Helldivers 2: Top Illuminate Loadouts

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• The Laser Cannon Loadout: Melting the Illuminate

• The Lightning Loadout: Shocking (& Staggering) the Illuminate

• The Machine Gun Loadout: Shredding the Illuminate

The Illuminate, in Helldivers 2, are a serious threat. Their advanced tech and overwhelming numbers make them a formidable foe. While you're dealing with their lighter units, their elite forces will be closing in from all directions. Victory hinges on strategic loadouts that exploit their weaknesses and mitigate their strengths.

Effective Illuminate combat requires a balanced approach. You need weapons and stratagems that handle both the swarms of weaker enemies and the heavily armored units. Neglecting either will leave your strategy vulnerable.

This guide outlines top-tier loadouts for tackling the Illuminate, catering to both seasoned veterans and newcomers. Let's equip ourselves and face the challenge head-on.

The Laser Cannon Loadout: Melting the Illuminate

The PLAS-101 Purifier and PLAS-1 Scorcher are top-tier primary weapons in Helldivers 2. They decimate Overseers, including the airborne Elevated units, and are equally effective against the Voteless. The Siege-Ready armor passive boosts ammo and reload speed, ensuring you're always ready for multiple targets. The increased DPS is invaluable when every shot counts.

The Eagle Strafing Run and GP-31 Grenade Pistol combo is devastating against warp ships. Energy weapons struggle against their shields, but a single Strafing Run obliterates them, leaving the open bay doors vulnerable to grenades. This is crucial for clearing larger Illuminate nests. While the G-13 Incendiary Impact works well against swarms, the Grenade Pistol is better for targeting warp ships.

The AX/AR-23 "Guard Dog" surprisingly excels against medium-armored Overseers. Each burst takes down an elite unit, making it excellent for flank protection.

The A/MG-43 Machine Gun Sentry secures areas during objective defense. If crowd control isn't paramount, the Orbital Laser can target Harvesters or future heavy units.

The LAS-98 Laser Cannon is the cornerstone of this loadout. It melts Overseers and chaff, and is highly effective against Harvesters (use a Strafing Run to strip shields first, then target weak points). Its long range lets you pick off targets from afar.

On higher difficulties (levels 9-10) with multiple Harvesters, the Orbital Laser becomes essential.

The Lightning Loadout: Shocking (& Staggering) the Illuminate

The Illuminate's mix of melee and ranged units makes the ARC-12 Blitzer and ARC-3 Arc Thrower ideal. Both handle chaff effectively, but the Arc Thrower's staggering effect renders Overseers nearly helpless. Repeated attacks can perma-stun airborne Overseers.

The Arc Thrower can also damage unshielded Harvesters, although it takes multiple hits.

The A/ARC-3 Tesla Tower is exceptionally effective against all Illuminate types, especially flying Overseers. Its crowd control and disruption capabilities make managing large waves easier.

Combine the Arc Thrower and Tesla Tower for widespread lightning attacks. Prioritize targeting priority enemies with the Arc Thrower to protect your Tesla Tower.

Harvesters often target sentries, so conserve your sentry stratagems if engaged with them.

The Eagle Strafing Run and Grenade Pistol are still essential for warp ships, as the Blitzer and Arc Thrower are inefficient against their shields.

For heavy units, the Orbital Railcannon Strike is excellent due to unlimited uses. The Orbital Laser is effective against multiple Harvesters, but its limited uses make it less reliable. Remember to use a Strafing Run to disable shields first. This is a powerful build, especially with team coordination.

The Machine Gun Loadout: Shredding the Illuminate

The MG-43 Machine Gun is incredibly versatile against the Illuminate. It shreds light and medium units, and is effective against Harvesters. Compared to the MG-206, it offers better handling and faster infantry takedowns.

Its balance of power and reliability makes it a true jack-of-all-trades. Use the Engineering Kit to reduce recoil or Peak Physique to reduce drag for easier targeting of airborne units.

Its high fire rate is effective at stripping shields, negating the need for the Eagle Strafing Run against warp ships. Choose either turret sentry to control crowds or defend objectives.

The Machine Gun's only weakness is its stationary reload. The LIFT-850 Jump Pack helps repositioning.

While the Machine Gun handles Harvesters well (target weak points), an Orbital stratagem is helpful for multiple heavies. The Orbital Laser can handle several shielded Harvesters, while the Railcannon Strike is effective against unshielded ones.

For the primary weapon, the StA-52 Assault Rifle (from the Killzone 2 crossover) offers sustained fire with high magazine capacity.