Helldivers 2 has been on a buffing spree of late. After a series of highly controversial nerfs a few weeks ago, particularly surrounding flame-based weaponry, the developers at Arrowhead have delivered some massive improvements to some of the most popular weapons and stratagems in the game. Previous flame nerfs have been reverted, the 
Eagle 500Kg Bomb saw a huge explosion radius increase, and numerous fan favorite guns are hitting harder than ever before.
The Helldivers 2 arsenal has never felt stronger, and it’s clear from the rising player counts of Steam that the community is absolutely here for it. But it might be just a bit too early to start celebrating. Arrowhead loves to challenge the player base with difficulty and new enemy types. This fresh wave of buffs might just be preparing players for a new threat lurking in the deepest, darkest reaches of uncharted space.
Helldivers 2: Why the Illuminate May Not be the Only Faction Coming to the Game
The Illuminate's impending arrival may be Helldivers 2's worst kept secret, but another surprise faction might not be far behind the alien menace.
Helldivers 2's Latest Buffs May Just Be Preparing Players for the Arrival of The Illuminate
For all the happiness surrounding the recent buffs, Helldivers 2 players would do well to remember the Illuminate faction is still out there, waiting for the moment Arrowhead sees fit to add it to the game. As anyone who played the original Helldivers can attest, the Illuminate does not mess around. They were far and away the most punishing faction from the first game, and it took everything Super Earth had to push them out of the galaxy in the First Galactic War.
The Illuminate’s return in Helldivers 2 has been inevitable for quite some time now, but it could be that these recent buffs are simply a primer for the impending struggle against the squid-like aliens; a little something to get players slightly more prepared before an even more powerful enemy comes breaking down the doors.
How Hard Will the Illuminate Be?
The Illuminate was always going to be a tough faction, but these sweeping buffs the game’s been receiving might embolden the developers to make the enemies even harder than the first time around. Easily the most “sci-fi” of the enemy factions, the Illuminate faction in the original Helldivers was all about energy weaponry. They utilized laser weapons, energy shields, teleportation technology, and walkers that would make even the Empire from Star Wars get nervous. They also lean heavily on psionic, telekinetic, and mind control abilities, making them a potentially more dangerous threat than anything Helldivers 2 players have encountered thus far.
What Will the Illuminate Be Like When They Return?
If the Illuminate return on par with their former selves, the buffs the game just dropped will undoubtedly be helpful in pushing them back, but it’s unlikely Arrowhead would want to introduce its new big bad so easily. Instead, the Illuminate will probably come out of the gate with a totally overhauled army, taking the 100-year hiatus between Helldivers' galactic wars to seriously upgrade their tech for round two with Super Earth. As such, it’s nearly impossible to say exactly what the faction will look like on release. A number of models have been leaked revealing the return of a small handful of units, but how they’ll function in Helldivers 2’s third-person shooter format versus the original title’s top-down gameplay remains to be seen.
No matter when or how the Illuminate make their grand return to the galactic theater, one thing is for sure; they’ll be coming with a boom. Probably a lot of booms, actually. Many players are viewing the recent buffs as an apology from Arrowhead for the last round of negatively received nerfs. But these buffs aren’t a gift to apologize for previous controversies. These buffs are a warning shot to say “Get ready. Things are about to get real.”
Helldivers 2
-
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
