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Harvester Helldivers 2
Image via Arrowhead Game Studios

How To Destroy Harvesters in Helldivers 2

Where have I seen you before?

The Illuminate are finally back in Helldivers and stronger than ever. These are part of the new Omens of Tyranny update for Helldivers 2 and have already been wiped out completely once by the Federation of Super Earth. Still, they’ll continue to reappear in droves bringing along towering tripod machines of death called Harvesters. These are a bit tricky to take down but here is how you can effectively take down Harvesters in Helldivers 2.

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Harvesters in Helldivers 2

Harvesters can initially feel very intimidating because most weapons simply don’t do enough damage because of their armor and shield.

However, taking them out is a simple matter of having the right weapons and aiming at their exposed weak spots. We’ll run down our suggestions on how to take these tanky tripods down.

Harvesters Weak Spots in Helldivers 2

The hip joints of Harvesters are its major weak spots and targeting those with the right weapon will bring the Harvester tumbling down.

Additionally, the crest right above its eye is the shield generator. You can take that out with a single AMR shot to stop it from reactivating shields.

Eagle and Orbital strikes are not effective against them, and even the Eagle 500kg Bomb is unreliable and works half the time. It’s better to use stratagem weapons instead.

Destroying Harvesters in Helldivers 2

The Harvesters’ shields can be taken down by any weapon. The shield doesn’t stay down forever and will be brought back up after a while. Once the shield is down, we recommend attacking the Harvester’s hip joints with the following weapons for easy wins.

LAS-99 Quasar Cannon

This powerful laser weapon can one-shot a Harvester if aimed at its weak spot. This needs a few seconds to charge so it’s more effective if the Harvester is at a distance. We recommend switching to first-person mode for a precise shot.

MG-206 Heavy Machine Gun

This is my favorite way of taking down Harvesters because the heavy machine gun is effective at all ranges. Sure, the recoil can take a bit to adjust, but firing away at the joints will topple them in a matter of seconds.

MLS-4X Commando

The Commando is another weapon that can one-shot Harvesters if you aim directly at its weak spot. It’s very effective, but you need to be precise or it won’t work as effectively.

Apart from these, the following weapons can work well too:

  • APW-1 Anti-Materiel Rifle (AMR)
  • GR-8 Recoilless Rifle
  • LAS-16 Sickle

Overall, taking down Harvesters is a thrilling act of violent liberty. Personally, my go-to method is using the Heavy Machine Gun because there’s something exhilarating about taking these head-on and ripping their legs to shreds.

Harvesters aren’t the only new Illuminate technology you’ll destroy, their warships need to be dealt with as well. The new update also introduces the first set of melee weapons including the Stun Baton and Stun Lance that are particularly effective against the Illuminate.


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Author
Image of Ali Hashmi
Ali Hashmi
Ali has been writing about video games for the past six years and is always on the lookout for the next indie game to obsess over and recommend to everyone in sight. When he isn't spending an unhealthy amount of time in Slay the Spire, he's probably trying out yet another retro-shooter or playing Dark Souls for the 50th time.