Set the trap. Hold the trigger. Let the metal heads push forward. Smile, and release. Watch them splatter. That’s the Helldivers 2‘s PLAS-101 Purifier in short. It’s an energy-based plasma rifle that needs you to have trigger discipline. When used right, it will melt medium armor and stagger an entire line of enemies at once—turns Devastators into piles of junk right away. But if you get sloppy or fire too close to yourself, the splash damage will kill you before the bugs do. Stay disciplined, or it’s over.
How to Get the PLAS-101 Purifier in Helldivers 2
The Purifier is available on page 3 of the Polar Patriots Premium Warbond and costs 80 Medals to unlock. Open the Warbond with 1,000 Super Credits, progress your way down to its third page, and spend x80 Medals to add the PLAS-101 Purifier to your primary weapon loadout. Once unlocked, equip it from the Armory or during the pre-mission loadout screen.
PLAS-101 Purifier Base Stats
- Damage: 250
- Capacity: 15 rounds
- Spare Magazines: 6
- Recoil: 20
- Fire Rate: 1000 rpm
- Weapon Traits: Medium Armor Penetrating, Chargeup, Explosive
- Fire Modes: Semi-auto, Charged
The armory interface displays the base performance, but the hidden stats reveal the true output of the plasma bolts. Both uncharged and charged shots consume exactly one unit of ammunition.
How Does the PLAS-101 Purifier Work Helldivers 2
Hold the trigger for one second to fully charge the superheated gas bolt and release it to fire the weapon.
| Firing Mode | Direct Damage | Explosive Damage | Area of Effect (AoE) | Stagger Force |
| Uncharged | 100 | 75 | 1m outer (2m shockwave) | Low |
| Fully Charged | 200 | 300 | 3m outer (4m shockwave) | High |
Uncharged shots fire instantly in semi-auto. The rate of fire is fast enough to dump the entire 15-round magazine in under a second, which is actually quicker than most ARs on full auto. Each uncharged shot deals 100 direct damage plus a 75-damage explosion in a 1-meter radius. Good for quick follow-ups and to keep light enemies staggered.
Charged shots need you to hold the trigger for a second. The bolt explodes on impact with a 3-meter AoE, dealing 200 direct damage and 300 explosion damage. That’s four times the explosion damage of an uncharged shot. Critically, both shot types consume only one unit of ammo, so charge up is always the ammo effective play when the situation allows it.
Note: The explosion happens regardless of charge level, the description saying “charging up fully makes the bolt explode” is slightly misleading. What actually changes is the scale of that explosion. Partial charge doesn’t increase the explosion power; it’s a binary thing either you hit full charge at the one second mark, or will fire a smaller blast.
Attachments and Customization
Optics:
- 1.5x Tube Red Dot (default)
- Reflex Sight (Level 4)
- Holographic Sight (Level 7)
- Reflex Sight Mk2 (Level 14)
- Iron Sight (Level 24) — adds +5 Ergonomics
Underbarrel:
- No Underbarrel (default, +5 Ergonomics)
- Laser Sight w/ Flashlight (default, -5 Ergonomics)
- Vertical Foregrip (Level 2) — -6 Vertical Recoil, -5 Ergonomics
- Angled Foregrip (Level 9) — +6 Vertical Recoil, +10 Ergonomics
- Flashlight Vertical Foregrip (Level 17) — -6 Vertical Recoil, -2 Ergonomics
- Laser Sight Angled Foregrip (Level 22) — -6 Vertical Recoil, +8 Ergonomics
For most players, the Vertical Foregrip or Flashlight Vertical Foregrip makes the most sense because the reduced vertical recoil helps keep follow-up uncharged shots on target.
Best Targets for the Purifier
The Purifier leans heavily toward the Automaton front due to its medium armor penetration and localized blast radius, though it excels against specific Terminid targets.
Automatons
- Devastators: Charged shots easily pierce their torso armor. For Heavy Devastators, the massive explosion ignores their shields and knocks them aside.
- Berserkers: A charged shot into a clumped patrol of Berserkers stops them dead, rendering them vulnerable to follow-up shots before they close the distance.
- Gunships: Two fully charged shots directly into the same thruster will bring down a Gunship.
- Tanks & Hulks: Flank them and hit their glowing rear vents. Three consecutive charged shots will destroy either heavy unit. The same is true against Cannon Turrets.
Terminids
- Bile Spewers & Nursing Spewers: Highly vulnerable to the explosive damage trait.
- Brood Commanders & Hive Guards: The medium armor penetration cuts through their carapaces easily.
- Swarm Warning: Terminids aggressively close the distance. Relying on the Purifier against Hunters or Leaping Scavengers risks consistent self-inflicted blast damage.
Gameplay Tips to Use PLAS-101 Purifier
Play the range game. Charging slows your movement, so let enemies close to medium distance, charge up, and release when they’re almost on you. The 3-meter AoE on charged shots will take down grouped enemies.
Don’t charge at close range. Firing a fully charged shot at an enemy in melee range will catch you in the blast radius, resulting in heavy self-damage or instant death. An uncharged semi-auto is the right call at point-blank, or switch to your secondary weapon for close-quarters defense.
Fully understand the release. Unlike the Quasar Cannon, which fires automatically at max charge, the Purifier only shoots when you release the trigger. Switching weapons or getting interrupted will completely cancel the charge.
Spam uncharged shots in a pinch. The ridiculous fire rate means you can dump damage fast when something unexpected gets in your face. The weapon modes have the same armor penetration on the projectile, so you won’t give up much there.
Stagger-lock combat. Fully charged explosions quadruple the area damage and triple the blast radius. More importantly, the stagger force scales up massively. You can completely interrupt medium enemies to lock them in place and then repeatedly blast them.
Rapid fire panic switch. While the charge mechanic is the main draw, you can quick fire uncharged shots up to 1000 RPM. Rapid pull of the trigger will empty the magazine in under a second for immediate, frantic damage.
Bile Spewers are free kills. They’re vulnerable to explosions, and the Purifier has explosions in abundance.
The explosions can’t destroy bug holes, fabricators, or fences. Don’t even try. The explosive force is good to stagger enemies, but it lacks the demolition power to kill these bugs.
Keep a chaff-clearing teammate around. The Purifier struggles with swarms of light enemies because charging takes time. If your squad has someone taking care of the small stuff, you’re free to charge and shoot medium targets all day.
Ammo is generous if you charge. Six spare magazines sounds limited, but since charged shots cost the same ammo as uncharged, you have to stretch your mag greatly by defaulting to charged fire. Pick up Supply Packs on lengthy missions if ammo is limited.
