How to kill Devastators in Helldivers 2

Killing Helldivers 2 Devastators can be a real challenge as they march relentlessly towards you on any of the Automaton-controlled planets. Despite the name, the basic Devastators aren't the most devastating of the bot enemy types in Helldivers 2 in terms of firepower, but their armor means they're not easy to bring down. Things really escalate when you come across the variants equipped with lethal rocket pods or shields and machine guns that make them much tougher. I've explained exactly how to kill Devastators in Helldivers 2 below, as well as where you can find them for any Personal Orders.

Helldivers 2 Devastators location and weaknesses

Devastators in Helldivers 2 are a kind of Automaton robot, the deadlier of the two Helldivers 2 factions. They're the large, bulky, bipedal robots with sunken heads and a lot of armor plating, serving as elite infantry to back up the weaker Helldivers 2 Troopers. You can find Devastators during missions on any Automaton-controlled planet and at any difficulty, though they become far more common the higher difficulty. 

There are two special types of Devastator to be aware of too and they'll appear more frequently at higher difficulties as well - Heavy Devastators carry a shield and laser machine gun while Rocket Devastators come equipped with shoulder-mounted rocket pods. If you're not sure if you're looking at a Devastator, try marking it with the R1 button - the enemy's name will come up above its head.

To kill any Devastator, you need to use either explosives, precise shots focused on the head or midriff, or any medium armor-penetrating Helldivers 2 weapons. If any of weapons lack medium armor penetration, your shots will bounce off the armor of a Devastator, so you can only focus on hitting the tiny head, which is its main weakpoint, or its unarmored midriff. Stun Grenades from the Helldivers 2 Cutting Edge Warbond or EMS Mortar Sentries can be great against Devastators as immobilizing them means you can more easily hit their head and kill them in seconds. Alternatively, there's no issue with blowing them up with a grenade or any of the Helldivers 2 best stratagems - no armor can handle an orbital strike, after all.

If you've got a Personal Order to kill 15 Devastators in Helldivers 2 , the fastest way to do this challenge is to begin an Eradication mission on any Automaton planet at Challenging difficulty or higher - definitely no higher if you're playing Helldivers 2 solo. Devastators and the two special types should appear in reasonable numbers at this level, which can be tricky to deal with, but it does mean you can complete this order in a single 15-minute mission.

© GamesRadar+. Not to be reproduced without permission.