Helldivers 2 reportedly has plans to continue development for “many more years to come” and that’s unquestionably possible considering how much innovative content is still being introduced more than a year later. The Illuminate enemy faction has added a fresh element in its respective corner of the Galactic Map, for example, and brand-new Warbonds, such as Helldivers 2’s Borderline Justice, add new armor passives, weapons, and stratagems that contribute greatly to the meta alongside balance patches.
Not every stratagem Helldivers 2 is a game-changer, nor do they need to be. Rather, it’s exciting when a stratagem simply rejuvenates the meta and has players experiment with their loadout for the sake of creativity and fun. The title’s latest stratagem—the E/GL-12 Grenadier Battlement—was previously issued as part of a Helldivers 2 Major Order permit. With it now available for deployment on any planet or mission, it makes for a hearty helping of cinematic camaraderie.
Helldivers 2’s Gunslinger Armor Passive is a Godsend for Secondary Weapons
Helldivers 2's Borderline Justice Warbond is secretly a big boon for secondaries as long as players indulge in its new outlaw-themed armor sets.
Helldivers 2’s Grenadier Battlement isn’t Likely to Be Meta, But It’s Certainly Fun
Following players’ success in completing a previous Major Order and liberating both Bore Rock and Esker of their nightmarish Terminid onslaughts, a new Helldivers 2 Major Order then tasked players with tackling the Illuminate. Accompanying this MO, players were been granted a temporary permit for the E/GL-21 Grenadier Battlement stratagem with the description as follows:
- A stationary ballistic cover with a mounted grenade launcher. Can protect multiple Helldivers from small arms fire.
With that MO successfully completed, the Grenadier Battlement has been fully unlocked and its extremities put to the test on any planet players wish to bring it to. A lone Helldiver calling the Battlement in and taking cover behind it is a decent means of shielding themselves from enemy fire, but it’s undeniable that a full squad of four players crouched behind the barricade with lasers and ballistics raining down on them is far superior in terms of memorable and thrilling gameplay.
Helldivers 2 is terrific in how it organically emphasizes team play with many of its stratagems or communications being fully interactive between Helldivers, with associable stratagems including the 
AC-8 Autocannon, RL-77 Airburst Rocket Launcher, and StA-X3 WASP Launcher. Still, whether a barricade is placed somewhere foolishly or not, there are typically better structures to hide behind and, with no cover from the rear, players are probably going to be struck anyhow.
Helldivers 2’s Grenadier Battlement is a Multifaceted Treat
The barricade might not be everyone’s first choice as an offensive or defensive tool to “defend Malevelon Creek, by any means necessary” as Helldivers 2’s current MO states, but its ingenious and improvisational malleability adds a pinch of spice to otherwise formulaic gameplay. In other words, it’s been fantastic to add a new stratagem into Helldivers 2’s exciting cocktail and see what it can contend with, as well as what narrow gaps it can be lodged into.
Indeed, the Grenadier Battlement has proven effective at obstructing environments as its width can be utilized to block paths. For example, the Grenadier Battlement can be employed effectively during a Conduct Geological Survey main objective that has players interact with a drill in a bottlenecked gorge.
Similarly, players can use the barricade to defend themselves while crouched next to a terminal or other objective access point, and there are undoubtedly even more inventive ways for players to shelter themselves or obstruct environments when exploring various terrains on unique planets.
Unfortunately, the barricade appears quite useless against Level-10 Super Helldive Automatons whose factory and strider turrets cut players down instantly, nor is the grenade launcher attached to it well-equipped to deal with such threats. It’s far more reliable to simply equip a nuke in its place, much less another Bridge-type stratagem, and yet Helldivers 2 hopefully won’t quit debuting stratagems that are wielded more so for how fun their potential interactions may be rather than simply overpowering players.
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)
- Platform(s)
- PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, PC
- Genre(s)
- Third-Person Shooter, Extraction Shooter, Action, Science Fiction
- OpenCritic Rating
- Strong
