Helldivers 2Automatons have proven themselves to be the most deadly faction in the game thus far. Their long range weapons, ragdolling rockets, and inclination toward heavily armored elites make them significantly more challenging than the terminids at higher difficulties. The only thing keeping the faction back is an admitted lack of variety of their units. A problem that can be easily fixed ifArrowhead dips back into its well of ideasfrom the first game.
Newcomers to theHelldiversfranchise might be surprised to learn that, unlike the terminids, the automatons are not returning enemies from the first game. They are wholly original toHelldivers 2, with their equivalent counterparts from the first game being largely absent from this iteration of the franchise. They’re still around, and the automatons may be working with them to bolster their ranks.
Helldivers 2 Should Bring Back Some Cyborg Enemies From The First Game
What Are the Cyborgs, and Where are They in Helldivers 2?
In the originalHelldivers, the cyborgs were the equivalent to the automatons. These half-human, half-machine soldiers were mistreated and enslaved by Super Earth before rebelling and waging war, which they promptly lost during the events of the first game. For the past 100 years in the game’s story, the entirecyborg population has been contained and enslaved on Cyberstan, a desolate winter wasteland of a planet. Cyberstan, notably, is now the capital planet of the automatons, from which the bots have expanded closer and closer to Super Earth.
Currently, there’s no airtight proof that the automatons are connected to the cyborgs in any meaningful way in the lore, but certain fans have picked up on a few hints indicating that thecyborgs either created the bots, or became the automatons themselves; shedding what was left of their humanity in a last ditch effort to finally beat Super Earth. Again, it’s all speculation at this point, but the fact that the bots made a beeline for the cyborg prison camp planet is very telling when considering the faction’s origins and ultimate loyalty and motives.
How Can the Automaton Faction Incorporate Cyborg Units?
With a whole other, possibly allied, faction waiting in the wings, theautomatons are primed to borrow some unitsfrom the old cyborg war machine to bolster their ranks. It’d help the world feel more fleshed out, while also spicing up gameplay variety by bringing in some mechanically and aesthetically new enemies to fight in missions.
The new old units shouldn’t just be anywhere and everywhere in automaton space; instead, they should be slowly discovered as players eventually start fighting closer and closer to Cyberstan, with the capital planet being nearly entirely made up of old cyborg units. Or even more exciting: new units based on the enemies encountered in the first game.
Arrowhead could redesign some of the old enemies, like the Warlords and the Siege Mechs, but make their models decrepit and worn, as if the100 years stuck toiling on Cyberstanhave taken their toll and the cybernetic parts are just barely holding on to whatever is still human. It’s a great way to slightly remix what’s familiar to fans of the first game while also hammering home just how evil Super Earth actually is that it would do this to these people.
Arrowhead may haveretired the cyborg faction inHelldivers 2, but all that means is the studio is sitting on a veritable treasure trove of additional enemy types when the time calls for it. At the very least, there’s the Illuminate faction from the first game that’s all but confirmed to appear sooner or later, as continued leaks suggest. It’s clear that, one way or another, fans of the originalHelldiverswill be seeing more of their OG enemies on the front lines of the Second Galactic War.
Helldivers 2
WHERE TO PLAY
Do you believe in freedom? Can you stand in the face of oppression – and defend the defenceless? Wage war for peace. Die for democracy.Join forces with up to three friends and wreak havoc on an alien scourge threatening the safety of your home planet, Super Earth, in this multiplayer co-op shooter for PS5 and PC from Arrowhead Game Studios.Step into the boots of the Helldivers, an elite class of soldiers whose mission is to spread peace, liberty and Managed Democracy using the biggest, baddest and most explosive tools in the galaxy.Helldivers don’t go planet side without proper backup, but it’s up to you to decide how and when to call it in. Not only do you have a host of superpowered primary weapons and customizable loadouts, you also have the ability to call on stratagems during play.Helldivers 2 features Arrowhead’s best cooperative gameplay yet. Collaboration will be vital: Teams will synergize on loadouts, strategize their approach for each mission and complete objectives together.1Enlist in Super Earth’s premier military peacekeeping force today. We are heroes… we are legends… WE ARE HELLDIVERS.
