Helldivers Training Manual For Soloing All Bosses

Covers the essentials for soloing every boss on every map in Helldivers.

INTRODUCTION

Who: All bosses
What: Solo them
When: Any time
Where: Any map
Why: FOR LIBER-TEA!!!

All videos from this guide can be found here on Youtube: link

CYBORG: SIEGE MECH

The easiest boss in the game. It spawns with a random weapon on each arm: Gauss cannon is the most dangerous, followed by machine gun, while grenade and flamethrower are easy to deal with.

- Anti-Tank Mines

The popular pub strategy of using anti-tank mines is effective for soloing this boss.

Loadout

Perk: Stratagem Priority, or All Terrain Boots on the snow map.
Primary: Trident
Stratagems: SH-20 Shield and 3 Anti-Tank Mines

Key Points

- Wear the SH-20 Shield to not die to hounds. If you took damage and lost your shield, play defensively until it regens back up.
- Regardless of weapon, you can avoid all of its attacks by running directly away from it. Moving perpendicular across will get you hit.
- When the boss is off screen, use the mini-map to check its position to help line it up into your mines.

Videos

Basic demonstration of the fight on a non-snow map. This is the machine gun and gauss cannon variant of the boss.

This video demonstrates the fight on the snow map, which takes longer without Stratagem Priority. This is the gauss cannon and grenade variant of the boss.

ILLUMINATE: GREAT EYE

This guide will cover three strategies for soloing this boss, the popular pub strategy of firewall and thunderer barrage, and the one cycle and two cycle strategies with only thunderer barrage.

Firewall barrage is a slow and steady strategy that is easy to execute, while the barrage only strategies are more advanced and can result in faster times, but they require more skill to execute and have a higher risk of failure than firewall barrage.

- Firewall Barrage

The popular pub strategy of firewall and barrage can be used to solo the boss. While it is not as fast as the barrage only strategies covered below, it is easy to execute and is almost always guaranteed to work as long as you are able to perform it without too many mistakes.

Loadout

Perk: Stratagem Priority
Primary: Trident
Stratagems: 2 Incendiary Bombs (Firewall) and 2 Thunderer Barrages

Key Points

- Consistency is key to this fight. While this strategy is easy to execute, the difficulty comes from having to execute it over a long period of time without making too many mistakes. A single mistake at the wrong time is all it takes to end the run.
- Aim to maintain your firewall at the same spot by consistently throwing the stratagem at the same spot.
- Keep in mind that the boss cannot repeat the same attack twice in a row. If the boss just used its laser beam attack, then it is absolutely safe to throw out stratagems right after. If the boss did not use the laser beam attack, be prepared for it if you need to throw out stratagems at that time.

Videos

Basic demonstration of the firewall barrage strategy on the forest map. Note how each mistake could have ended the run if it happened at a different time.

Basic demonstration of the firewall barrage strategy on the desert map. The chokepoint in the corner of this map made the fight easier.

Basic demonstration of the firewall barrage strategy on the volcanic map, where the corner is barely narrow enough for the firewall to cover it.

Demonstration of the firewall barrage strategy on the snow map. It is doable but not recommended on this map. Not only is the corner a wide choke, but being on snow without boots reduces throw distance for stratagems, which requires moving the firewall around to compensate.

- One Cycle Barrage

This is a map and luck dependent barrage only strategy for bursting down the boss within a minute. Stand in a corner, drop 4 barrages, and hope that the boss would stand in it long enough and die.

Loadout

Perk: Doesn't matter, or All Terrain Boots on the snow map
Primary: Trident
Stratagems: 4 Thunderer Barrages

Key Points

- This strategy is best done on the desert map where the corner is in the shape of a narrow chokepoint.
- Dying intentionally stops the boss from moving for a few seconds. This increases the viability for this strategy in other maps.
- Good luck!

Videos

Basic demonstration of the one cycle barrage strategy with intentional death.

This video demonstrates the strategy on the desert map where no death is needed.

This is another video that demonstrates the one cycle barrage strategy with intentional death.

- Two Cycle Barrage

Unlike one cycle barrage above, this is a more reliable barrage only strategy and can be done on any map. This is my preferred loadout for pub games, as it goes well with firewall barrage if someone is doing it, and has the ability to solo carry the game if necessary.

This strategy consists of 3 phases:
Phase 1: Drop barrages in a corner to damage the boss halfway.
Phase 2: Run around the map to survive until barrages come off cooldown.
Phase 3: Drop barrages again to kill the boss.

Loadout

Perk: Stratagem Priority, or All Terrain Boots on the snow map
Primary: Trident
Stratagems: SH-20 Shield and 3 Thunderer Barrages

Key Points

- For phase 1, aim to damage the boss for 60% or more to better guarantee killing it in phase 3. If you did less damage than that, consider starting the fight over again.
- For phase 2, hug the wall as you run around the map. Try to be as close to the wall as possible, ideally have your character touching it the entire time. That way the orbs would hit the wall or some geometry behind it and explode away from you, instead of curling back towards you.
- The transition between phase 2 and 3 is the most dangerous part of the fight. Try saving your extra life until then.
- If you did so much damage during phase 1 for Illusionists to spawn, the strategy remains the same. Run past any Illusionists that spawn in front of you to make them all chase you from the same direction, and shoot down their orbs if necessary.
- There seems to be a bug with the trident where sometimes it doesn't damage the orbs at all when the boss is at close range. If this happens try overheating your weapon and reloading it. If you can't get rid of the bug consider switching to firewall barrage instead.

Videos

Basic demonstration of the two cycle barrage strategy.

This video demonstrates the strategy on the snow map. While the fight is longer without Stratagem Priority, the tall cliffs on this map provide better protection against the orbs.

This video demonstrates the strategy when the initial barrage did enough damage for Illusionists to spawn.

BUG: HIVE LORD

The most difficult boss in the game to solo. Unlike the other two bosses, this is a straight up fight based on skill. The standard strategy is to fight the boss with the Rumbler and this guide will cover the fight with it in complete depth.

If you don't have the DLC for the Rumbler, or just want to try something else, this guide will also cover alternatives to the Rumbler with the Dum-Dum, the Rec-6 Demolisher, and for those without DLCs, the LAS-98 Laser Cannon. Note that these are sub-optimal compared to the Rumbler, they have a lower damage output and will make an already long fight even longer, but are still strong enough to kill the boss in a reasonable time.

- Rumbler

The standard strategy is to use the Rumbler as it has the highest damage output against the boss.

Loadout

Perk: Displacement Field, or All Terrain Boots on the snow map
Primary: Doesn't matter
Stratagems: Rumbler, Ammo, Jump Pack and Static Field

Basic Mechanics

For those new to using the Rumbler, you should practice using melee cancel to quickly aim it at any direction, be able to fire it as quickly as possible, fire and then move or jump pack right away without fanning, and get used to its minimum range without blowing yourself up.

For the bosses moveset and how to avoid them, it's best to watch the videos and practice.

The most important time to deal damage is when the boss unburrows for the poison circle attack. Ideally without interference from mobs, you should be able to unload all 4 shots on the boss and do a complete reload. Note the distinctive roar the boss makes when it does this attack.

The other important time to deal damage is when the boss unburrows for the poison spit attack, where you can land 1-2 shots and maybe a reload depending on how you dodged the attack.

For the other attacks, while it's also possible to land shots on them, these are risky to go for as they have a decent chance of blowing yourself up. If you are still learning the fight, I would recommend skipping them entirely, and at least have displacement field up when attempting them whether you are learning or not.

How to Reload

The Rumbler takes 4.5 seconds to reload. With 5 mobs chasing you the entire fight, there are 3 ways to create an opening away from them long enough to reload:
1. Create distance, if the nearest mob is about one screen length away, it's safe to reload before it can reach you.
2. Use static field to trap them or block their pathing with it.
3. The poison spit attack from the boss leaves behind 3 pools creating a temporary barrier that blocks their pathing and slows them down. Run directly away from the attack and reload as soon as you are safe from it.

Just because it's safe to start a reload doesn't mean it's safe to complete it. The boss could still follow up with a fast attack and interrupt you, watch for its smoke and be ready to jump pack away if needed.

Another tip is to use your health as a resource, it's okay to take a hit from a mob every now and then to complete a reload. Just don't overdo it.

Mob Control Strategy

When mobs initially spawn as you start fighting the boss, kite them until you reach one side of the map, keeping them about one screen length away as you fight the boss. Once you are at one end of the map, use static field to control the mobs. Run and jump around it to trap all 5 mobs in it, that allows you to fight the boss in peace for a short while.

When static field runs out, kite your way to the opposite side of the map. By the time the mobs reach you at the other end of the map, static field should be off cooldown and you can trap them again. Rinse and repeat.

Avoid dropping static field directly next to a wall, you want to have enough room in every direction around it to fight the boss in.

Keep in mind that Impalers can spawn in this fight. As long as you avoid killing mobs, they are usually a rare occurrence. One of them shouldn't be too hard to avoid, if there is more than one than you should start killing them and hope they get replaced by brood commanders.

Snow Map and Death Recovery

On the snow map, unless you want to fight the boss with no boots, you'd have to do the fight without displacement field. This makes the fight significantly harder, displacement field grants you a safety net every 35 seconds, without it you have to play the entire fight perfectly. This is a long fight and mistakes are bound to happen. If you die, the first and foremost priority to recover is to pick up your jump pack.

If you died and there are mobs around, do not immediately walk up to your gear trying to pick it up. Run away to pull the boss and mobs away from where you died, then go back for it when the coast is clear.

Keep in mind that the jump pack stratagem has two charges, there's another jump pack sitting at where you initially called it down. This is your second option to recover.

Videos

Basic demonstration of the fight on a non-snow map.

This video demonstrates the fight on the snow map, where it is significantly harder due to lack of displacement field, and without death.

This video demonstrates the fight on the snow map with death recovery, only died for demonstration purposes of course.

- Dum-Dum

The general strategy of the fight with the Dum-Dum is basically the same as with the Rumbler above.

Loadout

Perk: Displacement Field, or All Terrain Boots on the snow map
Primary: Doesn't matter
Stratagems: Dum-Dum, Ammo, Jump Pack and Static Field

Key Points

- Compared to the Rumbler, the Dum-Dum reloads faster, but deals less damage.
- Unlike the Rumbler, you can't kill yourself with the Dum-Dum, play aggressively and land more shots to help make up for the lower damage.
- The Dum-Dum is ineffective against Impalers, do your best to avoid killing mobs to reduce their chance to spawn.

Videos

Basic demonstration of the fight with the Dum-Dum, also with Impaler spawn.

This video demonstrates the fight with the Dum-Dum on the snow map with death recovery.

- Rec-6 Demolisher

This is a different fight than with the Rumbler and Dum-Dum. Not recommended on the snow map because stratagem priority is needed to kill the boss in a reasonable time.

Loadout

Perk: Stratagem Priority, or All Terrain Boots on the snow map
Primary: Doesn't matter
Stratagems: Jump Pack and 3 Rec-6 Demolishers

Key Points

- Kite the mobs and the boss by constantly circling around the map.
- Demolishers despawn after a limited time if not picked up, don't call down too many on the map at once.

Videos

Basic demonstration of the fight with Rec-6 Demolisher.

This video demonstrates the fight with Rec-6 Demolisher and Impaler spawn.

- LAS-98 Laser Cannon

This is the last resort for those who don't have DLCs for any of the above weapons, or don't have any DLCs at all. It's not the hardest hitting non-DLC weapon, but it is a laser that does not need to be reloaded. This allows you to bring an extra static field to the fight to put the mobs in total lockdown, and have a near 100% up time on dealing damage to the boss.

Loadout

Perk: Displacement Field, or All Terrain Boots on the snow map
Primary: Doesn't matter
Stratagems: LAS-98 Laser Cannon, Jump Pack and 2 Static Fields

Key Points

- Stagger the static fields to keep the mobs in total lockdown.
- Play even more aggressively than with the Dum-Dum to maximize damage on the boss.
- Without interference from mobs, this is actually an easy fight, just a really long one.

Video

Basic demonstration of the fight with the LAS-98 Laser Cannon.

[Daegon]

Excellent guide, thank you.
For anyone wondering, the Rail Gun is a good choice of primary weapon for the Bugs' Hive Lord boss fight, especially in multiplayer where the players will likely be killing any minions that spawn, because you can use the Rail Gun to stun the difficult minions that spawn later on. If you stun the bug that spawns tentacles, it will retract the tentacles immediately.

[Bober]

thanks!

[SirBarren]

Awesome! This is a very comprehensive, well written guide. I am going to have to try some of these strats out for myself (not the bug.. I am not quite that good haha).
I am interested to know how multiplayer would affect some of these methods. Could be easier? Could make them harder? Just a thought.

[Kenichi]

Nice!

[Orlandu]

The guide is now complete. It was way more than I initially thought. Enjoy!