With PlayStation’s co-op shooter Helldivers 2 continuing its success, balance patches were introduced to keep things fresh for players, aside from adding mechs. With the balance patches changing the meta of the game, players need to be on top of their game to tackle the enemies of Super Earth. Ship Modules play an important part in this, with their upgrades affecting many stratagems that all Helldivers rely on.
Helldivers 2 contains 18 Ship Modules that you can get, with three ship modules available for each type of stratagem. Ship Modules are bought through samples and when bought, will always be active, with their upgrade effect stacking with other ship upgrades for stratagems. Since samples can be hard to collect, we’ll list some of the best ship modules in Helldivers 2 that you need to get first.
If you are having trouble collecting samples, check out this guide;
How To Farm Samples Helldivers 2 (Common, Rare, Super Samples)
Donation Access License (Patriotic Administration Centre)
| Ship Module | Description | Upgrade Effect | Affected Stratagems | Requirement | Cost |
| Donation Access License | Purchases permanent access to ammo provided by the “Support Our Heroes” fund, which allows patriotic family members to donate supplies to their loved ones in the field. | Support Weapons deploy with the maximum number of carriable magazines. | 1. Stalwart 2. Railgun 3. Laser Cannon 4. Grenade Launcher 5. Machine Gun 6. Flamethrower 7. Anti-Materiel Rifle | N/A | 60 Common Samples |
This Ship upgrade should be the first one you get considering the huge amount of help it can grant you during battle. As a starting player, you probably rely a lot on Weapon Stratagems like the Machine Gun, Grenade Launcher and Anti-Material Rifle. However, all of these stratagems do not deploy with full ammo. Buying this upgrade with just 60 Samples allows you to receive the weapon stratagems with full ammo. Your starting personal orders, tell you to get a certain amount of kills with the Machine Gun or the Anti-Material Rifle, and having full ammo certainly helps deal with the mission much easily.
Targeting Software Upgrade (Bridge)
| Ship Module | Description | Upgrade Effect | Affected Stratagems | Requirement | Cost |
| Targeting Software Upgrade | Increases orbital targeting speed by updating cannon targeting software to premium version. | Reduces deployment time for Orbital stratagems by 1 second(s). | 1. Orbital Gatling Barrage 2. Orbital Walking Barrage 3. Orbital EMS Barrage 4. Orbital Gas Barrage 5. Orbital Railcannon Strike 6. Orbital Smoke Strike 7. Orbital Airburst Strike 8. Orbital Laser 9. Orbital Precision Strike 10. Orbital 380MM HE Barrage 11. Orbital 120MM HE Barrage | N/A | 60 Common Samples |
Orbitals are a force of destruction that if used strategically can cut down mission time, eliminating Bug Nests or foes like the Bile Titan easily. If you combine your Orbital strikes with your teammates you can do massive damage to foes, and this upgrade will help you link multiple Orbitals in one go by reducing their deployment time by 1 second. Also, since you get the Orbital Precision Strike automatically at the start and iit will probably be your only Orbital Stratagem for a while, it makes sense to upgrade it to amplify its effect in your missions
Advanced Construction (Engineering Bay)
| Ship Module | Description | Upgrade Effect | Affected Stratagems | Requirement | Cost |
| Advanced Construction | Reinforces sentries with state-of-the-art cyanoacrylate adhesives, greatly improving their durability under fire. | Increases health of Sentry stratagems by 50% | 1. EMS Mortar Sentry 2. Rocket Sentry 3. Gatling Sentry 4. Tesla Tower 5. Mortar Sentry 6. Machine Gun Sentry 7. Autocannon Sentry | Synthetic Supplementation | 60 Common Samples 10 Rare Samples |
This is a personal favourite and can come in handy in a lot of situations. The only reason this is third is because you need to unlock sentries first and the Synthetic Supplementation ship module first. Sentries are immensely useful in Helldivers 2 as they can be deployed in almost every situation. Need to take down a big foe? Use a sentry. Need to hold off enemies during evacuation? Use sentries. Need a bait that enemies attack instead of you? Use sentries. Jokes aside, they are an important part of the game considering new players can also buy sentries like Autocannon. The only way to make sentries better is by giving them more health which is what the Advanced Construction Ship Module does by increasing Sentry’s health by 50%
Dynamic Tracking (Robotics Workshop)
| Ship Module | Description | Upgrade Effect | Affected Stratagems | Requirement | Cost |
| Dynamic Tracking | Repurposed surveillance technology allows the Sentry Deployment Cannon to closely track the user at all times, no matter where they go or what they do, ready to fire at any second. | Reduces deployment time for all Sentry stratagems. | 1. EMS Mortar Sentry 2. Rocket Sentry 3. Gatling Sentry 4. Mortar Sentry 5. Machine Gun Sentry 6. Autocannon Sentry | N/A | 60 Common Samples 20 Rare Samples |
In higher difficulties and/or some planet’s effects you will have to deal with longer deployment times for all stratagems including extraction. This makes sentry placement really hard as your Sentry deployment may take too long and the line that you wanted to hold against Terminids or Automatons might already be breached. The Dynamic Tracking Ship Module helps with this issue by decreasing the deployment time for all Sentries.
Liquid-Ventilated Cockpit (Hangar)
| Ship Module | Description | Upgrade Effect | Affected Stratagems | Requirement | Cost |
| Liquid-Ventilated Cockpit | Fills cockpits with breathable liquid perfluorocarbon, which absorbs g-forces and thereby enable pilots to conduct tighter turns without losing consciousness. | Eagle stratagem cooldown time reduced by 50% | 1. Eagle 500KG Bomb 2. Eagle Airstrike 3. Eagle Strafing Run 4. Eagle Smoke Strike 5. Eagle Cluster Bomb 6. Eagle Napalm Airstrike 7. Eagle 110MM Rocket Pods | N/A | 80 Common Samples |
After you get enough credits, you will need to unlock Eagle Stratagems and they become kind of necessary depending on your playstyle. Each of the Stratagems varies in their practicality and use, with the Eagle 500KG Bomb being able to wipe out almost everything in its way, and the Eagle Strafing Run can thin out the herd after you. However, when defeating bosses like the Bile Titan, you sometimes need to use multiple stratagems at once, with the Liquid-Ventilate Cockpit helping with this by reducing Eagle’s cooldown time by 50%.
Synthetic Supplementation (Engineering Bay)
| Ship Module | Description | Upgrade Effect | Affected Stratagems | Requirement | Cost |
| Synthetic Supplementation | Integrates moderate doses of amphetamines and androgenic steroids into diet of loading crew, leading to increased pace, focus & stamina, among other effects. | Reduces cooldown time for Sentry, Emplacement, and Resupply stratagems by 10% | 1. Shield Generator Relay 2. EMS Mortar Sentry 3. Rocket Sentry 4. Gatling Sentry 5. Tesla Tower 6. Mortar Sentry 7. Anti-Personnel Minefield 8. Machine Gun Sentry 9. Autocannon Sentry 10. Incendiary Mines 11. HMG Emplacement | N/A | 60 Common Samples 10 Rare Samples |
As mentioned earlier, you have to deal with delayed deployment of your stratagems and the Synthetic Supplementation ship upgrade at least cuts the downtime slightly. Considering that you are playing at high enough difficulties where deployment times are an issue, this can be a lifesaver when you or your teammates are out of ammo and need urgent supplies or even if want to call down Sentries to hold the fort.
Shock Absorption Gel (Robotics Workshop)
| Ship Module | Description | Upgrade Effect | Affected Stratagems | Requirement | Cost |
| Shock Absorption Gel | Lines Sentry pods with shock-absorbing hydrogel, allowing extra ammunition to be packed in the space previously occupied by shock-absorbing springs. | Increases ammo for all Sentry stratagems by 50% | 1. EMS Mortar Sentry 2. Rocket Sentry 3. Gatling Sentry 4. Mortar Sentry 5. Machine Gun Sentry 6. Autocannon Sentry | Dynamic Tracking | 80 Common Samples 40 Rare Samples 5 Super Samples |
The third big upgrade you can give your beloved Sentries is the Shock Absorption Gel upgrade. It just gives your Sentries 50% more ammo however it is critical in the heat of battle. Since, Sentries shut down after utilising all of their ammo, giving them more ammo from the start gives them longer life and is immensely helpful when you are playing missions to eradicate bugs or defend against automatons by making the mission easier and essentially giving you free XP/Medals.
Hand Carts (Patriotic Administration Center)
| Ship Module | Description | Upgrade Effect | Affected Stratagems | Requirement | Cost |
| Hand Carts | Provides hand carts which can carry multiple backpack stratagems from storage, decreasing both reload time and crew lumber injuries. | Decreases cooldown for all Backpack stratagems by 10% | 1. Shield Generator Pack”Guard Dog” 2. Ballistic Shield Backpack 3. Supply Pack 4. “Guard Dog” Rover 5. Jump Pack | Streamlined Request Process | 80 Common Sample 60 Rare Samples 5 Super Samples |
Backpack Stratagems like the Shield Generator Pack or the ‘Guard Dog’ Rover are immensely helpful to guard you and watch your back when you are focusing on your objective or a bigger Terminid like a Charger. However, the cooldown times for these stratagems are too long, which the Hand Carts Ship Module cuts down by 10%. If you don’t want to spend too much time without your laser buddy then definitely get this ship upgrade. Backpack Stratagems work well with a stealth playstyle or an objective-focused one, with the laser and shield ability helpful for both.
These are eight of the best ship modules in Helldivers 2 you should get first from the total of eighteen available, to utilise your favourite Stratagems the best. ESportsNext has multiple Helldivers 2 guides to protect liberty and democracy for Super Earth.
If you still haven’t bought Helldivers 2 then what are you waiting for? You can buy it from one of the links below.
