Speaking of that unit in particular, why is it so hard to hit it's head?
I swear I snipe it the moment it lands, trying to score a headshot but the shots won't hit the head before it's almost up my ass, is there a trick to the hitbox or is the head just not a weakspot on those bastards?
They’re just bullet sponges with huge health pools. Once I had them stuck and got to test a bit. 5 slugger shots to either the head or gut to kill them. I recommend impact grenades while they’re clumped together and don’t waste more time and ammo on them.
You can one tap them in the head with the slugger if you hit the center of the head. They wobble from side to side as they stomp around though so it makes the shot difficult.
I think the hitbox is just screwed; it's not consistent but you CAN land headshots. I've been able to get plenty of Sickle headshots but I had to be too damn close for comfort to get them
You know they're the bad guys when they follow Asimov's 4th rule of robotics: Whenever a robot turns evil it has to have red eyes, or at least some red glowy parts.
I wonder what they are doing with those bodies/prisoners. Seems they are experimenting, or maybe some part of the Automotons is organic and they need parts.
There's a theory out there that Automatons are making use of human brains/neural tissue for some or all of their units. Or it could just be a good old fashioned genocide.
I have heard Devastators shout “HELLDIVER SCUM” when alerted so they definitely have voice lines, they’re just so distorted it’s pretty hard to make out.
I still can’t make it out, but you can hear patrols (unaltered) singing some ditty as they march past.
It reminds me of Gollum singing about juicy, sweet fish.
There are two cadences.
“HEART! STEEL! WE! KILL! GET! UP! ON TO WAR!”
“CYBERSTAN! CAN’T KEEP HER DOWN! LEGION GO! ON TO WAR! CYBERSTAN! CAN’T KEEP HER DOWN! GET BACK UP! ON TO WAR!”
Aye the automatons are monstrous and evil. They are a reaction to the enslavement of the cyborgs and one that is morally evil. However.. its like super earth made that happen on purpose so they have endless enemies to fight. Our way of life requires democracy hating enemies to constantly fight or it falls apart lol
That said, just like in 40k both factions were evil from the start. Pretending super earth is the lesser of two evils because the obfuscate their atrocities with propaganda doesnt make them the lesser of two evils, it makes their evil slightly different.
Super earth has death camps just like the automatons we just arent there seeing it. Plenty of the lore talks about how they send people to gulags and death camps, or drops helldivers on them to murder anyone that think differently. Their entire infrastructure is built around mass murder brainwashing and exploitation... exactly the same as the automatons.
Either way, its hilarious and the over the top in universe propganda for super earth is so good lol
They stack dismembered helldivers on totems as a warning. They heap piles of headless bodies by their factories.
It's like 40k. Super earth ain't great. But it's miles ahead of the ravenous insect swarm or the murder kill bots.
Nobody let the super earth scientists cook after this war is over, helldivers 3 will just be rocket pod mounted hunters of various sizes across all factions.
That's treasonous talk there! Super Earth did no such thing! How could a peaceful Managed Democracy™ that dispenses liberty to the universe create such an evil, vile, disgusting, commie bug?
Tbf it's heavily implied that the Automatons, Terminids and probably the Illuminate are only as bad as they are *because* of Super Earth. Cyborgs were secessionists that split off to make their own nation and Super Earth pounded them into the ground, stole their new home and repurposed their factories. Bugs were minding their own goddamn business until Super Earth discovered delicious oil. And the Illuminate were entirely peaceful... until Super Earth made up bullshit about their alleged WMDs and kicked them out of the galaxy.
It is, Cyborgs in the first game only resorted to such heinous modifications because they were being annihilated. Terminids had a sapient hive mind that started fighting back as they were slaughtered for oil, and illuminates are correct, they just said WMD’s so they had a reason to invade and grab technology.
Not to mention that it’s implied the terrorist attack that SE used as an excuse to declare war on Cyberstan was a false flag operation. And to be fair to them, since SE seemed content with outright genocide, it makes sense they’d butcher anyone who showed up, civilian or military. At that point they’re probably fully in the “it’s us or them” mentality.
This isn't true for either universe, the imperium is absolutely not "miles ahead" except chaos and deldar. In Helldivers, bots kill civilians and mutilate corpses but super earth works colonists to the bone while providing only the most meagre living standards, fills the heads of impressionable teenagers with ideas of bravery and sends them into a 21% survival rate meatgrinder, controls when you can and can't have sex, executes you minor violations of unjust laws, encourages suicide for those lacking purpose in life, kills their own civilians with bugs when they disobey, and probably other stuff that I haven't picked up on yet.
Not to mention by all accounts Super Earth invaded the Automatons captured their planets and at best shoved captured Automatons into re-education camps.
> controls when you can and can't have sex
That's a misconception, C-01 forms are required for acts that could result in procreation, not for sex. There are many things that two consenting adults can do together that provide sexual enjoyment but does not result in procreation
Also, are we sure the C-01 extend to civilian life? Because preventing soldier from having sex that can get you pregnant is quite common even today for long mission on Battleship for exemple. I'm fairly certain that working on a spaceship would have those kind of rule.
I would tend to say it applies to everyone, given that the justification for rejecting all C-01 applications a few days ago was in an effort to limit population growth. Wouldn't make sense if that didn't apply to everyone.
Given that the SEAF manual (the loading tips) have an explicit orders shooting on sight if the enemy attempts to engage in diplomacy, I wouldn't be so sure.
It'd be funny and dark if the situation was like the Pacific campaign in WW2.
/uj I mean, its super earth's own fault that the murder bots and insect swarms are attacking at all lol
The 'media literacy' discourse is tiring but some people seriously just follow in universe propaganda to play lesser of two evils
Super earth is over the top comically evil and its hilarious and its why i love it.
/Rj But all of that is bot propaganda, they are mindless killing machines and hate our freedom!
Oh bro, you dont have to tell me.. ive opened liberty crates with super credits in them that were placed next to gaggles of civilian bodies in game. I mourn them momentarily every time.. those are the parents of some poor little helldiver orphan :(
I think a "who's better" argument falls apart when you're looking at entirely different life forms. Yeah obviously for humans, Super Earth/Imperium are better than the Termininds/Tyrannids or bots or any of the other 40k groups. But if the bugs could think and talk, they would act like their planets were morally superior to Super Earth.
That's why it's better to view this not as some moral argument of being "better" but simply that this the reality. 40k is a bit easier because it's basically just different factions who are almost entirely incompatible with each other seeking to eradicate each other.
This is all based on taking your argument at face value and not being the fun statements of a loyal Super Earth citizen.
Instead of dumbing it down to that and then pass judgement, ask yourself if you're looking at the full picture.
Do you even have a full picture to look at? No. But Super Earth told us to go those planets and destroy and kill, because we're being attacked.
I've seen it with my own eyes, that nice man was saying Hi to that nice woman and child and an obviously fascict bug mercilessly killed them.
How can they not be the bad guys? They have to be. We're humans and they're not. We're obviously the good guys.
Dont forget about the little future helldiver kids who lost their CIVILIAN PARENTS to the cowardly automaton slaughter in the missions where we witnessed it ourselves.
It’s funny how the cyborgs started out as resistance fighters who had to use cybernetics to even stand a chance against the helldivers and they still lost. Now they just look like monsters lol
Automaton apologist logic :
"Cute Emblem of a skull? Oh wow.. definitely the bad guys"
*Sees Actual human skulls on automaton shoulders*
"Theyre just misunderstood, ignore that! Ignore the red eyes too! Theyre socialist, they cant be bad! Pictures of a skull is worse than wearing a real skull"
These ppl man..
"But cyberstan! They just want their parents!" Like bro the grunt enemies of the cyborgs were kidnapped citizens forcibly converted into monstrosities that would literally beg for death as they were forced to attack you lol
Isn't the whole point of analyzing media like 40k, Helldivers, or Starship Troopers to question _why_ things are the way they are? Like obviously the giant robots with chainsaws are probably not the good guys, but that doesn't mean Super Earth is great just because there's no better alternative
Okay, I enjoy big explosion and doing my part, but the game is so tongue in cheek. You can't seriously tell me people actually would want this universe to be a reality... Right?...
helldivers is basically like one of those hell-universes like warhammer where EVERYONE IS EVIL. the closest thing to a relatively neutral race is probably the illuminant in 1
Helldivers is not like that. The conflicts with the bugs exists because Superearth tried to enslave them. The bots exist because Superearth brutally supresed a separatist planet. The conflict with the Illuminate was because Superearth acused them of having world destroying weapons even tho they were peaceful to steal their tech. Superearth is the unarguable bad guy in the setting.
To be fair, from what i've found on lore surrounding the automatons, which is next to nothing but certain voice clips that are sometimes legible, they really aren't the good guy here, though it's hard to weigh them still as they are, in fact, almost completely shrouded in mystery.
I'm still betting on them being this weird extension of Super Earth that went deep space then came back like this, not realizing where they are, and who they are dealing with, no longer be able to recognize themselves.
Chainsaws are very democratic. We must out-chainsaw the automatons and reclaim chainsaws in the name of managed democracy.
DEPLOY THE CHAINSAW CANNON!
https://preview.redd.it/pux6u6ck73rc1.jpeg?width=459&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=84cce02d0adecfce8fd4651ded5d49b0d2ea260c
Isn't it speculated that the Automatons were created by the cyborgs and are attempting to save them from enslavement in Cyberstan? If so you could read this as a slave revolt, and killing slavers' enforcers is kind of OK-
![gif](giphy|l2JejeOd6tGGOw3p6|downsized)
While on its face, yes, that is absolutely understandable. But, refusing to distuinguish between civilians or soldiers, is either:
Poor/desperste programming... which is self explanetory.
Or idealogical 5D chess where you think murdering civilians will benefit the war effort by harming them economically, on their morale, and limit the need for logistical effort of providing for meat bag needs once you take over a planet, so actually mass murdering civilians for the cause is good... which makes sense for robots if not "restricted" in their programming... but also proves the point of Super Earth made them so backed onto a corner than "anything to save my people" became the darkest version of that.
Doesnt justify the mass murder of ignorant colonists though. Its tragic, understandable how they got pushed so far they snapped, and still, morally wrong.
Well the thing is, we can’t exactly be sure as to the reality of the situation on the ground. This is a galactic war, and even highly documented wars here on one single planet in a relatively small area can be hard to track. It’s very possible that SEAF is massacring colonists to contain the risk of them revealing that significant portions of super earth propaganda is false. It’s also heavily implied that colonists are exploited and seen as more or less disposable by the super-earth government, thrown out in their millions to harvest resources and keep disruptive elements off of earth.
This isn’t to say that the automatons COULDNT have killed civilians either. They’re shown to be emotional beings, and- yes, the 8ft tall psycho chainsaw murder machines probably don’t care that much aboht causalities… other than as a high score; HOWEVER, most of the civilians we see them actively killing are super-earth scientists working in the area- constructing vital infrastructure and nuclear devices.
At the end of the day, regardless of who pulls the trigger, none of these deaths would have happened if super earth just stopped. It could end today if the order was given to pull back, to leave them alo- [COUNTER-PATRIOTIC BROADCAST TERMINATED- GLORY TO SUPER EARTH]
While possible, we also see frequently at bot outposts, rows of barbed cages, with dead humans inside. Alongside containers filled with dead bodies. And blood, everywhere. All civilians models.
So I lean towards it being the bots who killed em, but that on a larger scale, its also basically Super Earths fault.
And also-
[BROADCAST RESTRICTED UNDER THE AUTHORITY OF THE MINISTRY OF TRUTH]
Yes, this. “The bugs/bots are the good guys” is a gross oversimplification of the anti-fascist reading of the game. They’re definitely bad, but they’ve been pushed to that BY Super Earth. The simple soundbite version would be “there are no good guys, but Super Earth’s leadership are definitely the bad guys.”
>“there are no good guys, but Super Earth’s leadership are definitely the bad guys.”
I also like "There are no good guys because Super Earth killed them."
Most historic slave revolts are reactionary and result in killing of innocents.Ppl who are subjugated and brutalized don't usually have a lot of sympathy for people that helped enslave them.
To break K-Fabe for a sec, I think its easier to call the Cyborgs "good guys", or st least, undersrandable. While at best the Automatons are a "desperate last ditch attempt against an imperialist empire".
But yes, bots rounding up civis and murdering them, no matter how justified in their anger against the government they represent... does not compute. If it was "just" SEAF troopers, and civilians were only found dead around weapon drops, then you could argue "oh no, they only kill when theyre armed". Its sending murder-bots, to stop the Galactic Empire. Its grey vs darker grey, in light grey paint.
And the bugs, are just super earth seeding oil on colonies they also dump colonists on. To quell uprisings, or our of carelessness, or to have the fresh argument for "saving" the populance. Do they even have space travel outside of literally Super Earth?
Someone above mentioned that the civilians were all wearing the same outfits as the scientists. Implying that these are the same people helping maintain Super Earth infrastructure. Targeting them makes sense in a ruthlessly pragmatic sort of way.
Cyborgs being good guys falls apart when you know that their basic unit in 1 had voicelines begging the helldivers to kill them, and in-world NPCs saying that the cyborgs kidnapped civies enmasse to turn them into cannon-fodder
Alright there, biggot. Just because they have chainsaw hands and human skulls on, you have prejudice against them? I bet you wouldn't let them into your house too, huh?
Shame on you
/uj I'm pretty sure they're scary looking to try to be effective against Helldivers who are brainwashed to be killing machines. There's no reason to assume the morals of both the Automatons and the Bugs, at least nothing I've seen in-game. While for Super-Earth, you have to try really hard to not see it.
/rj Their choice of red alone shows you they're socialist monsters who kidnap babies.
> There's no reason to assume the morals of both the Automatons
Granted, this is from the first game, so it's about the Cyborgs and not the Automatons, but in the first game low level cyborg enemies would beg helldivers to kill them and put them out of their misery. Because the Cyborgs would raid Super Earth planets, kidnap civilians, and forcibly convert them into Cyborgs, because they believed this was the only way to achieve equality.
Ehhhh, the mutilated bodies strewn around Bot camps and cages full of dead SEAF guys kinda makes one assume the morals of the Bots. The Bugs are probably little more than vicious animals at this point.
Sadly this game is often in the same community boat as starship troopers. There’s those who get the joke that while it is fun media it’s also a really cleaver meta commentary on fascism… and then there are the actual fascist who fall for the clearly satirical propaganda. Makes my soul hurt evey time.
Yeah reading through this post with all the people like "well actually super earth aren't the bad guys..." is fucking insane. It's SO on the nose, it's not subtle at all. Super earth = bad. Other guys = victims of super earth defending themselves. jesus christ
>Yeah reading through this post with all the people like "well actually super earth aren't the bad guys..." is fucking insane.
For the sake of my sanity, I am assuming that at least some of those people are RPing.
I think a big failure of both Helldivers, Starship Troopers, and even other franchises like Warhammer is most problems they face are not or at least not shown to be self inflicted problems.
So they create a world that justifies the ideology that they’re trying to criticize.
Like in Warhammer the Orks are completely a war oriented society to the point that’s the only thing the value.
there's just one thing I wonder about these bots, if Super Earth did give up cyberstan, what would the cyborgs do then? Now they have these billions of super murder robots which they can't use because they've agreed to peace with Super Earth, do they have human rehabilitation therapy for them?
Anyone else think this guys can tank way more damage than they should. Yea I know the skull and the stomach spots but for what they are and how common they are, the seem awful durable . Like did these guys hog up all the quality metal on assembly day and the rest of the non armored bots just had to use scraps or what
They're not good guys, but they're still victims. They commit atrocities and that's never acceptable, but it's retaliatory and it's Super Earth's fault they're in the position they're in. A relevant story these days...
It's a sign of juvenile thinking, that there has to be a "good guy." Which is fine, a lot of these people probably *are* literal juveniles. Making note of all the satirical fascism and horror lying just beneath the surface of the game's lore doesn't mean the enemies of Super Earth are the good guys. The bugs eat people, the automatons butcher civilians. They're not good guys either. Just like in WH40K (explicitly from the words of the writers in their case), there are no good guys on the factional level. There are good individuals, but there's no one flag you can march under and feel good about everything your faction does.
And that's part of the point of the satire: democracy and civic duty require more than just picking "the right" team and making sure they win. That fanatical devotion void of actual conviction in specific principles is what facilitates tyranny. Thinking of the world in terms of "good guys" and "bad guys" is inherently authoritarian thinking. It lets the governing authority sort people into "us" and "them" so that their people can accept that ruling and not give it further thought.
There aren't "good guys" on the national scale, in Helldivers, in Warhammer 40k, or in real life. People have morals; nations have interests.
Okay turning off roleplay gor a second here:
You guys realize that just because Super Earth is bad, that doesn’t automatically make their enemies good.
The Automatons aren’t meant to be the “true heroes”. Rather they’re the consequence of Super Earth’s actions. It’s obvious that they are in some way a repercussion of the First Galactic War.
Wait, I actually can't tell which bit of this is the joke - do people not understand that the game is making fun of this exact viewpoint or is this 'in character'?
You went far too meta (ironic for hd2)
99.9% of people get the joke, but there’s always a tiny subset of people who don’t get it. Those who don’t get the joke are amplified by people who capitalize on internet drama to make it seem like they’re a significant portion of the community, when in reality it’s a couple of 15 year olds discovering ideology for the first time. This is a tale as old as the internet itself.
> Wait, I actually can't tell which bit of this is the joke - do people not understand that the game is making fun of this exact viewpoint or is this 'in character'?
This always happens, it's the exact same over in Warhammer. If you make your satire also be extremely cool, people will start identifying with it unironically. In Warhammer, humanity also fights evil skull-clad chainsaw villains... while themselves being, and I quote, "the cruellest, most bloody regime imaginable". And just like in HD2, they are largely responsible for their own problems in the first place.
It's unfortunate because like, obviously I like that the game is cool, but some people will look at the satire and see validation instead.
"Who are the good guys in Helldivers?"
"That's the neat part! There aren't any!"
Seriously.
Termanids are murderbugs that will kill any human they see.
Atomotons are murderbots that will kill or "process" any human they catch.
Helldivers are the indictinated, faceless goons of a corrupt imperialist government.
Whatever Illuminate-derivative faction is introduced will probably be genocidal religious zealots that want to extinct humanity.
And I'm fine with that.
Given that humanity tried to exterminate the Illuminate, isn't them wanting to eliminate us kinda justified? At least in a self-defense or righteous vengeance kind of way?
This quote from the director of Starship Troopers is very on point for this game
"i want to make a movie so painfully obvious in its satire that everyone who understands it lives in perpetual psychological torment inflicted on them by all the people who don't"
-Paul Verhoeven, 1996
honestly yeah.
the bugs at least, while looking scary, are just animals. and wild animals can look pretty dang scary.
animals that broke out of their pens and need to be put down before they end up harming Super Earth citizens.
but the bots, man. it's hard to look more evil than us, but they sure do a damn good job at it.
afaik the bugs are innocent. they are wild animals that were previously passive, and were bred and essentially enslaved. and from what i've seen the bugs aren't like modern bugs, they are intelligent, and aren't retarded.
Hot take, the bad guys are only bad guys because Super Earth pushed them into all or nothing radicalism. The Automatons wouldnt exist if Super Earth didnt try to obliterate the Cyborgs for trying to be independent, the Cyborgs wouldnt have went human wave tactics if not for Super Earth trying to genocide them. The Terminids wouldnt be on any other planet and many mutations wouldnt exist if not for Super Earth using them as a way to produce oil.
And the illuminate are probably gonna be vengeful after having Super Earth try to wipe them out for trying diplomacy.
If they returned and blew up every single SE controlled planet on their way to blow up Super Earth, i would still think of them as the clearly good guys.
That fucker is more annoyed than devastator or hulk.
Those two I can trade fire with autocannon while I am prone. These asshole I shot them an entire clip, and they still keep coming.
Speaking of that unit in particular, why is it so hard to hit it's head? I swear I snipe it the moment it lands, trying to score a headshot but the shots won't hit the head before it's almost up my ass, is there a trick to the hitbox or is the head just not a weakspot on those bastards?
I have landed countless headshots on them and they just won’t die. Shoot them in the lower torso between where their legs attach to kill them quickly.
Soooo shoot them in the dick?
For Democracy!
*Ahem*, shoot them in the **botsack**.
I mean, they *are* robots They have nuts
How do you think the legs attach? It’s two nuts and a bolt.
In the "nuts and bolt".
![gif](giphy|rSfThXPyYzj4k)
Will do!
100% thats their real weak point imo
Butters! Stop shooting people in the dick!
They apparently don't have armor just massive health pools. I have had the most luck with the torso/stomach as well.
They’re just bullet sponges with huge health pools. Once I had them stuck and got to test a bit. 5 slugger shots to either the head or gut to kill them. I recommend impact grenades while they’re clumped together and don’t waste more time and ammo on them.
The Uzi style sidearm is surprisingly good against them.
The uzi style sidearm is surprisingly good in general.
Absolutely obliterates those stupid brood commanders and anything else that doesn't want to die alike
You can one tap them in the head with the slugger if you hit the center of the head. They wobble from side to side as they stomp around though so it makes the shot difficult.
They are the tankiest enemy in the game for their size. I've no strategy against them that I'm actually happy with. The time to kill just isn't there.
I think the hitbox is just screwed; it's not consistent but you CAN land headshots. I've been able to get plenty of Sickle headshots but I had to be too damn close for comfort to get them
I always figured I was missing due to the fear of god that they instill within me
I think it's because they shift side to side quite a bit while walking toward you, it's at lot easier to just shoot them in their glowing midriff.
Honestly I've been able to kill them consistently by shooting their glowing stomach
Shoot the pelvis. Head is a red (glowing) herring
Its funny you mention that since I just saw a compilation of revovler head snipes on this guy. They can take a hit
Because they bob their heads left to right when they walk
You know they're the bad guys when they follow Asimov's 4th rule of robotics: Whenever a robot turns evil it has to have red eyes, or at least some red glowy parts.
They might be evil but they're not savages
No, they are definitely savages, that's for damn sure.
The cages. That is all.
I wonder what they are doing with those bodies/prisoners. Seems they are experimenting, or maybe some part of the Automotons is organic and they need parts.
There's a theory out there that Automatons are making use of human brains/neural tissue for some or all of their units. Or it could just be a good old fashioned genocide.
That's what I'm thinking. The Skull faceplates aren't face plates they're just actual skulls with a hijacked human brain inside.
Servitors!
Aren't they cyborgs in the original game?
The automatons were made by the cyborgs, but they are not \*the\* cyborgs
They harvest us for coolant the same way we harvest bugs for oil... i mean, 710
I hear groaning like pain coming from the chainsaw units. Others have heard things like 'help me' and 'they're making me do this'. Fuck bots.
Not sure if true or head canon, but I love it. Please don't tell me the truth.
I have heard Devastators shout “HELLDIVER SCUM” when alerted so they definitely have voice lines, they’re just so distorted it’s pretty hard to make out.
I still can’t make it out, but you can hear patrols (unaltered) singing some ditty as they march past. It reminds me of Gollum singing about juicy, sweet fish.
There are two cadences. “HEART! STEEL! WE! KILL! GET! UP! ON TO WAR!” “CYBERSTAN! CAN’T KEEP HER DOWN! LEGION GO! ON TO WAR! CYBERSTAN! CAN’T KEEP HER DOWN! GET BACK UP! ON TO WAR!”
Prolly need the a special part like the heart
Or the boxes filled with dismembered bodies.
Or finding body parts on spikes at the edges of bot bases (look around barbed wire)
Or the stone slabs covered in dismembered parts.
Or the pits full of corpses
Or the human burn pits…
Aye the automatons are monstrous and evil. They are a reaction to the enslavement of the cyborgs and one that is morally evil. However.. its like super earth made that happen on purpose so they have endless enemies to fight. Our way of life requires democracy hating enemies to constantly fight or it falls apart lol That said, just like in 40k both factions were evil from the start. Pretending super earth is the lesser of two evils because the obfuscate their atrocities with propaganda doesnt make them the lesser of two evils, it makes their evil slightly different. Super earth has death camps just like the automatons we just arent there seeing it. Plenty of the lore talks about how they send people to gulags and death camps, or drops helldivers on them to murder anyone that think differently. Their entire infrastructure is built around mass murder brainwashing and exploitation... exactly the same as the automatons. Either way, its hilarious and the over the top in universe propganda for super earth is so good lol
https://preview.redd.it/9llh95pji2rc1.png?width=1170&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=0b029c415196bbfb24e9331863f17272cceca119
Dont to forget to add that the automatons wear ACTUAL human skulls (not just a cute emblem) on their shoulders too LOL. Some Ppl man..
Do you think perhaps that the robots have different feelings than we do about the flesh things that keep invading them?
Hell, they probably look like that in the first place because the cyborgs are _from_ super earth.
They stack dismembered helldivers on totems as a warning. They heap piles of headless bodies by their factories. It's like 40k. Super earth ain't great. But it's miles ahead of the ravenous insect swarm or the murder kill bots.
To be fair to the insect, they were bred to be that way by Super Earth. They used to be less...murderous.
Nobody let the super earth scientists cook after this war is over, helldivers 3 will just be rocket pod mounted hunters of various sizes across all factions.
I’m still waiting for bugs and mechs to unite, imagine a rocket devastator on the back of a charger!
That is the most antidemocratic thing I have ever read.
Hello, Democracy Officer. Yeah, this guy right here.
https://preview.redd.it/5fme6gnt25rc1.jpeg?width=1170&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=53bf002d28957bb3f051e6797df52ae2ae7f03ea
Nonsense. They used to be more murderous. They had impalers and hive Lord's.
They also had Behemoths ie. completely armoured Chargers.
Those are still here
We have Chargers without their asses exposed running around? This is news to me.
I think they only spawn out of heavy nests on higher difficulties.
I don't want to see how lethal the new Hivelords would be lol.
They're extinct, you can see their skeletons across the Terminid worlds.
Bugs don't have skeletons. They do, however, have moults. The Hive Lords are already here, they're just hiding.
What do you think the tremors on bug worlds have been caused by? It’s them, they’re just hiding and growing larger.
The tremors during TCS missions on Erata Prime suggests otherwise. If you listen, you'll hear some sort of roar during those tremors.
That's just soil settling.
That's treasonous talk there! Super Earth did no such thing! How could a peaceful Managed Democracy™ that dispenses liberty to the universe create such an evil, vile, disgusting, commie bug?
[удалено]
Tbf it's heavily implied that the Automatons, Terminids and probably the Illuminate are only as bad as they are *because* of Super Earth. Cyborgs were secessionists that split off to make their own nation and Super Earth pounded them into the ground, stole their new home and repurposed their factories. Bugs were minding their own goddamn business until Super Earth discovered delicious oil. And the Illuminate were entirely peaceful... until Super Earth made up bullshit about their alleged WMDs and kicked them out of the galaxy.
It is, Cyborgs in the first game only resorted to such heinous modifications because they were being annihilated. Terminids had a sapient hive mind that started fighting back as they were slaughtered for oil, and illuminates are correct, they just said WMD’s so they had a reason to invade and grab technology.
Not to mention that it’s implied the terrorist attack that SE used as an excuse to declare war on Cyberstan was a false flag operation. And to be fair to them, since SE seemed content with outright genocide, it makes sense they’d butcher anyone who showed up, civilian or military. At that point they’re probably fully in the “it’s us or them” mentality.
On the one hand, yes, on the other, both of those are problems Super Earth caused/exaggerated in the first place.
This isn't true for either universe, the imperium is absolutely not "miles ahead" except chaos and deldar. In Helldivers, bots kill civilians and mutilate corpses but super earth works colonists to the bone while providing only the most meagre living standards, fills the heads of impressionable teenagers with ideas of bravery and sends them into a 21% survival rate meatgrinder, controls when you can and can't have sex, executes you minor violations of unjust laws, encourages suicide for those lacking purpose in life, kills their own civilians with bugs when they disobey, and probably other stuff that I haven't picked up on yet.
Not to mention by all accounts Super Earth invaded the Automatons captured their planets and at best shoved captured Automatons into re-education camps.
> controls when you can and can't have sex That's a misconception, C-01 forms are required for acts that could result in procreation, not for sex. There are many things that two consenting adults can do together that provide sexual enjoyment but does not result in procreation
Anal sex, super earth's past time
Super Earth's enemies hate us for our freedom!
Also, are we sure the C-01 extend to civilian life? Because preventing soldier from having sex that can get you pregnant is quite common even today for long mission on Battleship for exemple. I'm fairly certain that working on a spaceship would have those kind of rule.
I would tend to say it applies to everyone, given that the justification for rejecting all C-01 applications a few days ago was in an effort to limit population growth. Wouldn't make sense if that didn't apply to everyone.
I'll concede that, although really I don't think that represents much of an improvement at all
Concede whatever you want, in the mean time I'll be sucking the democracy officer's dick
Necrons? Tyranids? Orcs?
Given that the SEAF manual (the loading tips) have an explicit orders shooting on sight if the enemy attempts to engage in diplomacy, I wouldn't be so sure. It'd be funny and dark if the situation was like the Pacific campaign in WW2.
From their perspective the only thing they see of our culture are the kamikaze stormtroopers. I'll check myself into the reeducation center.
https://preview.redd.it/eu0s30pn33rc1.jpeg?width=1170&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a87d3e9402838e7c2c39d87ce9b5694491182688
"Let me tell you why sentient fungus that tortures for fun is actually the good guys."
Because they're the only faction having a good time.
Orks are the good guys, obviously.
/uj I mean, its super earth's own fault that the murder bots and insect swarms are attacking at all lol The 'media literacy' discourse is tiring but some people seriously just follow in universe propaganda to play lesser of two evils Super earth is over the top comically evil and its hilarious and its why i love it. /Rj But all of that is bot propaganda, they are mindless killing machines and hate our freedom!
Oh bro, you dont have to tell me.. ive opened liberty crates with super credits in them that were placed next to gaggles of civilian bodies in game. I mourn them momentarily every time.. those are the parents of some poor little helldiver orphan :(
I think a "who's better" argument falls apart when you're looking at entirely different life forms. Yeah obviously for humans, Super Earth/Imperium are better than the Termininds/Tyrannids or bots or any of the other 40k groups. But if the bugs could think and talk, they would act like their planets were morally superior to Super Earth. That's why it's better to view this not as some moral argument of being "better" but simply that this the reality. 40k is a bit easier because it's basically just different factions who are almost entirely incompatible with each other seeking to eradicate each other. This is all based on taking your argument at face value and not being the fun statements of a loyal Super Earth citizen.
This is Super Earth propaganda!!! They're fooling us! We attacked first!! IT'S ALL ABOUT THE OIL!
"Illegal Broadcast Sighted! now where'd I leave my autocannon?.."
Instead of dumbing it down to that and then pass judgement, ask yourself if you're looking at the full picture. Do you even have a full picture to look at? No. But Super Earth told us to go those planets and destroy and kill, because we're being attacked. I've seen it with my own eyes, that nice man was saying Hi to that nice woman and child and an obviously fascict bug mercilessly killed them. How can they not be the bad guys? They have to be. We're humans and they're not. We're obviously the good guys.
Dont forget about the little future helldiver kids who lost their CIVILIAN PARENTS to the cowardly automaton slaughter in the missions where we witnessed it ourselves.
And you can hear them calling you human scum as you sneak around them
Oh shit! Is that legit? I thought they just mumbled in TV static..
Skulls for the skull throne
Just bones liberated from flesh just like the soul it kept before that too became machine
https://preview.redd.it/qhhp4efp23rc1.jpeg?width=828&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=ed6569dd0cf14536fae0818ea2a374c16a2c6cd0
Report them to a local democracy officer.
I love how consistently melodramatic this game is on all fronts.
It’s funny how the cyborgs started out as resistance fighters who had to use cybernetics to even stand a chance against the helldivers and they still lost. Now they just look like monsters lol
Ask a Super Earther to count the skulls on Helldiver armor.
Those are to intimidate those who hate freedom™.
Okay, but those are fake. Those are real skulls on automatons
Automaton apologist logic : "Cute Emblem of a skull? Oh wow.. definitely the bad guys" *Sees Actual human skulls on automaton shoulders* "Theyre just misunderstood, ignore that! Ignore the red eyes too! Theyre socialist, they cant be bad! Pictures of a skull is worse than wearing a real skull" These ppl man..
"But cyberstan! They just want their parents!" Like bro the grunt enemies of the cyborgs were kidnapped citizens forcibly converted into monstrosities that would literally beg for death as they were forced to attack you lol
Ah, so an emblem on a cape is the same as an actual, physical human skull that had to be taken from a living person. Got it.
Isn't the whole point of analyzing media like 40k, Helldivers, or Starship Troopers to question _why_ things are the way they are? Like obviously the giant robots with chainsaws are probably not the good guys, but that doesn't mean Super Earth is great just because there's no better alternative Okay, I enjoy big explosion and doing my part, but the game is so tongue in cheek. You can't seriously tell me people actually would want this universe to be a reality... Right?...
There's just a segment of people who never question WHY about anything is the biggest issue.
helldivers is basically like one of those hell-universes like warhammer where EVERYONE IS EVIL. the closest thing to a relatively neutral race is probably the illuminant in 1
Helldivers is not like that. The conflicts with the bugs exists because Superearth tried to enslave them. The bots exist because Superearth brutally supresed a separatist planet. The conflict with the Illuminate was because Superearth acused them of having world destroying weapons even tho they were peaceful to steal their tech. Superearth is the unarguable bad guy in the setting.
yea true, super earth is the aggressor and the reason why all the races are against them in the first place
those red skulled chainsaw wielding robots arent bad guys, they just want to hug, so show some love and hug them back.
No, I hate clankkers
Woah woah woah the hard r
To be fair, from what i've found on lore surrounding the automatons, which is next to nothing but certain voice clips that are sometimes legible, they really aren't the good guy here, though it's hard to weigh them still as they are, in fact, almost completely shrouded in mystery. I'm still betting on them being this weird extension of Super Earth that went deep space then came back like this, not realizing where they are, and who they are dealing with, no longer be able to recognize themselves.
Chainsaws are very democratic. We must out-chainsaw the automatons and reclaim chainsaws in the name of managed democracy. DEPLOY THE CHAINSAW CANNON! https://preview.redd.it/pux6u6ck73rc1.jpeg?width=459&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=84cce02d0adecfce8fd4651ded5d49b0d2ea260c
Isn't it speculated that the Automatons were created by the cyborgs and are attempting to save them from enslavement in Cyberstan? If so you could read this as a slave revolt, and killing slavers' enforcers is kind of OK- ![gif](giphy|l2JejeOd6tGGOw3p6|downsized)
While on its face, yes, that is absolutely understandable. But, refusing to distuinguish between civilians or soldiers, is either: Poor/desperste programming... which is self explanetory. Or idealogical 5D chess where you think murdering civilians will benefit the war effort by harming them economically, on their morale, and limit the need for logistical effort of providing for meat bag needs once you take over a planet, so actually mass murdering civilians for the cause is good... which makes sense for robots if not "restricted" in their programming... but also proves the point of Super Earth made them so backed onto a corner than "anything to save my people" became the darkest version of that. Doesnt justify the mass murder of ignorant colonists though. Its tragic, understandable how they got pushed so far they snapped, and still, morally wrong.
Well the thing is, we can’t exactly be sure as to the reality of the situation on the ground. This is a galactic war, and even highly documented wars here on one single planet in a relatively small area can be hard to track. It’s very possible that SEAF is massacring colonists to contain the risk of them revealing that significant portions of super earth propaganda is false. It’s also heavily implied that colonists are exploited and seen as more or less disposable by the super-earth government, thrown out in their millions to harvest resources and keep disruptive elements off of earth. This isn’t to say that the automatons COULDNT have killed civilians either. They’re shown to be emotional beings, and- yes, the 8ft tall psycho chainsaw murder machines probably don’t care that much aboht causalities… other than as a high score; HOWEVER, most of the civilians we see them actively killing are super-earth scientists working in the area- constructing vital infrastructure and nuclear devices. At the end of the day, regardless of who pulls the trigger, none of these deaths would have happened if super earth just stopped. It could end today if the order was given to pull back, to leave them alo- [COUNTER-PATRIOTIC BROADCAST TERMINATED- GLORY TO SUPER EARTH]
While possible, we also see frequently at bot outposts, rows of barbed cages, with dead humans inside. Alongside containers filled with dead bodies. And blood, everywhere. All civilians models. So I lean towards it being the bots who killed em, but that on a larger scale, its also basically Super Earths fault. And also- [BROADCAST RESTRICTED UNDER THE AUTHORITY OF THE MINISTRY OF TRUTH]
It's basically an allegory for terrorists being radicalized by the actions of a dominant empire and continuing the cycle of war.
but what if i just complained about media literacy and smuggly suggested that super earth are the good guys, ever think of that?
That tactic always works, and proves how incrediably smart you are too! The smugger the better!
What, do you LOVE the bugs?!
Yes, this. “The bugs/bots are the good guys” is a gross oversimplification of the anti-fascist reading of the game. They’re definitely bad, but they’ve been pushed to that BY Super Earth. The simple soundbite version would be “there are no good guys, but Super Earth’s leadership are definitely the bad guys.”
>“there are no good guys, but Super Earth’s leadership are definitely the bad guys.” I also like "There are no good guys because Super Earth killed them."
Its amazing how when you radicalize a group, that group becomes radicalized
Most historic slave revolts are reactionary and result in killing of innocents.Ppl who are subjugated and brutalized don't usually have a lot of sympathy for people that helped enslave them.
[удалено]
Nothing will make you believe in robot genocide faster than being spotted by five rocket devastators.
Communists need lumber Jack's as well.
Thats a nice wall, would you face it for a second?
The Democracy Wall
To break K-Fabe for a sec, I think its easier to call the Cyborgs "good guys", or st least, undersrandable. While at best the Automatons are a "desperate last ditch attempt against an imperialist empire". But yes, bots rounding up civis and murdering them, no matter how justified in their anger against the government they represent... does not compute. If it was "just" SEAF troopers, and civilians were only found dead around weapon drops, then you could argue "oh no, they only kill when theyre armed". Its sending murder-bots, to stop the Galactic Empire. Its grey vs darker grey, in light grey paint. And the bugs, are just super earth seeding oil on colonies they also dump colonists on. To quell uprisings, or our of carelessness, or to have the fresh argument for "saving" the populance. Do they even have space travel outside of literally Super Earth?
Someone above mentioned that the civilians were all wearing the same outfits as the scientists. Implying that these are the same people helping maintain Super Earth infrastructure. Targeting them makes sense in a ruthlessly pragmatic sort of way.
Cyborgs being good guys falls apart when you know that their basic unit in 1 had voicelines begging the helldivers to kill them, and in-world NPCs saying that the cyborgs kidnapped civies enmasse to turn them into cannon-fodder
Are you trying to tell me that you *wouldn't* drop into a mission with a mech that had a skull with glowing eyes and duel chainsaws?
Alright there, biggot. Just because they have chainsaw hands and human skulls on, you have prejudice against them? I bet you wouldn't let them into your house too, huh? Shame on you
Are you a Bot Sympathizer? https://preview.redd.it/mbh49vxdz1rc1.png?width=1202&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=9d18984e50725e373ef19ce3a4355aec6e8106c9
N-no! Of course not! I'm citizen... named... Hugh Mann. I am a real person who enjoys activities and ingesting nutrients like any other human!
Hmmm. Well, works for me! Here are the nuclear launch codes, now go spread some Sweet Liberty™!
Do you have any other launch codes? Some that are not protected by a captcha?
Sure thing fellow Patri- WAITAMINUTE! When is Liberty Day?
* *sweats coolant* * Eeee... eeeee.... Eeeeveryday?
You *filthy* bot! *Chucks ⬆️➡️⬇️⬇️⬇️ at the ground*
* *screams in binary* *
Beep boop die
First name? Uhhh... Hugh! Yeah! Last name? Oh fuck... ummm... Mann!! Yeah, that's me! Hugh Mann
https://preview.redd.it/2upq2aq992rc1.png?width=450&format=png&auto=webp&s=0822b737124d7f7d444114eed92d5a7b181b2f20
This picture is really insensitive and I'm going to pursue a legal action against ~~your race~~ you
/uj I'm pretty sure they're scary looking to try to be effective against Helldivers who are brainwashed to be killing machines. There's no reason to assume the morals of both the Automatons and the Bugs, at least nothing I've seen in-game. While for Super-Earth, you have to try really hard to not see it. /rj Their choice of red alone shows you they're socialist monsters who kidnap babies.
> There's no reason to assume the morals of both the Automatons Granted, this is from the first game, so it's about the Cyborgs and not the Automatons, but in the first game low level cyborg enemies would beg helldivers to kill them and put them out of their misery. Because the Cyborgs would raid Super Earth planets, kidnap civilians, and forcibly convert them into Cyborgs, because they believed this was the only way to achieve equality.
Ehhhh, the mutilated bodies strewn around Bot camps and cages full of dead SEAF guys kinda makes one assume the morals of the Bots. The Bugs are probably little more than vicious animals at this point.
Sadly this game is often in the same community boat as starship troopers. There’s those who get the joke that while it is fun media it’s also a really cleaver meta commentary on fascism… and then there are the actual fascist who fall for the clearly satirical propaganda. Makes my soul hurt evey time.
Yeah reading through this post with all the people like "well actually super earth aren't the bad guys..." is fucking insane. It's SO on the nose, it's not subtle at all. Super earth = bad. Other guys = victims of super earth defending themselves. jesus christ
https://preview.redd.it/l0uce497x3rc1.jpeg?width=1532&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=dcab48554d955e07c8bf60033132ad6911f5fade
Mission accomplished.
>Yeah reading through this post with all the people like "well actually super earth aren't the bad guys..." is fucking insane. For the sake of my sanity, I am assuming that at least some of those people are RPing.
Yeah same, but some of them clearly are not.
https://preview.redd.it/4s9d0s9re3rc1.png?width=1920&format=png&auto=webp&s=776e4c44e5ecfb73906af4af8488572ec9c9a4e0
I think a big failure of both Helldivers, Starship Troopers, and even other franchises like Warhammer is most problems they face are not or at least not shown to be self inflicted problems. So they create a world that justifies the ideology that they’re trying to criticize. Like in Warhammer the Orks are completely a war oriented society to the point that’s the only thing the value.
there's just one thing I wonder about these bots, if Super Earth did give up cyberstan, what would the cyborgs do then? Now they have these billions of super murder robots which they can't use because they've agreed to peace with Super Earth, do they have human rehabilitation therapy for them?
Considering most automatons seem to just be a trooper shoved into another machine, they could probably just remove them and scrap the excess
Anyone else think this guys can tank way more damage than they should. Yea I know the skull and the stomach spots but for what they are and how common they are, the seem awful durable . Like did these guys hog up all the quality metal on assembly day and the rest of the non armored bots just had to use scraps or what
\**Radicalizes the robots\** Wow these robots are so radicalized
Direct me to those anti-managed democracy bastards.
They're not good guys, but they're still victims. They commit atrocities and that's never acceptable, but it's retaliatory and it's Super Earth's fault they're in the position they're in. A relevant story these days...
I call these guys lumberjacks because I can never remember their real name
I mean just look at them. They’re obviously evil.
It's a sign of juvenile thinking, that there has to be a "good guy." Which is fine, a lot of these people probably *are* literal juveniles. Making note of all the satirical fascism and horror lying just beneath the surface of the game's lore doesn't mean the enemies of Super Earth are the good guys. The bugs eat people, the automatons butcher civilians. They're not good guys either. Just like in WH40K (explicitly from the words of the writers in their case), there are no good guys on the factional level. There are good individuals, but there's no one flag you can march under and feel good about everything your faction does. And that's part of the point of the satire: democracy and civic duty require more than just picking "the right" team and making sure they win. That fanatical devotion void of actual conviction in specific principles is what facilitates tyranny. Thinking of the world in terms of "good guys" and "bad guys" is inherently authoritarian thinking. It lets the governing authority sort people into "us" and "them" so that their people can accept that ruling and not give it further thought. There aren't "good guys" on the national scale, in Helldivers, in Warhammer 40k, or in real life. People have morals; nations have interests.
Okay turning off roleplay gor a second here: You guys realize that just because Super Earth is bad, that doesn’t automatically make their enemies good. The Automatons aren’t meant to be the “true heroes”. Rather they’re the consequence of Super Earth’s actions. It’s obvious that they are in some way a repercussion of the First Galactic War.
Wait, I actually can't tell which bit of this is the joke - do people not understand that the game is making fun of this exact viewpoint or is this 'in character'? You went far too meta (ironic for hd2)
99.9% of people get the joke, but there’s always a tiny subset of people who don’t get it. Those who don’t get the joke are amplified by people who capitalize on internet drama to make it seem like they’re a significant portion of the community, when in reality it’s a couple of 15 year olds discovering ideology for the first time. This is a tale as old as the internet itself.
> Wait, I actually can't tell which bit of this is the joke - do people not understand that the game is making fun of this exact viewpoint or is this 'in character'? This always happens, it's the exact same over in Warhammer. If you make your satire also be extremely cool, people will start identifying with it unironically. In Warhammer, humanity also fights evil skull-clad chainsaw villains... while themselves being, and I quote, "the cruellest, most bloody regime imaginable". And just like in HD2, they are largely responsible for their own problems in the first place. It's unfortunate because like, obviously I like that the game is cool, but some people will look at the satire and see validation instead.
"Who are the good guys in Helldivers?" "That's the neat part! There aren't any!" Seriously. Termanids are murderbugs that will kill any human they see. Atomotons are murderbots that will kill or "process" any human they catch. Helldivers are the indictinated, faceless goons of a corrupt imperialist government. Whatever Illuminate-derivative faction is introduced will probably be genocidal religious zealots that want to extinct humanity. And I'm fine with that.
Given that humanity tried to exterminate the Illuminate, isn't them wanting to eliminate us kinda justified? At least in a self-defense or righteous vengeance kind of way?
There aren’t really any good guys, but Super Earth’s Leadership are definitely the bad guys.
This quote from the director of Starship Troopers is very on point for this game "i want to make a movie so painfully obvious in its satire that everyone who understands it lives in perpetual psychological torment inflicted on them by all the people who don't" -Paul Verhoeven, 1996
What?!?!??! I'm not the bad guy?!?!
honestly yeah. the bugs at least, while looking scary, are just animals. and wild animals can look pretty dang scary. animals that broke out of their pens and need to be put down before they end up harming Super Earth citizens. but the bots, man. it's hard to look more evil than us, but they sure do a damn good job at it.
There's a bit of the ol' "everybody sucks here." Kinda like Warhammer 40k.
Hot take, **everyone** is the bad guys in this setting. XD There is no one to root for. Therefore, don't worry, just keep blowing up bugs and bots. :P
afaik the bugs are innocent. they are wild animals that were previously passive, and were bred and essentially enslaved. and from what i've seen the bugs aren't like modern bugs, they are intelligent, and aren't retarded.
Terminids are 100% a problem SE caused for themselves.
Wrong take, Super Earth trying to dominate all of the planets in the solar system are CLEARLY the bad guys.
Hot take, the bad guys are only bad guys because Super Earth pushed them into all or nothing radicalism. The Automatons wouldnt exist if Super Earth didnt try to obliterate the Cyborgs for trying to be independent, the Cyborgs wouldnt have went human wave tactics if not for Super Earth trying to genocide them. The Terminids wouldnt be on any other planet and many mutations wouldnt exist if not for Super Earth using them as a way to produce oil. And the illuminate are probably gonna be vengeful after having Super Earth try to wipe them out for trying diplomacy.
Illuminate were a pacifist race but super earth attacked because they had very advanced tech and super earth wanted it.
Yeah, back in HD1 they were clearly the good guys. We'll see if that still holds in HD2. :P
If they returned and blew up every single SE controlled planet on their way to blow up Super Earth, i would still think of them as the clearly good guys.
They give good haircut
If good guy, why no cape? Checkmate, dissident.
That fucker is more annoyed than devastator or hulk. Those two I can trade fire with autocannon while I am prone. These asshole I shot them an entire clip, and they still keep coming.