Helldivers 2 Automatons have proven themselves to be the most deadly faction in the game thus far. Their long range weapons, ragdolling rockets, and inclination toward heavily armored elites make them significantly more challenging than the terminids at higher difficulties. The only thing keeping the faction back is an admitted lack of variety of their units. A problem that can be easily fixed if Arrowhead dips back into its well of ideas from the first game.
Newcomers to the Helldivers franchise might be surprised to learn that, unlike the terminids, the automatons are not returning enemies from the first game. They are wholly original to Helldivers 2, with their equivalent counterparts from the first game being largely absent from this iteration of the franchise. They’re still around, and the automatons may be working with them to bolster their ranks.
Helldivers 2 Should Bring Back Some Cyborg Enemies From The First Game
What Are the Cyborgs, and Where are They in Helldivers 2?
In the original Helldivers, the cyborgs were the equivalent to the automatons. These half-human, half-machine soldiers were mistreated and enslaved by Super Earth before rebelling and waging war, which they promptly lost during the events of the first game. For the past 100 years in the game’s story, the entire cyborg population has been contained and enslaved on Cyberstan, a desolate winter wasteland of a planet. Cyberstan, notably, is now the capital planet of the automatons, from which the bots have expanded closer and closer to Super Earth.
Currently, there’s no airtight proof that the automatons are connected to the cyborgs in any meaningful way in the lore, but certain fans have picked up on a few hints indicating that the cyborgs either created the bots, or became the automatons themselves; shedding what was left of their humanity in a last ditch effort to finally beat Super Earth. Again, it’s all speculation at this point, but the fact that the bots made a beeline for the cyborg prison camp planet is very telling when considering the faction's origins and ultimate loyalty and motives.
How Can the Automaton Faction Incorporate Cyborg Units?
With a whole other, possibly allied, faction waiting in the wings, the automatons are primed to borrow some units from the old cyborg war machine to bolster their ranks. It’d help the world feel more fleshed out, while also spicing up gameplay variety by bringing in some mechanically and aesthetically new enemies to fight in missions.
The new old units shouldn’t just be anywhere and everywhere in automaton space; instead, they should be slowly discovered as players eventually start fighting closer and closer to Cyberstan, with the capital planet being nearly entirely made up of old cyborg units. Or even more exciting: new units based on the enemies encountered in the first game.
Arrowhead could redesign some of the old enemies, like the Warlords and the Siege Mechs, but make their models decrepit and worn, as if the 100 years stuck toiling on Cyberstan have taken their toll and the cybernetic parts are just barely holding on to whatever is still human. It's a great way to slightly remix what’s familiar to fans of the first game while also hammering home just how evil Super Earth actually is that it would do this to these people.
Arrowhead may have retired the cyborg faction in Helldivers 2, but all that means is the studio is sitting on a veritable treasure trove of additional enemy types when the time calls for it. At the very least, there's the Illuminate faction from the first game that’s all but confirmed to appear sooner or later, as continued leaks suggest. It’s clear that, one way or another, fans of the original Helldivers will be seeing more of their OG enemies on the front lines of the Second Galactic War.
Helldivers 2
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OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 83 /100 Critics Rec: 91%
- Released
- February 8, 2024
- ESRB
- Mature 17+ / Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, In-Game Purchases, Users Interact
- Developer(s)
- Arrowhead Game Studios, Nixxes
- Publisher(s)
- Sony Interactive Entertainment, PlayStation Publishing
WHERE TO PLAY
The Galaxy’s Last Line of Offence. Enlist in the Helldivers and join the fight for freedom across a hostile galaxy in a fast, frantic, and ferocious third-person shooter.
URGENT BROADCAST – SUPER EARTH ARMED FORCES
Freedom. Peace. Democracy. Your Super Earth-born rights. The key pillars of our civilization. Of our very existence. But the war rages on. And everything is once again under threat.
Join the greatest military force the galaxy has ever seen and make this a safe and free place to live.
BECOME A LEGEND
You will be assembled into squads of up to four Helldivers and assigned strategic missions. Watch each other’s back – friendly fire is an unfortunate certainty of war, but victory without teamwork is impossible.
LOADOUTS
Rain down freedom from above, sneak through enemy territory, or grit your teeth and charge head-first into the jaws of combat. How you deliver liberty is your choice; you’ll have access to a wide array of explosive firepower, life-saving armor and battle-changing stratagems… the jewel in every Helldiver’s arsenal.
REQUISITION
Super Earth recognises your hard work with valuable Requisition. Use it to access different rewards that benefit you, your squad, your destroyer ship and our overall war effort.
THREATS
Everything on every planet wants you dead. That’s what we’re dealing with. Each enemy has distinct and unpredictable characteristics, tactics, and behavior – but they all fight ferociously and without fear or morality.
THE GALACTIC WAR
Capturing enemy planets, defending against invasions, and completing missions will contribute to our overall effort. This war will be won or lost depending on the actions of everyone involved.
We stand together, or we fall apart.
- Engine
- bitsquid
- Multiplayer
- Online Co-Op
- Cross-Platform Play
- All platforms
- Franchise
- Helldivers
- Number of Players
- 1-4 players (online)
- Platform(s)
- PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, PC
- Genre(s)
- Third-Person Shooter, Extraction Shooter, Action, Science Fiction
