The Helldivers 2 community is a unique place, with more players boasting the ability to commit to the bit than perhaps anywhere else on the internet. It's not at all unusual to see fans refusing to communicate in any other way than with an unwavering patriotism towards Super Earth and a deep desire to spread Managed Democracy, essentially role-playing real-life Helldivers even outside the game.
However, not everyone wants to take the role of a Super Earth citizen. Previously, we've seen Reddit flooded with Terminid role-play, with 'undercover bugs' begging Helldivers to stop squashing them, and asking for balance patches to make them stronger. Perhaps it's no surprise then that this trend has continued with the Helldivers 2's Automatons, and has even resulted in the creation of a robotic diss track against Super Earth.
Like with the Terminids, we've had 'secret Automatons' taking to Reddit in an attempt to diplomatically force their victory: "We should let the Automatons carry out The Reclamation and reach Cyberstan. It would be cool to see the Cyborgs I think," one wrote when Operation Swift Assembly to wipe out the Automatons first began.
"We should let the Automatons carry out The Reclamation and reach Cyberstan. It would be cool to see the Cyborgs I think" from r/Helldivers
The diss track really is something else though. Shared by YouTube creator Reckless Gaming, you'll have a very hard time working out what the bots are actually trying to say, but it seems pretty safe to assume that every Helldiver should be feeling very insulted right now. One thing we can all understand is the Macarena dance, which one bot performs part-way through, so make of that what you will.
While the comments are full of Helldivers mocking the robots for swiftly getting wiped off the map just days after the diss track dropped, it's now been revealed that only a vanguard was actually eradicated, and many more Automatons have begun an assault on and around Cyberstan. So, perhaps their confidence was warranted, after all.
While it admittedly sounds very undemocratic to say it out loud, the return of the bots might actually be a good thing for completionists. Some Helldivers 2 trophies are dependent on players being able to play Automaton missions, such as 'Nothing is Bigger than Freedom,' which requires you to kill a Hulk, and 'Let's Call it a Draw,' which demands that you shoot the arms of a Hulk and keep it alive before extracting. As such, the latest news might be a relief for some who have yet to get these achievements.
If you're new to Helldivers 2, be sure to check out our beginner's guide for some top tips for spreading Managed Democracy.
As Helldivers 2's new Democracy Space Station guns down the divers who helped build it, one dev says Arrowhead need to "own that and adapt" but warns that "things are rarely crap or fantastic" at first
Helldivers 2's new Democracy Space Station is killing so many Helldivers that the devs are giving out free shields and extra lives in a "temporary" emergency fix
