How to destroy Automaton Dropships in Helldivers 2

The Automatons regularly call in Dropships to assist their forces in Helldivers 2. You receive a notification when a Dropship is on the way, with a “Bot Drop Detected” pop-up at the top of the screen. You have a few seconds before they arrive, and you can destroy them.

There are several ways to take out an Automaton Dropship, preventing these enemies from getting reinforcements. You need to act fast, and if you work together with another Helldivers 2 player, you can prevent an entire squad from raining down on you. Taking these enemies out is a good way to ensure you make it to the end of a mission and you don’t get overwhelmed by the cyborgs.

The best way to destroy Automaton Dropships in Helldivers 2

The best way to take out an Automaton Dropship is to aim for one of its four engines. You only need to hit one of the four engines, and it should drop straight out of the sky. If any Automaton forces were still on the Dropship when you hit the engine, they should crash with the ship, taking them all out immediately. It’s a great strategy in Helldivers 2, but you must ensure you use the correct Support Weapon.

You can’t take them out with a traditional primary or secondary weapon. You need to ensure you’re using one of the heavier Support Weapons you call down from your Support Destroyer. My favorites are the Expendable Anti-Tank, Recoilless Rifle, Autocannon, Railgun, Spear, Laser Cannon, or the Quasar Cannon. Of these choices, the Quasar Cannon has the highest kill rate against the Dropships, with the only trick being to aim for the engines.

With many of these choices, only one shot can go out before you must wait to reload or try again after a short cooldown timer. When you’re facing off against two Automaton Dropships, make sure to have a friend who also has one of these Support Weapons. The Quasar Cannon is easily the best because it does not require any reloads, and you only have to call down another because you lost your Helldiver and couldn’t recover your original one. The downside is the cooldown time between shots.

If you successfully eliminate an Automaton Dropship in Helldivers 2, you should receive up to seven to nine kills for taking out all the enemies on it. You should have a much easier time attempting to remove the Automatons from the galaxy by focusing on these vulnerable targets.