After trying the nerfed Breaker Incendiary Shotgun in Helldivers 2, I’m left wondering…what is all the fuss about?

I must start by saying that when it comes to Helldivers 2 I am an Automaton slayer, if I had to estimate I would say my split between the Automaton and Terminids could be as high as 90/10. The more strategic style of bot missions suits me as a gamer and I just simply enjoy them more. However, I recently came to the realization that I am cutting half of the experience off by choosing to stay away from the Terminids, so I decided to change that.

Over the past few days, I have been focusing primarily on the Terminids and after optimizing my loadout I have been having a lot of fun. To be honest, I think an unoptimized loadout was really hindering my enjoyment. This is why I usually end most of my posts by recommending our guides on improving your loadout.

As I’ve been fighting the Terminids more, this has allowed me to spend time using the various Shotguns in the game. These aren’t optimal for fighting the Automatons so they are my least used weapon type. Before the Escalation of Freedom update, which saw various weapons nerfed, the Breaker Incendiary Shotgun was the meta primary weapon in Helldivers 2. But now players are scrambling to find a new alternative, with many naturally looking at the Cookout Shotgun to fill that void. As someone who has little experience or emotional attachment to the weapon, I decided to try it out and base my opinion on the nerfed state rather than what the weapon used to be. And honestly, I don’t see what the fuss is about because the Breaker Incendiary Shotgun is still a great weapon and takes down Terminids easily.

The Breaker Incendiary Shotgun has always been beloved by Helldivers 2 players due to its ease of taking down Terminid enemies, especially the weaker ‘chaff’ type enemies such as the Scavenger, Warrior, and Hunter. It is also a good option for taking out tougher enemies such as the Nursing Spewers if you’re not in a good position to swap to your support Stratagem or call in an Eagle or Orbital strike. However, the recent changes to fire damage have negatively impacted both the Breaker Incendiary and Flamethrower, but Arrowhead Game Studios is looking to improve this as part of the 60-day roadmap.

Despite the nerfs, the Breaker Incendiary Shotgun is still an incredibly powerful weapon, and I would argue it is still a better option than the Cookout Shotgun, or at least on par with it. The Cookout Shotgun is more powerful in terms of damage per shot, but with a slower fire rate and higher recoil, it is more suited to taking out an enemy at a time, such as eliminating a Warrior, rather than spraying and praying as you fight through a large horde of Terminids.

With the Cookout Shotgun being part of the new Freedom’s Flame Warbond, I highly recommend checking it out as it is a great shotgun, and you should aim to unlock the fire-resistant armor as soon as possible to help with missions on planets such as Hellmire. But, I also wouldn’t write off the Breaker Incendiary Shotgun just yet despite the nerfs, which decreased the amount of magazines you can carry and increased the recoil. Even with the nerfs, the Breaker Incendiary has a much lower recoil than the Cookout, 41 vs 100, and you can still carry 100 shells across the four magazines, compared to the maximum of 60 that you can carry with the Cookout Shotgun.

Of course, this is just my opinion and everyone has a different preference as to what they prefer to carry with them when taking part in the Galactic War. But if you’ve written off the Breaker Incendiary Shotgun as a reaction to the recent nerf, definitely go back and revisit it. If you do need to tweak your loadout though, I highly recommend checking out our Helldivers 2 best weapons guide and best armor guide.