Helldivers 2 Shriekers are flying bugs in the game right now - yes, the Terminids have winged enemies, meaning you won't just be battling enemies at ground level anymore. I've personally encountered and battled the Shriekers in-game while playing Helldivers 2, can confirm that they are live and present as we speak, and will take you through everything discovered about them so far, including their location, how to kill them, the Shrieker Nest objective thats been added, and basically everything you need to know about how to kill the new flying bugs in Helldivers 2.
What are the Flying Terminids in Helldivers 2?
Shriekers in Helldivers 2 are the new flying enemies, a surprise addition to the lineup of various Helldivers 2 Terminids. There's a picture of them above - but it's not like they're hard to miss. Large, winged creatures that look like airborne versions of the Helldivers 2 Hunters, they tend to approach in flocks, keeping at a distance before suddenly swooping in quickly to strike the player and fly away again, doing little hit-and-run tactics. They're not too damaging, talking off roughly a third of a health bar to those in medium armor, but obviously appearing in groups and their unpredictable nature can mean that they can wear you down.
How to kill Shriekers
Shriekers don't have much health individually and die fairly quickly when subject to damage - which is why they keep their distance, hovering around in flocks and attacking quickly before pulling away again. Shotguns, grenades and short-range weapons will struggle to hurt them at this point, which leaves you with two major options: use a precision weapon to take them down before they swoop in to hurt you, or try and time those close attacks to use a shotgun or close-range weapon to do major damage.
The other thing to be wary of is that when Shriekers die, they do still have mass. If you've ever had a Bile Titan die and crush you, or kill a Charger mid-trample and still get splattered by the momentum-flung corpse, the same applies here. If you kill a Shrieker, don't stand underneath it - whatever it lands on will take damage.
Shrieker locations
So far I've only encountered Shriekers in one location - the planet Fori Prime, opened as part of a Major Order to Liberate Fori Prime and Zagon Prime in Helldivers 2. It's entirely possible that they're also appearing on other planets - in fact, I'd be incredibly surprised if they were just limited to that world - but that's one I can confirm that they're appearing on. I encountered them at difficulty level 5 (Hard), but they may appear at easier difficulties.
Shrieker Nests
Shriekers don't just appear out of standard bug holes - they have a specific kind of Shrieker Nest that needs to be destroyed to cut them off, similar to the Helldivers 2 Stalkers. Those nests look like several fungal trees with glowing orbs on them, like several small Spore Towers clustered together (check the image above). They should be visible from a distance, and once you reach them, they'll be marked with a Blue Icon on the map that looks like a Mushroom (yes, Shrieker Nests are now one of the Helldivers 2 Secondary Objectives).
Once you find the nest, blow up the individual trees. They're armored enough that regular weapons fire will just bounce off - you'll need to use any Helldivers 2 armor penetrating weapon to hurt them, whether it's an orbital strike, a grenade, or a support weapon like the Expendable Anti-Tank. Once you've destroyed all the nests, that should cut off the Shriekers for good.
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