How to deal with Chargers in Helldivers 2
Chargers are a formidable enemy in Helldivers 2, so you'll need to learn how to dispatch them quickly. Here are some of our favourite methods of dealing with them.
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Chargers are causing everyone trouble in Helldivers 2, and it's not always easy to know how to deal with them.
Best ways to deal with Chargers
Flamethrower
As of patch 01.000.100, the best method for taking out Chargers is the Flamethrower. Its damage per second has been buffed by 50%, allowing you to spray fire all over the creature for some high damage.
The best part of the Flamethrower is that it ignores the Charger's armour, letting you melt the enemy from all sides. I found that several seconds of concentrated fire (especially if you just aim at their exposed backside) would quickly take out a Charger.
Railgun
Despite the nerfs to the Railgun, it's also still one of the best for taking out this pesky bug, but you need to use it on Unsafe Mode. To do this, hold the reload button with the Railgun equipped, and select the other mode.
You can then hold the fire button to charge a shot, just be careful not to hold it for more than a couple of seconds, or you'll explode. Aim at the Charger's leg with the Railgun, and a couple of shots will take off its shin armour fully, allowing you and your teammates to dump ammo into the weak point.
Shooting its butt
Chargers are armoured up, but they have an exposed behind that you can shoot to deal high damage. Any weapon here will work, but I prefer higher power guns like the Autocannon, Anti-Material Rifle, or Recoilless Rifle, as they will quickly drop it.
For this method, you ideally need a person on distraction duty by getting the Charger to run at them and expose their butt to other players. Take advantage of its low mobility if you're in this role by diving out of its way or running past it at the last second.
Shooting its head
Patch 1.000.102 made a change to the Chargers that now makes them easier to kill with the Recoilless Rifle or EAT-17. Essentially, the health for their head has been lowered, meaning a well-placed shot to the face from one of these weapons will kill it in a single blow.
Hitting a Charger's head isn't easy though, as they have heavy armour surrounding it, meaning you have to try and aim slightly under them. I've discovered that when they charge, a portion of their animation will expose the head briefly, so you can take the risk of dealing with them as they run right at you for the best chance.
Stratagems
Of course, you can also rely on some of the more powerful Stratagems for taking out Chargers. I personally recommend the Orbital Laser when you need to deal with two or more of them.
The Orbital Railcannon Strike can also take the back armour off a Charger, but it comes at the cost of a high cooldown.
Any Charger caught in the radius of the Eagle 500KG Bomb will also be vaporised quickly, making it a good option when swarmed.
If you die, you can also use the directional keys while dropping in to use your Hellpod to destroy the Charger. It's hard to execute, but works every time - and is one of the most satisfying ways to deal with it.
About The Author
Hritwik Raj
Hritwik has been writing about video games, manga, and anime for more than 8 years. Some of his favourite games include The Last of Us Part II, Fallout 76, Apex Legends, Genshin Impact, and the Souls series.
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