Helldivers 2 has always been great about supplying players with overpowered means of tackling any enemy in their path, even if an enemy’s debut seemed omnipotent and imposing in the beginning. Plus, with all of the various loadouts a full squad of four may be packing in Helldivers 2, there’s a good chance that players have everything they need to succeed so long as they stick with their teammates and coordinate their liberation efforts.
The careful selection of primary and secondary weapons in Helldivers 2 continues to be a bit tough considering that there are rarely two players diving into a mission who wield the same firearm inadvertently, and yet stratagems are more commonly ubiquitous due to how overpowered some may be—at least until they’re nerfed or balanced in a future patch. Like the MLS-4X Commando putting a swift end to Factory Striders’ days of being nightmarish nuisances, the E/AT-12 Anti-Tank Emplacement makes laughably quick work of Illuminate Warp Ships and Harvesters.
Helldivers 2’s Illuminate Planets are Hopefully Mere Amuse-Bouches
Super Earth rests easy with the Helldivers defending it, but the Illuminate's sudden invasion should uproot what little safety net it has.
Helldivers 2’s Anti-Tank Emplacement is the Perfect Counter to the Illuminate Threat
Helldivers 2’s Anti-Tank Emplacement, like many of the live-service PvE shooter’s stratagems and weapons, is aptly named. Anti-Tank Mines, for example, have been a miraculous godsend against anything boasting heavy armor, and while the Emplacement is rooted into the ground it is a fantastic turret with a ton of mobility.
Players take a comfortable seat on the emplacement and are able to swivel around with a pair of binoculars held before their helmet visors in case they need to aim down sights at enemies from far away. Interestingly, the Anti-Tank Emplacement isn’t an effective tool against Warp Ships that are grounded as they won’t puncture or destroy them, even if the Emplacement’s shells penetrate Warp Ship energy shields.
However, firing at a Warp Ship that flies into the atmosphere and emits a warp beacon is tremendously effective and can send it crashing down onto the planet in as few as three hits. It’s obviously tougher to hit smaller targets with an Emplacement, especially when they’re as mobile as Illuminate Overseers, but Harvesters are felled effortlessly.
The Illuminate faction is only as tough as players allow it to be since so much of its offensive strategy revolves around enemies being summoned in, and the Anti-Tank Emplacement—if placed in an advantageous vantage point—can thwart enemies from spawning at all.
Anti-Tank Emplacement Nerfs Seem Inevitable But They Hopefully Won’t Be
There are bound to be future nerfs for the Anti-Tank Emplacement due to how strong it presently is, but Arrowhead would do well not to pull the trigger on making yet another powerful tool in players’ arsenals irrelevant and wasteful. Indeed, the Emplacement is not a versatile stratagem—its use against ships or massive foes is extraordinary, and yet it’s also arguably necessary in many of Helldivers 2’s Level 10 Super Helldive encounters where endless Warp Ships and their summoned Illuminate hordes can quickly overwhelm players otherwise.
Moreover, Emplacements are truly only beneficial if players have a superior defense mounted and can hold enemies back. If not, the Emplacement will be overrun, and with relatively low ammunition and a long stratagem cooldown anyhow players can’t always rely wholly on it to slug enemies.
Nerfing it now would probably render it completely obsolete in the meta, which could then result in loadouts reverting back to nuke stratagems that blanket the environment in a desperate attempt to clear enemies. Plus, with various objectives to complete in many Helldivers 2 mission types, players must be conscious about when and where they call in an Anti-Tank Emplacement so that they aren’t left on a cooldown when they need it most.
Helldivers 2
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OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 83 /100 Critics Rec: 91%
- Released
- February 8, 2024
- ESRB
- Mature 17+ / Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, In-Game Purchases, Users Interact
- Developer(s)
- Arrowhead Game Studios, Nixxes
- Publisher(s)
- Sony Interactive Entertainment, PlayStation Publishing
WHERE TO PLAY
- Engine
- bitsquid
- Multiplayer
- Online Co-Op
- Cross-Platform Play
- All platforms
- Franchise
- Helldivers
- Number of Players
- 1-4 players (online)
- Platform(s)
- PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, PC
- Genre(s)
- Third-Person Shooter, Extraction Shooter, Action, Science Fiction
- OpenCritic Rating
- Strong
