The Scorcher is the last weapon you’ll unlock in the first Helldivers 2 Warbond, and many are wondering if it’s worth it. It takes a lot of medals to get all the way to the end of the Mobilize battle pass, so players expect a lot out of the PLAS-1. So, is the Scorcher worth the wait, or is it a big disappointment?
Is the PLAS-1 Scorcher worth unlocking in Helldivers 2?
The Scorcher is worth unlocking in Helldivers 2 as long as you temper your expectations. It’s a quirky weapon with some unique traits that make it great in some situations and horrible in others.
Here’s the description, stats, and traits for the PLAS-1 Scorcher:
Description: A plasma rifle, firing a bolt of superheated gas which explodes on impact. Avoid standing in proximity to the blast.
- Stats:
- Damage: 100
- Capacity: 15
- Recoil: 20
- Rate of Fire: 250
- Traits:
- (Energy-Based)
- Light Armor Penetrating
- Explosive
Unfortunately, the weapon stats do almost nothing to tell you how well the Scorcher performs or how its traits work.
Is the Scorcher a good gun?
Like many weapons in Helldivers 2, the Scorcher is a good gun against certain targets. In particular, it does well against Automaton units. The Energy-Based trait means it won’t ricochet off armor, lowering the chance of friendly fire. The Explosive Trait makes it excellent at talking out Scout Strider walkers from the front, as splash damage will bleed through the armor and kill the pilots.
However, the Scorcher has a few disadvantages as well. The splash damage means you can’t use it in proximity to yourself or allies, as it’ll quickly kill you. It also has a small magazine, and your total magazine capacity for the Scorcher is low, which means you’ll constantly find yourself running out of ammo. You can offset this by bringing a support backpack and a good sidearm, but you can only partially eliminate the issue.
You’ll find its flaws come to the forefront against Terminids. Since most bugs close to melee range, the splash damage will be more trouble than it’s worth and doesn’t affect a large enough area to be effective against groups of smaller bugs.
So, our verdict concerning the Scorcher is that it’s excellent against Automatons in the right hands, but there are better primaries to use against Terminids.
