GL-21 Grenade Launcher

Helldivers 2

Helldivers 1

Last updated: 1.002.201
Current patch: 1.006.003

Stratagems

Engineering Bay

Supply

Support Weapon

GL-21 Grenade Launcher

Weapons

Support Weapons

Heavy Explosives

GL-21 Grenade Launcher

“

A grenade launcher effective against armored infantry. Not intended for use against vehicle armor or fortified buildings.

— Ship Management Terminal

The Grenade Launcher is a Stratagem that calls down a Support Weapon capable of rapidly firing grenades, inflicting large amounts of splash damage.

Procurement

The Grenade Launcher is unlocked at the Patriotic Administration Center (in the Engineering Bay subsection) for 6000 Requisition Slips at Level 5.

Stratagem Statistics

General
Call-in Time	Standard	7.75 seconds
	Upgraded	4.75 seconds
Uses	Unlimited
Cooldown	Standard	480 seconds
	With Morale Augmentation	456 seconds
	With Streamlined Request Process	432 seconds
	With All Upgrades	410.4 seconds

Detailed Weapon Statistics

GL-21 GRENADE LAUNCHER
Fire Rate	160 rpm
Recoil	123.75
Horizontal Recoil	115
Vertical Recoil	132.5
Spread	↔[20.00] ↕[20.00]
Sway	1
Ergonomics	25
Capacity	10
Spare Magazines	3
Starting Magazines	2
Mags from Supply	3
Mags from Ammo Box	1
Attacks
*40mm HE GRENADE P	Projectile
**40mm HE GRENADE P IE	Explosion

40mm HE GRENADE P
Projectile
Caliber	40 mm
Mass	50 g
Initial Velocity	100 m/s
Drag Factor	120%
Gravity Factor	100%
Penetration Slowdown	25%
Explosion On Impact	40mm HE GRENADE_P_IE
Explode After	40mm HE GRENADE_P_IE
Damage
Standard	0 Ballistic
vs. Durable	0 Ballistic
Penetration
Direct	Heavy
Slight Angle	Heavy
Large Angle	Heavy
Extreme Angle	Unarmored I
Special Effects
Demolition Force	10
Stagger Force	30
Push Force	10

40mm HE GRENADE P IE
Area of Effect
Inner Radius	3.5 m
Outer Radius	7.5 m
Shockwave Radius	8 m
Damage
Damage Element	None
Inner Radius	400 Explosion
Inner Durable	400 Explosion
Outer Radius	399 - 0
Outer Durable	399 - 0
Penetration
Direct	Heavy
AoE Effect
Demolition Force	30
Stagger Force	25
Push Force	30

Tactical Information

• Because of its ability to rapidly fire explosive projectiles, the GL-21 excels at inflicting area damage at close to medium range, decimating light or medium armored enemies and inflicting decent damage on heavily armored foes.
  • Unlike the AC-8 Autocannon, the GL-21 inflicts no direct impact damage, dealing the vast majority through their explosion. As such, they are much more effective at dealing with crowds.
  • Grenades have a pronounced arc and slow velocity which rapidly decelerates. This limits the GL-21's effective range for precision fire, though it remains potent at area suppression up to approximately 100 m.
• The LIFT-860 Hover Pack pairs very well with the GL-21 as it allows Helldivers to kill large groups of enemies and from relative safety.
• Grenades fired from the GL-21 have a safety fuse that prevents them from exploding too soon after firing, causing them to harmlessly bounce off objects and enemies at very close range.
  • However, after ricocheting, the grenade can explode once it travels beyond this safety range and impacts the ground or nearby objects
• Like other explosive weapons, the GL-21 can destroy Bug Holes and Automaton Fabricators by shooting into their weak points.

Applicable Ship Modules

The following Ship Modules affect the GL-21 Grenade Launcher

Department	Ship Module	Effect
Patriotic Administration Center	Donation Access Licence	Support Weapons deploy with the maximum number of carriable magazines.
	Streamlined Request Process	Support Weapon stratagem cooldown reduced by 10%.
	Superior Packing Methodology	Resupply stratagem boxes refill Support Weapons with the maximum number of carriable magazines.
	Payroll Management System	Reduces reload time for all support weapons by 10%.
Bridge	Morale Augmentation	Reduces cooldown time for all Stratagems by 5%.
Engineering Bay	Streamlined Launch Process	All Support Weapon stratagems launch immediately once when called in, reducing overall deployment time.

Media

• Tutorial Video Demonstrating Use of the GL-21 Grenade Launcher
• 

  Weapon Wheel for the GL-21 Grenade Launcher.
• 

  Third-Person on the GL-21 Grenade Launcher.
• 

  First-Person. It is the only available option.
• 

  Long-range holdover (aiming) guide for FPV (first-person-view)

Change History

Patch

Description

1.006.001
2026-02-03

Change

• Increased explosion armor penetration from  Medium to  Heavy

Undocumented Changes

• Projectile armor penetration increased from  Unarmored I to  Heavy
• Projectile damage reduced from 20 to 0
• Projectile durable damage reduced from 2 to 0

1.002.201
2025-03-25

Fix

• Fixed an issue with wrong drag setting on the GL-21 Grenade Launcher projectiles that made them lose velocity faster than they should have
  • Drag factor reduced from 600% to 120%.

1.002.200
2025-03-18

Undocumented Change
Unintended Change

• Drag factor increased from 120% to 600%.

1.001.100
2024-09-17

Changes

• Starting spare magazines increased from 1 to 2.
• Max spare magazines increased from 2 to 3.
• Explosion radius slightly increased.
  • Inner Radius increased from 2.5m to 3.5m.
  • Outer Radius increased from 6.5m to 7.5m.
  • Shockwave Radius increased from 7m to 8m.

1.000.400
2024-06-13

Changes

• Increased explosion damage from 350 to 400.

Undocumented Changes

• Explosion Push Force reduced from 40 to 30.

1.000.300
2024-04-29

Fixes

• Explosive weapons no longer pull players inward from the blast.

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Stratagems

Support Weapons

AC-8 Autocannon  •  APW-1 Anti-Materiel Rifle  •  ARC-3 Arc Thrower  •  B/MD C4 Pack  •  CQC-1 One True Flag  •  CQC-20 Breaching Hammer  •  CQC-9 Defoliation Tool  •  EAT-17 Expendable Anti-Tank  •  EAT-411 Leveller  •  EAT-700 Expendable Napalm  •  FAF-14 Spear  •  FLAM-40 Flamethrower  •  GL-21 Grenade Launcher  •  GL-28 Belt-Fed Grenade Launcher  •  GL-52 De-Escalator  •  GR-8 Recoilless Rifle  •  LAS-98 Laser Cannon  •  LAS-99 Quasar Cannon  •  M-1000 Maxigun  •  M-105 Stalwart  •  MG-206 Heavy Machine Gun  •  MG-43 Machine Gun  •  MLS-4X Commando  •  MS-11 Solo Silo  •  PLAS-45 Epoch  •  RL-77 Airburst Rocket Launcher  •  RS-422 Railgun  •  S-11 Speargun  •  StA-X3 W.A.S.P. Launcher  •  TX-41 Sterilizer

Orbital

Orbital 120mm HE Barrage  •  Orbital 380mm HE Barrage  •  Orbital Airburst Strike  •  Orbital EMS Strike  •  Orbital Gas Strike  •  Orbital Gatling Barrage  •  Orbital Laser  •  Orbital Napalm Barrage  •  Orbital Precision Strike  •  Orbital Railcannon Strike  •  Orbital Smoke Strike  •  Orbital Walking Barrage

Eagle

Eagle 110mm Rocket Pods  •  Eagle 500kg Bomb  •  Eagle Airstrike  •  Eagle Cluster Bomb  •  Eagle Napalm Airstrike  •  Eagle Smoke Strike  •  Eagle Strafing Run

Emplacement

E/AT-12 Anti-Tank Emplacement  •  E/GL-21 Grenadier Battlement  •  E/MG-101 HMG Emplacement  •  FX-12 Shield Generator Relay  •  MD-17 Anti-Tank Mines  •  MD-6 Anti-Personnel Minefield  •  MD-8 Gas Mines  •  MD-I4 Incendiary Mines

Sentry

A/AC-8 Autocannon Sentry  •  A/ARC-3 Tesla Tower  •  A/FLAM-40 Flame Sentry  •  A/G-16 Gatling Sentry  •  A/LAS-98 Laser Sentry  •  A/M-12 Mortar Sentry  •  A/M-23 EMS Mortar Sentry  •  A/MG-43 Machine Gun Sentry  •  A/MLS-4X Rocket Sentry

Backpack

AX/AR-23 Guard Dog  •  AX/ARC-3 K-9  •  AX/FLAM-75 Hot Dog  •  AX/LAS-5 Rover  •  AX/TX-13 Dog Breath  •  B-1 Supply Pack  •  B-100 Portable Hellbomb  •  LIFT-182 Warp Pack  •  LIFT-850 Jump Pack  •  LIFT-860 Hover Pack  •  SH-20 Ballistic Shield Backpack  •  SH-32 Shield Generator Pack  •  SH-51 Directional Shield

Vehicle

EXO-45 Patriot Exosuit  •  EXO-49 Emancipator Exosuit  •  M-102 Fast Recon Vehicle  •  TD-220 Bastion MK XVI

Mission

Call In Super Destroyer  •  Cargo Container  •  Dark Fluid Vessel  •  Eagle Rearm  •  Hive Breaker Drill  •  NUX-223 Hellbomb  •  Prospecting Drill  •  Reinforce  •  Reinforcement Pods  •  Resupply  •  SEAF Artillery  •  Seismic Probe  •  SoS Beacon  •  SSSD Delivery  •  Super Earth Flag  •  Tectonic Drill  •  Upload Data