Arrowhead Studios has announced that its surprise megahit Helldivers 2 will be honored with its biggest content patch yet on PS5 and PC on August 6, 2024, introducing a novel difficulty mode, additional enemies, and additional locations. The free update, called Escalation of Freedom, is designed as a thank you to the game’s massive community.
Community Manager Katherine Baskin thanked players: “As we stand here on the eve of Freedom Escalation, we reflect on the six months since launch. We could never have predicted how far this game would go and how many Citizens would answer the call of Super Earth to fight!” After mastering nine difficulty levels, Helldivers 2 has answered the community’s call with a 10th setting: Super Helldive. With tempting rewards for conquering the novel difficulty, it is said to be “the hardest, most relentless diving difficulty in the game.”
The missions covered by these 10 difficulty options will now also be more diverse, as the developer introduces novel objectives to complete and larger facilities to take down. You’ll earn novel Super Sample rewards from these “heavily fortified” structures, and they’ll be available for lower difficulties as well as the novel Ultra Hard modifier.
Then, novel and returning enemies will greet you on the battlefield starting August 6. There’s the second outing of the Impaler from the original Helldivers game, and the Spore Charger is a novel recruit to the Terminid ranks. “As if the regular old Charger wasn’t scary enough, the Spore Charger is shrouded in mist to conceal its location until it’s right up your alley, Helldiver.” There’s also the Terminid Alpha Commander to round out the bug-like additions.
As for the Automata, they’ll be getting the Rocket Tank along with “a few other bot surprises.” The game’s swamp areas have been revamped with novel fog features and untamed flora, while murky trees prevent lithe from getting in. “Keep a flashlight handy, as visibility is limited and light is key. Enemies can hide anywhere in the underbrush.”
Finally, the studio is addressing grief-kicking with a novel feature in the backend where if someone gets kicked out of a match, they’ll be taken to a novel session as the host with all the loot they were supposed to miss. That way, they can still collect their loot and then leave. “With these changes, all players will have the option to leave with all the loot they’ve collected during a mission without losing any Helldivers,” Baskin explained. “We’re committed to making changes that improve the player experience and encourage healthy, cooperative gameplay.”
Will these novel additions and changes bring you back to Helldivers 2? Let us know in the comments below.
