Helldivers 2 Anti-Materiel Rifle Review (Patch 7.1.1)
Short answer: the APW-1 Anti-Materiel Rifle is a precision anti-armor pick for shooting weak points one round at a time and dropping medium enemies. It is not for crowds. It has AP4 (heavy) penetration, 450 damage per shot (225 durable), a 7-round magazine, and no explosions or area damage. Damage and ammo went up through 2024 and 2025, but the last official patch note that names this weapon is 5.0.0 in December 2025 (a scope ergonomics change); I searched the notes up to 7.1.1.
This guide covers patch 7.1.1 (released 24 September 2026). Numbers come from helldivers.wiki.gg and the official patch notes. The wiki page is still tagged 1.004.100 (patch 4.1.0), so it has not been re-measured on 7.1.1. I have not tested the weapon in game.
Short version: four points
| Point | Answer |
|---|---|
| Where it fits | Precision, heavy-armor-penetrating (AP4). 450 per shot (225 durable), 400 rpm semi-auto. The wiki says a single headshot or stomach shot kills a Devastator |
| Where it does not | Crowds. The wiki says the small magazine and lack of area damage make it ill-suited for crowd control, and suggests pairing it with close-range tools such as the AR-23A Liberator Carbine or the AX/AR-23 Guard Dog |
| ★ Handling quirk | No reticle when aiming from the hip in third person, so you aim through the scope (wiki and a Japanese wiki agree) |
| ★ Open discrepancies | Sources disagree on ergonomics and call-in time (table below, and “What I could not confirm”) |
Stats (wiki and official notes)
| Item | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Stratagem code | ↓ ← → ↑ ↓ | Wiki and a Japanese wiki (match) |
| Cooldown / uses | 480 s / unlimited | Wiki and a Japanese wiki (match) |
| Unlock | Level 1, 5,000 Requisition Slips (Patriotic Administration Center) | Wiki (not re-checked on 7.1.1) |
| Traits | Support weapon, heavy armor penetrating | Wiki |
| Damage | 450 ballistic, 225 durable | Wiki; 225 confirmed by the 4.1.0 notes |
| Penetration | AP4 (heavy) | Wiki |
| Fire rate | 400 rpm, semi-auto | Wiki |
| Magazine | 7 rounds | Wiki and a Japanese wiki |
| Spare magazines | Up to 8 (official: 4.1.0 raised max spare from 6 to 8 and starting from 4 to 5) | Wiki, 4.1.0 notes |
| Scope | 50 / 100 / 200 m zero (10x) | Wiki and a Japanese wiki |
| Call-in time | Wiki: 7.75 s (4.75 s upgraded). Japanese wiki: 3.00 s (updated December 2024) | Disagree |
| Ergonomics | Official 5.0.0: 26 → 31. Wiki: 35 | Disagree |
| Reload | 3.05 s (2.75 s upgraded). A wiki editor’s edit note says the non-upgraded base values were added by calculation | Wiki |
By my own arithmetic, one magazine is 450 × 7 = 3,150 raw damage (225 × 7 = 1,575 durable). These are arithmetic totals before armor, body-part and durability modifiers, not the damage you will actually deal.
How its power changed (official patch notes)
| Patch | Change to this weapon |
|---|---|
| 01.000.200 (2024-04-02) | Damage +30% (350 → 450 by the wiki’s numbers) |
| 1.001.100 (2024-09-17) | Durable damage 135 → 180. It can now damage heavier enemies such as Chargers, Bile Titans, Impalers and Hulks. Stagger force 20 → 25 |
| 4.1.0 (2025-10-23) | Durable damage 180 → 225. Starting magazines 4 → 5, max spare magazines 6 → 8 |
| 5.0.0 (2025-12-02) | 10x scope ergonomics penalty eased from -9 to -4, so the APW-1’s ergonomics go from 26 to 31 |
The reload improvements in 6.3.0 (2026-06-16), such as reloading while dive-dodging and delayed reloads, are general changes for all weapons, not specific to this one. “Can damage” is not “can kill.” The 1.001.100 note only says the first.
By enemy faction (wiki)
- Automatons | Devastator: the Devastator page says one headshot or stomach shot kills it. The head and stomach are thinly armored (AV1) and the torso is AV3 (wiki). The APW-1 is AP4, so it can penetrate the torso armor too, but the one-shot kill is described for the head and stomach. Whether a torso hit kills is not stated in the sources.
- Illuminate | Overseer: its helmet is AV3, and weapons with AP3 or higher can damage it. The wiki lists the APW-1 as an example.
- Terminids | Charger: the wiki says to get behind it and shoot into the inner flesh through the rear. The APW-1 can also penetrate the AV4 body armor from the front, but for reduced damage, so killing it that way is slow.
- Terminids | Alpha Commander, Automatons | Hulk (eye): “one shot to the weak spot” appears only on the APW-1 page. I could not confirm it on the enemy pages. The APW-1 page also says a Hulk eye shot needs a second round beyond roughly 30 m.
- Supporting teammates: you can shoot off Harvester shield generators or Factory Strider miniguns to help teammates with anti-tank weapons (wiki).
- Minor POI containers: it opens them without setting off nearby explosives (wiki).
Recoil and aiming (wiki)
- Recoil is high, but aiming down sights, crouching and going prone reduce it, the wiki says.
- The wiki names Engineering Kit and Fortified as recoil-reducing armor passives and Peak Physique and True Grit as ergonomics boosters. I have not verified their size in game.
- In third person there is no reticle, so look through the scope even at close range. Hip-firing sends rounds to the screen centre, so it is possible but takes practice (wiki and a Japanese wiki).
Ship modules that matter (wiki)
| Module | Effect |
|---|---|
| Donation Access License | Support weapons deploy with the maximum number of carriable magazines |
| Streamlined Request Process | Support weapon stratagem cooldown −10% |
| Superior Packing Methodology | Resupply boxes refill to the maximum |
| Payroll Management System | Reload time of all support weapons −10% |
| Morale Augmentation | Cooldown of all stratagems −5% |
| Streamlined Launch Process | Support weapon stratagems launch immediately once called in, reducing overall deployment time |
Will the 20 October Warbond change its place?
Arrowhead’s 13 October Steam announcement says the Scope of Authority Premium Warbond, launching 20 October, includes a new anti-materiel rifle, the AMW-20 Apex. It is a backpack-fed, colossal rifle with assisted reload, described as more powerful and armor-penetrating. The announcement gives no stats. How it changes the APW-1’s standing cannot be known until it is out.
How reliable these numbers are, and what I left out
- The wiki page was last tagged 1.004.100 and has not been re-measured on 7.1.1. Searching the official notes for the weapon’s names found no change after 4.1.0 and 5.0.0. General changes that do not name the weapon would not show up in that search.
- “One-shot kill” depends on current enemy health. The 6.3.0 notes say there are “too many changes to properly list” on enemy durable damage and armor penetration. Some enemy pages carry no version tag.
- Ergonomics (official 31, wiki 35) and call-in time (wiki 7.75 s, Japanese wiki 3.00 s): I could not tell which is current.
- I did not test how well it works against the enemies added in 7.0.0 (the Void biome and mutated enemies).
- No difficulty-by-difficulty verdict. I found no source that shows where it holds up and where it becomes hard to justify.
- No in-game testing. The Japanese name was checked on one Japanese wiki only.
- Older patch announcements (01.000.200, 1.001.100, 4.1.0, 5.0.0) were checked in the original notes, but I could not confirm reader-facing links for them, so they are not linked here. The wiki’s “Change History” has the same entries.
Verdict
The APW-1 is a specialist’s precision tool: it works when you can hit weak points and have something to cover close range, and it is not a crowd answer. Before picking it, compare our guides to the GR-8 Recoilless Rifle, the Orbital Railcannon Strike and the Difficulty 10 loadouts.
Sources
- Steam announcement “Devoid of Liberty: 7.1.1” (24 September 2026)
- Steam announcement “Line Up the Perfect Shot with the Scope of Authority Premium Warbond!” (13 October 2026)
- helldivers.wiki.gg: APW-1 Anti-Materiel Rifle, Devastator, Overseer, Charger (checked 18 October 2026)
- Helldivers 2 Japanese wiki (gamerch): Anti-Materiel Rifle (last updated 13 December 2024)
