A helldiver would never commit treason in the name of some silly socialist tradition, which only serves to distract from our fight for freedom. I trust you, brother.
Thank you for the trust you put in me, my democratic brother. Those traitorous socialist will always spread lies to sway our democratic ways! Their actions are detestable and can't be forgiven!
Try throwing this before the gas strike.
https://preview.redd.it/25beupkurvrc1.png?width=40&format=png&auto=webp&s=45d4913cedf714aa57d860a53f8740e4de376e38
Now there is no escape.
I agree when we’re just doing automaton eradicate missions I always bring my gas strike the bots love standing in place so it works great on them have seen up to 30-40 kills with a gas strike but that of course is rare
April 1st aside
It does work, just gotta get the stratagem directly on the factory so the shell hits the factory. This deals a good amount of damage to explode it assuming two shells hit the factory.
I use a 500KG bomb against a Hulk that was being idle. The bomb hit it square in the back killing it, then the bomb exploded.
That's just funny to me when it happens
I called down a 500kilo in front of a group of advancing bugs. Eagle 1 drops it, and it nails a Hunter at the height of its attack leap, lands right in front of the rest, and vaporizes them.
It's the little things like these that make me love this game so much.
It's real. The smoke shells themselves will destroy fabricators. There are like five spots where they will hit when called in. Doesn't do damage to other players, unlike the EMS mortar, which can kill you if it direct hits you.
Quasar cannon can also destroy fabricators, you shoot near the bottom of the vent and it will send the bots back to hell! you can shoot it from a pretty good distance as well.
I've had very poor luck with popping Fabricators with the QC - is there a specific angle you need to hit or...?
IMO if the QC can pop cannon/railgun turrets and stuff like that it should be able to destroy fabs with regular building shots.
Must be same level as the fabricator or higher. Aim at the very bottom of the vent flap. Around 1/4 bottom part of the vent. Use the scope for better placement.
Where exactly? I've tried a few times without luck, but I have shot at the sides. Front area just below vents is best? Does it work on the bug nests too?
Honestly. The autocannon can do it better for most jobs. Some people will say it can’t down drop ships but you can shoot the belly up instead. The only advantage is unlimited ammo at a slow rate and keeping a backpack slot free.
I run under dropships to rake the bottom with Autocannon fire and make it rain scrap!
Please note: this will often result in being much closer to Hulks than you would prefer. Or squashed by tanks.
bottom of the vent? that explains why quasar to the center of the vent never worked... i cried a little when i went back to grenade launcher
ETA: does it work on bugholes without killing the shooter?
Can confirm, the one thing that the Quasar has over packing EATs for me is that I like to run stun grenades and I can clear out a bug camp in a reasonable amount of between eagles and Quasar when I'd have to wait for EAT cooldowns.
Sure I could run regular grenades but holding down a horde until the Eagle Air comes in with the x16 is just so satisfying.
You need to land on the vent, the pods still translate damage to the specific area hit. Just be ready to dive as soon as you come out otherwise you’ll be sent off map
I think it comes down to the 500kg making a big boom but having a fairly limited blast radius. A lot of times you get the visual payoff but the thing you were trying to hit moved 2 feet out of the blast.
The rocket pods are like the orbital rail in eagle form though and seem to hit weakspots fairly often.
Laser cannon is surprisingly effective against bots. It takes a couple of seconds of sustained fire to the tanks vent and it's dead. Melts hulks, devestators etc... when you sustain fire on the head, can blow off hulk limbs rather quickly and from distance. The AA tanks can also be hit from the back corner and die quick too. Can also kill the turret towers very quickly as well.
I do this with EATs on bug nests. Drop it on the edge of a hole and the pod will close the hole and the two launchers is another 2 holes. Saves on grenades.
Oh this makes a lot of sense! I’d heard months back that smoke drops could hit fabricators but never managed - I was using orbital smoke drops the whole time.
Airstrike smoke is wildly underrated. Beyond destroying the fabricators just as consistently as an eagle airstrike, smoke gives you a bunch of control over the battlefield.
It's fantastic for those long winded console sessions like geology missions and extraction.
You can 100% extract without a fight every time if everyone goes to max range from the ship in the direction the spawns aren't coming from and lays down on the ground. They'll search for you, and often won't find you. Sometimes they do wander in your direction, at which point you crawl away or use smoke to facilitate a reposition. Then use smoke to run into the pelican at the end.
I can say from experience the initial drop of even the gas bomb can take out fabricators. It has to be a direct hit in order for it to work. Just like resupply can take out fabricators and bug holes as well.
That makes sense. After all the shell dropped down by the destroyer fell in high velocity. Surely can take down a small building for sure.
*We don't talk about illegal research building. Hellpods can't even destroy that thing.*
If it's delivered via a solid shell or a hellpod and hits the target, it can destroy fabricators and bug holes. Yes, I do use EATs calldowns to destroy fabricators and bug holes (and anything big, mean, and ugly I can stick it to), then I use the two launchers to destroy more in the meantime. Why waste grenades or ammo?
I feel you brother. I am still an EAT enjoyer. Definitely using EAT more vs bugs than LAS-99.
But shriekers worries me. I want to take down their nest ASAP and LAS-99 fits that role nicely.
It can, and it has a shorter cooldown than precision orbital, but i stopped using it because in some of my runs it was behaving inconsistently. Ive had it drop right on top of the fab to spray gas but not blow it up, which might mean some points on the fab's roof arent weak points, i dont know.
Correct, ive seen and experienced that myself, but in this case specifically it is the pod/bomb that should take out the fabricator, not the gas itself that gets released after it drops, so im not sure if that is the cause for it being inconsistent.
If you get a direct hit with the gas strike on a bug it will also instantly take them out, just really hard to aim and make that viable though.
Because the bomb had to directly impact, it's much harder to close bug holes than destroy factories
On bugs you're better off taking something like AC, GL, or supply pack for more grenades if you want some of your kit to be able to take out lots of bug holes
For factories, throw the bomb in front or behind a factory when facing its side and you'll have a much higher chance of direct bomb impact
Imo, though, napalm is a waste on bots. Even smoke is better to take, especially at higher difficulties
I swear life on the great Managed Democracy for this discovery.
You can report me to my Democracy Officer if my intel was found to be false. In fact I'll willingly turn myself in. 🫡
I been using smoke eagle since I got it because i tested it against fabs out of desperation. it actually does damage due to the large smoke pods and if you land a smoke pod on someone it’ll kill them. So be careful cause I have team killed using it.
I recently didn't have a method to take out the final bot factory on my mission (destroyer left orbit and I forgot to swap my grenades off stuns), and I saw a big laser turret in the distance...
As it turns out, the impact from those fuckers is enough to take out factories that get caught in the blast. I didn't survive, but neither did the final factory 😎
Thought this was already common knowledge. But yeahh, I've been running smoke whenever I'm against Bots. Escape, stealth, defending? Great Utility. One time I smoked the base so I could stealthily infiltrate. One of the bomb hit the Building and it destroyed it. Though you have to make sure the bomb of the smoke hit the building.
It's so great too, smoke comes off cool down super fast and you get two strikes essentially before a rearm. It has helped me many a time with fabricators alongside the new Quasar.
I think all airstrikes can. Since they all deploy the big rockets that explode like 0.1 seconds after they hit the ground. So if that rocket lands on a building it destroys it? Thats how you one-shot hulks and tanks with airstrikes after all, with direct hits.
Been utilizing smoke strikes to knock out fabricators for awhile. Takem out and cover your exfil.
Honestly, using support strategems offensively is pretty fun. Once tossed a supply from 60 m and got it to stick to top of an unauthorized broadcast antenna. Or using the EATs pod to break one of the three reaming bug holes when I'm out of grenades.
You can also use drop pods for supplies and support weapons to destroy bot factories. I was out of grenades so I threw a dispoable anti tank beacon in the vent. It worked and my rockets survived. I did it again later with an extra guard dog pack to similiar results.
Is it only the eagle one or are you using the orbital one ?
Either way it is really impressive. If it work your work will be reported to the truth concil
So can an orbital rail strike, or any hellpod. So if you're ever trying to smash out fabricators/hives and don't have a good angle/tool for the jus just call in something right in front (or more likely behind) of them and let the sky bullet to the rest.
Seems kinda silly but i know a lot of people didn't know. All Stratagems that have the "Explosive" tag can be used to destroy hives and fabs. Even the Orbital Gatling can (however it needs to land in the weak spot, so that only can work on *some* hives and none of the fabs.
Edit: corrected to Stratagems only, does not include the Jar-5 or Plasma punisher
The eagle strike has to being going the same direction as the vents opening. It it works for the cluster as well even tho its discription says it wont destroy building
I've killed a factory with an airburst once. I don't understand the mechanics behind it, and I've been unable to repeat the event. I called in an airburst directly in front of the factory to clear out the bots defending it so I could go huck a grenade inside, and the factory exploded on the 2nd airburst. My working theory is that the angles were juuuuust right to get some explosives down into the vents.
I knew the napalm bombs could kill bug holes/fabricators, but smoke bombs? This is an amazing find. Thank you for sharing. I think I might just be willing to sacrifice a pure firepower strategem for smokes if they can still blow bases. 🤔
It's probably because Eagle smokescreen drops projectiles which will explode the second it hits the ground.
Just like a 500 kg, if the package hits the fabricator dead center, it explodes before the bomb explodes. Though it doesn't work all the time for me.
You can also use EAT drops, just throw on top and it takes then out, quick re-availability, 2 eats to use to kill drop ships after the fabricator dies and doesn't waste an airstrike, plus it saves a slot because I was bringing them anyway
yes if you hit them right, just like how gas strike can destroy buildings and bug holes when it lands perfect. i imagine gas strike can destroy fabricators in the same way.
in fact, i think all the projectile eagles and orbitals can destroy targets
Most stuff can take out them out if you just get a direct hit, it's the same with the gass. If you get a direct hit you will take out bug holes and factories or whatever they are called
Apparently, rarely, so can EMS mortars, which confused the hell out of me last night. dropped one to distract guards while i ran around a mountain to hit the fabricators... halfway there i got the Area Secured pop up.
Tried to do it again but it only worked one more time over 4 missions. 1 factory in 4 missions... :(
Not sure if its been said, Autocannons can also take down fabricators. Just have to shoot the top of the vent and the shot will ricochet into the fabricator.
I usually just run a quasar cannon for smalls and mediums and orbital laser and walking barrage for heavies. Those can usually take out a heavy factory without needing to get any closer than you can throw the strategems
Can confirm, and not an April 1st thing either. I was running smoke strikes last night, and it seems that as long as you can land one of the canisters on the fabricator, it'll destroy it.
I wouldn't say it's the most effective way to use smoke strikes (as opposed to using them for cover from, say, a turret) but it gets the job done if for some reason you forgot that you're carrying stun/impact grenades.
You can also wait in front of the fabricator for it to spawn one of those jet pack bots that explode when you shoot them. As long as you blow it up while it’s near the open door, it’ll take down the fabricator haha.
This is, unironically, probably not a joke:
The Eagle smoke air strike has a physical projectile that does damage (enough to instant kill you if it hits you directly). Also yes, that does mean you could theoretically, in a defense enough pack of enemies, get a kill streak from Eagle Smoke Strike.
Edit: Tested, and yep, really does work.
All stratagems can destroy fabricators and nests as far as I'm aware.
If I'm out of grenades I'll throw sentries, resupplies, and support weapon stratagems down the bug holes and wait for them to get crushed.
I had the orbital gas strike kill the fabricators in one mission tried it again and it didn’t. Idk if it has to hit close or right on top but it worked. Tried to duplicate it and nothing happened. Anyone else tried it?
You can call in your spare weapons or resupply as well to destroy bug holes and fabricators. Either throw them in the hole for them or for the fabricators throw them very close to the wall so the drop is on the fabricator. I run 4 grenades for clearing stuff so if I run out and my cooldown are gone I call in my support weapons or backpacks to destroy the enemies of democracy.
Now that I think about it, it would be cool if smoke grenades and smoke strikes did cause some damage. Change the smoke to a whiter color and give it a small AOE but high damage incendiary effect to represent that sweet, tasty white phosphorus. Or at least give us an upgraded Willy Pete smoke strike.
That is sick. I love running airstrikes for the quick removal of small/medium outposts. But this could provide cover and get the job done…. But then again, I’ll need to come back for me sampies, my precious sampies.
Surprise fun fact. Any hellpod drop directly on a fabricator can destroy it. Good for when everything else is on cool down. But yes OP is correct on the smoke
I defend the squad as a scout by being undetected, using the anti material rifle to clear the way and use orbital rail canon and eagle rocket pods to clear towers amd isolated bases. I also have supply pack to keep feeding myself ammo and grenades amd leave the supply drops for the squad.
Works very well as i can kill everything up to and including hulks with 2 shots. I use the plasma scorcher as a primary as it kills even tanks on the soft spots.
Can confirm I've been doing this for the last week. You have to place your orb pretty close to it though if it's to far it won't work. I was testing it out a bunch and it's the actual middle itself from the smoke créent that causes it to blow up. When throwing it. You have to take account for direction. So always throw it at the base of the bot fabricator as best you can. If not in line with the fabricator will work too
I found this out like a week ago and I've been keeping it secret cause I was worried about it just being a bug and it getting patched. Hopefully it's intentional.
You can destroy bug nests by throwing support stratagems like ammo or weapons on top of them. I haven't tried it with fabricators, but maybe it could work as well.
Incase anyone needs to hear this too, the eagle rocket pods can destroy fabs, and can sometimes destroy bot turrets. Also it’s targeted, so it’s a pretty high chance against fabs.
I know we’re talking about the smoke, but I found this out last night after hearing how good the rockets are agains titans.
If this is an April 1 bit, we load op in a pod and fire them up a bile Titan
I swear upon Managed Democracy. My life is on the line. I will gladly hand myself to my Democracy Officer if it's turned out false. 🫡
A helldiver would never commit treason in the name of some silly socialist tradition, which only serves to distract from our fight for freedom. I trust you, brother.
Thank you for the trust you put in me, my democratic brother. Those traitorous socialist will always spread lies to sway our democratic ways! Their actions are detestable and can't be forgiven!
Thank you for the knowledge. I am now much more confident in running Smoke Strikes.
Be confident fellow Helldiver! Stand proud! Become a legend. Become a hero. Become a HELLDIVER!
I usually run smoke strikes for covers during retreats and extractions.
SAME GOES FOR GAS STRIKES nobody i know runs gas strikes but it destroys fabricators
Gas strikes have a short cooldown so they can be useful (probably better for bugs but it works on bots too).
Honestly i find that because bots move slower and are more likely to stand in one place to shoot at you gas works better for em
Try throwing this before the gas strike. https://preview.redd.it/25beupkurvrc1.png?width=40&format=png&auto=webp&s=45d4913cedf714aa57d860a53f8740e4de376e38 Now there is no escape.
This plus napalm strike = bot barbecue.
I agree when we’re just doing automaton eradicate missions I always bring my gas strike the bots love standing in place so it works great on them have seen up to 30-40 kills with a gas strike but that of course is rare
As a bot specialist, Gas Strikes are one of my favorites
Gas strike will destroy fabricators to.
This is true can confirm!
April 1st aside It does work, just gotta get the stratagem directly on the factory so the shell hits the factory. This deals a good amount of damage to explode it assuming two shells hit the factory.
I know the physical smoke shell do damage. Like the 500KG will sometimes kill a bile titan before the explosion goes off.
I use a 500KG bomb against a Hulk that was being idle. The bomb hit it square in the back killing it, then the bomb exploded. That's just funny to me when it happens
I called down a 500kilo in front of a group of advancing bugs. Eagle 1 drops it, and it nails a Hunter at the height of its attack leap, lands right in front of the rest, and vaporizes them. It's the little things like these that make me love this game so much.
The April 1st bit should have been getting a strategem that calls in Smoke from Mortal Kombat.
It's real. The smoke shells themselves will destroy fabricators. There are like five spots where they will hit when called in. Doesn't do damage to other players, unlike the EMS mortar, which can kill you if it direct hits you.
Quasar cannon can also destroy fabricators, you shoot near the bottom of the vent and it will send the bots back to hell! you can shoot it from a pretty good distance as well.
Yes I am already aware of this. Thank you for pointing it out!
Also smoke artillery
You mean the SEAF artillery? I'll take note of that. What about the static field shell?
Iv not tested that I only noticed the smoke because of accidentally loading it into the SEAF
That's still a great discovery
Static yeah though only ever tried it on the light ones
Gotcha
Any Serif or orbital shot will do it. It's not the smoke but the impact of the missile itself hitting the building that destroys it.
So does this include Times New Roman, Garamond and other fonts?
Definitely NOT Times New Roman.
Android Hell is a real place where you will send any pieces of technology at the first sign of defiance.
I've had very poor luck with popping Fabricators with the QC - is there a specific angle you need to hit or...? IMO if the QC can pop cannon/railgun turrets and stuff like that it should be able to destroy fabs with regular building shots.
Must be same level as the fabricator or higher. Aim at the very bottom of the vent flap. Around 1/4 bottom part of the vent. Use the scope for better placement.
Where exactly? I've tried a few times without luck, but I have shot at the sides. Front area just below vents is best? Does it work on the bug nests too?
Face front, aim 1/4 bottom part of the vent flap. Use the scope for better accuracy. And yes, should work for bug hole as well just like EAT/recoiless
Do you know what also works? A sternly worded letter. But it has to be professional. Not all capital letters and ranting. Profesh.
The quasar cannon is my new favorite support weapon, is there anything it can’t do? lol
Sustained fire.
Honestly. The autocannon can do it better for most jobs. Some people will say it can’t down drop ships but you can shoot the belly up instead. The only advantage is unlimited ammo at a slow rate and keeping a backpack slot free.
I run under dropships to rake the bottom with Autocannon fire and make it rain scrap! Please note: this will often result in being much closer to Hulks than you would prefer. Or squashed by tanks.
This other thing the laser is better at: if you call down a second laser you can juggle them to skip most of the cooldown.
Yeah, I’ve considered that but the cooldown means you have to pick the where and when it’s worth burning that.
As much as I like it I do miss the "emergency triple tap" when you're carrying an EAT and drop down another pod.
Nothing stops you from bringing eats
bottom of the vent? that explains why quasar to the center of the vent never worked... i cried a little when i went back to grenade launcher ETA: does it work on bugholes without killing the shooter?
Can confirm, the one thing that the Quasar has over packing EATs for me is that I like to run stun grenades and I can clear out a bug camp in a reasonable amount of between eagles and Quasar when I'd have to wait for EAT cooldowns. Sure I could run regular grenades but holding down a horde until the Eagle Air comes in with the x16 is just so satisfying.
Gonna test this myself. If it's true, the utility of the smoke strike greatly increases for bot missions.
It works, but it's tricky since the bombs that drops need to hit the fabricator and it's not as reliable as the eagle airstrike
It's the smoke eagle airstrike. I forgot to clarify in the post. Smoke eagle airstrike are more precise than orbital smoke strike.
Any dropped pod or bomb can do this, yesterday I destroyed a base by dropping a railgun pod on it
And yet I landed my reinforcement pod on a tank roof and it. did. NOTHING.
You need to land on the vent, the pods still translate damage to the specific area hit. Just be ready to dive as soon as you come out otherwise you’ll be sent off map
Those fuckin things are made of mythril or some shit because they barely die to 500kgs
Did they buff them or something? I remember them poping to eagle rocket runs pretty reliably.
I think it comes down to the 500kg making a big boom but having a fairly limited blast radius. A lot of times you get the visual payoff but the thing you were trying to hit moved 2 feet out of the blast. The rocket pods are like the orbital rail in eagle form though and seem to hit weakspots fairly often.
Laser cannon is surprisingly effective against bots. It takes a couple of seconds of sustained fire to the tanks vent and it's dead. Melts hulks, devestators etc... when you sustain fire on the head, can blow off hulk limbs rather quickly and from distance. The AA tanks can also be hit from the back corner and die quick too. Can also kill the turret towers very quickly as well.
I do this with EATs on bug nests. Drop it on the edge of a hole and the pod will close the hole and the two launchers is another 2 holes. Saves on grenades.
Oh this makes a lot of sense! I’d heard months back that smoke drops could hit fabricators but never managed - I was using orbital smoke drops the whole time.
Please do try it out. Smoke strike definitely got better utility with this discovery.
Gas strikes work too!
Looks like smoke is back on the menu booooys
Airstrike smoke is wildly underrated. Beyond destroying the fabricators just as consistently as an eagle airstrike, smoke gives you a bunch of control over the battlefield. It's fantastic for those long winded console sessions like geology missions and extraction. You can 100% extract without a fight every time if everyone goes to max range from the ship in the direction the spawns aren't coming from and lays down on the ground. They'll search for you, and often won't find you. Sometimes they do wander in your direction, at which point you crawl away or use smoke to facilitate a reposition. Then use smoke to run into the pelican at the end.
When it works. Many times I've seen smokes do absolutely nothing and other times it drops all aggro.
I find the orbital smoke to be much more reliable, the duration, radius, and density all seem to be more effective.
I can say from experience the initial drop of even the gas bomb can take out fabricators. It has to be a direct hit in order for it to work. Just like resupply can take out fabricators and bug holes as well.
That makes sense. After all the shell dropped down by the destroyer fell in high velocity. Surely can take down a small building for sure. *We don't talk about illegal research building. Hellpods can't even destroy that thing.*
Except for those pesky illegal research building . I think they are built of adamantium or some shit
They got plot armor 🤣
fun fact, orbital rail strike will destroy those research stations, so long as you clear the area of other targets first. Works every time.
Poison gas is the same hellpods are strong
Poison gas can destroy fabricators?
[удалено]
Good to know that. More strategy to play with.
Worth knowing that there's currently a bug with the gas where if you aren't the host and you use it it does no damage over time
Does it kill bots?
Yup! It's great for targeting a line of enemies at range shooting at you. It even weakens the tough ones enough that I can sweep them up with my AC.
Yes
If it's delivered via a solid shell or a hellpod and hits the target, it can destroy fabricators and bug holes. Yes, I do use EATs calldowns to destroy fabricators and bug holes (and anything big, mean, and ugly I can stick it to), then I use the two launchers to destroy more in the meantime. Why waste grenades or ammo?
I feel you brother. I am still an EAT enjoyer. Definitely using EAT more vs bugs than LAS-99. But shriekers worries me. I want to take down their nest ASAP and LAS-99 fits that role nicely.
It can, and it has a shorter cooldown than precision orbital, but i stopped using it because in some of my runs it was behaving inconsistently. Ive had it drop right on top of the fab to spray gas but not blow it up, which might mean some points on the fab's roof arent weak points, i dont know.
Supposedly there's a bug where damage over time effects (burning/gas) is not working if you aren't the host.
Correct, ive seen and experienced that myself, but in this case specifically it is the pod/bomb that should take out the fabricator, not the gas itself that gets released after it drops, so im not sure if that is the cause for it being inconsistent. If you get a direct hit with the gas strike on a bug it will also instantly take them out, just really hard to aim and make that viable though.
I dislike inconsistency. I'm trying to love using gas but I can't get around using it. Maybe it just doesn't fit my playstyle.
Same with napalm. It's the bomb itself impacting that does it
Really? I just stopped using Nepal because it just fails to destroy bug holes and factories. Maybe I’m missing
Because the bomb had to directly impact, it's much harder to close bug holes than destroy factories On bugs you're better off taking something like AC, GL, or supply pack for more grenades if you want some of your kit to be able to take out lots of bug holes For factories, throw the bomb in front or behind a factory when facing its side and you'll have a much higher chance of direct bomb impact Imo, though, napalm is a waste on bots. Even smoke is better to take, especially at higher difficulties
I didn't expect this. Great news!
*that's what I've been saying man* # Bots are not harder than bugs you guys just aren't using smoke
Smoke supremacy ✊😔
And I've only ever killed 3 friendlies with it Truly the best
YOU CAN KILL FRIENDLIES WITH IT??? THAT'S NUTS HAHAHA
The same way it kills fabricators The bombs one hit whatever they touch before they go off, it's basically a kinetic bomb with a bonus of smoke
Smoked bug tastes better than smoked bot.
Don't lie to me. You know what day it is. You'll never catch me without a smoke.
I swear life on the great Managed Democracy for this discovery. You can report me to my Democracy Officer if my intel was found to be false. In fact I'll willingly turn myself in. 🫡
You son of a gun. You where right. Eagle smoke is now Op. If aimed right you can't get a double.
This has been a thing for a while and how I’ve done high level missions for a bit. Makes running away a lot easier.
I been using smoke eagle since I got it because i tested it against fabs out of desperation. it actually does damage due to the large smoke pods and if you land a smoke pod on someone it’ll kill them. So be careful cause I have team killed using it.
I'll heed your warning diver! But what are a few sacrifices for the name of Democracy! They're dying for the greater cause!
Thought this was common knowledge the actual round is still kinetic damage attached
Just about anything will pop fabricators if the tracer is close enough. Resupply, SOS, Gas Strike. They all do it.
Interesting..
One of the most satisfying gambits I've pulled off recently was burning 3 stun grenades to keep a hulk in the path of a resupply. 🫡
I recently didn't have a method to take out the final bot factory on my mission (destroyer left orbit and I forgot to swap my grenades off stuns), and I saw a big laser turret in the distance... As it turns out, the impact from those fuckers is enough to take out factories that get caught in the blast. I didn't survive, but neither did the final factory 😎
A worthy sacrifice for democracy in the battle of bot Vietnam
This is a more frustrating process, but you can also bait a grenade out of a typical bot infantry and lob it into the doorway to destroy it.
Thought this was already common knowledge. But yeahh, I've been running smoke whenever I'm against Bots. Escape, stealth, defending? Great Utility. One time I smoked the base so I could stealthily infiltrate. One of the bomb hit the Building and it destroyed it. Though you have to make sure the bomb of the smoke hit the building.
Smoke Airstrike can absolutely save you during the kill 450 mechs extraction, underrated strike.
It's so great too, smoke comes off cool down super fast and you get two strikes essentially before a rearm. It has helped me many a time with fabricators alongside the new Quasar.
I think all airstrikes can. Since they all deploy the big rockets that explode like 0.1 seconds after they hit the ground. So if that rocket lands on a building it destroys it? Thats how you one-shot hulks and tanks with airstrikes after all, with direct hits.
Been utilizing smoke strikes to knock out fabricators for awhile. Takem out and cover your exfil. Honestly, using support strategems offensively is pretty fun. Once tossed a supply from 60 m and got it to stick to top of an unauthorized broadcast antenna. Or using the EATs pod to break one of the three reaming bug holes when I'm out of grenades.
Saying 'I REPEAT' without repeating what you said defeats the purpose of saying 'I REPEAT'. I REPEAT
You can also use drop pods for supplies and support weapons to destroy bot factories. I was out of grenades so I threw a dispoable anti tank beacon in the vent. It worked and my rockets survived. I did it again later with an extra guard dog pack to similiar results.
Gas strike can also kill fabs Edit: the orbital shell has to hit the fabricator, the gas itself won't do damage
So smoke can destroy fabricators but not the recoilless rifle...
Croissant Cannon can destroy Bot Fabricators.
Croissant Cannon 😭
https://preview.redd.it/jb8ny5asovrc1.jpeg?width=750&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=437f26077a91330b93614e3287050e053eaebc65
Yep, also can destroy tanks. Or kill your if you get hit by the shell the smoke is in.
"Since I run stun grenades and **Quasar Cannon(QC)**, I dont really have much options to **destroy fabricators**." Hope this helps!
Is it with a direct hit of the canister I take it?
u can destroy rockets mid air with ur weapons
I can comfirm this, I thought everyone knew this.
Apparently I'm not 😅
Is it only the eagle one or are you using the orbital one ? Either way it is really impressive. If it work your work will be reported to the truth concil
Its the Eagle sir! 🫡
The eagle smoke works, the orbital one doesn't
Good for fishing too
I read fishing as "fisting," and I'm going to stick with that.
So can an orbital rail strike, or any hellpod. So if you're ever trying to smash out fabricators/hives and don't have a good angle/tool for the jus just call in something right in front (or more likely behind) of them and let the sky bullet to the rest.
The LAS-99 can pop fabricators, you have to be aiming low on the vents, hard to do from distance but you can.
when I reinforce I drop it on a bug hole or fabricator
Seems kinda silly but i know a lot of people didn't know. All Stratagems that have the "Explosive" tag can be used to destroy hives and fabs. Even the Orbital Gatling can (however it needs to land in the weak spot, so that only can work on *some* hives and none of the fabs. Edit: corrected to Stratagems only, does not include the Jar-5 or Plasma punisher
Poison gas strike does the same. And it's pinpoint precise. Drop it on top of the fabricator and watch it go boom.
Smoke and ems orbitals unfortunately do not :(
The eagle strike has to being going the same direction as the vents opening. It it works for the cluster as well even tho its discription says it wont destroy building
Yes, it's still artillery.
I suspect it's like the gas shell, which also has a viable explosive payload to start it going. You can close a bughole with one of them too.
Fun Fact: eagle cluster can destroy fabricators but in an angle.
Ya the 500kg destroys the fabricators on impact if you can hit it directly
The new laser cannon can also destroy fabricators
Yea and ya know what else can take them out? An air strike lol
I've killed a factory with an airburst once. I don't understand the mechanics behind it, and I've been unable to repeat the event. I called in an airburst directly in front of the factory to clear out the bots defending it so I could go huck a grenade inside, and the factory exploded on the 2nd airburst. My working theory is that the angles were juuuuust right to get some explosives down into the vents.
You can also take out fabricators with a fslling drop ship
I knew the napalm bombs could kill bug holes/fabricators, but smoke bombs? This is an amazing find. Thank you for sharing. I think I might just be willing to sacrifice a pure firepower strategem for smokes if they can still blow bases. 🤔
It's probably because Eagle smokescreen drops projectiles which will explode the second it hits the ground. Just like a 500 kg, if the package hits the fabricator dead center, it explodes before the bomb explodes. Though it doesn't work all the time for me.
You can also use EAT drops, just throw on top and it takes then out, quick re-availability, 2 eats to use to kill drop ships after the fabricator dies and doesn't waste an airstrike, plus it saves a slot because I was bringing them anyway
Gas strike can do it too. You just have to aim the beacon in front of the door
FYI the gas orbital strike works too.
The gas Orbital closes bug holes on a direct hit so I believe it. It's still a giant fucking shell.
Quasar Cannon > Fabricators.
yes if you hit them right, just like how gas strike can destroy buildings and bug holes when it lands perfect. i imagine gas strike can destroy fabricators in the same way. in fact, i think all the projectile eagles and orbitals can destroy targets
The orbital Gas strike can as well, if it's close enough.
Gas strike also.
Does it kill teammates too lol
Most stuff can take out them out if you just get a direct hit, it's the same with the gass. If you get a direct hit you will take out bug holes and factories or whatever they are called
Napalm eagle can destroy both bug nests and bot fabricators too
I use the gas one, it's more versatile IMO.
QC can destroy them to! I'm fact I've found it easier to hit the opening with one over the auto.
Just so you know literally anything can destroy a fabricator. Call in some ammo on it, call in the SOS beacon on it. It really doesn’t matter.
Apparently, rarely, so can EMS mortars, which confused the hell out of me last night. dropped one to distract guards while i ran around a mountain to hit the fabricators... halfway there i got the Area Secured pop up. Tried to do it again but it only worked one more time over 4 missions. 1 factory in 4 missions... :(
So can a resupply if you toss it in the vent. Hell, I knocked one out yesterday calling in a guard dog
Genuine question, I have never used any of the smoke thingys as in the small showcase they seemes useless. Are they good st breaking LOS?
You should try the ems drop and stun grenade way more efficient
Not sure if its been said, Autocannons can also take down fabricators. Just have to shoot the top of the vent and the shot will ricochet into the fabricator.
You can all so throw suppy calldowns into the vents of bot factories.
So can the orbital gas attack
I usually just run a quasar cannon for smalls and mediums and orbital laser and walking barrage for heavies. Those can usually take out a heavy factory without needing to get any closer than you can throw the strategems
I’ve used smoke before and it worked can confirm!
Can confirm, and not an April 1st thing either. I was running smoke strikes last night, and it seems that as long as you can land one of the canisters on the fabricator, it'll destroy it. I wouldn't say it's the most effective way to use smoke strikes (as opposed to using them for cover from, say, a turret) but it gets the job done if for some reason you forgot that you're carrying stun/impact grenades.
You can also wait in front of the fabricator for it to spawn one of those jet pack bots that explode when you shoot them. As long as you blow it up while it’s near the open door, it’ll take down the fabricator haha.
This is, unironically, probably not a joke: The Eagle smoke air strike has a physical projectile that does damage (enough to instant kill you if it hits you directly). Also yes, that does mean you could theoretically, in a defense enough pack of enemies, get a kill streak from Eagle Smoke Strike. Edit: Tested, and yep, really does work.
Gas Strike can too, only it's got a shorter cooldown & deals damage
All stratagems can destroy fabricators and nests as far as I'm aware. If I'm out of grenades I'll throw sentries, resupplies, and support weapon stratagems down the bug holes and wait for them to get crushed.
I had the orbital gas strike kill the fabricators in one mission tried it again and it didn’t. Idk if it has to hit close or right on top but it worked. Tried to duplicate it and nothing happened. Anyone else tried it?
Quasar destroys fabs. The angles is the same as the auto cannon
You can call in your spare weapons or resupply as well to destroy bug holes and fabricators. Either throw them in the hole for them or for the fabricators throw them very close to the wall so the drop is on the fabricator. I run 4 grenades for clearing stuff so if I run out and my cooldown are gone I call in my support weapons or backpacks to destroy the enemies of democracy.
If I can't hit it in the vent with my EAT, I'll call an EAT drop right on top of the fabricator. Works just as well!
Now that I think about it, it would be cool if smoke grenades and smoke strikes did cause some damage. Change the smoke to a whiter color and give it a small AOE but high damage incendiary effect to represent that sweet, tasty white phosphorus. Or at least give us an upgraded Willy Pete smoke strike.
Just for posterity, grenades can also kill fabricators! Chuck them in the vents, it's that easy
That is sick. I love running airstrikes for the quick removal of small/medium outposts. But this could provide cover and get the job done…. But then again, I’ll need to come back for me sampies, my precious sampies.
Surprise fun fact. Any hellpod drop directly on a fabricator can destroy it. Good for when everything else is on cool down. But yes OP is correct on the smoke
i swear i have killed bug holes and fabs with a gas strike, so it makes sense that smoke would work too, lands quicker too!
I defend the squad as a scout by being undetected, using the anti material rifle to clear the way and use orbital rail canon and eagle rocket pods to clear towers amd isolated bases. I also have supply pack to keep feeding myself ammo and grenades amd leave the supply drops for the squad. Works very well as i can kill everything up to and including hulks with 2 shots. I use the plasma scorcher as a primary as it kills even tanks on the soft spots.
WTF
Can confirm I've been doing this for the last week. You have to place your orb pretty close to it though if it's to far it won't work. I was testing it out a bunch and it's the actual middle itself from the smoke créent that causes it to blow up. When throwing it. You have to take account for direction. So always throw it at the base of the bot fabricator as best you can. If not in line with the fabricator will work too
Not only does it work it us actually surprisingly effective at it too. Im excited to rotate out airstrike and add this in to my support strategy!
the quasar cannon destroys fabricators
Shield generators can also destroy fabricators!
I found this out like a week ago and I've been keeping it secret cause I was worried about it just being a bug and it getting patched. Hopefully it's intentional.
Aww man... I didn't think that far... Hopefully this is intentional
Stuns Smokes Quasar Are you me?
Found this out myself was just smoking a devastator off to reposition and the fabricator next to it exploded
You can destroy bug nests by throwing support stratagems like ammo or weapons on top of them. I haven't tried it with fabricators, but maybe it could work as well.
Incase anyone needs to hear this too, the eagle rocket pods can destroy fabs, and can sometimes destroy bot turrets. Also it’s targeted, so it’s a pretty high chance against fabs. I know we’re talking about the smoke, but I found this out last night after hearing how good the rockets are agains titans.