How To Beat The Crusher And Wretch In Helldivers 2

Published Aug 12, 2026, 3:56 PM EDT Collin is a Guides Staff Writer at TheGamer who has been writing guides for nearly ten years. He is also a professional game/level designer. More importantly, he's still waiting for a new Ape Escape game to release. Helldivers 2's latest update, "Devoid of Liberty", has officially been released, and it's bringing some new, terrifying Illuminate threats that want to strip you of your right to life. Unique enemies both visually and in how they function, these are some of the most resilient and deadly enemies this faction has to offer. These foes are the Wretch and Crusher, both of which are tied to the new Devoid of Liberty update and are prominent throughout the new operation to defend Rirga Bay. So if you're struggling to take down these foes, here's everything you need to know about them, as well as what weapons to use against these enemies. How To Defeat The Wretch Wretches are a nightmare on six legs (hands?). Taking obvious inspiration from Dead Space's necromorphs, the Wretches sport elongated limbs with massive scythes on them that they use to carve into their targets. Unlike most enemies in the game, the head is actually not the weak point, as you'll want to target the Wretch's limbs to both slow it down and easily put this enemy down for good. They often travel in groups of six to eight, chasing whichever Helldiver they come across with relentless fervor. Because of this, crowd-control weapons are the name of the game; consider the AR-2 Coyote, LAS-16 Sickle, AR-23P Liberator Penetrator, Trident, Plas-1 Scorcher, and SG-451 Cookout. Gas and fire are going to be your main counters to this enemy in terms of utility or damage type. Similar to those filthy undemocratic bugs, the Wretch moves in hordes, which makes status effect-dealing stratagems quite strong. The Cremator, Flamethrower, and Hot Dog are especially useful against the Wretch since the fire damage doesn't care if you severed their limbs or not. Alternatively, if you want to go a more supportive role, consider bringing in a gas-focused stratagem like Dog Breath or Sterilizer, as they can help keep your squad from becoming completely overwhelmed. The goal of the Wretches is to overwhelm and pressure squads, so the bigger enemies like Fleshmobs and Crushers can close the gap. So long as you use a good assault rifle or solid crowd control weapon, you should be able to cut through these enemies of democracy. Just make sure to always engage them at a distance, as they can leap quite far and quickly close the gap once they spot you. How To Defeat Crushers Crushers are the opposite of Wretches. These large, lumbering monstrosities carry a massive club that they try to bludgeon you to death with. While the Wretch relies on speed and numbers, the Crusher is all about slow movement and being very difficult to put down if it's not focused. This is because the Crusher will regenerate any damage it takes if it is left alone, making it quite tricky to deal with in chaotic situations. Thankfully, the Crusher's size makes it quite easy to hit and makes burst damage weapons an ideal choice for killing them. Specifically, you want to aim for the triangular helmet they wear, as it can be blown off, exposing their tiny, much more vulnerable head. Where things get tricky, as Crushers aren't loners, and it's easy to come across two to three among a group of Voteless or Wretches. Because of this, stratagems such as the Autocannon, Orbital Railcannon Strike, Bastion XVI, Autocannon Sentry, Emancipator Exosuit, and Epoch are all solid options for quickly killing them. Similar to the Wretch, the Cremator is also quite strong here since the constant fire damage keeps them from healing, and you can usually fry an entire group of enemies in a sustained cone of flames. The new P/40-K Bolt Pistol from the Warhammer 40k Warbond is also great for this enemy, as two shots to the helmet will knock it clean off! If you can manage it, having either a Bastion or Emancipator Exosuit in your squad is a great counter, since their hard-hitting explosive damage can absolutely reduce the Crusher to chunks. Just make sure to aim for their head to knock the helmet off. This allows you to conserve ammo so you can deal with multiple Crushers at once. Finally, the always reliable Thermite grenade is perfect for Crushers. A single Thermite, regardless of where you stick it on a Crusher, will instantly kill them when it explodes. This lets you quickly annihilate them if you're either on the move or just don't have any ammo for your current stratagem!