Stingray

Factions

Illuminate

Stingray

The Stingray is an Illuminate close air support aircraft in Helldivers 2.

Spawning

Stingrays spawn intermittently throughout a mission, coming into range from beyond the mission area. They are unable to naturally spawn as part of an enemy patrol, and cannot spawn at the beginning of a mission.

Behavior

Stingrays passively fly around the map at blinding speeds, encircling Helldivers at distances of over 800+ meters. They can be spotted while flying thanks to their bright blue plasma trails that briefly follow behind them. They initially fly 2-3 loops around the entire map before engaging enemies.

They attack by slowing down and descending to an advancing hover, telegraphing a long, bright blue column on the ground which they then progressively bombard with sweeping Plasma munitions, akin to an Eagle Strafing Run. Once this is finished, they resume high-speed flight and attack again once enemies are in its range.

Tactical Information

• Stingrays function as evasive targets that directly assist Illuminate forces from the air.
  • Whilst sharing some similarities to Automaton Gunships, they don't require a Gunship Facility equivalent to spawn from and are much more fragile in comparison, but in return cannot be hit for the majority of their lifetime.
• The strafing path of a Stingray is shown by the blue highlight they leave on the ground after descending.
  • The blue highlight doesn't render on all surfaces, such as caved in terrain from explosions or destroyed buildings that are low to the ground.
• Stingrays are extraordinarily fast and fly far outside of the range of most weapons, making them nearly impossible to hit when in-flight. However, their strafing attack slows them down enough to be easily targeted.
  • Support weapons that are effective at long range fare well against the Stingray, though hitting them before they've begun lining up an attack run can be very difficult and is therefore ill-advised.
  • The FAF-14 Spear and StA-X3 W.A.S.P. Launcher's missiles can lock on to and chase Stingrays seemingly indefinitely. They will not be able to catch up to them mid-flight however, only when the Stingray slows down to attack.
  • Given that both launchers' lock-on system have a max range of 300 meters, it is not recommended to attempt to lock on to Stingrays whilst they're in high-speed flight.
  • The AC-8 Autocannon excels at destroying Stingrays in both firing modes. The flak munitions allow for less committal aiming due to their proximity based detonation.
  • The APW-1 Anti-Materiel Rifle is able to dispatch Stingrays in 3 shots with ease from long distances due to its powerful scope.
  • The LAS-98 Laser Cannon takes roughly 4~ seconds to vaporize a Stingray at no expense of ammunition, but with a limited maximum range of 200 meters.
  • The MLS-4X Commando, RL-77 Airburst Rocket Launcher, GR-8 Recoilless Rifle, EAT-17 Expendable Anti-Tank, and LAS-99 Quasar Cannon can all take down a Stingray in one shot.
  • Whilst sharing the same benefit of the Laser Cannon of not requiring ammo, the Quasar Cannon's exceptionally lengthy windup can prove inconsistent in destroying Stingrays in time before they resume high-speed flight.
  • Although they may need some sustained fire to destroy it, the MG-43 Machine Gun and MG-206 Heavy Machine Gun will still punch through the armor and damage the Stingray.
• Calling in an Eagle Strafing Run directly into the path of the Stingray will reliably destroy it with some practice. The Eagle generally flies higher than the Stingray while the Stingray is shooting, allowing the Eagle to hit it with its munitions if timed correctly.
• Stingrays are capable of friendly fire, and their sweeping bombardments can be utilized to take out large numbers of Illuminate if lured carefully. Even Grounded Warp Ships can be damaged if they are in the target area.
• Unlike the Warp Ships, the Stingray lacks an energy shield. They also only have Medium Armor.
• Activating the LIFT-860 Hover Pack or LIFT-850 Jump Pack in time allows Helldivers to dodge Stingray bombardments, with the Jump Pack notably bringing Helldivers vertically closer to the Stingray, allowing for potentially better accuracy with weapons.
  • A Helldiver attempting to dodge the attack with a Hover or Jump Pack should try to maneuver/float roughly in the middle of the strafing path if they can't completely get out of the way. The plasma projectiles are more likely to directly hit an airborne Helldiver on the edges of the strafing path and such a hit will cause significant damage or death.

Anatomy

Part Name	Health*	AV**	Location	Durable**	% To Main***	Bleed	Fatal	ExDR****
Main	800	Medium	FrontSide	70%	-	None	Yes	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.

Trivia

• Anything killed by a Stingray's plasma strafe is completely vaporized, leaving no corpse behind. Helldivers killed in such fashion will still drop whatever equipment and samples they had.
• The Stingray was possibly named after Autodesk Stingray, the game engine that Helldivers 2 is built on. The engine was also formerly known as Bitsquid, referencing Illuminate as they are colloquially referred to as "squids" by Helldivers.
• Prior to version 1.003.002, due to a bug, the Stingray was called the "Interloper" when tagged by a player or when killed by one.

Change History

Patch

Description

1.003.101
2025-06-10

Fixed two cases where the Stingray enemy would appear to stop or teleport on death

1.003.002
2025-05-20

Fix

• Fixed an issue where Stingray strafing attack sounds could get stuck for a while

Undocumented Fix

• Stingrays are no longer called Interloper when tagged or killing a player.

1.003.000
2025-05-13

Added to the game.

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