Fans are collectively shitting their pants and racing back to defend Super Earth as one of Helldivers 2's most consequential updates since launch hits the galactic airwaves. The latest content drop adds weapon customization options, new enemies, and a bunch of fresh fixes, as everyone prepares to defend against a new Illuminate threat emerging from a traveling black hole.
Galactic Emergency patch 01.003.000 went live earlier today alongside new major orders for players to hold the only three planets—Widow’s Harbor, Pilen V, and New Haven—that lie between the Illuminate and Super Earth, as defenses around the home planet’s main mega cities are bolstered. It’s the first stage of what seems likely to be the biggest showdown since Helldivers 2 launched more than a year ago.
Weapon customization will be the big new tool in players’ arsenals. The long-requested feature lets you level up most primary weapons by completing missions, unlocking new attachments and patterns for requisition in the process. It should allow players a much higher level of precision over how their favorite weapons look and feel, letting them mix-and-match from different sights, ammo clips, and recoil dampeners. Most importantly, it’ll give diehard recruits who have been helldiving for hundreds of hours something new to grind toward.
The latest patch also adds new enemy types to the ranks of the Illuminate. There are the Stingray jetfighters that will deploy strafing runs against players, Crescent Overseers bombarding from the skies, and Frankenstein’s monsters called Fleshmobs that sound like Cronenbergian abominations as nasty to behold as they are to try to kill. Developer Arrowhead Game Studios is also hinting at “sightings of other, even larger ships” that might emerge in the days and weeks ahead.
The new changes to Helldivers 2's universe arrive just ahead of the new Masters of Ceremony Warbond on May 15. The latest battle pass includes bayonets, swords, and a flag stratagem players can deploy to go full Patriot mode on invading alien hordes. It’s the perfect set of rewards to roll out just as Helldivers 2's biggest battles are about to get underway, even if the armor passives look pretty underwhelming. Some players have already called for an Armor Customization system to match the new weapon modding.
Key in the moment-to-moment defending of Super Earth will be patch 01.003.000's balance changes and fixes. Some of the highlights include more precision for SGMs, higher damage fall-off for pistols, less stamina consumed by melee attacks, and burn damage that scales against bigger enemies. But don’t worry, “The Helldiver is now slightly more resistant to being set on fire,” as well. Most importantly, the R-36 Eruptor, an old favorite, is now back on the menu thanks to a number of buffs.
All in all, it’s feeling like the best time to return to PVE extraction shooter since the Illuminate first arrived in Helldivers 2 last December. Players could be about to make Galactic history, or suffer their worst defeat yet.
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