Gemini on Question 15, Sep 20

In Helldivers 2, the "most efficient" way to wipe out an enemy squad depends entirely on which faction you are fighting. Wiping a swarm of melee-rushing Terminids requires a vastly different approach than dismantling a heavily armored, ranged Automaton patrol.

Here are the two most ruthlessly efficient loadouts for erasing enemy squads from the galaxy, broken down by faction.

Loadout 1: The Bug Swarm Eraser (Terminids)

Terminids rely on numbers and overwhelming you in melee. The most efficient way to wipe them out is through Area of Effect (AoE) damage, fire, and sustained crowd control.

• •Primary Weapon: SG-225IE Incendiary Breaker. (Still the undisputed king of bugs. Spray it into a crowd; the fire damage-over-time will kill Hunters and Scavengers as they run at you).
• •Secondary Weapon: P-79 Grenade Pistol. (Excellent for clustered enemies and closing bug holes).
• •Grenade: G-10 Incendiary or G-16 Impact. (Incendiary cuts off choke points; Impact instantly deletes tight clusters).
• •Armor: Light Armor with Engineering Kit (for extra grenades and recoil reduction) or Medical (for stamina/stims).

Stratagems:

• 1.Support Weapon: Grenade Launcher or Arc Thrower. (The Grenade Launcher turns you into a walking mortar, instantly erasing squads. The Arc Thrower chains lightning through up to 3-4 bugs per shot with infinite ammo).
• 2.Backpack: Guard Dog Rover. (This laser drone is essentially a 5th squad member. It will rack up hundreds of kills automatically, wiping out light infantry while you focus on bigger threats).
• 3.Eagle Cluster Bomb: (The ultimate squad-wipe button. It covers a massive horizontal area and instantly deletes 20-30 light/medium bugs).
• 4.Orbital Gas Strike or Orbital Napalm Barrage: (Throw this directly onto a Bug Breach. The lingering damage will kill the squad as fast as they spawn).

The Tactic: Call in the Eagle Cluster on an unaware patrol. If it's a Bug Breach, throw a Gas Strike on the orange smoke, let your Rover watch your back, and spam the Grenade Launcher/Incendiary Breaker into whatever crawls out.

Loadout 2: The Scrap Metal Sweeper (Automatons)

Automatons shoot back and have heavy frontal armor. You cannot just spray them. Wiping a Bot squad efficiently requires stagger, explosive penetration, and disabling their movement.

• •Primary Weapon: PLAS-1 Scorcher or JAR-5 Dominator. (The Scorcher’s explosive plasma wraps around Scout Strider shields to kill the pilot. The Dominator staggers Devastators, interrupting their fire).
• •Secondary Weapon: P-4 Senator (High penetration for headshots) or Grenade Pistol.
• •Grenade: G-23 Stun Grenade. (This is the most important item in your loadout. Throwing this at a Bot squad freezes them in place, preventing drop-ship flares and lining them up for execution).
• •Armor: Medium or Heavy Armor with the Fortified passive (50% explosive resistance is mandatory for surviving Bot rockets).

Stratagems:

• 1.Support Weapon: Autocannon. (The Swiss Army Knife of the bot front. It staggers, kills Devastators in two shots, destroys Scout Striders instantly, and can wipe a clustered squad in seconds).
• 2.Eagle Airstrike: (The most efficient bot-wiping stratagem. It destroys fabricators, tanks, and obliterates tightly packed Bot patrols. It strikes perpendicular to where you throw it).
• 3.Orbital Laser: (The ultimate "I don't want to deal with this outpost" button. It auto-targets and melts everything in a massive radius).
• 4.EMS Mortar Sentry: (Drops static fields across the battlefield. Bots cannot shoot or move while stunned, allowing you to casually wipe them out).

The Tactic: When you see a Bot patrol, throw a Stun Grenade into the center of them. While they are frozen, immediately follow up with an Eagle Airstrike or rapidly dump your Autocannon into the immobilized Devastators.

The "Team Synergery" Disclaimer

While these loadouts are incredible for wiping out squads (chaff and medium enemies), they intentionally sacrifice heavy Anti-Tank capabilities. To be truly efficient, ensure at least one teammate is carrying an Expendable Anti-Tank (EAT), Quasar Cannon, or Spear to deal with the Bile Titans, Chargers, and Dropships while you handle the crowd control.

For Super Earth!