| “ | A rushing Charger is nearly impossible to stop, thanks to its meter-thick exoskeleton. Therefore, the recommended response protocol to this situation is the prompt execution of a Rapid Lateral Movement (RLM). | „ |
| ~ Helldivers 2 PlayStation Page |
The Charger is a large, heavily armored 
Terminid that can first appear on Medium difficulty as an Elimination Target or sometimes guarding the Shuttle Bay in Emergency Evacuation. It spawns naturally and more frequently as difficulty increases.
It is unclear where the Charger fits in the Terminid life cycle, but it is believed that when a Warrior reaches a certain age or some other environmental pressure, it will molt and mutate into a Charger. The head crest of the Charger is very similar to that of an Impaler, only smaller. This leads some to believe that 
Super Earth genetically altered the Impaler Terminid strain to make them less dangerous, which they both succeeded in and failed.
Living up to their name, Chargers charge at 
Helldivers in an attempt to bash or trample them, dealing a significant amount of damage. This can concuss and potentially launch Helldivers. Chargers will also use their claws at close range.
Tactics[]
- Found on medium to hard-level difficulty planets with bug missions, They are sometimes assigned their special mission like Brood Commanders and Bile Titans. They start spawning as part of the ambient horde on challenging or higher-level difficulties.
- Chargers have heavy armor, however it's rear abdomen has no protection, and can be damaged by any weapon available.
- It's underside is only lightly armored. It is difficult to shoot at, but vulnerable to explosives.
- It's claws and torso armor can be broken with sustained damage. Exposed parts have are completely vulnerable to all weapons.
- Besides the Commando and WASP, all other rocket launchers with anti tank-level penetration will one-shot a charger with a direct hit to the head or torso. The Commando takes two hits, and the WASP can usually put down a charger in one full barrage if shot from the rear.
- Both the FLAM-40 Flamethrower and ARC-3 Arc Thrower are effective against chargers, as both weapons damage the beast directly (despite having no armor-pen traits). Both however, are somewhat prone to friendly fire.
- A single thermite grenade to the torso or head is enough to kill a charger. Attaching one to the limbs may not be kill it, but will crack the armor and leave them vulnerable.
- A Hellpod can kill a charger if it land directly on it. Due to it's size, it is particularly easy to attach a supply stratagem on a charger to score a kill
- Getting gored by a charger will briefly concuss the victim, along with sending them flying, which more often that not, results in broken limbs, if not death. If they survive this, and the charger is nearby, they will typically attempt to finish off their prey with a stomp with their claws.
- The charger's charge does not discriminate between friend or foe. While not very reliable as the charger will typically attempt to make sure that their path is clear before sprinting, one can thin a bit of the horde by tricking the charger into charging into it's own kin. Anything short of large creatures are usually killed on-impact.
- Chargers tend to hone in on one team member at a time and then put all their efforts into taking them down. They're almost entirely armored, except for the yellow patches on their body. While it may seem like these are their weak spots, they aren't considered so, and any non-explosive damage to these areas will instead deal 10% of the original damage.
- The charger will eventually outrun players, regardless of their armor; running away from them in a straight line is not recommended. As much as possible, wait for them to get close, then dodge or run to the side. It is much faster than you but has a wide turning radius and cannot readily change direction mid-sprint.
- An effective evasion strategy is to remain close to the charger and circle it. It probably won't be able to turn fast enough to attack. But don't get too close, or it will trample you.
- Chargers are vulnerable to stun grenades and EMS strikes. They can be pacified with either to make them susceptible to retaliation.
- The stun rounds of the SG-20 Halt can pacify all types of chargers, if they are hit in their rear abdomen, underside, or limb with broken armor. Due to their size, it make take a few direct hits to stun them.
- Attempting to trick the charger into hitting a wall or rock is a valid strategy, as the Charger will be stunned upon impact and be rendered immobile for a short while. However, they can traverse smaller rocks and walls, so caution must be exercised.
- The FX-12 Shield Generator Relay will stop a charging charger dead in its tracks if it collides with the shield when fully deployed. However, the shield will not prevent the charger from walking up to the shield relay to destroy it.
- The Jetpack provides enough ground clearance to jump over a charger at full jump. However, ensure enough time to gain lift, as you can still be gored while in mid-air if done too close.
- A charger may be put into a berserk state when dealt lethal damage, where they will continue to attempt attacking despite dying. This is telegraphed with them coughing out orange blood as they continue to attack. The charger will eventually die from it's wounds, however it's passing can be accelerated by gunning it down.
- All charger variants can go into this state. Never always assume a kill-shot ends the threat of a charger, until it keels over.
Variations[]
Behemoth Charger: has more armor and is easily distinguishable from the standard charger by its elongated horn/tusk-like armor on its head.
Spore Charger: a bile form of the charger and has a cloud of spores around it. It has more weak spots than a normal charger.
Changes[]
- Version 1.000.100: the Railgun's projectiles will ricochet off the charger's legs on safe mode, making the most viable option unsafe for surrounding helldivers, and take more shots (around 3-4) to break off the charger leg armor
- Version 1.000.300: the Railgun's projectiles can now pierce the charger's legs again in safe mode, requiring about 4 shots to break it, or 2 shots with a 70% unsafe mode charge (which can be achieved by charging for about 1 second), making it viable again against chargers.
Trivia[]
- There is an achievement/trophy for killing a Charger by dropping a Resupply pod directly onto it. To obtain this achievement, it’s advised to throw the beacon at the Charger so it’s attached to the bug’s body, as support weapon/backpack hellpods can home into blue beacons.
- The Charger is the subject of a meme in the Helldivers 2 player base, which depicts a Charger in front of a laptop, indicating that it's posting "fascist" propaganda and misinformation online to hinder the Helldivers. This is usually followed by purposely incorrect information to make fun of various aspects of the game and sometimes used to make fun of players who give hot takes or questionable advice to others out of inexperience or a desire to troll greenhorn players.
- The Charger is based on the Tank from the first game, having a similar appearance and virtually identical behavior of charging mindlessly at Helldivers, crushing them.
