LAS-98 Laser Cannon

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Last updated: 1.003.000
Current patch: 1.005.001

Support WeaponHellpodHeavy Armor PenetratingHeatBeam

Stratagems
Engineering Bay
Supply
Support Weapon
LAS-98 Laser Cannon
Weapons
Support Weapons
Heavy Energy-Based
LAS-98 Laser Cannon
“

A laser weapon firing a continuous beam. Doesn't require ammunition, but will need heat sink replaced if it overheats.

— Ship Management Terminal

The Laser Cannon is a heat-based support weapon that fires a sustained beam of energy that penetrates heavy armor.

Procurement

The Laser Cannon is unlocked at the Patriotic Administration Center (Engineering Bay subsection) for Requisition Slip.svg 4000 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

Weapon Statistics

LAS-98 LASER CANNON
Recoil 0
Horizontal Recoil 0
Vertical Recoil 0
Spread ↔[10.00] ↕[10.00]
Sway 1
Ergonomics 45
Spare Magazines 2
Starting Magazines 2
Mags from Supply 6
Mags from Ammo Box 3
Heat Data
Overheats at 100 °C
Warmup 0.5 sec
Heat Per Second 8 °C
Cool Per Sec Extreme Cold Environmental Condition Icon.svg 7.5 - 5 - Intense Heat Environmental Condition Icon.svg 3.75
Cooldown After Overheat RELOAD NEEDED
Attacks
*LAS-98 LASER CANNON B Beam
**Fire status
LAS-98 LASER CANNON B
Beam
Beam Range 200 m
Damage
Standard Damage Laser Icon.svg350 Laser
vs. Durable Damage Laser Icon.svg200 Laser
Penetration
Direct Armor AP4 Icon.png Heavy
Slight Angle Armor AP4 Icon.png Heavy
Large Angle Armor AP4 Icon.png Heavy
Extreme Angle Armor AP4 Icon.png Heavy
Special Effects
Status Fire
Status Strength 1.5
Demolition Force 20
Stagger Force 0
Push Force 0
Fire
Status
Status Strength 5
Status Duration 3 sec
Damage
Element Fire
Standard Damage Fire Icon.svg100 Fire
vs. Durable Damage Fire Icon.svg100 Fire
Penetration
Direct Armor AP4 Icon.png Heavy
Slight Angle Armor AP4 Icon.png Heavy
Large Angle Armor AP4 Icon.png Heavy
Extreme Angle Armor AP0 Icon.png Unarmored I
Special Effects
Demolition Force 0
Stagger Force 0
Push Force 0

Functionality

Rather than using magazines of ammunition, the Laser Cannon builds up heat in its Internal Cooling Element while it is firing. If too much heat is built up in the ICE, it will burn out and render the weapon unable to fire until the heat sink is replaced via a reload. As long as it has not fully burnt out, the heat sink will slowly cool down automatically when not firing, even if a Primary or Secondary Weapon is currently being wielded; this effectively gives the weapon infinite ammo if it is fired judiciously.

From a nearly maximum heat ICE, the weapon will require 15 seconds to fully cool down under standard conditions. Additionally, the beam from the Laser Cannon is capable of igniting targets, setting them on fire if the beam has been focused on them for a period of time. A burning target will take damage over time to its main body, but only if its armor level is not greater than the penetration power of the Laser Cannon. Finally, when firing the Laser Cannon for the first time after a period of inactivity, it requires a short "warm-up" period where the weapon has to be charged before discharging its beam.

Tactical Information

  • Because of its beam nature, the Laser Cannon is very easy to aim. Factors such as gravity's effect on the projectile do not apply to the Laser Cannon, simply place the reticle on top of the target and fire. This makes it particularly strong against highly mobile enemies like Gunships, Shriekers and Elevated Overseers.
    • When firing the Laser Cannon, the color of the refracting light on the target will help indicate whether or not damage is being dealt. Blue light indicates that no damage is being done, while orange lights indicate dealing damage.
    • The Laser Cannon will emit a buzzing sound when its Internal Cooling Element reaches around 75% of its capacity as a warning that it is about to burn out.
  • The Laser Cannon has a warmup period of 0.5 seconds before firing, it is advised that Helldivers try to bring the Laser Cannon out earlier and prime it before it is needed.
  • The Laser Cannon's beam nature, Armor AP4 Icon.png Heavy armor penetration and potentially infinite ammo gives it great flexibility.
    • Generally, the Laser Cannon is best used to destroy medium armored enemies such as Devastators and Bile Spewers, as it can easily punch through their armored areas and inflict full damage. Against Automatons, it is also capable of destroying Hulks and War Striders quickly by focusing on their red eye units.
    • Despite having low damage output for a support weapon, it can sustain this damage over time and also inflicts respectable durable damage. Combined with its ease of aim, the Laser Cannon is capable of melting high durability weak points over time.
    • Its armor penetration allows the Laser Cannon to deal damage to certain secondary objective structures such as Anti-Air and Mortar Emplacements, as well as Shrieker Nests and Spore Spewers. This can be handy for destroying objective buildings without having to call down and wait for a Hellbomb.
    • The Laser Cannon can open shipping container doors.

Applicable Ship Modules

The following Ship Modules affect the LAS-98 Laser Cannon:

Department Ship Module Effect
Patriotic
Administration
Center 		Donation Access License Support Weapons deploy with the maximum number of carriable magazines.
Streamlined Request Process Decreases Support Weapon stratagem cooldown by 10%.
Superior Packing Methodology Resupply stratagem boxes refill the 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 called in, reducing overall deployment time.

Media

  • Tutorial Video Demonstrating Use of the LAS-98 Laser Cannon
  • LAS-98 Laser Cannon firing continuously for 10 seconds until the heat sink expels.

Trivia

  • The orange label on the side of the Laser Cannon reads: "CAUTION LASER WEAPON SYSTEM AVOID EXPOSING EYES, HEAD, OR BODY TO BEAM. CLASS V LASER SE PRODUCT 1500 MW 520/160 2600/800".
    • The all-uppercase labeling makes it ambiguous as to whether the Laser Cannon is designed as a 1.5-watt (1500 milliwatt) or 1.5 GW (1500 megawatt) weapon.
      • Using the standard AR-23 Liberator as a basis of calculations, the Laser Cannon appears to output around 8 kilowatts of power as damage to its target.
      • Regardless of the way the labeling is to be interpreted the "Class V" designation would be somewhat true to the classification system used in real life, which classifies lasers with output powers of 500 milliwatts and above in its highest category, Class 4.

Change History

Patch
Description

1.003.000
2025-05-13

Changes

  • Burning damage now scales with enemy size and will do more damage over time to larger enemies.

Undocumented Change

  • Burn damage increased from 50 to 100.

Fix

  • Cancelling laser weapon reloads no longer gives them infinite ammo

1.002.001
2024-12-13

Changes

  • Max spare magazines increased from 1 to 2
  • Decreased heat buildup when firing by 20%

1.001.100
2024-09-17

Changes

  • Cooldown is now slightly faster.
    • This buff was not implemented in-game.
  • Removed recoil.
  • Now sets enemies on fire faster.
  • Can now damage heavier enemies like Chargers, Bile Titans, Impalers, and Hulks.
  • Made adjustments to the heat VFX.

1.000.302
2024-05-07

Fixes

  • Fixed a rare crash that could occur when using beam weapons

1.000.300
2024-04-29

Changes

  • Slightly increased damage
    • Increased standard DPS from 300 to 350
  • Slightly reduced damage versus large volume bodies
    • Reduced durable DPS from 300 to 200

1.000.100
2024-03-06

Changes

  • Increased damage against durable enemy parts, increased armor penetration, improved ergonomics.
    • Increased durable DPS from 135 to 300.
    • Armor penetration increased from Armor AP3 Icon.png Medium to Armor AP4 Icon.png Heavy.
    • Increased ergonomics from 10 to 45.


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