The long-awaited Illuminate faction was finally introduced to Helldivers 2 back in December after a surprise announcement at The Game Awards. This long-awaited alien race brought a needed shake-up to the Helldivers 2 enemy roster. The two enemy factions featured at launch, Automatons and Terminds, are still formidable foes in the fight for Super Earth and its goal of Managed Democracy, but a third addition to the battlefield means more intense action involving new strategies.
What’s even more exciting, though, is that the arrival of the Illuminate now opens the door for more factions to be added to the equation later down the line. More enemy groups are likely a long time away from making themselves known, but a fourth antagonist is not outside the realm of possibility now.
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One Year Later, Helldivers 2 is the New Standard For Live-Service Games
Helldivers 2 is now one year old, and in this short amount of time it has proven that live-service models can be a lot of fun.
Helldivers 2 May Have Been Teasing a Fourth Enemy Faction All Along
Human Rebels Could Be Waiting in the Wings
For a while, talk of a potential human rebel faction has been floating around the Helldivers 2 community. Although many of these points of discussion are simply theories, there are clues hidden within the game itself that could hint at an eventual rebel arrival. The goal of silencing “dissident radio broadcasts” while on the battlefield has been ongoing since the game’s launch, but when one takes the time to listen to these broadcasts, they will quickly discover whistleblower messages calling out Super Earth’s wrongdoings.
Of course, these rebel broadcasts could simply be added spice from Arrowhead Game Studios to enhance the game’s lore, but they could also have a much deeper meaning in the grand scheme of things. The Illuminate has proven to be a strong enemy type, so a potential fourth faction will have quite a high bar to reach, but a rebel group rising to face Super Earth could be a great choice for the game’s next big shake-up.
The Illuminate refer to themselves as Squ’ith. According to Helldivers 2 lore, the Squ’ith came to exist thousands of years before the human race evolved into homo-sapiens.
The Illuminate Needs Time to Settle in Before Introducing a Fourth Faction
Arrowhead’s sequel has just celebrated its first anniversary, and The Illuminate is still fresh in Helldivers 2’s storyline. This new faction has only been around for over a month, and it took close to a year for Helldivers 2 to extend its enemy lineup. So, if a fourth faction—either rebel Super Earth defectors or something entirely different—were to arrive on the scene, it’s probably a long way down the road before that ever happens. Since The Illuminate took around 10 months to appear, it’s safe to assume that a potential fourth faction won’t arrive before the end of 2025 at the earliest.
Talk of a potential human rebel faction has been floating around the Helldivers 2 community.
While the prospect of a fourth faction is thrilling, The Illuminate needs time to be fleshed out. There are bound to be exciting points of lore explored later this year within the enemy group. Ultimately, The Illuminate should become just as much a part of Helldivers 2‘s identity as Automatons and Terminids before a fourth faction is ever brought into the spotlight.
Helldivers 2 won Best Multiplayer Game and Best Ongoing Game at the 2024 Game Awards.
Helldivers 2 Begins Its Second Year
Now that Helldivers 2‘s first year has been completed, Arrowhead Game Studios has showcased what a strong live-service experience should look like. Granted, it hasn’t been smooth sailing for Helldivers 2, but with the arrival of The Illuminate and a new year to look forward to, the game likely has exciting surprises in store for players.
- Released
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February 8, 2024
- ESRB
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M For Mature 17+ Due To Blood and Gore, Intense Violence
- Developer(s)
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Arrowhead Game Studios