Back in 2024 I'd never have bet I'd still be running the LAS-98 Laser Cannon on difficulty 10, but here we are, and it's still my go‑to for solo runs where you need real sustain instead of praying for ammo drops, especially if you care about grabbing helldivers 2 items online fast enough to keep your build moving.

Why The Cannon Still Works

The bot front's changed a lot: dropships feel tougher, Hulks push harder, and those tight urban maps can turn into instant chaos if you misstep, but the Cannon still earns its slot because it lets you pick bots apart without wasting a single bullet. You're not trying to nuke the whole screen at once. You're lining up engine shots on Gunships before they can yeet you across the map, and burning down a Hulk's eye from cover while you're crouched behind a sad little rock that somehow keeps you alive. On cold planets it gets kind of silly; the heat builds so slowly that you can just keep the beam rolling far longer than you expect, and you start to play more aggressively because you know the gun will keep up.

Loadout That Keeps The Beam Alive

The whole kit needs to be built around one idea: keep the laser firing as often as possible. I pair it with the Sickle as my primary, and that combo feels like cheating sometimes. Cannon overheats or you need a breather, you swap to the Sickle and rake down scouts and light bots, then bounce straight back to the beam for the big stuff. Shield Generator Relay has turned into a must‑pick for me; dropping a bubble and calmly lasering a Factory Strider's belly while everything outside is losing its mind just feels right. For heavy targets I bring Eagle 500kg for tanks and the Orbital Laser when a big outpost or messy choke point needs to disappear right now.

Solo Rhythm And Target Priority

Playing solo on Super Helldive isn't about charging a base and hoping it works out. You start on the edge, crawl your way to a good angle, then slowly peel objectives away from the pack. When a dropship surprise‑spawns on you, you can't panic; you break engines on Gunships first, every time, then clean up the rest. I used to rely on Quasar for that job, but the cooldown just doesn't line up when you're getting three dropships back‑to‑back. With the Laser Cannon, if you can manage your heat and stay disciplined with weak spots, you can delete an entire patrol without ever opening a resupply.

Final Thoughts On Running The Beam

The Cannon's not a plug‑and‑play weapon; the lack of stagger means that when a Berserker gets right in your face you either swap fast or you die, and a lot of players bounce off it because of that. Stick with it for a few missions though and you start to feel how it changes your pace, how you stop wasting damage on armor and just calmly burn the vents, eyes and engines that actually matter. If you're trying to speed up your progression, unlock warbonds quicker, or you just don't want to grind out every single upgrade the slow way, plenty of people lean on places like u4gm to grab what they need and get back to dropping in with the builds they actually want to test.