LAS-99 Quasar Cannon

"Charges to fire a powerful, explosive energy burst. Has a long cooldown period after firing."
The LAS-99 Quasar Cannon is one of the stratagems available to the player. The weapon is similar to the LAS-98 Laser Cannon, but rather than firing a large beam, it charges up a single shot of explosive energy with the power of an EAT-17 Expendable Anti-Tank or GR-8 Recoilless Rifle round.
The Quasar cannon has true infinite ammo. It does not have any magazines, nor heat sinks that have to be replaced, and is capable of safely cooling itself with no threat of overheating. However, it has a particularly long cooldown period between shots, and it cannot be used while it is still venting heat.
==Stratagem Code==
Players must enter the following sequence, using the default Ctrl+WASD keys or the controller D-Pad in order to call down this single-use Stratagem during a mission:
==Stats==
*Call-in Time: 8 seconds
*Uses: Unlimited
*Cooldown Time: 480 seconds (8 minutes)
==Gameplay Tips==
*The Quasar Cannon can be used to destroy Automaton Fabricators and Bug Holes with a direct shot. (The shot does still need to enter the hole or vent though.)
*The Quasar Cannon can shoot down Automaton Dropships with a shot to a thruster.
**It can also destroy Dropship objectives, or airborne Gunships, with a single shot anywhere.
*The Quasar Cannon can kill Chargers with a single shot to the head, as well as a Bile Titan with 2-3 shots to the head.
**It can also destroy Tanks, Cannon Towers, and Hulks with two shots to the vents or the Hulk's body, or 1 accurate shot to the Hulk's head.
*The Quasar Cannon can destroy a Factory Strider's back cannon in two shots, its gatling turrets in 1 shot each, and the entire Strider itself in a few shots to the head or underbelly.
*Like other laser weapons, the Quasar Cannon will continue to cool down when not equipped, giving the user the freedom to use other weapons during its recharge period.
*Unlike other LAS weapons, the Quasar Cannon does not feature any ammo, instead having to charge up and cool off for each shot. This gives the Quasar Cannon far greater staying power than most other heavy weapons.
*The main weakness of the Quasar Cannon is its 3 second charge time before a shot, followed by its long 15 second cooldown, making it difficult for Helldivers to dispatch large number of heavily armored enemies attacking simultaneously.
*When targeting weak points of heavily armored enemies like Hulks and Chargers, it is recommended aim down sights rather than from third person, the scope has a substantial level of zoom and can make all the difference when trying to kill a distant Heavy before it reaches you.
**This also applies to enemies that may not have heavy armor or small weak points but are nearly constantly moving like Dropships, Gunships and Stalkers.
*It also has near-infinite range and no bullet drop, though even stationary targets can be missed with the slightest amount of weapon sway. Firing while prone is practically required for extreme ranges.
*The Quasar Cannon can be extremely useful in Evacuate High-Value Assets missions. Because these missions involve holding a single position for an extended time, it can be viable in the later waves of the mission to call down a second Quasar Cannon, and swap between them in between shots. The Quasar which is on the ground will continue cooling down while the Quasar you are holding is ready to fire again.
==Strategy==
* The LAS-99 Quasar Cannon acts as the third member of the EAT-17 and GR-8 Recoilless Rifle anti-armor trifecta. All three weapons feature the same damage, but use different ammunition and reload mechanics.
*The Quasar's tradeoff of infinite ammo and auto recharge is balanced versus other rocket types by having a very low short-term "DPS" due to its technically 18 second cooldown between shots (15-Cooling, 3-Chargeup). As such, it's more useful when it's not the only anti-armor stratagem in your pool; having other anti-armor stratagems is recommended, as if the Quasar is your only option you'll end up playing an 18 second running and waiting game in between attempts at killing heavy threats.
*The Quasar is best used in either long range/backline playstyles where its cooldown won't matter, and its infinite range can shine, or, surprisingly, the kiting playstyle, since you can stay mobile by diving up to twice during its charge up phase and still get an accurate shot, while running around until it's off cooldown for your next big damage shot.
**If one wishes to exploit its kiting capabilities, it can be paired with an ARC-12 Blitzer, which also has infinite ammo. This strategy is particularly effective against Terminids, given how a Blitzer can handle even Hive Guards and Brood Commanders head-on rather easily while a Quasar cannon recharges.
*If you can hide behind cover while charging, popping out right before the shot is fired can make you way less vulnerable to flinch.
==Effectiveness==
Note that because the EAT-17 and RL-112 Recoilless Rifle deal the same damage as the Quasar Cannon, they share these effectiveness tables.
Terminids
Enemy Type 	Shots To Kill	Body Part Variance 	Notes
Chargers 	1 (Head) 	1 (legs) 2 (butt sac)	One headshot will kill a charger, entirely exploding its head, be careful of its body's ragdoll if it dashed
If you hit the leg, the armor breaks rendering the leg unarmored and vulnerable to small arms fire, or for a second shot to destroy the leg, killing the charger.
Bile Titans	2-3 	1 (back) 1 (sacs) 	2 headshots should be enough to kill, but sometimes it takes one more, unsure of why.
If you don't hit the head, and hit the back instead the armor will break but they have so much health you're better off aiming for sac or save the shot
Automatons
Enemy 	Shots To Kill	Body Part Variance	Notes
Hulk (All Variants)	1 (Eye)
2 (Vent)	1 (arms) 	Can be headshot directly in its eye for a one shot kill, or two shot in either the vent, or near the eye.
its arms can be destroyed in a single shot, but don't quite kill it, can be nichely useful for flame hulk
Tank (Cannon) 	2 (Vent) 	3 	It'll take two shots to the vent to kill a cannon tank, but it's not super hard so don't worry.
Otherwise, it'll take 3 to the top area to down it for good.
Tank (MG) 	1 (Vent) 	2 	This variant only needs a single shot to down in the vent.
I've typically seen their top area destroyed in two shots or so, but take it with a grain of salt
Strider 	2 (Circuitry)
6 (Head)	1 (Mouth MGs)
2 (Cannons)	On both sides of a strider, there's a plate with a red star on it, blast it off with one shot, the circuits inside will be exposed, shoot there again, and the strider will die on the spot.
Otherwise you'll be shooting it's head for a while. (will take 2ish minutes or more)
==Notes==
*As of patch 01.000.400 the quasar cannon will reload 2.5 seconds slower on planets with extreme heat, and 2.5 seconds faster on planets with extreme cold. 
Category:Stratagems (Helldivers 2)
Category:Weapons (Helldivers 2)