Helldivers 2: Why the Illuminate May Not be the Only Faction Coming to the Game

It doesn’t take a Super Earth tactician to see the writing on the wall: the Illuminate are coming to fight in Helldivers 2. Between their unconvincing defeat in the first game, the ominous black hole that used to be Meridia, and the outright data leaks showing Illuminate enemies in the game files, the alien menace isn’t a matter of “if,” but “when.” But the Second Galactic War might just end up being a war on four fronts.

While the Illuminate seems to be a foregone conclusion, Helldivers 2 developer Arrowhead may have been teasing a fourth faction right under everyone’s noses. The galactic war map is currently neatly divided into four quarters; two for the existing factions, one for the inevitable Illuminate invasion, and one that is suspiciously blank with no obvious threat to fill it. Through hidden context clues in missions that many players aren’t paying enough attention to even see, there may be a lurking menace few would expect to see; mostly because it’s a threat coming from Super Earth itself.

Helldivers 2 May Be Teasing a Human Rebel Faction

The fourth faction coming to Helldivers 2 might just be a contingent of Super Earth dissidents. It’s clear to see that the Super Earth government is actually terrifyingly fascistic behind the facade of patriotism and liberty. While the Helldivers are fighting for “freedom” in the furthest reaches of space, the planet they call home resembles something out of George Orwell’s worst nightmare.

This might seem like it’s coming far out of left field, but for anyone paying attention, the signs are all there out in the open. Since the game launched, players have been tasked with silencing “dissident radio broadcasts” while on missions. Most players don’t care to listen to these broadcasts; they’re just enjoying themselves killing bots/bugs and blowing stuff up in the game’s satisfying gameplay loop. But anyone who takes a moment to listen to them is in for a big surprise: the broadcasts are from whistleblowers calling out Super Earth atrocities; mainly how they’re responsible for overbreeding terminids for E-710 fuel on multiple planets.

Why a Super Earth Rebellion Could Work as Helldivers 2’s Fourth Faction

In the midst of the fun gameplay loop, it’s easy for players to forget that Helldivers 2 is meant to be a satire on fascist and tyrannical governments. Super Earth is the evil empire; it only makes sense that a group of rebels would arise from within to stand up to them. And it’s happened before in the original Helldivers. The cyborg faction, precursors to the currently active automatons, were enslaved by Super Earth until they rose up and rebelled. If it happened then, it could happen now.

If Arrowhead wants to make good on its teases of a rebel faction, the studio has its work cut out for it. One of the most fun parts of Helldivers 2 is how different each enemy faction is; the terminids exist as the classic overwhelming horde the genre is most well-known for. The Automatons have firearms, artillery, heavy armor, and vehicles, the closest thing to a traditional military the game currently offers. When the Illuminate eventually join the fight, they’ll likely have psychic alien weapons and bizarre walker technology like they did in the original game. But the devs have the opportunity to make human defectors different in a big way: make them fellow Helldivers.

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New Helldivers 2 CEO Addresses Possibility of a Story Mode

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How Could a Human Rebel Faction Work In-Game?

While featuring fellow Helldivers in a PVP sense would go against the spirit of the game, if Arrowhead makes good on these dissident teases, it should create a fourth faction of AI controlled human enemies that mechanically function the same as the player characters do. This faction would spawn in much fewer numbers than terminids or automatons, due to the sheer firepower they can bring to bear, but they’d have the potential to be the most dangerous with the same weapons, armor, and maybe even stratagems as the player.

From a narrative standpoint, this faction could be a contingent of Helldivers that have been swayed by the arguments of the rebel factions, finally giving the dissenters a military force of their own. By forcing players to fight Bizzaro versions of themselves, Helldivers 2 can force them to change their tactics and test their knowledge of the game’s mechanics in ways that the bugs and bots just couldn’t do. This hypothetical Helldiver civil war could even be the conflict that brings Super Earth itself into the crosshairs.

Helldivers 2

Helldivers 2 is a third-person cooperative shooter developed by Arrowhead Games Studios for the PC and PlayStation 5 where players take control of a Helldiver set to protect the citizens of Super Earth by traveling to hostile alien worlds and destroying threats. Players undergo missions, defeat enemies, and use special items called Stratagems to help turn the tide of battle in this punishing release.

Franchise

Helldivers

Released

February 8, 2024

Developer(s)

Arrowhead Game Studios

Genre(s)

Shooter

Multiplayer

Online Co-Op

ESRB

M For Mature 17+ Due To Blood and Gore, Intense Violence

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