Helldivers 2: How to find and beat Impalers

Impalers have now joined the Terminid forces in Helldivers 2 and it’s a treat for many, but also a nightmare. They spare no one once they get going, but if you’re having trouble finding them or worse, killing them, here’s what you need to do.

How to find Impalers in Helldivers 2

To find an Impaler in Helldivers 2, you’re more likely to encounter them at level 7– Suicide Mission– and higher. While they may be encountered at lower levels, they are a lot less frequent to come by.  

They look like a larger variant of the standard Charger, but blue and spiky. Impalers also have darker orange underbellies, so you have to be careful when encountering them in hordes.

These tend to come out on main objectives or when the mission timer gets closer to 0. Much like the rest of the Terminids you encounter, they can burrow out of the ground when a Bug Tunnel Breach occurs.

How to beat Impalers in Helldivers 2

Impalers have to be dealt with quickly. Their lethality is on par with, if not higher than that of a Bile Titan. It’s also a bit disorienting when encountering them because you might run into their tendrils before actually seeing the enemy. 

The tendrils phase

An Impaler’s tendrils are its main form of attacking you, which is where you need to act quickly. It’s best to gun these down one by one and make your way to the actual beast. It’s very hard to dodge these when they’re uprooting or slamming down on you, especially when you most likely have dozens of other Terminids swarming you.

Kill the tendrils you encounter, but look around quickly for where the actual Impaler is. These are a huge distraction.

Hit the face

When the Impaler shows up, wait for it to dig its tendrils into the ground. Those are what shield its weak point. 

Once it stands still and roots into the ground, its face will be exposed. Unlike a Charger’s backside, the Impaler’s weak spot is the exposed face. Gun it down quickly with as much firepower as you can before it slaps you around or guts you into a flying death.

One Spear shot to the face should kill them with ease, but many other weapons can do the same if you wish to be more mobile. Using other weapons like the Heavy Machine Gun, the Stalwart, or most of the currently available shotguns can do massive damage.

You can also opt to use a plethora of call downs like Eagle Airstrikes and others that deal heavy damage. Particularly, if you use an Orbital Laser, a 500kg bomb, Railcannon Strike, or a Gatling Barrage, this can easily take one out.

However, it’s only really recommended to use airstrikes on these if you’re in a pinch. Try using your current weapons since you can refill them with small cooldowns or ammo boxes. Call-down stratagems will take a lot longer between each use. 

For once, running is not a strategy

Most of the time, when a horde of enemies comes up from a Bug Breach in Helldivers 2, you can mostly outrun them and train them as they bunch up chasing you. With Impalers, it’s a lot tougher and inconsistent just because of the generous range they have with their tendril attacks.

If you are on a time crunch or your life count is low, just deal with the tendrils as they pop up, then run. Trying to get away from them as you run will either knock you down a lot or worse, get you flung to death.