In Helldivers 2 Items, surviving the battlefield isn’t just about choosing the right weapons or stratagems—it’s about picking the right armor passive. With enemies ranging from swarming Terminids to heavily armored Automatons, each armor passive can dramatically influence how long you stay alive, how effective your team is, and whether you make it to extraction.
Not all armor passives are created equal. Some scale excellently into high-difficulty missions, while others feel underwhelming or purely situational. This tier list ranks every major armor passive from best to worst, based on real-world effectiveness, team synergy, and scalability into endgame content.
S-Tier Passives – The Cream of the Crop
Fortified – Survival Redefined
Fortified is widely considered the best armor passive in Helldivers 2. Its core benefits are explosive damage reduction and improved recoil control while crouched or prone.
Explosives are the deadliest threat in Helldivers 2, especially at higher difficulties. Rockets, artillery, friendly grenades, and enemy bombardments frequently account for sudden deaths. Fortified directly counters this danger, making it mandatory for high-difficulty missions.
Why it’s S-tier:
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Significantly reduces explosive damage
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Improves weapon control during heavy fire
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Essential for defensive and crowd-control roles
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Scales consistently into endgame content
Fortified isn’t flashy, but it saves lives consistently—making it the safest pick for any player.
Democracy Protects – Your Second Life
Democracy Protects gives you a chance to survive lethal damage, leaving you at critical health instead of dead. While it’s RNG-based, its value skyrockets in chaotic missions where one mistake can wipe the squad.
Best scenarios for Democracy Protects:
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Solo missions where survival is uncertain
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Clutch situations during extraction zones
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Aggressive objective pushes
Though unreliable in theory, in practice this passive often turns mission failures into successful extractions, securing its S-tier status.
A-Tier Passives – Strong but Slightly Situational
Engineering Kit – Explosive Control
Engineering Kit increases grenade capacity and reduces recoil. On paper, it’s offensive-focused, but in practice, it’s incredibly useful for clearing dense enemy formations.
High-density swarms of Terminids or automated enemies respond well to grenades. This passive enables faster clears, better area control, and safer objective captures.
Why it’s A-tier:
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Extra grenades improve crowd control
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Strong synergy with impact or stun grenades
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Great for team support roles
Its main drawback: it doesn’t offer direct damage mitigation. If survival is your primary goal, other options may be better.
Extra Padding – Simple, Reliable Defense
Extra Padding boosts overall armor, giving a consistent reduction against all damage types. While it lacks the explosive-specific benefits of Fortified or the clutch potential of Democracy Protects, its reliability makes it an excellent choice for new players or solo play.
Best suited for:
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Frontline fighters
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Objective defenders
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Players learning higher difficulty mechanics
Extra Padding doesn’t dominate the meta, but it rarely lets you down, which is why it sits comfortably in A-tier.
B-Tier Passives – Useful in the Right Hands
Scout – Speed and Awareness
Scout increases movement speed and improves enemy detection on your radar. In missions where mobility matters, Scout can help players avoid unnecessary combat, rush objectives, or scout ahead for ambushes.
However, Scout offers no damage reduction, making it risky in prolonged engagements, especially on high difficulty levels.
Ideal situations for Scout:
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Recon-heavy missions
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Stealth-focused squads
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Coordinated teams with clear roles
Servo-Assisted – Utility Over Combat
Servo-Assisted improves throwing distance and limb health. While these bonuses are subtle, they help in specific scenarios—like placing stratagems safely or surviving limb-targeting attacks.
Pros:
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Safer orbital and defensive stratagem placement
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Reduces the chance of injuries slowing you down
Cons:
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Minimal direct combat impact
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Less useful solo or in chaotic public matches
C-Tier Passives – Limited Usefulness
Med-Kit – Healing Isn’t Enough
Med-Kit increases stim capacity and duration. While this is helpful in low-difficulty missions, it struggles against burst damage and rapid enemy spawns.
In late-game content, deaths often occur too quickly for healing to matter, which is why Med-Kit falls into C-tier.
D-Tier Passives – Avoid Unless You Have a Specific Strategy
Electrical Conduit – Too Niche
Electrical Conduit reduces shock damage, a rare damage type in most missions. Even when it appears, it’s often avoidable.
Compared to Fortified or Democracy Protects, Electrical Conduit is nearly useless for general play.
Final Thoughts: Choosing the Right Armor Passive
In Helldivers 2, your armor passive can make or break your missions. Endgame success comes down to preventing instant deaths, mitigating high-damage threats, and ensuring consistent survivability.
Summary of best choices:
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S-Tier: Fortified, Democracy Protects
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A-Tier: Engineering Kit, Extra Padding
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B-Tier: Scout, Servo-Assisted
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C-Tier: Med-Kit
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D-Tier: Electrical Conduit
If you’re pushing high-difficulty missions, prioritize passives that actively reduce lethal damage or provide clutch survivability. Niche or reactive passives can be fun in specific scenarios, but for reliable extraction, S- and A-tier options are your safest bets.
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