How to activate the Terminid Control System in Helldivers 2

Helldivers 2 Terminid Control System
(Image credit: Arrowhead Game Studios)

Working out how to activate the Terminid Control System isn't the hardest part of Helldivers 2's new mission type—no, that would be defending the system from hordes of murderous bugs while you wait for it to boot up. Just like the infamous evacuate essential personnel missions from the Automaton defence, this mission type is unique to the new major order.

It's a little tricky, too, as you have to work out which terminals to activate and then defend some silos against bugs. And if you mess up, you've got to do it all over again. Taking one of the best Helldivers 2 weapons will definitely help, though, as well as the best stratagems. Whatever you bring, here's how to activate the Terminid Control System and complete the new mission.

How to activate the Terminid Control System

If you remember the bot defence missions from when the Automatons were invading, this new mission should feel pretty familiar. Essentially, you drop into a small map and have to turn on one of the new big bug sprayers that Super Earth has been building. 

This requires you to complete a few specific steps:

  • Press the big button at the base of the main Termicide Tower at the centre of the installation.
  • Turn on each of the three Battery Silos marked on the map using the terminal near each. These are easy to spot since they're giant missile-shaped silos numbered between one and three. As soon as you activate the terminal, bug breaches will appear and bugs will start swarming around the base of the silo, attacking it. If the silo takes too much damage, it'll shut off, and you'll have to activate the terminal again. Make sure to defend each silo so it can power up.
  • Once you've activated all three one by one, head to the extraction site. Here, you'll find a yellow terminal where you can Initiate Termicide Dispersal. After a short while, it'll start spewing bug gas, and then you can call for extraction and escape.

The trickiest part of this mission is defending each Battery Silo since they take damage from your airstrikes as well. One misplaced eagle can remove the generator's entire health bar, meaning you have to start again. I personally recommend the EMS Mortar Sentry if you have it, to slow down anything approaching, and then sentries of your choice. Though dangerous for friendly fire, the Mortar Sentry doesn't seem too bad in terms of damaging the silos, so that's definitely an option.

Either way, make sure you're set up to defend the silo before you activate the terminal at each, since bug breaches will spawn straight away, and you'll then have to cover the silo on multiple sides as the Terminids come rushing in.

Sean Martin
Senior Guides Writer

Sean's first PC games were Full Throttle and Total Annihilation and his taste has stayed much the same since. When not scouring games for secrets or bashing his head against puzzles, you'll find him revisiting old Total War campaigns, agonizing over his Destiny 2 fit, or still trying to finish the Horus Heresy. Sean has also written for EDGE, Eurogamer, PCGamesN, Wireframe, EGMNOW, and Inverse.

Read more
Helldivers 2
Helldivers 2 galactic war timeline: Every major event that's happened so far
Helldivers 2 best weapons - A diver in the Freedom's Flame armour
The best Helldivers 2 weapons
A screenshot of Helldivers 2, depicting a Helldiver saluting while wearing an anthropomorphic facemask
Helldivers 2's latest warbond adds a stratagem I've craved since the galactic war started, a portable hellbomb
A Helldivers 2 soldier readies to draw his rootin' tootin' wild west pistol on some foolish automaton.
Helldivers 2's next warbond'll let you be a real space cowboy, and draw on those Automaton scum with a lever-action rifle
Still image from "found footage" of Helldivers 2 game master Joel.
Helldivers 2 game master Joel offers a look back on the first anniversary of the galactic war
helldivers 2 angel's venture
A black hole just annihilated a beloved Helldivers 2 planet, and now it's on a direct course for Super Earth
Latest in Third Person Shooter
helldivers 2
Helldivers 2 composer recalls stomping around his apartment and channeling 'Super Patriotism' to capture Arrowhead's satirical vision in music: 'The satire works because the music believes it's a pure patriotic love without irony or criticism'
farcana
'The Middle East's answer to Marvel Rivals' is an 'AI-powered', crypto-infused hero shooter that looks like hot garbage
Marvel Rivals characters - Invisible Woman preparing to cast a shield.
'Searches for Invisible Woman went up 3,000%': Marvel Rivals devs innocently reflect on how popular some of their heroes have become
A Helldiver charges through the fire and flames in Helldivers 2.
Helldivers 2 CCO Johan Pilestedt says the industry's got it backwards by putting features over fundamentals: 'We talk way too little about the core philosophy'
Marvel Rivals codes - Venom and other heroes
'A developer who actually listens': Marvel Rivals' devs fix accidental Peni Parker nerf just 9 short hours after saying they would
Two characters from Warframe 1999 lounging in a bar.
The warframe with a guitar that shoots fire is out today alongside a bunch of metalcore-inspired skins, cementing Warframe's spiral into Y2K madness
Latest in Guides
Assassin's Creed Shadows Tea Ceremony answers - Naoe about to sip tea from a bowl.
All Assassin's Creed Shadows Tea Ceremony answers
Assassin's Creed Shadows guided exploration - A close-up shot of Naoe with a contemplative expression, inside a dim building.
Assassin's Creed Shadows guided exploration explained
Assassin's Creed Shadows immersive mode - Naoe holding a tanto in her hand as two guards fall to the ground behind her.
Assassin's Creed Shadows immersive mode explained
Assassin's Creed Shadows canon mode - An upper-body shot of Yasuke standing in the hideout.
Assassin's Creed Shadows canon mode explained
Assassin's Creed Shadows Twitch Drops - An upper-body shot of Yasuke standing in a battlefield at night, lit by a fire.
All Assassin's Creed Shadows Twitch Drops and how to get them
Fallout 76 ghoul screenshots
How to become a ghoul in Fallout 76