One of the toughest missions in Helldivers 2 has you rushing around a small area trying to activate a massive can of planetary insecticide. Breathing it provides no health risks imaginable. Right? Before you can banish bugs for good, you need to activate the Termicide Tower in Helldivers 2.
To activate the Termicide Tower in Helldivers 2, you need to play the ‘Activate Terminid Control System’ mission. It’s available on the four planets located in the Umlaut Sector. Activating the Termicide will wipe out the Terminid scum infesting the planets once and for all.
Those who display confusion, dissatisfaction, or doubt when receiving their orders are to be reported to your Democracy Officer immediately.
How to activate the Termicide Tower in Helldivers 2
The Terminid Control System tasks you with activating a Termicide Tower in the center of a military facility. Your first order of business after touching down is to approach the tower at the center of the facility and press the glowing button.
Once pressed, you’re given new orders to activate three Battery Silos, listed as Battery Silo 01, 02, and 03. You and your team can choose which one to activate first. Be careful when navigating the area; bugs are scattered about and will call for help if they see you. Take them out fast.
Head to a silo and press the button on a platform nearby:
This is where the fun begins. The Tower needs time to activate, but suddenly the ground begins to shake.
Activating the Tower kicks the hornet’s nest. Around the Tower, bugs breach the surface en masse. While the Tower is activated, the bugs will direct their attention toward it, but that doesn’t mean they won’t attack you if you’re within range.
Depending on the difficulty, the attacking bugs will range from chaff to Heavies like the Charger and Bile Titan. Be sure to bring the big guns.
The Towers have health and will shut down when taken down to zero. You can see its status in the pop-up window on your HUD. The Silo Status has three tiers depending on Tower health:
- Stable
- Unstable
- Critically Unstable
When it reaches the third tier, it won’t take long before the Tower’s health hits zero and you have to start again. You can also see the Tower’s health via one of the screens around the bottom. The thin, yellow line is its health bar:
Once your team activates all three Towers, you’re able to extract. Head to the extraction point on the map and activate the terminal to call in the Pelican dropship:
Naturally, all of this is easier said than done.
How to complete the Terminid Control System mission in Helldivers 2
The Terminid Control System mission in Helldivers 2 is a rough one to complete. You must protect a single target from destruction by killing hundreds of bugs and multiple Heavies. Bugs will pour from new breaches as the Tower slowly charges up, giving you little time for a break. If you want to beat the mission, consider some of the following tips and suggestions.
Towers take friendly fire. Don’t bring Stratagems that drop explosions or, if you do, use said Stratagems on the bottlenecks created by entrances in walls around the Towers. Hitting the Tower with friendly fire does cause damage. A dull alarm will be heard if you hit it.
The key to winning isn’t big explosions, but good positioning of your team. I can’t stress enough how important it is to not play the mission like you would Extermination and just blow everything up. You and your team need to work together to cover angles and shout out enemy Heavies. Take down the elites quickly before they have a chance to wipe you out.
The best Stratagems to use in the Terminid Control System mission
For the love of Freedom, please don’t bring a Mortar Sentry Stratagem. Tell your allies to leave it, because, again, Towers take friendly fire and the Mortar will chew through their health pool. Instead, consider taking these along:
Support Weapons
- Flamethrower
- Autocannon
- EAT-17 Expendable Anti-Tank
- Recoilless Rifle
The EAT-17 is perfect for the mission. You get two per use and can drop them every 70 seconds. Since this is a defense-type mission, cover the area near the Tower with the weapons.
Orbital
- Orbital Gas Strike
- Orbital Smoke Strike
- Orbital Railcannon Strike
I can’t recommend many Orbitals, since they cause a ton of damage. Use the Gas Strike to cover choke points, damaging or killing bugs as they approach. The Railcannon is useful as a last resort against something like a Bile Titan. I haven’t used the Smoke Strike during the mission yet, but I read from community members that it can temporarily stop bugs that are attacking the Tower.
Defensive
- Anti-Personnel Minefield
- Incendiary Mines
- Tesla Tower
- EMS Mortar Sentry
Defensive Stratagems do well on this mission. Use mines on choke points to soften up the swarm. The Tesla Tower works well so long as you place it away from your team. The EMS Mortar Sentry doesn’t damage enemies, but it will slow them down long enough for you to wipe them out. You can consider bringing a Machine Gun Sentry or Gatling Sentry to help cover angles, but place them in a way that’ll prevent friendly fire of the Tower.
Eagle
- Eagle Napalm Strike
- Eagle Smoke Strike
Finally, I recommend taking the EXO-45 Patriot Exosuit. As I mentioned in my mech guide, it’s perfect for defense missions like these.
With smart strategies and teamwork, you’ll be able to beat the Terminid Control System mission in Helldivers 2. And soon, we’ll be free of those bugs forever. Yes. Forever.
