Helldivers 2's new mission type is the glorious Helm's Deep holdout defense that I've dreamed of for months

Helldivers 2 is, generally, a game about taking the fight to the enemy by destroying nests, factories, and launching ICBMs. On the rare occasion that Super Earth is put on defense, it hasn't always gone over well with players. During the first Automaton invasion in February, players quickly got tired of special escort missions that required protecting fragile civilians while they ran across a battlefield. The next defense assignment came with Termicide towers that had to be protected from bugs who'd relentlessly charge toward them.

Those missions were a lot more fun, but they weren't what I had in mind. A simple, straight-laced wave defense mode seemed like a natural fit in Helldivers 2. Turns out I just had to wait a little longer. Today's surprise re-invasion of Cyberstan by the Automatons brought another special defense assignment: «Evacuate High-Value Assets» by guarding a missile silo from concentrated waves of robots. You'll recognize the mission type by their shield insignia.

The mission briefing reads:

«The enemy is closing in on a cache of high-value assets that have been sequestered since the First Galactic War. We cannot allow them to be captured. The enemy will be alerted to your position as soon as the evacuation process is initiated. Defend the site until all assets have been safely transported off-planet.»

The brief buries the lede. Yes we're protecting more Super Earth property, but these facilities are built like Helm's Deep: high walls surround the silos, and all bots have to funnel in through one narrow chokepoint. That singular path is segmented by a series of walls with player-controlled gates that can briefly keep the bots at bay (but they will eventually bust through). The bot drops come in waves and you have to hold out long enough to launch eight rockets. It took my squad 15-20 minutes to complete one run at difficulty seven.

These missions are glorious. Peak Helldivers defense happening here, and it couldn't be simpler. There are no