Enemy Constellations: What they are, Why you should care, How to beat them

AKA "Where the bile spewers at"

What the hell is a "constellation"?

Basically, it's why some missions look like this:
And some missions look like this:

This guide will break down the mechanic behind this phenomenon, including how to know what constellations you might encounter in a mission, and descriptions of all currently known constellations.

What is a Constellation?

A "Constellation" is a hidden property on each mission that determines which enemy types are able to spawn, and how often. For instance, you've probably noticed that Bile Spewers only spawn on certain missions, and never seem to show up on others - this is determined by the active constellation.
However, constellations don't just affect these "unique" spawns, but also the distribution of "typical" enemies - for instance, a Bug constellation may spawn more Hunters, but fewer Chargers.

While constellations seem entirely random at first, they are actually chosen randomly from a limited pool, based on the combination of Mission Type, Campaign Type (Liberation or Defense), and Operation Type (City or Non-City). In other words, if the Mission Type, Campaign Type, and Operation Type are the same between two mission nodes, the pool of spawnable constellations is the same - if any of those 3 factors change, the pool will most likely be different.
40-minute mission types all have a pool of 2 or less, with some having only one (notably Launch ICBM on Liberation campaigns), and sub-40-minute mission types can choose from all possible constellations.

Which missions spawn what constellations?

Each faction currently has some fixed number of constellations - I believe this number is 5 for each faction, though testing is still ongoing to identify all of them. Previously these could be categorized quite neatly, but in the current patch, you basically just need to memorize a bunch of tables to know which constellations can show up for a given mission (these can be found in a later section). I don't know why the system works like this, or whether it's even intended, but that's how it works.
On a technical level, it may be easier to think of this as the game distributing the constellations across all mission types that are "in rotation" for an operation. In other words, if an operation has 3 mission types to choose from (excluding Blitz/Exterminate/etc), the constellation pools will be spread across those mission types such that all constellations can be encountered, and spawn similarly frequently. If a 4th mission type were added to the rotation, the pools would be reassigned to maintain that even spread.

What does it affect?

Constellations affect the composition of:

• Patrols
  
• Reinforcements (dropships and breaches)
  
• Static spawns (points of interest, outposts, main/side objectives, etc.)
  
• Urban patrols (these are different from regular patrols)
  
• Exterminate mission spawns (these are different from reinforcements)
  
• Summoner unit spawns (such as Bot Fabricators, Bug Holes, and Brood Commanders)

Note that each of these categories has different weights for enemy spawns, meaning you may see an enemy more often in patrols than in breaches. This varies from constellation to constellation, and is particularly relevant for Exterminate missions, which often play differently from regular missions on the same constellation.
Note also that static spawns have unit type restrictions - usually these just ensure that large units don't spawn where they won't fit, but some structures also have guaranteed Hulk, Tank, or Charger spawns. The same is true of summoner unit spawns.

If it's random, how do I play around it?

If you know only 1 or 2 constellations are possible based on the mission type, you can obviously tailor your loadout to suit those constellations. Otherwise though, just generally pick a loadout that isn't "hard countered" by any constellations that might be chosen.
Additionally, even if you don't know what constellation you'll be up against, you can react to the active constellation during a mission by trading out support or primary weapons with your team (or, if you're lucky, picking up support weapons from POIs). Support weapon cooldowns are 8 minutes without upgrades, so you can expect to have at least one extra call-in ready before the end of a longer mission. Extraction is where the fight gets most intense, so this can be more relevant than you might think. If your team brought 2 Quasars, a Machine Gun, and a Flamethrower, that could end as a Quasar, 2 Machine Guns and a Flamethrower, 2 Machine Guns and 2 Flamethrowers, or 4 Quasars. Obviously this takes some communication, so it's not always an option.

Why is it called a Constellation?

In Patch 1.000.200, the following was listed in the patch notes:

"Automaton enemy constellations that preferred to spawn more of certain Devastators types did not work and are now functioning as they should. This means that sometimes when playing against the Automatons you will face more Devastators instead of other enemy types."

Before this, I had referred to them as "tribes" or "species" (specifically for bugs), but this gave (what seems like) an official name for this mechanic. It's a bit vague, but I think this is the name used by the developers for the mechanic.
You might also hear this mechanic referred to as a "spawn seed" or "spawn set". I'll be sticking to "Constellation" throughout this guide for the sake of clarity, but all three terms are equivalent.
As for why the developers chose the name "Constellation"? I imagine it has to do with the deeper technical details of the system, as spawn weights influence each other (Brood Commanders almost always spawn with Warriors or Hive Guards, for instance). Each possible spawn can be visualized as a star, and its chance of co-occurring with another spawn (including itself) would be a line, with shorter distances being more likely to co-occur. Taken together, a set of interrelated weights would form a constellation. By picking a star and randomly tracing a path of a certain length (representing difficulty), unique groups of enemies can be generated. With proper tuning, this would naturally create far more interesting engagements than individual random weights.

All Constellations Summarized

In the sections below, I'll go over every distinct constellation I've been able to identify. These are not based on hard data as it would be very difficult to collect and analyze - this is just from observing the general enemy spawn distributions over a large number of missions, and trying to identify if it matches up with a known constellation, or if it is significantly different. Since some of them only have differences in the spawn weighting of enemies, it's possible that some have been missed or misidentified.

These will each have dedicated sections later on with screenshots showcasing what they look like.

Since I don't have exact numbers, I've simplified the enemy distributions into a handful of categories, explained below:

• Unique Spawns: Most enemies will spawn occasionally on all constellations - these are enemies that spawn exclusively on the particular constellations for which they're listed.
  
• Spawns Way More: The enemies listed here will spawn far more often when this constellation is active, relative to other constellations.
  
• Spawns More: The enemies listed here will spawn more often when this constellation is active.
  
• Spawns Less: The enemies listed here will spawn less often when this constellation is active.

Note that these are generalized across all spawn types (patrols, reinforcements, static spawns). The exact distribution of enemies in each of these spawn types actually varies by constellation: for instance, on the Bile Bugs constellation, Bile Titans spawn most often as patrols, but on the Jumping Bugs constellation, Bile Titans usually show up in breaches. Most of the notable differences like these are covered in each constellation's dedicated section.

Constellation Summary - Bugs

After recent testing, apparently there are actually 5 Bug constellations. The previous "Big Bugs" was a combination of 2 similar-seeming constellations. Some sections won't be updated to reflect this change yet.

Bug constellations are mostly easy to identify since they have a lot of unique units. These are the Nursing Spewer, Pouncer, Spitter, Bile Spewer, and Bile Warrior.

Name	Unique Spawns	Spawns Way More	Spawns More	Spawns Less
Light Bugs	None	Brood Commander	Scavenger, Hunter, Warrior, Impaler	Charger
Hive Guard Hell	None	Hive Guard, Behemoth Charger	Brood Commander, Charger	Scavenger, Bile Titan
Bug Nursery	Nursing Spewer	Scavenger	Charger	Warrior, Hive Guard, Brood Commander, Bile Titan
Jumping Bugs	Pouncer (replaces Scavenger)	Hunters, so many hunters	Bile Titan	Warrior, Hive Guard, Charger
Bile Bugs	Bile Spewer, Bile Warrior (replaces Warrior), Spitter (replaces Scavenger)	None	Bile Titan	Hive Guard, Brood Commander

Constellation Summary - Bots

As of War Striders being introduced, the bots have 2 unique units: the War Strider, and the Assault Raider (the guy with the exploding jetpack).

Name	Unique Spawns	Spawns Way More	Spawns More	Spawns Less
Big Bots	None	Scout Strider	Tanks, Factory Strider	Infantry
Rocket Troopers	War Strider	Rocket Devastator	Infantry (particularly Rocket Raider), Heavy Devastator, Hulk Bruiser	Scout Strider, Tanks, Factory Strider
Bullet Hell	None	MG Raider, Heavy Devastator	Rocket Devastator, Hulk Bruiser, Annihilator Tank, Shredder Tank	Brawler, Berserker (almost none), Hulk Scorcher
Rushdown	War Strider , Assault Raider (jetpack guys)	Berserker, Hulk Scorcher, Brawler	Heavy Devastator, MG Raider	Rocket Raider, Rocket Devastator, Scout Strider, Hulk Bruiser, Tanks

Constellation Summary - Squids

This section is WIP.

The Illuminate have no unique units, so their constellations only differ in the weighting of spawns.

These names are subject to change by the way. Except Spaghetti & Meatballs, that one is locked in.

The current constellations seem to be:

Name	Unique Spawns	Spawns Way More	Spawns More	Spawns Less
Spaghetti & Meatballs	None	Harvester (Spaghetti), Fleshmob (Meatballs)	None	Overseer (all types)
Overseers	None	Overseer	Elevated Overseer, Crescent Overseer	Voteless, Fleshmob (very few)
Specialist Unit	None	Elevated Overseer, Fleshmob	Crescent Overseer	Harvester

Constellations by Mission Type

Note: Stuff here is WIP as I'm still testing out some new findings. Other sections may not line up with what's described here.
While I'll try my best to keep these tables populated and up-to-date, it's quite a laborious process due to the innate randomness and high number of permutations that need to be tested. I believe the constellation pools get "re-assigned" every time an operation type's mission rotation changes, so expect information to become outdated over time.

This section will break down which constellations are spawnable for a given Mission Type based on the Campaign Type and whether or not it's a City Operation. Expect this to be an eternal work-in-progress.

Note that this table doesn't go into the probability of choosing from the available constellations, though the weighting of which of the possible constellations is chosen varies by mission type. I believe this even applies to the mission types which can choose more than 2 constellations.

Bugs, Liberation Campaign, non-City (WIP)

Nuke Nursery missions have mysteriously vanished from non-City missions, but previously they usually used Bug Nursery.

Mission Types	Possible Bug Constellations
Launch ICBM	Bile Bugs
Purge Hatcheries	Bile Bugs Hive Guard Hell
Retrieve Valuable Data	Jumping Bugs Hive Guard Hell
Enable Oil Extraction Conduct Geological Survey	Jumping Bugs Light Bugs
Spread Democracy Emergency Evacuation	Bug Nursery Light Bugs
Blitz Eradicate	Any

Bugs, Defense Campaign, non-City (WIP)

Mission Types	Possible Bug Constellations
Spread Democracy	Bile Bugs Hive Guard Hell
Retrieve Valuable Data	Jumping Bugs Hive Guard Hell
Emergency Evacuation	Jumping Bugs Light Bugs
Launch ICBM	Bug Nursery Light Bugs
Eradicate Evacuate High-Value Assets	Any

Bugs, City (WIP)

Coming soon(tm)!

Bots, Liberation Campaign, non-City (WIP)

Mission Types	Possible Bot Constellations
Launch ICBM	Rushdown
Retrieve Valuable Data Conduct Geological Survey Spread Democracy	Bullet Hell Big Bots
Neutralize Orbital Defenses Destroy Command Bunkers Emergency Evacuation	Rocket Troopers Big Bots
Sabotage Air Base Sabotage Supply Cache	Bullet Hell Rushdown Big Bots
Blitz Eradicate Evacuate High-Value Assets Event missions	Any

Bots, Defense Campaign, non-City (WIP)

Coming soon! (probably)

Bots, City (WIP)

Coming soon(?)!

Squids (VERY WIP)

Mission Types	Possible Squid Constellations
Retrieve Recon Craft Intel Evacuate Colonists	Spaghetti & Meatballs Specialist Unit
Free Colony	Overseers

Legacy table (prior to Gloom update):

Mission Types	Possible Bug Constellations	Possible Bot Constellations
Launch ICBM	Bile Bugs	Rushdown
Retrieve Valuable Data	Bile Bugs Big Bugs	Rushdown Bullet Hell
Emergency Evacuation Conduct Geological Survey Spread Democracy	Bug Nursery Big Bugs	Footsoldiers Big Bots
Purge Hatcheries Enable E-710 Extraction Nuke Nursery	Jumping Bugs Big Bugs	N/A
Sabotage Air Base Destroy Command Bunkers Neutralize Orbital Defenses	N/A	Bullet Hell Big Bots
Blitz Eradicate Evacuate High-Value Assets Event missions	Any	Any

Side Note: Enemy Variants by Difficulty

Some enemies also have multiple variants which spawn at different difficulty levels, independently of the active constellation. These are not based on probability (with some exceptions) and simply replace all spawns of a certain enemy type.

The first exception is the "default" Bot infantry unit, which does have a few difficulties where multiple types can spawn. These will gradually progress from Trooper, to Raider, to Marauder. Note that this doesn't apply to the other infantry types, those being the Brawler, Commissar, MG Raider, Rocket Raider, and Assault Trooper, which are the same at every difficulty.

The second exception is Devastators, which have a progressively higher chance to "upgrade" to the Rocket or Heavy variant the higher the difficulty, becoming 100% at difficulty 9. Once you hit diff 9, the only way for regular Devastators to show up is from a Factory Strider printing them.

Bugs

• Diff 4: Warriors are replaced with a very similar-looking variant with more health.
  
• Diff 6: Bile Spewers are replaced with a darker, spinier variant with increased armor on the head and back, and a mortar attack.
  
• Diff 8: Brood Commanders are replaced with Alpha Commanders.

Bots

• Diff 3 - 4: Troopers are replaced with Raiders.
  
• Diff 5 - 6: Raiders are replaced with Marauders.
  
• Diff 8: Scout Striders are replaced with Reinforced Scout Striders.
  
• Diff 3 - 9: Devastators are replaced with their Heavy or Rocket variant.

Side Note: Event Enemies (Jet Brigade, Predator Strain)

When an event that features unique enemies (such as the Jet Brigade's jetpack bots) is active on a planet, constellations work the same as usual, but some enemies are replaced by their unique variants. This can drastically change the difficulty of missions, depending on which enemy types are changed. For the Gloom modifier for instance, both Pouncers and Spitters are replaced by Gloom-ified regular Scavengers, arguably making the Bile Bugs and Jumping Bugs constellations easier.

Below are all of the enemies which get replaced on each modifier, and what they are replaced by. Some names might be inaccurate, and some information for modifiers that haven't appeared recently may be inaccurate.

Predator Strain

Only affects Hunters, and seems to be the only modifier that has an element of randomness to the replacement.

• Hunter -> Predator Hunter OR Predator Stalker (at random)

Gloom

Most variants that would normally spawn are replaced with their Gloom-y counterpart, sometimes making missions a bit easier.

• Scavenger, Pouncer, Spitter -> Spore Burst Scavenger
  
• Warrior, Bile Warrior -> Spore Burst Warrior
  
• Hunter -> Spore Burst Hunter

Jet Brigade

Just adds jetpacks to various regular units, now up to and including Hulks, but not Berserkers. These units are all different from the Assault Raider that can always spawn on the Rushdown constellation, as it can only ever spawn with two melee blades.

• Trooper, Raider, Marauder -> Assault Raider
  
• MG Raider -> Assault MG Raider
  
• Devastator -> Assault Devastator
  
• Hulk Scorcher -> Assault Hulk Scorcher
  
• Hulk Bruiser -> Assault Hulk Bruiser

Incineration Corps

Notably, all direct melee units aside from the Commissar (and Assault Raider) are replaced with ranged units. Berserkers are deleted and replaced with the even more unhinged shotgun devastators.

• Trooper, Raider, Marauder -> "Trooper" (Actually has the stats and visuals of a Marauder)
  
• Rocket Raider -> "Trooper" (Rocket launcher is replaced with an energy cannon)
  
• Brawler -> Pyro Trooper (Flamethrower infantry)
  
• Berserker -> Conflagration Devastator (Fire Shotgun + Shield)
  
• Heavy Devastator -> Incendiary MG Devastator (Fire MG + Shield, absolutely pathetic)
  
• Hulk Bruiser -> Hulk Firebomber (Incendiary Grenade Launcher + Flamethrower, extremely dangerous)

Bug Constellations Deep Dive

Below are breakdowns of all the Bug constellations. All screenshots and testing are from difficulty 9 solo missions. (Some screenshots are from previous patches, so they may not represent what the constellation looks like on the current patch.)

Light Bugs

I don't have a good picture of this one yet, just imagine 5 alpha commanders in a sea of other little bugs in the background while 15 alpha warriors pulverize your bones into dust in the foreground.

Difficulty

A pain in the ass. Has the highest presence of Brood Commanders, which become Alpha Commanders on difficulty 8 and above, which then proceed to summon "Alpha" Warriors, which are horrendously obnoxious. On top of that, lots of Hunters spawn too. No gimmicks, just a crapload of bugs that chase you down extremely quickly and kill you instantly for making even the slightest mistake. I despise red warriors, why are they like that.

Identification

Hard to figure out immediately, you'll generally have to use process of elimination when you see there are no unique units, and there aren't a crazy number of Hive Guards or Chargers. Also, unlike Hive Guard Hell, it's not possible for Brood Commanders (or Alpha Commanders) to summon Hive Guards using their summoning ability on this constellation.

Counterplay

A "vanilla" loadout is generally pretty good against this constellation: a bit of anti-tank, a bit of other roles. High-DPS weapons like the Machine Gun or HMG will help a lot with quickly taking the larger-than-usual hordes, particularly Brood Commanders, which spawn even more bugs if left alone.

Hive Guard Hell

Difficulty

Very challenging even when properly prepared, due to the sheer number of heavies that spawn - a single missed anti-tank shot can be a death sentence. If you don't have a lot of anti-tank and a way to dump it fast, it's not uncommon to get overrun by a wave of chargers. You're also basically SOL if you brought a light-AP weapon. That said, Hive Guards are really slow and easy to avoid, so you tend to have a lot of breathing room aside from the heavy spawns.
Also, due to the way the enemy weighting works, sometimes you'll get a breach that's just like 10 Scavengers.

Identification

Hard to figure out immediately since there aren't any unique units. The main thing to look for is an abnormally high number of Hive Guards. It's usually extremely noticeable, almost comical. It's also possible for Brood Commanders (and Alpha Commanders) to summon Hive Guards using their summoning ability only on this constellation, which is honestly better than getting the ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ red warriors (I hate red warriors with every fiber of my being).

Counterplay

You'll need a lot of anti-tank capability to deal with all the Chargers, and some high-damage, medium-armor penetration for the Hive Guards and Brood Commanders. Remember that you can call another support weapon after the 8 minute cooldown, so if you're not keeping up with the heavy spawns, ask a teammate for an extra Quasar.

Bug Nursery

Difficulty

Pretty much the easiest bug constellation you can get, spawns a lot of Nursing Spewers and Scavengers which are kind of pushovers. Seems to also spawn extra Chargers, which made me realize that Scavengers are just baby Chargers - they have pretty much the exact same anatomy, Chargers are just bigger and have thicker armor.
Also, if you weren't aware, Nursing Spewers generate a cloud of spores around themselves, making it harder to see. It's not a huge contributor to the difficulty, but can be frustrating to play against.

Identification

Look for Nursing Spewers. They don't spawn as often on higher difficulties, so it may take a bit of time to notice. Also lots of scavvies, particularly at POIs and nests.

Counterplay

It's best to have a good mix of crowd-clearing for the big Scavenger swarms, and anti-tank for Chargers and the occasional Bile Titan. Being able to take out elites like Brood Commanders is less of a necessity. But basically, don't even worry about it.

Jumping Bugs

Difficulty

The sheer number of Hunters that spawn is incredibly difficult to deal with, especially if you get even a single Charger or Bile Titan. Pouncers are not really an issue aside from being annoying to hit, although they can be hard to stop from calling in a breach. I have no idea why, but Bile Titans are actually MORE COMMON on this constellation as well, from what I've seen (though they mostly only spawn in breaches).

Identification

Look for Pouncers (little bugs with wings that jump really high).

Counterplay

Weapons that are good at dealing with lots of Hunters quickly will keep you from getting overwhelmed. That'll be anything with a high fire-rate, spread, and/or large explosion radius. You'll also need tools for taking out any Chargers and Bile Titans that show up.

Bile Bugs

Difficulty

Pretty tough, as you have to deal with heavy armor and projectiles, not to mention acid slowing you down. However, the total number of bugs that spawn is lower than other constellations, and it's like 50% Bile Spewers by volume, so if you have a quick way of dealing with them, it's manageable.

Identification

green buge

Counterplay

Unless you're running something with good armor penetration and/or high stagger, you will get vibe checked by Bile Spewers. Medium AP works, but higher AP will perform better since it'll deal full damage. I highly recommend the Dominator since it kills quickly and can interrupt their spit. You can also make do with explosive or high-damage weapons by aiming for the big green sac, but it has much more health than the head, and is harder to hit from the front.
Aside from Bile Spewers, there's not too much to worry about.

Bot Constellations Deep Dive

Below are breakdowns of all the Bot constellations. All screenshots and testing are from difficulty 9 solo missions. (Some screenshots are from previous patches, so they may not represent what the constellation looks like on the current patch.)

Big Bots

Note that the screenshots above are slightly out of date, as they were captured before the new variant of Scout Strider was added.

Difficulty

Before Reinforced Scout Striders (the rocket ones) got reworked, they made difficulties 8 and above absolute hell. Now that they have a wind-up on their attacks and you can consistently take them out by shooting their rockets, the difficulty spike from 7 to 8 is a lot more reasonable.
It's hard, but not impossible - the most common enemy is the Scout Strider (or Reinforced Scout Strider), which is not that threatening and a lot of weapons can reliably take them out. Almost all the other enemies are a LOT more dangerous than Scout Striders, so they kind of offset the difficulty (the other enemies being Berserkers, Devastators, Hulks, Tanks, and Factory Striders).
Be aware that beginning at Difficulty 8, all Scout Striders become Reinforced Scout Striders, which are more dangerous and may require different equipment or tactics to take out.

Identification

There are Scout Striders absolutely everywhere, like at least 25% of the spawns. All the variants of Devastators, Hulks, and Tanks spawn in roughly equal amounts. You might run into multiple Factory Striders, mainly from dropships.
Weirdly, individual patrols tend to look like the other Bot constellations (so one might have a bunch of Heavy Devastators and MG Raiders, the next could have a bunch of Berserkers and a Scorcher).

Counterplay

Bring weapons that take out Scout Striders, as well as Devastators. It's also important to have a plan for Tanks and Factory Striders, but they're big and slow, so they don't need to be taken care of immediately (aside from the Barrager Tank, which is an absolute menace, but more uncommon).
If you're running difficulty 7 or below, you'll be facing regular Scout Striders - these are mostly vulnerable to medium-AP or higher weapons, and explosives. With explosives, aim for the "forehead", since it's closer to the pilot; medium-AP, aim for the groin, since it only has 300 health. Always avoid hitting the cannon (aka the snoot).
If you're running difficulty 8 or above, you'll be facing Reinforced Scout Striders - these are still vulnerable to medium-AP, but are much more resistant against explosives, and can instead be taken out consistently by destroying their missiles before they're fired. This is pretty easy to do even with light-AP weapons. Keep in mind that they always fire their left missiles (your right) first.

Rocket Troopers (formerly "Footsoldiers")

Renamed this from "Footsoldiers" since its main characteristic is the number of rocket-wielding enemies.

Difficulty

Pretty challenging due to the higher presence of Rocket Devastators and Hulk Bruisers, combined with Berserkers and Hulk Scorchers to flush you out of cover. The enemies that spawn less often (Scout Striders and Tanks) are pretty easy to take out with the right weapons and not as dangerous as other bots, so you don't gain much getting this constellation. However, it does mean there's a lower risk of you (or your sentries or mechs) getting one-shot.

Identification

There are lots of Rocket Devastators, and enemies bigger than a Hulk are rare. Packs of infantry are sometimes really large. There are more rocket devs than heavy devs, about a 3:1 ratio.

Counterplay

You'll need to bring tools for dealing with Rocket Devastators, Heavy Devastators, Berserkers, AND Hulks. That's not an easy thing to do if you're not the Autocannon. Generally, high-stagger weapons are quite strong here. Mechs and sentries also perform better than usual as long as they're upgraded, since there aren't as many enemies that blow them up instantly.

Bullet Hell

Difficulty

Not bad as long as you manage cover well, avoid getting flanked, and can take out Heavy Devs and Tanks. Almost all enemies in this constellation are slow and can't do much to you if you hide behind a rock (Barrager Tanks are way less common than the other types). Shooting back can be a bit challenging though. Also, don't sleep on MG Raiders - they're the most mobile of the common enemy types, and if they catch you by surprise, they can be incredibly lethal.

Identification

Patrols almost always contain lots of Heavy Devastators, dropships often contain Tanks. Almost all Hulks are the non-flamethrower variant, and almost all infantry is MG Raiders. There are more heavy devs than rocket devs, maybe a 3:1 ratio. Berserkers are VERY uncommon. Factory Striders are fairly common as static spawns, but less so in drops.

Counterplay

The main enemy types are Devastators and Tanks, so you'll need ways to take them out. It's also very easy to get pinned behind cover by devastators, so you'll probably want some offensive options that don't require line-of-sight (throwing stratagems or grenades over top), or some ways of creating cover (the ballistic shield).

Rushdown

Difficulty

Wouldn't be that bad if a Hulk Scorcher didn't show up every minute. You pretty much need 3 entirely different weapon types for the 3 enemies that are the most prevalent (Berserkers, Hulk Scorchers, Assault Raiders), so it is really hard to fight against. You're also constantly getting chased around the map, so a single Heavy Devastator or Rocket Devastator can light you up like a christmas tree.

Identification

Pretty much every patrol is a Scorcher and a bunch of Berserkers, pretty much every drop is a Scorcher and/or a bunch of Berserkers, and there are the jetpack guys. Heavy Devastators are also pretty common as static spawns, but less common anywhere else. Very very few Tanks and Factory Striders.

Counterplay

Get good at running, you'll be doing a lot of it. Also get good at dying. Jokes aside, the main thing to remember is to bring weapons with high raw damage and/or stagger to deal with Berserkers. Since this constellation is guaranteed on some missions, you can fully commit. The second highest priority is taking out Hulk Scorchers - any anti-tank is highly effective against them, and the Railgun can break their leg with an overcharge shot (much more consistent than going for the head).
Bonus tip, the best way to dodge a Scorcher's flamethrower is to go prone for about a second as it sweeps you with the flame (don't dive as it will usually hit you). This usually lets you completely avoid getting hit and being prone immediately puts out any fire DoT in case you get clipped.

[tractordriver]

Thanks, I can avoid war striders.

[strav2]

Before the war strider was added my team loved running flamethrower and gas dog against rushdown, wear the heavy inflammable armor and you can just laugh at the hulk scorchers while burning everything. its probably the only time a flamethrower is viable against the bots

[SpookiiSpirit]

This explains SOO much about how the spawning works. Glad to have this on hand.

[Eris]

Very interesting, thanks a lot

[Δ gundammarine Γ]

Glad to finally see this

[Cyclo]

Things have changed. I've mapped a few of them on the bug front:

Nursery - Evac Personell ICBM Flag
Jumping - Intel Oil
Armored - Intel Mining
Spewers - Eggs ICBM
Light Bugs - Evac Personell Mining

[μuKnew]

Also, a visual for the distribution of enemies, like @Cyclo's below would be fantastic to put at the top of the guide for quick reference.

[μuKnew]

Thanks for making/updating this. I'll be back soon for the new squid data. Also, its mentioned in the "event" spawns that variant enemies replace the normal ones. Makes sense for Predator Hunters, but what do Predator Stalkers replace? I'm pretty sure I've seen everything on those except Spewers, and maybe Bile Grunts.

[Cyclo]

I took the liber-tea to update this graph for ease of use

https://ibb.co/bMrzStYh [/url]

[Angarvin]

thx for updating this