While Arrowhead Studio dangles a fresh new Stratagem above players' noses, the Helldivers 2 community isn't taking the bait and are instead rallying to save Super Earth's children.
The ongoing Major Order gives divers yet another decision. Should we liberate Marfark in time, then we all get to enjoy the fresh MD-17 Anti-Tank Mines Stratagem. Liberate the children stuck on Vernen Wells instead and, well, there's no real reward but we can bask in the satisfaction that we're good people, right?
"An emergency distress call from Vernen Wells describes thousands of civilian survivors trapped in the remains of 'Super Citizen Anne's Hospital for Very Sick Children,'" communications from High Command explain. "Meanwhile, intercepted Automaton communications have identified a large explosives repository on Marfark. These stores are very likely to contain the critical raw ingredients necessary to deploy MD-17 Anti-Tank Mines."
- 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 players "became obsessed" with Malevolon Creek, but it was Gabe Newell who really kicked off one of Super Earth's bloodiest battles
Helldivers can only choose to save one planet in the next two days and, as a very bad human being, I thought the correct answer (explosive new toys) was obvious. Alas, fellow divers seem to either carry above-average morals or think that saving kids might yield a secret reward.
The Helldivers subreddit is currently flooded with posts (propaganda) encouraging divers to drop down on Vernen Wells. Fan art, yelling, memes, and more were all deployed in a valiant effort to save Super Earth children. Take a look at a few below.
For the children! from r/Helldivers
The community right now. from r/Helldivers
The children of Vernen Wells will be forever thankful due to our efforts from r/Helldivers
The community rallying cry actually worked, too. As of the time of writing, Marfark is only 0.01% liberated with a mere 1,700 divers active on the planet. On the other hand, Vernen Wells has 21,700 people fighting to push that 84% liberated number up to 100%. Of course, I'm writing during off-peak hours but the ratio still holds up throughout the day.
Helldivers aren't unanimously liberating Vernen Wells for selfless reasons, however. At least one Reddit post theorizes that the newest Major Order is a "test" from the developers since "they positioned everything so that we’d have time to think about our choice before we open up the two new fronts." When given the choice, players had previously ignored the Anti-Tank Mines as well. Who knows? Maybe we'll all get adopted children and a bi-weekly crayon drawing as thanks.
