Helldivers 2 reveals new Democratic Detonation Warbond coming next week, here's what's in the battle pass

Helldivers 2
(Image credit: PlayStation Studios)

What you need to know

  • Helldivers 2 developer Arrowhead has revealed the Democratic Detonation Warbond, a new battle pass coming to the co-op shooter on April 11, 2024.
  • Democratic Detonation will feature a new secondary weapon, three new primaries, three armor sets, and three capes. A full breakdown of each item shown in the trailer for it, along with a embed of the trailer itself, can be found below.
  • Like the Cutting Edge Warbond in March, Democratic Detonation is expected to cost 1,000 Super Credits and have three pages of unlocks for players to get with Warbond Medals.
  • Super Credits can be earned by finding them at in-game Points of Interest or bought with real money, while Warbond Medals are earned by finishing missions, planetary operations, and both major and personal orders.

We recently rolled over into April, and that means it's time for a new Helldivers 2 Warbond for players to unlock and progress through. Specifically, this month's fresh battle pass is the Democratic Detonation Warbond, which has been officially announced in a new trailer that highlights all of its major goodies. It's scheduled to become available in-game on April 11 — that's just a week away, at the time of writing.

Like the Cutting Edge Warbond that dropped in March, Democratic Detonation is suspected to cost 1,000 Super Credits to purchase and have three full pages of new gear and cosmetics for Super Earth's finest space marines to earn with Warbond Medals. The former currency can occasionally be found at Points of Interest (areas marked with question marks on your map) during gameplay or purchased with microtransactions, while the latter is earned by completion missions, planetary operations, and both major and personal orders.

The trailer for Democratic Detonation, which you can watch through the embed below, shows many of its new armors and weapons off. Note that it'll likely feature some additional player card customization options, too, though these didn't appear in the video.

Players can look forward to new armor sets, capes, and weapons, including a new secondary pistol, three new primaries, and a unique grenade unlike any other in the game right now. All of these items (along with a new booster) are listed in detail below, using information from an official Arrowhead blog post:

  • Three new armor sets: The medium CE-27 Ground Breaker set that's reminiscent of the classic black and yellow Helldiver armor with a special gas mask, a light CE-07 Demolition Specialist black and red set with grenade bandoliers on the chest, and a heavy FS-55 Devastator suit with thick black plates and a large gorget.
  • Three new capes: Capes that match the color schemes and designs of the armor suits mentioned above.
  • GP-31 Grenade Pistol: This secondary weapon fires an explosive grenade similar to the ones used by the Grenade Launcher stratagem support weapon.
  • BR-14 Adjudicator: A scoped armor-piercing marksman rifle primary with rapid-fire shooting similar to that of an assault rifle.
  • R-36 Eruptor: A heavy-duty primary that fires hard-hitting explosive rounds which fragment on impact and deal area-of-effect damage. Comes with a large scope players can use for long-distance shooting.
  • CB-9 Exploding Crossbow: Another explosive primary that shoots bolts that detonate when they come into contact with an enemy. You'll have to account for gravity with your aim.
  • G-123 Thermite: A sticky anti-armor grenade that deals extreme burning damage over time. The trailer footage suggests it's capable of damaging/killing thickly armored targets like Chargers.
  • Expert Extraction Pilot Booster: Reduces the amount of time it takes for the extraction shuttle to reach the extraction zone when called in.

In stark contrast to the energy and arc theme of the Cutting Edge battle pass, the Democratic Detonation Warbond is centered around explosives and armor-piercing weaponry. The armor suits it adds will likely all share a perk; the Cutting Edge sets feature one that makes you resist electricity damage by 95%, so these ones might make explosions easier to survive. Liberty knows that'd come in handy for those times your teammates get careless with Eagle Airstrike call-ins.

As a result, most of the gear it adds will likely be very effective against the Automatons, so we'll probably be cradling it in our hands like stuffed animals once the robots start their "The Reclamation" counteroffensive. I suspect that'll begin a week or so after players complete the new Major Order to supposedly wipe out the Automatons "once and for all."

Helldivers 2 is available now for $39.99 on both PS5 and PC, and so far, it's one of the best PC games of the year. Notably, the game also supports cross-platform play between PS5 and PC.

Helldivers 2 — $39.99 at GMG (Steam)

Helldivers 2 — $39.99 at GMG (Steam)

Battle aliens, robots, and other beasts in humanity's quest to spread democracy through an unforgiving galaxy. It's 4-player co-op at its absolute best, and its most refined.

Also at: Amazon (PS5, Physical) | Walmart (PS5, Physical)

Super Citizen Edition: Amazon (PC, Digital) | GMG (Steam, PC, Digital)

Brendan Lowry

Brendan Lowry is a Windows Central writer and Oakland University graduate with a burning passion for video games, of which he's been an avid fan since childhood. You'll find him doing reviews, editorials, and general coverage on everything Xbox and PC. Follow him on Twitter.