Every Helldiver deploying to the western front knows the distinct sound of heavy, metallic thuds approaching through the fog. Scout Striders are one of the most common sights during Automaton operations, and while they might not seem as terrifying as a Hulk or a Tank initially, they have a nasty habit of grinding your team's momentum to a halt. If you are dumping full magazines of light armor-penetrating ammo directly into their front shields, you are wasting precious resources and leaving yourself wide open to getting pinned down by incoming bot drops.
Dealing with these walking turrets efficiently is all about exploiting their specific structural blind spots and matching your arsenal to the right target areas. This guide breaks down exactly how to dismantle both variants of the Scout Strider without breaking a sweat, ensuring you conserve ammunition and keep your squad moving.
Understanding the Two Strider Variants
Depending on the difficulty tier of your operation, you will face two distinctly different versions of this walker. Knowing which one is staring you down determines your immediate tactical response.
Standard Scout Strider: This is the classic variant encountered across most difficulty levels. It consists of a light armored front faceplate protecting a standard Automaton trooper who pilots the walker from an open-back cabin. Because the pilot is completely exposed from behind and the sides, high mobility easily nullifies this unit's defenses.
Reinforced Rocket Strider: Spawning frequently on higher difficulties, this variant removes the obvious infantry weakness. The cabin is fully enclosed and heavily armored, leaving no visible pilot to shoot. To make matters worse, they carry side-mounted rocket pods capable of instantly turning a Helldiver into fine paste. Traditional flanking with a basic primary won't work here; you need heavier ordnance or precision targeting.
Top Methods to Kill Standard Scout Striders
1. Flank the Pilot
The absolute fastest and most ammo-efficient way to deal with a standard Strider is to look past the armor and kill the machine operating it. Since the pilot's back is entirely exposed, a single short burst from literally any primary weapon in the game will put it down instantly.
How to execute: Utilize dives, tactical sprints, or a Jump Pack to rapidly reposition around the unit.
When to use: This method shines brightest in solo play when utilizing high-mobility light armor, or during team play when a squadmate has successfully drawn the Strider's attention, leaving its rear completely vulnerable to your flanking angle.
2. Frontal Leg-Hinge Precision Shots
When you are cornered or facing a Strider head-on with no room to flank, you don't have to panic or retreat. You just need to shift your aim downward. The thick front shield doesn't protect the mechanical joints below it.
How to execute: Aim precisely at the pelvis assembly where the legs connect to the lower chassis—essentially the walker's "crotch" area.
Optimal Weaponry: Fire one or two well-placed shots using a weapon with Medium Armor Penetration. The Diligence Counter Sniper, BR-14 Adjudicator, or the hard-hitting JAR-5 Dominator will snap the leg joint instantly, causing the entire vehicle to collapse.
3. Explosive Splash Damage (AoE Plasma)
If you prefer brute-forcing your way through encounters without needing pixel-perfect aim, explosive primary weapons completely ignore the physical shield of the walker.
How to execute: Aim straight for the center of the front faceplate and fire normally.
Optimal Weaponry: Weapons like the SG-8P Plasma Punisher or the R-36 Eruptor are perfect for this. The explosive radius generated by the plasma or explosive round bleeds straight through the metal shield, wiping out the unarmored pilot sitting right behind it in a single shot.
Top Methods to Kill Reinforced Rocket Striders
Because the reinforced variants lack an exposed pilot to flank or splash down, you have to upgrade your tactics and focus on structural sabotage or heavy firepower.
1. Detonate Their Exterior Rockets
The greatest threat posed by the Reinforced Strider is also its single biggest vulnerability. Before they can launch their deadly payload at your squad, you can turn their own weapons against them.
How to execute: Focus your fire on the external missile racks prominently mounted to the sides of the enclosed cabin.
Optimal Weaponry: Any standard light primary weapon or a high-rate-of-fire rifle works beautifully here. Striking the volatile rockets before the Strider fires them triggers a catastrophic chain explosion that completely vaporizes the entire unit instantly.
2. Heavy Support Weapon Stripping
When the rockets have already been fired or you are dealing with multiple reinforced units simultaneously, relying on your support stratagems is the cleanest solution.
How to execute: Punch right through their reinforced plates by targeting the main hip joints or the center of the chassis.
Optimal Weaponry: High-tier anti-armor support tools bypass their defensive plating effortlessly. The AC-8 Autocannon handles them in one to two quick shots to the leg joints. The APW-1 Anti-Materiel Rifle can cleanly snap the hip assembly in a single shot, while a charged shot from the RS-422 Railgun handles them with absolute ease.
3. Foot-Placement Explosives
If you find yourself without a dedicated anti-materiel support weapon, you can still crack these armored shells using standard utility gear by exploiting the geometry of the ground.
How to execute: Instead of throwing grenades at the heavily armored front faceplate where they might bounce or do minimal damage, aim at the dirt directly beneath the walker's feet.
Optimal Weaponry: Cook and throw a G-12 Impact Grenade or fire a round from the GP-31 Grenade Pistol right between its legs. The upward blast radius bypasses the directional front armor plates, severely damaging the unshielded underbelly and dismantling the walker from below.
Field Reminder: Striders are pack hunters. Whenever you spot one, assume there are three more lurking nearby or dropping in shortly. Always prioritize popping the rockets off Reinforced Striders first to protect your team from sudden crossfire, then use high-mobility or plasma weapons to clean up the standard variants.
