Autocannon Automaton Helldive (Solo Max Difficulty, Tips, Tricks) || Helldivers 2

A voice-over video of a Solo Level 9 (Helldive) Automaton mission (ICBM), Helldivers 2 gameplay. Tips, tricks, fun facts and viewpoints on Helldivers 2 included. Instructional video with thought processes explained including learning moments, also included ICU-nurse life experience fun facts as intermezzos.
Loadout:
550 speed, explosion resistance
Diligence, Redeemer, Stun grenades
Stamina booster
Autocannon, Eagle 500kg, Clusterbomb & Orbital Laser
As promised in video:
Streaming thursday-friday-saturday at 19.30-22.30 (7.30-10.30pm) GMT+2.
And a link to the simultaneously uploaded Short:
• Stratagem Hero 13mil+ ...
Hope you guys enjoy. Be well & take care,
Phacil
Socials:
Twitch: / phacil
Instagram: / phacil.gaming
X (twitter): / phacilgaming
#helldivers2 #helldivers2tips #helldivers2gameplay #helldivers2solo

[@plasmasupremacy9321]

A fellow solo autocannon enjoyer! You mentioned that the scout striders have less armor on their lower halves, but a small tip to save you ammunition: An autocannon shot to the very topmost part of their top shield (in the sloped region with the slit, but you don't need to be precise) will kill the pilot behind the shield in a single hit with the explosive splash damage. This makes them even more trivial to take down, and is one of the main reasons I love the autocannon against bots. Another useful thing to know versus the flamethrower hulks that can get you out of a pinch: if the hulk is closing in and you don't have time to take two clean shots to the eye, or stun it, you can shoot the flamethrower arm with the autocannon which briefly interrupts the fire. I think 4 or 5 shots will destroy the arm entirely, if needed, since it makes for a much easier target than the eye when the hulk is stomping towards you over uneven terrain. Also I wanted to say I really enjoyed your video, and learned a few things from your tips. Thanks!

[@PhacilGaming]

What an elaborate response, thank you so much! I'll definitely take the tips with me. Someone else mentioned the Walker tip already indeed, good to know! I try not to give myself the option of shooting the arm, reasoning being I want my aim on it's eye to improve so I try really hard haha. Awesome to know the arm takes 5 bullets though, didn't know that 😃.Thank you for your tips, and really glad you enjoyed!

[@I401]

Hey, wanted to add. if you cant get the eye or the flamethrower for some reason, I recommend shooting the legs of a hulk to stop it from even chasing you.

[@I401]

This also applies to tanks, but i am not sure if the autocannon can apply that feat so easily. should be able to though!

[@PhacilGaming]

Awesome tip! Was mentioned indeed, thank you for adding info. Helps me learn also!

[@Blaz1ng_Phoen1X]

@@I401if you destroy both legs it actually dies

[@lukemehalick370]

You had me at, "It looks gun-shippy."

[@PhacilGaming]

Hahaha, I love it thank you so much!

[@tacnayn4439]

This was a lot more informative and helpful than anyone else I've watched.

[@PhacilGaming]

Wow what a compliment! Thank you so much, I'll do my best to keep 'm coming.

[@modestMousse]

19:30 - "whenever i see more red blips on the minimap than i can count in a second" IS a good criteria for cluster bombs, I'm remembering that one, especially.

[@PhacilGaming]

Awesome! Clusterbombs are amazing to be fair. As long as you communicate them haha!

[@jacobbragg1032]

Everytime i watch this video i feel like ive missed something. So much good info and a good time to boot. This guy is going to have me running 9s sooner than later

[@PhacilGaming]

Haha awesome! I do my best to fill the videos with light and heavy weight messages (tips / mentality). Hope you keep enjoying both!

[@reyngen.]

This video has everything from tips in the game to fun medical facts. Great content I'll be sure to subscribe!

[@PhacilGaming]

Glad you enjoyed! Will keep 'm coming 😃

[@Blaz1ng_Phoen1X]

Your strategy for scouting the objectives with the minimap is actually smth i do everytime, it‘s even better with the scout armor because of the 2nd part, so you can actually do that from like 200 meters away

[@PhacilGaming]

Nice! Yeah very true, I value the explosive resistance a bit too much perhaps haha but very true nonetheless!

[@Blaz1ng_Phoen1X]

@@PhacilGaming i mean i use the stealth a lot, i avoid every bot patrol i can. Makes more sense for me

[@PhacilGaming]

Stealth is the most efficient and effective way to play, there's no way around it. Just gotta make sure you have fun while gaming though, fun will beat efficiency any day in my opinion. Good luck have fun out there!

[@soundfx68]

Thank you for being Intensive care nurse, I've had a fair few life saving trips to hospital myself. Oh, and thanks for the tips!

[@PhacilGaming]

Sorry to hear you've needed professional care. Thank you for taking the time to comment, and you're welcome. On both ends ofcourse.

[@yearntolearntech2800]

Amazing video. Very helpful to not so good divers like myself. Can’t wait for your next video.

[@PhacilGaming]

Thank you so much! Glad to hear you enjoyed it. I'll get to it haha. Anything specific you'd like to see and/or hear?

[@yearntolearntech2800]

@@PhacilGaming general tips are great. Specific videos are great too I really like how you analyze and strategize I don’t have god tier aim either so it nice to know I can still complete harder missions. Keep up the great work.

[@PhacilGaming]

​@@yearntolearntech2800 Ofcourse you can! In my opinion strategy will trump god tier aim most days. But I'm sure that will trigger debate so definitely not opening that box haha. Ok awesome, I'll look into making 5-10 min videos analyzing / executing specific objectives as well. Very specialized videos basically, thank you for the feedback!

[@inqufox1750]

Finally, a solo helldive that ACUTALLY looks like a solo helldive, every other solo helldive i've seen is like...super fucking tame, this was action straight from the start! You did better then i can do myself! X3

[@PhacilGaming]

Ah thanks so much! It felt like a solo Helldive too haha. Heck yeah, we Helldivers baby guns be blazin'. And maybe for now, but with practice you can definitely outperform me, I believe in you Inqufox!

[@SokkaJawaka]

Hard to believe this is your first video! I like the quotes and your humor. l started playing this game two weeks ago and I absolutely love it! I especially love playing Helldive and this guide has been such a huge help to improving my game play. Thanks for the awesome video!

[@PhacilGaming]

Thank you so much! Super kind of you, I'm glad my personality resonated with you. Helldives are awesome! The intensity levels it can spike to are very visceral, awesome to hear I could help. That's what these videos are all about 😃

[@I401]

A tip I love to give and tell people: Smoke bombs are not useless. Run around a corner and make sure nothing is too close to you, i believe this strat would work best against bots rather than bugs. You want to hug and hide around a rock away from the bots. Hold the smoke grenade out and pull the pin and keep it in your hand, dont let go (it doesnt do any damage) Run away from your spot, and most times you can cancel an entire firefight, this is especially useful for fights you cant win.

[@PhacilGaming]

I haven't tested smoke grenades, being a run & gun type player. But I have heard very good things about them. I'll try them out for a future video and post my findings, thank you for the input!

[@realismschism]

Great video. Appreciate the positive vibes. The game is a 9 for me as well. Bugs and balancing issues are small deterrents from this level of fun factor.

[@PhacilGaming]

Thank you so much! Will definitely keep the positivity flowing as much as I can. The game is amazing I feel. I believe we let upsets bother us way too much (bugs in this case). I'll probably sound really old saying this yet I think it's true: we should count our blessings more often. 🙏

[@foxheadl169]

The autocannon being my favorite weapon, I somehow didn't know that you could just shoot the factories with it.

[@PhacilGaming]

I'll be honest, I've been loving the railgun lately but I still don't feel it competes with the autocannon. You can basically do everything with the AC haha!

[@casketclubmerch]

Awesome video and informative gameplay. My friends and I have recently started pushing the harder difficulties against bots after getting wrecked on lower difficulties when we first started playing and now we enjoy it more than bug stomping. Hit and run tactics and hard hitting weapons are key and it really feels like we're working as a team more to take down objectives quickly.

[@PhacilGaming]

Great to hear you enjoyed! I think both bugs and bots have their own vibes. Bouncing back and forth is awesome for the variety also, 10/10 would recommend. I think this game is awesome because you can make (almost?) anything work. Just gotta have fun with it, good to hear you guys enjoying it too!

[@temtempo13]

I really like the "annotations" you do with the mini-map zoom-ins, the arrows highlighting what you're talking about! Very chill look at Helldive difficulty, I enjoyed it. Liked and subscribed. Diligence is my favorite primary as well, although I have a hard time not bringing the Scorcher given how it can easily zap scout striders, allowing me to save autocannon shots for larger targets. Nice to see someone who's actually capable of soloing D9 running more-or-less my preferred loadout for automatons. As a tip: diving seems to extinguish fire _immediately_, literally putting it out the moment you begin the dive. I've had more success surviving against fire by first diving, then stimming afterwards, rather than relying on getting the stim off in time. I'm currently enjoying Helldivers around an 8.5 or so. Really enjoying the general gameplay and progression; just some annoying bugs regarding playing with randoms and the occasional frustrating gameplay situations (like instant kills, or being stuck in a deathloop because the game keeps picking the worst possible place for you to reinforce). Seems like the devs are doing their best to keep improving the game, though!

[@PhacilGaming]

Glad you liked the annotations! Will keep those in as well as I can. Thank you for your support! Good to know there are fellow Diligence lovers out there haha. I agree it's probably not the best gun, but I enjoy it and I'm at an age where I think fun and joy matter more than efficiency. Definitely agreed though. Awesome tip! Someone else hit me with that tip as well, would have saved me alot of fiery deaths if I had known sooner haha. An 8.5 is still a great feeling though I hope, I agree some things can get frustrating. On the other hand I don't know anything that's absolutely 100% perfect. And like you said, they appear to be working on it so as long as they're congruent in their vision these problems should become a thing of the past sooner or later. Great to hear you're having some fun at least! Thank you for your input as well.

[@jaboyak]

I love this video. Super useful and this is phenomenal delivery of useful info in a very practical way. Well done!!!

[@PhacilGaming]

Awesome compliment! Thank you so much. Will do my best to keep the style consistent.

[@archangelmichael1678]

I really feel like you should be getting as many views as Spiked does. Y’all’s vids are some of the best.

[@PhacilGaming]

Thank you so much! I looked him up and he definitely has amazing gameplay. I just started on YT though so I'm just happy you and others are enjoying the content. Will do my best to keep the quality high. 😀

[@hallofo8107]

Excellent video, I appreciate the gameplay tips AND the "fun facts". The best part for me is your attitude! I usually work with the idea that "mistakes only become failures if you fail to learn from them"

[@PhacilGaming]

What an awesome compliment! Thank you so much, glad to hear you enjoyed it. You're absolutely right! A doctor I worked with used to say: "In life there's only winning and learning, everything else you mostly do to yourself." Good mentality! 🙏

[@JohnDoe-in9xc]

You have an amazing personality and I loved your feel-good bits of advice and hearing about your ICU work. The gameplay and your tips were fantastic as well! I'll definitely follow your channel from now. Even turned on all the notifications.

[@PhacilGaming]

Reading this was heartwarming, thank you so much! I'll do what I can to keep the quality and vibe like this 😃🙏

[@JohnDoe-in9xc]

@PhacilGaming Just keep going like this! I saw you had a Twitch too, so I'm catching up on some VODs now. Really enjoying the vibe!

[@PhacilGaming]

@@JohnDoe-in9xc Whoa thanks so much for the support there too! Let me know if I can improve anywhere to make it more entertaining to watch. Feedback is gold in my opinion, will probably do some bits on that in the next video 😃 👍

[@madferretstudios]

On a scale of 1-10 I give HD2 a 20! 😁 I hate the bugs but find the bites a funner challenge. I have been looking for a really good video like this. Thanks for posting this! I just got the auto cannon and am looking to do solo runs but my prior loadout on trivial, easy and medium needs to be changed out. Tgere a couple of Orbitals I am close to getting. . However I am using the Orbital Gas on outposts. It does fantastic paired with the Eagle Strafing, 120 barrage and Eagle Airstrike. It took out an entire fuel depot, production facility and ammunition base. Works great especially if you can't get a hellbomb down. So looking forward to playing with the auto cannon!

[@PhacilGaming]

Haha I love it! Awesome positivity. Thank you so much for your compliment as well! Soloing can be quite some fun, it also helps you learn alot of things about the game alot faster. For example you learn the mission objectives alot faster simply because noone else is doing them for you. They did a good job balancing most of the stratagems out, both Orbitals and Eagles. I am more of an Eagle fan but I do mix them up often. Specially since you can throw an Eagle and an Orbital in at the same time for maximum mayhem (they don't share a cooldown). I hope you enjoy your time with the AC as much as I do haha! Thank you for taking the time to comment.

[@rubente89]

Nice Video! I like your commentary very much, calm and informative.

[@PhacilGaming]

Thank you so much! Will do my best to stay calm and informative hehe.

[@AllAmericanZ]

Great video. So many good tips and vibes. Keep it up!

[@PhacilGaming]

Awesome to hear you liked it! Will do 😃

[@vladimirpokorny2797]

Great job man, I dost ussually give likes but you produced nice vid. Thx and keep up great work

[@PhacilGaming]

Wow nice compliment! Thank you so much, will do my best to keep 'm coming.

[@vladimirpokorny2797]

@@PhacilGaming subscribed due to your greatly presented vid on sol helldivers2, nice editing, great gunplay and no bs, better than others :)

[@PhacilGaming]

@@vladimirpokorny2797 Thank you again! Will keep the style as consistent as possible 😃

[@loki1758]

16:15, I didn't know this, but still autocannon will more consistently 1shot them if you hit the top in my experience

[@PhacilGaming]

I believe shooting near the head will make the AC's explosive damage oneshot the walkers, I have had alot more success aiming for the legs / waist. Thank you for the nuance and extra tip!

[@deanlemckeevans]

Great video I like all your comments and little fun facts

[@PhacilGaming]

Thank you! Will do my best to keep 'm coming 😃🙏

[@sodamangamer2137]

Suprisingly nice to listen and learn haha great vid I will sub . Also love the not shouting and very calm voice over

[@PhacilGaming]

That's awesome to hear! Thank you for the kind words. Yeah I'm probably too mellow for shouting, glad there's an audience for the chill vibe!

[@grrrund]

10. Played lots of HD1, and HD2 is a good thing that didn’t get messed up. :)

[@PhacilGaming]

Love it! Let's hope they keep it rollin' 😎🙏

[@jiff2323]

Exactly the type of video I was looking for. Great info. I’ve been using quasar canon, but the auto canon is a blast to use. I’d give the game 8.5/10.

[@PhacilGaming]

Thank you so much! Really happy to hear it matched your expectation. The Quasar is amazing honestly, I just have very little practice with it. It's an absolute beast though. Nice to hear you're enjoying the game as well, awesome!

[@troypiggins]

Great video. Keep em coming.

[@PhacilGaming]

Thank you! Will do 😃

[@waltertaylor6929]

Awesome video, very helpful.

[@PhacilGaming]

Thank you so much! Glad you enjoyed.

[@rishavghosal121]

Loved the video! Helldivers is a solid 7.5 for me. Was a 10 but I'm getting kinda burned out from all the hunters jumping around and all the bots one shotting my diver. As for advice - a few too many hashtags but otherwise an enjoyable watch :P

[@PhacilGaming]

Ah bummer to hear, the Hunters you can definitely build towards! But maybe that's not as fun, I feel ya. Ok ty! Will try hashtagging less haha, new to this so awesome tip thanks! 😃

[@rockargen9591]

This video has been aproved by the Democratic Council of Super Earth. seriusly tho, great video, i learned more about the game from it than i did from 70 hours of playing.

[@PhacilGaming]

Sir yes sir! /salute That's an awesome compliment. Thank you so much!

[@thatwonguy7352]

This video is so chill.

[@PhacilGaming]

Thank you. Glad you enjoyed!

[@Natus1971]

First time viewer and subscribed great video.

[@PhacilGaming]

Thank you so much. Will make more of these for sure!

[@knut269]

Find it easier to kill the hulks with the auto cannon when targeting the feet. Easier to hit and only need 2shots pr foot. Once both feet are destroyed the hulk seize to function :D

[@PhacilGaming]

Oh I didn't know that, awesome tip thanks alot! 😃

[@mrsnackbar9383]

Great vid. I stuggle from impossible and up. Ill apply this.

[@PhacilGaming]

Practice will make perfect, always does. Keep your head high, keep going. You got this!

[@RageCage90]

This video is awesome 👌

[@PhacilGaming]

Thank you very much good sir!

[@jacobbragg1032]

Thank you

[@PhacilGaming]

You're welcome. Thank you for taking the time to comment.

[@grrrund]

Oh geeze, this is good content 🤤

[@PhacilGaming]

Thanks so much! 😃

[@8ballgaming468]

10 out of 10 for me. havent enjoyed a game like this since horizon or ghost of tsushima. Even with the bugs i cant seem to not play this game

[@PhacilGaming]

I'm right there with you haha, fair enough. To be honest the bugs are not that bad, go optimism!

[@dustinnunley9234]

Now, this was good content. Thank you, and take my like and subscribe!

[@PhacilGaming]

Thank you very much. Hope you enjoy the incoming videos as well!

[@floodlight9817]

Very good video and nice gameplay, hope to see more from you! However you were a bit quiet, had to up my volume to 4x, could just be me though.

[@PhacilGaming]

Thank you! Will do my best to keep them coming 😃. No no, need to work on my audio editing. Also bought a better mic. Hopefully arrives before my third video.

[@asraarradon4115]

This is amazing production for a brand new channel. Was this your first?

[@PhacilGaming]

Whoa awesome compliment! Yes it was, other than one Short. I'll do my best to keep the quality high!

[@markparent4914]

Pair ar15 with jet pack and light armor. It’s god tier

[@PhacilGaming]

Will try it!

[@nolimbsjohnny]

Autocannon is levels above the quasar cannon against the bots

[@PhacilGaming]

I think so too, but I've seen people dominate bots with the Quasar. I think they are balancing these weapons wonderfully basically. Glad you agree though #biased 😎

[@MelodramaticOne]

Heart. Steel. We. Kill. Get. Up. Onto. War. Cyberstan. Can't keep her down. Legion Go. A New Dawn. Cyberstan. Can't keep her down. Get back up. A new dawn.

[@PhacilGaming]

Yo these texts are getting more ominous by the response 😃

[@Shinobubu]

Las Cannons erases Gun ships FAST. Aim for engines.

[@PhacilGaming]

Yeah tried it once or twice, laser cannon is very nice against bots indeed! I struggled breaking fabricators though, needed a better loadout probably. I think having someone with a lasercannon in bot missions is always a solid choice. Good input thank you!

[@baggy715]

Can u do a settings video or short?

[@PhacilGaming]

I'm a tech-idiot so no, but a friend of mine definitely can. So yes we'll get it done 😃. Anything specific you would like? He helped me set up my settings so I got 60 FPS with the best graphics possible. Would you be aiming for something similar?

[@pixel_perfect4708]

im a laser canoner but whatever weapon lets you deliver democracy fastest is the best one for you Helldiver

[@PhacilGaming]

Hell yeah brother Helldiver, teamwork makes the dream work!

[@sachiekat1238]

I thought his name was Phallic gaming at first 😂😂

[@PhacilGaming]

No I would have way more viewers and subscribers haha!

[@Xrotoz]

Issue for me with Autocannon is that you cant bring down Bile Titans/Chargers with it. Quasar can. Otherwise I really like the autocannon :D

[@PhacilGaming]

Agreed on the BT's. Chargers you can nail though, 3-4 shots to the behind and you're done. Once you get the rhythm down that's one runby. So Chargers runs past you, you crouch and blast him four times. I'll try to upload a Terminid video soon! BT's are definitely a problem though, gotta stratagem those unfortunately. Obviously the best is a good variety in the team yeah? 😀

[@RafaelBrum]

Nice intel soldier

[@PhacilGaming]

Sir! /salute 🫡

[@grrrund]

I’m a supply pack player

[@PhacilGaming]

I'll be honest, probably the best kind of player. I tip my hat good sir. I'll do a supply pack run as well! 😃

[@snoozy7698]

very good commentary, but decrease the use of saying # (once or twice is funny, but using more and/or unironically got me like [but that's just my opinion :]) also this out of context is so funny: 27:25 💀 (I would give a similar rating too)

[@PhacilGaming]

Someone hit me with this comment already, absolutely. Thank you for the tip and my apologies. Will cut it out 😀

[@snoozy7698]

@@PhacilGamingbut still keep the jokes, even if corny or jokes that not everyone will get. It shows humility if bad, and if they land you get the viewer to laugh, which is always a positive thing! Comedy is at least 15%-40% of what makes a good video, good (informational and funny)

[@PhacilGaming]

What fantastic feedback! Thank you so much, will definitely keep this information in mind for my next videos. Thank you Snoozy!

[@davefekete7187]

I don't know why but i prefer playing this game solo

[@PhacilGaming]

Maybe the intensity, or the need to focus up? Hopefully not due to bad experiences. I enjoy both solo and teamplay, apples and pears I think.

[@davefekete7187]

@@PhacilGaming I guess i just feel more immersed in the game, and being alone on a planet is awesome but i do play with squads had some good games and some bad ones because of players. Plus i find it easier to stealth when alone. btw i played a lot of Helldivers 1 since 2015 and i remember you could stealth a entire mision just by using silenced weapons and killing the patrols before they alert anyone. Good times.I hope they bring silenced weapons in the game.

[@PhacilGaming]

Those are solid reasons, in the end gaming is also a wonderful fantasy stimulus. So great to hear the immersion is strong for you. Stealthing can definitely be fun to do, I can't imagine they won't add more stealth related items.

[@amerzski2510]

you have a really low mic volume

[@PhacilGaming]

I noticed (too late) as well, will fix it in the next video. Thank you for the feedback!

[@taoday118]

The title says it is instructional. Yet, you clicked and talked so fast that I can hardly follow it

[@PhacilGaming]

Ah that's solid feedback! Sorry you didn't like it. Will take your input with me for next video.

[@user-xo2iw6lz2n]

hey, could you make the gameplay audio a little louder, relative to your voice audio? that way, next time, i'll be able to not hear your voice at all and i'll need to use software to filter out your voice audio to understand even a single word. combined with the mumbling and almost-whispering-like-mom-is-sleeping-next-room it'll be great fun. greatly appreciated, thanks! 👍 the sad part about this is that there's good/valuable information here, but it's just almost too annoying to listen to, because you really gotta focus on what slurred-together words are being mumbled. it's bad enough when giving full attention to the video, but i bet people wanting some info to listen to, and having the video up on their second monitor, are just gonna click off within the first few minutes, because they'll need to constantly rewind or don't audibly understand what's said. again: it's a shame that it is this way, because you seem to have genuinely good/relevant information. edit: there's really a LOT of good information/tips here, almost to the point where this should be something of a "must watch" for people struggling with bots. halfway through the video and i found a bit of bad info though, and that's about the little walkers, which you can very consistently one-shot with the autocannon when aiming at the top, as though you were going for a pilot headshot.

[@PhacilGaming]

There's some really good feedback in here, thank you so much. The relatively quiet voice has to do with my two kids sleeping, but you were close! Glad to hear you were capable of finding the good/valuable information, I apologize that you found it annoying to listen to. I'll work on better articulating and correcting the volume, they are definitely some of my imperfections. Thank you for the compliment about the information being good. The Walkers getting hit near the head was mentioned indeed, thank you for adding it as well. I appreciate you going through the video despite the grievances, will take the feedback with me!

[@muchospendechos]

I would enjoy the game even more if the early games are not so haunted by trolls which are already level 40 and just fuck up missions for fun... This alone pityful makes the game pityful a solid "5" since I either need luck to find a good party, Solo even early missions already which is boring and annoying or to rely on friends which also play the game... Some sh*tstains even got a nice trick were they wait till everyone is in the evac ship then kill anyone in the plane and just leave the game to make it worthless for everyone and the best part, you are unable to report this person cause they don`t used the chat...

[@PhacilGaming]

I've heard this before, I must admit this problem is not as prevalent at higher difficulties. So the good news is you'll experience this less if you go up in difficulty. Definitely not fun that the problem is present though, I hope your experience with the HD2 community gets better in time, thank you for taking the time to comment. I genuinely believe there's plenty of people that feel for you and would gladly group up with you, myself included!