In Helldivers 2, the Illuminate have their energy shields, armor, and massive hordes of zombies, which means that weapons for Terminids and Automatons won’t do. After much testing, we’ve found the absolute best loadouts that you and your squad should bring on every Illuminate mission to prepare for their next assault.
Ideal Weapons and Stratagem Loadouts
The Illuminate faction has a different way of engaging targets, not requiring extreme range like the Automatons or pure area denial like the Terminids. Instead, you’ll need to bring a balanced loadout of rapid-fire and high-damage explosive weapons to kill Overseers and Harvesters fast. Here are a couple of suggested loadouts to bring:
- Exploding Crossbow / P-19 Redeemer / Impact Grenade / Eagle Strafing Run / Orbital Railcannon / Heavy Machine Gun / Supply Pack
- Breaker Spray and Pray / Grenade Pistol / Stun Grenade / Eagle Strafing Run / Arc Thrower / Jump Pack / Eagle 500kg Bomb
- Las-16 Sickle / P-4 Senator / Thermite Grenade / Eagle Strafing Run / Minigun Turret / Laser Cannon / Guard Dog or Rover
Best Primary Weapons
CB-9 Exploding Crossbow
In Illuminate city maps, the Voteless can easily catch other Helldivers unaware and can even swarm positions faster than the Terminids. The Exploding Crossbow easily takes care of large Voteless groups due to each shot's large blast radius. They can also kill Overseers in a couple of direct hits.
Breaker Spray and Pray
When it comes to clearing out large groups of chaff, the Breaker Spray and Pray will absolutely clear an entire horde of Voteless in just a couple of shots. Since it has a horizontal spread pattern, this weapon can hit multiple targets in a wide angle, clearing the way for you and your squad in swarm situations.
Las-16 Sickle
This weapon is a good alternative to the Breaker Spray and Pray as it has theoretically infinite ammo for dealing with the Voteless while having just enough damage output to kill an Overseer in half your magazine. It may only have 3 magazines, but it’s quite ammo-efficient for the hordes you’ll deal with.
Best Stratagems
Arc Thrower
This support weapon is by far the best one to bring in Illuminate missions, as not only can its chain lightning effect kill hordes of Voteless efficiently, but it has enough armor penetration to hurt the Overseers and even stunlock Harvesters. Since it has infinite ammo, you can run a Guard Dog or a Jet Pack without worrying about resupplying.
Machine Gun / Heavy Machine Gun
While these weapons are obviously made for clearing smaller groups of enemies, they both have more than enough rate of fire and armor penetration to kill Overseers and Harvesters reliably. While reloading them requires you to stand still, these weapons are super consistent for every single unit in the Illuminate faction.
Eagle Strafing Run
With the narrow streets of the new city map, plus the energy shields present in most of the Illuminate structures, the Eagle Strafing Run instantly deletes shields, buying you enough time to destroy a Harvester or an Illuminate encampment with a well-placed explosive. These can also be used to cut through a horde of Voteless since they chase at you in a straight line.
Orbital Railcannon
As always, the Orbital Railcannon is a great offensive Stratagem to use against Harvesters and Illuminate ships, though this comes with the caveat of doing no damage while the shield is up. Always make sure to destroy the Illuminate shields with sustained fire before calling down an Orbital Railcannon.
Laser Cannon
Infinite ammo, heavy armor penetration, and easy ergonomics. The Laser Cannon is a multitool for the Illuminate front as it can deal with every situation that they can throw at you. It can be used as a horde-clearing weapon since it does enough damage against the Voteless. For Overseers and Harvesters, it also works well against them as long as you can keep your laser on target.
Guard Dog / Guard Dog Rover
These drones are great for dealing with weaker chaff enemies automatically, leaving you more room to worry about the bigger threats in the mission. Both the Guard Dog and its laser variant are good, so it ultimately comes down to your personal preference.
Best Secondary Weapons
P-19 Redeemer
The P-19's extreme rate of fire is its biggest strength since it can delete Illuminate shields in a single burst, buying you enough time to destroy a Harvester or an Illuminate base with your explosive weapons.
GP-31 Grenade Pistol
Like its other explosive siblings, the Grenade Pistol is a versatile weapon. It can clear a group of Voteless in one shot while also having enough demolition force to destroy an Illuminate base by shooting the exposed doorway once its shields are down. If aimed right, the Grenade Pistol can dispatch Overseers well, though it won’t have much use against Harvesters.
P-4 Senator
This revolver is one of the best weapons against the Overseer units, as its solid damage and medium armor penetration value make it far easier to land body shot kills on them rather than aiming for their unarmored joints.
