Omens of Tyranny update in Helldivers 2 opens up a whole new world of challenges, and you have to fight your way through the new faction enemies to liberate Calypso and help reform the planet. With the new faction, you should be aware of what you are going up against. Lovingly nicknamed as the Squids, this group of aliens are the third faction introduced in Helldivers 2.
They were known to be defeated during the First War, but, in reality, they were just pushed away for a hundred years. Now, they have made a comeback, so you need to learn everything there is to know about the Illuminate and how to defeat them in Helldivers 2
All Enemy Types In The Illuminate Faction Explained
The Illuminates mostly reside in the urban settlements of Calypso, so you might encounter them in the cramped spaces of the city. There are four major enemy types you will encounter during your exploration.
Voteless
These humanoid Illuminate enemies were once humans who have been mutated by them. They resemble mutated zombies and have a single track mind to hunt you down. Voteless are not the most challenging enemies around if you single them out, but as a group, they can be quite intimidating and overpowering. But any heavy duty assault rifle or SMG will do the trick to thin down the numbers.
Overseers
Think of the Overseers as the advanced form of the Voteless. These humanoid enemies come with weapons, be it spears, rifles, or even jetpacks and shields. There are two types, the regular melee Overseers and the Elevated Overseer. The Overseers can spam their energy shield to get away from your attacks, while the Elevated Overseers have jetpacks to fly away and deal long ranged attacks. The only way to take care of them quickly is to use laser rifles or weapons that inflict shock to drain their shield or stun them. Follow that up with some headshots and you are good to go.
Watchers
Watchers are the scouts of the Illuminate, and they will single you out with a purple light when they spot you. While this may seem harmless, the true gravity of the situation will unfold quickly. These purple beams are beacons for the Illuminate dropships to easily locate you and send hordes of enemies to your locations. The Watcher may also shock or send out projectiles to you to keep you in place, which may not deal a lot of damage but is a pain nevertheless. To defeat them, aim for their central eye and fire.
Harvesters
The largest and most intimidating aliens that the Illuminates have, Harvesters are more brutal than all other enemies under their faction. These beings are covered in heavy-duty armor, and they also have a regenerating shield that is difficult to get rid of. If they spot you, they will shoot a laser beam from their eye. In case you are unfortunate enough to get trapped within their shield, then you will be shocked to oblivion.
Lasers and cannons are the only answers to break the shield, then focus on hitting the central eye and main body. The Harvester’s shield will regenerate if you don’t attack it fast enough, so timing is key here. If you are short of time, just go ahead with the Orbital Precision Strike to finish things off.
How To Beat Illuminates Warpships In Helldivers 2
Your first encounters with the Illuminates are while they descend their warp ships. There are two kinds, the grounded warp ships and the flying warp ships. Both ship types will have a high level of immunity and a shield. To get rid of the shield, focus on using weapons with high magazine capacity, so any primary weapon like the MG-43 Machine Gun will work. You will know you are dealing enough damage to the shield if you find it turning purple from blue. The longer you attack the shield, the faster the shield will disintegrate.
As for the Flying Warpships, which will shoot laser beams from the circular bay door, they are almost immune to any damage dealt to their body. So your task here is to shoot at the bay door, and any rocket launcher like the LAS-99 Quasar Cannon can make quick work of them. Activating SEAF SAM Sites will also quickly deter any Flying Warp Ships, so activate them quickly when you get the chance. Now, with both Warp Ships, wait for the doors to open and drop a couple of grenades to destroy the ship. Or just drop an Orbital Rail Cannon Strike to bypass the hassle of destroying the ships manually.
How To Beat Illuminate Aliens in Helldivers 2
The Voteless and Overseers can be easily tackled with just about any weapon. Anti-Material Rifles, Recoilless Rifles, or even the Autocannon and Grenade Launcher can help with crowd control. The LAS-98 Laser Cannon is best for dealing with the Watchers, as you require precision to hit their central eye. But Watchers can also be easily avoided, as their tracking radius is not huge. Hide between the buildings to evade them, then shoot them down to get rid of them.
The only thing you need to be wary of are the Harvesters. Make them drop their shield using any grenade launcher or Expendable Anti-Tank, then aim for the body and eye. Luckily, their body armor isn’t quite as strong as the rest of them, so you can quickly chip away at it with a Recoilless Rifle. Best is to use the Laser Cannon and aim for the eye before it has time to regenerate its shield. If all else fails, just use the Orbital Rail Cannon Strike to get rid of everything within your radius. If you are looking for a quicker way to get away from the Illuminate, then you can check out our Fast Recon Vehicle guide to know how to own one in Helldivers 2.
