Retaliatory Strike

This page is a work in progress and will be updated in the near future.

## Work in Progress

To be expanded:

* ~~A specific number of enemies required to accomplish the mission for all factions at any difficulty.~~

* Advanced tactics/techniques such as a recommend and the most useful loadouts, tricks and more...

* ~~All hand-crafted arenas. (+ screenshots)~~
	+ Effects of the various terrain types on certain maps (i.e. the "small cyborg square" never features any terrain hazard, etc.)
		- And all bugs, glitches, and exploits assigned to them.

## Retaliatory Strike

Retaliatory Strike missions are a part of a free content update **Democracy Strikes Back** released on 26th October 2015. These missions require Helldivers to drop into a hazardous, arena-like area to exterminate as many of the enemies of democracy as possible before being allowed to extract.

During a Retaliatory Strike, a large kill counter (with progress bar) will appear at the top of the screen.

## Retaliatory Strike Arenas

There are 108 handcrafted arenas in total. Going left to right, Bugs, Cyborgs, and Illuminates previews appear in columns of four. City Event arenas appear as a row separately at the bottom:

## Difficulty Kills Required Table

Retaliatory Strikes can appear from Medium up to the The Inner Circle of Hell difficulty as one of the tree missions.

## Retaliatory Strike Hazards

The Retaliatory Strike arenas usually do not stand out, but a few of them are extremely dangerous, not only because they are filled with enemies - Arenas are arranged with hazards such as:

* **Water**
* **Snow**
* **Magma Eruptions**

## Gameplay Tips

* The AT-47 Anti-Tank Emplacement is very effective on the Retaliatory Strike mission-type, especially against Cyborgs or Bugs, and many players consider this Stratagem to be overly powerful against any enemy race. For new recruits especially, the AT-47 can turn a seemingly impossible endeavour into an easy experience. One or two emplacements defended and/or healed by other players with additional defensive items is a commonly found set-up for RS missions.
* Another effective tactic is to set up defenses such as Airdropped Anti-Personnel Mines or the A/AC-6 Tesla Tower in the center of the map. If (or rather when) the enemy swarms your position, reposition by skirting around the defenses (or by using a Jetpack to jump over them), escaping the enemy and simultaneously leading them back through the kill zone.
	+ The Airdropped Anti-Personnel Mines or/and A/AC-6 Tesla Tower is only effective against Bugs and Illuminates, bringing this loadout on the higher Cyborgs Retaliatory Strike missions is not recommended.
* It is recommended to bring the laser weapons instead, you will save one stratagem (Resupply) slot which will be very helpful to you and your team on the arena.
* Teamwork is especially required on Retaliatory Strike missions. Help your fellow Helldivers and match the loadout to theirs. (If your team is using ammo-hungry weapons and you will need more ammo, then take more resupply even at the cost of your 2 stratagems slots!)
* Retaliatory Strikes are quite small, but it doesn't mean to stay in one place. Movement is the most important part of survivability so keep moving.
* Bringing a Shredder Missile Strike can be extremely effective when the enemies go out of control and most of the helldivers are dead. Just throw a shredder and wait patiently with Reinforce stratagem in your hand.
	+ When you are playing a Retaliatory Strike alone and you are dead, a shredder automatically falls and kills most of the enemies before you revive.
* While LIFT-850 Jump Packs can be quite effective, it must be used with extreme care since the map is small and you might be jumping into the enemies or mine field.
* RL-112 Recoilless Rifle or M-25 Rumbler might be a good choice if you need some anti-tanks, but four EAT-17 combined with Stratagem Priority works very well. Just spread it out in the arena and pick it up when you need it.

## Notes

* The Retaliatory Strikes frequency has been lowered to max one per planet and approximately one occurrence on every third planet in Patch 4.01.
	+ When playing solo in Retaliatory Strikes you will start with 2 Auto-Reinforces and a Shredder Missile Strike will clear the area when you respawn.

## Gallery

* **0 enemies eliminated**
* **57 enemies eliminated**
* **246 enemies eliminated**
* **300 enemies eliminated**
* **376 enemies eliminated**
* **504 enemies eliminated**