Over the weekend in Helldivers 2, the tireless forces of Super Earth proved that the narrowest of victories can bring the sweetest rewards—particularly when those rewards involve a surprise, galaxy-wide mech giveaway. When a Major Order demanding the liberation of three planets seemed doomed to fail, the Helldivers achieved a last-minute victory so impressive that High Command's rolling out war robots to everyone who can fill a cockpit.
The Major Order in question enlisted the Helldivers to secure Charbal-VII, Charon Prime, and Choepessa IV during a temporary lapse in Automaton defenses, and they had only 72 hours to do it. As the operation entered its final hours, Helldivers had secured Charbal-VII and Charon Prime, but Choepessa IV remained stubbornly unconquered by liberty and sustained bombardment alike.
But if Helldivers 2 players have demonstrated anything, it's their penchant for concentrating their efforts and ordinance when the Galactic War effort demands, especially when there's a big blinking crosshair on their galaxy maps that say "come here and do a thing for extra medals." Marshaling their forces, the Helldivers clinched the lingering percentage points separating Choepessa IV from liberation, and they did it with only minutes to spare.
In a celebratory dispatch from Super Earth High Command, Arrowhead community manager Mitchell Ayre underlined just how narrow the margins were for the Helldivers' nailbiter win. By liberating Choepessa IV with only 42 minutes before Major Order failure, the Helldivers had pulled off a victory with less than one percent of the 72-hour operation timer remaining.
"This display of determination and grit goes to show that one should never discount the efficiency and valor of Helldivers when Lady Liberty comes calling," Ayres wrote. To honor the surprise success, Arrowhead's enabled free use of the EXO-49 Emancipator Exosuit stratagem for all Helldivers for a limited time. The second mech stratagem added to Helldivers 2, the EXO-49 features a pair of autocannons for chewing up armored enemies.
That's not all the news for Helldivers this week. Earlier today, Arrowhead revealed The Escalation of Freedom, an upcoming update for Helldivers 2 adding new enemies, new mission types, and an even more punishing difficulty. Exciting times if you like to shoot at tentacles.