There is nothing more important than knowing your Helldivers 2 enemy. Their strengths, weaknesses, how they behave, and, most specifically, when they spawn are all essential to building your survival knowledge. It’s time to fight back, Helldiver.
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Here is every enemy you can face in Helldivers 2.
Helldivers 2 bestiary: All enemies and how to kill them
Helldivers 2 is in the middle of Galactic War…for the second time. A common foe, the Terminid, rears its head to rebel against the humans, taking out planet farms and innocent humans in the process. While mankind won against the Terminid, Illuminates, and Cyborgs the first time around, the new Automaton faction threatens the Super Earth. The two factions invade from the east and west, controlling every planet in the Sol system. It is down to you to stop them.
Each Helldivers 2 faction has its own long list of enemies you face in every mission. The list extends as you progress through the difficulty levels, completing each Operation on the highest available difficulty. As the Terminid and Automaton forces grow in number, with more Outposts and Nests settlements on every planet, the enemies continue to grow in stature.
Let’s dive into every enemy you can meet, where you can meet them, and a description of their strengths and weaknesses in Helldivers 2.
Helldivers 2 Automaton Faction
| Automaton type | Description | Difficulty level(s) |
|---|---|---|
| Raiders | Lowest-tier enemies with pistols, launchers, and dynamite. Often seen calling in for reinforcements. Easily killable with a couple of bullets. The last variation has a jet pack that explodes upon killing the Raider. These can be easily killed but you should aim to shoot them from afar. | Trivial, Easy, Medium, Challenging, Hard, Extreme, Suicide Mission, Impossible, and Helldive. |
| Marauder | More low-tier enemies with assault rifles. Another easy kill with primary and secondary weapons. These enemies also use turrets in Outposts. You can either use a grenade to kill them, get a clean headshot with a precision weapon, or loop around them to restrict their line of sight on you. | Trivial, Easy, Medium, Challenging, Hard, Extreme, Suicide Mission, Impossible, and Helldive. |
| Commissar | Dual-wielding blades with fast mobility. These enemies can call in for reinforcements. Commissars are only lethal up close. They are easily killable with a couple of bullets. | Easy, Medium, Challenging, Hard, Extreme, Suicide Mission, Impossible, and Helldive. |
| Berserker | Dual-wielding chainsaws with fast mobility. Best to focus on their head and red chest for critical damage. Can take an entire mag to kill. Try and take out their arms first before they get close to rendering them useless. | Easy, Medium, Challenging, Hard, Extreme, Suicide Mission, Impossible, and Helldive. |
| Scout Strider | Turret on legs. Has close- and long-range attacks. Take out their leg first and then finish them off with grenades. You can also shoot the gunner manning the Strider in the back. | Medium, Challenging, Hard, Extreme, Suicide Mission, Impossible, and Helldive. |
| Factory Strider | Use the Autocannon to take out the cannons and miniguns of the Factory Strider. Be sure to drop heavy artillery first, orbital barrages, and other Stratagems to deal damage to this giant Automaton force from afar. | Challenging, Hard, Extreme, Suicide Mission, Impossible, and Helldive. |
| Devastator | Larger Automaton than the Berserker, with similar melee move sets. Slower in action than the Berserker, however. A support weapon is best here. But you should first remove their arms with your primary weapon to limit their attacks. | Easy, Medium, Challenging, Hard, Extreme, Suicide Mission, Impossible, and Helldive. |
| Shield Devastator | This is a shield variation of the Devastator. Use support weapons or grenades to bypass their shield. | Medium, Challenging, Hard, Extreme, Suicide Mission, Impossible, and Helldive. |
| Rocket Devastator | The final Devastator has rockets on its back and a firearm in its right hand. Use grenades and support weapons and try to deal damage to its back, while aiming at the rockets. | Medium, Challenging, Hard, Extreme, Suicide Mission, Impossible, and Helldive. |
| Hulk | A larger variation of the Devastator. With double cannons and a wide physique that makes it difficult to find a weak spot. Try to remove its arms at first to limit its attack. Then, aim for its back to kill it. Stay far away, use explosives, and call down artillery fire from above to kill the Hulk. | Challenging, Hard, Extreme, Suicide Mission, Impossible, and Helldive. Targets in Eliminate Automaton Hulk missions. |
| Flamethrower Hulk | There is also a flamethrower variant of the Hulk that persistently chases you, making it impossible to outrun. Use support weapons and orbital strikes to take this enemy out. | Challenging, Hard, Extreme, Suicide Mission, Impossible, and Helldive. Targets in Eliminate Automaton Hulk missions. |
| Cannon Tower | The Cannon Tower is similar to the Tank. It’s an intimidating, giant Automaton force that is incredibly hard to avoid from afar. The only way to handle this is to use the most powerful barrages and orbital strikes that you have available in your arsenal. No standard weapon can bring this tower down. | Medium, Challenging, Hard, Extreme, Suicide Mission, Impossible, and Helldive. |
| Tank | Literally what it says on the tin. An incredibly tough Automaton to beat with its only weakness being the back of it. Difficult for solo and team players. It is best to use Stratagems here. | Hard, Extreme, Suicide Mission, Impossible, and Helldive. |
| Dropship | A ship that brings Automaton reinforcements in a breach. Best taken out with the Quasar Cannon or Autocannon. | Trivial, Easy, Medium, Challenging, Hard, Extreme, Suicide Mission, Impossible, and Helldive. |
Helldivers 2 Terminid Faction
| Terminid type | Description | Difficulty level(s) |
|---|---|---|
| Scavengers | Small and meek bugs that are only lethal in swarms. Easily killable with one to two bullets. | Trivial, Easy, Medium, Challenging, Hard, Extreme, Suicide Mission, Impossible, and Helldive. |
| Bile Scavengers | There are also bile variations of the standard Scavenger that spew acid pellets at you from afar. They can also be killed with one to two bullets or the melee button. | Trivial, Easy, Medium, Challenging, Hard, Extreme, Suicide Mission, Impossible, and Helldive. |
| Hunters | Slightly larger than the Scavengers with greater mobility. Long melee range and can leap from afar to close the gap between yourself and your comrades. | Trivial, Easy, Medium, Challenging, Hard, Extreme, Suicide Mission, Impossible, and Helldive. |
| Shriekers | Rare sightings of these flying bugs show that they appear in packs, close to their mushroom nests. Pluck off their wings before they dive. Use weapons such as Spray&Pray or Breaker shotguns alongside powerful stratagems like the Machine Gun and Flamethrower to keep these creatures at bay. | Hard, Extreme, Suicide Mission, Impossible, and Helldive. |
| Warriors | Small bug with an armored shell, slightly tougher to beat than the Scavenger and Hunter. You can take these out with three to five clean headshots. | Trivial, Easy, Medium, Challenging, Hard, Extreme, Suicide Mission, Impossible, and Helldive. |
| Stalker | Three times the size of the Hunters with a similar appearance and fast melee attacks. They can also attack using their tongue as a whip. Stalkers are quite easy to bring down with weapons that pack a punch. These bugs can turn invisible, making them a tough enemy to face. | Medium, Challenging, Hard, Extreme, Suicide Mission, Impossible, and Helldive. |
| Hive Guard | A smaller version of the Brood Commander. It hides its weak spots behind a wall of armor, covering its face and front legs. Aim underneath, at the top of its legs, and its back for critical damage. These spawn inside Nests. | Medium, Challenging, Hard, Extreme, Suicide Mission, Impossible, and Helldive. |
| Nursing Spewer | A smaller version of the Bile Spewer, with a bee-like appearance. They spew bile in an osculating direction, similar to the Bile Scavenger and Spewer. You need to dodge with the prone button to avoid the bile. With close-range acid throws, three clean headshots will take one of these out. | Medium, Challenging, Hard, Extreme, Suicide Mission, Impossible, and Helldive. |
| Bile Spewer | Long-range acid-spitting larger Terminid with a giant green sack as its abdomen. Weak spots are the sack and its face. Aim at its face for close-range battle and use the prone button to dodge its attacks. Long-range is best here, with penetrating bullets against its head or abdomen. | Medium, Challenging, Hard, Extreme, Suicide Mission, Impossible, and Helldive. |
| Bile Titan | The largest Terminid you face in higher difficulties. Has full-body armor. Fast-moving, similar to a Hunter. They also have acid, similar to the Bile Spewer. Stratagems are best here. | Challenging, Hard, Extreme, Suicide Mission, Impossible, and Helldive. Targets in Eliminate Bile Titan missions |
| Charger | Terminid with giant abdomen. Main attacks are charges that knock you back and deal high-impact damage. Best to attack from afar. Their weaknesses are their limbs so focus your support weapons there. Artillery strikes are helpful against these giant bugs too. | Medium, Challenging, Hard, Extreme, Suicide Mission, Impossible, and Helldive. Targets in Eliminate Charger missions |
| Brood Commander | Slightly larger versions of the Hive Guard. Has ranged melee attacks and support swarms to accompany them. Fight from afar using support weapons while picking off the low-tiered enemies to reduce the risk of getting surrounded. You can take these out with five to ten clean headshots after removing its armor with support weapons. | Hard, Extreme, Suicide Mission, Impossible, and Helldive. Targets in Eliminate Brood Commander missions. |
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