Gun of the Year 2024: Helldivers 2's AC-8 Autocannon

GamesThird Person ShooterHelldivers 2Gun of the Year 2024: Helldivers 2’s AC-8 AutocannonWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.

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(Image credit: Arrowhead Game Studios)

helldivers 2 autocannon

Videogames produce a lot of guns every year. Most of them fly under the radar, fulfilling their roles as one of dozens of options on a loadout screen or meeting a quota of archetypes that we reckon shooters ought to have. It takes a lot for a gun to stand out in 2024. Most of them are boxy, grey quadrilaterals so invisible that we reduce them to their stats. When we single one out, it’s usually because we’re reprimanding it for being so good it makes all the other guns around it look bad. Truly remarkable guns require invention—a distinct take on something familiar, a perfect marriage of mechanical sophistication and fantastical capability, or maybe just a memorable sound, action, or reload.

AC-8 Autocannon

(Image credit: Arrowhead via helldivers.wiki.gg)

helldivers 2 autocannon icon

Swipe to scroll horizontallyDamageTypeManufacturerAccessoriesStratagem CodeArmor piercing, FlakShoulder-firedSuper EarthAmmo backpack↓←↓↑↑→

Swipe to scroll horizontally

DamageTypeManufacturerAccessoriesStratagem CodeArmor piercing, FlakShoulder-firedSuper EarthAmmo backpack↓←↓↑↑→

An uncomplicated, yet simply genius design both for the game itself and the in-fiction Helldivers, the Autocannon is not the best gun of 2024 because it’s thebestgun, but because of its quirks, its learning curve, its imperfections. The Autocannon is an animal to be wrangled, and once you do, it’s a rewarding workhorse of a gun. This gun deserves a medal—in fact, it deserves four medals.

🥇Best design

(Image credit: Arrowhead Game Studios)

helldivers 2 autocannon

The Autocannon looks like something a human should not be holding. Everything about it screams “this was originally intended to be fired from a stable turret structure,” but Super Earth went ahead and made it portable. Its armor-piercing shells can unmake aliens of every tier, but at the high cost of the worst aim drag and highest recoil of any support weapon. It’s essentially a gigantic bullpup rifle—approximately 90% of its body is barrel and it’s top-loaded with unique ammo cartridges.

Despite its unwieldiness, the Autocannon is surprisingly ergonomic. The slot where it rests on the shoulder looks inviting and the included ammo backpack conveniently holds up to 10 extra cartridges at five rounds each.

🥇Best sound

(Right-click video and click “Show all controls” to turn on sound)

Tuh-thonk. Tuh-thonk. Tuh-thonk.When an Autocannon is popping off, you can be sure something big is going down. Sound is the Autocannon’s most distinctive characteristic. Shooters have taught us that the end-all-be-all of power weapons is the scorching boom of a rocket launcher, exploding once on liftoff and again on impact.

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The Autocannon makes a strong argument for less is more. The sound of an Autocannon is closer to an M1 Abrams tank—louder than the bullet itself is the immense metallic “clang!” of the cannon’s hammer striking the firing pin, like a blacksmith landing precision blows on stubborn steel. Fired automatically or with measured breaks, the Autocannon is always the main character of the soundscape.

🥇Best reload

(Image credit: Arrowhead Game Studios)

helldivers 2 autocannon

🥇Best impact

(Image credit: Arrowhead game studios)

autocannon

If you’re only looking to grind out missions for a warbond, there are better guns in Helldivers 2. The Railgun can kill everything the Autocannon can with better mobility, accuracy, and faster reloads. I know some divers who don’t even consider using the Autocannon because the ammo pack takes up the slot they usually reserve for an energy shield.

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AC-8 Autocannon#

🥇Best design#

🥇Best sound#

The biggest gaming news, reviews and hardware deals#

🥇Best reload#

🥇Best impact#

AC-8 Autocannon

🥇Best design

🥇Best sound

The biggest gaming news, reviews and hardware deals

🥇Best reload

🥇Best impact