Helldivers 2's Escalation of Freedom Update Adds A new Difficulty, New Objectives, Enemy Types, and More

Arrowhead Game Studios has unveiled the next big update coming to their 4-player co-op game Helldivers 2. Titled Escalation of Freedom, this update adds new content for the live service game in a major way as this isn’t another Warbonds release update like previous content drops.

What’s new in Escalation of Freedom

In the Escalation of Freedom, they are adding new objectives, new planets to explore, and new enemy types to spice up the gameplay even more. In the trailer above, we got a glimpse of the new Impaler enemy type for the Terminids, a massive creature that can erupt massive tentacles to stop your team in your tracks They also have a new variant of the Charger called the Spore Charger which is simply a moving spore tower that obscures the view of players. They will also have a deadlier Brood Commander who seems to be spawning more deadly reinforcements when given a chance.

The Automatons also have new creations to deploy on the field as one of them teased in the trailer as Helldivers will have to watch out for a tank that shoots a lot of rockets at your direction, another artillery type that can ruin anyone’s day from long range.

As for objectives, they are adding new ones, and one of them mentioned is where you are tasked to extract a Terminid larva that constantly attracts nearby Terminids to whoever holds the Larva container.

The update will also add new weather conditions and new planets such as a spooky swamp biome. Also, expect bigger outposts from both enemy sides when the update goes live. As for the new difficulty, they are simply ramping up what you’re feeling in Difficulty 9 even more. What does that mean? It’s hard to say at this point but expect crazy enemy spawns and enemy density in Difficulty 10.

No new weapons were mentioned in this update, but that’s to be expected considering the Warbond drops are usually the developer’s way of expanding the player’s arsenal.

What was shown in the trailer for the update is very much not the only thing to expect as Helldivers 2 tends to keep a few surprises hidden for players to stumble upon.

The Escalation of Freedom updates go live on August 6 for all players.

Helldivers 2 still block for some regions

Despite the backlash for requiring PC players to like a PSN account with their Steam account (no longer required), Helldivers 2 has been a big success story since it was released back in February. Things have slowed down to normal levels as the game continues to get updated months after release.

Thanks to the controversy surrounding the requirement, they may have reverted the PSN requirement but has remained blocked for select regions that do not have PSN support, such as the Philippines. This remains the case up to now with recent PlayStation-published games released on Steam with multiplayer features. Games like Helldivers 2, Ghost of Tsushima, and even the upcoming team-based hero shooter Concord will not be available in certain countries via Steam.