Claude on Question 15, Sep 18
What's the most efficient loadout for wiping out an enemy squad in Helldivers 2?Depends on which faction you're fighting, since "squad" means very different things against bots vs. bugs vs. squids. Here's what tends to work well (note that balance patches shift things regularly, so treat this as principles + current-ish picks rather than gospel):
Against Automatons
Bot patrols are tight formations with mixed armor, so you want something that hits hard in a small area.
- •Primary: Purifier or Scorcher (explosive damage handles Devastator armor and strips Berserkers)
- •Support: Autocannon — kills everything from Troopers to Hulk vents, and one-shots Devastator groups with splash
- •Stratagems: Eagle Airstrike, Orbital Precision Strike or 500kg, Orbital Laser for bases
- •Grenade: Thermite (sticks to Hulks/Tanks) or Impact
- •Armor: Medium with Fortified for the 50% explosive resistance — bot rockets are the main killer
Against Terminids
Volume over precision. You want sustained damage and area denial.
- •Primary: Breaker Incendiary or Cookout
- •Support: Stalwart on max RPM (lets you use a heavy-hitting backpack) or Flamethrower for chargers
- •Stratagems: Eagle Cluster Bomb, Gas Strike (short cooldown, melts and confuses whole breaches), Napalm Airstrike
- •Grenade: Impact Incendiary — one grenade wipes a hunter pack
- •Armor: Light armor with extra padding, or anything with Engineering Kitting for grenade count
Against Illuminate
Voteless hordes plus a few armored Overseers.
- •Primary: Sickle or Blitzer (infinite-ish ammo matters against endless Voteless)
- •Support: Arc Thrower or Machine Gun
- •Stratagems: Eagle Cluster Bomb, Orbital Gatling Barrage, Tesla Tower for holding objectives
Tactics that matter more than the loadout
- 1.Kill patrols before they spot you. A patrol that never calls a dropship/breach is worth more than a patrol you killed efficiently. Recon with binoculars, throw from stealth.
- 2.Throw into the middle of the formation, not at the lead unit. Patrols walk in a column — a single Airstrike along that axis kills the whole thing.
- 3.Stagger your stratagem cooldowns so you always have something available rather than dumping everything on one group.
- 4.Coordinate with your team. Four Eagle Airstrikes on the same patrol is three wasted. Assign one person to anti-heavy, one to crowd clear.
- 5.Use terrain. Fighting from elevation or behind a rock ridge against bots cuts incoming rocket fire dramatically.
If you tell me your difficulty level and whether you're running solo or with a group, I can narrow it down further — the answer changes a lot between Diff 6 and Super Helldive.
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Depends on which faction you're fighting, since "squad" means very different things against bots vs. bugs vs. squids. Here's what tends to work well (note that balance patches shift things regularly, so treat this as principles + current-ish picks rather than gospel):
## Against Automatons
Bot patrols are tight formations with mixed armor, so you want something that hits hard in a small area.
- **Primary:** Purifier or Scorcher (explosive damage handles Devastator armor and strips Berserkers)
- **Support:** Autocannon — kills everything from Troopers to Hulk vents, and one-shots Devastator groups with splash
- **Stratagems:** Eagle Airstrike, Orbital Precision Strike or 500kg, Orbital Laser for bases
- **Grenade:** Thermite (sticks to Hulks/Tanks) or Impact
- **Armor:** Medium with Fortified for the 50% explosive resistance — bot rockets are the main killer
## Against Terminids
Volume over precision. You want sustained damage and area denial.
- **Primary:** Breaker Incendiary or Cookout
- **Support:** Stalwart on max RPM (lets you use a heavy-hitting backpack) or Flamethrower for chargers
- **Stratagems:** Eagle Cluster Bomb, Gas Strike (short cooldown, melts and confuses whole breaches), Napalm Airstrike
- **Grenade:** Impact Incendiary — one grenade wipes a hunter pack
- **Armor:** Light armor with extra padding, or anything with Engineering Kitting for grenade count
## Against Illuminate
Voteless hordes plus a few armored Overseers.
- **Primary:** Sickle or Blitzer (infinite-ish ammo matters against endless Voteless)
- **Support:** Arc Thrower or Machine Gun
- **Stratagems:** Eagle Cluster Bomb, Orbital Gatling Barrage, Tesla Tower for holding objectives
## Tactics that matter more than the loadout
1. **Kill patrols before they spot you.** A patrol that never calls a dropship/breach is worth more than a patrol you killed efficiently. Recon with binoculars, throw from stealth.
2. **Throw into the middle of the formation, not at the lead unit.** Patrols walk in a column — a single Airstrike along that axis kills the whole thing.
3. **Stagger your stratagem cooldowns** so you always have something available rather than dumping everything on one group.
4. **Coordinate with your team.** Four Eagle Airstrikes on the same patrol is three wasted. Assign one person to anti-heavy, one to crowd clear.
5. **Use terrain.** Fighting from elevation or behind a rock ridge against bots cuts incoming rocket fire dramatically.
If you tell me your difficulty level and whether you're running solo or with a group, I can narrow it down further — the answer changes a lot between Diff 6 and Super Helldive.
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