Hulk

Enemies

Automatons

Hulk

“

As with all Automaton units, the plodding Hulk is brainlessly optimized to do nothing except deliver heavy firepower. If encountered, the recommended protocol for Helldivers is to immediately call in the largest orbital bombardment available.

— Helldivers 2 PlayStation Store Page

The Hulks are a group of Automaton heavy infantry equipped with various weapons. This group consists of the Hulk Obliterator, equipped with duel rocket launchers; the Hulk Bruiser, with a rocket launcher and a fusion repeater; and the Hulk Scorcher, with a flamethrower and sawblade; the Hulk Firebomber, with an incendiary grenade launcher and a flamethrower.

Spawning

Hulk Obliterators can spawn in the Eliminate Automaton Hulks Mission, which is exclusive to Medium difficulty, while Hulk Bruisers and Scorchers begin spawning naturally or from Dropships on Challenging and above, spawning more often on harder difficulties.

Behavior

Each Hulk acts differently, so their behavior is on their individual pages.

• Hulk Obliterator
• Hulk Bruiser
• Hulk Scorcher
• Hulk Firebomber

Tactical Information

• Heavily armed and armored, Hulks are powerful enemies that demand special attention due to their durability and heavy weapons payload, as they are capable of killing Helldivers in very short order if ignored or underestimated.
• Hulks are completely covered in  Heavy armor, but they do have two weak spots: the glowing heat sinks on its back, and its head.
  • Destroying its head will instantly kill it, though it is somewhat hard to hit due to its small size and the Hulk's swaying gait, especially while mobile. The head is protected by the same type of armor as the rest of its body, requiring  Heavy armor penetration to destroy it.
    • The GP-31 Ultimatum, FLAM-66 Torcher, P-4 Senator, and P-72 Crisper are the only non-Support Weapons that are able to damage the Hulk's head.
    • Hulks will sometimes cover their head with one of their arms to prevent it from being hit.
  • Its vents can be damaged by any weapon, but are relatively durable. If a Helldiver is unable to use a Support Weapon to damage it, high-damaging primaries can more easily damage their vents. Destroying its vents will cause the Hulk to go into a bleedout state, where they can be seen hobbling and flailing its weapons.
    • Flanking the hulk can give easy access to it's vents. Helldivers can assist each other by having one draw the Hulks ire, while the other shoots the vents.
    • The heat sinks are one of two parts of the Hulk not immune to explosive damage, the other being its torso. As such, grenades can be particularly effective at destroying them.
• The Hulk Obliterator and Bruiser's slow movement speed make them particularly vulnerable to dedicated anti-tank weapons. The EAT-17 Expendable Anti-Tank, LAS-99 Quasar Cannon, GR-8 Recoilless Rifle and FAF-14 Spear are capable of destroying a Hulk in a single shot, though the EAT and Quasar Cannon can only do so by targeting the torso. The MLS-4X Commando can E/AT-12 Anti-Tank Emplacement destroy hulks in 2 shots to the torso or 1 to the head. Additionally, a single G-123 Thermite can inflict enough explosive damage to destroy a Hulk no matter where on its body it is placed.
  • Stun Grenades and EMS stratagems, such as the Orbital EMS Strike and A/M-23 EMS Mortar Sentry, can briefly immobilize a Hulk, making its weak spots significantly easier to target.
  • Their slow speed also makes it easy to make them lose sight of you with large cover, like large rocks or Fabricators
• While more durable than its weak spots, the Hulk's limbs can often be valid targets for destruction depending on the situation.
  • The Hulk's arm joints can be shot and destroyed, causing them to drop that arm's respective weapon. Once both arms are destroyed, Hulks will attempt to stomp on Helldivers instead.
  • Certain weapons like the Recoilless Rifle have enough direct damage to destroy a Hulk even if shot in the limb.
  • The Hulk's legs can also be shot and destroyed; destroying one leg cripples its movement, and destroying both legs will kill the Hulk.
    • The Hulk's legs are often much more convenient targets than its head or heat sinks. Destroying a leg will stagger it for several seconds and slow its movement speed.
    • Due to their movement speed, it is difficult for Helldivers to outrun and retreat from a Hulk Scorcher. Destroying one of its legs will significantly slow it and leave it vulnerable to follow-up shots to its head or vents.
• Hulks can be easily damaged and destroyed by most offensive explosive stratagems. Examples of effective stratagems include the Eagle 500kg Bomb, Eagle Airstrike, Eagle 110mm Rocket Pods, and Orbital Railcannon Strike.
• The Hulk Scorcher's flamethrower has a deceptively long range, so it's recommended to kill them while they are unaware. If you do get set ablaze, it's a good idea to dive to put yourself out.
• Taking Armor with the Inflammable passive is a good precautionary measure when fighting Hulk Scorchers.

Anatomy

Part Name	Health*	AV**	Location	Durable**	% To Main***	Bleed	Fatal	ExDR****
Main	1,800	Heavy	FrontSide	60%	-	None	Yes	0%
Arms	500	Heavy	FrontSide	70%	80%	None	No	100%
Legs	500	Heavy	FrontSide	80%	80%	500 [50/s]	No (Downs)	100%
Head	250	Heavy	FrontSide	25%	100%	None	Yes	100%
Vent	900	Unarmored II		60%	60%	650 [50/s]	Yes (Downs)	0%

* Parts with their HP listed as "Main" do not have their own individual health. All damage dealt to these parts is transferred to the enemy's Main health pool.

** Refer to armor values and enemy durability as defined in Damage.

*** The percentage of damage that is applied to the enemy's Main health pool. At 0 HP, the enemy dies. Unless the enemy has constitution, then it will bleedout and die.

**** ExDR means explosive damage resistance, this is a percentage between 0 and 100. If this value is 100%, the part is explosive immune, meaning explosives cannot damage it. Explosions will only directly damage Main health if it is internal.

Variants

• 

  Hulk Bruiser
• 

  Hulk Firebomber
• 

  Hulk Scorcher
• 

  Hulk Obliterator

Trivia

• The Hulk appears to be inspired by various Imperial Dreadnoughts used by Space Marines in Warhammer 40,000.
• Hulk Obliterators have an Automaton banner on their back, while Hulk Scorchers have barbed wire and human skulls adorning theirs, sharing some characteristics with Berserkers.
• The Hulk uses the same model for the Rocket Launchers of the Obliterator and Bruiser as the Flamethrower used by the Scorcher.
• Hulk Bruisers after patch 1.001.100 received an energy cannon, but were reverted back to a rocket launcher in the following patch 1.001.104. According to the patch notes, a Helldiver by the name of "John Helldiver" was responsible for sabotaging their production.
  • "John Helldiver" is a popular name in the Helldivers community originating from the John Darksoul meme, which popularized naming protagonists as "John (Game Series Name)." The same patch notes also references the opening quote of the A-Team television series.

Change History

Patch

Description

1.001.104
2024-10-15

Changes

• Hulk Bruiser: Energy cannon reverted back to a rocket launcher.

1.001.100
2024-09-17

Changes

• Armor reduced from 5 to 4.
• Back weak spot slightly more durable.
• Back weak spot health decreased from 1000 to 800.
• Hulk Bruiser: Replaced the rocket launcher for an energy based cannon.
• Hulk Bruiser: Increased how frequently the Hulk Bruiser shoots.

Undocumented Changes

• Overall health increased to account for changes to dedicated anti-tank weapons.
• Back weak spot health is actually 900 rather than 800.

1.000.400
2024-06-13

Changes

• Hulk Scorcher: Flamethrower now deals less damage.
• Hulk Scorcher: Flamethrower can not damage Helldivers more than 4 times per second.
• Hulk Scorcher: Flame projectiles can now only damage Helldivers a single time.

1.000.300
2024-04-29

Changes

• Force required for Hulks to stagger slightly increased.
• Hulk Scorcher: Direct flamethrower damage reduced by 20%.

1.000.200
2024-04-02

Changes

• Hulk Scorcher: Fire damage per tick increased by 50% (from all sources).