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After 11 gruelling days and the death of Super Earth's president, Helldivers 2 players have succeeded in turning the Illuminate to calamari and protecting democracy

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With two cities remaining, Helldivers have held the line.

A squad of helldivers in Helldivers 2 bravely defend Super Earth from the Illuminate menace.
(Image credit: Arrowhead Games)

It's official—grab your special someone and fill out your C-01 permit—Super Earth is saved. After a gruelling 11-day campaign, the players of Helldivers 2 have finally emerged victorious in a pitched battle against the Illuminate.

As an official in-game announcement reads, Prosperity City and Equality-on-Sea were the last bastions to remain—the latter of which caused some bizarre review bombings from players who, best I can tell, didn't understand that the objective was to hold planets until the major order was over. The fact that players managed to cap Equality-on-Sea's liberation percentage at 99.9783% is mightily impressive, but I don't know if it was grounds for Arrowhead to completely change how its event was designed in the 11th hour.

The heart of democracy was held over almost two straight weeks of fighting, which saw the loss of the cities Eagleopolis, Remembrance, York Supreme, Port Mercy, and istrative Centre 02 (just down the road from istrative Centre 02 Final Ver).

This included jaunts to Automaton-controlled planets to secure scrap for the Democratic Space Station, as well as a brief defense of a Terminid-infested planet to make sure some malware could make its way into the Illuminate fleet. You can see a full play-by-play, shared by Arrowhead in-game, below.

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An image that reads: "SUCCESS (1/3)The Illuminate have retreated from Super Earth battlespace. The Heart of Democracy has been defended. The Battle of Super Earth is won.The devastation wrought upon our home is immense. Only two Mega Cities remain standing: Prosperity City and Equality-on-Sea. The remainder have been vacated by the enemy, having suffered catastrophic damage at their hands.Across the Federation, approval for impromptu celebrations in the streets has been issued. C-01 permits approval allowances have been quintupled, though processing delays may occur following the loss of CEN 02. All know the endurance of Freedom is thanks to the innumerable sacrifices of the Helldivers, and the SEAF soldiers fighting by their side. Awards for valour for SEAF veterans are being processed.Remaining Illuminate forces were last observed making FTL jumps from Super Earth orbit. The enemy has also vacated New Haven, Pilen V, and Widow's Harbor, burning the surface of those planets as they fled. No stations detect Illuminate forces-the enemy has gone into hiding. They will be found.After days of nonstop fighting, Super Earth stands. The mettle of Managed Democracy has been tested; the will of the people has overcome the enemy. The Helldivers have achieved victory.A full recap of the Battle for Super Earth follows this message.CONTINUE"
(Image credit: Arrowhead Games)

Oh—also, the Super Earth president died, apparently while "defending the Presidential Security bunker with only a pistol against waves of Illuminate foes". Don't worry, though, Super Earth has elected a new one in short order via the dystopian wonders of managed democracy.

As someone who has very much enjoyed getting my boots on the ground (I am, as they say, doing my part) it really is cool to see Arrowhead finally delivering on the promise of the Galactic War. Desperate last stands, keeping one planet alive through the entire invasion against all odds, and plenty of meme-able hijinks, plus the actual, genuine threat of Super Earth falling.

ALIENS ARE NOT SCARY from r/Helldivers

What comes next, though, is anybody's guess, now that Arrowhead's able to set the stakes this high. Will the Automaton fleet come for Super Earth next? Might we lose the Galactic War in the future and, if so, what then? One thing's for certain, as the Super Earth news broadcast shown above states: Aliens aren't scary. Next time, bring your big guns, you squid suckers.

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Harvey Randall
Harvey Randall
Staff Writer

Harvey's history with games started when he first begged his parents for a World of Warcraft subscription aged 12, though he's since been cursed with Final Fantasy 14-brain and a huge crush on G'raha Tia. He made his start as a freelancer, writing for websites like Techradar, The Escapist, Dicebreaker, The Gamer, Into the Spine—and of course, PC Gamer. He'll sink his teeth into anything that looks interesting, though he has a soft spot for RPGs, soulslikes, roguelikes, deckbuilders, MMOs, and weird indie titles. He also plays a shelf load of TTRPGs in his offline time. Don't ask him what his favourite system is, he has too many.

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