Arrowhead Game Studios and PlayStation have set the next Premium Warbond for Helldivers 2. Scope of Authority deploys on October 20, and it is built around a single fantasy: lying in the treeline with a scope, picking off Automatons before they ever know where the shot came from. It brings two new sniper-class weapons, a machine pistol, a charge-up laser rifle, a stun grenade and a pair of armors with a passive that rewards staying low and staying still.
A long-range kit, top to bottom
The headline primary is the R-40 Sightliner, a bolt-action sniper rifle. Helldivers 2 has never been short of marksman options, but the pitch for the Sightliner is that it does not make you choose between stability and stopping power: it fires armor-piercing rounds while keeping the precision a long-range primary needs. Bolt-action means a slow rate of fire, so it is a rifle for players who can make each round count rather than one for spraying down a Terminid swarm.
For the moments when the enemy closes the gap, the warbond pairs it with the P-44 Mist, a compact one-handed machine pistol. That one-handed detail matters in Helldivers 2, where one-handed sidearms can be fired while carrying objectives, and a fast-firing secondary is the natural partner to a primary that punishes misses.
The heavy hitter is the AMW-20 Apex, a backpack-fed anti-materiel rifle with assisted reload. Arrowhead frames it as the answer to the larger, more heavily armored enemies the war has escalated to, and the description leaves no ambiguity about its subtlety: there is very little in the galaxy meant to survive it. The backpack feed and assisted reload suggest a weapon designed for two-player teamwork, the same way the game's existing team-reload support weapons reward squads who stick together.
A new laser rifle and a grenade that sets up the shot
Energy-weapon fans get the LAS-44 Nova, the newest entry in the LAS line. Like the rest of that family it runs on infinite ammo and manages heat instead of magazines, but it behaves differently from the beam rifles: after a short charge cycle it fires a high-precision, non-explosive thermal projectile. Arrowhead says a new cooling routine is tuned so the rifle keeps firing for longer before it needs a break, which should make it a sustained option for players who want sniper-like accuracy without carrying ammunition.
Rounding out the arsenal is the G-11 Caltrops. Thrown like any grenade, it scatters a wide field of proximity-triggered submunitions that slow and stun whatever walks into them. On paper it is a support tool rather than a killer, and it slots neatly into the theme: freeze a charging pack in place, then line up the shot.
Two armors and the Stationary Shroud passive
The SS-33 Mimetic Marshal is a light armor modelled on a classic ghillie suit, draped in light-diffusing netting and adaptive fibers, and it comes with a matching Mimetic Mesh cape and player card. For players who move forward more than they camp, the SS-15 Focal Point is a medium armor with integrated adaptive camouflage and an asymmetrical optic visor, paired with the Boundary Banner cape and player card.
Both armors share a new passive, Stationary Shroud. While you are crouched or prone, it reduces weapon sway and shrinks the distance at which enemies detect you, effectively turning cover into concealment. That is a meaningful mechanical hook in a game where most armor passives focus on survivability, throwing range or stamina, and it is the piece most likely to change how the rest of the warbond is played.
Cosmetics, title and how to unlock it
Beyond the gear, the warbond adds the Manual Ballistic Projection emote and a new player title, Longshot, for anyone who wants their squad to know what role they intend to play.
As with every Premium Warbond, Scope of Authority requires the base game, is bought with Super Credits, and its items unlock progressively by spending Medals earned in missions. Super Credits can be bought with real money or found on missions, so it can be earned without spending, given enough patience.
A steady cadence
Scope of Authority lands four weeks after the Ironclad Democracy warbond, which arrived on September 22, and continues Arrowhead's habit of building each release around a clear playstyle rather than a grab bag of weapons. Where Ironclad Democracy leaned into heavy armor, this one swings the other way, toward patience, positioning and the satisfaction of a clean shot from a long way off. It goes live on October 20.
