time compared to reloading the full magazine of the AC-8 Autocannon in Helldivers 2.
One of the special traits the Autocannon has is the fact that its rounds are Explosive with a small AoE effect as well. This means that it can be used to close Bug holes and even take out Bot Fabricator Factories just like you do with grenades. However, this also means it can be very dangerous if you shoot a round very close to you as it will explode and most likely kill you so be careful.
The AC-8 Autocannon is one of the most powerful Support Weapons in Helldivers 2 that is able to easily take out Stalkers, Chargers, heavier Automaton units like Devastators, and even Gunships so make sure you get this one as soon as possible.
