You’ve got a new mission in Helldivers 2: kill 15 Devastators. I truly hope your sleep has been restful lately, but if you have (like me) been doing your part in the campaign against the Automatons at Malevelon Creek… let’s be honest, it’s unlikely you’ve slept well. While the basic Automatons (which are legally distinct from the T-800 model) are nothing to sneeze at, it’s the arrival of the Devastators and other, heavier, robotic enemies that make this Helldiver start to sweat. Here’s where to find Devastators in Helldivers 2 and how to kill them.

What are Devastators?

Devastators are the more heavily armored Automatons that comprise the first escalation from the standard, skeletal versions. They have armor plating that covers everything except their glowing red faces. They typically have a basic automatic rifle weapon in one hand, so their main threat is that their bodies are resistant to standard weapon fire.

It is important to note that the larger, chainsaw-handed automatons do not count as Devastators, so focus on the standard, smaller, armor-plated versions if you are fulfilling a Personal Order.

Where can you find them?

If you are on the Automaton side of the war effort, you can find them anywhere. They are the second type of enemy you’ll find, and they often come to reinforce many of the smaller robots in Bot Drops, or just patrolling around the planet.

Any planet in a red zone will be open to you if you want to hunt Devastators, and Malevelon Creek is certainly the most famous of them. While you can occasionally find them on Trivial difficulty, they can be found in large numbers on Defend missions on easy difficulty and higher.

Combat Strategies

Devastators have two weaknesses I like to exploit. They are weak to being shot in the face (a weakness shared by many of the enemies of freedom) and you can also shoot them in the waist to cause them to quickly fall apart. I tend to use the Breaker automatic shotgun from the free Warbond to make quick work of them, but you can use all kinds of weapons, including grenade launchers and other explosive or armor-piercing weapons (like the excellent Anti-Material Rifle).

If you are going in solo, I highly recommend bringing the best Helldivers 2 Stratagems like a Guard Dog ‘Rover’ to help you out, as well as the Gatling Sentry, Machine Gun Sentry, and Mortar Sentry. Place them in high locations and they’ll cover you, making extracting the civilians much easier (so long as they don’t get blown up or shot in ‘friendly fire’ mishaps).