Every Monster in Helldivers 2 Explained
When I first started playing Helldivers 2, I’ll admit – those bugs freaked me out. All those skittering legs, creepy sounds, and downright nasty attacks. It was enough to give even the most seasoned helldiver nightmares!
But here’s the thing – once you understand how bugs like the Warriors, Hunters, and Bile Spewers operate, they become much less scary. In fact, learning their behaviors and weak spots is the key to taking them down quickly and surviving those chaotic bug missions.
So in this guide, I wanted to break down some of the most common bugs you’ll encounter out there, and share what I’ve learned about how to handle them. My goal is to help you go from bug-phobic to bug-exterminating expert!
Basic Scavengers – More Annoying Than Dangerous
You’ll find Basic Scavengers on pretty much any planet, even at lower difficulties. They’re generally more annoying than dangerous – that little claw attack of theirs stings, but isn’t too hard to deal with. The real issue is when they swarm you in groups of 10 or more. Then it becomes death by a thousand tiny cuts!
The key with Scavengers is to take them out quickly with rapid-fire weapons before they surround you. Explosives work too if you can catch a cluster of them together. And don’t underestimate them just because they seem harmless individually. Their strength is in numbers!
Bile Spitters – Slow You Down for the Swarm
Now Bile Spitters are the real early-game threat in my opinion. Starting in easy difficulty missions, these juvenile Bile Spewers attack from range with a bile spit that seriously slows you down. This allows the rest of the swarm to catch up and surround you.
Because of its short range, your instinct may be to rush the Bile Spitter. Don’t! That slowing bile attack will almost guarantee a mob of Warriors get the jump on you if you charge. Instead, take it out safely from a distance with a rifle or SMG burst.
And watch out for groups of 5 or more Bile Spitters supporting Nursing Spewers near Bile Spewer portals. Deal with them first before focusing on the larger targets!
Bile Titans – Corrosive Spitters on Steroids
If you thought Bile Spitters were bad, just wait until you meet their bigger, nastier cousins – the Bile Titans. These lumbering beasts are like super-sized Bile Spitters, spewing huge pools of bile that can melt right through your armor.
Getting too close is NOT recommended. Bile Titans move deceptively fast for their size, and they hit hard if they manage to smack you with one of their giant claws or bile attacks.
So how do you take these monstrosities down? I’ve had the most luck keeping my distance and using heavy weapons like Railgun Strikes, 500KG Eagle Bombs, or the Spear Missile Launcher. If you’re feeling really bold (or crazy), you can try a suicide run with the Hellpod Stratagem.
Just make sure to lead the Bile Titan away from your squad first so they don’t get caught in the explosion! Utilizing terrain and obstacles to break line of sight can also give you a tactical advantage.
And pro tip – ALWAYS fight Bile Titans as a team. Have one person bait its attention while the others pound it from behind. Divide and conquer!
Brood Commanders – The Brains Behind the Bug Army
Brood Commanders may not be as physically intimidating as Bile Titans, but they’re arguably even more dangerous. These strategic masterminds coordinate entire swarms of bugs on the battlefield, directing their forces right to your location.
Taking out a Brood Commander should be a TOP priority whenever they show up. Do it fast, before they can call in reinforcements! They’re heavily armored but slower moving, so explosives and area denial weapons like Flamethrowers, Thunderers, and Static Fields work extremely well.
A word of warning though – eliminating their front limbs won’t be enough to kill a Brood Commander. These terrifying bugs will keep crawling after you even with multiple severed appendages! You HAVE to pump them full of extra lead to finish them off.
So in summary:
- Priority target
- Slow-moving but well-armored
- Cripple limbs then pour on firepower
- Cut off the head of the snake!
Battling the Bot Army
I don’t know about you, but those damn robots freak me out almost as much as the bugs! Just something about their emotionless metal faces and mechanical movement that gives me the heebie jeebies. At least you know the bugs just want to eat you – the bots will gun you down just for fun!
Anyway, I’ve picked up a few useful tips for how to handle some of the most common enemy automatons:
Troopers, Raiders & Marauders
These basic bots are essentially identical in terms of stats and vulnerabilities. Target their heads whenever possible, and use liberal grenade spam to soften them up!
Watch out for Raiders and their deadly accurate rocket launchers. ALWAYS prioritize taking those guys out first from a distance. You do NOT want to get caught out in the open by a surprise rocket attack!
Commissars – Priority Kill Targets
If you see one of these metallic officers on the battlefield, killing it needs to become your #1 goal immediately. Commissars are responsible for calling in those relentless bot drop reinforcements!
The same advice applies though – aim for the head, keep your spacing, and cook off some grenades. Just don’t let it start spamming backups, or you’ll never stem the bot horde tide!
Scout Striders – Gla*s Cannon Speed Demons
With their lightly armored insect-like mechanical legs and devastating roof-mounted cannons, Scout Striders are swift death on six legs. They race around the combat zone seeking out targets, strafing threats with expertly aimed turret fire.
Do NOT try to outrun these things in the open – they are freakishly fast! Instead, find cover the second you spot one, then start pumping AP rounds at those spindly legs joints. Slow it down so you can circle behind and target the vulnerable operator hatch.
Disabling Scout Striders should be a team effort due to their mobility and firepower. Work together to divide its attention then cripple its weapon systems!
Hulks – Walking Armored Arsenals
Hulks may look intimidating, but these heavy a*sault bots have some glaring weak spots if you know where to aim. There are three types of Hulk you may encounter:
Standard Hulks packing autocannons and missile pods.
Flame Hulks are equipped with devastating flamethrowers.
And Rocket Hulks carrying area saturation rocket launchers.
Regardless of the weapon system, ALL Hulks share two major vulnerabilities:
- Heads – Snipe ’em with a Railgun or Anti-Tank rifle for an insta-kill face shot.
- Backs – Sustained fire to their less protected rear armor can eventually bring them down.
If you can destroy their primary weapons, Hulks become far less threatening. They’ll resort to lumbering slowly towards you throwing clumsy melee punches. At that point just kite them while focusing fire on more immediate targets.
And as always, strategies like Orbital Laser Strikes or Barrages of 500KG Bombs make swift work of ALL Hulk variants!
Annihilator Tanks – Circle Strafe to Success
These heavily armored death machines sport a 360-degree firing arc, making the cover a MUST. Their vent ports and top turret armor are vulnerable points to exploit.
To take down a Tank, work as a squad – have one player draw its attention while another circle around to chuck Impact Grenades on top. Just a couple clean grenade sticks will mission kill an Annihilator.
Then finish it off by using the disabled hull itself as cover! Jump on that turret and hammer away at point-blank range with AP rounds. But watch that detonation timer – nothing worse than riding a tank when it explodes!
Dropships – Deny Deployment
These ma*sive personnel carriers appear suddenly to disgorge squadrons of enemy reinforcements. Left unchecked, they can completely overwhelm an area.
Shooting down a Dropship mid-deployment rains crushing death upon the robots packed inside, significantly thinning the horde. But it’s a tricky shot to make without getting squashed yourself!
Your best bet is to target the lateral thrusters with heavy ordnance like a Recoilless Rifle or RPG. Or spot the Dropship early as it opens up and hoses the interior with a grenade and rocket launcher spam!
Just be careful not to leave yourself exposed. There’s no outrunning the fury of an active Dropship!
So in summary, knowledge is power when it comes to battling bugs and bots. Learn their attack patterns, target their weak spots, and leverage squad tactics and you’ll be mopping up infestations in no time!
Hopefully, these tips will help you survive and thrive on your next Helldivers 2 mission. Let me know in the comments if you have any other enemy an*lysis requests!
