Helldivers 2 may be getting a Stratagem from the first game that Sony already leaked, unless Joel is pulling a fast one to introduce the Anti-Tank Mines fans recently passed on
"Joel, sitting on his throne of skulls, IS LAUGHING"
It looks like Helldivers 2 players may soon be able to get their hands on some classic weaponry from the first game, and while we might already have some idea what it could be, some are suspicious that galactic Game Master Joel might be pulling a fast one on us and getting those Anti-Tank Mines into the game at long last.
Helldivers 2's current Major Order is a relatively straightforward one – the Automatons are trying to reclaim planet X-45, and we've got to keep it under Super Earth control for the next four days. However, the planet happens to be home to an Advanced Weapons Lab from the first Galactic War – AKA the events from Helldivers 1 – and a new Strategic Update message has hinted that with the progress we've made, we could be getting a familiar-looking reward.
"The first layer of rubble covering the Advanced Weapons Lab on X-45 has been cleared," the update says. "Initial reports show the facility remains largely intact. It is possible there is even a cache of still-functional weaponry from the First Galactic War contained in the lab. Further excavation efforts are ongoing."
New weapons from HD1? from r/Helldivers
Sounds promising, right? It's worth pointing out that this comes a little over two weeks after PlayStation seemingly leaked a screenshot of an unreleased quad missile launcher in an email sent to some players, which looked an awful lot like the MLS-4X Commando missile launcher from the first game. The timing would certainly add up pretty well if this ended up being the reward here, but that's obviously unconfirmed at this point.
Otherwise, as has been pointed out by democracy-loving players on Reddit, the infamous Anti-Tank Mines could be a genuine option here. The Helldivers 2 community just keeps passing up on these things – although there have been multiple opportunities to unlock them, they've never actually made it. Most recently, we chose to save the children of Super Citizen Anne's Hospital for the feel-good reward of doing the right thing rather than taking the mines, but we also passed up on them before in favor of the RL-77 Airburst Rocket Launcher, and outright lost them once thanks to a separate failed Major Order.
Clearly, they're not the most popular reward, but considering that they featured in Helldivers 1 as an upgrade for the Airdropped Anti-Personnel Mines, it would genuinely make sense for them to be here, giving Joel "the biggest opportunity to troll the community" according to Reddit. "Joel, sitting on his throne of skulls, IS LAUGHING," one user writes, picturing the scene that'd unfold.
For now, we'll have to wait and see if we can actually win the Major Order – it's looking very promising right now, but it could all change. Either way, something tells me that the community would be more excited about that unreleased missile launcher or literally anything but those poor mines, so here's hoping we're not let down (even if it would be pretty funny).
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I'm one of GamesRadar+'s news writers, who works alongside the rest of the news team to deliver cool gaming stories that we love. After spending more hours than I can count filling The University of Sheffield's student newspaper with Pokemon and indie game content, and picking up a degree in Journalism Studies, I started my career at GAMINGbible where I worked as a journalist for over a year and a half. I then became TechRadar Gaming's news writer, where I sourced stories and wrote about all sorts of intriguing topics. In my spare time, you're sure to find me on my Nintendo Switch or PS5 playing through story-driven RPGs like Xenoblade Chronicles and Persona 5 Royal, nuzlocking old Pokemon games, or going for a Victory Royale in Fortnite.