Battling the Helldivers 2 Automatons means you'll need to bring the best weapons possible for blasting apart heavy armor. Unlike the Terminids, the bots rely less on overwhelming numbers and melee attacks and more on ridiculously durable units and explosive weapons that can obliterate Helldivers.
For those reasons, they're arguably the trickiest faction to fight in Helldivers 2, especially at the higher difficulties. That's why understanding the weaknesses of the Automatons and which weapons are best for exploiting them is imperative to ensuring you can complete your missions.
There are loads of Automaton types, each with their own weapons, attack patterns, and behaviours which you can learn about in our Helldivers 2 enemies guide too.
Best weapons and loadouts for Automatons in Helldivers 2
Not all the best Helldivers 2 weapons and Stratagems are effective against the strong armor plating of the Automatons, so you'll need to create your loadout accordingly (but we’ve also explained some the best Helldivers 2 loadouts ourselves!). The bots are vulnerable to energy-based weaponry, but your team should bring a mix of explosive and armor-penetrating weapons to destroy all bots as easily as possible.
Here are the best weapons and Stratagems in Helldivers 2 for killing Automatons specifically:
- Loadout weapons: The bots' armor and preference for ranged attacks means you need to bring precise weapons with solid armor penetration (medium or higher) if you are to stand a chance against their relentless marches.
- Purifier energy weapon from the Helldivers 2 Polar Patriots Warbond (or the similar Scorcher energy weapon from Helldivers Mobilize)
- Sickle energy weapon from the Helldivers 2 Cutting Edge Warbond.
- Eruptor, Exploding Crossbow, and Grenade Pistol, all from the Helldivers 2 Democratic Detonation Warbond.
- Senator revolver from the Helldivers 2 Steeled Veterans Warbond.
- Support weapons: Explosive, armor-penetrating firepower is essential when you're facing the bulkiest bots, especially on higher difficulties
- Railgun: Use the Railgun in unsafe mode to maximize its power, making it great for easily bringing down Helldivers 2 Scout Striders, Devastators, and even Hulks. If you're under level 20, the Anti-Materiel Rifle Is a solid alternative.
- Quasar Cannon: With infinite ammo, an exploding laser shot, and no backpack, the Quasar Cannon is undoubtedly one of the best anti-Automaton weapons available, especially when fired at weak points.
- Spear: The lock-on capabilities and explosive power of the Spear make it an excellent anti-armor weapon, capable of destroying Fabricators, Tanks, and Helldivers 2 Gunships.
- Autocannon: The Autocannon is a versatile weapon that excels at sustained fire at range. It won't be the best weapon for the most heavily armored Automatons, but it can clear out squads of the peskier small ones from afar.
- Commando: This expendable rocket launcher can be rapidly deployed to deliver massive amounts of explosive damage that can easily blast apart some of the larger Automaton war machines, like Helldivers 2 Tanks. The Expendable Anti-Tank launcher is another great option on a short cooldown.
- Portable Hellbomb: This Stratagem from the Helldivers 2 Servants of Freedom Warbond is great against any of the factions but it's potential to wipe out groups of the mightiest bots is undeniable.
- Stratagems: As for Offensive Stratagems, these will build on your existing heavy firepower, helping you clear out massive groups of bots that would otherwise be near impossible to deal with.
- Orbital Laser: A powerful beam that's great for thinning clusters of Automatons of any size.
- Orbital 380mm HE Barrage: If the bots are sending everything they have at you, the anti-tank HE shells of this orbital attack will make short work of anything caught in its target area.
- Orbital Precision Strike: The basic precision strike packs a punch when it hits even a heavily armored target directly, and its short cooldown means it can be dropped on Automatons frequently. The Orbital Railcannon Strike is a good alternative if you want a fast Stratagem that aims for you, but it's on a longer cooldown.
- Eagle 500kg Bomb: The old reliable big bomb can blow up large groups of bots of all sizes to rapidly clear an area:
- Eagle Strafing Run: While this jet attack doesn't have anti-tank properties, its heavy armor penetration and generous usage limitations means you can use it often to thin groups of attacking bots.
- EMS Mortar Sentry: Mortar sentries can be a controversial pick, but the stunning effect the EMS variant provides is excellent against the Automatons.
Helldivers 2 Automaton weaknesses and tips
The Automatons are one of the hardest factions to face in Helldivers 2, the main reason being that they fight very differently to the Helldivers 2 Terminids, pummelling relentlessly with all sorts of ranged weapons, from simple laser shots to powerful tank shells, missiles, and mortars. Furthermore, like some of the Helldivers 2 Illuminate enemies, their heavy armor means they can feel quite unstoppable.
Still, now that you know which weapons and Stratagems your team should be packing to beat the bots, it's also good to know how they operate on the battlefield and how you can exploit their weaknesses to achieve ultimate victory:
- The weak point for most Automatons is their head or their rear heat sinks if they have them. For the smaller Automaton types, such as Helldivers 2 Troopers, Raiders, Marauders, Commissars, Berserkers, and Devastators, focus on their red, glowing eyes to easily hit their heads. Helldivers 2 Hulks can take heavy damage by targeting the red slit, but you can also focus on the orange heat sinks on their backs to deal hefty damage.
- You can target the arms of larger Automatons to disable their main weapons. This goes for things like Helldivers 2 Devastators and Hulks, across all their variants.
- Use cover as much as you can because the bots often attack from a distance. Although, be aware of using flimsy buildings and other objects as these can easily get destroyed, exposing you to danger – try and use dense trees, rocks, or hills to break line-of-sight, or bring a Personal Shield Generator with you.
- Shooting at bots makes them less accurate, so spending a bit of ammo on suppressing fire, even if it does barely any damage, can be worthwhile. Exploit this to protect teammates and yourself when reloading heavy weapons, healing, or just getting the hell out of there.
- Watch out for Cannon Turrets, which are common on high-difficulty missions. Cannon Turrets can snipe you from surprisingly far with lethal shots, so it's important that you destroy them quickly or work around them. The safest place is right next to one as they can't target you. From there, you can try to hit it with a Stratagem or shoot the heatsinks.
- Don't let infantry Automatons fire red flares into the sky as this calls in a Bot Drop. You really don't have much time to react as soon as you see a robot load a flare, but you can save your team a lot of trouble if you're able to prevent reinforcements coming in.
- Shoot the thrusters on dropships with a powerful weapon to bring them down. If you're quick enough, you can even take some of its reinforcements with it.
The Automatons can be a major step up to fight, so take a look at our Helldivers 2 beginner's guide and Helldivers 2 tips!
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