Helldivers 2 — Escort the Mobile Oil Rig (GATER) Mission Walkthrough

Master the GATER escort with surgical route planning, layered sentry & mine grids, anti‑AA takedowns, and rock‑solid extraction contingencies.

What this mission actually is (and isn’t)

“Escort the Mobile Oil Rig” is the community name for Conduct Mobile E‑711 Extraction, a main‑objective mission introduced alongside the Hive Worlds update. You’ll drive and defend a slow G.A.T.E.R. (Ground All‑Terrain Extraction Rig) to marked drilling sites, trigger short extraction cycles, then repeat until an airlift collects the storage tanks and the rig self‑destructs. If the rig is destroyed before that, the mission fails—full stop. The rig is cumbersome, has a limited‑arc turret on top, and enemies will throw everything they have at it.

Why the fuss now? The recent update added Hive‑World cave routes, new Terminid subspecies like the winged Dragonroach, and the headline mobile oil‑truck escort variant—meaning denser air and ground pressure on the convoy. Expect constant contact, surprise ambushes, and hectic drill‑site defenses.

TL;DR loadout blueprint

• Team roles (4‑stack):
  1. Driver/Navigator (rig pilot + map runner)
  2. Gunner/Crowd Control (tops the GATER turret, staggers hordes)
  3. Anti‑Armor (Spear/Railgun/Recoilless; deletes Chargers, Bile Titans, bots)
  4. Engineer (sentries, mines, Shield Relay/Tesla to shape fights)
• Defensive stratagems to anchor every stop:
  Tesla Tower, Shield Generator Relay, Autocannon or Rocket Sentry, Mortar/EMS Mortar Sentry, MD‑6 Anti‑Personnel Minefield, MD‑17 Anti‑Tank Mines (if unlocked). Names and availability: see stratagem compendium.
• Offense / emergency:
  Recoilless Rifle / Quasar / Spear, Orbital Precision / Laser / 120mm, Eagle Napalm / Cluster (where airspace allows).

Know your rig

• It’s slow, wide, and hates slopes. Treat the GATER like a bus with a fragile fuel tank. It can’t dodge; you must shape fights in front of it.
• Top turret: Solid against chaff and medium armor but limited traverse. Always keep a gunner up there—never let it go unmanned.
• Mission flow: Drive → stop on the exact site marker → trigger the mission stratagem to drill → hold the perimeter → move. After the last site, a shuttle cranes off the tanks; the rig pops, and you can exfil. If it pops early, you’re done.

Route planning: how to choose a path the rig can survive

Think like a convoy commander. Your goal isn’t the shortest line; it’s the cleanest line.

1. Scout and mark a spine route before moving the rig.
   Have your Driver/Navigator and Anti‑Armor step 100–150 meters ahead to ping a path that avoids:
   • Steep side‑hills and sharp ravines the rig can’t crest.
   • Dense nest clusters (Terminid) and kill‑box courtyards (Automatons).
   • Airspace denial—if bots are present, note AA domes (see AA section below).
2. Prefer ridgelines and broad bowls over tight canyons. Canyons magnify spawn pressure and make your sentry arcs converge into friendly‑fire disasters.
3. Leapfrog staging:
   • Stage one defense package (Tesla + Mortar Sentry + AP mines) at a forward chokepoint you’ll reach in ~45 seconds.
   • Stage a second, lighter package (AP mines + MG/Gatling Sentry) midway.
   • Drive the rig into the first package, fight from prepared positions, then collapse the rear package and rebuild it another ~100 meters ahead.
4. Plan the drill‑site micro‑routes. Approaches should give:
   • A lateral escape lane (in case a Charger or Hive Lord spawns into you).
   • A clear top cover for orbitals/Eagle if air is available (avoid overhangs).
   • Sightlines where the top‑turret can rake the main approach without sweeping your team.
5. Call extraction plan early. As you approach the final drill site, decide:
   • Primary LZ (nearest safe pad)
   • Alternate LZ (downwind, with terrain cover and no AA dome)
   • Egress corridor you’ll mine and turret before the last drill completes.

Caves & roof holes: On Hive‑World tiles, overhangs and cave ceilings interfere with call‑ins; look for skylights and open bowls to keep support viable. (Community guides warn cave geometry limits stratagem drops; plan routes that “see the sky.”)

Anti‑AA coverage 101 (for Automaton planets)

If the escort spawns on bot maps, Anti‑Air Emplacements create ~150 m “Eagle denied” bubbles. Inside these, Eagle strikes and Rearm are blocked; calling Eagles just outside can still draw AA fire and even force auto‑repair cooldowns if Eagle‑1 takes a hit. That means fewer strikes and harder resupplies unless you clear AA along your route.

How to clear AA, fast:

• Identify the site by its skyward tracer stream and quad‑barrel towers.
• Weapons that work: Recoilless Rifle, EAT‑17, Spear, Quasar, heavy explosives. (Eagles are denied; orbitals and SEAF artillery still work from distance.)
• Approach outside the bubble, drop orbitals or a Hellbomb, or flank with AT. Rear vents aren’t weak points—just hit the chassis with AP/explosives until it dies.

Why you should bother: Clearing a couple of AA nests along your spine route restores Eagle Napalm/Cluster, rapid Resupply, and emergency Eagle Smoke over the rig. It also reduces random Eagle cooldown spikes when calling strikes near the dome.

Turret and mine placement: a repeatable blueprint

Friendly fire is always on. Build your grid to shape enemy paths, not to “cover everything.”

At every drill site (and at prepared waypoints):

1) Inner bubble (10–15 m around the rig):

• Shield Generator Relay roughly behind the rig (toward your planned fallback).
• Tesla Tower 8–12 m in front of the rig, slightly offset to your main threat vector. The Tesla arcs slow Chargers/Spewers and keeps chaff stunned at the lip. (Do not stand in the arc path.)

2) Sentry ring (20–35 m):

• Autocannon Sentry set behind or diagonal to the rig so its arc cuts across the enemy approach without crossing the rig’s rear. Excellent for medium armor and occasional flyers.
• Mortar or EMS Mortar Sentry 30–40 m behind the rig, elevation if possible. EMS Mortar is superb vs. swarm momentum—stagger then blast.
• Optional Rocket Sentry if bots/armored columns are heavy; place it off‑angle so rockets pass beside your lanes, not through them.

3) Mine nets (15–50 m):

• MD‑6 Anti‑Personnel in two shallow crescents 25–30 m ahead of the rig, offset left/right to force enemies into the Tesla/sentry angles.
• MD‑17 Anti‑Tank as a wide cross‑corridor 35–45 m out on obvious Charger avenues (gullies, roadbeds). Don’t lay AT directly under the rig’s nose; detonations can chain into teammates.

4) The top‑turret lane:
Keep your GATER gunner tasked to the longest approach and flyers. The gun’s limited traverse means they should hold one lane while ground sentries/mortars handle the flanks.

Common placement mistakes to avoid

• Turrets on the rig’s flanks, close‑in: they’ll track across the convoy and erase your own squad.
• Mines under the rig or in your fallback lane: you will forget and blow yourselves up.
• Mortar too close: splash will chew the rig when bugs hug the hull.

On the move: the “leapfrog” convoy drill

1. Advance party moves first: Driver halts the rig. Scout/Anti‑Armor advance ~120 m, clear roamers, mark a landing bowl and drop AP mines + MG/Gatling Sentry.
2. Mid‑point seed: Engineer drops a single AP minefield and Tesla halfway (this becomes your short emergency fallback).
3. Drive into the pocket: Bring the rig into the prepared forward bowl. As soon as the rig nose crosses into your setup, drop Shield Relay + Autocannon Sentry + Mortar and begin the drill.
4. Collapse and repeat: When the drill completes and pressure ebbs, scoop samples, recover cooldowns, then move the mid‑point seed forward to become the next bowl.

This keeps defense always ahead of the rig, instead of reacting with late stratagems that scatter onto the hull or your squad.

Threat cards & hard counters

• Dragonroach (winged bug): Treat like a bomber + bile sprayer. Keep the Autocannon Sentry up and the top turret focused high; Orbital Precision/Eagle Rockets delete it if air is open.
• Chargers / “Rupture Chargers”: The single biggest rig killers. Layer EMS (tower or mortar) → AT mines → Spear/Quasar/Recoilless. Call Orbital Laser only if you have air and clean sky; don’t lase through the rig.
• Bile Titans / Heavies: Railcannon, Orbital 120/380, or EAT‑17 volley. Keep them at angles where their splash won’t tag the hull.
• Automaton Tanks / Striders: Spear and Recoilless rear‑quarter shots; cover the shot with EMS to make positioning safe.
• Stalker burrows & pop‑up packs: Pre‑seed AP mines wherever you see burrow clusters along your route.

Role-by-role stratagem kits

You won’t all run the same kit. Divide responsibilities.

Driver/Navigator

• Backpack: Shield Generator Pack or Supply Pack.
• Strats: Eagle Smoke / Precision, Resupply, Tesla Tower, AP Mines.
• Primary: Accurate midrange AR or BR; prioritize stamina armor to reposition the rig safely.

Gunner/Crowd Control

• Backpack: Shield Generator Pack (lives on the rig).
• Strats: Mortar Sentry (or EMS Mortar), Eagle Napalm/Cluster (when air is open), AP Mines.
• Secondary: Shotty/SMG for boarders; keep the turret fed first.

Anti‑Armor

• Support weapon: Spear or Quasar; Recoilless if you have a dedicated loader.
• Strats: Orbital Laser or Precision, EAT‑17, Rocket Sentry.
• Job: Delete anything with plating, pop AA sites, and anchor the front lane.

Engineer (Gridlayer)

• Backpack: Supply Pack (feeds team + sentry ammo) or Shield Relay if Driver isn’t carrying it.
• Strats: Autocannon Sentry, Mortar/EMS Mortar Sentry, Tesla, MD‑17 AT and MD‑6 AP minefields (swap one for Orbital Gatling or 120mm if you need more reach).
• Job: Build the repeatable grid; call out lanes to avoid friendly fire.

Stratagem names/availability reference: community index and wiki entries.

Drill‑site defense: a 90‑second playbook

1. Park with intent. Nose points toward the next leg; tail faces your fallback lane.
2. Drop Relay + Tesla immediately, then Autocannon Sentry on the diagonal, Mortar on a backline rise.
3. Mine the lip 25–30 m forward; not on the hull.
4. Gunner covers sky / long lane; Anti‑Armor floats to flank heavies.
5. If the site begins to snowball:
   • Eagle Smoke to cut LOS (if air is open).
   • EMS Mortar for crowd slow.
   • Napalm/Orbital Gatling on the outer edge of your AP mines to chain detonations outward, not inward.
6. On completion: Don’t instantly drive—take five seconds to pop stragglers, resupply, and lift the turret if it’s blocking your path.

Extraction contingencies (when things go sideways)

You should set these up before the last drill starts.

1) Pre‑seed your egress. Lay AP mines and a Tesla along the road out from the final site. If you expect armor, add an AT mine cross‑bar 40 m downrange.

2) AA‑aware evac.

• If Automaton AA is near the planned LZ, clear it first so Eagle Smoke/Napalm and Reinforce stay available during the hold. The AA bubble radius is ~150 m; killing just one dome often opens both your evac pad and your rearm cycles.

3) Two‑pad plan.

• Primary LZ: closest pad with open sky and no steep approach.
• Alternate LZ: 200–300 m away, behind terrain that breaks LOS if the primary is compromised (Titans/Chargers camping).
• Why two: If a swarm or Hive Lord spawns on your pad, it’s faster to peel to the alternate than to brute‑force through a deathball with the rig already gone.

4) The 60–120‑second hold.

• Outer ring (Engineer): Mortar/EMS Mortar + Napalm at the edge of your mine crescent (don’t detonate toward yourself).
• Inner ring (Driver/Gunner): Shield Relay + Tesla + Autocannon Sentry; keep a lane open to the shuttle ramp.
• Anti‑Armor floats to intercept Titans/Chargers; Spear/Recoilless shots happen away from the ramp so backblast and staggers don’t punt teammates.

5) If the rig barely survives the last site:

• Do not linger for samples. Call the nearest clear LZ, pop Eagle Smoke, and go light—your win condition is getting the squad out.
• If you wiped: Reinforce at the edge of your pre‑seeded egress. Without AA on bots, you can chain Reinforce → Smoke → Mines → Tesla to reboot the hold.

Automaton‑specific variant

• Pre‑clear AA along your path (see section above). Doing so re‑enables Eagle Rearm/Strikes which are your best tools for deleting dropships and thinning armored pushes.
• Rocket/Autocannon Sentries should sit on crossed angles to catch Legionnaire squads and Shredders as they funnel. Mortar helps vs. ranged blobs but keep it far enough back not to splash the rig.
• Spear + EMS lets you take favorable rear‑quarter shots on Striders/Tanks between waves.

Terminid‑specific variant (Hive Worlds)

• Expect ambush swells and vertical threat (Dragonroaches). Keep one Autocannon Sentry erect at nearly all times and man the top gun.
• AT mines plus Tesla shred Chargers; Napalm on outer lips burns chaff without cooking the hull.
• Choose routes with skylights and open bowls; cave ceilings can make support unreliable.

Common mistakes that wipe squads

• Driving first, planning later. You’ll always be fighting on the enemy’s terms. Stage defenses ahead, then move the rig.
• Turret arcs crossing the ramp. Position sentries so their kill lines never sweep through your fallback and shuttle ramp.
• Mines on your fallback lane. You will forget they’re there. Mark them or don’t place them behind you at all.
• Ignoring AA domes on Automaton maps. Without Eagle, you lose smoke, napalm, and fast resupplies during the worst pressure windows.
• Letting the top turret sit idle. One player should “own” it all mission long.

A sample mission script you can copy

1. Drop near the first drill site. Driver/Navigator scouts a ridgeline path; Anti‑Armor checks for AA domes downrange.
2. Seed 1: AP mines + MG Sentry at your first bowl.
3. Bring the rig up. Drop Shield Relay + Tesla + Autocannon + Mortar. Drill.
4. Collapse rear seed forward; repeat to site #2.
5. Mid‑mission: If bots, peel off to blow one AA nest to reopen Eagle.
6. Before final site: Pre‑seed your egress corridor (AP + AT + Tesla). Choose Primary/Alternate LZ.
7. Final drill: Hold with EMS/Napalm, leave on completion, and go straight to the LZ.
8. Extraction hold: Inner bubble (Relay, Tesla, Autocannon), outer ring (Mortar/Napalm on mine edge). Anti‑Armor screens heavies on the flanks.
9. Board and bounce. Leave the trophies; keep the stars.

Quick reference checklist

• [ ] Scout a clean path (not the shortest).
• [ ] Pre‑seed a bowl 100–150 m ahead before the rig moves.
• [ ] Keep the top turret manned 100% of the time.
• [ ] Build Shield + Tesla + Autocannon + Mortar at every stop.
• [ ] Lay AP crescents 25–30 m ahead; AT cross‑bars 35–45 m out.
• [ ] If bots, clear at least one AA dome along your route.
• [ ] Pre‑seed the final egress and pick two LZs.
• [ ] Smoke, EMS, and lanes—not hero plays.