Close Menu
GamesHorizonGamesHorizon
  • News
  • Guides
  • Reviews
  • Features
  • Platforms
    • PC
    • PS5
    • Xbox Series S
    • Nintendo
    • PS4
    • Xbox One
  • Anime
  • Game Hubs

Subscribe to our Newsletter

Get the latest gaming news, guides and reviews from GamesHorizon to your INBOX!

WHAT'S HOT
CS2

Unlocking the Thrill: Hidden Gems among the Best CS2 Case Opening Websites

May 28, 2025
Onimusha 2 Remastered feature image

Onimusha 2 Samurai’s Destiny Remastered: All File Locations

May 24, 2025
all-mother shrine feature image

Tainted Grail The Fall of Avalon: Offering To The All-Mother’s Shrine

May 23, 2025
Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram Pinterest
  • XDefiant
  • Wuthering Waves
  • Destiny 2
GamesHorizonGamesHorizon
  • News
    Xbox Series X and Series S placed together on a table.

    FTC Challenges Xbox Game Pass Subscription Changes

    July 19, 2024
    Star Wars Outlaws Forgoes Traditional Leveling System in Favor of Exploration and Reputation - - News | | GamesHorizon

    Star Wars Outlaws Forgoes Traditional Leveling System in Favor of Exploration and Reputation

    July 18, 2024
    Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 to be Free for Select Kickstarter Backers - - News | | GamesHorizon

    Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 to be Free for Select Kickstarter Backers

    July 17, 2024
    Warhammer 40k Space Marine 2 Developer Responds To Leak - - News | | GamesHorizon

    Warhammer 40k Space Marine 2 Developer Responds To Leak

    July 16, 2024
    Video Game Leak Investigation Explained By Former Pokemon & Bungie Developer - - News | | GamesHorizon

    Video Game Leak Investigation Explained By Former Pokemon & Bungie Developer

    July 12, 2024
  • Guides
    Onimusha 2 Remastered feature image

    Onimusha 2 Samurai’s Destiny Remastered: All File Locations

    May 24, 2025
    all-mother shrine feature image

    Tainted Grail The Fall of Avalon: Offering To The All-Mother’s Shrine

    May 23, 2025
    pain relief quest feature image

    Tainted Grail The Fall of Avalon: How To Save Keeper Lanzo From Toothache

    May 23, 2025
    sea of stairs rail forest feature image

    Sea of Stars Throes of the Watchmaker: Rail Forest Puzzle Solution

    May 22, 2025
    deliver at all costs feature image

    Deliver At All Costs: How To Solve The Port Belle Shipping Crates Puzzle

    May 22, 2025
  • Reviews
  • Features
    Why Clair Obscur Is Shaping Up To Be A Highly Anticipated Release - - News | | GamesHorizon

    Why Clair Obscur Is Shaping Up To Be A Highly Anticipated Release

    April 9, 2025
    Clair Obscur Expedition 33: All Voice Cast Details - - News | | GamesHorizon

    Clair Obscur Expedition 33: All Voice Cast Details

    April 8, 2025
    Promo for Clair Obscur

    Clair Obscur Expedition 33: Release Date, Platforms, System Requirements

    April 5, 2025
    Top 10 Games 2025

    Top 10 Games Of 2025 So Far

    April 3, 2025
    Naoe in action in Assassin's Creed Shadows

    AC Shadows vs. Ghost of Tsushima: Which Title Handles Ancient Japan Better?

    April 2, 2025
  • Platforms
    • PC
    • PS5
    • Xbox Series S
    • Nintendo
    • PS4
    • Xbox One
  • Anime
    All About Baruka In Solo Leveling

    All About Baruka In Solo Leveling

    March 21, 2024
    9 Strongest Mashle Characters, Ranked

    9 Strongest Mashle Characters, Ranked

    March 21, 2024
    Mashle Season 2 Episode 11 Release Date Details

    Mashle Season 2 Episode 11 Release Date, Time, And Where To Watch

    March 20, 2024
    Solo Leveling Episode 11 Expectations

    Solo Leveling Episode 11: Release Date, Time, And Where To Watch

    March 20, 2024
    Solo Leveling Episode 10 Release Date Details

    Solo Leveling Episode 10 Release Date, Time, And Where To Watch

    March 16, 2024
  • Game Hubs
GamesHorizonGamesHorizon
Home»Guides
galactic emergency update
Image via Arrowhead

Helldivers 2: Best Illuminate Weapons For The Invasion

Aditya KelkarBy Aditya Kelkar3 Mins Read Guides May 15, 2025
SHARE
Facebook Twitter Reddit WhatsApp Telegram Tumblr

The Illuminate have made their full-scale return to Helldivers 2, arriving through the Meridian Singularity with a massive invasion fleet. This marks the beginning of the Galactic Emergency update, bringing a real threat to Super Earth. Alongside the usual units we’ve seen in their earlier ambush-style appearances, the Illuminate now field three deadly new enemy types.

How The Illuminate Fight

illuminate enemies
Image via Arrowhead

Even with their new additions, the Illuminate follow their familiar strategy. They send waves of Voteless zombies to overwhelm you while Overseers and Harvesters apply ranged pressure. These enemies are designed to flush you out of cover and punish you for staying still.

The new units add even more chaos to the mix:

  • Stingray: Performs rapid strafing runs to clear fortified areas
  • Crescent Overseer: Bombards your position with mortar-like energy blasts
  • Fleshmob: Large, grotesque enemies that charge quickly and knock players around with wild melee swings

Each of these threats forces constant repositioning, making static defense almost impossible.

Best Loadout Against the Illuminate

To effectively counter the Illuminate’s relentless aggression, here’s the loadout that offers the best results:

  • Armor: Anything with the Inflammable Armor passive
  • Primary Weapon: LAS-17 Double-Edged Sickle
  • Secondary Weapon: GP-31 Ultimatum
  • Grenade: G-4 Gas
  • Stratagems: Supply Pack, Explosive Anti-Tank, Orbital Napalm Barrage
  • Booster: Vitality Enhancement

Why the Double-Edged Sickle Is Ideal

sickle weapon
Image via Arrowhead

To survive the Illuminate onslaught, you need a weapon like LAS-17 Double-Edged Sickle that maintains peak output under pressure. This gun, introduced in the Servants of Freedom Warbond, functions like a modified LAS-16. It has infinite sustained fire, builds up extreme damage and armor penetration, and can melt through even the toughest targets. The downside is that it damages the user over time and eventually sets you on fire if fired continuously. That’s where the rest of the loadout comes in.

Managing the Sickle’s Downsides

inflammable armor
Image via Arrowhead

With the right gear, you can neutralize the Sickle’s self-damage and stay alive long enough to turn it into a crowd-clearing machine. Inflammable armor drastically reduces fire damage, while the Vitality Enhancement booster boosts your healing. Combine these with a Supply Pack, and you’ll have nearly constant access to healing stims

The timing works in your favor — by the time your current Supply Pack runs dry, you’re usually ready to call in another.

How to Use This Build Effectively

The strategy is simple, but effective: fire the Sickle continuously into the oncoming Illuminate until it starts hurting you too much, heal, and repeat. This weapon can rip through Fleshmobs by focusing on their legs and shred Harvesters by aiming between the “head” and lower chassis. Overseers don’t stand a chance, and the Sickle’s precision makes it effective even against flying enemies

As chaotic as the Illuminate encounters are, this loadout lets you push back hard — and stay in the fight longer than most builds allow. Meanwhile, you can now also do weapon customization in Helldivers 2 – check our guide on how to go about doing that.

Helldivers 2
Share. Facebook Twitter Reddit WhatsApp
Aditya Kelkar

LATEST POSTS

CS2

Unlocking the Thrill: Hidden Gems among the Best CS2 Case Opening Websites

Onimusha 2 Remastered feature image

Onimusha 2 Samurai’s Destiny Remastered: All File Locations

all-mother shrine feature image

Tainted Grail The Fall of Avalon: Offering To The All-Mother’s Shrine

pain relief quest feature image

Tainted Grail The Fall of Avalon: How To Save Keeper Lanzo From Toothache

sea of stairs rail forest feature image

Sea of Stars Throes of the Watchmaker: Rail Forest Puzzle Solution

deliver at all costs feature image

Deliver At All Costs: How To Solve The Port Belle Shipping Crates Puzzle

featured image sea of stars DLCS

Sea Of Stars: How To Access The Throes of the Watchmaker DLC

artifacts and relics palia feature image

Complete Guide To Artifacts & Relics In Palia

infected essence elderwood feature image

How To Get Infected Essence In Palia

sacred flowers feature image

Palia: Where To find Sacred Flowers

FOLLOW US
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest

Subscribe to our Newsletter

Get the latest gaming news, guides and reviews from GamesHorizon to your INBOX!

MOST READ
15 Best Game Trilogies Of All Time, Ranked - - News | | GamesHorizon
15 Best Game Trilogies Of All Time, Ranked
RPG genre
The Best RPGs Of All Time – Updated For 2025
30 Best PS5 Games To Play In 2025 - - News | | GamesHorizon
30 Best PS5 Games To Play In 2025
40 Best PS4 Games You Shouldn't Miss (Ranked) - - News | | GamesHorizon
40 Best PS4 Games You Shouldn’t Miss (Ranked)
All rights reserved. Copyright © 2023 GamesHorizon.
  • About Us
  • Editorial Standards
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Contact Us

Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.

GamesHorizon
Powered by  GDPR Cookie Compliance
Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.

Strictly Necessary Cookies

Strictly Necessary Cookie should be enabled at all times so that we can save your preferences for cookie settings.

If you disable this cookie, we will not be able to save your preferences. This means that every time you visit this website you will need to enable or disable cookies again.

3rd Party Cookies

This website uses Google Analytics to collect anonymous information such as the number of visitors to the site, and the most popular pages.

Keeping this cookie enabled helps us to improve our website.

Please enable Strictly Necessary Cookies first so that we can save your preferences!