Posted by Helldivers 2 just received its newest free content drop: “Machinery of Oppression.” This new update sees the forces of Super Earth waging galactic war on the Automaton capitol world of Cyberstan. The update adds in a new biome, a few new mission objectives, and three new enemies. I’ve really been enjoying the update. The narrative build-up and execution have been super fun to be a part of.
The new Cyberstan maps are congested, urban areas where close-quarters skirmishes and endless fighting abound. Every few feet you move, you’re bound to run into an enemy of some kind. Objectives are pretty closely packed together, which can lead to some important, and necessary, strategizing. For example, anti-air emplacements are quite common, and since the map is so densely packed, Eagle stratagems are a lot less viable this time around. It feels refreshing fighting in a new environment that encourages you to mix up your loadout. Aesthetically, Cyberstan is a gray, mechanized world. Or at least the mega factory biomes we find ourselves fighting in are. It’s a challenging new zone because of all the close-quarters combat and enemy density, which it should be seeing as we’re on an enemy homeworld.
The update adds in a few new side objectives and a new main objective. In addition to familiar objectives like Spread Democracy and Destroy Dropships, you can be tasked with Destroying Cyborg Assembly Units. This objective in particular is a lot of fun and feels epic to accomplish. The side objectives are a lot simpler, usually consisting of just destroying buildings and statues much like how Illuminate missions may task you with killing a specific number of Overseers. It’s nice new variety that I can’t complain about.
The main draw of the update, aside from the massive story beats, are the three new units. The Cyborg sub-faction makes its Automaton debut, returning from the original game (kind of). The first new Cyborg unit is the Agitator. Agitators are armored units who like to sit back and command other units to fight in their stead. Their unique gimmick is that they can take control of nearby Automaton units, which you can tell by the bright glowing yellow Automaton eyes. Tactically, they’re quite intelligent as they’ll keep their distance, shooting from afar and using nearby bots to fight for them. They’re good enemies. They feel well-designed and present new dynamic variables to combat. Their armor isn’t a big deal either. Yes, you need to burn through the armor before you can kill them, but the armor isn’t too heavy, contrary to my initial belief after watching their review video. The other new Cyborg unit is the Radical, and these guys fight very differently. They aren’t armored, and are equipped with a shotgun arm. They like to throw out smoke grenades to obscure your vision and give them cover to rush you down where they can drop the knee of socialism on you, then finish you off with a swift shotgun blast or a curb stomp. They can definitely be tough and require you to switch up your tactics. They’re pretty squishy too, which helps balance them out. The last new enemy is the Vox Engine, and these guys are a bit more controversial. They’re effectively a side-grade to Factory Striders. They’re heavily armored, fairly slow, multi-tracked vehicles equipped with Gatling guns, mortar cannons, and big laser cannons, all while broadcasting bot propaganda for everyone to hear. The mortar shots give them impressive range, but the attacks are well-telegraphed. The Gatling guns can shred you, as you would expect, but I think they’re fine. The only attack I really don’t like is the laser cannon because it will one-shot you. That isn’t fun, especially when they can fire it pretty rapidly at you, making evasive maneuvers nearly impossible. It’s very aggravating trying to run away from a Vox Engine or just going about the objective only to get obliterated by a Vox with little counter-play. The other issue with Vox Engines is that they spawn frequently. Very frequently. Like “we’re trying to extract, but there are now three Vox Engines bombing our escape route while little guys are pouring in” frequently. Their spawn rates could be tweaked since they are very tanky enemies who output high damage. It’s honestly the Dragonroach problem of “Into the Unjust” where there was constantly one to two Dragonroaches flying around the sky at all times. It’s the same thing, just with three Vox Engines at all times. Vox Engines can be handled in two ways. They can be brute-forced with anti-tank, or you can take out vents to expose a critical weak spot. It’s good game design that leads to more dynamic combat encounters instead of just “throw big bomb at it,” but again, they should be spawning a bit less frequently.
Finally, while the new Siege Breakers Warbond and Bastion tank technically released before this update, it’s still worth talking about them real quick. The Bastion tank is a new vehicle, released for free, that can accommodate four people at a time. It needs a driver, a gunner, and can have two support gunners who pop out of latches on the side. It’s a co-op vehicle. It’s pretty durable, and it can output some crazy damage. Maneuverability can suffer, but driving isn’t exactly Helldivers 2‘s strongest aspect. I like the tank a lot. Siege Breakers introduces the Trident laser shotgun, a new throwable, and three stratagems. The Trident is fantastic. It is light penetration, but it fires crazy fast and can output some solid damage and enemy clearing. Since it’s a laser weapon, it can effectively have infinite ammo if you manage the heat well. It’s really effective on all fronts and is a great new option for players. The new throwable added is a mini-shield grenade that can create a personal defensive bubble for you. It works nicely and can really bail you out of sticky situations. It’s a nice new tool to have. The new stratagems include the Breaching Hammer, Leveler, and Belt-Fed Grenade Launcher. I haven’t used the Breaching Hammer a lot, but it seems solid for what it offers. It is a melee weapon, so there is that to keep in mind, but it’s capable of outputting good damage and can be a very effective anti-tank tool. And it’s fun. The Leveler is my favorite addition. It’s an expendable weapon that fires a single super powerful anti-tank mini-nuke shot that can take out most things really easily. Except Vox Engines; those guys take two shots. It does have some considerable drop-off, but it’s a great new addition. The last stratagem is the Belt-Fed Grenade Launcher. It consumes a backpack and support weapon slot, but it gives you one hundred high-damage grenades. Its blast radius is kind of small, though it does have heavy penetration. While not my favorite weapon added in, I know that it isn’t bad and can be quite fun to use. The armor added in with the Warbond is kind of a dud, but everything else in it is really solid.
Overall, Helldivers 2 is in a good spot. This current update is a ton of fun, and I’ve been having a blast fighting in the streets of Cyberstan with my friends. It’s a really good update that could only use a few minor tweaks to make it even better. And while I am a little disappointed that we haven’t seen the Automaton Siege Mech super boss thrown at us yet, I’m optimistic that the bots might still have something up their sleeve. The Terminid Hive Lord debuted on Oshaune during “Into the Unjust,” so it makes sense for the Siege Mech to return now. While I definitely expected the Vox Engine to be the new super boss, I can say with confidence that it isn’t. I personally think that the Siege Mech will appear once we reach the capitol of Cyberstan, but only time will tell. Especially because in terms of story, we know that the bots stole big laser blueprints from Super Earth, but we haven’t seen that technically put to use yet. I think the Siege Mech might be packing some crazy laser firepower, but again, we’ll just have to wait and see.
Broad Scope Entertainment 