The Hive Lord is the ultimate Terminid in Helldivers 2, introduced as a new boss-like enemy in the Into the Unjust update.
This guide dives into the various behaviors and strategies of the monstrous worm, and most importantly: how to kill a Hive Lord.
The Hive Lord towers over everything on the map. When it burrows, it causes tremors that can stun nearby Helldivers. It has the most health out of any enemy currently in the game, appearing on only difficulty 7 – Suicide Mission or above.
Behavior
The Hive Lord can spawn at any point during the mission and is announced by the Democracy Officer with a unique voice line.
Once it emerges from the ground, it will target nearby Helldivers with one of several attacks.
- An acid attack that covers large portions of the battlefield.
- A slam attack that will crush anything (including bugs) that it lands on.
While not a direct attack, be wary of where the Hive Lord is about to emerge. If you’re standing above it, you’re very likely to be immediately killed.
The Hive Lord’s acid attack covers a wide area in front of it. The attack is telegraphed by an animation where it stretches fully into the sky, arches back, and tilts its head forward, signaling the acid attack is imminent.
The acid attack can pass over the targeted area 1-2 times, so dodging the first doesn’t guarantee safety. Look for the telegraph and either move out of the danger zone or take cover behind solid rock.
The slam attack telegraph is different from the acid telegraph. After it emerges from the ground, will begin sink back down a little bit, then tilts its head and entire body backward before slamming into the ground in the direction it was facing.
If either attack directly hits you, it’s a wrap.
If you get hit by the edge of the acid, you can usually Stim to survive.
If you get hit by the edge of the slam attack, you get sent flying. If your health is low enough you may die on impact.
For either attack it’s not a good idea to stand directly in front of the Hive Lord. We recommend running to the flank whenever it emerges.
How to actually kill the Hive Lord.
The Hive Lord is covered in tank level heavy armor and has roughly 150,000 health. For comparison one Recoilless Rifle Rocket does 3,200 damage per shot.
The Hive Lord has spines on both sides of its body in several sections. It has Front-Lower Spines, Rear Spines, and Front Spines (further up the body).
Your goal is to use Anti-Tank weapons to break the Front-Lower Spine. This has 15,000 health but once broken it reveals a Light armored Inner Flesh that can be damaged with normal weapons.
The Inner Flesh can still be shot with Anti-Tank weapons, though it won’t be the most efficient way to deal damage.
When the Hive Lord is defeated, it lets out a loud groaning sound, thrashes around wildly, and then collapses to the ground.
It’s currently the only enemy in game (that is not the target in an Eliminate mission) that gives XP for defeating it.
What’s the best loadout?
A lot of players are still experimenting with the optimal loadout to take down a Hive Lord. We were able to complete it with a full squad: two players with the Emancipator Mech, two players with FAF-14 Spears, and all four players with GR-8 Recoilless Rifles.
Take note that you will still have to deal with all of the normal enemies in a mission, so we recommend bringing a versatile Primary and Secondary. We recommend checking out our Helldivers 2 Primary Weapons Tier List – September 2025.