Helldivers 2 devs might've leaked an Orbital Napalm Barrage Stratagem, and I'm sure a burning planet can only be good

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Helldivers 2
(Image credit: Arrowhead Game Studios)

It looks like Helldivers 2's developer just leaked a forthcoming Orbital Napalm Barrage Stratagem during a recent livestream. 

Yesterday, to mark the new Helldivers 2 Escalation of Freedom update, PlayStation Access hosted a new livestream of the update. While there isn't an archive of the broadcast, one eagle-eyed viewer was able to capture the moment the hosts apparently showed off an unreleased Stratagem during the livestream, in the screenshot just below.

The new Orbital Napalm Barrage stratagem, showcased in the dev stream from r/Helldivers

'Launches a prolonged barrage of napalm shells over a wide area, setting a swath of land ablaze in mere moments,' the Stratagem's description reads, which sounds like chaotic fun. The barrage takes 11.15 seconds to call in, which is a fair while to wait, but it has unlimited uses throughout a mission, and comes with a 300 second cooldown timer.

Weirdly, different screenshots of the same livestream are reporting different statistics for the new Stratagem. The screenshot just below, for example, has the call-in time as just 7.45 seconds, and a cooldown time of 240 seconds, a whole minute less than the other screenshot. I don't really know what's going on here, but I think we'll be waiting a while for any sort of clarification.

This new Stratagem, whenever it eventually launches, should help players prepare their defenses against encroaching Terminid forces. This is especially true of the 'high-value asset' mission type, which requires players to defend eight rockets until they've all successfully launched, which inevitably devolves into carnage.

Ironically, this explosive new Stratagem will be launching after Helldivers 2 just nerfed all its fire-based weapons in the Escalation of Freedom update yesterday. As you can probably imagine, this hasn't pleased fans of the flamethrowers and Incendiary Breaker shotgun, especially after players were looking forward to unlocking fiery new weapons as part of the Helldivers 2 Freedom's Fire Warbond.

Take a look over our Helldivers 2 Stratagems list for an up-to-date guide on the best Stratagems in the entire game.

Hirun Cryer
Hirun Cryer

Hirun Cryer is a freelance reporter and writer with Gamesradar+ based out of U.K. After earning a degree in American History specializing in journalism, cinema, literature, and history, he stepped into the games writing world, with a focus on shooters, indie games, and RPGs, and has since been the recipient of the MCV 30 Under 30 award for 2021. In his spare time he freelances with other outlets around the industry, practices Japanese, and enjoys contemporary manga and anime.

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