In recent months, fans of Helldivers 2 have found themselves facing some pretty tough decisions. As the Meridia Singularity inches ever closer to Super Earth, swallowing up unfortunate planets along its path, players have been grappling with another issue—lack of enthusiasm for battling the game’s third formidable faction, the frighteningly squid-like Illuminate.
The Illuminate made quite the entrance, storming into the southern reaches of the galaxy after being announced with fanfare at The Game Awards towards the end of 2024. While the Terminids and Automatons are already known entities, each with their own unique combat styles—the former infamous for their aggressive heavy units and swarming melee aliens, and the latter skilled with long-range tactics utilizing artillery, lasers, and flamethrowers—the Illuminate offer a quirky balance between these extremes. They bring to the battlefield waves of the Voteless, zombie-like creatures that, though fragile, appear in daunting numbers. Accompanied by armored Overseers wielding a diverse weaponry assortment and the fearsome War of the Worlds-style Harvesters, their arsenal is undoubtedly intriguing.
This alien invasion motif is a fresh twist amidst the more familiar Starship Troopers and Terminator-influenced factions. Initially, players eagerly dove into the new urban battle maps to take on the squid threat. In the grand scheme of things, they’re portrayed as the most formidable adversary, having already wiped out two planets with Super Earth in their crosshairs.
But there’s a catch: the Illuminate feel like an incomplete faction. Their lineup is significantly smaller than that of the other factions. Lore-wise, this could be attributed to them being merely a vanguard force—reconnoitering the galaxy ahead of the main armada. This results in their battles feeling a bit monotonous and offers less of a challenge compared to battling the Terminids or Automatons. Initially, they had a unique claim to urban maps, but now all factions share these settings.
Adding to the challenge is the fact that the Illuminate don’t have any claimed territory. The only opportunities to engage them arise through defense missions over planets, and these events only span about a day. Afterward, they vanish, only to randomly reappear later. Coordinating a speedy defense as part of a Major Order demands impeccable timing and team coordination—no small feat, especially when most players would rather engage in more dynamic conflicts elsewhere.
Fortunately, Arrowhead appears poised to keep us on our toes by adding depth to alien factions through new units. We’ve previously witnessed the sneaky introduction of enemies like the flying Terminid Shriekers and the menacing Automaton Factory Striders. Arrowhead has also spiced up gameplay with short-term variants of well-known foes, drastically altering combat dynamics. For example, the Predator Strain heightened the threat of Stalkers, and the Automatons have seen substantial upgrades, including beefier, tougher-to-destroy fabricators, the advent of an Incineration Brigade, and, perhaps most unsettling, Factory Striders equipped with Stratagem Jammers.
Right now, the major storyline orders are centered around the Meridia Singularity, featuring the Illuminate as a pivotal force. Yet, it seems Arrowhead appreciates the importance of variety to keep players engaged. Lately, the focus has shifted back to the original two factions. At launch, the Terminids were considered the easier adversary, and the Automatons hadn’t yet won over players. But with continuous game adjustments and rebalancing by Arrowhead, it’s likely that the Illuminate will eventually stand out more distinctly. Presently, however, they remain too few and too similar to each other. I’m eager to see them unleash something akin to a Bile Titan, but until then, my attention will remain on the familiar battlegrounds dominated by bots and bugs.
