Helldivers 2 Cutting Edge warbond is out, sparking fresh debate about the Illuminate faction
All the lightning guns, laser rifles and fancy armour you can eat
Helldivers 2's Cutting Edge Premium warbond, aka DLC battle pass, is now available to buy in-game, and it is chock-full of oddball gadgetry such as lightning shotguns, burst-fire laser rifles and experimental armour. As with the Arc Thrower stratagem, the lightning shotgun fires arcs of electricity that conduct between players and enemies alike, but there's a fresh armour perk, Electrical Conduit, which reduces arc damage by 95%, allowing close-knit teams of Helldivers to roll around the battlefield frazzling themselves without much penalty.
Still, I think the real star pick here is surely the Localization Confusion booster, which extends the time between enemy spawns, allowing weirdo solo players such as myself to disentangle from a dragged-out gunfight a little more gracefully.
As detailed earlier this week by Sony, the pack costs 1000 Super Credits (technically, 700 Super Credits given that it includes a 300 Super Credit payout), which can be either earned or bought from the Acquisition Centre for $9.99/£7.99. You'll then need to earn the included goodies by spending medals from your victories, near-victories or honourable defeats. The passes aren't time-sensitive, so there's no rush to grind out the goods.
One question invited by the addition of the arc-resistant armour perk is whether it's preparation for the return of the Illuminate faction from the first Helldivers - the Illuminates being pretty big on Tesla weaponry, as The Loadout notes. Arrowhead are currently focussed on fleshing out the Terminid faction - there are now flying bugs in the game (despite Arrowhead's counter-propaganda), and new missions involving pesticide towers that will supposedly put paid to the bug menace for good. But in-game Super Earth broadcasts hint that the Illuminates are out there, and there are some alleged leaked images in the wilds as well.
Another question invited by the warbond is a familiar one: will players feel pressured to buy it so as to keep pace with the game's PvE meta? Hopefully not: back in February, Arrowhead's CEO Johan Pilestedt commented that the developers "really applied ourselves to not make it [pay-to-win]" as part of Arrowhead's broad objective to develop a "systems-first" game in which experimentation is rewarded (or at least, punished in an entertainingly bloody way).
Food for thought while waiting for the dropship! Don't think too hard, mind you - it's bad for your patriotism. Anyway, here's a trailer breakdown of the Warbond's contents.
