Helldivers Objective - Activate and Defend Launchpad (Illuminates)
2With Illuminates, these are pretty straight forward if you are packing powerful Primary Weapons like PLAS-1 'Scorcher' or AC-5 Arc Shotgun that are particularly effective vs Illuminates. In covering formation where each person generally only firing in 1 quadrant and trusting team to hand their own sides, other powerful primaries like Justice and Breaker and the overused Sickle / Trident are also potent.
I favor the more powerful Perk Pistols like P-6 'Gunslinger' and PLAS-3 'Singe' as options to switch to. I also favor using non-AT Support Weapons like 'Obliterator' Grenade Launcher, MG-94 Machine Gun, AC-22 Dum-Dum, LAS-98 Laser Cannon, and even FLAM-40 'Incinerator' can be great for these fights where the only rule is stay near the rocket, don't shoot your own rocket or allies, and don't get sniped. Fighting Illuminates is great excuse to use these under utilized Perk / Support Weapons.
The reason it is important to stay near the rocket is so that the Illuminate Hunters (Snipers) target you and not the rocket. Giving them clear shots to target and shoot the rocket is easy way to fail these which happens most when allies form on one side (or even just scurry around from side to side based on last enemy seen) rather than forming around on each side of the rocket that needs to be defended and holding those positions. Also forming around it as a squad of 2-4 you can easily prevent all other enemies from getting near it.
Stratagems like the Orbital Laser Strike, Strafing Run, and Close Air Support are great for taking out any enemies further away (like Obelisks). I personally favor the Orbital Laser despite the long cool down because it auto targets and kills everything in the general direction of where I threw it (off screen obelisks, hunters, council, etc all fry quickly).
Stratagems like 'Hellfire' Incendiary Bombs can completely block off Illuminates from one side but it is too OP against them (making the fight too boring) so I don't like to use it.
These three examples are from playing same 1 mission twice with RAN_RED and whomever else dropped in where we couldn't complete mission x2 due to wipe / disconnect.