as long as there's no planet modifiers, especially the orbital scatter.

The game design principle of "new player" equipment becoming relevant again once a certain skill level is acquired is one of my favorites to run into in a game. There are only a few games that I've seen that have pulled this off and Helldivers 2 is one of them, OPS is one of the better examples of really nailing this concept.

You forget the orbital rail cannon targeting the scout strider amidst 3 hulks

Either new player or very experienced player will use this

I think another underrated factor of it is you only need 3 button presses to call it in. Very quick and easy to set up.

Level 150 here, I remember my first bile titan kill mission finished with a OPS direct hit and ever since that OPS have a special place in my heart and mix it with 500KG allow you to be a OBJ killer

On a semi unrelated note to the main point of this video, I couldn't help but notice the vanilla LMG being only brought by new players. Fun fact, me and my buddies always run a team of 2 on Helldive Bugs where one has the Recoiless + ammo backpack and the reloader has the recoiless rocket backpack + machinegun. Recoiless kills anything armored and the LMG kills everything else. The reloader gets so much ammo all the time to restock rockets that the LMG can basically be used as a primary, its amazing. And if you're asking why not the stalwart, well, the LMG has 3 AP compared to the stalwart's 2 AP, so you can easily behead brood commanders, wreck hive guards from the front, trivializing them, and even deal with spewers if needed! If you're reading this try it out, we beat helldive bugs CONSISTENTLY with this build (We always have a third player take GL / AC in case we roll spewers)

It's just so much more satisfying to pull off too. Takes much skill than just yeeting a railcannon or laser strike anywher in the area and having it auto lock

I re-discovered the orbital precision strike for helldive difficulty with all the same reasoning as you mention. Same goes for the Stalwart. When my entire team goes for the Quasar cannon on bug missions, I pick the Stalwart, crank it up to a 1150 RPM and just melt those hunter swarms.

I love the orbital precision strike, its perfect for danger close throws with teammates, because of the precision part. The low cooldown also makes it see usage a lot more than other stratagems. I bring it with me for doing solo side objectives and also taking out multiple chargers consistently

I'm glad the OPS is making a resurgence, it's funny that at first glance the Rail Cannon seems like a direct upgrade but that 70 second cooldown and insane damage is no joke. It's so universally good that there's virtually no wrong time to use it. Need to destroy Spore Tower/Jammer/Detector Tower in one hit? Call it in. Bug Breach? Call it in. Single bug hole/factory? Call it in. Large heavily armored enemy? Call it in. Weak enemies funneling through a chokepoint? Call it in. Ally getting swarmed by bugs? Call it in.

Only draw back for ops is the atmospheric interference modifier that makes orbital strikes inaccurate

I appreciate this awareness generation for the Precision Strike. I greatly enjoy using it against the Terminids because as you said; unless you miss, it will one-shot anything they can throw at you, particularly Titans. Against Automatons, I like the utility you mention against structures negating the need to use Hellbombs. That said, I find the Eagle Airstrike to simply be a more versatile and forgiving alternative, being able to handle all of the other threats including the Factory Striders with two air strikes. Sometimes even one will take them down if you line up the strike lengthwise with the Strider. If I’m taking in a stratagem particularly for destroying Automaton base objectives, I prefer the 380HE because you don’t even need to enter to base to take it out. Being able to just toss it in as you run by, and then scoot off to the next objective is very valuable to me on high difficulty bot missions.

If the ball of stratagems stuck 100% to the surface. But no, the developers have their own opinion on this matter.

Sir in the first minute you completely changed my mind. I'm taking this every single time from now on

Yup I also run it on Helldive and it's really underrated. Another great thing about it is it's super versatile, it can do everything. It's a great precision tool (it's in the name) as you said, but it's also decent to just throw into a crowd - not as good as an airstrike, but better than a 500kg at least. It's also nice for closing bug holes and fabricators. And the cooldown is low enough you can just spam it and often get multiple different uses per mission. No other stratagem can do so many things in just one stratagem slot.

The orbital rail cannon definitely needs a buff. It should guarantee-kill a bile titan or have it's cool down significantly reduced.

I know you were comparing it to the railcannon and laser, however I think the true comparison for the precision strike is the 500kg. Both are single target explosive stratagems, both can blow up detector towers. However 500kg has 2 charges per rearm when upgraded so you have multiple uses in a shorter timeframe than with the precision strike.

A big reason to bring the precision strike over the 500kg (it's closest competition), is that it frees you up to bring other eagle strikes, all of which are fantastic but compete with one another for cooldown efficiency.

It’s a staple in my loadouts. With the one second reduction in call down time and the reduced cooldown, it comes in pretty fast. Just learn the timing with biles, or better yet, run under them and call it in. One shot almost every time

i bring precision because less eagles are way better when it comes to throwing them out like candy plus it's the same as the 500kg slightly worse damage and aoe but it still works just as good

I don't know how other people use orbital lasers, but I personally find it useful for moments when you're alone or overwhelmed, or just to clear out a base to do an objective real quick then bounce. For those reasons, it's a must have for bots imo. But I will play around with the strategems thanks to this video.

Rail cannon is great for dealing with heavies when you are running for your life or saving a teammate running for theirs. It hardly ever misses even with a sloppy or rushed throw. We have begun bring the precision with us. Levels 60-110. For exactly your stated reason. Special buildings.

Yes agreed. Short cooldown. more consistent damage and direct hit to bile is just *chef kiss* This and airstrike are all you really need even at high level. Other 2 can be whatever you enjoy

Run supply pack, OPS, Machine Gun, and the big shield on bot missions, literally all you need.

I take it on almost all long missions as long as the map doesn't have the orbital scatter or longer call in time modifier.

Solid video, this is underrated for sure.

Level 96 and haven't brought the orbital since probably level 15 thinking it was inferior to other stratagems, man I was wrong thanks for reminding me how good it can be. Just brought it on a helldive and was downing titans pretty easily

I've actually been seeing a resurgence for people taking OPS in the last few weeks, myself included. I know I was prompted by a different youtuber's video that basically said the same thing as you about the OPS, but a few weeks back. Since then I've been loving combining it with stun grenades vs chargers and hulks, and throwing it on objectives like the detector tower. I do think it needs a bit of love to make it more competitive though. Something like a lower cooldown so that it can compete with the sheer utility of something like the eagle air strike, or a wider area of effect, especially the epicenter where it will actually guaranteed kill a bile titan or charger.

0:07 also the 11-20 times surprises me because the last one (the orbital 3x air strike) is so strong. Basically throw it whenever a bug breach starts u will kill 80-90% of the mobs with it and it's only like 100s cd. This combined with 500kg / orbital precision strike / orbital rail cannon + shield backpack + quasar / flamethrower makes ur life much easier on difficulty 7-9 against terminids

A shame the devs haven't fixed the stratagem beacon yet. It's supposed to track a target if you stick it with one until it actually fires, making hitting shots much easier, so I could see the intention of sticking heavies with it to kill them rather than hoping it hits or being forced to use stuns and stuff to keep them still. I wonder if they think that not having them track is better and left it broken intentionally at this point.

I already loved this, and now it’s cool down and call in time got buffed. It already has a more reliable hit box than the 500.

I am level 80 and am inclined to agree. Starting to use it again and quite like it! Learning to be accurate with the 500kg definitely carried over to this precision strike and I'm loving the quicker cooldown. Orbital railcannon is just not frequent enough for helldive spawns.

I brought the Precision Strike on my first Helldive operation, based on the simple logic of utility in constant fighting. It's not as powerful, but it's always there, and that's how we headshot the first ever Factory Strider to fall right next to me. I cut the footage down for time, and uploaded it as *"We shared plot armor in my first Level 9 Operation - HELLDIVERS 2"* because it was so awesome. It's actually the mission where I learned the Precision Strike doesn't track if you land it directly on a target. You're definitely right about this sleeper hit, Humble! Two thumbs up, Liked, Shared, Subscribed. EDIT: huh. Based on the full stratagem tier list, half of my loadouts are "never seen" on the battlefield (at least for that redditor). Neat. Never underestimate the jetpack and HMGs (or smoke against bots!).

I bring eagle strafe on almost every mission, just too good at taking out crowds quickly

I've been rocking this for a LONG time, this and 500kg + a rocket launcher and you can clear just about anything in the game. Adding a fire grenade plus a primary that has at least medium pen is a really good load out for just about any kind of helldive.

Modifiers are the reason I don't bring it more often. The increased call in time and orbital scatter are just so brutal for the ops, especially the scatter which basically renders if useless. I'd really like to see AH get more creative with the modifiers, like how fun would it be to have modifiers that cause chargers to be 2x the size/hp or something, that'd be cool and actually fun

Thanks. Great video.

OPS's best point: shorter cooldown I love to blow almost every objectives with no hesitate. OPS - 500 combo is amazingly smooth to take out all these big guys

OPS has become my go to vs bots lately. The versatility it has against them is actually pretty insane, and has surprised me quite a bit. For bugs, I take gas. After the weapons experimentation that gave us free gas, I've been rocking this vs bugs for when breaches happen. You can shut down breaches with them pretty hard

With a stun granade, it is a killer. Such an underrated one.

the OPS tracks the stratagem placement and it is really easy to stick onto the head of the factory strider or tank, so you can still sort of have it track enemies

The regular Machine gun is pretty good too, but OPS can 2 tap a factory strider if you're able to either coordinate with an ally, or are able to be left alone with it long enough for it to recharge.

Vets have been bringing precision strike since over a month ago when I quit playing I was seeing it. New players are not the only people bringing it. Same with machine gun. It’s just uncommon to see, but far more common than mines or something.

I quite often run 500KG / Precision Strike / Orbital Airburst / Recoiless Rifle. Its my "Bile Titan Killer" build. I use the 500kgs on BT's and get real close so they either spit or try to stab you with their legs. That way the 500kg always kills it. When I run out of the 500kgs I use my Precision Strike. The Airburst Strike I use only on Bug Breaches. If a Bile Titan spawns the Airburst wont hurt it, but it stuns and staggers it. Also the recoiless with the cancel reload I fire at BT's whenever I can.

Thanks for this. I only brought it on bug missions, now I see it's potential in bots. Played 3 games so far and its probably gonna stay in my loadout for awhile

Great video I used it constantly til I had laser and fully upgraded Eagle. But I’m bringing it back this week

I like the orbital precision and will use it over the 500kg bomb unless there is orbital scatter. The coolest thing is tracking the angle of your super destroyer to get a perfect hit on a detector tower without even needing to get inside the compound. Its angle of arrival is so much more predictable than the bomb, making it good for landing the direct hit on the factory striders and bile titans, provided skill is no issue.

Thanks for the info and presentation of its effectiveness. I always use laser and rail canon so I felt called out on this one LOL! But I want to try the strike when I get on later today and try my hand with it. Haven’t used since I was a fresh recruit. I’m level 61 now.

I'm surprised you never saw gas strikes being used. They have such a low cooldown and are highly effective at controlling lanes since they work on both factions. HIGHLY underrated strategem. I bring it on almost every solo run I do. It's great for covering a retreat as well if needed since it partially obscures vision, acting as a small smoke grenade.

Gas is so good against terminids swarms. That with Napalm are soo good on the recent missile defense missions

I started doing the trick of stun grenade on charger and then precise strike. That worked really well.

Hands down the BEST orbital stratagem. Thing is I tend to run strike/500kg/clusters (best in slot) and after the weapon (mandatory) and an AC/gatling turret is accounted for (twice as effective as any mine and vs bugs able to clear a patrol in its own or take down multiple heavies backed up by stun/end) my flex slot is usually something CC or defensive (ems/backpack/shield depending on mission, or More rarely the 380/deathray for softening up swarms or secondary targets). It can easily replace the turret via aim-bots tho as those things will cross-map a turret within seconds of it opening fire via rocket:cannon.

Thank you for this video c:

I bring it for helldive against hulks, BT's , tanks, striders. Its fantastic. As long as you consider the direction of fire from your super destroyer, it's not too bad. You can one shot anything and stun gernades for smaller units like chargers and hulks is fantastic.

So easy to bait bile titans and chargers, but it's also so easy to get cornered or walk into a BT's leg. I find OPS and 500 Eagle to be a main stay on my belt, still will mix it up and would also recommend orbital gas strikes since they can linger for a short time on bug breeches

What's the damage difference between the Precision Orbital Strike and the 500kg Eagle Airstrike? The 500kg gets 1 or 2 uses with a 150s recharge time, calls in faster, and isn't affected by orbital scatter, so I would expect Orbital Precision has to be doing a lot more damage to compensate.

Im lvl 70 and I still rock with the Precision strike almost every game. If you can line it up , you can kill anything you want with them. Plus , 100 sec cooldown is unbeatable

P strike is so much better than orbital rail, especially now after another buff lol. I love when they buff awesome things just because most dont use it. Has nothing to do with the actual stratagem. Has to do with the community not getting the memo

Yes. Lvl93 diver here, OPS is good, I never dive without unless there's a planet modifier affecting orbital stratagems precision, in which case i'll replace it with the 500kg. (Because I usually pair OPS with Eagle Strike, and dislike having 2 Eagle stratagem in my loadout)

Learning throw ranges (50m at a 45⁰ on level ground) makes using this to snipe factories and bugholes a dream. I just wish the airburst hut just a bit harder.

As long as there isn't cooldown increase or scatter increase, it's fantastic. It's a slower 500kg bomb with higher AP.

About the “lack of consistency” of some stratagems on bile titan (like the mentioned orbital laser and railcannon), I think it’s because of where they hit. If the laser or the orbital railcannon hit the head they take it out quickly/with one shot, while they just do a lot of damage on the back, same with the 500k, in fact if the projectile hit the head, the bile titan actually dies before the explosion (I think if you land the projectile on the head you can actually one shot it even with the gas, for instance). As it’s the case for many other enemies, probably the torso and head have separate HP pools and the head has less HP. As usual, it’s about the position compared to the star destroyer, so one could technically bait it to one shot it with almost anything. Technically… 😂 Of course, the precision strike (and also hellbombs) does not have this problem as the damage is enough (and has enough armour penetration) to reduce the torso hp to 0. I’m not 100% sure, but it makes sense and it would be consistent with the other “rules” of the game.

Orbital Gatling on bug breaches - S tier

Underrated stratagem, same with the MG. Once killed two Bile Titans with one strike, it was so satisfying.

I generally find precision strike to be a more reliable version of the eagle 500kg. They both do the same thing, but since OPS comes straight down from the sky, it gets stuck on rocks or random pieces of tall terrain a lot less. That and the 90s cooldown is short enough that it feels like I always have it when I need it. Add to that the good blast radius with full upgrades and its a very versatile strategem that's just kind of a "fuck you and anything in a 10 meter radius" to anything you want dead.

I think OPS finds itself in a strange spot amongst other options and thus leaves it out in the cold more often. For me personally, I'm an Eagle fanboi, between the Eagle Airstrike, and the 500KG I get more charges on shorter cooldowns that handle a wider variety of tactical use cases than what most of the orbital options present. I think in general Orbitals need much shorter cool downs to be competitive to many of the Eagle options. However I will say, having a teammate packing some orbitals does come in clutch when we got Anti-air emplacements over an area.

If u get good with the precision strike it’s amazing, but it’s hard to practice w a stratagem in this game since nice u wanna be a good teammate and show up for them. If u get good w the precision strike it’s one of the best!

The reason people don't take it out is because A. It's a "starting" stratagem, and B. It does not *BOOM* as much as others

I’ve started taking it in every mission. There’s no situation where I play a mission that a single well placed 380mm explosion wouldn’t have been beneficial multiple times thru the entire mission. Breaches? Drop on after the breach is already starting, let the bugs bunch up, stun em if you have to, maybe even catch the bile Titan. Bot drops? Get em to chase you, corral them into a killbox, drop a 380. It does everything the 500 can do, but on a 90 second cooldown. It’s amazing. It’s the perfect flex tool when you just need a big. Fucking. Boom. Right here, in the next 3 seconds. Those seconds can feel like an eternity but if you play smart and anticipate where you’ll need it, it’s just so worth having.

Me being the one guy that brings gas strike (after the DoT fix) and the airburst rocket, I guess I'm an outlier.

I think you should compare the orbital laser with the barrages instead, since more often than not they serve as base clear. They can be used as suppression to, but I always feel like it's a secondary feature.

I think there should be a Super Destroyer Low Orbit Modifier that reduces mission time length but also reduces super destroyer strategem cool down.

You know, I never thought it was a bad stratagem. It was probably just lost in the shuffle of trying literally everything else that I never remembered to revisit it. It's hard to argue with the video though and I'll pack it in my loadout.

My main loadout with stratagems is Eagle Airstrike, Railcannon Strike, and Precision Strike regardless of enemy and difficulty

In my experience, the laser does one-hit Striders and Titans as long as you're not away from the centre of the map, because then it hits their side or goes under them entirely, and where it hits changes as the unit turns, meaning it doesn't get its full damage potential or just distributes it across multiple body parts without killing the unit with focused damage on their back.

It sounds to me that the guns that do high stagger got way more viable now. Because I run gatling barrage it's so good with its low cool down and area denial I think my new load out will be The stun smg with the grenade pistol and the shield pack heavy mechangun and impacts for strategems going precision strike, gatling barrage and maybe autocannon turret and bubble shield ya I think I'm off to test this stuff

Good content, I will bring this stratagem along next time I’m killing bots. I’m getting bored of the laser anyway.

I learned something today

Being able to break structures is a great advantage of the OPS, but it also can't deal with Striders (Having to wait for it's cooldown at least once, and to be nearby), can also be hard to use it to kill Hulks and Chargers. I've been using AMR with Shield Gen (not backpack) and Autocannon Turret. Should a miracle happen, and the game let's you bring a 4th Stratagem, I like the jetpack for more entrance options against structures, and an easier time landing stratagems on top of structures. Shield Gen can be used both to safely use a hellbomb and prevent it's destruction, and to protect the Autocannon Turret while it kills a Strider (A single use will take a while to deal with it, but it can and will finish it with some protection). Problems with the Autocannon Turret includes dying to it's own AoE (close enemies) and aiming at bot factories (Which from my experience, it CAN break them, but it will take about 18 shots, perhaps?). But I've found some use for it even against bugs. Complaints I have about the Shield Generator is that it has both a limited time during which it works (not something you'd expect after seeing the backpack) AND a limited health pool (won't hold a patrol back for too long).

I run the 380mm barrage instead of the laser. You get way more uses in long missions and it too can clear heavy bases with 80%success rate. And it can kill factory striders and bile titans.

I was running this with orbital gas, napalm, and laser cannon a week back. Suprisingly killer combo against bots (I dont play bugs outside major orders).

IMO, for something that only has a single charge, it really should be a 30s CD. It's effect radius is small, so it wouldn't be OP either. Otherwise, they should give it several charges that each recharge at its current rate.

Feels like the EAT and Eagle 500 just do the job better. Eagle 500 has two charges, and if you haven’t enough breathing room to time and aim the orbital precision strike, you can easily use the EAT. It’s a lot easier to use the EAT against hulks and chargers than the orbital.

It's one of my most used stratagem. It's just so good. Much rather have that than the 500 kg.

My preferred load out is 500kg, Orbital Precision, Laser Guard Dog, and Machine gun Against Bots, replace the Orbital and MG for Auto Cannon, and Rail Cannon strike.

I've been working on getting good with the OPS, and it's really difficult to use but DAMN is it rewarding when you pull it off. Definitely a little easier to use against bots than bugs though.

The MG-43 is underrated, against bugs, as well. If your team has plenty of AT it and the bullet guard dog is better anti-horde than the flame thrower.

I think the OPS would be a top tier pick if it was just a LITTLE faster to call in or had a LITTLE shorter of a cooldown. I find myself using the gas strike in place of it, as it's practically always available, and the direct impact has do most of the same utility. Like it would straight up be always on my kit if it had a shorter cooldown or call in time

I've seen OPS kill BTs by hitting under them. It's basically 500kg only with effects that reflect it's actual radius.

It’s literally the 500kg. Not as flashy but it does exactly the same thing with aoe, damage, and call down time. One might even say it’s better as it has a cooldown separate from eagles and come down at a far steeper angle. I always bring this first over 500kg if there is no orbital scattering.

The orbital scatter and longer calldown mission modifiers hurt the Precision Strike pretty bad. Stuns are great with it, but usually a 500k is a better pick when those modifiers are at play.

I miss being able to stun bile titans because I would run orb precsion strike and 500kg and just not worry about heavies at all

Tier lists, at least for me, are for new players who arent used to the game. After a while, when youre breezing through the difficulty you chose to play at, you can mix-match anything to finally bring the "fun" factor instead of the meta. I play between Eruptor/Stalwart along with gas strike amongst other things, which is far from being conventional I also play with the Blitzer/HMG (yea, I said it, Heavy Machine Gun) and its fun as well when you know how to use it.

Me: Thats right, kill the bugs sto hitting our team! Every random teammate: Laughs in 380 MM

OPS is essential kit imho. There’s nothing I love more than to drop an OPS on a charger currently harassing my team mates to watch it fold up mid-charge.

I enjoy a lot of the orbitals but the mission moddifiers seem to affect them the most because the biggest strikes have very long cooldowns, and 50% more could mean minutes added before another one. Then there is the one that just makes orbital strikes innacurate which ruins the point of the 'precision' strike. Also theres the fact that the eagle counterparts are always accurate and you can deal with longer cooldowns by sending it back manually during down time in the mission. also looking at the chart people are sleeping on gas/napalm/minefields, they are very good at clearing bug breaches and bot drops quickly. Might not deal with the larger enemies but thats what the support weapon is for imo.

I kinda treat it as a 3rd 500kg charge, esp for bile titans in a pinch. Works just as well.

Christ bless you, thanks for the info

remember if you are looking for quick and easy call in to destroy stuff the gas strike is better with its 70 second call down, but PStrike is definitely a good choice if you want killing potential and destruction, just a longer call down time