Helldivers 2 Players Warned to “Choose Carefully” When Defending Planets During New Major Order

Helldivers 2‘s latest Major Order tasks players with the same question they’ve been facing ever since the game launched: would you rather fight the Automatons, or the Terminids? For most players, that question has an easy answer as players load up their anti-bug gear and seek to squash the bugs, but this week, the Major Order should be considered carefully as it sounds like there’ll be repercussions for the decisions players make when choosing which planets to defend.

That assumption players now hold comes from a warning from one of the game’s community managers, Spitz, who cautioned in the Helldivers 2 Discord that players should consider their defenses carefully. The Major Order’s official directions are to “Succeed in the defense of at least 10 planets” which is already a tall order given how hard it has been to get the community focused on an objective, but it looks like players are meant to lose out on some planets to set up what’s next.

“I don’t want to pull back the curtain too much, but this MO is set up so that players are intentionally going to lose ground on one of the two fronts,” Spitz said over on Discord. “We’ve poked the Terminid swarm and allowed the Automatons time to regroup, so both factions are pushing hard and attempting to reclaim territory. Defend Events will be frequent and players now have to choose which front they want to fight on, but it’s unlikely that you’ll be able to hold them all. Choose carefully which planets you decide to focus on.”

Another update shared in a different Discord channel in the same server where Spitz was in character as a Super Earth representative further indicated that players are indeed meant to lose ground in some capacity here. 

“Expert strategists have made grim projections for our forces, estimating that even with a well-coordinated effort, some ground is likely to be lost on both fronts,” Spitz said. “It is our duty to make sure that both the Automatons and Terminids pay for every inch. Helldivers in the East have already shown a valiant defense on Estanu, and are now repositioning to other planets currently under siege. Martale stands on the brink of liberation, holding the fate of Charon Prime in the balance if it can be captured successfully, while SEAF positions on Lesath and Marfark remain under constant attack.”

The Major Order in Helldivers 2 remains active throughout the weekend, so we’ll see soon after it ends how players’ defenses faired against the Terminids and the Automatons.