Sony and developer Arrowhead Game Studios have just announced the biggest update for Helldivers 2 yet: Escalation of Freedom. The update adds new enemies for players to battle, more mission objectives, and even additional difficultly modes to fight through.
The Escalation of Freedom update for Helldivers 2 is built on the feedback the developer has received for the game since its initial launch in February and will be released on August 6, 2024. If you’ve been playing since then, you know as well as I do that mission objectives quickly grew stale, and higher difficulty modes are needed now we’ve all been playing for a few months. This update looks set to shatter player expectations and make the galaxy feel even more hostile as we battle for managed democracy.
Spooky swamps, Super Helldive mode, and Spore Chargers
First things first, the new difficult mode, Combat Rating 10, is called Super Helldive, and it doesn’t get more challenging than this. The mode offers greater rewards for the completion of missions with a level of intensity that’s been cranked all the way up. I can’t imagine the onslaught of enemies on Helldive mode being any more of a brick wall to butt your head against, but I’m excited to see what this new mode entails for even the most democratic Helldivers.
The PlayStation Blog post for this update lists additional mission objectives and larger enemy outposts for Super Helldive mode. Some enemies will also drop new Super Samples to collect, which no doubt means that there will be additional items to unlock with that new resource.
The biggest new enemy the update adds is a fan-favorite from the first title, The Impaler. This Terminid is a colossal beast with three huge tentacles that burrow underground and emerge behind you to trap and kill your Helldiver. The Spore Charger is a new Charger variant that has fog following it, meaning you can literally be attacked by a moving cloud of fog as the big bug runs you over.
The Terminid Alpha Commander is a new variant that can spawn more powerful Terminids when it calls in backup. I can’t say I’m looking forward to stronger bugs bearing down on me when I hop into the missions that contain these things.
On the Automaton side, we have an Artillery Tank that fires a barrage of rockets your way. This will definitely make Automaton missions even more challenging. I also spotted a new walker variant, but we’ve not been explicitly told what that is just yet.
This update will add a new biome variant to the game, making swamps look eerie and spooky on some worlds, meaning we’ll be terrified when the Automatons emerge from the darkness and dank air. A new acid storm weather effect will weaken everyone’s armor, making you both deal and take additional damage with every hit.
New mission types, such as Retrieve Larva, will keep things fresh on every planet. In this mission, you must retrieve a backpack with a larva inside and deliver it to the extraction point, but you’ll sacrifice your backpack slot to carry it. The larva’s cries will also draw in enemies.
Arrowhead Game Studios was keen to point out that it hasn’t told fans everything in the update with this announcement. The Terminids and Automatons are expanding in new ways, and Super Earth will be met with a few surprises as Helldivers 2‘s story develops over the coming weeks and months.
There’s also absolutely no hint of The Illuminate, a potential third faction, or what Warbonds will come to the game after this update launches. Arrowhead Game Studios is very good at surprising fans, so I’ve no doubt that whatever is on the horizon, the community will enjoy it.
