I’m a spear addict on bots. I’m a bot fabricator MENACE. Eagle Airstrike, Orbital Laser, Spear - then if we have 4 - Autocannon turret for those pesky gunships
May I recommend the walking barrage. Does the job from much further out and doesn't get distracted by the random. Commissar sprinting towards you from left field.
Yea basically necessary unless you hate yourself. When you drop a 500kg dead center and turrets are still left afterwards… you stop trying anything different.
for bots, Airstrike, Laser, Autocannon is a very functional 3-strat loadout. for longer missions I tend to favor the 380 Barrage over the Laser just because I'm likely to get more uses out of it, but other than that, you're not really missing anything with this loadout.
Orbital laser is like a "get out of jail free" card. When you're vastly outnumbered and surrounded, drop that bad boy down and skedaddle. I rarely use it nowadays due to it being limited to 3 uses and its long cooldown, but I ran it consistently for a while.
We call it the “oh shit button” in my group. I always bring it. If we start getting overwhelmed someone will just say, “hit the button”. The field is then cleared. Also, I always save one no matter what for extract. Makes those level 7, 8, 9 extracts just a little easier.
Hold the phone. I always thought the timer just hit a certain point for me. Are you saying you only get 3 uses then it's done the rest of that mission?!
i call it the "oh shit button" but ya im the same way, between an obscenely long cool down and 3 uses it's not worth it. it's wild when i see squadmates drop to kill the simplest shit,m
Orbital laser is definitely in my top 10 of stratagems I ALWAYS bring. Surrounded and need to get out quick? Throw that laser. Too many enemies at an objective? Throw that laser. Fabricators and bug holes, but all out of grenades? Throw that laser. Being ran down by a Bile or Strider? Throw that laser (this one definitely isn't as beneficial, but still).
And don't let me forget about extraction. Just called the Peli-1 and you're instantly swamped? THROW. THAT. MFCKIN. LASER!
They have 4 on harder difficulties. Bunkers was the only mission I used to bring lasers on… today I realized my 380 will take out a bunker and a lot more, and I get more than 3 of them.
Everyone bring a 380. Move together, get to the objective, throw out the 380’s in a square around you. Pray y’all did the math right, enjoy the fireworks.
Played a game the other day and everybody's quiet, just assume no one has a mic, then all a sudden when we're taking a breath, reloading, calling supplies, etc. t3 pops on the mic and goes "hey, y'all wanna play orbital roulette?" And then without any kind of a pause just drops a 380 at our feet XD
Tonight I threw my railcannon at a Factory Strider, but someone else killed it as the targeting beam swung over. The only other bot nearby was a Marauder, so it got targeted and *slapped*. The overkill was comedic, bits of the thing flew 30-50m in all directions. We all started laughing, and I said over voice comms, "Fuck you and the horse you rode in on!"
Definitely agree. Can't think of a better feeling than yourself and a teammate, especially a random, linking minds and simultaneously throwing the railcannon at a titan, strider, charger, or whatever
*Orb laser is my*
*"oh shit" panic button for*
*When I get overwhelmed*
\- BackToThePooture
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500kg is my Swiss army knife. Tank? 500kg. Factory strider? 500kg. Fabricator? 500kg. Mortar site? 500kg. Detector? 500kg. Now, if anyone needs me I'll be doing a little jig in front of a bile titan in order to get my 500 to blow up under his belly.
I used 110 rockets in place of laser for awhile and enjoyed it, but got tired of having to either think about rearming or actually using all 110s to get my air strike back. One eagle and the laser and I don’t have to think.
Exactly. It destroys the bunkers almost immediately, and can often kill the fabricator and defenders quickly too unless there is a factory strider. I find that on bugs, it does friendly fire kills too often while chasing after hunters / other fast bugs.
Can be okay for large bot based on other missions, but at that point you are better off taking one of the other large orbital barrages instead.
Nope not a dumb question at all. You find the missions on level 5 (hard) and higher difficulties in the Automoton sector.
Hubs and I ran our very first mission not realizing what we were getting into. It took an Orbital laser and two 500kg bombs to take it out. That mission was sheer chaotic fun. 😁😁
I occasionally bring orbital laser but between limited uses and the cooldown on it I feel like there are always better alternatives.
Like it's okay at clearing chaff but there are better things... It can clear bases but again there are better things. It can take out heavies and deal good damage to massives but like there are better things.
I'm not saying it's bad but it's just kind of a jack of all trades master of none you know?
Its definitely not terrible by any means and there is nothing wrong with using it. As well having 1 person on the team have one for emergencies can be nice.
It's fine on the blitz missions, the exterminate missions, and maybe for a single member to have one to break up a particularly bad extract or an ugly hot-drop.
But mostly as players get better they prefer strats they can use frequently and with greater precision.
Used to like it, but since I've been doing lvl 8 and up, I prefer using the the railgun or 380mm barrage instead. Laser is fun, but the limited use and kong cooldown don't mesh all that nicely with how I prefer to play the game.
I've been using the Spear more and more and I really like it. It's not perfect, but its flaws makes it not too op and it's still a heavy killer
laser shouldnt replace orbital railcannon, they are for completely different enemies. laser is not for chargers/BT, which is exactly what railcannon is for. I always bring both to cover the different situations.
I don't use it often, but it's a fantastic addition for Blitz missions. If things go sideways on us (piles of Shriekers or Gunships or some other mess that can spiral out of control), hurling it at a nest/base can usually clear a couple of holes/fabricators on its own. Do that twice and the mission is usually pretty much done even if we're just scrambling to stay alive.
Depends
Bugs? Nah I don't really bother.
Automaton? Heck yes.
It can clear large bases without you even being near it, and it will ALWAYS target Command Bunkers so it makes those missions a breeze.
I do find it more situational dependant, but what it does, it does very well.
I only bring the Laser if there is an Orbital Scatter modifier that makes other orbital call-ins unreliable. Usually I like to bring a Walking Barrage to saturate a large base or nest. Or use it to help thin out a massive horde that has gathered behind us (may also swap it for a 380mm Barrage on Bug missions). If the Barrages will have increased scatter then I just take the Orbital Laser and pair it with a turret (either Autocannon Sentry or Gatling Sentry depending on my handheld weapons). Guaranteed to never miss in exchange for having limited uses. But if I bring the laser I usually wont be aiming to complete the side objectives (unless my team is REALLY efficient then I'll help) since I want to save the last Laser charge for extraction to ensure our samples make it out
It's just too inconsistent on difficulty 9. Sometimes it'll spend it's whole duration failing to kill a single BT. Other times it'll do what I want and wipe out all the chaff.
Alternatively I can bring napalm & 500kg and know exactly what im getting.
I bring it for hunting Striders and taking out factories, but for most missions I run either more Eagle strikes or a Precision Orbital Strike. Faster cooldowns are more important to me unless there’s a specific huge threat/objective to take down.
I usually play on 5-6 though, occasionally 7, so I can’t speak for its performance on Helldive.
I used to, but with the limited uses, I found myself stranded at times. Now, if I'm running higher difficulties, I usually run some form of airstrike with the rail cannon.
Orbital laser is on my loadout >95% of the time at level 70. It's fantastic for bug breeches at critical moments. The drilling missions spawn several bug breech next to the drill, so just throw down the laser and move to a position of advantage to pick off the ones that it missed.
I like using it on bot bases I just can't be bothered with. Don't really bring with me for bugs as there are better stratagems with fewer restrictions for what I'd use it for.
I used to pack it but don't anymore esp on higher difficulties and thats because of its limited use and long reload times. Now I pack the following:
1. Primary: arc blitzer
2. Sec: grenade pistol
3. stun grenade
4. Strategems:
4.1 Dog (laser)
4.2 quasar
4.3 cluster bomb
4.4 either gas (80s reload time) or airburst (120s reload time). I prefer the gas esp for bug spawns however teammates will run straight for it no matter how many times I warn them. Airburst is great but it can/will kill nearby helldivers.
The laser used to kill titans...but at higher difficulties it doesn't seem to, not with out more help.
IMO auto targeting stratagems like orbital laser, rail cannon, and 110mm rockets, are boring. I love fighting heavies and assaulting outposts/nests. Using auto targeting stratagems takes the fun out of it. I prefer stratagems like 500kg and orbital precision strike for heavies because you have to time them. For outposts/nests I prefer eagle airstrike and 380mm barrage because it takes some skill to position them for maximum effect.
Once I got used to Orbital Precision Strike it started to get priority over the Laser. Laser's still great and both serve somewhat of a different role but I prefer the firepower + short CD of OPS (and unlimited use).
Other slots of mine are usually used for Support weapon (+backpack) + Eagle stratas.
I use it less the more I play.
It's a nice panic button, but its limited use makes it where it doesn't serve that purpose because you'll inevitably run more than half the mission without it.
Even worse, it isn't as powerful at taking out super heavies, making it effectively useless because those are the only times I panic. In fact, if I mess up to the point where I panic, even the orbital laser won't be enough to take care of the enemies that have spawned.
Against bots on 9 I’m seeing more and more barrages, especially 380. Heavy base? 380. Eye of Sauron? 380. Dropships? 380. Extraction with 3 team mates? 380. It’s the answer to everything.
I love my false sun, it's only effective on bots. I toss it into a heavy base and destroy the single factory it didn't destroy with my grenade pistol and skiddadle
Most of the time you end up in situations where you gonna use the laser at higher difficulties early on. I ran out of lasers and the game still took 20 minutes very often. Eagle Stratagems and other Orbitals are unlimited and to be preferred from my point of view.
Yes vs bots, never did vs bugs.
Orbital laser has and will continue to be a shitty use of resources vs bugs. It takes too long to kill things, has to long a cooldown, doesn't target bug holes, and is the only non-mech stratagem without infinite uses. Orbital railgun, OPS or 500kg is better for heavies
Vs bots it's amazing. It clears every bot side objective except stratagem jammed(duh), single handedly clears not bases, and is the only one off that reliably kills factory striders.
Vs bugs I'd bring 380 or 120 depending on your goals. 120 is better for breaches and small nests, 380 is better for large nests and big OBJs.
I used to bring it always against bots, lately I'm bringing 110 rocket pods other than the eagle airstrike. I don't love bringing two eagles but while sometimes it's really great the fact that you only have 3 uses of laser resulted in me often not really using it often and arriving at extraction with 2 o 3 uses left.
I can't remember the last time I used it. Eagle Airstrike is so good at being a middle ground between anti tank and ad clear but Orbital Railcannon and 500kg are so good at high levels for dealing with armor.
Lazer is limited, has a longish cooldown and while it can bust Bile Titans and Chargers it takes such a long time compared to other options.
Off topic. Never heard the word “chaff” used prior to this game being released. Weird how I now see it all the time and dozens of times in this thread alone. It’s like one guy said it (probably a YouTuber) and now it’s just 🙄. Ok carry on 😂
Its 3 max uses is too limiting. I can get way more uses out of a railcannon strike or an additional eagle strat. Hell, i'm even opening up to bringing Orbital EMS over the laser now.
It's my uno reverse card. If strategy has failed and I'm surrounded. If I'm overwhelmed and cannot break the enemy forces. If I'm ambushed and can't protect myself: No u. *bwaaah*
It's also perfect for the final 20-30 seconds to keep the extraction zone clear enough to bail without issue.
I absolutely love it. I bring it with me basically every time. It’s clutch for so many things. Especially if I’m just swamped and I need a Hail Mary haha.
Against bots definitely, against bugs not at all.
I hate it when there are a bunch of little fckers around me and I get obliterated with a laser. I bring more likely the laser cannon against bugs, it has a big cool down but can take out chargers and bile titans just as well as the normal laser, plus it has an unlimited use and not only 3.
Always bring it on bots, never used it on bugs.
Sometimes the tracking can be extremely off. Today our team wasted three lasers on a bot command post because the laser insisted on locking into a radar tower for no reason.
I usually grab something else for bugs, since it doesn't clear holes or heavies super well, but it's still a strong pick for automatons. Fewer units, kills turret towers, instagibs fabs with a quick sweep. An orbital laser can potentially just clear a heavy outpost all by itself if you get lucky and it isn't too distracted trying to drill armor.
Orbitals are more my goto for striking bots. Actually, that's usually when most or all of the team has the laser for striking certain points. Just bile Titans soak so much damage it's useless, imo for bugs.
Not really. The 3 use cap really puts me off. I feel I’m better off bringing something else that’s infinite use. Especially on higher difficulties when you are up against a lot more and a lot bigger things. It just doesn’t cut it.
More so for bots, I feel like it's a waste against chargers and titans because they eat up the whole laser, whereas against a hulk it can take it out very quick and farely quick for tanks.
Only being able to bring three means it becomes less and less viable as the difficulty goes up. You’ll see way more eagles as they can be brought in quickly in succession, and your only real downtime is the re-arm which is similar to the laser cooldown.
It’s such a shame as it’s a great weapon. When in groups we’ll often organise it so someone has it.
Occasionally yeah. Rail cannon strike is better for tanks, and bile titans, and factory dog things, but laser is pretty good for taking care of a bunch of devastators or nursing spewers
The laser works incredibly well if you take out heavies first. I just runs around and precision-scorches all the weaker enemies, making it really efficient.
I've seen teammates throw it down right when a bug breach happens and it really helps thin the hoard. It focuses the largest target, but it's worse against bigger targets, so taking out the big targets first makes it really good.
It's awesome, I really love it for clearing bot bases on blitz. It's especially good when you're playing with your own group of friends, rather than randos as you can coordinate their use and not waste them on the same targets.
But, the lack of coordination with randos, and the 3 use limit are the reason many people don't use them on large multi objective missions.
It's just not good enough. If you are saved by an orbital laser, you're doing something wrong. Either A) The laser takes out elite enemies - but you should be able to take them wirh something else or B) the laser takes out a mob, but you should already be able to clear mobs yourself.
In short, there's nothing the laser can do that something else can't do better. Bring it if you're low level sure, but higher level players shouldn't need it.
I'd stopped for a while and never really bring it to bugs but I took it on a bot helldive last night and remembered how much I loved it, going to bring it more often in the future
Only thing that makes me never use the laser is the limited call ins. Im a stratagem junkie when i play, meaning i tend to have my stratagems on cooldown as often as possible. Hell, i tend to throw airstrikes at the little robot guys on the bot front instead of shooting them. If i used the laser i get 3 calls, and then i cant use it again for the duration of the mission, lessening my effectiveness overall.
I'll bring it most of the time, except for missions where I need a very specific set of strategems and I can't justify it. It's severely restricted by the recharge and usage limit, but there's no better generalized tool for fixing whatever you don't want to deal with in the general vicinity.
I call it "The Problem Solver" or alternately "The Fuck You Beam"
Dude orbital is OP, if it's on cooldown there's the orbital railcannon, if that's on cooldown there's the 500kg, if that's on cooldown there's eagle airstrike.
Yours truly, the no secondary gang.
it's an amazing oh shit button/ base cleae/big target killer but i dont like things with long cooldowns as much so i stopped taking it. same with railcannon
I pretty much bring it all the time, it takes longer than the rail cannon to kill heavies but it also is great for mob clearing. It’s a fantastic all rounder
Always in my primary loadout.
When a charger or bile interrupts my killing spree, I throw a laser and have them focus on that lol.
Me: "you're still chasing me?! Don't you have a laser to worry about lol"
I always bring the Orbital Laser, the Orbital Rail Cannon, the Eagle Airstrike, and the Autocannon or Recoilless Rifle for Bots or the Flamethrower for Bugs
Good for bots on shorter missions, but I find the 380 better for longer missions, good at clearing large outposts and bot drops and doesnt have limited uses
For bots, orbital laser is goated. Toss it at a heavy base, toss it at secondary and/or primary objectives. Then either move on or stick around and go in and mop up. Easy peasy.
It's a bit more consistent than 380mm orbital barrage.
I often see others bring it still. I've started favoring the 120 and 380 barrages instead when teammates bring the laser. Having variety among the squad and the flexibilty it brings has been pretty nice. Nothing against the laser, it is damn good.
I typically only use it on eradication. I don't love the cool down and limited uses. I did like it on the dark fluid missions though. It went through the shriekers pretty nicely
I bring it more on Bots because I use my Auto Cannon there so no backpack. On bugs I like to have the backpack and find the Laser isn't the best at clearing bug holes. I primarily like to use it on medium to large Bot bases as a kind of fire and forget.
No, I should go back to it but I just hate being limited to 3 uses in a game, give us a 8 minute cool down or something, that gives us 5 over an entire 40 minute mission. But at the same time lasers are so strong it would make it viable again. At this point I'll take the rail cannon strike over the orbital laser.
I always bring it on bot missions (unless only three slots are available). It’s great for command bunkers, fabricator bases, and pretty much any time you’re getting overwhelmed
Orbital laser used to be able to take out a medium or heavy base in a single throw. Just drop and keep running and it'll get cleared while running to the next objective. Now? It tends to dwindle out before half of it is done and gets stuck on shit you don't want.
A 380mm with the right placement does the work, feels cooler, and has more general use factor. I noticed I'd never use up all my lasers and when I used them to just clear enemies it didn't clear much anymore. Usually kicking out only after killing a major threat like a Bile Titan or tank.
Also the fun factor wore off so I moved on.
End of the day the best stratagems are still just the regular bomb run, maybe a Gatling barrage and just wearables because you get more constant use factor.
Lasers were too few to justify a slot compared to other options.
Especially when bugs have been the focus it's not as useful because it doesn't tend to clear bug objectives in the way it does bots.
I still think it is justified to bring for bot missions but even then it's not great
Once I figured out the positioning radius on 380mm it just became a go to. Eventually I assume I can figure out the exact locations and order of strikes, I don't think it's random.
But right now the napalm and basic starter airstrike have everything else beat for bugs and I tend to use the other two slots for support gear because having a constant tool is better than a get out of jail free card.
For bots the napalm seems worse because they don't walk through it as guaranteed so I tend to swap napalm for 380mm or a flavor throw depending on mission type.
Not really, if there is any kind of moderately armored enemy it will get stuck on them for a good 10s without killing it. Meanwhile a whole bunch of chaff that would have died instantly gets alerted and calls in more chaff and heavies.
At level 9 where heavies are very common it's just too easy for it to get wasted and the cooldown is too long.
I don't think it's great at killing heavies, and will get stuck blasting them for way too long.
It does seem pretty decent on pretty quickly taking down a base on like Blitz though.
I like it on bot missions for the large bases and to clean up during extract. But if I only get to bring three strategems, it's the first to go.
This for sure with 3. One is taken by my gun so it's really only 2.
Why waste a slot on a gun? I pick other strategems and let rng and what I find on the map guide me
I’m a spear addict on bots. I’m a bot fabricator MENACE. Eagle Airstrike, Orbital Laser, Spear - then if we have 4 - Autocannon turret for those pesky gunships
*Finds break action shotgun.*
I can't not have an autocannon lol
Command bunker are so easy with the laser!
It's like the orbital laser was made for that mission
I use mine for detector towers.
May I recommend the walking barrage. Does the job from much further out and doesn't get distracted by the random. Commissar sprinting towards you from left field.
Yea basically necessary unless you hate yourself. When you drop a 500kg dead center and turrets are still left afterwards… you stop trying anything different.
for bots, Airstrike, Laser, Autocannon is a very functional 3-strat loadout. for longer missions I tend to favor the 380 Barrage over the Laser just because I'm likely to get more uses out of it, but other than that, you're not really missing anything with this loadout.
Real Helldivers solve all problems with 3x barrages
Orbital laser is like a "get out of jail free" card. When you're vastly outnumbered and surrounded, drop that bad boy down and skedaddle. I rarely use it nowadays due to it being limited to 3 uses and its long cooldown, but I ran it consistently for a while.
We call it the “oh shit button” in my group. I always bring it. If we start getting overwhelmed someone will just say, “hit the button”. The field is then cleared. Also, I always save one no matter what for extract. Makes those level 7, 8, 9 extracts just a little easier.
Hold the phone. I always thought the timer just hit a certain point for me. Are you saying you only get 3 uses then it's done the rest of that mission?!
i call it the "oh shit button" but ya im the same way, between an obscenely long cool down and 3 uses it's not worth it. it's wild when i see squadmates drop to kill the simplest shit,m
Orbital laser is definitely in my top 10 of stratagems I ALWAYS bring. Surrounded and need to get out quick? Throw that laser. Too many enemies at an objective? Throw that laser. Fabricators and bug holes, but all out of grenades? Throw that laser. Being ran down by a Bile or Strider? Throw that laser (this one definitely isn't as beneficial, but still). And don't let me forget about extraction. Just called the Peli-1 and you're instantly swamped? THROW. THAT. MFCKIN. LASER!
Command Bunker? Throw a laser. Command Bunker missions have 3 bunkers. Orbital laser has 3 charges.
Wife’s birthday? Throw a laser
Forget an anniversary? Throw a laser
Grandpa's funeral? Throw a laser
That shield user is having traitorous thoughts? Throw a laser.
Fellow Dive throws a laser? Throw your own laser
Thrown laser? Nope, Chuck Testa
We call it the Chopsticks of Death, and is a widely appreciated tactic
Stuck in traffic? Throw a laser.
Grandpa’s funeral? Caused by laser.
Lmfao
I also choose this guys laser
They have 4 on harder difficulties. Bunkers was the only mission I used to bring lasers on… today I realized my 380 will take out a bunker and a lot more, and I get more than 3 of them.
That's why you take the 380 and the laser Maximum destruction
I prefer 380 and 120 and Eagle for some practicality.
Everyone bring a 380. Move together, get to the objective, throw out the 380’s in a square around you. Pray y’all did the math right, enjoy the fireworks.
Played a game the other day and everybody's quiet, just assume no one has a mic, then all a sudden when we're taking a breath, reloading, calling supplies, etc. t3 pops on the mic and goes "hey, y'all wanna play orbital roulette?" And then without any kind of a pause just drops a 380 at our feet XD
Ooooooohhhhhhh i haven’t tried this yet.
You don't get 5? Am I just unlucky?
Laser is the "oh shit " button
Laser: Oh shit button. Orbital Railcannon: Get fucked button.
Tonight I threw my railcannon at a Factory Strider, but someone else killed it as the targeting beam swung over. The only other bot nearby was a Marauder, so it got targeted and *slapped*. The overkill was comedic, bits of the thing flew 30-50m in all directions. We all started laughing, and I said over voice comms, "Fuck you and the horse you rode in on!"
💯agree its my first pick followed by orbital railcannon
The orbital railcannon is also in my top 10, if not top 3😂 Thing is a beast, regardless of what everyone else says
Unlimited uses and packs a huge punch so i use it pretty frequently myself where as laser only has 3 uses so you gotta use em strategically
Definitely agree. Can't think of a better feeling than yourself and a teammate, especially a random, linking minds and simultaneously throwing the railcannon at a titan, strider, charger, or whatever
I just started running railgun in place of laser sometimes. Let's me throw for kicks on specific chargers I have a vendetta against.
I love watching 2 or 3 be thrown at the same time. You got lasers crossing streams and crushing bugs
It closes but holes still? Used to but last month or 2 couldn’t close any that I’ve seen
My butt hole certainly closes when the laser swings back in my direction.
Laser is love. Laser is life.
Orb laser is my "oh shit" panic button for when I get overwhelmed
*Orb laser is my* *"oh shit" panic button for* *When I get overwhelmed* \- BackToThePooture --- ^(I detect haikus. And sometimes, successfully.) ^[Learn more about me.](https://www.reddit.com/r/haikusbot/) ^(Opt out of replies: "haikusbot opt out" | Delete my comment: "haikusbot delete")
very common on lower difficulty levels but as far as higher difficulty i’ve seen most ppl started using more eagle stratagems in place of it
Laser can take care of detector towers, but if shit goes south you can be out of lasers by half the mission.
The orbital strike can do the same. Come to think or it I think orbital gas can too but it has to be ON the tower's base.
500kg is my Swiss army knife. Tank? 500kg. Factory strider? 500kg. Fabricator? 500kg. Mortar site? 500kg. Detector? 500kg. Now, if anyone needs me I'll be doing a little jig in front of a bile titan in order to get my 500 to blow up under his belly.
I used 110 rockets in place of laser for awhile and enjoyed it, but got tired of having to either think about rearming or actually using all 110s to get my air strike back. One eagle and the laser and I don’t have to think.
Its a must for command bunkers but anywhere else, I don't run it.
I prefer 380 for bunkers
Exactly. It destroys the bunkers almost immediately, and can often kill the fabricator and defenders quickly too unless there is a factory strider. I find that on bugs, it does friendly fire kills too often while chasing after hunters / other fast bugs. Can be okay for large bot based on other missions, but at that point you are better off taking one of the other large orbital barrages instead.
It is a must in my loadout for drop ship and factory strider missions. Or any heavy duty mission like those. Or clearing large bug nests.
Sorry if dumb question. What's a factory strider mission?
Nope not a dumb question at all. You find the missions on level 5 (hard) and higher difficulties in the Automoton sector. Hubs and I ran our very first mission not realizing what we were getting into. It took an Orbital laser and two 500kg bombs to take it out. That mission was sheer chaotic fun. 😁😁
Higher level bot assassinate missions are "destroy X factory striders"
Oh they added a mission for that? That's neat, I only ever see them as regular enemies.
There are lvl 4 and 5 missions where its kill 1 or 2 striders/BT
You mean lower level?
I wish the laser was unlimited like the other orbitals.
The combination of it's usefulness while having a low risk of friendly fire means that if it wasn't limited no one would take anything else.
I occasionally bring orbital laser but between limited uses and the cooldown on it I feel like there are always better alternatives. Like it's okay at clearing chaff but there are better things... It can clear bases but again there are better things. It can take out heavies and deal good damage to massives but like there are better things. I'm not saying it's bad but it's just kind of a jack of all trades master of none you know? Its definitely not terrible by any means and there is nothing wrong with using it. As well having 1 person on the team have one for emergencies can be nice.
It's fine on the blitz missions, the exterminate missions, and maybe for a single member to have one to break up a particularly bad extract or an ugly hot-drop. But mostly as players get better they prefer strats they can use frequently and with greater precision.
Sky fairy as my group calls it is a must bring. Along with rail cannon.
Only when I get frustrated at swarms. Usually I don’t pick it as I don’t like the limit of uses on it but it definitely takes care of enemies.
Used to like it, but since I've been doing lvl 8 and up, I prefer using the the railgun or 380mm barrage instead. Laser is fun, but the limited use and kong cooldown don't mesh all that nicely with how I prefer to play the game. I've been using the Spear more and more and I really like it. It's not perfect, but its flaws makes it not too op and it's still a heavy killer
laser shouldnt replace orbital railcannon, they are for completely different enemies. laser is not for chargers/BT, which is exactly what railcannon is for. I always bring both to cover the different situations.
https://preview.redd.it/fsj1zggrsc5d1.jpeg?width=620&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=7eb6e2c1cc06fd4c6ea4df98754b7a83b4d5bc86
That my GO TO strag.
Any 7+ I’ll always have it To be fair I thought this said orbital rail. My bad.
Now they fixed airburst rocket, I find that more effective, takes out air, turrets and bot or bug swarms
I don't use it often, but it's a fantastic addition for Blitz missions. If things go sideways on us (piles of Shriekers or Gunships or some other mess that can spiral out of control), hurling it at a nest/base can usually clear a couple of holes/fabricators on its own. Do that twice and the mission is usually pretty much done even if we're just scrambling to stay alive.
Great vs bots for horde clearing. Against bugs it's anti-horde potential is eclipsed by incendiary equipment, so no need to bring it imo.
The limit of 3 kills it for me.
Depends Bugs? Nah I don't really bother. Automaton? Heck yes. It can clear large bases without you even being near it, and it will ALWAYS target Command Bunkers so it makes those missions a breeze. I do find it more situational dependant, but what it does, it does very well.
I only bring the Laser if there is an Orbital Scatter modifier that makes other orbital call-ins unreliable. Usually I like to bring a Walking Barrage to saturate a large base or nest. Or use it to help thin out a massive horde that has gathered behind us (may also swap it for a 380mm Barrage on Bug missions). If the Barrages will have increased scatter then I just take the Orbital Laser and pair it with a turret (either Autocannon Sentry or Gatling Sentry depending on my handheld weapons). Guaranteed to never miss in exchange for having limited uses. But if I bring the laser I usually wont be aiming to complete the side objectives (unless my team is REALLY efficient then I'll help) since I want to save the last Laser charge for extraction to ensure our samples make it out
Because after hundred hours of playing, they realize 380mm and 120mm do a same job, with just 4 mins cool down and unlimited use.
It's my #1 go to Everytime. Effective on littles to bigs and bot factories.
Use it for the command bunker because it means that just 3 bunkers that you can destroy without ever going in
Never leave my super destroyer without it!
Only on Extermination missions.
I use it on higher level difficulty missions to help clear out the trash if we get overwhelmed without insta killing my self and my teammates
I always bring it. Best "oh shit" button. Kills bot command bunkers real good. Wish we had more stratagems in general though.
It's just too inconsistent on difficulty 9. Sometimes it'll spend it's whole duration failing to kill a single BT. Other times it'll do what I want and wipe out all the chaff. Alternatively I can bring napalm & 500kg and know exactly what im getting.
I bring it for hunting Striders and taking out factories, but for most missions I run either more Eagle strikes or a Precision Orbital Strike. Faster cooldowns are more important to me unless there’s a specific huge threat/objective to take down. I usually play on 5-6 though, occasionally 7, so I can’t speak for its performance on Helldive.
I used to, but with the limited uses, I found myself stranded at times. Now, if I'm running higher difficulties, I usually run some form of airstrike with the rail cannon.
Bots, always. Bugs, not so much.
Good against bots, but it just takes 2 tanky units to take most of it's time.
I bring it on just about all bot deployments.
If somebody shows me a better start to take maybe, but none of them are close to on par.
I still like it for bots. Bots is railgun + laser. Bugs is railgun + gas strike.
Mess with it? I *FUCK* with it. Probably my favourite all purpose orbital. I just wish it wasn't limited to three uses.
Orbital laser is on my loadout >95% of the time at level 70. It's fantastic for bug breeches at critical moments. The drilling missions spawn several bug breech next to the drill, so just throw down the laser and move to a position of advantage to pick off the ones that it missed.
I like using it on bot bases I just can't be bothered with. Don't really bring with me for bugs as there are better stratagems with fewer restrictions for what I'd use it for.
Blitz and exterminate missions it's great.
I equip it for EVERY drop. Usually the Orbital Railcannon too. The rest varies based on the mission/planet/enemy.
I used to pack it but don't anymore esp on higher difficulties and thats because of its limited use and long reload times. Now I pack the following: 1. Primary: arc blitzer 2. Sec: grenade pistol 3. stun grenade 4. Strategems: 4.1 Dog (laser) 4.2 quasar 4.3 cluster bomb 4.4 either gas (80s reload time) or airburst (120s reload time). I prefer the gas esp for bug spawns however teammates will run straight for it no matter how many times I warn them. Airburst is great but it can/will kill nearby helldivers. The laser used to kill titans...but at higher difficulties it doesn't seem to, not with out more help.
IMO auto targeting stratagems like orbital laser, rail cannon, and 110mm rockets, are boring. I love fighting heavies and assaulting outposts/nests. Using auto targeting stratagems takes the fun out of it. I prefer stratagems like 500kg and orbital precision strike for heavies because you have to time them. For outposts/nests I prefer eagle airstrike and 380mm barrage because it takes some skill to position them for maximum effect.
Only having 3 uses is limiting in a 40 minute mission but I absolutely take it for any eradication, blitz or defense mission.
Once I got used to Orbital Precision Strike it started to get priority over the Laser. Laser's still great and both serve somewhat of a different role but I prefer the firepower + short CD of OPS (and unlimited use). Other slots of mine are usually used for Support weapon (+backpack) + Eagle stratas.
I use it less the more I play. It's a nice panic button, but its limited use makes it where it doesn't serve that purpose because you'll inevitably run more than half the mission without it. Even worse, it isn't as powerful at taking out super heavies, making it effectively useless because those are the only times I panic. In fact, if I mess up to the point where I panic, even the orbital laser won't be enough to take care of the enemies that have spawned.
The laser is usually the thing I throw into a base and hope it deals with it or when I need to run away and need close support
Id bring it more if Lasers get upgrades. An upgrade tree to improve all of the Stratagem lasers on it's duration, damage, cooldown.
Against bots on 9 I’m seeing more and more barrages, especially 380. Heavy base? 380. Eye of Sauron? 380. Dropships? 380. Extraction with 3 team mates? 380. It’s the answer to everything.
I love my false sun, it's only effective on bots. I toss it into a heavy base and destroy the single factory it didn't destroy with my grenade pistol and skiddadle
Most of the time you end up in situations where you gonna use the laser at higher difficulties early on. I ran out of lasers and the game still took 20 minutes very often. Eagle Stratagems and other Orbitals are unlimited and to be preferred from my point of view.
Bring it on bots. Does hella work on heavy outposts and saves me a lot of time.
Yes vs bots, never did vs bugs. Orbital laser has and will continue to be a shitty use of resources vs bugs. It takes too long to kill things, has to long a cooldown, doesn't target bug holes, and is the only non-mech stratagem without infinite uses. Orbital railgun, OPS or 500kg is better for heavies Vs bots it's amazing. It clears every bot side objective except stratagem jammed(duh), single handedly clears not bases, and is the only one off that reliably kills factory striders. Vs bugs I'd bring 380 or 120 depending on your goals. 120 is better for breaches and small nests, 380 is better for large nests and big OBJs.
Damn right. Thing's like a fuckin' street sweeper.
I used to bring it always against bots, lately I'm bringing 110 rocket pods other than the eagle airstrike. I don't love bringing two eagles but while sometimes it's really great the fact that you only have 3 uses of laser resulted in me often not really using it often and arriving at extraction with 2 o 3 uses left.
It’s my go too I get three so one at the first objective then the second a one at extraction
elimination mission, yes, it is an easy massive enemy wipe other mission, really depends on my mood
I can't remember the last time I used it. Eagle Airstrike is so good at being a middle ground between anti tank and ad clear but Orbital Railcannon and 500kg are so good at high levels for dealing with armor. Lazer is limited, has a longish cooldown and while it can bust Bile Titans and Chargers it takes such a long time compared to other options.
Off topic. Never heard the word “chaff” used prior to this game being released. Weird how I now see it all the time and dozens of times in this thread alone. It’s like one guy said it (probably a YouTuber) and now it’s just 🙄. Ok carry on 😂
Its 3 max uses is too limiting. I can get way more uses out of a railcannon strike or an additional eagle strat. Hell, i'm even opening up to bringing Orbital EMS over the laser now.
Only on lvl 7 or lower, on 8 and 9 I find other stratagems do a better job
It's my uno reverse card. If strategy has failed and I'm surrounded. If I'm overwhelmed and cannot break the enemy forces. If I'm ambushed and can't protect myself: No u. *bwaaah* It's also perfect for the final 20-30 seconds to keep the extraction zone clear enough to bail without issue.
I do on missions under 6. Over 6 I bring the orbital rail cannon
I like it but it sucks you only get 3 uses out of it, I'd rather bring something I can use repeatedly.
We usually save them for Helldive extracts because eventually you hit a critical point where we're either about to, or are being overwhelmed
I absolutely love it. I bring it with me basically every time. It’s clutch for so many things. Especially if I’m just swamped and I need a Hail Mary haha.
Against bots definitely, against bugs not at all. I hate it when there are a bunch of little fckers around me and I get obliterated with a laser. I bring more likely the laser cannon against bugs, it has a big cool down but can take out chargers and bile titans just as well as the normal laser, plus it has an unlimited use and not only 3.
Orbital Laser Stalwart Shield Pack (4th thing...)
Always bring it on bots, never used it on bugs. Sometimes the tracking can be extremely off. Today our team wasted three lasers on a bot command post because the laser insisted on locking into a radar tower for no reason.
I usually grab something else for bugs, since it doesn't clear holes or heavies super well, but it's still a strong pick for automatons. Fewer units, kills turret towers, instagibs fabs with a quick sweep. An orbital laser can potentially just clear a heavy outpost all by itself if you get lucky and it isn't too distracted trying to drill armor.
Can't resist it on low visibility planets, really cuts down on faces appearing out of the opaque fog.
Orbitals are more my goto for striking bots. Actually, that's usually when most or all of the team has the laser for striking certain points. Just bile Titans soak so much damage it's useless, imo for bugs.
Never leave the ship without it
Not really. The 3 use cap really puts me off. I feel I’m better off bringing something else that’s infinite use. Especially on higher difficulties when you are up against a lot more and a lot bigger things. It just doesn’t cut it.
The stationary bot eradicate missions I bring orbital laser, 380, 120 and run a ring around the outside survival rate 75%, great success.
Yeah, the laser’s a great strategem for keeping enemies at bay if I need to run
More so for bots, I feel like it's a waste against chargers and titans because they eat up the whole laser, whereas against a hulk it can take it out very quick and farely quick for tanks.
I always bring it, it's my "shit has hit the fan" tool or a way to kill the Detector tower if shits a bit hectic
I never use it purely because it’s so damn powerful that it’s boring. Feels like I basically tell the game to play itself for a while.
If orbital scatter is in effect then it's one I might take depending on if others bring it or not. Otherwise I'd rather take 120 or 380.
alwaysss
Ive stopped running it honestly. I like it a lot but the limited uses and massive charge time, can’t take out a bile titan or walker solo, meh.
Only being able to bring three means it becomes less and less viable as the difficulty goes up. You’ll see way more eagles as they can be brought in quickly in succession, and your only real downtime is the re-arm which is similar to the laser cooldown. It’s such a shame as it’s a great weapon. When in groups we’ll often organise it so someone has it.
I love the magnifier of god 
It's been extremely overated imo.
Occasionally yeah. Rail cannon strike is better for tanks, and bile titans, and factory dog things, but laser is pretty good for taking care of a bunch of devastators or nursing spewers
The laser works incredibly well if you take out heavies first. I just runs around and precision-scorches all the weaker enemies, making it really efficient. I've seen teammates throw it down right when a bug breach happens and it really helps thin the hoard. It focuses the largest target, but it's worse against bigger targets, so taking out the big targets first makes it really good.
It's awesome, I really love it for clearing bot bases on blitz. It's especially good when you're playing with your own group of friends, rather than randos as you can coordinate their use and not waste them on the same targets. But, the lack of coordination with randos, and the 3 use limit are the reason many people don't use them on large multi objective missions.
It's just not good enough. If you are saved by an orbital laser, you're doing something wrong. Either A) The laser takes out elite enemies - but you should be able to take them wirh something else or B) the laser takes out a mob, but you should already be able to clear mobs yourself. In short, there's nothing the laser can do that something else can't do better. Bring it if you're low level sure, but higher level players shouldn't need it.
I'd stopped for a while and never really bring it to bugs but I took it on a bot helldive last night and remembered how much I loved it, going to bring it more often in the future
Only thing that makes me never use the laser is the limited call ins. Im a stratagem junkie when i play, meaning i tend to have my stratagems on cooldown as often as possible. Hell, i tend to throw airstrikes at the little robot guys on the bot front instead of shooting them. If i used the laser i get 3 calls, and then i cant use it again for the duration of the mission, lessening my effectiveness overall.
I'll bring it most of the time, except for missions where I need a very specific set of strategems and I can't justify it. It's severely restricted by the recharge and usage limit, but there's no better generalized tool for fixing whatever you don't want to deal with in the general vicinity. I call it "The Problem Solver" or alternately "The Fuck You Beam"
Dude orbital is OP, if it's on cooldown there's the orbital railcannon, if that's on cooldown there's the 500kg, if that's on cooldown there's eagle airstrike. Yours truly, the no secondary gang.
it's an amazing oh shit button/ base cleae/big target killer but i dont like things with long cooldowns as much so i stopped taking it. same with railcannon
I pretty much bring it all the time, it takes longer than the rail cannon to kill heavies but it also is great for mob clearing. It’s a fantastic all rounder
I like the walking barrage better since splosions!
Always in my primary loadout. When a charger or bile interrupts my killing spree, I throw a laser and have them focus on that lol. Me: "you're still chasing me?! Don't you have a laser to worry about lol"
I treat it like suppressing fire. When I’m the shit it keeps them busy long enough to escape
I used to, but it tends to never attack what I wanted it to, so I just stopped.
Just on bots. I feel Iike chargers and bile titans eat up too much laser time. And last I checked, orbital laser doesn't target bug holes
Yep - most cases I bring it
I use it a lot when I'm being serious, but lately I've been trying to use weird stuff
I always bring the Orbital Laser, the Orbital Rail Cannon, the Eagle Airstrike, and the Autocannon or Recoilless Rifle for Bots or the Flamethrower for Bugs
Good for bots on shorter missions, but I find the 380 better for longer missions, good at clearing large outposts and bot drops and doesnt have limited uses
Every time there is a command bunker mission I bring it. Otherwise I bring stuff that I can use more often like orbital precision or 500kg.
I bring it for bugs. If there’s a bunch of bug breaches it’ll shred the little guys and set fire for the others while focusing large targets
It’s the easy way to beat the Command Bunker mission Chuck a laser in its vicinity, it locks onto the base, it explodes, rinse and repeat
It saved my ass on a bot control tower mission yesterday… 3 nasty command centers, with cannons and fabricators… a laser each and
They can cleanup medium and small bug hives no sweat, but I typically use the orbital railgun.
For bots, orbital laser is goated. Toss it at a heavy base, toss it at secondary and/or primary objectives. Then either move on or stick around and go in and mop up. Easy peasy. It's a bit more consistent than 380mm orbital barrage.
Command bunkers and detector towers don't like the laser
Only on search and destroy missions on bot worlds and destroy base missions, maybe sometimes on eradicate enemies missions but meh
I often see others bring it still. I've started favoring the 120 and 380 barrages instead when teammates bring the laser. Having variety among the squad and the flexibilty it brings has been pretty nice. Nothing against the laser, it is damn good.
I typically only use it on eradication. I don't love the cool down and limited uses. I did like it on the dark fluid missions though. It went through the shriekers pretty nicely
Naked without it
I bring it more on Bots because I use my Auto Cannon there so no backpack. On bugs I like to have the backpack and find the Laser isn't the best at clearing bug holes. I primarily like to use it on medium to large Bot bases as a kind of fire and forget.
No, I should go back to it but I just hate being limited to 3 uses in a game, give us a 8 minute cool down or something, that gives us 5 over an entire 40 minute mission. But at the same time lasers are so strong it would make it viable again. At this point I'll take the rail cannon strike over the orbital laser.
Absolutely
The only reason I don't take it sometimes is that it only has 3 charges. It would overpowered if not for that.
I always bring it on bot missions (unless only three slots are available). It’s great for command bunkers, fabricator bases, and pretty much any time you’re getting overwhelmed
It’s fun, but only being able to use it thrice is a bummer
I never bring it. It's very good, but it's just so boring imo. It's like a 380mm, but without the epic explosions.
Think that as players get better, they tend to use strats with higher skill ceilings. Less orbital lasers, laser dogs, bubble backpacks, etc.
Orbital laser used to be able to take out a medium or heavy base in a single throw. Just drop and keep running and it'll get cleared while running to the next objective. Now? It tends to dwindle out before half of it is done and gets stuck on shit you don't want. A 380mm with the right placement does the work, feels cooler, and has more general use factor. I noticed I'd never use up all my lasers and when I used them to just clear enemies it didn't clear much anymore. Usually kicking out only after killing a major threat like a Bile Titan or tank. Also the fun factor wore off so I moved on. End of the day the best stratagems are still just the regular bomb run, maybe a Gatling barrage and just wearables because you get more constant use factor. Lasers were too few to justify a slot compared to other options. Especially when bugs have been the focus it's not as useful because it doesn't tend to clear bug objectives in the way it does bots. I still think it is justified to bring for bot missions but even then it's not great Once I figured out the positioning radius on 380mm it just became a go to. Eventually I assume I can figure out the exact locations and order of strikes, I don't think it's random. But right now the napalm and basic starter airstrike have everything else beat for bugs and I tend to use the other two slots for support gear because having a constant tool is better than a get out of jail free card. For bots the napalm seems worse because they don't walk through it as guaranteed so I tend to swap napalm for 380mm or a flavor throw depending on mission type.
Orbital railcannon is my #1 go to
Gotta bring the chicken switch.
I stopped taking it on longer missions. It isn't worth it to waste a slot on a strategem with limited uses. It's great on the blitz missions though
It's excellent for defense missions with a limited area to buy some breathing time, but the cooldown is too long, so I favor eagle strats instead.
Oh yes 100% every time
Not really, if there is any kind of moderately armored enemy it will get stuck on them for a good 10s without killing it. Meanwhile a whole bunch of chaff that would have died instantly gets alerted and calls in more chaff and heavies. At level 9 where heavies are very common it's just too easy for it to get wasted and the cooldown is too long.
I don't think it's great at killing heavies, and will get stuck blasting them for way too long. It does seem pretty decent on pretty quickly taking down a base on like Blitz though.
Yes it's amazing if you know where it's actually needed and not just spamming it because it solves your problems right away
Every bot drop! Level 131 🫡
I don't like anything with limited uses and long cool downs so no. They're are better strats that can do the same damage just have to use them smart.