Video Gamer is reader-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Prices subject to change. Learn more
When it comes to eradicating the Automatons and Terminids and bringing democracy to the galaxy, there are many different ways you can do this. You can use traditional weaponry such as Assault Rifles and Shotguns, or more powerful weapons such as the Recoilless Rifle. But, the most fun way is to use Stratagems and send bombs raining from the sky to destroy your opponents. Unfortunately, one type has a huge flaw which makes it less viable and Arrowhead Game Studios should look to address this and buff it in a future Helldivers 2 update.
U/underm1ndxd has taken to Reddit to suggest a much-needed change to the Orbital Stratagems, which is to lower the cooldown time as they are much longer than the Eagle cooldowns, making them less viable in many situations. The Reddit user compared various Orbital and Eagle Stratagems saying,
“Orbital Precision Strike has a 100s cooldown. You can get 2 500kg bombs every 136s (120s rearm and 2x8s call downs).
120mm Orbital Barrage is on a 240s cooldown. I can throw 3 Eagle Airstrikes, 2 500kg bombs, and 5 Clusters and have them back before the 120mm is even off cooldown.
And that’s just a few examples. Every single Orbital suffers from inflated cooldowns making them much less useful than they ought to be.
I’m not pushing for 60s 380mm Barrages or Orbital Lasers, but most Orbitals really need to have their cooldowns reevaluated to make them actually competitive with Eagles.”
This is a really good point and something I haven’t paid close attention to until now. Although some of the Eagles don’t do as much damage to tougher enemies, the fact that they can be reused the rearmed quickly still makes them very viable. At lower levels, I suggest carrying both, but once you start reaching post-level 15 it makes less sense to carry an Orbital as the 500kg Bomb Eagle can replace the Orbital in most instances.
Taking a look at the two examples below of the Oribtal Gatling Barrage and the Eagle Airstrike, the Orbital has a cooldown of 80 seconds, while the Eagle has a cooldown of just 15 seconds. This does vary from Stratagem to Stratagem but it is consistent in that Orbitals do take longer to become available again.
Whether you prefer the Oribtals, the Eagles, or a mixture of both, it all depends on the player as everyone has their play styles and preferences. But, that doesn’t mean that you should ignore the potentially best items for the specific mission you’re embarking on. To ensure you’re fully equipped to tackle the Automatons and Terminids, we highly recommend checking out our Helldivers 2 best weapons guide and best armor guide, as well as our Stratagems tier list.
