Helldivers 2 Escalation of Freedom Update Teases Arrowhead’s Biggest Content Drop Yet [IGN]

The studio unveiled the latest addition to its post-launch rollout in a PlayStation.Blog post. It’s an update that’s meant to give Super Earth defenders more variety, including new missions, objectives, enemies, planets, and even a new difficulty mode. While we wait for launch on August 6, you can see how Arrowhead plans to move into the next phase of Helldivers 2 with the Escalation of Freedom update trailer below.

Do you have what it takes, Helldiver? The Escalation of Freedom Major Update begins on August 6, featuring:

• Difficulty Level 10
• New mission objectives
• Bigger enemy outposts
• New Bugs and Bots
• New environmental hazards

Full briefing: https://t.co/GTTi0R4tc3 pic.twitter.com/h8gEewiu5G

— HELLDIVERS™ 2 (@helldivers2) July 23, 2024

“Our community continues to show us how strong we all are when united against the mindless Automatons and the scourge of the Terminid,” Arrowhead social media and community manager Katherine Baskin said in the blog post. “As we stand here, on the eve of the Escalation of Freedom, we reflect on the 6 months since launch. We could never have predicted how far this game would go and how many Citizens would answer Super Earth’s call to arms!”

Arrowhead’s biggest fundamental change to the Helldivers 2 formula is its new, harder game mode: Combat Rating 10: Super Helldive. That’s right – if you thought your standard Helldive was too much, Super Helldive is here to offer an entirely new level of challenge. Arrowhead calls the mode its “most challenging, most relentless” difficulty mode, and of course, it means better rewards for those who are able to successfully extract at the end of the mission.

With Super Helldive comes added variety to missions, as well as larger Terminid and Automaton outposts that yield new Super Sample rewards. Arrowhead notes that new missions and objectives will be playable on other difficulty modes, too. What seems to be Escalation of Freedom’s flashiest new addition, however, is the return of its earth-kraken enemy, the Impaler. Originally seen in the first Helldivers, this tentacled creature is described as “big, imposing, and destructive,” requiring players to focus their fire until it’s been terminated.

Along with the Impaler come new Terminid enemies the Spore Charger, a sneakier version of your standard Charger, and the Alpha Commander, a larger Brood Commander that calls other bugs for backup when in a pinch. The formidable Automatons have called for reinforcements, too, with players now needing to be on the lookout for something called a Rocket Tank. Arrowhead also teases some other “bot surprises” to keep an eye out for but doesn’t give specifics. Helldivers 2 players can also look forward to a new, updated swamp biome, which features denser layers of fog and more places for enemies to hide.

As Arrowhead moves to drop Escalation of Freedom into the world of Helldivers 2, it let players know that it is working to mitigate the consequences of grief kicking. With the update launch next month, players will find that, after being kicked, they will spawn into a new session as host with all of the squad’s loot from the session they just left. The Helldivers doing the kicking will also be notified that their loot is unchanged when the player is removed.

“With these changes, all players have the opportunity to leave with all loot collected on mission, with not one Helldiver losing out,” Baskin continues. “We’re committed to making changes that will improve the player experience and encourage healthy, cooperative gameplay. Along with this, we’re also releasing other quality of life upgrades with Escalation of Freedom, including major fixes to the social menu to make diving with your friends easier.”

Helldivers 2 launched February 8, 2024, and has become one of PlayStation’s biggest success stories in recent memory. The squad-based extraction shooter has been praised for its world-building, chaotic gameplay, and team-based objectives, and with the Escalation of Freedom update, it’s clear Arrowhead has plenty more in store. We loved the sequel upon its release, giving it a 9/10 in our review. At the time, we said, “Helldivers 2’s combat feels fantastic, its missions stay fresh and interesting, and its smart progression system doesn’t nickel and dime you.”

Michael Cripe is a freelance contributor with IGN. He started writing in the industry in 2017 and is best known for his work at outlets such as The Pitch, The Escapist, OnlySP, and Gameranx.

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