Stratagems provide battlefield support beyond your primary weapon. Build a set that covers the mission’s jobs, then check the deployment and placement requirements. A collection of individually appealing tools can still leave the squad without a response to one important threat.
The six categories in the official guide
| Category | Role to consider | Practical tradeoff |
|---|---|---|
| Eagle | Air support with uses available in quick succession. | Coordinate when and where the squad wants that support. |
| Orbital | Support from the destroyer. | Allow for deployment rather than treating a call as instantaneous. |
| Backpack | Equipment that adds a support or survival function. | Check compatibility with the rest of your equipment. |
| Support weapon | An additional weapon for a specific task. | Think about ammunition, retrieval and the task your primary already handles. |
| Defensive | Equipment for controlling or protecting an area. | Place it so teammates can still move through the objective. |
| Vehicle | Equipment such as Exosuits. | Choose a mission plan that gives the vehicle a useful job. |
The category names follow PlayStation’s stratagem overview. Its Requisition-based Ship Management route applies to relevant unlocks, while later Warbonds also introduce stratagem equipment. Check the individual item’s unlock route instead of assuming every option is bought from the same menu.
Named examples: compare what the tool does
| Equipment | Confirmed description in its announcement | Decision this creates |
|---|---|---|
| EXO-51 Lumberer | An Exosuit combining an anti-tank cannon with a flamethrower. | Consider whether your plan needs both target-focused and close-area roles. |
| EXO-55 Breakthrough | An Exosuit with a flak cannon and a ballistic shield. | Compare that equipment combination with the job you want the vehicle to perform. |
| MGX-42 Bullet Storm | Disposable machine-gun equipment supplied with two units per use. | Plan the task before committing disposable equipment. |
| B/FLAM-80 Cremator | A support flamethrower supplied by a backpack fuel tank. | Check the support role and backpack arrangement together. |
| A/GM-17 Gas Mortar Sentry | An automated turret firing gas shells. | Consider teammate routes and the area it will affect. |
These descriptions come from the Exo Experts and Entrenched Division announcements. They establish equipment identity, not a current kill threshold or tested tier ranking. For exact current usage limits and balance numbers, inspect the in-game card and relevant patch notes.
Distinguish a stratagem from a booster or grenade
The Ironclad Democracy announcement includes the Surplus EAT Allocation booster, described as granting two free Expendable Anti-Tank uses per mission. It is not the same selection as the EAT stratagem itself. Similarly, a throwable described in a Warbond is not automatically an extra stratagem slot. Comparing unlike categories creates misleading loadouts.
An example of complementary coverage
Suppose a squad is comfortable against ordinary encounters but repeatedly stalls when a harder target blocks the objective. Adding another tool that duplicates the ordinary-encounter role may leave the actual problem unchanged. Start by assigning a response to the blocker, then preserve one fallback while the preferred response is unavailable.
Before dropping, say who is bringing the target-focused response, who is covering the interaction area and where a defensive deployment should go. During the mission, keep the task and teammate movement visible to the person placing the support. This is a decision pattern, not a required four-item build.
Where to continue
Build the whole loadout around complementary roles, then use our Terminid planning guide or Automaton planning guide for the mission context. If you are choosing a paid unlock, compare Warbond costs and item access before buying for one tool.
Sources and review scope
Source review: 11 October 2026. This independent guide combines the linked official information with editorial examples. Check your current in-game descriptions for changed costs, prerequisites and balance values.
