Helldivers 2: New Noxious Terminids and Bug Caves Explained

A new Terminid strain has arrived in Helldivers 2. The developer announced it on November 3, 2026 in a Steam post, calling it the Noxious strain: fast, venomous bugs that come with two new enemy types.

The same post says Terminid cave networks now sit beneath more biomes, from scorched deserts to frozen tundras. If you fight bugs often, you'll want to know what changes, so here's what each new enemy does and how to handle the poison.

The Noxious Strain

Noxious Scavenger. At first glance these look like ordinary Scavengers, but they are noticeably quicker, which makes them hard to keep in your sights. Every bite delivers a deadly dose of poison, and they are ready to bite again almost immediately. They are fragile, though, so weapons that reward volume over precision, such as shotguns, flamethrowers and grenades, will make short work of them.

Noxious Spewer. This one is a hulking monstrosity that moves with unsettling speed, and it is responsible for the webs now draped across the battlefield. At medium range, watch for its Web Spit: one hit and you lose the ability to sprint. Its bite is quick, has surprising reach and carries a stronger dose of venom than anything a Scavenger can deliver.

Its head is protected by medium armor, but its web-filled abdomen has no armor at all. Be careful when you shoot it there, because when the sac bursts in a Web Explosion, it snares every Helldiver and bug nearby.

How Poison Works

Every Noxious bite inflicts poison, and a new poison icon on your HUD lets you track your condition. The developer splits it into two stages:

• Lightly poisoned: your vision starts to haze and the poison begins to eat away at your health.
• Heavily poisoned: damage over time increases, you lose the ability to sprint and your vision hazes.

Stims will cure your condition, so ration them wisely. A poisoned squadmate may need that stim to keep going and finish the mission.

Bug Caves on More Biomes

Bug caves are no longer limited to a handful of worlds. They now have a chance to appear across more biomes on the Galactic map.

Inside the tunnels, sightlines are short, corners are blind and fast enemies arrive before you hear them. That makes close-range firepower a good pick, and you should stay with your squad and keep a stim in reserve for whoever wandered too far ahead.

Get Ready for the Caves

You can read the full announcement in the Steam developer post. Before you drop, check our best loadout to defeat Terminids and the guide to where to find Warriors and how to kill them. For earlier changes, see the Devoid of Liberty 7.2.2 patch notes. Pack your stims and aim for the abdomen!