Helldivers 2 is back in the spotlight with a flurry of content: first, the Halo ODST collab, followed quickly by a major update to the Terminid faction just ahead of the Dust Devils Warbond launch on September 4, 2025. This major update, Into the Unjust, brings new underground cave battles, burrowing variants of existing enemies, and two major new enemies: the Hive Lord (a major boss Terminid) and the Dragonroach (a sort of flying Bile Titan).
The Dragonroach is a devious and devastating new foe, with four massive wings and a belly full of bile to burn away unsuspecting Helldivers. This guide will break down where to encounter this cruel new enemy, what attacks it brings to the table, and most important of all, the best ways to bring it down quickly in the name of democracy.
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Where to Find Dragonroach Terminids
The Dragonroach Terminids can be found on Difficulty 5 (or higher) missions--specifically on planets within the Gloom currently, but they will very likely become integrated into the general Terminid enemy pool beyond Gloom planets. After dropping, you should be able to quickly spot whether or not you'll be dealing with Dragonroach enemies on any given mission, since they patrol the skies (similar to Shrieker patrols). They're not showing up on every mission, so it's possible they're part of a specific enemy seed, or it's possible that the game is experiencing some bugs that are preventing Dragonroaches from spawning consistently.
Dragonroach Terminid Attacks and How to Avoid Them
In a vacuum, fighting a single Dragonroach Terminid is fairly straightforward since their movepool is limited. But, add in a swarm of other undemocratic monstrosities, and they can become a real problem. They have a specific two-attack combo. The Dragonroach flies in a patrol around the map, and once it detects you, it will break off from its route and head toward you. On approach, it will fly directly over you and spew bile in a rough line as it flies past. After that initial pass, it will loop around to hover, attacking with a second, more targeted bile spray attack. It will remain in that spot for another couple of seconds after the attack is finished, then it will return to its circling pattern before lining up another flyby to repeat the attack combo.
The damage hitbox on the bile spray attacks is very wide, so it's pretty difficult to fully avoid. Diving out of the way during the first flyby is definitely possible, but if you get clipped, simply dive again to put out the 'fire' (read: bile). On the second attack, its bile spray will follow you while you move. Keep running/diving away from it to fully avoid it (or to stop the fire damage), stim to heal through the pain, or wear armor that grants Fire Resistance to mitigate the damage.
The Warp Pack (from the Control Group Warbond) can be a great strategic choice to quickly teleport out of the damaging spray, granting an extra second or so of free shots on the Dragonroach.
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Dragonroach Weak Spots & Best Weapons to Use
The Dragonroach might be able to wreak havoc when accompanied by a swarm of other tenacious Terminids, so it's important to take them out as quickly so you don't get overrun by the bugs on the ground. To take it down, you'll need to know its weak points. Namely, you'll want to either be targeting its face or its wings.
Heavy Armor Penetration Headshot
The Dragonroach can put up with quite a bit of abuse, but a well-placed heavy armor-penetrating strike right to the face will take care of it in one hit. A precise headshot via the EAT-17, Recoilless Rifle, or Quasar Cannon will bring it down. Don't bother with the Spear: due to the way it targets, it's unlikely to land a headshot, so it'll take two (or more) shots to bring it down. Due to how mobile the Dragonroach is, the best time to go for a headshot will be during or just after the Dragonroach's second bile spray attack, when it is more or less hovering in the same place.
The Dragonroach does move up and down a little bit as it's flapping its wings in place during and after the second bile spray attack, so time your shot appropriately to nail that headshot.
Target Its Wings to Shred Them Apart
For those wielding light or medium-pen weaponry, the Dragonroach's wings will be your target. Anything from the humble Liberator Assault Rifle to the Machine Gun or Scorcher can deal damage to the Dragonroach's wings, so you'll never be fully out of tools. It's far from efficient, however. You'll definitely get better results with heavier firepower like the Heavy Machine Gun or Emancipator Exosuit. You can see visible holes in the webbing of its wings as you damage them (as shown in the image above). If you aren't confident in your headshot skills on such a quick-moving enemy, targeting its wings can be a sensible fall-back option. A coordinated full team of four can bring a Dragonroach screaming out of the sky somewhat quickly, though that's a tall order with ground bugs swarming as well.
The Eagle 110 Rocket Pods or Orbital Precision Strike can potentially put some real damage into the Dragonroach, but most Eagles or Orbitals aren't going to reliably damage this enemy due to its high mobility. Instead, toss an Orbital Railcannon Strike below it when it's hovering in the air before/during its second bile spray attack. It will destroy the Dragonroach. Heavy weapons fire is going to be overall more useful due to the Orbital Railcannon Strike's cooldown, but it feels very satisfying.
Final note: Sentries like the Autocannon Sentry and Rocket Sentry can put in serious work to damage the Dragonroach, but their targeting can be unreliable with multiple Terminids roaming the nearby area.
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
- Platform(s)
- PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, PC
- Genre(s)
- Third-Person Shooter, Extraction Shooter, Action, Science Fiction
- OpenCritic Rating
- Strong
