Imagine. You’re barreling through the atmosphere at breakneck spead crammed inside a tiny Hellpod. Then, you emerge and scan the alien environment around you. That’s life in a nutshell for Helldivers. Heaven knows their lifespan doesn’t last much further beyond that moment. But the map you see before you is dotted with potential treasures and horrors. It’s up to you and your squad to find the best way to navigate the map and hit all the major points of interest that you desire within a healthy time limit. So, the question then becomes, what’s the best way to navigate an unmarked map fresh out of a Hellpod? What do you look for? We’ve got you covered in that department.
Notable Points of Interests (POIs)
There are a number of things that you might stumble across when traversing a map in Helldivers 2. Here are some of the most notable POIs (among countless others).
Terminid Nests
Automaton Fabricators
Radar Stations
Spore Spewers
Illegal broadcast Radio Towers
Automaton Communications Jammers
Reward Beacons
Know Where The Hordes Are
If you haven’t figured it out by now or haven’t been playing long, then just know that the big red spots on your map likely signal Terminid nests or Automaton bases. If you’re on a mission to clear out nests or fabricators, then those are usually marked for you (unless you’re playing on Helldive difficulty and a modifier exists that fogs your map). The bigger the red spot, the bigger the nest or base. The biggest Terminid nests on higher difficulties typically have 10 bug holes to destroy while the largest Automaton bases have at least 3 Fabricators that could use a grenade or two in their ventilation system.
These facilities are another important structure when seeking out all the opportunities a map has to offer. Granted, not every map has a radar station available. Regardless, you should always keep your eyes peeled for one. The radar towers are tall, and you can often see a radar dish at the base of the tower. If you activate these radar stations, you’ll uncover all possible side objectives as well as supply caches littered throughout the map. So, it’s an objective worth visiting at any chance you get.
You’ll have to activate the computer terminal near the tower, raise the radar dish, and then turn the dish to the indicated direction on the terminal. It’s easiest if one teammate is on the computer and another is turning the dish at the top of the tower. This way the terminal operator can tell the one doing the manual labor when to stop. If you’re on your own, don’t fret. You can also tell when the radar dish is facing the right direction as you turn it by listening for the computer terminal to chime. Once you hear that chime, you can run back to the terminal and activate the radar enabling you visibility across the entire map.
Other Notable POIs
If you haven’t located a Radar Station, you can navigate the map by simply using your acute senses of vision and intuition. The more you play the game, the more you’ll become familiar with typical layouts of maps and structures. There are telling landmarks that dot the landscape that players can spot on the horizon that indicate potential POIs or side objectives. Use your identification of these landmarks to help you navigate.
These structures are real pieces of work. It’s hard not to take notice when in the vicinity of one considering they eliminate your use of Strategems thanks to their signal jamming technology. This means you need to storm the Automaton base where they are located and manually deactivate the jammer at the computer terminal before you can destroy it with an airstrike. Of course, Jammers have been known to go down pretty easy when blowing up a Fabricator positioned next to them with a grenade or by using some other hefty firepower.
Jammers can easily be spotted in the distance as towers with a rapidly spinning plate up top spreading their intrusive signals. So, you have two choices: either avoid approaching a jammer’s territory, or destroy it.
Keep in mind, that if you do enter its territory, jamming up Strategems also means you can’t call in reinforcements. If you and your buddies decide to tackle this side gig and someone dies, they can’t reinforce until your whole squad dies or someone deactivates the jammer.
In Terminid country, smaller red dots on your map have been known to also indicate the presence of aSpore Spewer, you know, the big mushroom-looking fungus with glowing orange lights that is causing all the nasty fog to spread across an area of the map. If you scan the horizon and see an area of land covered in greenish-yellow fog, check your map to see if there’s a small red spot in that direction. You might also be able to see the Spore Spewer from a distance sticking out of the fog. If so, there are a few easy ways to eliminate it from a safe distance. Refer to that guidehere.
Radio Towers
These side objectives are another structure, much like the Spore Spewer, that can be spotted from a good distance. TheRadio Towershave a circular shielding around the top that distinguishes them from other towers you might find littered across a map. They’re broadcasting what SEAF has determined as “illegal” communications. So, they must be stopped. Scan the horizon for these buildings. If you spot one, you’re able to eliminate them without approaching them and risking combatting enemies if you’re packing aRecoilless Rifleor anExosuit. But if you don’t have the means to fire artillery from a distance at the tower, you can approach the tower and call in a Hellbomb.
While on the hunt, you’ll also want to pick up goodies where you’re able to find them. Sometimes you can locate extraSuper CreditsorMedalsthat are mighty valuable. Other times, you’ll find Advanced Weaponry like aStalwartorAnti-Material Rifle. The key is looking out for pillars of yellow light that are pulsing. These indicate a downed craft that you can open for some goodies. They can be spotted from far away. Additionally, there are below-ground doors that can be accessed with two Helldivers or Containers that you can blow the doors off of in order to find a stash. However, these aren’t quite as easy to find unless you stumble across them.
Ultimately, it’s up to you to use your intuition and set your priorities when engaging in a mission. If side objectives are important to you, take note of the details we have provided. It’s all about using identifiable landmarks.
