I’ve never had a favorite enemy faction in Helldivers 2. Instead, I’ve always found it fun to tackle whatever sectors are at the root of each present Major Order, which has ensured that the gameplay loop isn’t static. This way, when a Major Order rotates to an enemy faction I haven’t faced in a while, I’m met with reasons to reconsider my loadout after a new update or Warbond has been introduced. Helldivers 2’s Into the Unjust update and Dust Devils Warbond, for instance, have violently recontextualized how vicious the Terminids are and hastily turned the Illuminate invasion of Super Earth into a distant memory.
I enjoyed Helldivers 2’s Battle of Super Earth, but it does now seem as if it was merely an excuse to debut the Mega City map biome. Don’t get me wrong; I adore Mega Cities and their objectives, found sandwiched between seas of advertisement-laden skyscrapers. That said, Hive Worlds are already massively more impactful with regard to how dynamic gameplay is when players must carefully strategize loadouts to accommodate dank, winding caverns that negate stratagem summons. Now, looking forward to what horrors may be on the horizon, I’m more anxious than ever to see what’s in store for the Automatons.
If Helldivers 2’s Terminids Weren’t Nightmarish Before, They are Now
Into the Unjust has reinvigorated my love for Helldivers 2 by simultaneously making the Terminids more captivating as an enemy faction and presenting them with an appropriately desolate and unnerving biome that’s uniquely their own. I’ve been fascinated by its fantastical scope, layering dragons and sandworms into orange-tinged, putrid swamplands.
Dragonroaches alone are the greatest nuisance this update wields, ruling the skies as they patrol like the squids’ Interlopers/Stingrays and rain fiery bile from above, but the Rupture strain’s Warriors, Chargers, and Spewers are remarkably tedious since they incessantly burrow to evade players before destroying sentries and circumnavigating rough terrain when they emerge.
Likewise, Helldivers 2’s Hive Lords aren’t actual enemy units as much as they’re a unique, antagonistic set piece. And, unless players crave the glory and XP associated with painstakingly hacking away at them, Hive Lords are best dealt with by avoiding them completely and praying that they aren’t inclined to spawn nearby or wreak havoc amid an objective site. I have killed Hive Lords when the rest of my lobby queue had voiced an urge to do so, and we were able to organize efforts around critical, offensive loadouts, but the 222 XP granted for a Hive Lord’s defeat is arguably a lackluster reward and not worth the undertaking.
Helldivers 2’s Automatons Have an Epic Cyborg Lineage to Uphold
I’ve always considered Automatons to be Helldivers 2’s hardest enemy faction due to how heavily armored and fortified they are, complete with whole fortresses and enormous Factory Striders, both of which can snipe you with lethal precision from across a map if even an errant leg is visible from behind environmental cover, hurling you into a debilitating ragdoll state. Besides the occasional, unfortunate spawn planting me in the middle of a horde of bots, though, I enjoy having to meticulously plan around how I’ll navigate Automaton maps, rather than being able to nonchalantly sprint from one point to another, knowing I can outrun a Bile Titan or a Harvester.
The Terminids’ newest update has certainly buffed the bugs significantly, and Helldivers 2’s Gloom research expedition has been anything but a walk in the park.
Dragonroaches and Stalkers could now be nipping at my heels at any waking moment as I attempt to contribute to the latest Major Order, and I’m horrified by what unit additions or biome set pieces will be introduced when the bots inevitably receive an update on the same scale as Into the Unjust. With more than a day and a half left to complete Helldivers 2’s Major Order, success is all but guaranteed:
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Defend against the unprovoked swarm of Gloom-mutated Terminids, and stop the spread of the Gloom.
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Defend against 6/7 (85.7%) attacks from the Terminids.
- Reward: 55 Warbond medals.
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Defend against 6/7 (85.7%) attacks from the Terminids.
Because squids recently had a big heyday with the fallout of the Meridian singularity inciting their arrival and bringing us to Super Earth, I’d be surprised if Arrowhead gave them that much attention again until both the bugs and squids have had their due. Bugs have now eaten more than their fair share as players continue spending medals on the Dust Devils Warbond, and so it seems like only a matter of time before we’re potentially brought to Helldivers 2’s Automaton homeworld, a narrative avenue that’s forever appeared to be a ‘when,’ not an ‘if.’
Interestingly, the Cyborgs’ homeworld, Cyberstan, is already an established planet you can hover over in Helldivers 2’s Galactic War table map. Plus, with the Cyborgs and Automatons sharing a lineage—the former having created the latter—I’m fascinated by what Arrowhead is concocting. The Cyborg units that I’d like to see either repurposed or reprised in the bots’ faction include:
- Butchers (they’d maybe have too much overlap with the Automatons’ Berserkers as another melee-oriented unit, but could perhaps be a tankier version that, too, endures a Recoilless Rifle round without going down).
- Grotesques (the Cyborgs’ take on the Illuminate’s Voteless).
- Hounds (a hellish dog unit could be tremendously terrifying if they pursued players endlessly, whereas few other bots are known for their speed).
- Warlords (Cyborgs’ most frightening, elite unit, yet Hulks and War Striders debatably share that role for the Automatons).
Helldivers 2’s Incineration Corps and Jet Brigade sub-factions are scary whenever they appear, and how Arrowhead hopes to elaborate on the Automatons further will be fascinating to experience. Until then, the Illuminate may also be receiving some blasts from the past at some point. Indeed, Helldivers 2’s leaked squid enemies may reveal haunting units that would easily eclipse anything the Illuminate has brandished thus far, if true. In the meantime, I’ll be hunting Dragonroaches happily and scavenging hostile bug planets for as many bundles of Super Credits as I can loot while Major Orders revel in brand-new Terminid content.
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
- Engine
- bitsquid
- Multiplayer
- Online Co-Op
- Cross-Platform Play
- All platforms
- Franchise
- Helldivers
- Number of Players
- 1-4 players (online)
- Genre(s)
- Third-Person Shooter, Extraction Shooter, Action, Science Fiction
- Platform(s)
- PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, PC
- OpenCritic Rating
- Strong
