Six months after it rocketed to the top of the sales charts, the PC and PS5 exclusive Helldivers 2 is to receive its biggest update yet.
Sony and Arrowhead’s shooter, in which players rid farflung planets of bots and bugs, is adding a new difficulty and new enemies as part of its latest expansion, Escalation of Freedom.
The update can’t come quickly enough for the game, which is currently grappling with a drop in player numbers after its rip-roaring early success.
Despite selling over 12 million copies, making it one of the biggest releases of the year, a live-service game like Helldivers 2 lives and dies by its active player count. At its peak, it had over 450,000 simultaneous players on Steam, but that number has now dwindled to 21,500.
Can the new content convince estranged gamers to give Helldivers 2 another chance? Here’s what we know about Escalation of Freedom, including its key features and all-important release date.
When is it out?
The update arrives on August 6. Typically, Arrowhead releases gameplay updates like Escalation of Freedom for free, while charging for premium Warbonds (new categories of items that can be purchased with real money or unlocked with progress).
A Super Helldive difficulty is coming
Traditionally, most games offer three difficulty settings (easy, normal and hard), but the gloriously deranged Helldivers 2 has a whopping nine options to choose from, each delivering more bigger and badder enemies (and sweeter loot that can be used to buy better weapons and perks).
These currently range from Trivial to Helldive, with Suicide Mission in between, and will soon include a 10th setting dubbed Super Helldive, which is destined to be the most demanding of them all.
Arrowhead describes it as “our most challenging, most relentless dive difficulty level yet”, designed “to give players the intensity they’re looking for on the battlefield” along with “greater rewards”.
New missions with bigger outposts
Furthermore, Arrowhead is promising to increase its mission types across all difficulties, and on levels featuring bugs (Terminids) and droids (Automatons).
In an accompanying trailer (viewable above), the developer showed off a bigger robot-manufacturing fortress that should give everyone the chance to call in an air strike. There was also a clip of a cute, Death Stranding-style mission to protect a baby larva in a backpack.
Four new enemy breeds are lurking
As for the new enemies, it’s no surprise to see that most of them hail from the Terminid clan. The massive arachnids are arguably more diverse and fun to kill than the game’s spiky droids.
Soon, you’ll encounter three new types of bugs, including the heavily-armoured, tunnel-digging Impaler from the first Helldivers game. There’s also a new Spore Charger, a variation on the marauding Charger that can shroud its location using fog until it is up close.
Lastly, the Terminid Alpha Commander is a “supercharged” Brood Commander that’s “bigger, meaner, and doesn’t hesitate to call in other bugs for backup”.
Meanwhile, the Automatons are adding an explosive Rocket Tank to their ranks, along with some other “bot surprises” that Arrowhead is keeping secret till launch.
Try not to get blindsided in swamps
If the bugs don’t kill you in Helldivers 2, a meteorite might. Enemy-occupied planets feature a handful of environments and natural hazards, from distant moons rocked by tremors to lush jungles lashed by rain storms.
Next up, things will get spooky, with players exploring misty swamps, shrouded by “blackened trees”, giving the enemy the element of surprise. Arrowhead’s tip: “Keep your flashlight handy, as visibility is limited and light is key.”
Acid storms are also growing more ominous, the corrosive droplets diminishing both player and enemy armour.
Getting kicked from a team won’t hurt as much
Gameplay changes aside, the new update could make “grief kicking” more bearable. A tweak to moderation means the next time someone boots you from a team for a laugh, you’ll no longer leave empty-handed.
Instead, you’ll be able to pick up all items before extraction, with a notification pinging your former squad mates that you’ve been kicked but kept the team’s stash. Meanwhile, you’ll spawn into a new session as the host.
Arrowhead said other quality of life upgrades are also locked in, including major fixes to the game’s social menu designed to make playing with friends even easier.
