Weaknesses and Weapon effectiveness versus the Squids.

[Zeromentor]

Okay, so I've compiled a short list of each new enemy and what weapons seem to be effective against them. This list does NOT include all weapons, merely the weapons used by myself and others.

The list will be simple- Enemy, enemy info, weapons and their effectiveness, and possible tactics that can be used to make the weapon more effective.

Zombies-
(aka Husk, Voteless, Mutant, etc)
Obviously they will seek to swarm any target, but as of right now they are relatively weak and slow compared to the other Squid troops. As they lack armor, weapons that hit hard or fast seem to be rather effective against them. However, it should be noted that they have much more health than smaller terminid forces, or the weak skeletal automatons.
Explosives, especially the Shrapnel Grenade, work wonders against crowds of zombies. Shoguns, buckshot variants, work well but require constant reloads. Weapons like the Liberator Carbine are effective, but the magazine capacity is too limited for the swarms you will face.
*I suggest for primary weapons you field weapons with large magazines and/or high rates of fire to deal with these swarming foes.
*As for secondaries, the Redeemer and Bushwacker stick out as great sidearms.
*For call-in weapons, the Machine Gun and Stalwart are very effective. I have been told the
Flamethrower also works well, but I have no tried it myself.
*Strategems that work well are basically anything with wide areas of effect, such as Cluster Bombs, Airstrikes or Napalm strikes. Be wary of danger-close.

Armored Squids-
(aka Pole-guys, Overseers, Elites, etc)
These guys are most well known for their pole-armed blasters and their small directional shields. They have what appears to be white armor plates covering most of their body, and are most lethal in melee than at range. While most people would use Medium-Pen weapons against these guys the armor seems to absorb the damage directly until it breaks off, limiting effectiveness. Weapons with low accuracy spread their damage across multiple plates, making these armored squids appear to be more tanky than they really are. Explosives also suffer from this effect, as the plates soak up the explosion and break off to reveal the squishy alien beneath.
*For Primaries, I suggest going with accurate rifles with a higher rate of fire, such as the Tenderizer. You want to focus on their head or chest, if possible, and place practically every round into one area to increase the effective damage on target, stripping that armored plate and killing the foe quickly. Low accuracy weapons tend to falter here, such as the Liberator Carbine, or Buckshot Shotguns, as they spread the damage out to far too many plates to be effective.
*For secondaries, I suggest hard hitting pistols, such as the Senator or Vindicator. Though I tried to use the Laser pistol against these foes I found it was non-effective.
*For Call-in weapons, the Machine Gun shines well here. Though it may take extra bullets to down this armored squid, this weapon finds itself to be effective against all manner of known squids. Due to the armored plates, however, I can not recommend high-explosive weapons at this time. Auto-cannons and Recoilless Rifles should be avoided as they WILL require multiple hits to bring down a single foe.
***Note: Again, I have reports of fire being effective here, though I have no field tested this myself.

Jetpack Guys-
(aka... Jetpack Guys)
The airborne units of the armored squids. These foes are easy to detect because they never seem to land and are thus always in the air. Between throwing grenades and spraying colorful bullets at you they quickly make themselves a problem that must require an effective solution.
*NOTE* The Jetpack itself it a weakness, and repeated hits can and will cause it to explode, killing the armored Jetpacker.
There isn't much else to say here- Grenades can be tossed back, though they aren't effective against anything more than Zombies (and yes, the enemy does suffer from friendly fire).

*For Primaries I suggest the same weapons you'd employ against the land-faring armored squids. Weapons like the Tenderizer or Adjudicator are effective here, as their accuracy allows for either stripping singular plates, or hitting the jetpack.
*Secondaries are a bit hit and miss. Honestly, I have not found a very effective sidearm that can be wielded against these flying pests. Accuracy is a must, but that tends to come at the cost of limited ammo, and these flying squids tend to be harder to hit for the average helldiver than their land-based cousins.
*Call-in weapons are the same as the Armored variant, with the same notice of high-explosive weapons being of limited effectiveness against them. I suggest the Machine Gun, provided you can get one. Due to their height off the ground, I would not suggest the Flamethrower here, regardless of their cousins reported weakness to fire.

Drones-
(aka Watchers, Flashlights, Zappers)
These enemies are easily detected because they can't seem to be alive without their obvious lights dancing across the battlefield. Once detected, however, the light will change and three flares will be launched to alert nearby squid forces to Helldiver locations. Expect Warpships to approach with reinforcements soon after.
*I'll skip the breakdown here, nearby any ranged weapon seems to be effective against these guys. At close range they sport a weak electric arc attack for defense, so anything with more range than a melee weapon seems to put them down forever. Long range and accurate weapons seem to be the most effective. I wouldn't waste anything explosive against these small flying enemies, but your ammo is your own to use as you'd like.

Tripods-
(aka Harvestors, Walkers, etc)
As intimidating as these mechs are, they are actually very weak. You'll find Medium-Pen weapons not only burn through their shield quickly, but also can damage their weak points, located at and under their 'Eye', as well as the innermost leg joints. Any small arms can defeat their shields, though anything with a high rate of fire is best. Do be warned, however, these shields can effectively block Spears, Recoilless Rifle Rockets and even the explosion of a 500Kg Bomb. However, they don't cover the ground effectively, so if the Tripod steps over the bomb it will still work, but the bomb itself can not penetrate the shield, so you will have to aim or strip the shield first.
*Primary Weapons? Maybe use Medium Pen weapons, or explosives, such as the Crossbow or Eruptor, but I'd suggest only using Primary weapons to strip the shield.
*Secondaries- No. Either not enough rate of fire, or damage, or range.
*Call-Ins- Once again, the Machine Gun shines here. The Stalwart lacks the penetration to kill, but has the magazine size to strip the shields for teammates. Spears, Recoilless Rifles and even the Autocannon seems to work well once the shield is down, but note that the shield can easily block a shot if someone isn't keeping the shield down for you. If you can aim, strike the innermost joint of any of the legs, and once broken you'll find the Tripod dead. If you can't aim that well, target the glowing blue eye, and try to place your rounds at or slightly under it (above is a plate of armor).
*Strategems? Explosives are most effective, but some are more effective more often. These titans tend to forgo their shields until combat has started, but have an uncanny ability to sense incoming Eagles and pop their shields before the explosives start to land.


As far as my testing is concerned, the Machine Gun is the MVP of the weapons we have to counter these new and armored foes. It sports the damage, penetration and large magazines needed to effectively deal with all targets on the Squid-covered field. Another effective option is the Heavy Machine Gun- for similar reasons. I wouldn't suggest weapons like the Spear, as the set-up to kill the Tripods takes too long, nor would I suggest the Stalwart (my favorite for killing Termies) because of the lack of penetration. The Auto-cannon also seems to be lacking against Armored Squids, and it doesn't have the magazine capacity to work well against Zombies.

If you've found any grand weaknesses, add them below. If you want to suggest another weapons I missed that is much more versatile or effective, then post it. We are in this together, after all.

-For Limited Democracy!-