The GL-28 Belt-Fed Grenade Launcher (BFGL) is exactly what High Command ordered for Helldivers who found themselves thinking, “this grenade launcher is great, but what if it just never stopped?” Arrowhead heard that prayer, answered it, and attached a backpack to the answer.
It is one of the more distinct support weapons in Helldivers 2, different in how it plays, how it fits into a loadout, and who it rewards. Here is the full breakdown.
How to Unlock the GL-28 BFGL & What It Does in Helldivers 2
Your next favorite crowd-cleaner explained. | Credits: Arrowhead Game Studios
The BFGL is a Page 3 unlock in the Siege Breakers Premium Warbond, and reaching it takes both Super Credits and Medals. Here is the full path before we break down the numbers.
How to Unlock the Belt-Fed Grenade Launcher
110 Medals well spent. | Credits: Arrowhead Game Studios/FandomWire
The BFGL sits on Page 3 of the Siege Breakers Premium Warbond at a cost of 110 Medals. The warbond itself costs 1,000 Super Credits, purchasable via the Acquisitions menu inside your Super Destroyer, and Pages 1 and 2 need to be cleared before Page 3 opens up.
Medals come from playing the game the way Super Earth intended. Completing missions pays them out, with higher difficulties rewarding more per run. Cases at Points of Interest on the mission map are another reliable source, and both Personal and Major Orders on the Galactic War Map are worth checking before every drop.
Step-by-step, here is the full unlock path:
Purchase the Siege Breakers Premium Warbond for 1,000 Super Credits from the Acquisitions menu.
Earn Medals by completing missions, looting POI cases on the map, and finishing Personal and Major Orders.
Spend enough Medals to unlock Pages 1 and 2 of the warbond progressively.
Reach Page 3 and unlock the GL-28 Belt-Fed Grenade Launcher for 110 Medals.
Belt-Fed Grenade Launcher Stats and How It Works
Heavy pen. No reloads. One catch. | Credits: Arrowhead Game Studios/FandomWire
The BFGL runs on one core idea: continuous explosive fire with no manual reload interrupting your flow. It feeds from an integrated backpack belt and keeps going until the rounds run out.
Here are the full stats of the weapon:
StatValueCategoryHeavy Support WeaponDamage (Projectile)0Damage (Explosion)150Armor PenetrationHeavyCapacity120 (via Backpack)Fire Rate160 / 240 / 320 rpm (3 modes)DPS400 / 600 / 800Demolition Force30Stagger Force20
Every point of damage the GL-28 deals comes not from the impact of each projectile, but from the resulting explosion. It also has a noticeably smaller blast radius than the standard GL-21 Grenade Launcher, which spreads wider and hits harder per shot, though only at medium penetration compared to the BFGL’s heavy.
What the BFGL gives up in raw punch, though, it recovers through volume. There is one serious catch though: the weapon cannot fire without its belt-feed backpack attached, and that backpack takes your entire backpack stratagem slot with it.
Belt-Fed Grenade Launcher Tips & Tricks for Every Enemy Faction
Image Credit: Arrowhead Game Studios
Image Credit: PlayStation/YouTube
Image Credit: Arrowhead Game Studios
Image Credit: Arrowhead Game Studios
Image Credit: Arrowhead Game Studios
Image Credit: Arrowhead Game Studios/FandomWire
The BFGL launched to a wave of “dead on arrival” takes, mostly from players comparing its 150 explosion damage to the GL-21’s 400 and walking away. That comparison, as many a Helldivers 2 veteran will tell you, is fair in a spreadsheet and almost entirely useless in a mission.
Belt-Fed Grenade Launcher vs. Terminids
Breach open? Belt-fed says hello. | Credits: Arrowhead Game Studios
Against bugs, the BFGL is at its most immediately satisfying. The breach and swarm model that Terminid missions are built around suits sustained fire better than almost any other weapon type in the support slot. Here are a few things that make a real difference in practice:
Switch to 320 rpm the moment a breach opens; the stagger force pins the initial wave before it can fan out across the map.
Aim at the ground just ahead of rushing enemies rather than directly at them; let the blast radius do the actual work.
If needed, use the 160 rpm mode on isolated Hive Guards; accuracy matters more than rate of fire when targets are spread out.
Larger targets like Bile Titans and Dragonroaches are outside this weapon’s honest range; keep a dedicated offensive stratagem ready and use the belt on everything swarming around them instead.
The projectile arc lets you lob grenades over terrain into a breach or Bug Nest from cover; use it whenever the opening sits behind a ridge or in a depression
Belt-Fed Grenade Launcher vs. Automatons
Bots flinch. You keep shooting. | Credits: Arrowhead Game Studios
Arrowhead clearly designed the Siege Breakers warbond with bots in mind, and the BFGL fits that context quite well. High-difficulty bot missions reward sustained suppression, which is exactly what this weapon brings:
Devastator lines are the signature target; keep the stream going and watch them spend more time flinching than shooting at your squadmates.
Bot Fabricators can be destroyed through their exhaust vents with sustained fire; it takes more rounds than the GL-21 but saves you a stratagem cooldown.
Hulks go down via the rear vent or eye slot; expect around 14 rounds on a clean rear vent approach, so make sure to close the angle fast and hold 320 rpm.
Rocket Devastators are a direct threat to your backpack specifically; prioritize them early, because losing the belt-feed mid-engagement shuts the whole weapon off.
The “middle-ground” 240 rpm mode is underrated for bot missions where you are constantly moving between cover; use it during situations where you need to suppress and reposition simultaneously.
Belt-Fed Grenade Launcher vs. Illuminates
Squids hate sustained fire. Coincidence? | Credits: Arrowhead Game Studios
The squids are where the BFGL quietly earns its reputation back, particularly against players who dismissed it after one bot run:
Voteless hordes packed into city corridors are ideal for 320 rpm; the blast radius is more than sufficient when enemies are stacked tightly together.
Overseers with their energy shields respond well to sustained fire; keep the pressure on the shield and follow through the moment it collapses.
The indirect arc is particularly useful in Illuminate city missions; lob those grenades around building corners into clusters you cannot directly see, and let the explosion radius clean up.
Harvesters are the weapon’s hard ceiling against the squids, same as Titans are for bugs; pair with a Railcannon Strike or 500kg and do not waste the belt trying to crack one.
A Free the City mission is the single best test of what this weapon can do; if you have only run it on bug or bot fronts, you have not seen the full picture.
The GL-28 Belt-Fed Grenade Launcher is not trying to be every weapon at once, and it is better for it. Used correctly, it keeps squads alive through the exact kind of mid-mission spiral that usually ends in a full wipe. And in Helldivers 2, those moments come for everyone eventually.
Have you taken the BFGL out for a proper run? Drop your thoughts in the comments below, and tell us which faction and situations you think it handles best!
This post belongs to FandomWire and first appeared on FandomWire
