Helldivers 2 players just wiped out an entire enemy faction, so what on Super Earth happens now?
"With the bots eradicated and the bugs contained, the galaxy is free once more."
The official Helldivers Twitter account has announced that players' latest operation was a success, with the forces of Super Earth wiping out an entire enemy faction. The Automatons were cornered to a few holdout worlds days ago and defeated for good today, which begs the question: where does the game go now, sans an entire enemy type?
"You did it, Helldivers," Arrowhead declared. "Operation Swift Disassembly was a success! With the bots eradicated and bugs contained, the galaxy is free once more."
It's an incredibly bold move for a live game, even the famously elastic and reactive Helldivers 2, whose wartime plot twists and surprise gear upgrades are masterminded by a shadowy GM known only as Joel. Swift Disassembly commenced on Friday, with a three-day time limit for players to complete enough missions on the bot-held planets of Maia, Durgen, and Tibit. With Durgen's fall today, it certainly looks like the bots are kaput.
As PCG staff writer Harvey Randall pointed out, the first Helldivers' Groundhog Day loop of galactic warfare restarting on a monthly cadence may provide a clue as to where we go next. Helldivers 2's more in-depth story management may mean a more twisty and surprising path, but I doubt this is the last we've seen of the Automatons. We've also got a remaining Helldivers 1 faction that's still fully MIA, the Illuminate, who are bound to show up sooner or later.
One thing's for sure though: Helldivers 2's live storytelling runs circles around anything I've ever seen before. I remain haunted by Destiny 2's rough Season of the Worthy, where so few people wanted to do its boring seasonal activity to fill a meter and move the plot, Bungie goosed the numbers to make it happen. Helldivers 2, meanwhile, has real stakes and momentum, as well as a sense it can always go either way.