Helldivers 2does a lot to occupy players and provide them with evergreen content, such as progressing through name titles as players ascend to level 150 via XP, acquiring ship modules as players loot various samples and Requisition slips, and earning brand-new equipment and stratagems by purchasing a Warbond and spending medals toward it. For anyone who concerns themselves more with the latter, as is typical of anyone who’s eager to obtain and experiment with new items,Helldivers 2’s Major Orders and Personal Ordersare their best friend.
Major Orders and Personal Orders can be fleeting depending on how long they’re available for. Players may only make it online in time to catch their Personal Order with an hour remaining to accomplish it, for example, while Major Orders can last nearly a week and end up failing if players don’t all make the most of the time that’s given to them. That said, there’s an obscure and underutilized sub-objective for Major Orders thatHelldivers 2dabbles in every so often but has neglected to lean on as heavily as it should: Strategic Opportunities.
A Lack of Strategic Opportunities in Helldivers 2 is a Missed Opportunity
Helldivers 2’s Strategic Opportunitiesare basically sub-objectives for Major Orders. These are terrific since they usually fold into the MO’s plot throughline, giving players a separate task to accomplish, with a lot less time to do it in, that could benefit them and positively impact the MO itself, much less tease some narrative effect it could have on future content or events. The previous Major Order had a Strategic Opportunity, in fact, and it read:
This Strategic Opportunity was failed, as was the Major Order it belonged to. Regardless, it gave players an opportunity to contribute toward the MO without needing to contend againstHelldivers 2’s Incineration Corpson Automaton planets Gaellivare and Claorell, and would’ve been exceptionally favorable for anyone who was experiencing withdrawal symptoms from Illuminate missions.
So, despite its failure, which is natural and oftentimes inevitable, there are lessons to be learned via Strategic Opportunities, and making them a more prominent staple of MOs would only be a boon moving forward. Strategic Opportunities are too far and few between when they could be a staple of lengthier Major Orders and alleviate Helldivers with desired gameplay diversity.
An obvious route to take would be ensuring that every Strategic Opportunity enables players to battle on anotherHelldivers 2enemy faction’s planets so that they aren’t leashed to one, at least not wholly. Players had recently fought squids for a prolonged period, includingHelldivers 2’s Battle of Super Earth, but being able to fight on squid planets again so soon due to the latest Strategic Opportunity could have satisfied anyone who wasn’t prepared to depart from the Illuminate just yet.
In the future, it would make sense to have Strategic Opportunities that highlight the enemy faction that needs the attention most; for example, Terminids have gone a while without a big event, and a Strategic Opportunity could tide Bugdivers over until the next Major Order that brings them back into the limelight.
Not unlike how the Superstore rotates somewhat reliably,players’ favorite enemy factions inHelldivers 2will always be met with Arrowhead’s undivided attention at some point, as if spinning a Lazy Susan and deciding which one to feature next. Because there are only three enemy factions with no new ones on the horizon, every player’s patience is rewarded whether they identify themselves as a Bugdiver, Botdiver, Squiddiver, or, more ubiquitously, a Helldiver.
