Automatons Helldivers 2: 🤖 Deadly Bots, Beaten Fast 🔥

Automatons are the toughest test any Helldiver will face on the front lines. Every squad eventually asks the same question: what actually works against these machines? If you have wiped a full magazine into a Hulk and watched it keep marching, you already know the struggle.

Automatons Helldivers 2 missions punish sloppy positioning and reward players who understand armor values, weak points, and stratagem timing. This guide breaks down every major threat, the current best weapons, and the loadouts that consistently clear high difficulty operations.

So what exactly are the Automatons? They are the robotic faction in Helldivers 2, a mechanized army of troopers, walkers, tanks, and dropships that fight with coordinated ranged fire instead of raw melee aggression. Unlike the swarming Terminids, Automatons favor long sightlines, suppressive fire, and heavily armored units that force you to bring real anti-armor tools. Understanding this shift in playstyle is the first step toward winning consistently.

Below, we cover enemy types, weak points, the strongest current weapons, and how a stable connection keeps your squad synced during chaotic firefights.

Helldivers 2 Automaton Enemies You Need To Know

Every mission against the bots throws a mix of infantry, walkers, and armored vehicles at your squad. Learning each silhouette on sight saves ammo and saves lives. The Helldivers 2 Automaton Enemies roster scales dramatically with difficulty, so recognizing threats early matters more than raw firepower.

Infantry And Light Units

Troopers are the baseline threat and come in Brawler, Marauder, and Raider variants. They die fast to almost any weapon, but they rarely travel alone.

• Troopers: Weak individually, dangerous in groups; a single well-placed grenade often clears a whole squad.
• Devastators: Armored torso, exposed head; shoot the head for a clean kill instead of wasting rounds on the chest plate.
• Berserkers: Fast melee bots with an exposed chest core; slow, heavy-hitting weapons reward headshots here.
• Scout Striders: Two-legged walkers with a pilot visible in the cockpit; a shot to the driver often drops the whole unit instantly.

Heavy And Armored Units

Once difficulty climbs, Hulks, Tanks, and Factory Striders start appearing regularly. These units cannot be chipped down with a primary weapon alone, so anti-tank stratagems become mandatory rather than optional.

• Hulks (Scorcher, Bruiser, Obliterator variants): Target the glowing red eye on the face or the heat vents on the back for a fast kill.
• Shredder and Annihilator Tanks: Heavily armored from the front; flank toward the rear vents whenever possible.
• Factory Striders: Massive walkers with three exploitable zones: the eye, the belly undercarriage, and the leg joints.
• Gunships: Flying units that strafe from above; anti-air stratagems or precision autocannon fire bring them down quickly.

Best Loadout For Automatons Helldivers 2

Choosing the right gear before a drop changes everything. The Best Loadout For Automatons Helldivers 2 revolves around one core idea: medium armor penetration plus dedicated anti-tank coverage. Without both, you will run out of options against the heavier bot roster.

What Is The Best Loadout For Automatons In Helldivers 2?

The strongest general-purpose build pairs a precision primary with a support weapon that punches through armor. Consequently, most veteran squads lean on a similar core structure even when swapping individual guns for personal preference.

1. Primary weapon: A medium-penetration rifle such as the Diligence Counter Sniper or the Dominator for reliable headshots on Devastators and Berserkers.
2. Secondary weapon: A sidearm with decent stopping power for emergency close range encounters.
3. Support weapon: The Autocannon or Quasar Cannon for anti-tank coverage against Hulks, Tanks, and Factory Striders.
4. Backpack (if applicable): Ammo resupply for the Autocannon, since it consumes shells quickly during sustained fights.
5. Stratagems: One anti-tank call-in plus one orbital or eagle strike for closing Fabricators and clearing dropship landings.

Helldivers 2 Best Weapons For Automatons

Weapon choice against bots differs sharply from bug missions, since precision and armor penetration matter far more than raw fire rate. The following picks currently stand out as the Helldivers 2 Best Weapons For Automatons across difficulty tiers.

• PLAS-1 Scorcher: Explosive plasma rounds that destroy Scout Striders from the front and chip Devastator armor efficiently.
• PLAS-101 Purifier: A charged shot with heavy area damage, ideal for clearing groups of Troopers and Berserkers at once.
• AC-8 Autocannon: The consensus top support weapon, capable of killing Devastators, Gunships, and Scout Striders while also closing Fabricators.
• Quasar Cannon: No ammo economy to manage, strong single-target damage, and effective against dropships before they even land.
• Diligence Counter Sniper: Rewards accuracy with clean one-shot headshots on Devastators and standard infantry.

Automaton Helldivers 2 Enemy Weaknesses And Weapons Table

The table below summarizes the most common bot threats, their weak points, and the weapons that handle them most efficiently. Keep this handy before your next high difficulty drop.

Common Threats In A Helldivers 2 Automaton Loadout Plan

Beyond individual enemies, entire missions can spiral out of control if your Helldivers 2 Automaton Loadout ignores map objectives. Fabricators keep spawning reinforcements, and detector towers call in dropships the moment they spot your squad.

Why Do Fabricators Matter So Much?

Fabricators are the spawn points for nearly every bot patrol on the map. Destroying them early with a well-placed grenade or autocannon shell reduces enemy pressure far more than simply killing waves of Troopers repeatedly.

How Do You Handle Dropships Before They Land?

Shooting down an incoming dropship before it releases its cargo prevents an entire squad of reinforcements from ever touching the ground. Anti-tank weapons and well-timed orbital strikes both work well for this, so keep one stratagem free for aerial threats at all times.

• Prioritize Fabricators over patrols whenever a route allows it.
• Watch the skies constantly during objective defense missions.
• Use terrain and cover to break line of sight from Devastators.
• Call in stratagems early rather than waiting until you are surrounded.

Pro Tips: Automaton Helldivers 2 Engagements

• Stay prone when possible: Crouching or lying down reduces your effective silhouette and improves accuracy against long range Devastator fire.
• Flank heavy armor: Hulks and Tanks are far weaker from behind, so circling around cover often saves an entire magazine.
• Save anti-tank for priority targets: Do not waste a Quasar charge on a Trooper when a Factory Strider might appear seconds later.
• Communicate stratagem cooldowns: A coordinated squad rotates anti-tank calls so at least one is always ready.
• Break line of sight during reloads: Automatons have excellent aim at range, so reload behind rocks or ridges instead of in the open.

Best Automaton Loadout Helldivers 2 For Different Difficulties

Not every mission demands the same gear. The Best Automaton Loadout Helldivers 2 setup for lower difficulties can afford more offensive stratagems, while higher tiers require dedicated anti-armor coverage from the start.

Low To Medium Difficulty Setup

At lower difficulties, Troopers and Devastators dominate the enemy composition, so a balanced offensive kit works well without heavy anti-tank investment.

1. Primary: PLAS-1 Scorcher or Dominator for versatile damage.
2. Support weapon: Machine Gun or Autocannon for crowd control.
3. Stratagems: One offensive strike plus a turret for objective defense.

High Difficulty Setup

Once Hulks, Tanks, and Factory Striders enter regular rotation, the loadout must shift toward guaranteed armor penetration and coordinated squad roles.

1. Primary: Diligence Counter Sniper for headshot reliability.
2. Support weapon: Quasar Cannon or Autocannon with backpack support.
3. Stratagems: Orbital Railcannon Strike, Eagle 500kg Bomb, and a resupply pod.

Common Mistakes Automaton Players Make

1. Ignoring weak points entirely: Many players unload full magazines into armored chest plates instead of aiming for the eye or vents. Fix: always identify the glowing or exposed weak spot before engaging heavy units.
2. Bringing zero anti-tank coverage: Squads that skip a dedicated anti-armor stratagem get overwhelmed the moment a Factory Strider appears. Fix: always reserve at least one loadout slot for guaranteed armor penetration.
3. Standing in the open during firefights: Automatons have precise long range accuracy, and players who ignore cover take unnecessary damage constantly. Fix: use terrain, crouch often, and rotate between cover points.
4. Wasting stratagems on small patrols: Calling in an orbital strike for a handful of Troopers leaves nothing available when a real threat spawns. Fix: save heavy stratagems for Hulks, Tanks, and Factory Striders specifically.

Why A Stable Connection Matters During Automaton Missions

High difficulty Automaton operations demand split-second reactions, especially when a Hulk is charging and your squad needs to call in a stratagem together. Even a small spike in latency can mean a missed dodge or a mistimed orbital strike. That is exactly where ExitLag comes in.

ExitLag is not a VPN. It is a connection optimizer that analyzes multiple network routes in real time and automatically selects the fastest, most stable path between your machine and the game server. It does not encrypt your traffic or mask your IP, and it only affects the games you choose to optimize.

For cooperative missions against relentless bot patrols, a stable route matters more than raw speed alone. ExitLag’s Multipath technology sends your packets through several routes simultaneously, so if one path degrades, the others keep your squad connected. That stability translates directly into fewer desyncs during chaotic Factory Strider fights.

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Final Thoughts On Facing Automatons Helldivers 2

Winning against the bots comes down to preparation rather than raw reflexes alone. Knowing each enemy’s weak point, carrying real anti-armor tools, and communicating stratagem timing with your squad will consistently outperform random loadouts. Furthermore, a stable connection ensures those split-second calls actually land when it counts.

Automatons Helldivers 2 missions reward players who study the roster and adapt their gear to the threat level ahead. Start with the loadouts above, adjust based on your squad’s playstyle, and you will notice cleared operations climbing steadily.

All game images used in this blog post belong to Arrowhead Game Studios. They are used for informational and educational purposes only and do not imply endorsement or affiliation with the rights holders.

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