Helldivers 2 Tips for Defeating Automatons: Beginner Guide

Quick Answer: Focus on weak-point shooting, bring anti-armor tools, keep moving between cover, and learn Automaton patrol behavior. The best early wins come from smart loadouts, fast objective play, and not trying to brawl every bot you see.

Helldivers 2 is a chaotic co-op shooter where the Automaton front punishes sloppy aim, bad positioning, and greedy fights. On Steam, the game is described as a “fast, frantic, and ferocious third-person shooter” Source, and that energy is exactly why new players get overwhelmed by bots so quickly. The good news: once you understand how Automatons think, the battlefield becomes much more manageable.

This beginner guide is built around practical, early-game decisions. You’ll learn what to do in your first hour, what to spend and save, which mistakes to stop making immediately, and how to tell when you’ve graduated from “new recruit” to a teammate who can reliably break Automaton lines. Along the way, we’ll also tie in some real player data: the game’s Metascore is 82/100 across 69 professional reviews Source, and HowLongToBeat reports roughly 32.43 hours for the main story Source. That’s a solid reminder that there’s a lot to learn, but the learning curve is absolutely survivable.

What Makes Automatons Different from Other Enemies?

Automatons are different because they reward precision, cover use, and target prioritization far more than panic firing. Unlike swarming enemies that can be handled by area damage alone, bots often attack from range, call reinforcements, and punish exposed players with lasers, rockets, and heavy armor.

The easiest way to think about Helldivers 2 Tips for Defeating Automatons is this: you are not clearing a zombie horde, you are dismantling a military outpost under fire. That means every encounter has layers. First, you need to survive the patrols. Then you need to stop reinforcement calls. Then you need to crack armored enemies. If you skip any of those layers, the fight spirals.

Here’s what new players usually notice first:

• Small bots can be ignored only if they’re not calling backup.
• Medium enemies punish open ground and bad angles.
• Heavy units like Hulks and tanks demand either anti-armor tools or coordinated team fire.
• Turrets and factories can turn a “simple” objective into a disaster if you don’t respect line of sight.

A beginner often loses fights because they try to “win” every skirmish. That’s the wrong instinct. Against Automatons, winning often means surviving long enough to finish the objective, then leaving before another drop lands. On lower missions, that may mean sniping a few targets and moving on. On harder missions, it can mean smoke, repositioning, and only engaging when the team has an advantage.

Two examples make the difference clear. In an open-field mission, a lone player who fires at every red marker will get pinned by rockets and flanked by patrols. In a mission with good terrain, the same player can use rocks, wrecks, and hill crests to break sightlines, pick off rocket troopers, and then collapse on a fabricator. The enemy type is the same; the result changes because of positioning.

Your First Hour Checklist

Your first hour should be spent unlocking comfort, not chasing perfection. The best first hour in Helldivers 2 is about setting up reliable gear, learning the rhythm of missions, and getting enough practice to stop feeling lost when Automatons start firing back.

1) Finish a few low-difficulty missions first

Start on a difficulty where you can focus on controls, call-ins, and extraction without getting erased every minute. The point is to learn the flow: drop in, complete objectives, call reinforcements, and extract under pressure. A quiet mission against light bots teaches more than a doomed high-difficulty run.

Use those first missions to practice:

• opening the map quickly
• marking targets
• calling stratagems while moving
• reviving teammates safely
• extracting without standing still

If you are playing solo or with randoms, stay disciplined and clear one objective at a time. Two or three small victories are worth more than one messy failure.

2) Test at least one support weapon and one orbitally called option

You should try at least one anti-armor tool and one area-control stratagem as soon as you can. For Automaton beginners, the big lesson is that your primary weapon rarely solves everything.

Good “first test” examples include:

• a support weapon that can damage armor
• a stratagem that clears clustered enemies
• a defensive option that buys time during extraction

Don’t worry about finding the perfect build immediately. Instead, notice which tools let you safely handle rocket troopers, turret emplacements, and armored targets. If a weapon only feels good against trash mobs, it may not be the right pick for the bot front.

3) Practice target priority before chasing kill count

Your kill count is a vanity metric early on. Your real goal is learning what to shoot first. A rookie who kills ten basic enemies but lets a flare go up has basically invited a larger problem.

A strong priority order for the Automaton front is usually:

• enemies calling reinforcements
• ranged threats pressuring the squad
• armored units that can block progress
• nearby objectives and structures

That means one well-placed burst on the right target can be more valuable than emptying a magazine into the nearest machine.

4) Get comfortable with map movement and cover

Move like a soldier who expects incoming fire, not like a hero in an action montage. In your first hour, you should intentionally practice:

• running from rock to rock
• crouching behind terrain before re-peeking
• changing elevation to break enemy aim
• retreating before a fight becomes too dense

Automatons punish players who stand in open terrain. Even a partial wall, broken vehicle, or small hill can be enough to survive a barrage and reset the fight.

5) Spend your early rewards on flexibility

Do not rush into a narrow build on day one. Early rewards should make you more adaptable, not more specialized. If a choice improves your ability to survive, escape, or support the squad, it is probably worth more than a flashy but situational upgrade.

Think of the first hour as your onboarding block. You are not trying to look impressive. You are trying to become difficult to kill.

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Resource Priority Order

You should spend and hoard resources in a way that improves survivability, mission reliability, and long-term unlock freedom. In the early game, the biggest mistake is blowing everything on whichever upgrade sounds coolest instead of the one that helps you survive Automaton pressure.

Early resource priorities at a glance

Priority	What to do	Why it matters vs Automatons	Example choices
1	Unlock dependable combat tools	Lets you answer armor, range, and swarms	Anti-armor support weapon, flexible offensive stratagem
2	Improve survivability and mission control	Helps you stay alive long enough to complete objectives	Defensive stratagems, mobility options
3	Save for ship upgrades or broad usefulness	Keeps your account flexible as difficulty rises	Modules or upgrades that help the whole squad
4	Spend on niche fun only after basics	Prevents early regret	Specialized builds, joke setups, niche loadouts

The most important early principle is this: don’t hoard so much that you never improve, but don’t spend so fast that you lock yourself into weak gear. A good beginner should always be asking, “Will this help me beat bots more reliably next mission?”

What to spend first

Spend first on tools that give you answers to common bot problems. That means weapons and stratagems that help you deal with armored enemies, suppress firing lines, and escape bad situations. If you repeatedly die to rockets or get stalled by armored targets, your next unlock should be something that directly solves that problem.

Good examples of “first spend” logic:

• if Hulks are ending your runs, prioritize anti-armor
• if patrols keep overwhelming you, prioritize area denial
• if you die while trying to extract, prioritize mobility or defensive support

What to hoard early

Hoard anything that is hard to replace or takes a while to rebuild. If your game has currencies or materials that are slower to earn, don’t burn them on a cosmetic impulse or a tiny upgrade. Beginners often regret spending valuable resources on something they barely use.

Also, keep some flexibility in your loadout economy. If you unlock a great support weapon but never have the resources to pair it with a useful stratagem, your build may feel incomplete. Saving with a purpose is better than saving forever.

What to avoid buying first

Avoid buying into “looks cool” upgrades that do not solve a real battlefield issue. A flashy pick can be fun later, but early on you need consistency. If an upgrade only helps one very specific situation, it is probably a second-wave purchase, not a first-wave one.

A practical spending rule:

• buy reliability first
• buy versatility second
• buy style last

That rule is especially important on the Automaton front, where one bad engagement can snowball into multiple drops and a failed objective.

Common Mistakes New Helldivers Make

Common beginner mistakes usually come from treating Automatons like a generic shooter enemy instead of a tactical problem. Once you see the pattern, the fixes are straightforward.

1) Shooting the nearest enemy instead of the most dangerous one

Players do this because pressure makes the closest threat feel urgent. The fix is to train your eyes on reinforcements, ranged units, and armored targets first, even if that means ignoring a nearby basic bot for a second.

2) Fighting in the open

New players often stand still because they want better aim or a cleaner shot. The fix is to move from cover to cover, use terrain breaks, and reposition after each major exchange.

3) Saving stratagems “for later”

Beginners hold their strongest tools too long and die with them unused. The fix is to deploy stratagems early when a fight is starting to go bad, especially if you are about to be pinned by rockets or swarmed during an objective.

4) Ignoring patrols until they call backup

A lot of failed runs begin with “just one patrol.” The fix is to clear or avoid patrols before they become a full reinforcement problem, especially when you are near an objective or extraction.

5) Carrying a loadout with no answer to armor

Players love weapons that feel good against weak enemies. The fix is to always bring at least one reliable answer to armored Automaton threats, even if your favorite primary handles basic enemies better.

6) Staying after the objective is effectively done

Beginners often keep fighting because the screen is still busy. The fix is to complete the task, then leave. On the bot front, the smartest move is often “mission complete, disengage.”

7) Reviving without checking the angle

A teammate can be revived into a rocket lane, turret line, or patrol sightline. The fix is to scan for incoming fire and reposition before you commit to the revive.

These mistakes are common because the game constantly tempts you into hero behavior. Against Automatons, hero behavior gets you killed. Disciplined behavior gets you extracted.

Common Mistakes

This section breaks the same problem from a practical “what it looks like in real matches” angle so you can catch it faster.

• Overfocusing on kills instead of objectives
  Why it happens: shooters train players to chase combat momentum.
  Fix: watch the objective timer and move after the area is secured.

• Using explosives too close to the team
  Why it happens: panic throws and crowded fight spaces.
  Fix: call out your throw or fire from a safer angle before dropping ordnance.

• Ignoring the minimap and reinforcements
  Why it happens: tunnel vision during firefights.
  Fix: glance at the map before every major push and after every call-in.

• Running a “solo hero” mentality in co-op
  Why it happens: players assume they can carry with aim alone.
  Fix: pair roles—one player clears, one handles armor, one supports extraction.

• Failing to resupply before a big push
  Why it happens: optimism and impatience.
  Fix: top off ammo, stims, and support gear before the next objective.

Pro Tips

These tips go beyond beginner basics and make a real difference once you’re already surviving the first wave of mistakes.

Tip 1. Use terrain like a weapon

If you’re being pressured by rocket fire, move over a ridge or behind a wreck so enemies lose sightlines. A small change in elevation can save a mission.

Tip 2. Bait patrols into bad angles

When a patrol is approaching an objective, reposition so they walk into your team’s line of fire instead of yours. This is especially useful near fabricators and defended terminals.

Tip 3. Keep one “panic button” ready

Always leave one stratagem or support tool available for the moment the mission goes sideways. If you spend everything at the first sign of resistance, you’ll have nothing left for extraction.

Tip 4. Reload after the fight, not during the rush

If you can safely disengage for two seconds, reload before the next wave hits. Against Automatons, fighting with an almost-empty magazine is how people get trapped.

Tip 5. Learn when to disengage from Heavy units

A Hulk or similarly dangerous unit is not always a must-kill in the moment. Sometimes the better play is to break contact, finish the objective, and let the squad handle it from a stronger position.

Tip 6. Bring at least one teammate-friendly tool

If your team already has strong offense, bring something that protects the squad: smoke, defenses, or something that buys time. Coordination matters more than personal highlight clips.

Graduation Threshold

You are out of the beginner phase when you can survive Automaton pressure without freezing, support the squad with purpose, and reliably complete missions on your chosen difficulty. In other words, you graduate when your decisions become repeatable instead of lucky.

A few signs tell you clearly that you’ve moved past the true beginner stage:

• you know which enemies must die first
• you can call stratagems while moving under pressure
• you no longer panic at the first patrol
• you understand when to fight and when to disengage
• you can adapt your loadout to the mission instead of using one setup everywhere

Concrete examples help here. If you can handle a bot mission where a flare call goes up and still keep the squad on track, that’s progress. If you can revive a teammate without creating a chain death, that’s progress. If you can see a dangerous lane, move out of it, and finish the objective anyway, that’s real growth.

A useful milestone is when you stop asking “Why did we die?” and start asking “What did we fail to prioritize?” That shift is huge. Beginner players react to the chaos. Intermediate players shape it.

For many players, the first “I get it now” moment happens after a string of cleaner extractions. Not because the game became easy, but because they learned the bot front’s rhythm: spot the threat, use cover, spend tools early enough, and leave before the board floods.

Related Guides

These next-step guides are the best follow-up once you’re comfortable with the basics and want to specialize your Helldiver.

• helldivers 2 get tips Automaton Counter Builds for Early Players
• related guide Best Starter Stratagems for Helldivers 2
• helldivers 2 available tips Helldivers 2 Difficulty Progression Walkthrough
• related guide Best Weapons for Fighting Automatons
• a new enemy faction Helldivers 2 Beginner Loadout Tier List
• related guide How to Extract Safely in Helldivers 2
• legendary warbond release date Mission Walkthrough: Automaton Strongholds
• related guide Solo vs Co-op Early Game Guide

FAQ

What is the best beginner strategy against Automatons?

The best beginner strategy is to fight from cover, kill reinforcement callers first, and bring at least one tool that handles armor. If you do those three things, your success rate jumps fast.

Should I fight every Automaton patrol I see?

No. Fight patrols only when they threaten your route, objective, or extraction. If you can bypass them safely, do it.

What kind of weapons work best against bots?

Weapons that can handle ranged pressure and armored targets tend to feel best. A balanced primary plus an anti-armor support option is usually safer than a pure crowd-clear setup.

Why do I keep dying to rockets?

You’re probably staying in the open too long or not breaking line of sight soon enough. Move behind terrain, reposition after each exchange, and don’t linger in obvious firing lanes.

When should I move up to harder missions?

Move up when you can consistently complete missions without panicking, when you understand target priority, and when your loadout has an answer for armored enemies.

Sources

• https://store.steampowered.com/app/553850/
• https://www.metacritic.com/game/helldivers-2
• https://howlongtobeat.com/?q=helldivers2

See also

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