How to kill Chargers in Helldivers 2
Killing Chargers in Helldivers 2 requires patience, speed and firepower
Helldivers 2 Chargers are some of the toughest bugs out there, and the recurring personal order to kill four Chargers is easier said than done. Covered in thick plate armor at the front and sides, Charger hurl themselves headlong at Helldivers, sending them flying and tanking all shots head-on like they're nothing. Killing Chargers for the personal order - or for fun - will require you to be smarter than them, at least assuming you don't have ridiculous firepower to hand. if the Chargers are trampling you more often than you'd prefer, here's how to kill Chargers in Helldivers 2, whether you have heavy firepower or not.
How to kill four Chargers in Helldivers 2
There are actually several ways to kill a Helldivers 2 Charger quite quickly, but their heavy armor means you need specific Stratagems to do so. After a recent patch, the best way to kill a Charger is to fire one Recoilless Rifle or Expanedable Anti-Tank rocket at its head. Aim at its mouth, which is usually quite visible between its front legs and all the armor plating, and you should blow its head off, killing it instantly.
Alternatively, you can fire three or four charged and unsafe Railgun shots at its head to bring it down reasonably fast. Continuously torching it for several seconds with the Flamethrower can also bring a Charger down quite quickly. It's good against all Helldivers 2 Terminids and is surprisingly effective against Chargers since it can get past their armor, fitting nicely in one of the best Helldivers 2 builds for killing bugs.
As for Offensive Stratagems, the Orbital Railcannon Strike can kill a Charger in one shot, and well-placed Eagle 500kg Bombs or Orbital Precision Strikes can also obliterate them. If the bomb or similar Stratagems aren't quite enough to kill a Helldivers 2 Charger, it will almost certainly gouge a chunk out of their back carapace or front legs, exposing a weak point of orange flesh that you can focus on with just primary weapons.
If all of the specialist gear mentioned above is on cooldown or not even in your loadout, focus all your firepower on the Charger's unarmored abdomen section at the back. To do this, get the Charger to charge at you and dive to the side at the very last second so it runs past you, then shoot the exposed section at the back.
These big bugs still have a lot of health even when shooting that area, so you might need to get up and repeat this process a few times, depending on whether you have the best Helldivers 2 weapons equipped. Of course, it goes without saying that teams of Helldivers don't have to do the whole matador routine, as one character can lure the Charger while somebody else shoots it.
Here are some other facts about Chargers in Helldivers 2 that'll help you deal with them:
- You cannot outrun a Charger, especially in a straight line. Be aware of their surprisingly tight turning circle too.
- Once the weak spot at the back bursts, they'll start taking bleed damage and die within a minute - though continuing to shoot that spot will speed up the process.
- Shooting the armored sections with weapons that cannot penetrate the armor (looks for the shield deflection icon) won't hurt the Charger and cause ricochets that risk hitting everybody nearby - though that includes enemies.
- If they run headlong into a wall when charging, they'll be briefly stunned. See if you can bait them into doing so.
- Using Incendiary attacks on a weak spot can set them ablaze for long-term damage.
- If you see a Charger before it sees you, start the fight with armor-breaking attacks or any of the best Helldivers 2 Stratagems for cracking armor.
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Joel Franey is a writer, journalist, podcaster and raconteur with a Masters from Sussex University, none of which has actually equipped him for anything in real life. As a result he chooses to spend most of his time playing video games, reading old books and ingesting chemically-risky levels of caffeine. He is a firm believer that the vast majority of games would be improved by adding a grappling hook, and if they already have one, they should probably add another just to be safe. You can find old work of his at USgamer, Gfinity, Eurogamer and more besides.
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