Squiddivers were recently treated to a bounteous feast during the Heart of Democracy’s Battle of Super Earth, and Helldivers 2 has since bestowed eerie blue Illuminate invasions on miscellaneous Mega Cities in the squids’ purple corner of the map. Because of how much quality time players have spent with the Illuminate lately, they’re likely to have developed a loadout they prefer, even if such preferences don’t necessarily align with what primaries they’d like to be leveling up via Helldivers 2’s weapon customization.
All signs seem to suggest that Helldivers 2 is now about to lean on Automatons with the game’s most recent Major Order possibly being a mere amuse bouche leading into whatever is looming. There’s even a Helldivers 2 livestream airing tomorrow that was announced earlier today, so players may not have to wait too long to learn what’s on the horizon. If bots are indeed receiving the limelight, though, there’s thankfully a fluid segue players can make between the Illuminate and Automatons, wherein they may not have any reason to reassess the loadouts they’d devised against squids unless something truly novel is debuting.
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Botdivers Rejoice—Helldivers 2’s New Major Order Just Made Two Enemies Even Scarier
Helldivers 2 has launched an ‘unprovoked Automaton assault,’ and with it comes a minor upgrade to two bots that make them even more terrifying.
Helldivers 2’s Eruptor is Uncontested Against Squids and Bots Alike
Like Monster Hunter, Helldivers 2 is fantastic in that few weapon or gear options are heads and shoulders above others. That said, Helldivers 2’s R-36 Eruptor has proven phenomenally efficient against both the Illuminate and Automatons.
Helldivers 2’s Terminids are interestingly unique in that a majority of their heinous bug enemy types are quicker than players and have fearsome aggro. This doesn’t allow for a lot of strategies involving slow-paced primary gunfire or explosive heavy armor penetration when many encounters devolve into close-quarters combat and are more optimally engaged with weapons that have a greater rate of fire—shotguns, such as the 
SG-225 Breaker and 
SG-225IE Breaker Incendiary, or assault rifles, such as the 
AR-23P Liberator Penetrator and 
BR-14 Adjudicator Rifle, to be precise.
Bugdivers arguably have a much wider pool of viable primary weapons to customize. Still, the best bang for Helldivers’ bucks will likely see them adhering to the 
R-36 Eruptor Rifle if they find themselves diving into either squid or bot sectors.
Of course, players are free to wield and customize whatever primary weapons they wish, regardless of what may or may not be considered ‘meta.’
Squiddivers and Botdivers May Have a Lot in Common Soon
Combined with an 
M-105 Stalwart supply stratagem permit for feeble jobber mobs like the voteless, a GP-20 Ultimatum special secondary for nuking warp ships and packs of Helldivers 2’s Fleshmobs, and any throwable of their choosing, players have a wonderfully solid loadout that’s impartial to what armor passives they have, what they select for their final stratagem slot, and what booster they pick. Ironically, this same loadout works well against bots, too; the Eruptor is brilliant at cutting down heavily armored Automatons, the Stalwart swiftly vanquishes troopers, and the Ultimatum makes quick work of fabricators and mounted turrets (assuming players can get close enough to compensate for its poor range).
The 
GR-8 Recoilless Rifle is a terrific substitute for the Stalwart if players prioritize the destruction of stationary targets like bot bunkers and gargantuan units like Factory Striders from afar, especially with how few troopers players may contend with on Level 10’s Super Helldive difficulty.
To be fair, Botdivers’ plates are considerably fuller than Squiddivers as there are quite a few more distinct bot types than there are squids. Botdivers must account for fortified Fortress infiltrations, for example, whereas Squiddivers rarely have anything to be concerned about if they can maintain distance and block lines of sight from Helldivers 2’s pesky Interlopers and Leviathans.
If Automatons truly are the next faction to be highlighted with a momentous event, it’ll be interesting to see if Illuminate loadout metas are eclipsed by another ideal combination of weapons and stratagems. In the meantime, players who’ve discerned a favorable tactic when diving onto squid planets may not have to part ways with their loadout if or when bots become democracy’s next focal point.
Helldivers 2
9/10
- Released
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February 8, 2024
- ESRB
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M For Mature 17+ Due To Blood and Gore, Intense Violence
- Developer(s)
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Arrowhead Game Studios
- Engine
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bitsquid