Helldivers 2 isn’t out of the fight yet, as Arrowhead Games Studios has announced that its latest update, Escalation of Freedom, will be its biggest yet.
The studio revealed the latest addition in its post-launch appearance in a post on PlayStation.Blog. It’s an update that aims to give Defenders of Super Earth more variety, including new missions, objectives, enemies, planets, and even a new difficulty mode. As we await the launch on August 6, you can see how Arrowhead plans to move into the next phase of Helldivers 2 with Freedom escalation update trailer lower.
Do you have what it takes, Helldiver? The big Freedom Scaling update launches on August 6, featuring:
• Difficulty Level 10
• New mission objectives
• Larger enemy outposts
• Bugs and new bots
• New environmental risksFull summary: https://t.co/GTTi0R4tc3 pic.twitter.com/h8gEewiu5G
— HELLDIVERS™ 2 (@helldivers2) July 23, 2024
“Our community continues to show us how strong we all are when we stand together against the mindless Automatons and the Terminid disaster,” Arrowhead social media and community manager Katherine Baskin said in the blog post. “As we stand here, on the eve of the Freedom Escalation, we reflect on the 6 months since launch. We could never have predicted how far this game would go and how many citizens would answer Super Earth’s call to arms!”
Arrowhead’s biggest fundamental change to the Helldivers 2 formula is its new, harder game mode: Combat Rating 10: Super Helldive. That’s right – if you thought your standard Helldive was too much, Super Helldive is here to provide a whole new level of challenge. Arrowhead calls its difficulty mode “more challenging, more relentless,” and of course, it means better rewards for those who are able to successfully pull off the end of the mission.
With Super Helldive comes increased variety in missions, as well as larger Terminid and Automaton outposts that give new Super Sample rewards. Arrowhead notes that the new missions and objectives will also be playable on other difficulty modes. What seems to be the coolest new addition to Freedom Escalation, though, is the return of its dug-out nemesis, the Impaler. First seen in the first Helldivers, this tentacled creature is described as “huge, imposing and devastating”, requiring players to focus their fire until it is finished.
Along with the Impaler come new Terminid enemies, the Spore Charger, a stealthier version of your standard Charger, and the Alpha Commander, a larger Brood Commander that calls in other bugs for backup when in a pinch. The fearsome Automatons have also called for reinforcements, with players now having to be on the lookout for something called the Rocket Tank. Arrowhead also teases a few other “bot surprises” to keep an eye on, but doesn’t give specifics. Helldivers 2 players can also look forward to a new, updated swamp biome that features thicker layers of fog and more places for enemies to hide.
As Arrowhead moves to drop Escalation of Freedom on the world of Helldivers 2, it lets players know that it’s working to mitigate the effects of the blow of grief. With the release of the update next month, players will find that once they’re hit, they’ll start a new session as the host with all of the team’s loot from the session they just left. Helldivers who make the hit will also be notified that their loot is unchanged when the player is removed.
“With these changes, all players have the opportunity to walk away with all the loot collected in the mission without losing a single Helldiver,” Baskin continues. “We are committed to making changes that will improve the player experience and encourage healthy and cooperative gameplay. Along with this, we’re rolling out other quality-of-life improvements with Escalation of Freedom, including major tweaks to the social menu to make it easier to dive in with your friends.”
Helldivers 2 launched on February 8, 2024 and has become one of the biggest PlayStation success stories in recent memory. The team-based extraction shooter has been praised for its world-building, chaotic gameplay and team-based objectives, and with the Escalation of Freedom update, it’s clear that Arrowhead has a lot more in store. We liked the sequel after its release, giving it a 9/10 in our review. At the time, we said, “Helldivers 2’s combat feels fantastic, its missions remain fresh and interesting, and its smart progression system doesn’t overwhelm or bog you down.”
Michael Cripe is a freelance contributor to IGN. He started writing about the industry in 2017 and is best known for his work at outlets like The Pitch, The Escapist, OnlySP, and Gameranx.
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