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Helldivers 2has kept its players hands full between the two competing wars occuring across the galaxy: theAutomatons assaulton the western front, and theTerminid swarmsacross the eastern quadrant of the galaxy map. But there’s quite a bit of room left on the galaxy map for a third (or even fourth) faction.
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The Illuminate were ahighly advanced alien speciesthat appeared as the third faction in the first Helldivers game, and many players are anticipating their imminent arrival in Helldivers 2 — despite the fact that they were supposedly wiped out sometime between Helldivers 1 and 2. There are several mentions of them within the game already, along with someunexplained phenomenathat players have quickly attributed to this faction. We’ll break down who the Illuminate are, what evidence there is pointing toward their existence in Helldivers 2, and what to expect from this faction should they finally make an appearance in the game.
Helldivers 2
The Illuminate In Helldivers 1
The first Helldivers game launched with two core factions: the Cyborgs — the creators of the new Automaton faction — and the Terminids. Later on, the Illuminate were introduced as a third faction, and they were widely considered thetoughest faction to faceon any given mission. The Illuminate themselves are a highly technologically advanced alien species (aquatic in nature), and they call themselves theSqu’ith. This faction was not known for their physically intimidating presence, but instead for their psionic abilities,strong shields and barriers, and teleportation capabilities. With the top-down camera view in the first game,Illuminate sniperswere notorious for killing Helldivers from off the screen, as they also specialized incloakingtech andlong-ranged combat.
The Illuminate share similarities with the Covenant fromHaloor the Protoss fromStarCraft.
By the end of the first game, the Illuminate supposedly signed a treaty, surrending their powerful tech to Super Earth, and they haven’t been heard from since.
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Illuminate “Sightings” In Helldivers 2
There area few mentionsof the Illuminates in Helldivers 2 already. Some instances of NPC chatter, and a blink-and-you-miss-it news scroll you can see while on your Destroyer.
Blue Lasers Everywhere
Aside from these ‘official’ mentions of the faction, a growing number of players have encountered unexplainedblue laser fire, either targeted toward Terminids, Automatons, or Helldivers themselves. The first few reports were dubious, potentially explained away by astray Scorcher shotcareening across the map, but as more footage was captured, it became clear that these shots can come from multiple angles, withno explainable source(Automaton lasers are red).
In the above video, the lasers seem to come from higher up, potentially from a ship in orbit (or a flying unit of some kind?).
The video below showcases what looks to be boots-on-the-ground weapons fire. Each clip showcases the signature blue laser pattern thatdoesn’t fit with any Helldiver or Automaton weaponry.
These and many more recorded instances show the clear use of blue laser weaponry, and what’s more interesting, there are instances of this occurring across both warfronts — against the Automatons and against the Terminids. This blue laser fire seems to target enemies as well as Helldivers fairly indiscriminately. Perhaps the Illuminates are observing our tactics for an upcoming invasion force?
Denial From The Higher-Ups
In typical Arrowhead fashion, the CEO hasdenied the existence of the blue lasers, similar to how hedenied the existence of flying Terminidsafter they were added to the game.
After an image was uploaded showing off both the flying Terminidsandthe blue lasers, Pilestadt, Arrowhead CEO, had only this to say: “Nooo…..”
Is this proof at all that it’s the Illuminate? No. But it does add to agrowing body of evidencethat amysterious third factionis in play, though still in a secretive capacity.
Joel, the Helldivers 2 game master, is no doubt preparing for the right time to strike with a new faction, though whether that’s weeks or months away, there’s no way of knowing. As soon as more information becomes available, or new strange occurrences take place that might point toward the aquatic, technological menace that is the Illuminate faction, we’ll be ready with updates.
If you’re interested in learning more about the existing factions in Helldivers 2, check out ourcomplete enemy list, as well astips and tricks for tackling the Automaton forces.
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