“	Troopers are little more than guns with legs, base caricatures of consciousness fused to machine guns and rocket launchers. Unlike Super Earth, the bots seem to believe that strapping heavy weaponry to expendable cannon fodder is the solution to every problem.	„
	~ Helldivers 2 PlayStation Page

The primary infantry unit of the Automaton forces, the Trooper is the most basic Automaton enemy. They can be fielded in larger numbers and come equipped with a veritable number weapons or implements, based on mission parameters. They are considered the cannon fodder of the Automaton forces as they are the easiest foe to eliminate when in small numbers. However, they still remain a high priority due to their ability to call for heavier reinforcements.

They can be divided into six types and three special variants from subfactions:

• Trooper/Raider - Automaton infantry equipped with assault rifles, can often be seen piloting Scout Striders. Raiders replace Troopers on higher difficulties but are functionally identical.
• Marauder - Automaton infantry equipped with Rapid-Fire Cannons and tougher armour, they can be noticed by their Maroon coloured heads and bulky shoulders.
• Brawler - Automaton infantry equipped with dual energy blades, they are unable to engage in ranged attacks, outside of manning machine gun emplacements.
• MG Raider - Automaton infantry equipped with machine guns, they have the the same appearance as a Marauder, though MG Raiders come with a backpack.
• Rocket Raider - Automaton infantry equipped with a rocket launcher.
• Assault Raider - Automaton infantry equipped with a Jump Pack, pistol and energy blade.

Jet Brigade

• Jet Brigade Trooper - Elite Trooper with Jump Pack and assault rifle.
• Jet Brigade MG Raider - Elite MG Raider with Jump Pack and machine gun.

Incineration Corps

• Raider - Elite Trooper with assault rifle and incendiary grenades.
• Rocket Raider - Elite Trooper Equipped with a handheld Plasma Cannon.
• Pyro Trooper - Elite Trooper armed with a flamethrower.

Appearance

The Basic Automaton Troopers such as Raiders, Brawler and Rocket Raiders have grey colored bodies with white heads with glowing red eyes, and stand just about the same height as a Helldiver. Marauders and MG Raiders have additional armor and maroon colored heads, with MG Raiders wearing black backpacks with red heat sinks. Troopers of the Jet Brigade are made of reflective chrome. Incineration Corps Troopers have white colored bodies with red shoulders and bulky armor similar to Marauders, they also have two gas filters over their skull shaped heads.

Behavior

Troopers make up majority of the Automaton forces, thus they generally rely on strength in numbers. A Trooper's instinct is to "shoot first, ask questions later" upon engaging a hostile force. They are found throughout most Bot-occupied areas within a planet. Troopers have the most diverse weaponry among the enemy factions in the game, sporting various armaments such as Rocket Launcher and Assault Rifles to neutralize their targets. If their targets stray too close, they can use their weapon as a melee attack. They may also lob a high-explosive grenade whenever their target is hiding behind cover.

In Automaton Outposts, Troopers can sometimes man a laser turret or machine gun turret where they will open fire almost immediately upon detecting a Helldiver. Helldivers can also use these turrets to their advantage, albeit having limited ammo.

Tactics

• All troopers are classed as unarmored, meaning any weapon will deal full damage to them.
  • Backpack equipment such as jump packs and fuel tanks only have light armor, so light-penentration weapons will deal reduced damage against them (although this is still barely noticeable due to their low HP).
• Troopers are one of two Automaton units capable of calling for reinforcements. All types are capable of doing so, and they telegraph such action by raising their arm and firing a red flare into the sky. This makes them just as dangerous in a fight as any other Automaton unit, despite their frail appearance.
  • There is a distinct sound cue that plays when an Automaton readies their flare.
  • Disassembling the Trooper before it can launch the flare will prevent the Bot Drop from being called in.
    • However, if a Trooper readying their flare is destroyed there is a chance another Trooper will shoot a flare instead.
• All Trooper variants can throw grenades if the player is behind cover. These grenades can be thrown back at the Trooper and can even be thrown through the door of Fabricators.
• Brawlers will not run straight at the Helldiver and will try to flank you, running perpendicularly, making them a harder target.
• MG Raiders can be identified by their red heat-sinks extending from both shoulders, and these will explode if damaged.
• Rocket Raiders are particularly deadly due to their use of rocket launchers, which are very accurate at long range and typically kill instantly (was a bug, can't one hit kill anymore, but they still deal significant damage). They can easily kill you or one of your squad mates if you are all distracted or if they simply go unnoticed.
• Jet Brigade Troopers will use their jump packs to rapidly close distance. While not very durable, this does make them a very tangible threat as Troopers, especially those armed with machine guns,12 have very high burst damage up-close. Their jump packs are also very volatile and will explode if hit, and more often than not, a single exploding jet trooper will doom their entire squad in an explosive domino effect.
  • When facing Jet Brigade Troopers at point-blank range, it is recommended to shoot them in the legs, as shooting them in the body will cause them to fling themselves towards you in their death explosion, causing damage and setting anyone nearby the blast zone on fire. Leg shots will instead cause them to crumple to the ground, keeping their jump packs intact.
• Pyro Troopers are full-blown assault infantry. They will blindly rush towards a Helldiver to burn them alive as quickly as possibly. They are very dangerous if left alone, as a group of them spraying fire can quickly end an entire squad of careless Helldivers.
  • The fuel tanks on the back of Pyro Troopers are also very volatile. Much like Jet Troopers, a single Pyro Trooper's tanks exploding will typically doom the rest of the squad if grouped close enough.
  • Much like the Jet Brigade Troopers, it is wise to avoid straying too close to these Troopers as their explosions can set the player ablaze.
• On Challenging difficulty and higher, there is a small chance that a "Horde" patrol can spawn that strictly consists of an average of 30-40 Troopers.

Threat Elimination

Troopers and the variants aren’t major threats, but they can all call in Bot Drops, so taking them out first is recommended to prevent reinforcements from arriving.

Target Vulnerabilities:

• Head - Instant death. Hard to hit, so better off aiming for the chest piece.
• Arm - Removes their firearms and prevents them from using flares, resort to melee.
• Leg - Becomes immovable and no longer fires weapons.

Recommended Efficient Weapons:

• Any weapon, preferably one with chaff clear such as the GL-21 Grenade Launcher or SG-225 Breaker.
• The Diligence is able to disable basic variants with a single body-shot.
• The Arc-12 Blitzer can easily dispatch small and medium groups.

Recommended Efficient Stratagems:

• Any offensive stratagems.
• Any turrets or minefields.

Enemies
Terminids	Scavenger - Bile Spitter - Pouncer – Hunter – Stalker – Warrior - Bile Warrior - Hive Guard – Alpha Warrior – Brood Commander – Alpha Commander – Bile Spewer - Nursing Spewer – Charger - Charger Behemoth – Spore Charger – Shrieker – Impaler – Bile Titan - Dragonroach - Hive Lord
	Predator Strain	Predator Hunter - Predator Stalker
	Rupture Strain	Rupture Warrior - Rupture Spewer - Rupture Charger
	Spore Burst Strain	Spore Burst Scavenger - Spore Burst Hunter - Spore Burst Warrior - Spore Burst Bile Titan
Automatons	Trooper – Commissar – Scout Strider – Berserker – Devastator – Hulk – Tank – War Strider – Dropship – Gunship – Factory Strider
	Jet Brigade	Jet Brigade Trooper – Jet Brigade MG Raider – Jet Brigade Devastator – Jet Brigade Hulk
	Incineration Corps	Pyro Trooper – Conflagration Devastator – Incendiary MG Devastator – Hulk Firebomber
	Cyborg Legion	– Radical – Agitator – Vox Engine
Illuminate	Overseer – Elevated Overseer – Crescent Overseer – Watcher – Harvester – Stingray – Warp Ship – Leviathan
	Mindless Masses	Voteless – Fleshmob
	Appropriators	Obtruder – Gatekeeper – Veracitor