'Such a democratic weapon it makes me cry': Helldivers 2 players salute the Quasar Cannon, Super Earth's new heavy armor god gun

It feels like only yesterday that I complained that Helldivers 2 doesn't have enough guns that rule against Automatons. Clearly Arrowhead heard my pleas, because in a surprise update this morning, two new support weapons arrived in the Super Earth arsenal: the MG-101 Heavy Machine Gun, and the true talk of the town, LAS-99 Quasar Cannon.

The Quasar Cannon makes a stunning impression. Its boxy, imposing body rests on the shoulder, similar to its distant cousin the Laser Cannon. But unlike laser beam weapons, the Quasar Cannon charges up one huge blast at a time. Mid-charge, the cannon's reticle spins as its internal mechanism whirs with anticipation. A concentrated ball of energy gathers at the end of the barrel, then releases with an understated zap followed immediately by a bassy impact. It's a mean machine, and I'm glad it's on our side.

Unlocked at level 18 for 7,500 Reqs, the Quasar doesn't have to reload, but has a sizable cooldown between shots. Not that whatever you just hit will still be standing—early testing suggests a single quasar blast is about as powerful as an anti-tank rocket, but with a few key advantages:

The Helldivers 2 community is welcoming the Quasar Cannon with open arms and clenched fists. Far and wide, players are sharing their early impressions of the support weapon, pointing out its one-shot-kill potential against Hulks, Chargers, fabricators, and even Automaton dropships. One top-upvoted post on the Helldivers subreddit by user The_Bored_Goat doesn't hold back the Quasar love:

«Best Weapon in the game. It's an EAT with infinite ammo, it performs just as well as the EAT damage-wise, doesn't have a reload animation, and has infinite range,» they wrote. «Such a democratic weapon it makes me cry.»

While superlatives are premature, the Quasar Cannon does slot nicely into a small club of weapons that can challenge Helldivers 2's strongest threats. Its raw damage and armor-piercing potential remind me of the pre-nerf Railgun that could bore out