Fire in Helldivers 2 is not just an element or status effect. It is a lifestyle. Whether you are a dedicated pyro who packs nothing but burn-everything gear, or someone who just slips a flamer secondary into an otherwise sensible loadout, the fire playstyle has an identity in this game that very few other damage types can match.

Before diving in, a quick note: we are all for you playing the game however you find it most fun. The fact that something ranks #12 here does not mean it belongs in a vault. It just means that, in our opinion, there are better fire options available.

With that out of the way, here is every fire-based weapon and stratagem in Helldivers 2, ranked from least to most essential:

12. MD-I4 Incendiary Mines

Mines are among the least beloved defensive stratagems in the game, and the Incendiary Mines do not do enough to change that reputation. The high team-kill potential, rough visibility in many environments, and the fundamental problem of enemies simply not cooperating with your mine placement keep this one firmly at the bottom.

That said, the MD-I4 is a step up from some of its mine-based peers, since it does not instantly delete a teammate who wanders into a burning patch. If you are someone who loves anchoring a lane and letting fire do the work, it has a niche. It just rarely comes up in practice.

11. P-72 Crisper

The Freedom's Flame warbond gave us our first dedicated secondary flamethrower in the Crisper, and on paper, it punches well above its weight class. Because fire inherently shreds heavy armor, this compact sidearm is one of the very few secondary weapons that features heavy armor penetration, which is impressive for something that fits in your pistol slot.

The issue is context. As a sidearm, it competes with some genuinely strong alternatives, and the short range means you need to be uncomfortably close to get full value. It earns its spot for giving non-fire primary builds access to burn utility, but it stops short of being a must-run secondary.

10. SMG/FLAM-34 Stoker

The Stoker from the Entrenched Division warbond is a submachine gun with an under-barrel flamethrower essentially baked in, making it feel like someone duct-taped a Crisper to a primary and called it a day. It is one of the more versatile options you can bring into a Terminid or Illuminate mission, handling both horde clear and point-blank burn utility within a single weapon slot.

What holds it back is the fire rate, which is the lowest of all SMGs in the game. Bad aim gets punished hard here, and the under-barrel flamethrower, while fun, does not completely close the gap between this and a dedicated fire build. A solid option, just not a dominant one.

9. FLAM-66 Torcher

Also from the Freedom's Flame warbond, the Torcher is best described as a miniaturized version of the FLAM-40 Flamethrower. It trades fuel capacity and range for better handling and quicker reloads, which makes it a surprisingly smooth primary to carry. For dedicated fire builds looking for a primary that frees up their stratagem slot, it does the job.

The problem is that the Flamethrower and the Cremator both exist. The Torcher is a good primary weapon, and it has clean ergonomics that make it feel satisfying to use. It just does not hit the same highs as either of its bigger siblings, which is the only reason it sits this low on our list.

8. EAT-700 Expendable Napalm

The Dust Devils warbond's fire contribution is a napalm-loaded spin on the classic Expendable Anti-Tank concept. Call it in, fire it at a cluster of enemies in a cave or chokepoint, and watch the area become uninhabitable for the next several seconds. The visual payoff is spectacular, and for tight chokepoints, it can be brutally effective.

Outside of those specific moments, though, it may feel a little situational. The EAT-700 is a great fit for "all-expendable" loadouts, and it deserves more credit than it gets from the community. But when the fight moves, or enemies flank unexpectedly, it does not have the flexibility to keep up with the stronger fire options on this list.

7. A/FLAM-40 Flame Sentry

The Urban Legends warbond's Flame Sentry sat in a questionable spot for a while after launch, but recent buffs to fire as an element have brought it in line with its sentry peers. On the Terminid front, especially, where bugs already charge in close and personal, this thing can independently manage an entire breach or cover an angle your team cannot afford to watch.

The catch is placement. Get it wrong, and you have an expensive bonfire pointed at nothing, or worse, pointed at your squadmates. When you nail the positioning, though, the Flame Sentry shreds its targets with a consistency that makes it feel much more valuable than the #5 ranking suggests.

6. FLAM-40 Flamethrower

The classic Flamethrower remains one of the most mechanically pure weapons in Helldivers 2. It deletes hordes, handles armor better than most people acknowledge, and generates some of the most chaotically funny moments in the game when a lobby of four starts igniting everything in sight. Few weapons have the same physical presence when you fire them.

The ongoing community debate is whether the Cremator has fully power-crept it or whether pairing the Flamethrower with a Supply Backpack still makes it a top-tier call. And honestly, that argument has legs on both sides.

5. Eagle Napalm Airstrike

Fast call-in, reliable burn coverage, excellent breach control, short cooldown, low commitment. The Eagle Napalm Airstrike hits almost every checkbox you want from an offensive stratagem. It is, in short, the "I need this entire area on fire immediately" button, and it excels at that job in a way that very few stratagems can match.

Also, unlike the Orbital Napalm Barrage, it does not completely lock down the battlefield for your own team. You can use it aggressively without cutting off your own squad's movement, which keeps it highly usable across all difficulty levels and mission types.

4. AX/FLAM-75 Hot Dog

The Python Commandos warbond's guard dog is controlled chaos in backpack form. The Hot Dog burns everything in your immediate vicinity on a short loop, which means it eliminates close-range threats before they become a problem and also occasionally ruins your teammates' day. It is, somehow, still worth running despite that second part.

The reason it lands this high is the pairing potential. Running the Hot Dog alongside a traditional fire build creates two simultaneous burn zones, and that combination can chaff-clear faster than almost anything else in the game. Players who are willing to manage the friendly fire risk will find it one of the most useful backpacks in any bug or squid mission.

3. B/FLAM-80 Cremator

Sentiment around the Cremator in the fire-enthusiast part of the Helldivers 2 community has been overwhelmingly positive since it arrived in the Entrenched Division warbond, and it is easy to understand why. It feels like a direct evolution of the Flamethrower fantasy: massively extended range, a huge fuel reserve, crowd clear that makes bug breaches feel like a formality, and surprisingly capable heavy-damage output.

The one thing keeping it from the top two spots is the backpack slot cost. Giving up your back slot is a meaningful sacrifice, and it does limit your build flexibility in a way the top two on this list simply do not. But if you are committed to the fire identity, the Cremator is the weapon that defines it.

2. EXO-51 Lumberer

Setting aside the discourse about the Exo Experts warbond itself, the Lumberer is hard to argue with once you are actually inside one. It comes loaded with a flamethrower for horde clear and an anti-tank cannon for instantly pivoting to heavier targets. That combination of tools in one stratagem slot is something no other fire option can offer.

It is the most complete "fire fantasy" Arrowhead has put into the game, giving you the crowd-clear satisfaction of a full flamethrower build while keeping genuine anti-armor capability on the other arm. The result is a mech that handles bugs and squids with equal parts competence and spectacle.

1. Orbital Napalm Barrage

The Orbital Napalm Barrage completely changes the flow of bug nests/breaches and objective defense in a way that no other fire stratagem comes close to. The sheer visual chaos of calling it in is already S-tier on its own, but this one is also heavily oppressive against clustered enemy groups. It does not just burn things. It erases them from the field for a sustained period.

The biggest reason it takes the top spot is how well it scales into higher difficulties while continuing to be one of the most fun stratagems to use. And if you have never dropped one into the middle of a bug breach at full tilt, we envy you the first time.

Here is a quick look at how all 12 fire options stack up in Helldivers 2:

Where does your go-to fire pick in Helldivers 2 land on our list? Let us know in the comments, especially if the answer is "you ranked it way too low!"