Helldivers 2 players are dousing planets in poison gas that Super Earth says will 'permanently' destroy the bugs, but we all know what Joel's really up to

Greetings, helldivers. An official Super Earth communiqué puts the latest Helldivers 2 major order in no uncertain terms: the goal is to «permanently contain» the bugs by dousing four planets in special «Termicide» gas. It's up to the players themselves to activate these Termicide towers, a welcome new mission type that's been added to the four bordering planets on the Terminid front.

The plan, as outlined in an in-fiction news broadcast published by Arrowhead today, seems foolproof: gas 'em, drop 'em, then we're bug-free forever. I'm sure it'll go exactly as predicted. There's no way that, say, Termicide will actually have the opposite effect on the bugs, causing unexpected mutations that create new breeds of horrible.

At least, that's our working theory. A potentially war-ending gambit that perpetuates the war and leads to more Helldivers (who, officially, never die) to die, feels right up Arrowhead's alley, and «unintentional» mutation sure would be a fun way to canonize those flying «Shrieker» bugs CEO Johan Pilestedt insists don't exist.

Breaking: Helldivers To Permanently Contain Bugs#StrohmannNews pic.twitter.com/QLRQbtQxovMarch 13, 2024

In fact, the more I learn about Termicide, the more I'm seeing yesterday's surprise debut of the Shriekers in a whole new light. Did game master Joel send Shriekers after a small handful of players as a story beat? It's strange how so few have encountered their mushroom-shaped nests after over 24 hours. I played for three hours last night under the same conditions and couldn't find any. Perhaps yesterday's Shriekers were the first products of the gas, and they'll start appearing in more player sessions as more Termicide towers go online?

I hope I'm right because that would be fun, but I also hope I'm wrong because it'd be even cooler to be surprised by some last-minute twist. Not a difficult bar for Arrowhead to clear—Helldivers 2 has proven full of surprises in its first month, and it doesn't seem to be slowing down.

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