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Helldivers 2 Shriekers are flying Terminids that were added post-launch, swarming Bugs that that bombard the player until they can be cut off at the source, a Shrieker Nest that permanently spits out these flapping horrors. In fact, these nests serve as one of the game's Secondary Activities, so players should feel doubly motivated to handle them. To help you know what that means, here's how to beat Shriekers in Helldivers 2.
How to kill Shriekers in Helldivers 2
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.
How to find Shriekers in Helldivers 2
Shriekers have a chance to spawn in all Terminid missions at a Hard difficulty or higher. That doesn't mean that they're guaranteed to appear though - there's a chance on each mission that meets those criteria that one of the Secondary Objectives will be a Shrieker Nest, which spawns these nasty bugs in until destroyed.
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 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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