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Helldivers 2: Best ILLUMINATE Loadout & Tips

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Pick the best tools for the job. What's the job? Eliminate the Illuminate faction!

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If you wish to take on the Illuminate faction in Helldivers 2, you best come prepared with the best loadout you can.

The Illuminate are pretty different from the Terminids and Automatons. The faction mostly consists of strong robotic alien entities and their brainwashed human soldiers. They also like to employ Energy Shields, which you’ll need to deal with before you can even deal any damage.

In this guide, we’ll give you a recommended loadout that should work best when facing off against the Illuminate!

Best Loadout & Tips for Fighting the Illuminate | Helldivers 2

Let’s dive straight into the loadout and the main uses for every part of it:

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  • Stratagem Loadout
    • A/FLAM-40 Flame Sentry – All of the Sentries in this loadout have the same purpose, more or less. You can place them down frequently and they’re fantastic for dealing with pretty much every single Illuminate enemy type!
    • A/G-16 Gatling Sentry
    • A/MG-43 Machine Gun Sentry
    • AC-8 Autocannon – Your main tool against the Illuminate, as it can quickly take out every one of them. For Watchers in particular, use the LAS-16 Sickle first to strip their Energy Shield. Then shoot the Autocannon at the tendons connecting the limbs to quickly finish them off.
  • Equipment Loadout
    • Armour: EX-00 Prototype X – Gives 95% resistance to Arc Damage, which is the main damage type of the stronger Illuminate enemy types.
    • Booster: Armed Supply Pods – Equips your Supply Pods with an automated defense turret. Use it in a pinch when you’re low on ammo and need some extra defense as well.
    • Primary: LAS-16 Sickle Its main purpose will be to destroy the Energy Shields on Watchers so you can finish them off with your AC-8 Autocannon. You can also use it to take out the Voteless with ease.
    • Secondary: P-4 Senator – Good for some high damage in a pinch. Mostly used to finish off Overseers and Watchers.
    • Grenades: Any type you prefer, honestly. Stun Grenades can be nice to create openings, but Frag Grenades can be used to wreck parked Warp Ships or take out groups of Voteless in a pinch.

That’s our recommended best loadout against the Illuminate faction in Helldivers 2. Now that you know what tools to pick, make sure you also understand how to deal with each of the Illuminate types. Check out our guide on how to beat all the Illuminate enemies for more details.

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Andrés
Written by

Andrés

Senior Game Guide Writer

Andrés is a veteran gaming writer with over twenty years of hands-on experience across a wide range of genres, including Action-RPGs, high-difficulty games, and narrative-driven titles. His work is based on direct gameplay, testing mechanics, progression systems, and strategies firsthand rather than relying on secondary sources. At GamesFuze, Andrés focuses on producing accurate, practical guides and walkthroughs that help players understand complex systems, avoid common mistakes, and make informed decisions throughout their playthroughs.

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