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Oh God, oh man, the robots have taken over Helldivers 2

The Automatons are fighting back alongside their Cyborg overlords

Cass Marshall

• 2 min read
Key art for the Siege Breakers Warbond, which shows two Helldivers fighting off Automatons, with a Factory Strider lurking the background.
Image: Arrowhead Game Studio/PlayStation Publishing LLC

A mere week ago, Helldivers got the call from High Command – we were going to march on Cyberstan. Player morale was high, especially with the new Bastion MK XVI tank on our side. Despite an enthusiastic start to the new Galactic Offensive, there have been some ... complications.

The current Major Order is to take one of two worlds as a base of operations for the upcoming siege on the Automaton home world, Cyberstan: Aurora Bay or Merak. At first, Helldivers were making headway on Aurora Bay, but bot attacks on the backline of Lesath and Chort Bay forced players to fall back and ensure our supply lines weren't cut off. Now, Helldivers have nearly claimed Merak in the name of Super Earth, but we've run into, uh, some complications.

A hacked Major Order screen from the Automatons on the Helldivers 2 Galactic Map, reading "FAILURE. HOW ARE YOU, HELLDIVER? IT SEEMS THAT MOST OF YOU ARE POORLY INFORMED ABOUT THE WAR. THEY LIE TO YOU, HELLDIVER. THEY DO NOT CARE ABOUT YOU. YOU ARE NOT A HERO. YOU ARE CANNON FODDER, HELLDIVER. IT MUST BE EMBARRASSING TO REALIZE YOU HAVE BEEN TRICKED. DEFECT, HELLDIVER. YOU HAVE LOST THIS WAR, HELLDIVER. YOUR GOVERNMENT HAS BETRAYED YOU, HELLDIVER, DEFECT, HELLDIVER.
Image: Arrowhead Game Studio/PlayStation Publishing LLC via Rogue

That's right – those good for nothing bots have hacked into our Super Destroyers. My Dispatches tab, instead of being from important words from High Command, now has messages like "YOU HAVE LOST THIS WAR. DEFECT, HELLDIVER. IT IS A VERY GOOD IDEA TO LEAVE."

Making matters even worse, the Cyborgs from the original Helldivers are back, "fueled by nothing but rage and socialism." Honestly, big same.

One might be concerned, especially since there's a second Major Order up alongside the order to take Aurora Bay or Merak. It reads, DEFECT FROM THE GOVERNMENT THAT HAS LIED TO YOU, HELLDIVER, and asks the player to kill 1,000,000 True Flag. Luckily, that Order has been hard stuck at 0.3%, with a mere 2,929 flags having perished thus far.

On Feb. 10, Arrowhead will launch the Machinery of Oppression title update, so it seems pretty safe to say we'll be landing on Cyberstan tomorrow. I don't know about you, but I'll be there, screaming and crying as the Vox Engine runs over my Helldiver's corpse while playing anti-democracy propaganda.

If you want to know more about the bloody battles between Helldivers and Automatons, our History of Helldivers 2 series explores just that, from the earliest battles on Malevelon Creek to the terrifying Reclamation.