Oh no, Helldivers 2 players are also getting wrecked by new Automaton Factory Striders that are built like Star Wars AT-ATs and apparently spawn waves of Devastators

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You'll want to kill them quick, but they aren't easy to take down

Helldivers 2 Factory Strider
(Image credit: Arrowhead Game Studios / Reddit user More-Cartographer-78)

Just when you think the Helldivers 2 Automaton warfront can't get any worse, the bots bring not one, but two new menaces to the battlefield. As flying Gunships shred players from the skies, new machine walkers called Factory Striders are also flattening democracy enthusiasts down on the ground. 

Factory Strider sightings began to pour in earlier today, shortly after they were sneakily added to the game alongside a hefty balance patch that also upped the level cap. These things are hard to miss: they're built like miniature Star Wars AT-AT walkers, their laser turrets can turn you to Swiss cheese in seconds, and there are reports that they can deploy Devastator bots just to add insult to injury. 

The bots have AT-ATs now! from r/Helldivers
What the democracy😧 from r/Helldivers
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Obviously, enemies that summon more enemies should be dealt with quickly. Helldivers 2 players already know this thanks to the normal bugs and bots that will call in dropships and bug breaches if left alive. But the Factory Strider takes it to a new level. It's a literal walking bot factory, and the kicker is that they're pretty tough to take down – at least so far. 

Players are still working out weak points and counters as they struggle to survive, with the vibe in the community generally being, 'I fired 10,000 rockets at it and now I'm out of ideas.' To be fair, that usually works. Heavy, single-target weapons and airstrikes seem to get the job done eventually, but exact weak points remain elusive. I'm still trying to find one of these things – they seem to be relatively rare, though I've seen clips of them spawning in difficulties 8 and 9 so far – to test a theory that there could be a weak spot right underneath them. Failing that, my first thought would be to go for the joints on the legs. 

After a failed Major Order, Helldivers 2 boss says the devs are "talking about" making planets clearer, and one player-made idea is "surprisingly close to what we had."

Austin Wood
Austin Wood
Senior writer

Austin has been a game journalist for 12 years, having freelanced for the likes of PC Gamer, Eurogamer, IGN, Sports Illustrated, and more while finishing his journalism degree. He's been with GamesRadar+ since 2019. They've yet to realize his position is a cover for his career-spanning Destiny column, and he's kept the ruse going with a lot of news and the occasional feature, all while playing as many roguelikes as possible.