The War Strider is a type of heavy 
Automaton walker. They were first sighted on July 15, 2185, during an Automaton invasion to cripple 
DSS assets.
The War Strider is a reverse-jointed bipedal mech deployed by the Automatons for urban operations, although they have started to deploy it in all their combat fronts. It functions similarly to the Hulk as a ranged heavy weapons platform. In appearance, it looks like an upgraded version of the Reinforced Scout Strider, but is noticeably taller (being roughly between a Scout Strider and Factory Strider in height).
Behavior
War Striders are fearsome Automaton unit loaded to the teeth with high-explosive armaments. They are generally found guarding various points of interests throughout the mission or can be found in patrols.
Their main weapon is their twin-mounted railgun which can fire unison of energy blasts. If their target 
Helldiver attempts to take cover or retreat, the War Strider will use its secondary weapon: twin grenade launchers which will hurl down salvos of high-explosive grenades to carpet the area with explosions. Although Helldivers can lob the grenades pretty much like the ones used by the Elevated Overseer or Troopers, the sheer amount of grenades they lob is usually enough for them to instead reconsider and engage in a dive prone.
If their target is at close range, a War Strider will perform a powerful stomp with its leg which can exert enough force to knock a Helldiver off their knees.
Tactics
- The War Strider has AP4 "heavy" armor on all its body parts. Its main weak points are its eye and its rear heat sink.
- The War Strider has two weapons:
- Its primary armament is a pair of twin rapid-fire heavy plasma cannons, similar to the ones found on light turrets. Apart from doing very heavy damage on hit, it possesses a small AoE that ragdolls Helldivers.
- Its secondary weapon is a pair of grenade launchers that scatter a large amount of timed grenades in an area. These are similar to the grenades thrown by Troopers and serve to flush out Helldivers out of cover or as area denial. Be wary of getting surrounded or confined.
- While not exactly a "weapon", the War Strider is capable of stomping on Helldivers that get too close. Their stomps have a "blast" and knockback effect that can seriously injure those not caught underfoot.
- The War Strider's cannons need a brief few seconds of charging before firing, which is telegraphed by the red electrical currents running through their cannons. The mech is capable of firing in 8-shot bursts, after which its weapons will power down briefly to repeat the cycle.
- War Striders are not very agile enemies, they handle close combat poorly due to their slow turn speed and cannot keep up with a Helldiver running circles around them. This makes Striders with no escorts very easy to isolate and kill during a close ambush in its blind spots. That said, they are very adept at holding corridors due to their choice of weaponry, so it is very ill-advised to take them head-on at range.
- Similarly to the Scout and Heavy Strider, having one of its legs destroyed will kill the War Strider outright. For this reason, focusing on the legs with heavy weaponry is encouraged, as it is the weakest point of the mech.
- In an emergency, it may also be prudent to just destroy both of its arm cannons, due to their much lower health. Their grenade launchers are also destructible. Destruction of the weapon systems is not lethal, but will heavily remove it as a ranged threat.
- Shooting either a leg or the pelvis with most AT rocket launchers will destroy a War Strider in one shot. Bodyshots will take two shots. The MLS-4X Commando takes two and four, respectively. In optimal conditions, it typically takes the StA-X3 W.A.S.P. Launcher 3-4 magazines to destroy a single Strider, which does not make it very effective.
- Two overcharged RS-422 Railgun shots to its leg joint will also destroy a War Strider. One overcharged shot is enough when targeting its aforementioned weak spots.
- A thermite grenade sticking to either parts of its body will kill it upon detonation.
- The GP-31 Ultimatum will destroy a Strider with a direct hit.
- The FX-12 Shield Generator Relay is useful to have when fighting War Striders head-on, as it prevents Helldivers from being ragdolled by their cannon barrage.
- Much like Hulks, War Striders can be stunned and staggered with arc weapons, flash grenades, and explosions.
- Unlike Hulks, however, the red eye is a red herring and not a weakpoint - at least at first. Following patch 1.004.100, the eyes and vents on the back are now considered weak points.
- War Striders are resilient against Hellpod strikes, and their top armor may occasionally deflect stratagems.
Trivia
- The War Strider's design bears a heavy resemblance to ED-209 from the 1987 film RoboCop, which partially inspired Helldivers.
- The War Strider is the only non-Trooper Automaton that can throw grenades, with the exception of the Agitator and Radical, which by definition are
Cyborgs and not Automatons, though the game classifies them as such. - The War Strider has a reputation among the Helldivers 2 community as being one of, if not the most annoying enemy type currently in the game, due to its ragdoll abilities, high spawn rate and durability.
- War Strider Audio.
