How to find and kill the Helldivers 2 Impalers

The Impalers in Helldivers 2 are Terminid bosses coming back from the first game, huge creatures similar to Chargers, but bigger and more static, with heads that open up and send three huge tentacles into the ground - only for them to pop up and try and attack the players.

Added as part of the Helldivers 2 Escalation of Freedom, fighting an Impaler can be tricky for players who aren't used to them. Unless you have the kind of heavy artillery used to bring down tanks, you'll struggle to crack their armor, and instead have to find their weakness - but don't worry, they do have one. Below we'll explain how to beat Impalers in Helldivers 2, as well as how to find them in the first place if you want to test your mettle against these huge bugs.

How to kill Impalers in Helldivers 2

Impalers in Helldivers 2 are huge Terminids that you can kill by shooting them in the face when they open up their armor, putting their tendrils in the ground. They look like Chargers - at least until they attack you. Tending to stand still and move around very little, Impalers instead unfurl three tentacles from their head and bury them in the ground, whereupon they tunnel out near the players and try to stab them. 

This means that Impalers are really formed of two parts - a static, unthreatening main body, and the much more mobile, dangerous tendrils. Their weakness is their head - when they deploy the tendrils, this opens up the armor plating on their face and leaves them vulnerable and exposed, at least while the tentacles are still trying to impale you. I found that four shots to the unprotected head with the Autocannon was enough to kill them.

Admittedly, you don't have to wait that long. Though covered in armor, you can still use heavy-duty Stratagems like the Commando and Orbital Laser to damage the Impaler even when its face is covered.

Even when far away from the Impaler, the Tentacles are very dangerous as they can still reach you. You need to watch out for rumbling sections of ground that they erupt out of - it's enough to kill players in a single shot. The moment they're up, back away as fast as possible while focusing damage on one tentacle at a time, forcing it to retract - and be ready to throw yourself to the side to avoid getting stabbed.

How to find Impalers in Helldivers 2

Impalers show up as boss Terminids on missions of Hard (5) or higher. Players can find missions to eliminate Impalers at this difficulty in certain Terminid worlds, which involves hunting down and slaying two of them (they'll be somewhere random within the marked area on your map, often making low bellowing noises that can help you home in on them).

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