After over a week of concentrated efforts to build and acquire enough Element-710 fuel for the Penrose Energy Siphon, the Helldivers have finally managed to deploy the tool into the heart of the Meridian Singularity that the Illuminate has been slowly but surely moving towards Super Earth. As predicted, the Siphon has absorbed a significant amount of the Dark Energy being used to propel the black hole — and now, Helldivers 2 players have an opportunity to stop it for good.
While the Singularity was originally projected to stop somewhere past Super Earth, the effects of the Penrose Energy Siphon have now made it possible to bring it to a halt before it destroys Super Earth or any more of its colony worlds. To do this, players have to initiate "a sustained and intense suppression of Illuminate Dark Energy accumulation" by thwarting six Illuminate invasions in the next three days.
"The Helldivers are ordered to heavily suppress Illuminate invasion events for the next several days," reads the briefing on the new Major Order from Super Earth High Command. "If successful, this will free Super Earth from the Singularity's path of destruction. Nothing is more critical than the security of Democracy's heart."
Defending against six invasions in three days is a rather tall order, but so far, the Helldivers have stepped up in a big way. As I write this, one invasion has already been repelled, and another looks like it'll be warded off soon after I publish this article. That will leave us with just four attacks to stop in well over two days, giving us very good odds for victory in this endeavor.
Notably, to bolster the front line, players have been given free access to a new stratagem during this operation: the E/GL-21 Grenadier Battlement. Effectively, it's a simple barricade fortification with a Grenade Launcher support weapon on top that players can mount and fire; the barricade gives the operator and their teammates cover from incoming laser blasts and other ranged projectiles. If we're successful in this Major Order, the stratagem will be made a permanent unlock for all players immediately. You can check out how it works in this clip (or in the embed below).
Overall, the Grenadier Battlement seems like it'll come in very handy against the Illuminate. Its grenades are extremely effective against hordes of Voteless zombies and the ground-based Overseer troops leading them, and based on the footage I've seen of its use so far, its barrier is capable of withstanding a fair amount of fire from Overseers and can even briefly hold up against Harvesters and their deadly laser beams. It also has a very short cooldown of about two minutes, so you'll be able to call the fortifications down frequently.
NEW grenadier battlement gameplay. from r/Helldivers
At the rate things are going thus far, I'd be very surprised if we ended up failing this Major Order, though it is possible the Illuminate will start attacks on multiple fronts and force players to divide their attention soon. If that happens, the community will need to get together on sites like r/Helldivers and work out a clear strategy; given how an overall lack of coordination led to several recent Major Order failures, this will be crucial.
As exciting as it is to finally have a good shot at stopping the Meridian black hole, though, I can't help but worry that the worst is yet to come (don't tell the Democracy Officer I said that). Players recently discovered hidden messages that potentially hint at a large-scale Illuminate invasion, after all, and worryingly, the latest Super Earth dispatch classifies the Singularity as a "wormhole" — AKA, a connection between two different points in space. Perhaps the Illuminate is simply moving the Singularity as close as it can to Super Earth before deploying its full attack force...
Either that's the case or I'm spreading squid propaganda, but we'll find out for sure soon enough — assuming we complete this Major Order, that is. If we fail, the forested colony of Ivis will likely be obliterated by the wormhole as Moradesh and Angel's Venture were before it.
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 over $13 off the price, allowing you to get the bombastic title for well under $30.
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