How to kill a Helldivers 2 Hive Lord

The Helldivers 2 Hive Lord is a new Terminid creature of colossal proportions, a gigantic, bile-spewing worm that's more of a hazard than something to be killed. It has so much health and armor that killing it not only takes ages, but also requires the biggest guns available in Helldivers 2.

Hive Lords also pack a massive punch themselves, capable of instantly crushing or dissolving unprepared Helldivers with their bulk or acidic vomit. Below, I've laid out everything I've been able to learn so far about Hive Lords from a few encounters, including how you can find them, the attacks you need to watch out for, and how to kill one if you're that kind of crazy.

Helldivers 2 Hive Lord overview

The Helldivers 2 Hive Lord is an absolutely massive worm beast that you might encounter if you're playing against the Terminids on one of their hive worlds from the Helldivers 2 Into the Unjust update and at a high enough difficulty.

What makes a Hive Lord appear is a bit of a mystery, however. When I encountered one, it was during a mobile extraction mission using the all-terrain extraction rig vehicle, which necessitates open spaces so that you can actually drive the thing around. Other missions with plenty of caves won't be able to accommodate a Hive Lord, so it seems like mobile extraction missions are the most likely assignments where you can face off against a Hive Lord.

When one does appear, it can use several attacks to obliterate Helldivers directly or can be quite disruptive thanks to its hazardous presence, so here's what you need to watch out for:

• Ground ripples: These massive waves of sand let you see where the Hive Lord is going as it burrows underground, but if you're in the way, they will knock you over.
• Ground eruptions: Hive Lords can burst out of the ground while burrowing, either to be a nuisance while repositioning or to properly attack pesky Helldivers. Either way, you'll want to be far away from it when it does to avoid getting hurt or crushed.
• Falling debris: When a Hive Lord rises up to attack, massive rocks fall off it which can land on you, dealing damage and knocking you over.
• Bile spray: Hive Lords can spew lethal bile over a massive area, putting Helldivers 2 Bile Titans to shame.
• Flatten: If you're near a Hive Lord and aren't moving very much, they won't hesitate to crush you by flopping over. Keep moving and be prepared to dive.

Helldivers 2 Hive Lord weaknesses, tips, and best weapons to use

It is possible to kill a Hive Lord in Helldivers 2, but I'm not sure I'd necessarily recommend trying unless you're with a full team of like-minded, bloodthirsty Helldivers. Here are some tips for dealing with a Hive Lord during a mission:

• Simply avoid it: Hive Lords have an immense amount of health and take ages to kill, so I think it's best to treat them more as hazards to avoid than a foe to bring down. The best thing is to do your best to escape it. It's too big to follow you into caves, so those are safe spots, but be aware that you will then be facing most other Terminids and even strafing Helldivers 2 Dragonroaches.
• Bring portable hellbombs and anti-tank weapons: But if you really want to kill a Hive Lord, bringing portable hellbombs from the Helldivers 2 Servants of Freedom Warbond (which we also reckon is one of the best Helldivers 2 Warbonds anyway) is essential. You should also bring any anti-tank weapons like the Commando, Expendable Anti-Tank, and Recoilless Rifle as seemingly nothing else can damage it.
• Target its head and the fleshy parts: While the body of a Hive Lord is covered in incredibly durable heavy armor, its head has plenty of fleshy parts that can be hit.

Overall, there isn't really much point to killing a Hive Lord anyway. There don't seem to be any rewards for doing so (aside from personal glory) and you're likely to waste a lot of time and reinforcement lives doing so because of how unbelievably strong they are.

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