Helldivers 2’s GATER Mission is the Ultimate Campaign Killer

At 385 hours logged in Helldivers 2, as well as having played semi-regularly since launch, I like to think that I have a decent comprehension of various missions. And, depending on what I’m trying to achieve or what I’m in the mood for in Helldivers 2, I know which missions I’ll prefer on a moment-to-moment basis. I typically orbit around whatever the Major Order wants me to do since I enjoy that overarching, communal sense of progression, but I rarely indulge in campaigns, at least not any that I’ve instigated myself. For instance, I join SOS lobbies, and it’s a pleasant happenstance if I’ve earned 15 medals when we succeed.

Campaigns are usually fairly easy to see through to completion in ordinary circumstances, and their difficulty—particularly on Helldivers 2’s Level 10 Super Helldive difficulty—is largely relegated to what assortment of missions players must tackle, with any number of fatal errors or misguided distractions potentially ruining the whole errand. Helldivers 2 recently launched its most thrilling update yet, Into the Unjust, and with it Hive Worlds and an entire series of nightmares that ensue on them. The greatest nightmare it poses, however, is the GATER mission, which can sour quickly during a panicked wasteland road trip.

Helldivers 2’s GATER is More Dreadful Than Any Dragonroach or Hive Lord

Even fresh-faced Helldivers 2 Xbox recruits will now know that campaign completion is dependent on three individual, predetermined missions succeeding. Before Conduct Mobile E-711 Extraction, though, there hadn’t ever truly been a campaign-killer mission that was to be feared above all others.

In fact, you could easily argue that any campaign with Helldivers 2’s Evacuate High-Value Asset mission is done and dusted the moment it was initiated. Conduct Mobile E-711 Extraction (colloquially known as the ‘GATER’ mission), on the other hand, is horribly rife with opportunities for imminent failure. The Gloom research expedition mission’s description is as follows:

A Ground All-Terrain Extraction Rig (GATER) has been deployed to the area, where multiple E-711 reservoirs have been identified.

You have been summarily certified as Expert Large Vehicle Operators. Deploy to the area and utilize the GATER to extract E-711 from all identified locations.

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It may be simple on paper, but actually seeing the mission itself through is anything but. In essence, the GATER is sluggishly driven to several waypoints and defended at each from waves of bug breaches, Shriekers (assuming there are nearby nests that haven’t been popped), Dragonroaches, and Helldivers 2’s scary Hive Lords.

Unfortunately, skill hardly seems relevant when the vehicle is constantly swarmed by hordes of bugs, nuked with acid by a Dragonroach, or squashed/flung into the air by a Hive Lord.

To be fair, the GATER mission is fully capable of being completed swiftly and without so much as a lick of trouble, yet I’ve only been so lucky as to see an efficient and coordinated GATER mission a handful of times. I’ve experienced the GATER mission fail in numerous ways, though the surest things to avoid by any means necessary would include:

Helldivers 2’s Orbital Laser is a definite no-go. If activated anywhere near, it’ll inevitably sweep toward the GATER as that’s where the bulk of bugs will be, and will thus vaporize the vehicle.
Offensive stratagem permits in general aren’t necessarily a big peril, but players must be mindful of how closely they’re lobbing an Eagle 500KG Bomb. Players could potentially get lucky with Orbital Barrages like the 120MM HE or 380MM HE not striking the GATER, but throwing them in the vicinity is basically asking for mission failure, whether or not you’re praying to the RNG gods that they won’t spitefully smite the vehicle.
Backpack supply stratagem permits like the AX/LAS-5 “Guard Dog” Rover and defensive stratagem permits like the A/MLS-4X Rocket Sentry are undoubtedly risky because they, like the Orbital Laser, have automated aiming and have a high likelihood of damaging the GATER.
This one is the hardest pill to swallow: errant Helldivers 2 Hellpods landing upon the GATER may instantly obliterate it. So, anyone who is thinking of landing their hot descent directly on the roof of the vehicle will more than likely be met with the ‘Objective Failed’ text.

The only solution I think that’d be needed is for the GATER’s health to be buffed so that it doesn’t feel as if any iota of damage could eviscerate it. In the meantime, I might be avoiding campaigns altogether so I don’t have to feel the sharp sting of disappointment when the GATER mission alone is more than capable of tarnishing them.