Helldivers 2: How to defeat Annihilator Tank

The Annihilator Tank is a truly fearsome member of the Automaton army in Helldivers 2. But with some team effort and the indomitable spirit of Super Earth you can take it down in no time.

Where to find the Annihilator Tank in Helldivers 2

The Annihilator Tank will only appear in the Automaton region on Hard difficulty missions and above. So if you’ve only got access to Challenging missions at the moment you likely won’t find an Annihilator Tank. But even when you do have access to the Hard difficulty, these things will rarely spawn. Your best bet for finding the tank is to complete missions and keep playing until you find one.

How to destroy the Annihilator Tank

Like a lot of enemies in Helldivers 2, the Annihilator Tank will eventually go down once you put enough ammo into it. However, there are aspects to the tank that make it a bit tricky to fight if you don’t know what to do. Thankfully the strategy here is extremely similar to taking down a Hulk in Helldivers 2.

For starters, the Annihilator Tank is heavily armored all over except for two particular weak spots. There’s the heat sink at the back of the turret and the vents on the back of the tank’s main body. Shooting these will deal more damage and get you much closer to defeating it.

You’ll deal even more damage if you shoot these areas with weapons like the Expendable Anti-Tank or the Recoilless Rifle. Alternatively, you can use any of the highly damaging stratagems in Helldivers 2 to defeat the Annihilator Tank.

I found the best way to deal with the Annihilator Tank quickly was by coordinating with my team to take it down together. If you aren’t able to use voice chat in this instance you can make use of the game’s pinging system to direct your teammates’ attention. When all four of us banded together the tank was dealt with no time.

Some helpful warnings

Be extremely careful when taking on the Annihilator Tank since it can take you out in a single shot. And if your team is all bunched up together this could mean you’ll get a taste of a team wipe. So space yourselves out and time your shots when the tank isn’t aiming at you. Try to make full use of cover around the area and also keep an eye out for any other enemies that might flank your team.

On levels where the sightlines are obscured by foliage, the Annihilator Tank can easily surprise you. And since it’s a one-shot kill you can easily be overwhelmed. I decided to take the fight away from the foliage in this instance to try and lure the tank out into the open. The fight is much easier to deal with if you approach it like that.

If you’re going up against the Annihilator Tank solo in Helldivers 2 you may struggle to deal with its high damage. In that case, just work as efficiently as possible when targeting its weak spots to bring it down quickly. And use Stratagems to deal continuous damage against it while you move out of its field of view. To stand a chance you’ll need to use the best weapons Helldivers 2 has to offer.