It's an exciting time to be a fan of PlayStation Studios and Arrowhead Game Studios' critically acclaimed 2024 co-op shooter Helldivers 2, as the Windows PC and PS5 game is about to get a huge wave of new players when its Xbox version goes live on August 26 (here's exactly when you can play).
At the same time, there's also a special new Legendary Warbond coming out that's entirely themed around a long-requested Helldivers 2 x Halo ODST crossover. The items within — two armors and four weapons based on iconic Halo 3: ODST gear, plus a variety of additional cosmetics — look to be some of the highest-quality unlocks ever added to the title, with one even including a nod to a famous Halo easter egg.
Notably, though, these reinforcements and fancy new pieces of kit are coming at a time when they're both sorely needed. In advance of their arrival next week, Arrowhead and its enigmatic Game Master Joel have introduced a new Major Order that's going to be absurdly difficult for the community to complete — perhaps even more arduous than the defense of Super Earth itself.
Its objective is surprisingly simple, yet nigh-insurmountable: before August ends in a little over a week, the Helldivers have to kill 6 billion Terminids, 1.5 billion Automatons, and 1 billion Illuminate troops in order to stave off a galaxy-wide invasion.
Altogether, that's 8.5 billion of Lady Liberty's sworn enemies to put in the ground, and even though we have a lengthy time limit, it's going to come down to the wire (you can track progress here).
An official briefing from Super Earth High Command makes it clear that "Even with an expanded force, the fight will be difficult. Every piece of ground held, every enemy killed, could make the difference."
This is the first time we've seen a massive three-pronged attack like this launched by the various factions hostile to Super Earth, and as the brass have pointed out, "This coordinated tripartite assault represents obvious collusion amongst the mindless enemies of Managed Democracy."
Indeed, it seems the Terminids, Automatons, and Illuminate are all working together to try and wear down Super Earth Armed Forces across all three fronts of the Galactic War — a worrying development, and a strategy that we can only counter if we meet the enemy everywhere and make them fight tooth and nail for every inch of ground.
Naturally, that begs the question: will the bugs, bots, and squids continue collaborating in future engagements? Ultimately, only time will tell, and besides, thinking is above my pay grade (of course, as a Helldiver, I'm not getting paid at all). There's no time for thinking when there are defenses to hold!
The mission before us is daunting, no doubt, but with the help of all the incoming Xbox reinforcements and the sweet new armaments from the Halo ODST crossover, I have faith the Helldivers will emerge victorious against all odds.
One strategy that will improve our chances of success is completing mission objectives and extracting as slowly as possible, while simultaneously trying to get into intense battles as much as you can by shooting everything you see and purposefully letting calls for enemy reinforcements go through. Given that the Major Order's objective is kill count-based, doing everything you can to maximize kills will be important.
If the community does actually manage to pull out a win, here, players will be rewarded handsomely with a colossal payout of 175 Warbond Medals — 55 for each enemy faction we're able to hold the line against. Those will come in very handy when trying to unlock whatever Halo ODST items from the Legendary Warbond you aren't able to get while this offensive is ongoing.
Again, the fight ahead of us is going to be a brutal one, but not an impossible one if the community — strengthened by waves of new Xbox recruits fresh out of boot camp — fights as hard, and as smart, as it can. I'm certainly going to dive some this weekend and do my part, and I hope to see you dropping into battle as well.
Helldivers 2 itself is $39.99 across Xbox Series X|S, Windows PC (Steam), and PS5, though you can actually get it for less thanks to a nice deal. Specifically, it's discounted to just $33.69 at CDKeys for a PC code.
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