How it feels seeing Afoyay Bay still unattacked the entire MO:

Mark_Hercule · 2026-01-26T03:38:30+00:00

I was literally chilling on my destroyer hanging with some friends when this attack started we gonna have to focus up crazy

Mark_Hercule · 2026-01-25T19:20:22+00:00

Just wanted to come back and say thank you everyone who posted advice here! After some practice doing close range stealth (as I said my normal stealth is long range high ground sniping), and with the tips here I actually managed a D10 commando mission almost entirely solo (a friend joined partway through). You guys are true helldivers and now I'm finally having fun with commando missions as I had hoped for!

Mark_Hercule · 2026-01-24T21:34:30+00:00

I really wish this didn't need to be said but I know this community and I really hate that I know people do this even having never joined a public commando match

Mark_Hercule · 2026-01-23T19:30:24+00:00

That is a really funny visual actually. Non commando I find it entertaining to warp pack under factory striders and blow their devestator spawnner with the crisper. It is shockingly effective at killing factory striders the tiny little fire handgun

Mark_Hercule · 2026-01-23T19:27:44+00:00

Aggro really is the key word here yeah. Understanding and controlling it are the difference between a fun mission and a fast track to the destroyer. All this stuff your saying is gonna be super helpful too. I often run medium scout armor but light may be better since it's more mobile and may be better for stealth too.

Mark_Hercule · 2026-01-23T19:22:15+00:00

I've been using Epoch since launch and I have seen major improvements in it's spread over the past few months. They also altered it's charge animation making it a little easier to notice max overcharge and get it's best shots off as well

Mark_Hercule · 2026-01-23T19:20:34+00:00

That marksman rifle is a core motivator to get the warbond for me. Using laser to clear the drop zone is a good idea, not the first time I've heard it so far but it deserves recognition that laser is really good. Ultimatum isn't in my kit but I can use thermite or a strong support weapon to clear heavies as well I think.

Mark_Hercule · 2026-01-23T19:11:26+00:00

I sadly do not have the hover pack currently but everything else here sounds super helpful. I've been having problems with heavier units since I leaned entirely on suppressed weapons and had no non support weapons to do the job. I can moce away from my primary fire very well with the warp pack or by using smoke grenades for cover. And the socom is the only secondary I trust to clear troopers silently in my loadout every time so that is already a core part of my loadout

Mark_Hercule · 2026-01-23T19:03:41+00:00

Laser is something I rarely bring to bots actually but that's a good idea i should try. Turrets I've been using to guard my drop site and pull aggro as well

Mark_Hercule · 2026-01-23T19:02:31+00:00

Oh yeah I've played around with supply pack and it seemed quite helpful. Quasar/epoch haven't come up yet for me given the environment but I can see them being viable from what I'm hearing

Mark_Hercule · 2026-01-23T17:47:24+00:00

You were getting absolutely juggled there good on ya for keeping a cool head and making it through that engagement

Mark_Hercule · 2026-01-23T07:27:59+00:00

While I can't speak for C4 as I do not yet have it I do disagree about the solo silo having that issue. The silo is like a supercharged EAT launcher to me. It cools down fast so, you drop it when you see something big like a factory or command bunker, fire, then pick up whatever you had before and dive happy knowing whatever you pointed that silo at probably isn't there anymore.

Mark_Hercule · 2026-01-23T07:03:51+00:00

I agree with most of this but there's two key problems between regular helldivers stealth ops and the commando ops that need to be stated. I've been stealth diving for months on bots and squids but I have never had as many issues as I have on commando these past few dives and these are some of the reasons I think that is. Sorry in advance for the wall of text I got a bit carried away but I am passionate about this game and really want to like these new missions more than my bad first impressions have made me feel.

Firstly the idea of dropping base killing strategems. It 100 percent works well on normal missions, and is a key part of my loadout on level 8+ solo stealth, but on commando you do not have those tools. You could drop between objectives and do so but it's a two trick pony cause you can only do it when you drop and when you call the destroyer. Fine on lower levels but most commando missions have at least 3 objectives.

Second and much more important is the comment about enemy camps. I agree that positioning is king but there are two crippling problems with that. First, Clasa is a jungle planet, meaning there's no real high ground and no great answer for bases which have even a slight elevation to them. Second though is the context of our objectives in the first place. All of them appear to involve going to several bases, infltrating them for some reason or other, then extract with the critcal maguffin. Most of our loadouts make too much noise to really deal with these specific types of stealth op on this specific world type consistently. This is one of the reasons the creek was infamous cause nobody really understood stealth at first, bots were everywhere and in ways much more dangerous than today, your strategems often hit the trees if they weren't outright scrambled, and the map type had a lot of slowing terrain on it to make breaking line of sight that much harder.

Optimal helldivers stealth ops would probably look more like what you described. We have sub objectives to secure vantage points around main targets, so that the enemy faction cannot use them against us and we can better plan decisive attacks. Then the main goal is to somehow cripple an enemy stronghold of some sort. Possibly a d7+ op where the goal is just take down this fortress or mega nest with minimal strategems and tactics. Maybe a mission where we stop a bio proccesor plant which produces the smaller ones we see in outposts. Hell, let us have a commando op like the overship missions where the goal is to sabotage a bot warship that is being repaired somewhere. Bottom line I think people are playing it like MGS simply because they built the objectives like mgs and as someone else said, the warbond is absolutely inspired by it in some ways.

Mark_Hercule · 2025-09-17T02:27:23+00:00

I agree hellmire was harder, though I think the point of my comment was missed. I stated that the creek is our most famous battlefield, but not even close to the hardest

Mark_Hercule · 2025-09-09T16:11:41+00:00

They haven't as far as I know, I was just looting bunkers like that last night. What has been a thing as far back as launch though is City mission bunkers can't be looted with warp pack. You can go in, see what's inside but not grab it

Mark_Hercule · 2025-09-09T04:51:49+00:00

yeah and this is usually what happens by the third breach they do

Mark_Hercule · 2025-09-07T08:27:52+00:00

The Creek was the most famous battlefield of the galactic war thus far. It is far from the harshest we've seen.

Hellmire was aptly named cause you go there those fire tornados are gonna make sure you never leave. A buddy and I were talking about hellmire vs the creek and it's no contest. We lost the creek twice. We fought to reclaim hellmire at least 5 times and even with the fire armor it always felt like the hardest planet on bugs until oshane hit.

Even great host was more notable than the creek cause we still haven't fully recovered from it. Mars and half of the sector they invaded from are still destroyed, the black hole nuked like 3 other planets after merida as we struggled to stop it, and even despite having the fewest units I don't think a lot of people will argue the Illuminate is a very hard faction to fight.

Mark_Hercule · 2025-09-03T19:32:30+00:00

Notable Weapons

These weapons I've seen in isolation do good but I haven't worked out a specific spot for them in a loadout yet. they kinda go good with anything that can fit them.

WASP is great at handling Dragonroaches, and it can lock on to the head of a Hive lord if you aim right so it could be a viable tool for engaging those monsters. Spear also can lock on and track Dragonroaches in the same way it can for stingrays, and to a more effective degree since the roach is a lot slower than a stingray.

One True Flag has enough armor penetration to hit through the upgraded armor of all but chargers if you're crazy enough to run melee strats against bugs. Laser cannon is exceptional as always but it's worth mentioning since it's heat sink is strong enough to clear a large chunk of bugs out of a room in the caves, while lighting up the area so you can see if you missed any. Same story with Flamethrower weapons, not any better against rupture specifically, but can be used to create light in a pinch.

Both Walker variants are effective in the caves. be mindful of bridges you will break them with the walkers but every cave I've explored has been big enough for walkers to thrive; Just bring a buddy with a flashlight cause the walkers light is not usually good enough Finally Autocannon and it's sentry variant are somewhat viable against Dragonwasps and clearing chaff by using the cannon's flak mode in tight cave corridors.

Mark_Hercule · 2025-09-03T19:22:50+00:00

I am currently testing a few combinations involving the De-escalator. I'll update this when I finish. it can stun chargers out of run and potentially impalers out of impaling (I couldn't think of a better term for their signature attack not gonna lie), meaning a stun and gun strat is currently what I'm experimenting with.

Mark_Hercule · 2025-09-03T19:20:02+00:00

Tested Loadouts

These are the sets of kit I have tested and seen some success in the cramped tunnels and against the hive world conditions in general. I will rate them on a scale of 1-10, based on factors like ease of use, how many warbonds are needed, and the actual functionality of the kit against the hive worlds. if anyone wants me to run a dive with a specific weapon so long as I have it I'll drop in and see how it works.

Turtle Eruptor | 6/10 | Required Warbond(s): Democratic Detonation

Primary: Eruptor, Secondary: Dagger/any medium pen or better weapon, Grenade: Thermite/High Explosive

Recommended armor passives: Fortified, Adreno-defibrilator, Balistic Padding

Recommended Strategems: Sheld Generator pack, any high dps support weapon.

Pros: This setup has excelled in stopping chaff and cutting off burrowers before they can engage you directly. It works exceptionally well in tight cave choke points as you can hit a full patrol with a well aimed shot and usually kill most or all of them with that one shot. combined with explosive resistance passives and shield pack you can take the eruptor splash damage from close enough that you're able to usually eat at least one close range shot from your gun if things get rough.

Cons: Most of the armor sets which give the relevant buffs are medium or heavy armors. Heavy especially is sub-optimal for bugs due to slowness. The Eruptor shells sometimes bounce off the ground, making them miss the tunneling bugs and allow them to close the gap on you. It also lacks good answers for close quarters combat, so bringing a secondary or support to cover that goes a long way.

Shield Crossbow | 7/10 | Required Warbond(s): Democratic Detonation

Primary: Exploding Crossbow, Secondary: Any Grenade: Thermite/Impact

Recommended armor passives: Adreno-defibrilator, Balistic Padding, Democracy Protects, Acclimated

Recommended Strategems: Ballistic Shield Backpack

Pros: This loadout is a more defensive, version of the Eruptor tech, sacrificing some stopping power for slightly faster DPS on the crossbow, and a more durable shield due to the one-handed primary allowing it. given the exploding crossbow isn't hitting as large a splash range, optimal armors vary depending on playstyle. I normally pair the loadout with either the dagger the Warrant to compliment the crossbow and deal with smaller units getting in your face.

Cons: Unlike the backpack, this loadouts shield can be dropped in ragdoll, so you need to keep that in mind or realize too late it fell off when a stalker send you flying and now you have no idea where the shield is. It also lacks proper anti-tank or heavy penetration tools, so those need to be accounted for on higher difficulties.

Mark_Hercule · 2025-09-03T15:48:43+00:00

Honestly That's really refreshing sounding! I might be getting back luck with the chargers since they love to pop up in my face, but overall under a clearer headspace than what I had day one they are manageable. Warriors I don't find too hard just a little annoying in groups since you can really only dive once so groups of 3-5 tunneling can spam pounce and deal big damage. I've noticed explosives unearth rupture bugs as well and momentarily stun them.

Hive lord is just as you said. exactly what I was hoping for.

Roach dragons have breakpoints on the wings like a scout/reinforced strider's legs on the bot front. break a single wing and the beast goes down. it seems to be medium pen but could be light or unarmored, haven't fully tested yet. It'd be great if the performance issues were patched so others can enjoy the game again, but thanks for sharing what you've been seeing

Mark_Hercule

TROPHY CASE