Summary
- Helldivers 2 fans want more cape options for soldiers to personalize their look.
- Proposed cape styles include shoulder capes, half-mantles, and hooded ponchos.
- Technical challenges may limit new cape styles, but fans hope for more customization.
Fans of Helldivers 2 are calling on developer Arrowhead Game Studios to expand the available options for capes, the game’s most iconic cosmetic upgrade. In Helldivers 2, capes are a signature part of the uniform worn by the soldiers of Super Earth.
Though it draws inspiration from sci-fi classics like Starship Troopers, Aliens, and even space fantasy like Warhammer 40,000 for its soldiers-against-aliens setup, the Helldivers series adds its own unique aesthetic to the mix. This includes the visual style promoted by the authoritarian Managed Democracy of Super Earth and even the design of the armor worn by the Helldivers. From the default black armor with yellow stripes to the flowing capes on players’ backs, Helldivers puts a twist on the look of a far future space army.
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It is those very Helldivers 2 capes that prompted Reddit user Cryptid536 to request new ways of wearing the iconic capes on their Helldivers. To illustrate the proposal, Cryptid536 shared an image created by user hzthanos showing several alternative styles of cape superimposed over standard-issue Helldivers 2 medium armor suits.
Fans Suggest Alternative Helldivers 2 Cape Styles Be Added to the Game
The image by hzthanos was based on an earlier call for more Helldivers 2 cape style options from user Britishpeopl. While the standard Helldivers 2 cape is always attached to both shoulders and flows down the soldier’s back, the image from hzthanos imagines three different styles: a side cape that flows over the wearer’s shoulder on one side, a half-mantle that covers the shoulder and part of the back without obscuring the arm, and a bandana wrapped around the neck and partially covering the chest. They also proposed a hooded poncho-style cape that covers the whole upper body, illustrating the point with images of real-life soldiers wearing camouflage capes in the field.
Many players agreed with the proposal, highlighting other cape styles they want to see in Helldivers 2. Some players suggested skirt-like waist coverings similar to the ones worn by elite Star Wars ARC Troopers or belt-attached flags evoking the Titan Mark class item from Destiny. A few even suggested the addition of coats, like a World War I-era trench coat or a cowboy duster, the better to allow players to dress like an NCR Ranger from Fallout New Vegas or a member of Warhammer 40,000‘s Death Korps of Krieg.
Amid the excitement, a few players wondered if Arrowhead Game Studios hadn’t gone with many alternate cape styles due to technical difficulties. As long, flowing, simulated cloth objects attached to constantly moving player models, capes can tend to “clip” or intersect with other 3D objects in-game in unsightly ways. Even now, in the relatively limited style available, Helldivers 2 capes don’t work perfectly. They can get caught on scenery or be susceptible to bugs. Nevertheless, should Arrowhead overcome any technical issues surrounding further cape customization, new styles would be a definite boon to Helldivers 2 players’ ability to express their personal style while defending Super Earth.
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