Helldivers 2 Terminids Guide: Best Loadouts For Super Helldive Bugs (No Warbonds)

The Terminids are one of the factions that players can face in Helldivers 2. They attack in relentless waves, aiming to overwhelm players through sheer numbers. Additionally, they have heavy units that can smash defensive lines with tough armour, requiring anti-tank weaponry to kill. Due to these tactics, players may find it impossible to deal with at Helldive and Super Helldive difficulty. This guide will explore loadouts, stratagems, and tips to make fighting Terminids much easier. It also shows you how to fight the Terminids at higher difficulties using only gear from the starting Warbond.

Know Your Enemy, Terminids

Before you fight the Terminids, it is important to have some basic knowledge of how they fight. As mentioned above, the Terminids are a horde faction and try to crush Helldivers under a sea of enemies. When any Terminid detects a player, it will call in a Bug Breach. At higher difficulties, this can result in hundreds of Terminids spawning. Thus, it is crucial to have at least two stratagems dedicated to ensuring the horde never spirals out of control. Furthermore, keep moving constantly to avoid enemies surrounding you.

Additionally, four types of Terminids are especially dangerous, and you must deal with them quickly. Otherwise, they will either kill you outright or cause havoc and give the horde a chance to swarm you. These are the Chargers, the Bile Titans, the Impalers, and the Stalkers.

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1. Chargers

Chargers have extremely tough black/grey armour all around their body except for their butt. You can only penetrate this armour with weapons that have the Anti-Tank characteristic. They are also rather fast, so hitting them with a stratagem like the Orbital Precision Strike can be difficult. All weapons can damage the unarmoured butt, but only those with the explosive trait deal full damage. Other attacks are 80% less effective, making it costly to destroy.

Chargers are everywhere on Helldive and Super Helldive missions, so bring at least one (ideally two) anti-Charger stratagems. The best anti-tank weapons can kill a Charger with one precise shot to the head or butt. This includes the Recoilless Rifle, Spear and Quasar Cannon. The Expendable Anti-Tank (EAT) and Commando also work well. However, they can struggle at higher difficulties where Charger numbers are increased due to their limited uses.

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2. Bile Titans

Bile Titans soak up an enormous amount of firepower before you can bring them down. They wear the same armor as Chargers, except for the exposed bile sacs underneath—making Anti-Tank weapons a necessity. Their acid spit will melt any Helldivers caught in its path, so be wary of this attack.

As with the Charger, eliminate the Bile Titan immediately to keep it from overrunning your position. Aim for its head, the weak point vulnerable only to Anti-Tank weapons like the Recoilless Rifle and Quasar Cannon.” A well-placed shot to the head can kill it instantly, but it usually takes two.

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3. Impalers

Impalers look like Chargers, but have a large plate covering its face, which are actually its tentacles. Once it detects an enemy, the tentacles tunnel underground to emerge nearby, slamming them with heavy damage.

Impalers have the same armor as Bile Titans and Chargers, so Anti-Tank weapons work well against them too. When the Impaler sends its tentacles underground, its unarmoured weak spot opens up on its forehead. A single shot from a Recoilless Rifle, Quasar Cannon, or EAT to this location can quickly dispatch the Impaler. High-damage weapons like the Autocannon and Heavy Machine Gun also quickly kill the Impaler when hitting its weak spot.

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4. Stalkers

Many Helldivers rank Stalkers among the most dangerous and annoying Terminids in the game. They are unbelievably fast, aggressive, and will throw Helldivers off their feet with their tongues once they get close enough. They can also become invisible, meaning sometimes you will not see them until it is too late. Their tendency to stunlock makes them especially dangerous to Helldivers who aren’t vigilant.

Accordingly, the best way to deal with them is to spot and eliminate them early. This will ensure they do not get a chance to sneak amongst your squad and disorient everyone’s positioning.

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Stalkers are the only Terminids out of the four that are completely unarmoured, meaning that any weapon can kill them. The Stalwart or MG-43 Machine Gun are good for bursting them down at range. On the other hand, the Punisher and Breaker shotguns are very good at killing them up close. The Punisher is exceptionally handy because of its stagger, which will prevent a Stalker from ever reaching you.

Stalkers only spawn on missions with a Stalker Lair or planets with the Predator strain. Therefore, you should stay alert as soon as you discover a Stalker Lair and try to destroy it immediately. Otherwise, they will constantly harass you throughout the mission. If you cannot find one, try leaving a Stalker alive and following it as it will always run back towards its Lair once injured.

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Loadouts for Terminids

With the Terminids’ strengths and weaknesses identified, we can build a simple loadout to exploit them. This basic setup proves you don’t need much to succeed on the highest difficulty if you cover your bases.

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1. Armour: B-01 Tactical Armour — Medium armour offers a strong balance of mobility and protection. The Extra Padding perk gives you the same protection as heavy armour.
2. Primary: SG-8 Punisher Shotgun – Great against Terminids with good damage and knockback for extra breathing room.
3. Secondary: P-19 Redeemer – A solid secondary choice with high DPS in case you need something quick in an emergency.
4. Grenade: G-6 Frag – Used primarily to destroy bug holes but also effectively clears small Terminid groups.

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Stratagems – A/MG-43 Machine Gun Sentry, Orbital Gas Strike, Recoilless Rifle, Eagle 500kg Bomb

The Machine Gun Sentry and Orbital Gas Strike are your crowd control bread and butter. The Orbital Gas Strike confuses and kills small Terminids, while the Machine Gun Sentry will handle larger ones. Their short cooldowns ensure you’re ready for any breach or patrol.

Use the other two stratagems to counter heavily armored enemies like the Charger, Bile Titan, and Impaler. The Recoilless Rifle quickly kills these armoured enemies and destroys Illegal Broadcasts, Spore Towers, and Shrieker Nests from afar. The 500kg bomb is a good emergency backup—just avoid calling it on your squadmates. They can also be used to great effect in Megacities, as the buildings funnel enemies into narrow chokepoints.

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This build is not only extremely flexible and powerful, but also very cheap to put together. You can access the entire loadout at Level 5, except for the 500kg bomb, which unlocks at Level 15.

You can also easily swap out the stratagems as you level up. For example, swap the Orbital Gas Strike for the EMS, Eagle Napalm, or Airburst strikes. All have similar cooldowns and accomplish similar means of crowd control through consistent damage. Minefields can also be effective, but be careful to avoid blocking your team’s escape routes.

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Conclusion

The Terminids can be very stressful to fight against as their sheer numbers may seem insurmountable. However, this guide shows that you don’t need to unlock everything or spend extra money on Warbonds to beat the Terminids. Manage the crowd and armored enemies, and even the hardest difficulties can become simple.