After Helldivers 2 fixed the bug that helped players squish 2 billion Terminids in 24 hours, a new Major Order pits them against 2 billion bots instead

Helldivers 2
(Image credit: Arrowhead Game Studios)

A new Helldivers 2 Major Order has dropped, tasking players with killing 2 billion Automatons - and it should be a darn sight harder than the last time the kill count climbed that high.

Earlier today, Helldivers 2 dropped its latest Major Order, asking players to "decommission" 2 billion Automatons. If players are successful, they'll repurpose those robo-parts, melting them down into a new Strategem. Alongside a 45-medal reward, players will get access to MD-17 Anti-Tank Mines, which seem extremely useful for taking down some of the Automatons' heavier ordinance.

If this MO sounds familiar, it's because it's not that long since players were tasked with killing 2 billion Terminids. That goal was smashed extremely quickly, however - players were given six days to squish those bugs, but they hit the mark in just 12 hours, with 100 million confirmed kills in the first hour alone. As it turns out, however, that was the result of an in-game bug that had the potential to quadruple the amount of kills the game counted.

That bug has since been fixed (not squished), and it seems like progress on this latest order is a lot slower than last time. Perhaps that's thanks to the multiplicative effect of Bots being considered generally harder to kill than Bugs, but with only a million confirmed kills in the first hour of the new Order, it does seem as though players are chewing their way through their foes a little slower than last time.

Another factor at play could be a drop in player enthusiasm. Over the past two weeks, Helldivers 2 has been on a rollercoaster of community satisfaction, with a massive review-bomb sparked by Sony's new PSN mandate. Sony would eventually back down, but it remains a dark spot in the game's history that might have a wider impact than what's been felt so far.

Get the edge on those bots with our Helldivers 2 best weapons tier list.

Ali Jones
News Editor

I'm GamesRadar's news editor, working with the team to deliver breaking news from across the industry. I started my journalistic career while getting my degree in English Literature at the University of Warwick, where I also worked as Games Editor on the student newspaper, The Boar. Since then, I've run the news sections at PCGamesN and Kotaku UK, and also regularly contributed to PC Gamer. As you might be able to tell, PC is my platform of choice, so you can regularly find me playing League of Legends or Steam's latest indie hit.

Read more
Four Helldivers lined up on base ship
A year after Malevelon Creek became Helldivers 2's fiercest battleground, it looks like the Automatons are coming back for more
Helldivers 2 Ultimatum
Helldivers 2 has a Major Order problem, but the solution isn't simple because "having 100% participation means the MOs will always be won and that introduces other issues"
Helldivers 2 Democratic Detonation Warbond diving
Helldivers 2 update makes the shooter a "little bit harder, but hopefully in a fun way" as Automatons get smarter and weapons get buffed to help deal with them
Helldivers 2
Helldivers 2 players beat the Illuminate back but they're still freaking out citizens, so High Command wants to build a surveillance center which definitely won't be used for spying
Helldivers 2 intro cutscene helldiver thumbs up
Helldivers 2's Galactic War resumes as Arrowhead fixes its broken liberation rates, and High Command insists anyone who saw anything weird "may be suffering from Illuminate mind-influence"
Helldivers 2
Helldivers 2 CEO praises players for their "brilliant" DSS strategy, but follows up with a grave threat: "J.O.E.L. is out to get you now"
Latest in Third Person Shooter
Jeff the Land Shark as he appears in Marvel Rivals
Marvel Rivals has an unintentional Team-Up ability for Jeff the Land Shark and Doctor Strange, who can join forces for a bug that sends foes into an inescapable void
Four Helldivers lined up on base ship
A year after Malevelon Creek became Helldivers 2's fiercest battleground, it looks like the Automatons are coming back for more
Helldivers 2 screenshot showing someone using a big gun
Helldivers 2 boss says "death and rebirth" is a natural part of the games industry, but it's "unnecessarily brutal" right now "because we don't diversify enough"
The Invisible Woman in Marvel Rivals
Marvel Rivals devs know exactly how popular Invisible Woman is, and say that "body shape or silhouette" add to a character's popularity in a way far more innocent than the internet deserves
Helldivers 2 Warbond
Helldivers 2 players "became obsessed" with Malevolon Creek, but it was Gabe Newell who really kicked off one of Super Earth's bloodiest battles
Heroes and villains face off in Marvel Rivals key art
Marvel Rivals exec isn't afraid of roster bloat after NetEase promised new heroes every 6 weeks: "There's no limit for the sky. We just throw everything at it"
Latest in News
Everybody's Golf Hot Shots
The surprise theme of today's Nintendo Direct was classic PlayStation franchises getting a comeback without Sony's involvement
Hogwarts Legacy how many spells
Unannounced Hogwarts Legacy DLC reportedly canceled, partly because the studio wasn't sure it'd be worth players' money
Ultimate X-Men #14
Ultimate X-Men #14 pays homage to a classic Wolverine moment as the Shadow King returns
Assassin's Creed Shadows screenshot showing Yasuke kneeling and praying while wearing a traditional purple robe
Ubisoft reaches deal with Tencent to create $4.3 billion mini-Ubisoft subsidiary to "spearhead development" on new Assassin's Creed, Far Cry, and Rainbow Six games
Kaitlyn Dever as Abby in The Last Of Us season 2
The Last of Us showrunner says he isn't worried about fan reaction to season 2: "The best way we could respect our fans and honor them is to not worry about them"
Black Myth: Wukong
English is no longer the biggest language on Steam as Chinese gamers embrace PC gaming even harder after Black Myth: Wukong