Automatons

The are mindless, bloodthirsty robots, coded for nothing but murder and violence. Their origins are a mystery, but their unthinking hatred of Freedom makes them a threat to all citizens of Super Earth. Any information towards the origin of this threat must be reported directly to the Super Earth Ministry of Truth, as it will help the continued survival of Managed Democracy, and Freedom. Super Earth would also like to remind citizens that anyone engaging in any way with the automaton propaganda regarding supposed “oppression” or “enslavement” is a socialist terrorist, and should be reported as soon as possible.

They are one of two factions Helldivers can currently fight against in Helldivers 2, with the other being the Terminids.

Automaton Origins
According to the information provided by a decrypted message from the official Helldivers Twitter account, the Automaton are descendants from the Cyborgs in the first game, created to continue fighting against Super Earth and one day liberate the Cyborgs from their enslavement on Cyberstan.

"'We, the collective from Cyberstan, unanimously assert our independence from Super Earth. We have the right to defend our home from the brainwashed Helldivers. Our children, the automaton will not suffer as we have under the oppression of Super Earth!'"

Created as descendants of the Cyborgs, the Automaton are the next step in their evolution as entirely mechanical beings, they no longer require traitors from Super Earth or corpses of Helldivers to create new troops. Automaton all have similar characteristics like dark metallic bodies, digitigrade legs, skull-like heads, armor plates and a pair of red glowing red eyes.

Tactics
Battling Automatons requires Helldivers to adapt a drastically different approach compared to battling the Terminids. The socialist clankers are not as numerous compared to the fascist insectoids but are capable of employing a vast array of weaponry, from energy swords and chainsaws to rocket launchers and heavy machine guns. Thus, Helldivers need to find a good balance between offense and defense, seeking cover whenever possible and focus on scrapping the Automaton's heavy hitters before they can unleash their devastating attacks.

While many Automaton models are well armored, their humanoid structures possess a very notable weakness in their heads. Precise shots to the head even on heavier enemies like Devastators can stagger and destroy them with ease.

Automatons can be rapidly deployed in large numbers of reinforcements via dropships, but much like bug tunnel breaches, it's possible to disrupt these reinforcements by either eliminating the Trooper or Commissar calling in backup before it could launch its signal flare, or shooting down the dropship using heavy anti-armor weapon such as the Recoilless Rifle (it should be noted that this may not damage / kill all of the bots on board the dropship).

Automatons can also be produced on site via Fabricators set up in their numerous outposts. Destroying the Fabricators can be done in a similar fashion to demolishing bug hives, by serving a fresh hot cup of liber-tea down their exhaust funnels or simply level the entire area using Eagle strikes or orbital bombardments. Be warned that a Fabricator will explode rather violently when destroyed, so Helldivers are to keep their distances when making their deliveries.

Automaton Outposts are often defended by Troopers manning machine gun emplacements; therefore, it's advised to approach them as sneakily as possible. On higher difficulties, outposts may be guarded by Cannon Towers, therefore it's recommended to bring dedicated anti-armor weaponry against the Automatons, as the only weakness of the Tobruk is the power-pack vent on the back of the turret which may not be easily accessible depending on the terrain of the mission theater.