Helldivers 2’s Omens of Tyranny Illuminate Faction Explained

After months of fan speculation and more than a few leaks, the Omens of Tyranny update has finally brought the Illuminate to Helldivers 2. The update was dropped last Thursday with almost no announcement, possibly due to developers at Arrowhead hoping to simulate the surprise attack nature of the Illuminate invasion. Though the patch also brought numerous balance tweaks, new vehicles, a new warbond, and a new biome in the form of urbanized Super Earth colonies, the arrival of the third faction is far and away the biggest development the patch has to offer.

Though they were a major player in the first game, the Illuminate were conspicuously absent from Helldivers 2’s launch and their inevitable return has loomed large over the in-game narrative and the community at large. Now that the third faction is finally here, there’s a lot of ground to cover. A far cry from the mindless hordes of the terminids or the Skynet-flavored militarism of the automatons, the Illuminate introduce an entirely fresh slate of enemies and threats that require a new set of strategies if helldivers want to send them packing back to whatever planet they came from.

What Are the Illuminate?

The Illuminate are a squid-like alien species from beyond the established galaxy. Their advanced society predates humanity by several millennia, giving them a massive head start on the technological arms race. It’s said that they engage in cannibalism of each other’s brains to pass along knowledge, though this may just be fearmongering Super Earth propaganda. They were a major threat in the original Helldivers, as the third faction during the events of the First Galactic War.

The Illuminate, or the Squ’ith as they refer to themselves, were soundly defeated at the end of the first war when Super Earth made it to their homeworld of Squ’Bai Shrine. And although Super Earth told its citizens that the last of the Illuminate had been exterminated here, they were, in reality, just forced out of the galaxy for a hundred years.

It’s been hinted by the developers at Arrowhead that the current Illuminate force only represents a small portion of their total military. What’s currently happening on Calypso is just the scouting parties making themselves known, and the full force of the Illuminate’s revenge has not yet been brought to bear. Only time will tell how much more devastating this faction gets over time and how much more firepower the helldivers need to stop them.

The Illuminate Faction Explained and How to Deal With Them

The Voteless

The most common enemy type players will encounter on Illuminate planets is the Voteless—Super Earth colonists who’ve been abducted and turned into mindless zombie-like thralls for the Illuminate. And by the sheer numbers of these things, it’s clear the Illuminate have been busy. The Voteless are chattel in the purest sense of the word. They die incredibly easily, but the danger comes from their forces. They attack with numbers not even the terminids can match and can easily overrun or route players who aren’t paying attention. At that point, they start acting as a tar pit for larger enemies to capitalize on or just kill the player outright via a death-by-a-thousand-cuts offense.

The Voteless are trivially easy to dispatch if a helldiver keeps their wits about them and doesn’t get overrun. Just about any weapon or stratagem will do the trick, but shotguns may be a last resort, as staying in effective range opens the door for easier ambushes. The ideal is medium-long-range high-fire-rate weapons. Helldivers 2‘s assault rifles, SMGs, and especially stratagem machine guns excel at dispatching the Voteless quickly and at safe ranges. Flame-based weaponry comes in handy for their unrivaled DPS as long as players keep on their toes not to get outmaneuvered.

Overseers

These brawny aliens are the vanguard of Illuminate invasion forces across the galaxy. Looking like an Elite that Master Chief might easily dispatch, these tanky squids are melee-based like the Voteless, but unlike their zombified underlings, these brutes can make short work of any helldiver unfortunate enough to be at the end of their staffs. They can quickly close the distance with energy shields and a powerful energy blast.

Obviously, the best way to deal with them is at a distance to prevent them from getting to use that staff. The energy blast attack moves slowly and is heavily telegraphed, making it simple enough to dodge, but overwhelming the energy shield takes some smart thinking and a quick trigger finger. Helldivers 2‘s shock weapons and lasers are excellent at draining the shield and follow-up attacks to the head will keep them staggered long enough to take them down. Stratagems of all stripes will also work in a pinch, though these enemies are faster than they look, so players should be sure to aim the beacons accordingly to ensure Eagle 1 doesn’t miss her mark.

Elevated Overseer

These units are similar to the other Overseers but with the major difference being the power of flight. Elevated Overseers have jetpacks to nimbly navigate the battlefield and rain death from above by way of energy blasts and grenades.

Because these Overseers have traded up for mobility and range, they lack the energy shield of their grounded counterparts, making them easier to damage directly. The same rules apply as the basic Overseers: aim for the head and open fire. Their jetpacks can make them slightly troublesome to aim at, but shock-based weapons like the ARC thrower and ARC Blitzer can mitigate the aiming issues.

Watchers

The most slept-on enemies filling out the Illuminate ranks, Watchers are the flying drone units that will cast players in an otherworldly purple light. Creepy as it may be, this light has a practical function outside of psychological warfare.

Watchers’ lights are signal beacons to Illuminate ships to drop additional enemies on the affected player. And if they’re not dealt with quickly, the Watchers themselves can start unleashing devastating slowing attacks that will allow them to launch a number of lethal projectiles. Thankfully, they are very weak to sustained fire, particularly in their central eye region.

Harvesters

Like the iconic and terrifying tripods from H.G. Wells’s War of the Worlds, these Harvesters are currently the most imposing threat on the Illuminate front. These powerful juggernauts are easily identified by their towering stature and their massive blue energy shields that protect them from even the most powerful stratagems. These shields need to be focus-fired and burst down in order to damage the tripod itself. All weapons will work, but the more powerful, the better. Lasers and quasar cannons in particular seem to be particularly effective at this. Stepping inside the shield while it’s active comes with a nasty surprise: the shield gives off a lethal jolt of electricity, similar to the effects of a tesla tower.

Once the shield is down, fire should remain focused on the main body of the Harvester. Similar to the Watchers, its weak point is its central “eye” from which its laser attack comes. The main body is covered with medium armor, meaning a number of weapons will be able to penetrate it and deal some light damage while other teammates burst down its eye. Neglecting to damage the Harvester for too long will allow its shields to regenerate. As the largest enemy currently on the Illuminate roster, these are massive threats that need to be dealt with ASAP.