After nearly two full days of prolonged and brutal fighting upon the scorching hot surface of the planet Pöpli IX — and coming off the heels of a huge win against the Illuminate — Helldivers 2 players have managed to repel what is undoubtedly the Automatons’ deadliest invasion yet.
The battle began in the midst of the bots’ ongoing week-long campaign to reach and retake Malevelon Creek — a dark jungle world dubbed “Space Vietnam” that became the site of the fiercest battles against the Automatons early in the Galactic War last year. The bots have to take Pöpli IX before they can then assault Mantes and eventually the Creek itself, but remarkably, players have held the line there against all odds.
The legions that attacked Pöpli IX were extremely powerful, with the Automatons launching a Level 40 invasion (very difficult) that included a joint assault force of the new Incineration Corps (bots equipped with incendiary weapons and flamethrowers), the Jet Brigade (bots equipped with jetpacks that explode violently when shot), and reinforcements from the neighboring enemy-controlled world of Mort.
Further complicating matters were (and still are) a pair of heavily debilitating debuffs activated by Helldivers 2’s Game Master Joel, including one that reduces all ammo gained by Resupply boxes by 50% and another that reduces available Reinforcements (respawns) per mission to a pitiful three.
Put simply, it’s clear that we were not supposed to win here, and that in the overarching narrative of the current Major Order, our defense of Pöpli IX was only meant to slow the enemy’s push for Malevelon Creek. Yet, with remarkable determination, the Helldivers have defied the Automatons and the hand of Joel himself, forcing the bots to inevitably regroup and try again; given that less than two days remain in their offensive, though, the odds of the bots taking Pöpli IX, Mantes, and Malevelon Creek in that timeframe are slim (especially since players will be making them fight tooth and nail for every inch).
A key factor in this victory was the use of the Democracy Space Station and the donation of enough player-collected samples to activate its Eagle Storm bonus, crucially halting invasion progress, providing players with constant in-mission air support, and giving the Helldivers time to finish enough operations to ward off the attackers. On top of that, many in the community also smartly swapped over to less ammo-dependent loadouts with energy weapons or began taking the Increased Reinforcement Budget booster, mitigating the impact of the aforementioned debuffs.
Fittingly, the success of the defense at Pöpli IX came on April 3, which developer Arrowhead Game Studios has christened “Malevelon Creek Memorial Day” in order to “honor the countless heroes who made the ultimate sacrifice in defense of Malevelon Creek.” Inspired by the legendary warriors that battled, bled, and fell to take and hold that world, the Helldivers of today have fought like lions to make sure the Automatons never set foot on it again.
Of course, I suspect we’ll see a new invasion of Pöpli IX begin later today, as there’s still 40 hours to go in the bots’ offensive at the time of writing. Even if the Automatons begin to make forward progress in the next two days, though, I have a feeling Super Earth’s finest will emerge from the trenches triumphant — especially since defensive wins like these generally make further incursions less threatening.
With that mechanic, Helldivers 2’s Galactic War metagame often reminds me of Operations from Battlefield 1; in that mode, attackers have to take multiple maps with a limited set of attacks and reinforcements, encouraging defenders to make their progress as expensive as possible to eventually bleed them out. The way Battlefield 1 represented defense in depth strategies like that was incredibly cool and unique, and I love that Helldivers 2 does it, too.
Helldivers 2 stands tall as one of the best PC games and best PS5 games to play if you’re into co-op shooters, intense sci-fi action, goofy physics antics, and goofy satirical writing. It’s typically $40, though you can often get it for less if you shop around for discounts. Right now, the best one is CDKeys’ sale that shaves $13 off the price, allowing you to get the bombastic title for well under $30.
