Annihilator Tanks are among the most dangerous enemies you can encounter in Automaton-based missions. If you have a Personal Order that requires you to take them out, you’ll need all the help you can get. These bad boys don’t appear unless you’re playing a higher-difficulty mission.
If you need help finding or how to kill them, fret not, Helldiver—we’ll walk you through the particulars below.
What is the Annihilator Tank Helldivers 2?
Annihilator Tanks are part of the Automaton faction and only appear in Bot missions from Hard difficulties and up. They only become common in Extreme difficulties, though, so doing those missions is the quickest way to find them. Ideally, you’d want the Eradicate missions, where the goal is to wipe out waves of Automatons in quick succession. Before long, you’ll likely see an Annihilator Tank. The tank has two weapons: an explosive artillery cannon and a front-facing light machine gun.
If all you’re after is to complete a Daily Order, we recommend sticking to Hard missions only since they’re the easiest to complete. While there are rare encounters at that difficulty level, the rumor is that you can improve the odds of them appearing by having multiple players accompany you.
Is There More Than One Helldivers 2 Tank?
There are two types of tanks you might go up against. The Annihilator Tanks can be identified as being flatter with a longer gun barrel. Meanwhile, the Shredder Tanks are taller and have a machine gun instead of a main cannon. If you see a tank from afar and are unsure what it is, you can ping it and bring up its name.
How to Kill Annihilator Tanks Helldivers 2
Compared to the Hulks, the Annihilator Tanks in Helldivers 2 are your biggest enemies while doing Bot missions. Like the Terminid’s Bile Titans, they’re heavily armored and not easy to gun down. However, they have very little health, and it’s possible to take one out quickly if you know what you’re doing. Here are some tips to help you kill an Annihilator Tank:
Use Heavy Hitting Explosive Stratagems
Heavy explosive Stratagems like the Expendable Anti-Tank, Eagle 500KG bombs, Railcannon Strikes, and Orbital Lasers are necessary for taking down an Annihilator Tank. Normal weapons that you have on your Primary and Secondary won’t deal any damage. As long as you have any Stratagems that are anti-armor or fire explosive rounds, they should work. The Eagle Rocket Pods and Orbital Precision Strike are another excellent choice for massive targets. You can even use them when fighting bugs—specifically, the Bile Titan.
Hit the Weak Point
Chances are you’ll have to chip away at the tank to destroy it once all your Stratagems are on cooldown. Fortunately, the Annihilator Tank has a weak point: the glowing vents on its back. This is also the soft spot of the Shredder Tank. You can destroy them quickly by focusing fire on the heat sinks that glow orange on the back of the main turret. You’ll still need to use weapons that have armor penetration capabilities, so we recommend carrying the Anti-Materiel Rifle or Railgun.
The turret of the Annihilator Tank is said to be weaker compared to the Shredder Tank too, so definitely aim your Eagle Rocket Pods, grenades, and other explosives that make things go boom there. Don’t bother shooting the body. Another way to get to the vents is by climbing on top of the tank. If you're on top of it, it can no longer hit you with its machine gun or cannon. You can drop a Sentry on its head to confuse it, but it would be a waste if you could just spray bullets onto its glowing bits quick enough.
Once you’ve dealt enough damage, smoke and fire will come from its vents. It’ll be downed soon if you keep at it a little longer. However, since the tanks explode upon death, get out before it happens.
Find Cover
If the Annihilator Tank clearly sees you, you’re seconds away from death. The main cannon is more than capable of killing a Helldiver in a single shot. Ensure you have a sturdy cover in front of you to resist the explosive effects. While that’s happening, you can advise another player to draw in the aggro from the tank so you can get a shot to its weakspot. Since other Automatons are shooting at you at this point, clear out a few of them before taking out the tank.
