Stealth Mechanics

Stealthing missions in Helldivers 2 is a strategy seeking to minimize enemy engagements while completing objectives and extracting. While it has relatively minor official mechanical support, it can be considered an optimisation strategy and is extremely effective on high difficulties or in solo missions. This guide is intended to provide an explanation as to why stealthing is effective, how it is done effectively and the relevant gameplay mechanics.

Stealth as a Strategy

Stealthing missions is a form of optimization developed from the following observations:

1. Combat slows down mission completion and risks deaths (and loss of equipment/samples) without contributing Experience, Requisition or mission progress (outside Blitz: Elimination missions).
2. No enemy in the game spawns aggroed on a Helldiver other than Stalkers.
3. Attracting enemies’ attention causes reinforcements (Dropships and Bug Breaches), which contain more and more difficult enemies to engage the Helldiver.

The majority of this guide is therefore oriented towards minimizing enemy reinforcements, as these are most threatening to Helldivers and have the potential to snowball: Pressure from high-threat enemies spawned as reinforcements provides space and time for smaller enemies to call more reinforcements. The more enemies present in an area, the harder it is to de-aggro them through stuns or line of sight blocking because of their greater map coverage, which will likely cover objectives or samples.

Enemy Behavior

Enemies detect Helldivers by sound, then sight, then ‘smell’ (proximity) . Enemies typically become alert to a Helldiver’s presence by sight in their vision cone at approximately these distances:

• Walking: 45 meters
• Crouching: 25 meters
• Prone: 15 meters

Enemy aggro can be broken down into three levels:

1. Suspicious: If an enemies hears a noise but does not detect a Helldiver, they can search a small area around that noise for 15-20 seconds before returning their posts. Hearing range is determined by enemy type and the source of the noise. Hellpods (Hellbombs, resupplies, support weapons, Hellidvers) have quite a large radius, and non-explosive munitions are likely to draw enemies towards the Helldiver rather than the impact point of their shots. The Autocannon’s point of impact has an auditory range for Troopers and Commissars of about a Minor Point of Interest.
2. Alert: Enemies have unique animations when they become alert to the presence of a Helldiver (usually by seeing them for a short period of time). This is particularly noticeable for Automatons, who have a unique binary-garble audio cue and shine a conical, bright red set of lasers in their vision cone. If previously alerted, enemies can be very quick to call for reinforcements if alerted again.
3. Engaged: Enemy is actively shooting at a Helldiver or their last known position, including the general direct that a stratagem or shot came from. Nearby enemies will join in, and will begin closing in on their target after a short delay. Offensive stratagems (Eagles and Orbitals) automatically escalate passive enemies to this level, although they will not automatically know the exact position of the Helldiver, only the general direction the stratagem came from.

Patrols

See Patrols for the specific of enemy spawning, specifically areas of influence and heat mechanics. For our purposes, it is most important to note that Patrols are player-biased insofar as they spawn marching towards a Helldiver but not aggroed.

Enemy Reinforcements

The goal of this strategy is to minimize reinforcements, but they will inevitably still occur as the result of small mistakes. The reinforcement animation can, however, be interrupted. Automatons have a subtle but long animation of pulling out and preparing their flare which can be interrupted. Terminids have a distinct retching audio cue and animation and will start to produce a thin orange trail before a Bug Breach is opened.

Some objectives ( notably the Geological Survey) cause reinforcements to spawn. These should be avoided like regular patrols.

Disengaging From Enemies

When under fire, the first priority is to determine if enemies are firing at a Helldiver, or in their general direction (such as due to a stratagem). The second priority is to move. As established, enemies will continue to fire and move towards their target’s last known position. Helldivers should use terrain to block line of sight and create distance, gradually losing the attention of enemies and preventing patrols and reinforcements from engaging. Do not immediately attempt to re-engage from the same direction when forced away from objectives. The searching of suspicious enemies can leave them with near complete coverage of the area and mean enemies can appear from unexpected angles. Either complete another objective and then come back or circle around to approach from a different direction.

Decision Making

The key factor in determining whether to eliminate a given enemy in a stealth mission is whether they are at greater risk of calling reinforcements naturally, or if attacked. That enemy’s lethality is not a primary concern. Even if they engage, the reduced number of enemies on the map when successfully stealthing should make them easy enough to isolate and eliminate. This calculus can change, however, in the case of enemies capable of one-shotting a Helldiver (rocket devastators, tanks and cannon turrets, chargers, bilespewers) as they can sometimes aggro silently and from considerable distance, proceeding to kill Helldivers unaware.

This has some immediate implications. Groups of enemies with only one infantry member capable of calling reinforcements are relatively low risk to attack. If that enemy is eliminated first the remaining enemies can easily be contained and eliminated. By contrast, a large group of infantry (particularly containing multiple Commissars) are quite high risk to attack, given the likelihood of remaining members calling reinforcement after one or two targets are killed. Their weapons have very low direct kill threat, but they represent and project the greater kill threat of the enemies they can summon.

The decision of whether or not to attack a given enemy is one of the signature skills of a stealth run and develops primarily with practice.

Objectives

All objectives can spawn with or without a garrison, which will be visible on the minimap and usually comprise approximately a patrol’s worth of enemies distributed across the location. Objectives can also have satellite locations, with groups of 3-5 Scavengers/Pouncers/Bile Spitters or Troopers/Commissars. These satellite groups are frequently surrounded by SEAF concrete barricades and fences, or located within small Automaton emplacements. These are always far enough away from the objective that these enemies will not necessarily engage the Helldiver. Killing garrison enemies near them or passing them to enter or leave an objective are the most common ways of drawing their attention.

This guide will differentiate between occupational objectives (where Helldivers are required to occupy a specific location and engage terminals or other props) and destruction objectives (where Helldivers are required to destroy targets without entering the site). Note that the use of a Hellbomb constitutes an occupational objective, as the Hellbomb must be called down, activated and protected from enemies. In contrast to destruction objectives completed by Eagle or Orbital Strikes, these require engaging the objective’s garrison and potentially patrols while awaiting the Hellbomb in a similar manner to activating terminals or other props.

Destruction Objective

Destruction Objectives are extremely straightforward in stealth missions. Helldivers should have a prepared plan for the stratagem or group of stratagems that will complete the objective, deploy them from 30 to 40 meters away and leave the area before any remaining garrison members can call reinforcements or engage the Helldiver. The Eagle and Orbital stratagems best tailored to specific objectives are covered in the Equipment section.

Occupational Objectives

Occupational Objectives will require the clearing of at least some of the objective’s garrison to minimize engagement and then the monitoring of nearby patrols while the objective is completed. Stratagems can be used to do this, but with significant risk. Should some enemies survive the bombardment, they are extremely likely to call reinforcements immediately. Most objectives will spawn patrols or reinforcements to interrupt Helldivers. These enemies do not automatically engage but have a patrol route towards the center of the objective. This means that larger objectives or objectives where Helldivers are positioned far from the center of the site (the ICBM launch site is a good example of both), the objective can frequently be completed without eliminating very many enemies at all. This frequently requires remaining prone and carefully tracking enemy movements using the mini-map.

Extraction

Stealth extractions are subject to extreme randomness. Activating the beacon is approached the same as an occupational objective. Once waiting out the timer, Helldivers should remain prone near the edge of the 50 meter radius as patrols will search the point itself but move randomly in smaller groups around the edges. It is very likely Helldivers will need to shuffle in approximately 15 meter radius to avoid random enemies. This will be required less if the Helldiver is elevated (such as on a rock face or building), and easier if they have two faces of a corner to hide behind.

The Patrols page contains many technical details to predict Patrol spawns which are particularly helpful for extract. The Spawn Blocking section also details a more technical but consistent method of minimizing enemy contact.

Alternatively, Helldivers can run down the mission clock and use the emergency extraction. This has the benefit of not constraining Helldivers to the 50 meter beacon radius and reducing spawned enemies. However, the 20 second leave countdown will start immediately. This means the final approach to the Pelican needs to be swift. This is most effective on Blitz missions, with their shorter mission timers.

Equipment

Armour

The Scout armor passive is extremely helpful for stealthing missions. The map knowledge from pings allows Helldivers to plan their route around the map or give forewarning of patrols approaching an objective. The reduced detection range grants a greater margin of error (which is particularly important because detection range varies between enemy types and can generally be inconsistent) and frequently enables the Helldiver to approach objectives without needing to eliminate satellites or the entire garrison. It also speeds up missions by allowing Helldivers to sprint where they otherwise would walk and walk where they otherwise would crouch.

There are two main choices: SC-34 Infiltrator Armor or CW-4 Arctic Ranger Armor/SC-30 Trailblazer Scout Armor. The SC-34 is often preferred due to its higher armor rating of 70 compared to 50 of the CW-4 and SC-30. The slightly reduced speed and stamina regeneration are marginal and are a lower priority than survivability.

Weapons

Primary weapons are mainly personal preference. High stagger weapons (R-36 Eruptor, SMG-72 Pummeler, JAR-5 Dominator) are particularly useful, as stagger can be used to more easily break line-of-sight and thus aggro as well as interrupt enemies who are calling reinforcements. Explosive weapons capable of destroying nests and fabricators from range are also valuable, as they can save stratagem usage and don’t require getting close to throw a grenade, minimizing enemy contact.

Stratagems

Stratagems are most effectively deployed for efficient objective clearing, rather than lethality. This means that support weapons and backpacks are rare during stealth missions. Guard Dogs and sentries are an active liability as they will engage enemies Helldiers are trying to avoid.

In general, stratagem choice should be tailored to the mission type. The Orbital Laser is extremely effective due to its flexibility and the sheer number of objectives it efficiently clears. The Orbital Railcannon Strike, Eagle 500kg Bomb or Orbital Barrages are also extremely effective for destroying numerous objectives that otherwise require Hellbombs.

EAT-17 Expendable Anti-Tank, GR-8 Recoilless Rifle, FAF-14 Spear and AC-8 Autocannon can also destroy numerous side objectives from a greater range, including fabricators and bug breaches. This is not always ammo efficient, however, and can alert enemies to the Helldiver’s location.

Boosters

This is mostly personal preference. Hellpod Space Optimization helps reduce resupplies, which can attract enemy attention. Increased Reinforcement Budget gives significant room for error but will make extracting with samples more challenging. Stamina Enhancement helps with map rotations and making distance to lose enemy attention. Localization Confusion UAV Recon Booster and Expert Extraction Pilot are also of potential value.