Helldivers 2 Enemy Factions
Every enemy faction in Helldivers 2 – Terminids, Automatons, Illuminate and the returning Cyborg Legion – with their key units and how to beat them.
Super Earth fights on several fronts. The Terminids are endless bug swarms, the Automatons are disciplined robot armies with heavy armour and artillery, and the Illuminate returned in December 2024 with shielded soldiers and hordes of Voteless. In February 2026 the Cyborg Legion came back to fight alongside the bots on Cyberstan. Here are the key units of each faction – use the buttons to filter by size.
Terminids (bugs)
Since launch · 12 enemiesScavenger
Light · Small, fast bugs that come in swarms. Weak alone, deadly in numbers.
Hunter
Light · Leaping bugs that pounce from range and slow you down with their attacks.
Warrior
Medium · The basic armoured bug. Aim for the head or the soft joints.
Hive Guard
Medium · A shielded bug that blocks frontal fire – flank it or use armour-piercing weapons.
Brood Commander
Medium · A big Warrior that calls more bugs. Kill it fast to stop reinforcements.
Stalker
Medium · A camouflaged hunter that spawns from Stalker Lairs. Destroy the lair to stop them.
Bile Spewer
Heavy · Spits acid from range; the larger Nursing Spewer also lays more bugs.
Charger
Heavy · A heavily armoured bug that charges at you. Dodge sideways and hit its soft rear legs or use anti-tank weapons.
Impaler
Heavy · Burrows its tentacles underground and strikes you from a distance. Shoot its exposed face.
Shrieker
Air · Flying bugs that dive at you from Shrieker Nests. Destroy the nest to end them.
Bile Titan
Boss · A towering acid-spewing monster. Bring anti-tank weapons, the Railcannon or a 500kg bomb.
Hive Lord
Boss · A colossal burrowing worm. Since patch 7.2.0 it leaves combat sooner if nobody damages it.
Read our guide →
Automatons (bots)
Since launch · 10 enemiesTrooper
Light · Basic infantry with rifles. The Raider and Marauder are close variants.
Commissar
Light · Leads troopers and can call a bot drop by firing a flare. Kill it first.
Berserker
Medium · Walks at you with chainsaw arms. Shoot the head or the weak stomach.
Devastator
Medium · Armoured bots with heavy guns or rocket pods. Aim for the head.
Scout Strider
Medium · A two-legged walker with a pilot. Shoot the pilot or the legs.
Hulk
Heavy · A heavily armoured walker with flamethrowers or rockets. Hit the glowing red eye or the vents on its back.
Tank
Heavy · Armoured treads and a big cannon. Aim for the vents behind the turret.
Gunship
Air · Flying gunships launched from Gunship Fabricators. Shoot the engines, or destroy the fabricator.
Dropship
Air · Brings bot reinforcements. Shooting its engines can crash it onto its own troops.
Factory Strider
Boss · A giant walking factory that spawns more bots. Destroy its belly guns, then bring anti-tank fire.
Illuminate (squids)
Returned December 2024 · 8 enemiesVoteless
Light · Zombie-like former Super Earth citizens used to soak up fire. They come in hordes.
Watcher
Light · A floating scout that calls in reinforcements if it spots you.
Overseer
Medium · Illuminate soldiers with polearms that fire plasma bolts. Their shields need sustained fire.
Elevated Overseer
Air · An Overseer with a jetpack that lets it fly above the fight.
Crescent Overseer
Medium · Added in 2025. Lays barrages on Helldivers in cover. Since 7.2.0 its backpack can be destroyed, which kills it.
Fleshmob
Heavy · Added in 2025. A failed Illuminate experiment assembled from Voteless parts – a slow but tough brute.
Harvester
Heavy · A three-legged walker with a shield and a powerful beam. Break the shield, then hit the joints.
Stingray
Air · Added in 2025. Illuminate jet fighters that hit Helldivers with strafing runs.
Cyborg Legion
Returned February 2026 · 3 enemiesCyborg Radical
Light · Light cyborg fanatics that dash at you and fight up close.
Agitator
Medium · Armoured cyborg commanders with plasma weapons who direct the Automaton forces.
Vox Engine
Boss · A towering propaganda machine piloted by a cyborg commander, armed with lasers, rockets and rapid-fire guns.
Section images: official Helldivers 2 trailers (PlayStation / YouTube).
How to fight any faction
Find the weak spotsHeads, joints, vents and glowing eyes take far more damage than armour plates.
Bring anti-tankChargers, Hulks, Tanks and Bile Titans need anti-tank weapons or big stratagems.
Stop the reinforcementsKill Brood Commanders, Commissars and Watchers before they call for help – and close bug holes and fabricators.
Avoid patrolsYou don't have to fight everything. Sneaking past a patrol often saves a whole fight.
Our Helldivers 2 articles on this
Sources
Reference page written by AI (Claude) and checked against the sources above. Games change with every patch – the patch this page was last checked for is shown at the top.