Diving into the gloom in Helldivers 2 has introduced many divers to an even more fearsome Terminids that are a threat. From the Dragonroach that functions as a flying Bile Titan, to the burrowing Chargers, there are quite a few new enemies that will catch you off guard. But the biggest monster to show its face is the Hive Lord.
Hive Lord Attacks
While the Hive Lord is quite big, it moves surprisingly fast.
This massive worm will seem unkillable when you first encounter it, shrugging off everything you throw at it if you come unprepared. But this creature is killable, and when you are prepared for a drawn-out fight, you can take it down regularly when you know how to fight it. The first thing you’ll need to know is that the Hive Lord only has a few means to attack your squad of Helldivers.
- Emergence — When the Hive Lord emerges from the ground, it will create a ripple effect near its point of entry that will knock Helldivers and vehicles back. Potentially causing fall damage if you haven’t escaped the path. This can also launch debris into the air that will hit anything and everything in its path. Keep an eye out for the sky and the ground when the Hive Lord emerges from the ground.
- Burrow — The Hive Lord won’t stay in one position for the entire fight, frequently diving back into the earth after a certain amount of time has passed. If you are caught in its path, your squad can suffer deaths or devastating damage from this overgrown worm.
- Body Slam — This move will occur when you see the Hive Lord rear its head upwards into the sky, slamming into the ground. Reading the attack is quite hard if you are under pressure from other units, but the direction it is facing when it starts the animation will typically be where the body slam will land.
- Acid Spray — Emerging from the ground, the Hive Lord will roar before moving its head back and forth, spitting acid in a massive area in front of it. Hiding behind any cover will protect you from this attack, and getting closer to the Hive Lord will keep you safe. But if you don’t move quickly after the attack has finished, you will be in danger because of the sheer size of the worm.
Dealing With The Hive Lord
You’re going to need some big guns and bigger explosives.
The safest and best way to ensure your escape from a Hive Lord is to run deep into the Terminid caves, stopping it from advancing towards your squad. But this isn’t the most democratic and Helldiver approach to taking down the enemies of Super Earth. Hive Lords are also random; sometimes you can do an entire mission set and not see a single Hive Lord, but other times you can see them on every mission. This is entirely up to chance, and you always need to be prepared if you want to take this massive bug down.
First thing to keep in mind is that the Hive Lord has Anti-Tank armor. If you can coordinate with your squad, you’ll want to have all four Helldivers focus on one single carapace on the Hive Lord. The armor will eventually crack, showing you that the damage you’re dealing is affecting the enemy. After enough damage has been done, the armor will be completely liberated, revealing the soft flesh underneath the armor and allowing almost every weapon available to unload into the Hive Lord for consistent damage from all sources.
You will need the strongest explosives and weapons to penetrate its armor and strip it away. One tactic could take the form of several divers bringing Portable Hellbombs, dropping them in front of the worm. Or, in dire situations, sacrificing their bodies to liberate the worm from its armor.
Your support weapons should be classified as an Anti-Tank weapon. The 
GR-8 Recoilless Rifle, 
ML5-4X Commando, 
EAT-17 Expendable Anti-Tank, W.A.S.P. Launcher, 
LAS-99 Quasar Cannon, and 
FAF-14 Spear can all get the job done in this aspect. However, the 
RS-422 Railgun is also in this classification, but since it is a double-edged sword to make the most out of the weapon, it can be quite hard for Helldivers to use the weapon under pressure without it backfiring and killing the diver. As support weapons, the Anti-Tank weapons will help you deal consistent damage to the Hive Lord's armor as you continue the fight.
You can also use grenades if you're up close and personal with this massive behemoth of a bug, but most won't be able to do much to the armor itself. However, if you do have the 
G-123 Thermite Grenade from the Democratic Detonation Warbond, you'll be able to do some intense damage to the Hive Lord's armor to help strip it away. This grenade is also perfect for taking on every tank enemy in the game, sticking to them and providing a burning proc before it detonates to deal 2,000 damage to the enemy. It is a fantastic choice for this fight, and with the right armor equipped, you can get up to 5 for a combined 10,000 damage on the Hive Lord if these are utilized properly.
Support Statagems to Bring To the Hive Lord
Exosuits are quite possibly one of the best and most reliable ways to help strip down the Hive Lord’s armor, with the 
Exo-49 Emancipator Exosuit being the most consistent across the board on damage done to the beast. If two squad members have one of these Exosuits, you enable your squad to bring even more Anti-Tank measures to aid in armor stripping. If all four Helldivers have an Exosuit, you may be in a better spot for this encounter, but it is not a guarantee of success.
Bringing sentry turrets is a solid strategy as well, with the 
A/MLS-4X Rocket Sentry and 
A/AC-8 Autocannon Sentry being very good at dealing with Anti-Tank armor classifications. However, these turrets have a hard time focusing on the Hive Lord if more enemies enter the area. These are also quite unsafe if any of your squad are in the way of the turrets and their targets, possibly killing any diver caught in the path of destruction. Bringing an Anti-Tank Emplacement will not only fill this same role as the sentries, but also allow the entire team to use it if the original diver has to escape. This stratagem is perfect, but completely stationary, so you’ll need to exercise caution when using it regularly against a Hive Lord.
In terms of Orbital and Eagle stratagems to bring into the fight against a Hive Lord, you’ll need to know a few things. Almost all of these can work quite well, with many being very good at providing support while more hordes of Terminids try to interrupt your fight. Many of the more direct call-ins don’t work quite as intended against a Hive Lord, unfortunately. Eagle 1 won’t directly engage with this worm due to the need to keep their craft airworthy, so 
Eagle 500Kg Bomb aren’t an option unless you correctly predict where the Hive Lord will be.
The 
Orbital Railcannon Strike has a hard time determining whether to attack the Hive Lord or the approaching smaller enemies. These stratagems, as well as many that occupy the same role, are all quite inconsistent when fighting a Hive Lord and should be used as a means of supporting the squad through incoming Terminid spawns while fighting the Hive Lord.
Fighting a Hive Lord is a test of a Helldiver’s sheer determination and willpower. Many will die in the pursuit of the absolute liberation of the planet they are found on. But with the right support weapons and vehicles, you can provide overwhelming firepower to strip away a Hive Lord’s armor and focus fire with any weapon imaginable on the soft flesh underneath the armor. You will need to be quick, saving stamina to escape the wide and devastating attacks that will be thrown your way. This tyrant will interrupt any objectives that it possibly can, so you will need to quickly complete them before engaging with the Hive Lord or outright attacking it and finishing it off before you commit to your main objectives.
Helldivers 2
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OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 83/100 Critics Rec: 91%
- Released
- February 8, 2024
- ESRB
- Mature 17+ / Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, In-Game Purchases, Users Interact
- Developer(s)
- Arrowhead Game Studios, Nixxes
- Publisher(s)
- Sony Interactive Entertainment, PlayStation Publishing
- Engine
- bitsquid
- Multiplayer
- Online Co-Op
- Cross-Platform Play
- All platforms
- Franchise
- Helldivers
- Number of Players
- 1-4 players (online)
- Platform(s)
- PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, PC
- Genre(s)
- Third-Person Shooter, Extraction Shooter, Action, Science Fiction
- Metascore
- 83
- Platforms That Support Crossplay
- PC & PS5
- PS Plus Availability
- Extra & Premium
- OpenCritic Rating
- Strong
