Since Helldivers 2’s launch earlier this year, developer Arrowhead Game Studios has mostly added content to it in increments, typically in the form of small patches and monthly Warbond battle passes. Now, though, the studio has announced what it’s calling “the first major update” for the co-op PvE shooter: Escalation of Freedom. With “new game modes, new objectives, new enemies, and even a whole new difficulty,” it indeed looks to be the largest update for Helldivers 2 yet.
The highlight of Escalation of Freedom seems to be the extra baddies it’s bringing to the Terminid hordes and Automaton armies, which will no doubt disrupt some existing Helldivers 2 strategies and shake up the gameplay experience. The most notable of these is the Impaler — a returning area denial tentacle monster from the first game that stabs at players with its barbs, forcing them to deal with it before they can continue kiting Terminid swarms — but some others spotted in the trailer include a unique Charger that spews vision-obscuring spores everywhere it runs, tankier Brood Commanders that spawn special types of bugs, Automaton artillery tanks that rain rockets down on you from afar, and what looks to be a more powerful variant of the bots’ Scout Strider walkers that has rockets and extra armor.
Another big addition it’s making is Difficulty 10, which is the first new difficulty level in the game since its release in February. Even harder than the tier 9 “Helldive” option, Difficulty 10 will have more enemies than any previous mode as well as gigantic bases for players to assault and destroy. The developers say “it’s gonna be a real challenge to take on these massive fortresses,” but if you do so, “there will be great rewards waiting for you.”
Lady Liberty’s enemies and the fight against them aren’t the only things getting revamps with Escalation of Freedom, though. Arrowhead is also making substantial updates to some of Helldivers 2’s environments and hazards; specifically, swampy planets are being made significantly darker and spookier, and the Acid Storm weather condition will now reduce the protection both you and your foes get from armor. New mission types are coming, too, such as “Retrieve Larvae,” which will task players with finding and extracting a Terminid larvae while it constantly cries and calls for help from the swarm.
Of course, a huge part of the Helldivers 2 experience is its ever-evolving Galactic War narrative, driven entirely by community efforts and Major Orders from the enigmatic Joel the Game Master. Arrowhead hasn’t revealed anything detailed about the Major Orders Escalation of Freedom will bring, but have ominously commented that the Automatons are “constantly building bigger and worse war machines,” while simultaneously noting that “the Terminids’ migration patterns seem to be changing” and that there’s been “irregular readings of Terminid spores.” Sweet Liberty save us all.
It’s likely that the update will add some new weapons and stratagems, though none were teased in the trailer. Still, it was said that “we have many more surprises in store for you,” so I’m sure expansions to our arsenal will come alongside further new objectives and other additions.
Overall, Escalation of Freedom looks to be a fantastic update for the game, and we don’t even have to wait that long for its arrival. It’s scheduled to go live on August 6 — just two weeks from now — so before any of us know it, we’ll be back on the galactic frontlines blasting tentacled beasts and Automaton missile tanks to smithereens.
Earlier this year, Helldivers 2 had an impressively explosive launch, soaring to nearly half a million concurrent players on Steam in its opening weeks. The game’s average population has gradually declined since then, but I suspect lots of players will dive back in to check out everything Escalation of Freedom has to offer. Come August 6, I know I’ll be stepping into my Hellpod.
Helldivers 2 is available now for $39.99 on both PS5 and PC, though CDKeys has it for $31.99 right now. It’s easily one of the best PC games of the year, and notably, the game also supports cross-platform play between PS5 and PC.
