Sony and developer Arrowhead Game Studios have announced a major new Helldivers 2 update, and it's introducing a new difficulty level, new enemy types, and much more.
The Escalation of Freedom update lands on August 6th, and unlike some of the game's previous patches, this one's pretty big, so it should give you a good reason to head back to the front if you're one of those filthy deserters that has abandoned the cause of Super Earth.
First up, an entirely new tenth difficulty level has been added, and it'll throw more enemies at you than you've ever faced before. Arrowhead says the jump from level nine to level ten is supposed to feel significant, so you should notice the difference.
You're also getting new enemies to fight. On the Terminid side, you can look forward to the introduction of the Impaler, a returning enemy from Helldivers. Its massive tentacles sprout up from the ground and cut off potential escape routes.
A new variant of the Charger, the Spore Charger, is constantly surrounded by visibility-lowering fog, and a new Brute Commander variant will be deadlier and more "brutal" (ahem) than you're used to, as well as spawning different kinds of bug allies.
The Automatons, meanwhile, are getting access to an honest-to-god artillery tank, which will fire directly at you if you're close and fire into the air to scupper you and your teammates if you're distant. Frankly, this one sounds absolutely terrifying.
New, larger types of outposts are being introduced, and while they'll be a huge challenge to take down, Arrowhead is promising "great rewards" if you manage to do so.
There will also be new map variants and objectives for you to take on, including a larva retrieval mission, and Arrowhead is teasing a new direction for Helldivers 2's story involving ramped-up Automaton production and changing Terminid migration patterns.
This will be Helldivers 2's first significant update since chief creative officer Johan Pilestedt stepped down as CEO, and it'll also be the first since the notorious PlayStation Network controversy. Hopefully, the update helps Arrowhead put that unpleasantness behind it and focus on the game.
You can check out Helldivers 2 right now on PC and PlayStation 5. Stay tuned for more.
