Helldivers 2's developer "thought players would pick the mines" over saving the children in an in-game Major Order.
Back in June, Helldivers 2 players were charged with either unlocking a new Stratagem, or saving a bunch of children in a particularly cruel Major Order. Super Earth's finest actually rallied to save the children, pushing aside the promise of new mines, and it turns out that collective decision surprised developer Arrowhead.
"In truth, I think we thought players would pick the mines," Arrowhead writes in a new Steam blog post, adding that it's "well aware of the in-joke" that followed, whereby players keep inexplicably missing out on unlocking said mines for their arsenal.
- Helldivers 2 Game Master Joel apparently isn't as evil as we thought: the commander-in-pain's "personal favorite" community moment is the time players helped raise money for real-life sick children
- 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"
"This seemed like an easy victory to grant the community the missing Stratagem," Arrowhead adds, but "instead, this was one of those truly incredible moments where the community surprised and delighted us. It felt like the perfect moment for us to live up to your grand example."
You might recall that, following the successful in-game operation to save the children, Arrowhead went ahead and donated over $4,000 to Save the Children, a real-life international children's charity with the goal of improving the lives of children around the world.
Arrowhead adds in the new blog post that it's "grateful for the continued donations made to Save the Children," implying that players have been continually donating to the charity since the Major Order was completed in June. "You go above and beyond as a community. You are truly amazing, Helldivers."
Arrowhead reveals the Helldivers 2 ideas left on its cutting room floor, from 5-player squads to low-gravity planets and a whole new armor system
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"
