Helldivers 2’s Automaton Invasion Event Might be Rigged From the Start

Helldivers assemble – a new front has emerged in the battle for Super Earth’s total, democratic rule of the solar system. This time the enemies shoot back, and players are feverishly speculating that something bigger is brewing.

Why is the Helldivers 2 Automaton Invasion So Difficult?

From the onset, the Helldivers team over at Arrowhead Studios have been turning the cranks: they were pretty forthright about controlling the cadence of missions in real-time as players struggled (or failed to struggle) with objectives. Now we’re seeing just how far those levers can go.

Thread after thread is popping up over on the subreddit humorously bemoaning the absolute meatgrinder these new missions (particularly civilian escorts) have turned out to be. The event is being called “honestly … kinda BS,” “kinda bullsh*t,” and “brutal,” among other, more flavorful descriptions. Seasoned Helldive vets are having trouble completing these new missions on Difficulty Level 4 where they were breezing through Level 9 before. This has more than a few people speculating that we were never going to win in the first place.

Now, it’s entirely possible that this event is just a bit overtuned – it’s the cost of doing business when you’re working on a living game. But take a look at the Galactic War Map:

These big Sectors are what we’re fighting over, with the bar over each representing how well the playerbase is doing at repelling the coming tide of baddies. If we won every weekly battle, we’d never even see some of the interior-most spaces of the map. And by that, I mean Super Earth.

The first Helldivers saw enemies fighting in the streets of Super Earth itself, essentially transforming the usual open-air landscapes into claustrophobic, urban warfare. These wars even resulted in the occasional complete loss of Super Earth, resulting in a fresh start with a new planet. I have a hunch that Helldivers 2 is gearing up to bring the fight to us. Smack the community down a peg, and make them fight on the backfoot all while introducing a brand new map in the process.

The content available for play will change as the War does, with factions ebbing and flowing, with new enemies to fight over the horizon as the team ramps up their content schedule with new hires. Time will tell, but I’m looking forward to (hopefully) fighting in the city streets before long.