One Huge Problem With Helldivers 2 High Command Needs To Change Or The Game Could Die

Summary Helldivers 2 Major Orders dictate player actions, potentially leading to repetitive gameplay.

Arrowhead added challenging new Automaton enemies, requiring better gear for players.

Recent Major Orders may favor Automatons over fan-preferred Terminids.

Helldivers 2 took the gaming industry by storm back in February 2024, quickly gaining a dedicated fanbase and community around the live-service title. Although it still boasts an impressive player base, a couple of months later, the numbers have begun to dwindle from the initial highs that it once enjoyed. This is to be expected with any title since the gaming industry moves on quickly, and games cannot be expected to hold onto unsustainable numbers, but there is something Helldivers 2 can do to stem the bleeding.

The game has a High Command, which dictates what Major Orders are put out, essentially determining what and where Helldivers will be fighting. High Command is basically Arrowhead Studios deciding what it wants its players to do. While this works with the overall narrative and feel of the game, it does mean that if a Major Order is released that players do not enjoy, they could decide not to play the game.

At its peak, Helldivers 2 had 458,709 players active on Steam.

Related 10 Powerful New Weapons That Need To Be Added To Helldivers 2 Helldivers 2 has many options for fun and powerful new weapons that need to be added to the game, both from the first title and entirely original.

Helldivers 2's High Command Needs To Change

Major Orders Have Misled Players

High Command has tricked players. At one point, Automatons were being wiped off the map and had only one planet remaining. The Major Order at the time was the take over the last Automaton-controlled planet, which was celebrated since the robot faction is the less popular of the two enemies of Super Earth. Some even thought that this would herald the introduction of a third faction from Helldivers 1. This was not the case. Instead, players were forced to contend with even more Automatons.

Currently, the Automatons are launching a counter-offensive, conquering planets that players have been tasked with defending. To many, Helldivers is known for its fight against the Terminids, since that honors its clear inspiration with Starship Troopers. The bugs are the more fun faction to fight, especially because it feels as though many of the weapons are geared toward fighting them. Instead of Major Orders pointing Helldivers toward fighting their preferred enemy, Arrowhead is forcing its players to tangle with the Automatons over and over.

Major Orders do not need to be adhered to if players don't feel like it. These players won't contribute to the war effort in as meaningful a way, but the game doesn't actually force players to go to specific planets and fight certain foes.

Helldivers Need New Gear For Automatons

The Most Feared Enemy

Close

Pre-existing weapons aren't completely useless against Automatons, but they do feel ineffective compared with the Terminids. It doesn't help that Arrowhead added a new type of enemy to the robot faction: The Factory Strider, which makes new enemies and is incredibly difficult to destroy. It is quite a sight to behold, similar to the Star Wars AT-AT Walker, but if existing weapons were already struggling with destroying these robots beforehand, an even tougher enemy makes it all seem like an uphill battle.

With their armor and general resistance to most weapons, it would make sense for Arrowhead to add more EMP-based weaponry if it insists on making the Automatons a continuous threat. Defensively, the game offers a few options to help deal with the many projectiles fired from the robot faction with physical shields and generators, but there needs to be more on an offensive front that is specifically better for killing Automatons.

New EMP Primary Weapons would be a welcome addition, or more orbital EMP barrages and anti-tank weaponry so that it feels as though Helldivers are given the right tools to do the job. It doesn't help that fire damage has been over-tuned to the point of being more deadly to the player than anything else. The Scorcher Hulk, a dangerous Automaton enemy, has access to a flamethrower that will almost instantly kill a Helldiver, but if a player attempts to use these buffs against the bots, they will find little joy.

Currently, the best way to deal with most Automatons is with precision since their most obvious weak spots are their heads, which tend to be quite small. Consider trying the Anti-Materiel Rifle against them.

Related Every Helldivers 2 Automaton Enemy, Ranked By How Scary They Are The Automatons are the most feared faction so far in Helldivers 2, but each unit has its own terrifying features that place them above others.

Arrowhead Has Set Up Players To Fail

Most Players Like Killing Bugs

One of the latest Major Orders seems to be exploiting the poor communication of players to make Automatons stick around. Ten planets need to be defended, as they are being attacked by both Automatons and Terminids. However, this is likely an impossible task for the developer since it must know that the Terminid encounters tend to be preferred by its fan base. The robots were close to extinction not too long ago, yet this Major Order seems like it will help them to stay.

This isn't necessarily a bad thing, as the Automatons add variety to the game, but they aren't as fun. There are too many missions with them, especially since there are many who prefer fighting the Terminid hoards. Perhaps this would have felt far less if Arrowhead had added the third faction from its last game in the series so that the missions would have been more evenly spread between these three factions. This would help somewhat alleviate the sometimes repetitive nature of the game.

Completing Major Orders is vital to progression. Players receive a decent number of medals whenever one is completed, which can be used to buy new weapons and armor through Warbonds.

Related Helldivers 2 Fan Suggests An Excellent Fix For One Of The Most Brutally Nerfed Weapons While Helldivers 2's Railgun may have been nerfed into oblivion, one fan believes they have a solution to make it more powerful but still balanced.

Helldivers 2 Is Still A Great Game

Helldivers 2 is incredibly fun and has a lively fan base. The majority of its issues lie with its bugs and glitches as well as problems with balancing. There is a worry that Helldivers is suffering from its success somewhat, and the issues with the Automatons are balancing issues rather than systemic ones. As it stands, the emphasis on fighting the Automatons is harming the game, but with new updates and changes, that could easily change.

For the most part, Helldivers 2 has done the hard work by not dying immediately after release, which many live-service games seem to do now. There is also trust from the community that Arrowhead will work on any issues since it has shown how keen it is to listen to its players to offer them the best possible experience. New content always seems to be around the corner, and issues are constantly being ironed out, so there's no reason to believe that Helldivers 2 won't continue heading in the right direction.