How to Beat the Spore Charger in Helldivers 2

The Helldivers 2 update, Escalation of Freedom, went live on August 6th and included a slew of new challenges and bigger badder enemies—a fresh batch of terrifying enemies. There is the return of the Impaler, a nasty Terminid armed with lethal burrowing tentacles that are sure to set one's teeth on edge. This will then be overshadowed by truly horrifying new bugs lurking out there in space.

The Spore Charger is one of the grotesque mutations to the standard Charger, one that puts in a chilling new element within Helldivers 2. Sure, the basic Charger wasn't something to snicker at, either, but this one conceals itself within a foul green fog, really bringing menace to bear. It has an armored carapace with hideous growths, which further adds to its intimidating appearance.

The first time I came across a Spore Charger, it was an ambush. Its acidic fog cloaked its presence, making it blend into this harsh weather condition of the planet. I strayed through a pitch-black, obscured terrain when I suddenly cut through by a teammate's urgent warning. A moment later, the monstrous Spore Charger burst forth from the green haze, shocking and scaring me enough to teach me a fine lesson on survival.

Where to find a Spore Charger

Like all other elite variants of the enemies—including the Impaler—Spore Chargers are one of the higher difficulty hallmarks. First appearance is at mission level 6, Extreme, and these monstrosities tend to be seen with other monstrous or well-armored enemies. Though their twisted appearance is a dead giveaway, the dead give-away is the swirling acid-green fog that surrounds them. The floating cloud washes out visibility, making their position pretty hard to determine. Players will need weapons and abilities with good homing capabilities that can deal high damage in order to defeat this enemy.

How to kill a Spore Charger

Explosive weaponry is critical in countering a Spore Charger in its heavy armor. For this, one should preferably use an Expendable Anti-Tank rocket launcher or, for added effect, the Commando or Spear. Keeping all of your firepower on its face, which isn't armored, will give it a good enough battering to enable a second shot to finish off the Charger.

The lock-on feature on the Spear is very useful in targeting something precisely amidst the screen-shaking racket of a Spore Charger encounter. One cannot undervalue its function of compensating for human error when dealing with such fog-shrouded behemoths. The player should, however, be at a safe range to allow the rocket on the Spear to climb to altitude before locking on.

If you're concerned about getting into direct confrontation with a Spore Charger, you can fall back on a few of Helldivers 2's more underused strategic options. The Orbital Railcannon Strike and the Eagle 110MM Rocket Pods are great for fighting from a distance. Both of these heavy hitters fire and forget; they lock on to the largest baddie in their view. They're great for clearing out Spore Chargers from afar, completely eliminating the need for you to trudge through the toxic fog.

These stratagems have been effective against mobile targets, including Bile Titans and regular Chargers. A potential future strategy for obscuring vision would significantly increase the value of a Spore Charger, truly making these tools invaluable to fight this fearsome enemy.

While defeating a Spore Charger by direct combat is certainly possible—with a few well-placed shots into its exposed flanks or underbelly—it is very resource-intensive and risky. When the Charger dies, it explodes, covering everything nearby in corrosive acid. The risk of this to nearby Helldivers is very high.

Considering limitations of ammo and how fast-paced this game is, utilizing stratagems mentioned above is much easier and safer way to kill off this pesky enemy.