Even getting to the Extraction Point at the end of a Helldivers 2 mission is challenge enough, but when one player found their route off-planet blocked thanks to an enemy tank, they turned to the power of parkour to make their great escape.
In a clip highlighted on Twitter, a player had managed to make their way to the end of the mission, having completed their 'eradicate automaton forces' mission. Their shuttle had landed, but at the same moment an Automaton tank pushed the Extraction Point, flipping the bird onto its back.
This presented two problems; the first is that that doesn't seem like a regulation take-off position, but the second is that this made the ship's hold unreachable. There's not really any substantial verticality in Helldivers 2's movement set, which meant climbing up to the hold wasn't an option. Faced with the likelihood of never making it off-planet, many players might have given up.
This man needs a statue.Objective: Extract #HellDivers2 pic.twitter.com/rPIUvWfaRgFebruary 20, 2024
Not this brave soldier, however. Fuelled by the power of democracy, they evaded the Automaton forces closing in on their position. By this point, the tank had fully claimed the Extraction Point, pushing the inverted shuttle onto the ground below, but this acrobatic Helldiver managed to use that to their advantage. Climbing on top of the tank, they ran over its chassis before leaping onto the upturned undercarriage of their escape ship. From there, they could get close enough to the hold that the extraction cutscene triggered, getting them away from danger and completing the mission.
You might be wondering how an upside-down jump-ship would take off, and were I a member of the Helldivers in real life I would accuse you of insubordination, sedition, and treason for asking such an unpatriotic question. In my capacity as a writer, I'd tell you that the drop ship was clearly not coded with being upside-down in mind as a regular use-case, so it clips through the ground before swinging upwards into the sky. It's an odd sight, but also one that's perfectly in-line with the game's player-made, D&D-inspired comedy chops.
