The latest Major Order in Helldivers 2 has caused a rift in the community by offering one of two new Stratagems based on which planet is liberated first.
Right now, Helldivers 2 players must choose between two planets and their respective rewards, two shiny new Stratagems. Whichever planet is liberated first will make its Stratagem permanently available to all, while the second one will be lost until developer Arrowhead Game Studios chooses to offer it again. Instead of coordinating, players are splitting across the galaxy, choosing to tackle whichever planet they want. Sometimes, it’s not even got anything to do with the Major Order.
Players can’t decide between earning and Stratagems or killing bugs in Helldivers 2
The current Major Order in Helldivers 2 tasks players with liberating both Choohe and Penta. If we liberate Choohe first, everyone will get the MD-17 Anti-Tank Mines Stratagem. However, if we all liberate Penta first, we’ll get the RL-77 Airburst Rocket Launcher Stratagem.
As you can see in the image above, players have access to Penta right now, and that’s where the majority of players are focusing their efforts at the time of writing. Those on the planet have been trying out the Airburst Rocket Launcher, and their reports aren’t exactly glowing. As Reddit user Anubis_xxv puts it, “That airburst launcher is a f***in death trap.”
I’ve seen the Stratagem in action myself in videos on the Helldivers 2 Discord server, and it’s not pretty. It shoots a rocket that explodes into smaller rockets, covering an area in explosions and damage. It’s great for far-off targets but a nightmare for any nearby Helldivers.
This has prompted some players to move to Menket, which is about 50% liberated as I write. Once players liberate the planet, they’ll have opened the supply lines to Choohe, where they can test the MD-17 Anti-Tank Mines Stratagem. If it’s anything like the Anti-Personnel Minefield, I think I’d prefer it. The trouble is that some players just want this Major Order to be completed as quickly as possible, which is why more of them are diving into Penta.
This is the first time I’ve seen the community so uncoordinated. There’s no plan. There are those players who want to hit Penta and then move on to Choohe to complete the Major Order quickly and those who want to get to Choohe to try out the new Stratagem before making a choice about which one to unlock.
As if that wasn’t chaotic enough, more players still have given up battling the Automatons after the absolutely exhausting Major Order from earlier in the week. Instead, they’re battling the bugs over on Hellmire on the opposite side of the galaxy.
At this point, things could go either way. I’ve no doubt we’ll finish the Major Order, but as more players get into the game, we might see them sway from Penta to Choohe or continue battling as the player numbers already dictate. I believe that there’s a definite sense of fatigue at play here, meaning players are more desperate to finish this Major Order and get a new one than they are to get the best new Stratagem.
