By now, it’s no news that Factory Striders have officially arrived in Helldivers 2. Although earlier they had stealth-dropped into the game, back then they seemed to have appeared as a test and did not pose a threat. However, now developer Arrowhead Studios has officially announced their resurgence in the game.
Via the official Helldivers 2 X account, the devs announced that the Factory Striders “have made a resurgence on the Automaton front.” They also shared a video along with the announcement of the arriving trope of machines.
Factory Striders return in Helldivers 2
Factory Strider in Helldivers 2 is an AT-AT-style Automaton walker, also known as ‘Walker.’ They are usually spotted on the battlefield stomping around shooting up players. Sometimes, they even seem to spawn other enemies.
Visually, they are giant heavily armed behemoths made of steel. These were actually the foundation of Automaton’s construction. Also considered as Factories on legs, Factory Striders’s default state allows them to stride into battle firing their cannons at Helldivers.
Factory Striders have made a resurgence on the Automaton front. These imposing, massive support dreadnoughts now threaten freedom and democracy throughout the galactic rim. pic.twitter.com/XRTPU7k71s
— HELLDIVERS™ 2 (@helldivers2) April 16, 2024
They are also known for fabricating batches of Standard Devastators, and roaming across the planet’s surface offering fire support where they can. Thanks to their functionality, these Automatons are able to spread and capture Super Earth colonies comparatively quickly.
Player suggests a new stratagem to deal with Factory Striders
Factory Striders can turn out to be extremely tough targets in Helldivers 2. Some reports suggest that Factory Striders were even able to survive several 500kg bomb direct hits.
That being said, the game currently does have some weapons that can help Helldivers fight these resurged Automatons. These include JAR-5 Dominator, R-36 Eruptor, AC-8 Autocannon, MG-206 Heavy Machinegun, LAS-98 Laser Cannon, LAS-99 Quasar Cannon, GR-8 Recoilless Rifle, EAT-17 Expendable Anti-Tank, and APW-1 Anti-Materiel Rifle.
However, the sudden arrival of Factory Striders has created a sense of uncertainty among the Helldivers 2 community about what weapons can be most effective. There have been numerous conversations sparking on the internet about the stratagems that the players need against these automatons.
Recently, a user named ‘sillygoobergod’ suggested a stratagem that the game could have via a post on Reddit. Although the user intended the suggestion as a joke, they did have a reason for it. They suggested a repulsion cannon stratagem which has no damage whatsoever.
We need a repulsion cannon stratagem. it would be very funny.
byu/sillygoobergod inHelldivers
They wrote,
“A repulsion cannon support weapon would be really shite but very funny. i can imagine it sending small units flying and making bile titans/factory striders trip and struggle to get back up. it would have to have a short range, and it would likely be shit, but it would be really funny.”
According to the user, the cannon stratagem could fire small shots towards the approaching Factory Striders. Although it wouldn’t kill them or do any damage, the shots would make the enemy trip and fall and the huge metal creatures would struggle to get back on their feet.
