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Select your stratagems and ship upgrades, then click Optimise for your cooldown breakdown.
How Helldivers 2 Stratagem Cooldowns Work
Every stratagem in Helldivers 2 has a cooldown — the time you must wait before calling it in again. Eagle stratagems work differently: they have multiple charges, and the rearm timer only starts after all charges are spent. This makes Eagle stratagems significantly higher-uptime than their listed rearm time suggests.
Effective cooldown for Eagles = rearm time ÷ number of charges. An Eagle Strafing Run has 3 charges and a 120s rearm — so you can call one in every 40 seconds on average, making it one of the best uptime stratagems in the game.
Ship module upgrades reduce cooldowns by 8–25% depending on tier and category. A fully upgraded Orbital module (Tier 3) cuts orbital cooldowns to 75% of their base value — turning a 300s Orbital Laser into a 225s one, worth roughly 1 extra use per 40-minute mission.
Stratagem Cooldown Reference
| Stratagem | Base CD | Effective CD | Uses (40 min) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Orbital Gatling Barrage | 70s | 70s | 35× |
| Eagle Strafing Run (3 charges) | 120s rearm | 40s | 61× |
| Eagle Airstrike (2 charges) | 120s rearm | 60s | 41× |
| Eagle 500kg Bomb (1 charge) | 120s rearm | 120s | 21× |
| Mortar Sentry | 180s | 180s | 14× |
| Orbital Railcannon Strike | 210s | 210s | 12× |
| Orbital Laser | 300s | 300s | 9× |
| Railgun / Autocannon | 480s | 480s | 6× |
| Patriot / Emancipator Exosuit | 600s | 600s | 5× |
Effective CD = rearm ÷ charges for Eagles. Uses = floor(2400 ÷ effective CD) + 1 at base upgrades.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best stratagem combo in Helldivers 2?
The "Balanced Meta" preset — Orbital Precision Strike, Eagle Airstrike, a sentry, and a support weapon — is the most versatile. It covers fast orbital strikes, high-uptime Eagle calls, passive defense from the sentry, and a primary weapon from the support slot. Adjust based on mission type: bug missions favour fire and area damage; bot missions favour anti-armour and precision strikes.
How does the Eagle rearm mechanic work?
Eagle stratagems have N charges. Each call uses one charge. The rearm timer only begins after the last charge is consumed. Once rearmed, all charges are restored simultaneously. This means you should burn all charges quickly — holding your last charge delays the rearm and wastes time. For a 3-charge Eagle Strafing Run, call it 3 times in quick succession, then wait the 120s rearm.
Do ship upgrades stack?
Ship module upgrades apply at the category level — Orbital upgrades affect all orbital stratagems, Hangar upgrades affect all Eagle stratagems. They are multiplicative with any other in-game bonuses. Tier 3 in a category gives approximately 25% cooldown reduction.
What causes a cooldown conflict?
A conflict occurs when two orbital stratagems have nearly identical cooldowns — they will both expire at roughly the same time after being called together, creating a window where neither is available. The fix is to stagger your calls: use one at the start of an engagement and the second 30–60 seconds later, so they rotate out of sync.