Helldivers 2 Tank Guide — Bastion, Shredder Tank & How to Destroy Them

"Tank" in Helldivers 2 means two very different things: the TD-220 Bastion Mk XVI — the game's first player-drivable tank stratagem, unlocked for 35,000 Requisition Slips — and the Automaton enemy tanks you'll be blowing up, led by the quad-fusion-cannon Shredder Tank and the Annihilator. The Bastion is a four-seat tank destroyer with a 120mm main cannon that deletes Hulks and Factory Striders but needs a two-player crew and has a 12-minute cooldown; the Shredder Tank is an armored bugbear with 4,000 HP that dies fastest to heavy-penetration support weapons aimed at its turret, tracks or rear engine.

This guide covers both: how to unlock and drive the Bastion like a panzer commander, and exactly how to destroy every Automaton tank you'll meet, with weak-point tables and weapon picks.

Official resources: Steam store page · Helldivers Wiki (wiki.gg) — Shredder Tank · GamesRadar+ — Bastion Tank unlock guide · Rock Paper Shotgun — Helldivers 2 · IGN — Helldivers 2 wiki

The Bastion Tank: Helldivers 2's First Player Tank

The TD-220 Bastion Mk XVI arrived with the 2026 update wave as the game's first dedicated player-operated tank stratagem — a four-man armored vehicle with a 120mm high-velocity cannon and a coaxial heavy machine gun. It lives up to the "tank destroyer" description: the main gun one-shots most Automaton heavies and can down even a Bile Titan in a few shells.

How to unlock it:

1. Open Ship Management on your Super Destroyer.
2. Go to the Hangar section.
3. Buy the TD-220 Bastion Mk XVI for 35,000 Requisition Slips (Requirement: roughly Level 25 — GamesRadar+ couldn't confirm the exact level, and it's a universal stratagem, no Warbond needed).
4. Equip it in a loadout slot (it counts as a Supply-type stratagem).

The specs that matter:

The driving reality: the Bastion needs at least two players — a driver (throttle, steering, clutch, exactly like the FRV) and a gunner (main cannon + coaxial HMG). The turret has limited traverse, so the driver must position the tank for firing angles. Passengers ride in rear hatches, can fire their own weapons, and are the flank/rear defense. The main cannon must be manually reloaded after every shot — a few seconds where the coaxial gun is your only firepower. The 6.3 patch rebalanced vehicle armor values (Bastion counts as heavy armor) while enemies received armor-piercing buffs to counter vehicles, so the tank is sturdy, not invincible.

Is it worth 35,000 slips? If you regularly play with a crew — yes, it's the best heavy-target delete tool in the game, especially against Automaton Fabricators, tanks and Factory Striders. If you mostly play solo or with randoms, the slips are better spent on the full stratagem unlock list. GamesRadar+ sums up the handling: "not the easiest to use," and the community's verdict is that one badly-parked Bastion causes more team kills than any two mortars.

Automaton Tanks: The Enemy Roster

The Automatons field three main tank types on the bot front:

The Shredder Tank is the one players search for most: a very large Annihilator variant whose single cannon is replaced with a quad fusion-cycler turret that chews through squads, exosuits and cover with rapid-fire plasma bursts. It fires in 1-second precision bursts or 2-second sweeping bursts — the sound is a rapid thumping, very different from the slow boom of a standard tank cannon.

How to Destroy a Tank: Weak Points and Weapons

Per the Helldivers Wiki's anatomy data, every Automaton tank has the same core weakness structure:

Official source: Helldivers Wiki (wiki.gg) — Shredder Tank — "Shredder Tank: Tank variant armed with a quad-linked heavy fusion cycler turret. Destroying its tracks will render it immobile. Destroying its back engine or turret will disable the Shredder Tank, followed by it exploding."

The fastest kills, in order:

1. The turret heatsink (rear of the turret) — 750 HP behind medium armor; a couple of heavy-penetration shots there end the fight instantly.
2. The engine bay (rear) — 1,500 HP, heavy armor; disabling it explodes the tank.
3. The tracks — destroy them to turn a moving death machine into a stationary turret you can flank.
4. Raw damage to the hull — works, but you're chewing through Tank I armor.

Best weapons (community + wiki consensus): LAS-99 Quasar Cannon (the top pick — reliable, long-range, two shots to most weak points), GR-8 Recoilless Rifle (3,200 damage HEAT, one-shot potential), AC-8 Autocannon, FAF-14 Spear (lock-on), and EATs for disposable anti-tank. The GP-20 Ultimatum secondary one-shots tanks on direct hits — see our Ultimatum guide. Thermite grenades stick and burn through armor. The 500kg handles clusters of tanks at once, and the best weapons tier list ranks the support weapons.

Where Shredder Tanks Spawn (For Personal Orders)

If you're hunting Shredder Tanks for a Personal Order, the farming rules (from the wiki and community):

• Difficulty 3 (Medium) — first possible spawn, low chance, near Automaton outposts.
• Difficulty 4–6 (Challenging to Extreme) — the sweet spot; they appear in patrols, bot drops and guarding outposts.
• Difficulty 7+ — they get replaced by Barrager Tanks on Suicide Mission and above, so stop farming there.
• Avoid Jet Brigade and Incineration Corp planet modifiers — these replace standard tank spawns with specialized units.
• Eradicate missions (5+) are the best bet for multiple tank spawns in a short window.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you get the Bastion Tank in Helldivers 2?

Buy the TD-220 Bastion Mk XVI in the Hangar section of Ship Management for 35,000 Requisition Slips (roughly Level 25). It's a universal Supply-type stratagem — no Warbond required — and takes one of your four loadout slots.

How do you destroy a tank in Helldivers 2?

Hit its weak points: the turret heatsink (rear of the turret, 750 HP, medium armor), the engine bay (rear, 1,500 HP), or the tracks (immobilizes it). Quasar Cannon, Recoilless Rifle, Spear, Autocannon and the Ultimatum secondary are the reliable killers. Never trade shots with the front armor.

What is the Shredder Tank in Helldivers 2?

An Automaton tank variant armed with a quad-linked heavy fusion cycler turret instead of a single cannon. It has 4,000 main HP plus a 2,100 HP turret, first appears on Medium difficulty, and is most common on Challenging to Extreme — replaced by Barrager Tanks on Suicide Mission and above.

Is the Bastion Tank worth 35,000 Requisition Slips?

Yes if you regularly play with a crew — the 120mm cannon deletes heavies and it's the game's strongest team force multiplier on the bot front. No if you mostly play solo: it needs at least two players to fight effectively, and its ~12-minute cooldown means few call-ins per mission.

Where do Shredder Tanks spawn?

On Automaton planets, from Medium difficulty upward — most reliably at difficulty 4–6 in patrols, bot drops and around outposts. Eradicate missions (5+) spawn multiple tanks quickly. Avoid Jet Brigade/Incineration Corp planets and difficulty 7+, where Barrager Tanks replace them.

Related Guides

• Helldivers 2 Stratagems — Full List, Unlocks and Best Picks
• Hive Lord Helldivers 2 — How to Find and Kill the 150,000 HP Boss
• 500 kg Bomb Helldivers 2 — Code, Damage & Best Uses
• Helldivers 2 Best Weapons — 2026 Tier List and Meta Guide
• Helldivers 2 Team Killing — Bans, Kicks & the Friendly Fire Design
• Super Credit Farm Helldivers 2 — The Trivial Run Method

Last updated: August 13, 2026.