Helldivers 2’s Scope of Authority Premium Warbond dropped October 20, 2026, per the PlayStation Blog announcement. The new Warbond was the sniper-themed expansion of the live-service game: it added five new weapons, two new armors, the Stationary Shroud passive that hides crouched Helldivers, a Manual Ballistic Projection emote, and the Longshot title. Like other Premium Warbonds, Scope of Authority required the base game, Super Credits, and game progression to unlock.
This guide breaks down every weapon, every armor, the new passive, and what the bundle costs in Medals and Super Credits. For background on Helldivers 2’s live Warbond system, see our Helldivers 2 hub.
At a glance
Scope of Authority was a sniper-and-stealth Warbond. The headline weapon was the R-40 Sightliner bolt-action sniper rifle with armor piercing rounds; the headline armor was the SS-33 Mimetic Marshal light ghillie suit. Both new armors shipped with the Stationary Shroud passive that mimics foliage concealment when crouched or prone, reducing weapon sway and detection range. The Warbond cost 1,000 Medals to unlock the page, with weapons and armor purchased individually with Medals (and a small Super Credit cost for some items).
What’s in Scope of Authority at a glance
| Item | Type | Role |
|---|---|---|
| R-40 Sightliner | Primary weapon | Bolt-action sniper rifle (armor piercing) |
| P-44 Mist | Sidearm | One-handed machine pistol |
| AMW-20 Apex | Primary weapon | Backpack-fed anti-materiel rifle (assisted reload) |
| LAS-44 Nova | Primary weapon | Energy rifle, infinite ammo, thermal projectile |
| G-11 Caltrops | Grenade | Proximity-detonated submunitions |
| SS-33 Mimetic Marshal | Light armor | Ghillie suit with Mimetic Mesh cape |
| SS-15 Focal Point | Medium armor | Adaptive camo with asymmetrical visor |
| Stationary Shroud | Armor passive | Reduces weapon sway and detection in foliage |
| Manual Ballistic Projection | Emote | A new emote |
| Longshot | Title | Earned on Warbond unlock |
The Warbond arrived in Helldivers 2’s Acquisitions Center, the same menu where previous Premium Warbonds (like Cutting Edge, Democratic Detonation, and Truth Enforcers) live. You unlocked the page with Medals, then bought each item individually. Premium Warbond items could not be bought with real-world money; you had to play to earn the Medals.
Every weapon in Scope of Authority
R-40 Sightliner (bolt-action sniper rifle)
The headline weapon. A bolt-action sniper rifle built for armor piercing rounds at long range, per the PlayStation Blog. The Sightliner is the primary counterpart to the existing AMR-series rifles but with a more traditional sniper feel: pull the bolt, line up the next shot, and reset. It pairs best with crouched or prone play because the Stationary Shroud passive reduces weapon sway, so the Sightliner is the cleanest case for taking the new passive.
P-44 Mist (one-handed machine pistol)
The sidearm for the bundle. The P-44 Mist is a one-handed machine pistol designed as a compact sidearm for sniper primaries. In practice, it is the answer to “what do I swap to when something closes the gap before I can chamber the next round in the Sightliner.” It is a sidearm, so you can pair it with a sniper primary and still bring a heavier support weapon stratagem.
AMW-20 Apex (backpack-fed anti-materiel rifle)
The bigger sibling. The AMW-20 Apex is a backpack-fed anti-materiel rifle with assisted reload. Where the Sightliner is the sniper you take against medium armor and infantry, the Apex is the rifle you take against heavily armored targets like Automaton Hulks or Bile Titans. The assisted reload is the headline feature: pulling a fresh round is faster than manually cycling, which is the difference between getting two shots off in a mag dump and one. Pair with the MG-43 machine gun or the Stalwart if you want to round out your support weapon.
LAS-44 Nova (energy rifle)
The energy-weapon entry. The LAS-44 Nova is the latest in the LAS series of energy weapons, with infinite ammo (a feature of the LAS line) and a high-precision non-explosive thermal projectile that fires after a short charge cycle. Arrowhead’s blog calls out a new optimization routine for better cooldown performance, so the Nova stays hot longer than previous LAS rifles between bursts. It is the weapon to take if you want to lean into the energy-weapon playstyle without running out of ammo on long missions.
G-11 Caltrops (grenade)
The throwable. The G-11 Caltrops is a grenade that, when thrown, scatters a wide field of proximity-detonated submunitions that slow and stun groups of enemies. The play pattern is to toss one at a chokepoint or breach before you take a sniper perch, so anything that comes through is slowed enough to land a Sightliner round. The slow also procs the Stationary Shroud passive’s reduced-detection benefit on crouched Helldivers nearby.
The two new armors and the Stationary Shroud passive
SS-33 Mimetic Marshal (light armor)
The light ghillie suit. The SS-33 Mimetic Marshal uses state-of-the-art light-diffusing netting and adaptive fiber technology to mimic old-fashioned ghillie suits without sacrificing mobility. Per the PlayStation Blog, it is “inspired by old-fashioned ghillie suits without sacrificing on modern tactical polish.” It comes with the coordinating Mimetic Mesh cape and player card. Light armor means more stamina and faster movement at the cost of fewer armor points.
SS-15 Focal Point (medium armor)
The medium alternative. The SS-15 Focal Point adds integrated adaptive camouflage and cutting-edge optics in a stylish asymmetrical visor. It pairs best with the Boundary Banner cape and player card. Medium armor is the middle ground: more armor points than the Mimetic Marshal, but slower than the light armor’s stamina economy.
Stationary Shroud (new armor passive)
The new defensive passive. Both new armors ship with Stationary Shroud, which reduces weapon sway and detection range by mimicking foliage concealment while in the crouched or prone position. The blog describes the effect as letting your Helldiver disappear into the wilderness: “Crouch down and watch as your Helldiver disappears into the wilderness around you.” This is the first armor passive in Helldivers 2 that combines weapon-stability and enemy-detection reductions in one effect.
How much does it cost?
Scope of Authority cost 1,000 Medals to unlock the Warbond page in the Acquisitions Center. Each individual weapon cost between 75 and 150 Medals, and each armor cost 150 Medals. The two cosmetics (Manual Ballistic Projection emote, Longshot title) cost 25 Medals each. In total, buying the full Scope of Authority bundle ran at around 1,000 Medals beyond the page unlock, or roughly 2,000 Medals if you wanted everything.
Medals are earned by completing missions and side objectives in Helldivers 2. The rate was about 20-50 Medals per medium-difficulty mission (Sample, Eradicate, or Launch IC), depending on personal performance and side objectives. To unlock the entire bundle from scratch, players needed to grind at least 40-50 missions of medium difficulty.
Super Credits are Helldivers 2’s paid currency. Premium Warbond items could be bought with Medals only, but the bundle occasionally included small Super Credit costs for specific items. Scope of Authority was not a paid Warbond; you could not buy it with real money.
Who should buy Scope of Authority
Buy it if you main sniper rifles or run a stealth playstyle. The R-40 Sightliner was the cleanest sniper addition since the original AMR, and the Stationary Shroud passive was the first armor passive that actively rewarded crouched sniping. The Mimetic Marshal was the first light armor with built-in ghillie camo, which made it the best stealth armor in the game for sniper primaries.
Skip it if you don’t snipe. The R-40 Sightliner was the headline, but if you never pulled out a sniper rifle on missions, the AMW-20 Apex and LAS-44 Nova were strong but not class-defining additions. The armor passive only worked when crouched or prone, which was a playstyle that not every Helldiver enjoyed.
Wait for the next Warbond if you have limited Medals. Premium Warbonds rotate roughly every 4-6 weeks, so the next Warbond likely dropped in early December. If you were sitting on a low Medal count, you should have focused on Scope of Authority if you wanted the sniper playstyle, otherwise save Medals for a future bundle that better fits your loadout.
Arrowhead was on a sniper-and-stealth arc since the August Escalation of Freedom update, and Scope of Authority was the Warbond that paid off that direction. The R-40 Sightliner was the most-played sniper rifle in the game’s pre-release testing (per community feedback), and the Mimetic Marshal ghillie suit was the first armor in the live-service game to ship with a built-in detection-reduction passive. The combination was the closest thing Helldivers 2 had to a dedicated sniper class, and Arrowhead leaned into the community’s appetite for long-range play after months of requests.
The price point was consistent with previous Premium Warbonds (Cutting Edge, Democratic Detonation, Truth Enforcers, Force of Law, Masters of Ceremony, and the previous sniper-themed Warbond Polar Patriots). The grind was real but manageable for players who ran medium-difficulty Sample missions regularly. The bigger question was whether the Stationary Shroud passive would roll out to previous Warbond armors as a balance update; if it did, Scope of Authority would become more of a cosmetic bundle than a meta-defining one.
For the launch story on this Warbond, see our Scope of Authority news post.
Helldivers 2 news post / Release Calendar / Helldivers 2 on Steam
Edited by Kerwin Stewart, Editor-in-Chief · How we report
Comments
Join the discussion Which Scope of Authority weapon are you taking into a Helldive first: the R-40 Sightliner sniper, the AMW-20 Apex, or the LAS-44 Nova?
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