How to dismantle Bot war‑machines with surgical AT roles, clean weak‑point shots, and low‑risk objective routes.
Primer: why Automatons demand a different playbook
Automatons don’t swarm like Terminids—they layer ranged pressure behind thick armor and static defenses. That means your team’s success on Bot planets depends on (1) reliable anti‑tank (AT) coverage, (2) target‑specific weak‑pointing, and (3) disciplined objective clears that minimize time in the open. Bring weapons and Stratagems with high armor penetration or demolition force; “chip‑damage” primaries alone won’t carry you at mid–high difficulties.
Your four‑slot AT coverage (team roles that just work)
AT1 – Primary Armor Killer (anchor):
- Railgun (unsafe charge), Quasar Cannon, Recoilless Rifle, or Spear (for long‑range locks and structure busting). Railgun deletes medium–heavy bots and can even handle Hulks; Quasar has infinite ammo for repeated tank/Hulk work; Spear locks and punches out tanks/facilities; Recoilless is the dependable, fast‑cycle classic.
AT2 – Flexible Armor/Crowd Hybrid:
- Autocannon (sustained armor‑crack and dropship/pod denial), Commando (rapid MVC—massive, disposable bursts), or Anti‑Materiel Rifle (if under‑leveled for Railgun).
Utility – Control & Survivability:
- EMS Mortar Sentry or Stun grenades/EMS to freeze Hulks for eye/back shots; Shield Generator Pack to safely charge Quasar/arm Hellbombs under fire.
Ordnance – Area Deletes:
- Orbital Laser, Orbital 380mm, Orbital/Precision Railcannon, Eagle 500kg to thin large, armored clusters or finish “problem” targets.
Comms tip: Assign roles out loud—“AT1 (Quasar) on tanks/Hulks; AT2 (Autocannon) for Devastators & suppression; Utility covers stuns/shield; Ordnance call when eyes are on a Tank or Fabricator.”
Movement tip: Fight from hard cover; go prone when the sky turns spicy—explosive splash is less punishing and tanks will whiff more.
Target Cards (weak‑points & counters)
1) Automaton Tanks (Annihilator / Shredder / Barrager)
What they do:
- Annihilator: single heavy cannon + front MG; Shredder: quad MG laser torrent; Barrager: mortar‑style rockets over cover. All three are slow but lethal if you trade in the open.
Primary weak‑point:
- Rear turret heat‑sink (orange vents at the back). Concentrated fire here melts them fast. If you lack a clear rear angle, bring explosives or a lock‑on solution.
Counters that are rock‑solid:
- Railgun / Recoilless / EAT‑17 / Quasar / Spear / Commando / Anti‑Materiel Rifle—any focused anti‑armor option to rear vents; Orbital Railcannon, Orbital Laser, Eagle 500kg when angles are bad or multiples spawn.
Approach & positioning:
- Tanks are slow—close the gap using cover, circle to the rear, even hop on the hull if needed to break line‑of‑fire; stay mindful of nose MGs and Barrager floor rockets. Prone behind solid cover if you can’t flank.
2) Hulks (Bruiser, Scorcher, Obliterator, Firebomber, Jet variants)
What they do:
- “Walking tank” siege walkers with nasty combinations: rockets, HMG lasers, flamers, and some variants that jump. Their job is to break you out of cover and pin your squad.
Primary weak‑points & disable shots:
- Back vent/heat sink: massive damage; destroying it triggers a “bleed‑out” that will finish a Hulk over time.
- Front visor (“eye”): tiny, high‑damage weak spot for skilled shots.
- Arms can be shot off to delete key weapons; legs can be broken to root/kill.
Pair with stuns/EMS to set up clean eye/back shots.
Burst solutions:
- Railgun/Quasar/EAT‑17/Recoilless/Commando to eye or rear; Precision/Orbital Railcannon/Eagle 500kg to delete on demand. Stun grenades/EMS give you the aiming window.
Variant notes: Scorcher (flamer + saw) wants to hug you—back off, stun, then take the visor; Firebomber arcs incendiaries—prioritize quickly; Jet Brigade may hop—don’t over‑commit to a static firing lane. Orbital Railcannon will auto‑choose the nastiest target in the area and one‑shot—great panic button when a Hulk crashes your flank.
3) Fabricators (Light Fabricators) & Gunship Facilities (Heavy)
Light Fabricators (spawner huts in outposts):
- Spawn Automaton infantry until destroyed. Safest fast kills:
- One‑shot from any side with EAT‑17, Quasar, Recoilless, or Spear.
- Grenades: toss into one of the two top vents above the door, or through the door the instant it rolls out a bot.
- Ricochet tech: aim Autocannon/Eruptor/Grenade Launcher/Grenade Pistol/Crossbow at the fin above a vent so the projectile bounces inside.
- Eagle Airstrike/500kg if several sit close together.
Gunship Facilities (twin/cluster towers that spawn Gunships):
- Do not waste ordnance—they’re immune to conventional explosives. You need Demolition Force 60: plant a NUX‑223 Hellbomb, B‑100 Portable Hellbomb, or call SEAF Artillery: Mini‑Nuke. Clear the skies first (or pop a Shield Generator over your Hellbomb) or the towers will laser the bomb before it detonates. Dropping the Hellbomb between two towers can nuke both.
Safe Objective Clears (repeatable, low‑risk patterns)
A) Light Fabricator Outpost (with Cannons/Hulks patrolling)
- Scout & mark: From max binoc range, tag Cannon Turrets and the closest Fabricator. Cannons flash red before firing; getting tight to the base breaks their tracking, and the back‑of‑turret vents are their weak point.
- Roles set: AT1 watches for Tanks/Hulks; AT2 suppresses Devastators/Striders and kills dropships; Utility drops EMS lane & sets Shield for emergency.
- Crack the door: From cover, ricochet an Autocannon/Eruptor into the first Fabricator vent—or just EAT/Recoilless/Quasar it from any side. If a Hulk walks in, stun → visor/back.
- Snowball: With one fab gone, the spawn pressure dips. Push to the next fab on a fresh Eagle or Precision strike, then repeat. Finish by flanking the Cannon and deleting its rear vents (or toss Orbital Laser if the base gets thick).
- Extract clean: Don’t farm—Automatons escalate with time. If a Tank shows late, prone behind rock, flank rear vents, Recoilless/Quasar, and go.
B) Double Gunship Facility (a.k.a. the airfield headache)
- Set the box: One player kites spawns; AT1/AT2 delete active Gunships (two AT rockets or a single Quasar shot each).
- Window: Towers drip new Gunships on a cooldown—exploit that lull. Sprint a Hellbomb to the gap between the two towers; Shield Generator over the bomb if waves are still coming or you lack total air control.
- Body block & peel: The other three play zonal denial (Autocannon lanes, EATs ready) to stop fresh spawns from lasering the bomb. Extract to cover; detonate; verify no second pair nearby.
C) Tank‑dense route through a Heavy Outpost
- Pathing: Avoid main approaches a Tank can sight from 100+ meters. Move cover‑to‑cover, intent on forcing a rear‑angle.
- Kill order: Cannon → Tank (rear sink) → Fabricators → leftover infantry. Use Orbital Railcannon when a Hulk + Tank stack your angle—let Super Earth decide which to erase.
Practical micro‑tips (the little edges)
- Call your shot type (“unsafe rail,” “charging quasar,” “EAT up”) so allies stop crossing your line—most AT is straight‑line lethal.
- Buddy‑load Recoilless whenever possible; its cycle time is what keeps a Tank from getting a second salvo.
- Suppress for actions: even if you’re not hurting armor, dumping accurate fire reduces Bot accuracy and buys your Hellbomb code/Quasar charge window.
- Dropship denial: shoot thrusters with AT to crash them (bonus: fewer reinforcements at the feet of your Hellbomb planter).
One‑page counters (TL;DR)
- Tanks → Rear heat‑sink; Rail/Recoilless/Quasar/Spear/Commando; Orbital/Eagle if pinned; use prone & cover, flank slow turrets.
- Hulks → Back vent (bleed) or visor; Stun/EMS → eye/back; arms/legs to disable; Orbital Railcannon to erase emergencies.
- Light Fabricators → Grenade the vents/door; EAT/Recoilless/Quasar/Spear 1‑shot from any side; ricochet Autocannon/Eruptor if you like style.
- Gunship Facilities → Hellbomb / Portable Hellbomb / SEAF Mini‑Nuke only (Demo 60); clear skies or Shield the bomb; plant between towers to 1‑bomb 2 towers.
Loadouts that consistently deliver (examples)
- All‑comers Automaton squad (4‑stack):
- AT1: Railgun (unsafe), Pistol, Stuns, Shield Gen Pack; Orbital Railcannon, Eagle 500kg.
- AT2: Autocannon, AR/SMG, EMP/EMS, Resupply; Orbital Laser.
- Flex: Recoilless (2‑man), AR, Frag/Thermite; Precision Strike.
- Utility: Quasar Cannon, SMG, Stuns, Mortar EMS Sentry.
(Swap in Spear if the mission card lists heavy armor & long approaches.)
- Facility Eradicator (Gunship map):
- One Portable Hellbomb carrier; a Shield Gen carrier; two Quasars/Autocannons to clear air quickly; Smoke Strike optional to obscure the Hellbomb plant if your team likes that route.
Mistakes to stop making
- “We’ll bomb the gunship towers with Eagle.” You won’t—bring or call a Hellbomb (or equivalent Demo 60).
- Face‑tanking Hulks. Don’t ego‑peek the eye after it winds up—stun first, then take your shot.
- Rear‑angle laziness on Tanks. If you can’t reach the heat‑sink, reposition, don’t donate lives.
Final word
Automatons reward squads that assign AT roles, hunt weak‑points, and clear objectives with intent. Use stuns to create windows, flank for rear sinks, and reserve big orbitals for “stacked” moments. That’s how you turn Bot armor into scrap and finish missions without turning extraction into a last‑stand montage.
