As you take on higher-difficulty Automaton missions, you’ll encounter a new and persistent threat: Gunships. For seasoned Helldivers, understanding how these units operate is key to survival. This guide breaks down their behavior and the most effective ways to deal with them, based on common player experiences.
What are Gunships and How Do They Work?
Gunships are VTOL aircraft that patrol around Automaton Gunship Facilities and scan for activity. In general, when they detect a Helldiver, they are quickly dispatched to investigate. Once they have a visual, they will engage with an underslung turret and barrages of rockets. They resemble smaller, weaker versions of Automaton Dropships, lacking the arms used for troop deployment.
Their primary role is area denial and harassment. Most players find that once a patrol is aggroed, they are difficult to shake. They will pursue relentlessly, making it hard to complete objectives or call in stratagems. It's usually a better idea to destroy them rather than try to outrun them, unless you have immediate cover.
How Do You Effectively Destroy Gunships?
The gunship's body and engines are separately armored, each with its own health pool. To destroy one, you must focus fire on a single part. Most players recommend targeting the engines, as they have less health than the main body. Destroying one engine will immediately ground the craft. However, engines are small targets. If you can't reliably hit them, focusing on the body is a acceptable, though slower, alternative.
Here’s how common weapons perform in practice:
Explosive Weapons: Tools like the PLAS-1 Scorcher or PLAS-101 Purifier are effective because their explosions can damage the hull from almost any angle. Two fully-charged shots from a Purifier to an engine will typically destroy a gunship.
Heavy Armor-Penetrators: The AC-8 Autocannon and APW-1 Anti-Materiel Rifle can down a gunship with two precise shots to the body or thrusters. All standard anti-tank rocket launchers (except the WASP) can destroy one with a single direct hit.
The WASP Launcher: The StA-X3 W.A.S.P. Launcher requires two direct hits on the body, or one lucky hit on an engine. Its homing capability makes it user-friendly. A single magazine can often damage three gunships.
The LAS-98 Laser Cannon: This is widely considered one of the most efficient counters due to its pinpoint accuracy, high rate of fire, and lack of ammunition concerns.
The RS-422 Railgun: A single overcharged shot to an engine is sufficient. The body requires two overcharged hits.
Sentry Guns: Both the Autocannon and Rocket Sentries will automatically engage and shoot down gunships. A common tactic is to deploy these sentries behind the gunships' attack vector to reduce their chance of being destroyed by incoming rockets.
What Are the Best Tactics for Dealing with Gunship Packs?
Gunships are a tactical problem, not just a target. Based on player experience, here are reliable approaches:
Always Bring a Counter: When playing on Automaton missions where gunships can appear (usually Difficulty 5 and above), it is heavily recommended that at least one player in your squad has a weapon capable of quickly dealing with them, such as a Laser Cannon, Autocannon, or Railgun.
Use Cover and Break Contact: Gunships lay down heavy fire with a pulse laser and limited-ammo rocket bursts. When engaged, immediately move to solid cover. Using smoke grenades or stratagems to break line-of-sight can sometimes confuse their sensors and allow you to disengage, though this is difficult if you’re surrounded.
Evade Patrols: It is entirely possible to avoid roving gunship patrols if you see them first. Duck behind large terrain features and go prone as they pass by. They only engage if you enter their sensor range, provoke them directly, or start a firefight nearby.
Prioritize Facilities: A certain mission modifier will cause gunship patrols to spawn from the map edge indefinitely, but in general, destroying Automaton Gunship Facilities will stop the local production of new patrols. This is a key strategic objective on many maps.
A final note on resources: while dedicated play is the most reliable way to earn in-game items, you may see third-party websites advertising helldivers 2 super credits for sale. Most experienced players advise caution with these sources, as they are not official and can pose risks to your account.
U4N is a handy platform for buying Helldivers 2 medals and items: https://www.u4n.com/helldivers-2/items
