Helldivers 2 Enemy Factions Overview

What factions threaten Super Earth?

The galactic war is fought on three fronts, and each faction plays like a different game. Terminids are a melee swarm that overwhelms positioning. Automatons are a ranged army that punishes standing in the open. The Illuminate combine shields, energy weapons, and massed hordes of converted citizens. Loadouts and habits that dominate one front can fail completely on another.

1. Terminids

   Keep moving through swarms

   Prioritize horde clearing, mobility, and one serious answer for armored targets.

2. Automatons

   Use cover and precision

   Break line of sight, aim for weak points, and bring demolition power for heavy armor.

3. Illuminate

   Break shields, hold lanes

   Balance burst damage against elites with crowd control for Voteless pressure.

How do Terminids fight?

Terminids (the bugs) close distance and drown squads in bodies. Key behaviors to learn:

• Bug breaches — when a unit spots you and calls for help, a breach pours reinforcements out of the ground. Kill callers fast or relocate.
• Chargers — armored bulldozers that soak frontal damage. Dodge the charge, then hit the exposed abdomen or strip leg armor with anti-armor weapons.
• Bile Titans and Impalers — huge armored targets that demand orbital strikes or dedicated anti-tank support weapons.
• Stalkers — fast ambushers that hunt isolated players; they come from lairs you can destroy on the map.

Staying mobile matters more than holding ground: the swarm is endless, your ammo is not.

How do Automatons fight?

Automatons (the bots) shoot back — accurately, and in volume.

• Dropships deliver reinforcements; shooting one down with anti-armor weapons kills its passengers before they deploy.
• Devastators — armored infantry variants whose head weak points reward precise fire.
• Hulks — walking heavy armor. Flank to hit the glowing heat vents on their back, or crack them with anti-tank weapons.
• Tanks, turrets, and fabricators — static armor and production buildings that justify bringing real demolition power.

Use cover, break line of sight, and thin patrols before they call drops. Bot missions reward patience the bug front never asks for.

How do the Illuminate fight?

The Illuminate (the squids) returned to the galaxy with shielded units, energy weapons, and swarms of the Voteless — converted citizens who charge in waves.

• Harvesters — towering tripods protected by energy shields; break the shield with sustained fire, then focus the weak points.
• Overseers — flying elites that direct the horde and punish exposed squads.
• The Voteless — individually fragile but numerous; crowd-clearing weapons keep them off your squad while you handle the elites.
• Wretches — fast, evasive melee mutants introduced with Devoid of Liberty. Break their momentum with stagger, accurate headshots, or limb damage before they reach the squad.
• Crushers — slow but extremely durable bruisers that can regenerate. Keep distance, focus the armored helmet, and finish the exposed head before they recover.

Which faction should new players learn first?

Terminid missions are the traditional learning ground: the threats are readable and close-range weapons stay effective. Move to Automatons once your aim and stratagem discipline improve, and treat Illuminate missions as a test of both burst damage and horde control. Check the weapons overview for faction-specific loadout principles, then use the Devoid of Liberty guide before entering the Void.