The Helldivers 2 Orbital 120mm HE Barrage Challenge explained

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We explain how to beat the Indirect Fire Exercise challenge in Helldivers 2

Helldivers 2 Orbital 120mm HE Barrage
(Image credit: Sony)

The Helldivers 2 challenge to use the Orbital 120mm HE Barrage, aka the Indirect Fire Exercise, to kill opponents is a relatively simple one if you know how to go about it, finding the right kind of mission and enemies to best put the barrage to work. It's not a great stratagem at the best of times, so finding out how it should be used well might take a little thought, but I'll take you through it with this guide on how to kill enemies with the Orbital 120mm HE Barrage in Helldivers 2 and complete the challenge.

How to get and use the Orbital 120mm HE Barrage in Helldivers 2

Helldivers 2 Orbital 120mm HE Barrage

(Image credit: Sony)

The Orbital 120mm HE Barrage in Helldivers 2 is one of the game's Stratagems, though not quite one of the best Stratagems in Helldivers 2. Still, it's a decent early game option - if you don't have it yet, head to the Ship Management terminal on your hub ship, and you can purchase it for 4000 Requisition Slips. 

Once you have it, we found the best way to beat the Indirect Fire Exercise challenge was to go to worlds controlled by the Terminids, and deploy the 120mm HE Barrage in Bug Nests and during Extractions - basically areas where the weakest entrants on the Helldivers 2 enemies list are guaranteed to group up. Throw the Barrage ahead of them to account for the short timer delay, anticipating their movements, and it'll devastate all the weaker enemies nicely.

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Helldivers 2 Orbital 120mm HE Barrage

(Image credit: Sony)

There's two important details for this challenge - firstly, it doesn't reset at the end of a mission, so you can build your tally of kills throughout the day, and secondly, allies using the Barrage also count towards your kills. This means that if you're in a team with somebody and they use the Barrage, you should progress through - after all, what are the Helldivers if not a team, right?

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Joel Franey
Joel Franey
Guides Editor, GamesRadar+

Joel Franey is a writer, journalist, podcaster and Very Tired Man with a BA from Brunel University, a Masters from Sussex University and a decade working in games journalism, often focused on guides coverage but also in reviews, features and news. His love of games is strongest when it comes to groundbreaking narratives like Disco Elysium, UnderTale and Baldur's Gate 3, as well as innovative or refined gameplay experiences like XCOM, Sifu, Arkham Asylum or Slay the Spire. He is a firm believer that the vast majority of games would be improved by adding a grappling hook, and if they already have one, they should probably add another just to be safe. You can find old work of his at Eurogamer, Gfinity, USgamer, SFX Magazine, RPS, Dicebreaker, VG247, and more.