Enemies

The people of Super Earth are currently engaged in a galaxy-wide existential struggle against three enemy factions, namely Bugs, the Illuminate and Cyborgs. These enemies of humanity all seek to extend their galactic territory through military conquest and Helldiver troops must fight to bring an end to their rapacious and warmongering empires.

## Enemy Roles

Each enemy faction is comprised of between 10 and 12 different enemy types that fulfill certain distinct military roles:

* **Patrols** wander the battlefield in search of Helldivers. They are often weak and pose little threat on their own but can raise an alarm to bring their more powerful comrades to their location.

* **Light and heavy infantry** form the bulk of every enemy's forces and engage Helldivers with a variety of gunfire, explosive, and melee attacks. These units vary widely in speed, resilience, and armor levels, from the devious and slight Bug Stalker; to the frenzied nature and immense brawn of the Cyborg Butcher. Armor-piercing ammunition will allow Helldivers to deal with these enemies more effectively.

* **Tanks** are the largest and most durable units of the enemy's regular military forces, their lack of maneuverability is offset by their intimidating size and extremely thick armor. Anti-tank heavy weapons or Stratagems are often essential to allow Helldivers to deal with these brutes.

* **Elites** are among the most powerful and menacing adversaries that the opponents of Super Earth can muster. These fearsome foes are all extremely resilient, with some even being immune to anything but dedicated anti-tank weaponry. Elites use a wide range of tactics and imposing weapons to try to devastate Helldiver forces, from the awesome firepower and nearly impenetrable armor of the Cyborg Warlord to the mind-controlling nanobot technology of the Illuminate Council Member.

* **Masters** are unique and terrifying new enemy units that pose a much greater threat than any encountered before. These huge monstrosities only seem to appear on outlying planets, supported by some of their faction's most dangerous regular military forces. Masters possess an overwhelming array of destructive weaponry and are capable of absorbing far more damage than all other enemies - Helldiver Command strongly recommends that only full squads of experienced Helldiver troops tackle these abominations.

## Bugs

A belligerent race of sentient insectoid creatures, desperately fighting for more territory to house their innumerable horde. The Bug homeworld is the desert planet of Kepler Prime. Enemy types:

\* Can be encountered as a patrol.
\*\* Sometimes appears as a target for the Assassinate objective.

## The Illuminate

An ancient and technologically advanced alien civilization threatening Super Earth with its formidable weapons of mass destruction. The Illuminate homeworld is the forest planet of Squ'lath Shrine. Enemy types:

\* Can be encountered as a patrol.
\*\* Sometimes appears as a target for the Assassinate objective.

## Cyborgs

A separatist movement of former human beings whose obsession with the cybernetic augmentation of their own bodies led to their violent rebellion from Super Earth. The Cyborg homeworld is a snow-covered planet known as Cyberstan. Enemy types:

\* Can be encountered as a patrol.
\*\* Sometimes appears as a target for the Assassinate objective.