Tips againts the new Automaton faction difficulty super helldive 10

[Sergeant Merrick]

Hello everyone, since i found alot people struggling againts the new faction, i wanted to give an insight of what i learned and some of my fav picks to use againts them. I would start with the biggest rule that was always applied in general when playing againts Automatons in general, proning-crouching is your best friend, im surprised on how many people avoid this useful tactic that cuts the enemy effective range to kill you while also giving you better accuracy, i've seen alot people, especially on my first dive againts the new faction, not proning and getting annihilated, especially from the new cookout devestator. Ontop to all these advantages prone also completly nullifies fire damage over-time, giving you the chance to even run another armor that isn't fire resistant and still find success. As for stratagems and weapons i use, i started to rock with the Dog Breath, since the new change they made to his AI to focus multiple enemies to spread that effect, i found him really good to stun multiple enemies, giving you time to reposition or kill them without risking your neck, another option if you dont have the warbond you can rock supply pack being a pretty good choice to keep yourself healthy and always ready to throw grenades when need arises or stock back your teammates. For my support weapon, i found myself to shut even harder these new enemies is the arc thrower, infinite ammo, can stun multiple enemies giving you again time to play the game at your own pace, and perhaps even saving your teammates that are finding themself in a pinch, truly this weapon found a welcome spot in my build to stun and slow down these enemies as much as possible, other options you can use are pretty much any other support weapon, but i found myself liking more the arc since the mentioned upsides i discussed before, for other stratagems i use rocket sentry, finding myself struggling killing striders and tanks, rocket covers these problems pretty well. As for the last stratagem you can pick your poison, if you want more anti tank you can use eagle airstrikes, 500kg bombs, 180 barrage, but pretty much every airstrike-eagle will do if you find yourself liking it.
For my primary im really starting to like the Eruptor, since the new heavy pen buff, i found it as a well rounded addition in my arsenal, my favourite way to use it is to aim at dropships and it will pretty much instakill small bots or damage the medium ones, giving you a head-start before they even activate in the first place, for secondary i use ultimatum in emergency case or jammer - eye of sauron destruction but you cant go wrong with any other secondary like the revolver, for grenades i use either gas grenade depending if i dont have the gas dog or thermite if i lack anti tank capabilities, if you don't have access to those items you can also rock with the regular shrapnel grenades that can slow down the enemy in their tracks. For boosters i reccomend only 2 that imo are the most important: Vitality Enhancement will make you survive the shotgun devestator with 15% hp left if you using heavy armor, even in the worst case when most of the shots connected while i was in a prone state, he still wasn't able to 1 shot me, for the second one Experimental Infusion damage resistance, speed boost are just awesome and pretty much impossible to pass if you wanna have the best time.

Overall this new faction is pretty difficult i won't deny that, how i see them now is a gear check - bad positioning check kind of faction, with the tips i gave you, i hope you can find success aswell like i did on my first dive againts them, doing 377 kills with 0 deaths.
Stand strong Helldivers and keep fighting for what we value most!

[Axis of Lint]

Please learn to format your posts, it's incredibly hard to read a wall of text. If you're not comfortable editing your own text, just run it though Chat GPT (make sure to specify to keep the content intact) and you'll end up with something eminently more readable. Such as :

----

Hello everyone,

Since I found a lot of people struggling against the new faction, I wanted to share some insights from my experience and some of my favorite picks to use against them.
General Strategy:

The biggest rule when playing against Automatons is this: proning and crouching are your best friends.
I'm surprised by how many people avoid this useful tactic. It cuts down the enemy’s effective range while also improving your accuracy. I've seen a lot of players—especially during my first dive against the new faction—fail to go prone and get annihilated, especially by the new Cookout Devastator.

On top of all these advantages, going prone completely nullifies fire damage over time. This means you can run armor that isn't fire-resistant and still find success.
Stratagems & Weapons I Use:

Primary & Secondary Weapons:

Primary: Eruptor – Since the heavy penetration buff, this has been a great addition to my arsenal. My favorite way to use it is aiming at dropships—it pretty much instakills small bots and damages medium ones before they even activate.
Secondary: Ultimatum (for emergencies) or Jammer (Eye of Sauron destruction). You can’t go wrong with any secondary, like the revolver.

Grenades:

Gas Grenades – Useful if I don’t have the gas dog.
Thermite – If I lack anti-tank capabilities.
If you don’t have access to these, regular shrapnel grenades work well for slowing down enemies.

Support Weapons & Stratagems:

Support Weapon: Arc Thrower – This weapon shines against the new enemies. It has infinite ammo, can stun multiple enemies, and buys you time to play at your own pace. It’s also great for saving teammates in a pinch.
Other good support options exist, but I personally prefer the Arc Thrower for its utility.

Other Stratagems:

Dog Breath – After the AI changes, it now focuses on multiple enemies, making it excellent for stunning threats while you reposition or take them out.
Supply Pack – If you don’t have Dog Breath, this is a solid alternative to keep yourself healthy and stocked on grenades.
Rocket Sentry – Helps deal with Striders and tanks, which I sometimes struggle to kill.
Final Stratagem Choice: Pick your poison. If you want more anti-tank options, go for:
Eagle Airstrikes
500kg Bombs
180mm Barrage
Any airstrike/eagle option you prefer.

Boosters:

I recommend two main boosters that are, in my opinion, the most important:

Vitality Enhancement – If you use heavy armor, this lets you survive a Shotgun Devastator hit with 15% HP left, even in the worst-case scenario (i.e., most shots connected while I was prone).
Experimental Infusion – The damage resistance and speed boost are just too good to pass up if you want the best experience.

Final Thoughts:

This new faction is definitely challenging—I won’t deny that. However, I see them as a gear check + positioning check type of faction.

With the tips I’ve shared, I hope you’ll find success just like I did in my first dive against them, where I managed 377 kills with 0 deaths.

Stand strong, Helldivers! Keep fighting for what we value most! 💪

[Nick Walker II]

Originally posted by Axis of Lint:

Please learn to format your posts, it's incredibly hard to read a wall of text. If you're not comfortable editing your own text, just run it though Chat GPT (make sure to specify to keep the content intact) and you'll end up with something eminently more readable. Such as :

----

Hello everyone,

Since I found a lot of people struggling against the new faction, I wanted to share some insights from my experience and some of my favorite picks to use against them.
General Strategy:

The biggest rule when playing against Automatons is this: proning and crouching are your best friends.
I'm surprised by how many people avoid this useful tactic. It cuts down the enemy’s effective range while also improving your accuracy. I've seen a lot of players—especially during my first dive against the new faction—fail to go prone and get annihilated, especially by the new Cookout Devastator.

On top of all these advantages, going prone completely nullifies fire damage over time. This means you can run armor that isn't fire-resistant and still find success.
Stratagems & Weapons I Use:

Primary & Secondary Weapons:

Primary: Eruptor – Since the heavy penetration buff, this has been a great addition to my arsenal. My favorite way to use it is aiming at dropships—it pretty much instakills small bots and damages medium ones before they even activate.
Secondary: Ultimatum (for emergencies) or Jammer (Eye of Sauron destruction). You can’t go wrong with any secondary, like the revolver.

Grenades:

Gas Grenades – Useful if I don’t have the gas dog.
Thermite – If I lack anti-tank capabilities.
If you don’t have access to these, regular shrapnel grenades work well for slowing down enemies.

Support Weapons & Stratagems:

Support Weapon: Arc Thrower – This weapon shines against the new enemies. It has infinite ammo, can stun multiple enemies, and buys you time to play at your own pace. It’s also great for saving teammates in a pinch.
Other good support options exist, but I personally prefer the Arc Thrower for its utility.

Other Stratagems:

Dog Breath – After the AI changes, it now focuses on multiple enemies, making it excellent for stunning threats while you reposition or take them out.
Supply Pack – If you don’t have Dog Breath, this is a solid alternative to keep yourself healthy and stocked on grenades.
Rocket Sentry – Helps deal with Striders and tanks, which I sometimes struggle to kill.
Final Stratagem Choice: Pick your poison. If you want more anti-tank options, go for:
Eagle Airstrikes
500kg Bombs
180mm Barrage
Any airstrike/eagle option you prefer.

Boosters:

I recommend two main boosters that are, in my opinion, the most important:

Vitality Enhancement – If you use heavy armor, this lets you survive a Shotgun Devastator hit with 15% HP left, even in the worst-case scenario (i.e., most shots connected while I was prone).
Experimental Infusion – The damage resistance and speed boost are just too good to pass up if you want the best experience.

Final Thoughts:

This new faction is definitely challenging—I won’t deny that. However, I see them as a gear check + positioning check type of faction.

With the tips I’ve shared, I hope you’ll find success just like I did in my first dive against them, where I managed 377 kills with 0 deaths.

Stand strong, Helldivers! Keep fighting for what we value most! 💪

This is much easier to read, thank you

[Ramuthra]

Using the salamander armor makes a lot of this easier, but lack of explosive resist means the mortar hulks are still a big problem, and the rocket devastators are still all over the place. I'm 50/50 which is better.

If you DO pick explosive resist armor, recommend a shield backpack (directional surprisingly good against Cookout devastators) to prevent being lit on fire.

[Quill]

Originally posted by Axis of Lint:

Please learn to format your posts, it's incredibly hard to read a wall of text. If you're not comfortable editing your own text, just run it though Chat GPT (make sure to specify to keep the content intact) and you'll end up with something eminently more readable. Such as :

----

Hello everyone,

Since I found a lot of people struggling against the new faction, I wanted to share some insights from my experience and some of my favorite picks to use against them.
General Strategy:

The biggest rule when playing against Automatons is this: proning and crouching are your best friends.
I'm surprised by how many people avoid this useful tactic. It cuts down the enemy’s effective range while also improving your accuracy. I've seen a lot of players—especially during my first dive against the new faction—fail to go prone and get annihilated, especially by the new Cookout Devastator.

On top of all these advantages, going prone completely nullifies fire damage over time. This means you can run armor that isn't fire-resistant and still find success.
Stratagems & Weapons I Use:

Primary & Secondary Weapons:

Primary: Eruptor – Since the heavy penetration buff, this has been a great addition to my arsenal. My favorite way to use it is aiming at dropships—it pretty much instakills small bots and damages medium ones before they even activate.
Secondary: Ultimatum (for emergencies) or Jammer (Eye of Sauron destruction). You can’t go wrong with any secondary, like the revolver.

Grenades:

Gas Grenades – Useful if I don’t have the gas dog.
Thermite – If I lack anti-tank capabilities.
If you don’t have access to these, regular shrapnel grenades work well for slowing down enemies.

Support Weapons & Stratagems:

Support Weapon: Arc Thrower – This weapon shines against the new enemies. It has infinite ammo, can stun multiple enemies, and buys you time to play at your own pace. It’s also great for saving teammates in a pinch.
Other good support options exist, but I personally prefer the Arc Thrower for its utility.

Other Stratagems:

Dog Breath – After the AI changes, it now focuses on multiple enemies, making it excellent for stunning threats while you reposition or take them out.
Supply Pack – If you don’t have Dog Breath, this is a solid alternative to keep yourself healthy and stocked on grenades.
Rocket Sentry – Helps deal with Striders and tanks, which I sometimes struggle to kill.
Final Stratagem Choice: Pick your poison. If you want more anti-tank options, go for:
Eagle Airstrikes
500kg Bombs
180mm Barrage
Any airstrike/eagle option you prefer.

Boosters:

I recommend two main boosters that are, in my opinion, the most important:

Vitality Enhancement – If you use heavy armor, this lets you survive a Shotgun Devastator hit with 15% HP left, even in the worst-case scenario (i.e., most shots connected while I was prone).
Experimental Infusion – The damage resistance and speed boost are just too good to pass up if you want the best experience.

Final Thoughts:

This new faction is definitely challenging—I won’t deny that. However, I see them as a gear check + positioning check type of faction.

With the tips I’ve shared, I hope you’ll find success just like I did in my first dive against them, where I managed 377 kills with 0 deaths.

Stand strong, Helldivers! Keep fighting for what we value most! 💪

One of the few times AI is helpful and not a source of existential dread