Strategy Guides
5 December 2025

Helldivers 2 Maxigun Stratagem Guide

By newsgame


Helldivers 2‘s newest Warbond, the Python Commandos Warbond, introduced a variety of exciting new tools for the Helldivers arsenal, such as the AR/GL-21 One-Two assault rifle and the Defoliation Tool chainsaw, but the most noteworthy addition comes in the form of a long-requested stratagem, a belt-fed minigun: the M-1000 Maxigun.

Unlocked on page three of the Python Commandos Warbond, this Stratagem delivers a steady stream of lead into the enemies of managed democracy, but is it worth using? This guide breaks down what makes the Maxigun stand out—its strengths, its shortcomings—and offers an effective sample loadout to complement its stopping power on the battlefield.

helldivers 2 dust devils warbond splash art speargun

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How to Use the Maxigun Effectively

helldivers 2 magma world maxigun-1

Call-in Time

Uses

Cooldown Time

Stratagem Traits

7.75 seconds

Unlimited

410 seconds

Support Weapon, Hellpod, Backpack, Medium Armor Penetrating

First and foremost, the Maxigun feels great to wield. Its ergonomics and handling are similar to the Autocannon’s—sluggish when compared to its MG-43 Machine Gun counterpart, but it also feels appropriate for what it is. It absolutely shreds lightly armored enemies, and it tears apart medium-armored enemies like Alpha Commanders and Berserkers pretty quickly. For the most part, you should consider it as a kind of sidegrade to the MG-43 Machine Gun. It takes a backpack slot, which takes away some loadout options compared to the regular Machine Gun, but you never have to stop to reload.

You are immobilized while firing the Maxigun. This isn’t a major drawback, since you rarely want to run and gun with a Machine Gun anyway, but it’s worth a mention.

The backpack itself holds 750 rounds, with ground ammo pick-ups adding ~200 to the pack, while a Supply Drop refills the backpack entirely. Due to its rapid rate of fire, there’s a fair bit of overkill happening, similar to a Gatling Sentry, and you’d be surprised at how quickly you can run out of 750 rounds when you’re firing into a massive bug breach. Due to this fact, the most efficient way to fire this weapon is in more targeted bursts, but due to the (albeit brief) windup on the Maxigun, it doesn’t feel as good to fire it in this way. All of these factors combine to make the gun feel like it’s a bit ammo-starved. Down the line, I could see them increasing the ammo capacity to 1000 or even 1500, but at 750, you’ll want to make sure you’re regularly scouring POIs for ammo boxes—and make sure you’re able to grab supplies when a Supply Drop is called down.

An ally with a Supply Pack can keep feeding you ammo while you’re firing, resulting in some truly epic lead storms.

  • Like with other weapons, crouching or going prone helps immensely to reduce the Maxigun’s spray pattern while firing—equip an armor passive such as Fortified or Engineering Kit to maximize your aim.
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Sample Loadout to Complement the Maxigun

Helldivers 2 Eagle 500KG Bomb Explosion
The blast radius of the 500kg bomb is pretty small and inconsistent in Helldivers 2.

The Maxigun’s medium-penetrating ammo and rapid-fire delivery system can make quick work of annoying chaff and deadly medium-armored foes, but selecting the right gear is critical to overcome its ammo-hungry nature—and ensures you’re able to deal with all the threats to managed democracy that come your way.

Armor Passive
  • Engineering Kit: Further reduces recoil when crouching or prone by 30%. Increases initial inventory and holding capacity of throwables by +2. (Great for Terminids and Illuminate.)
  • Fortified: Further reduces recoil when crouching or prone by 30%. Provides 50% resistance to explosive damage. (Great for Automatons and Illuminate.)

Primary
  • DBS-2 Double Freedom: This Super Store double-barrel shotgun feels like the perfect pairing with the Maxigun. It deals devastatingly powerful hits at close range, where the Maxigun is a bit unwieldy to use effectively.
  • SG-451 Cookout: If you don’t have the Double Freedom, or you’re wanting more shots to your shotty, the Cookout has great stopping power and can light enemies on fire, adding some additional DPS to the battlefield.

Secondary
  • GP-31 Grenade Pistol: Pure utility, the Grenade Pistol is the go-to for closing enemy spawners (bug holes, bot fabricators, and squid warp ships).

Throwable
  • G-123 Thermite: One of several tools to deal with pesky heavy targets the Maxigun can’t reliably gun down. Attach to your nearest Charger, Impaler, Tank, or War Strider and enjoy the fireworks.
  • G-4 Gas: Top-tier choice when facing the Illuminate, the Gas grenades will disorient enemies and can still blow up spawners.

Stratagem 1
  • M-1000 Maxigun: The core pillar of this loadout.

Stratagem 2
  • Eagle 500kg Bomb: Call it in when you see a problem too big for the Maxigun to handle.
  • Orbital Railcannon Strike: An alternative ‘destroy that thing’ button to the 500kg Bomb. Uniquely great at dealing with the highly mobile Dragonroach, which is a plus.

Stratagem 3
  • Orbital 120mm HE Barrage: An excellent way to soften up a larger area, like a medium-to-large-sized nest. Some luck goes into where the Orbital Strikes land, but a well-placed 120 can be devastating to heavy targets and structures alike.
  • Orbital Walking Barrage: An alternative flavor to the 120mm, the Walking Barrage excels against Automatons as a way to soften up (or completely destroy) a target base downrange. It can even be deployed just outside the effective range of a Stratagem Jammer, and it will carve a path straight into it.

Stratagem 4
  • A/MG-43 Machine Gun Sentry: If you still yet crave more dakka, you can’t go wrong with the basic Machine Gun Sentry. While the Gatling Sentry delivers more power, the Machine Gun Sentry offers great and reliable chaff-killing goodness to complement your own. Its quick cooldown means it can be deployed in almost every skirmish.
  • A/AC-8 Autocannon Sentry: If you’re less worried about chaff and more worried about heavier targets (but still want something that can help with smaller targets as well), the Autocannon Sentry can be devastating against all enemy units. Placement is key, however. Against Terminids and Automatons, deploy somewhere high with a great view of the battlefield. If against the Illuminates, deploy well away from a Harvester—they’re sentry killers.
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Is the Maxigun Stratagem Worth It?

helldivers 2 maxigun and pack image

The Maxigun is a fine support weapon, delivering deadly firepower in a very satisfying package. It’s essentially a sidegrade to the MG-43 Machine Gun, so it can come down to personal preference for if the Maxigun or the standard Machine Gun is best for you. The Maxigun doesn’t need reloading; the Machine Gun forces you to crouch while reloading. The Maxigun takes up a backpack slot; the Machine Gun leaves you free to select one of your choice (if you’re interested).

Its smaller-than-you’d-like ammo capacity holds it back somewhat, urging a more tempered trigger finger to draw out its uptime, but ultimately, the Maxigun delivers the exact experience that it’s selling on its face.

One of the Maxigun’s biggest draws is its aura, plain and simple. The gun feels like a completely different beast from the Machine Gun, Stalwart, and the Heavy Machine Gun, and that kind of sidegrade variety adds a fun new experience to the game. It’s not going to suddenly become the best-in-slot, but it doesn’t have to be. The fact that it performs at a similar level to its existing counterparts is great.


Helldivers 2 Tag Page Cover Art


Released

February 8, 2024

ESRB

Mature 17+ / Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, In-Game Purchases, Users Interact

Developer(s)

Arrowhead Game Studios, Nixxes

Publisher(s)

Sony Interactive Entertainment, PlayStation Publishing



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