Line #133 YMMV/HelldiversII


1	* AccidentalAesop:
2	** ''Helldivers II'' makes a case for how effective ''actual'' propaganda can be. While audiences (rightfully) laugh at the [[PropagandaMachine over-the-top brainwashing Super Earth commits in-universe]], the pride the real life community takes in symbolic Major Orders such as winning Malevelon Creek (which was already mostly liberated and had minimal strategic advantage) and in culling the generally weaker Terminid faction (despite the Automatons presenting a more pressing territorial threat) demonstrate how easily people can be motivated to rally behind victories that serve a sense of identity or establish superiority.
3	** Despite soundly mocking how absolutely horrific the imperialism and WeHaveReserves attitude of Super Earth is, the game serves as a kind of proof of how individual soldiers on the ground are dedicated enough to their companions, even strangers they barely met, that they're willing to not just kill others to save them but even willing to [[HeroicSacrifice lay down their lives]] in the process to help and protect them… And in the process serve the designs of an authoritarian state that cares as a little for their individual lives as video game characters.
4	* AnnoyingVideoGameHelper:
5	** Whenever a Helldiver approaches an Automaton Mortar Base on an Automaton-controlled planet, MissionControl will chime in with "Warning, you are in range of enemy artillery" ''ad nauseum'' every time one of the mortar turrets fires, and there are three of them in the base. While allegedly there are a few variations of the line, there's barely any difference in the inflection of their voice; not only is it borderline {{Narm}}-inducing, it can be seriously aggravating to hear the same voice line repeated over and over until you manage to actually take out the damn thing. Even more annoyingly, this line triggers even if ''you, personally'' are not in range of the mortars, so it can be hard to tell if you've accidentally wandered into the range of an alerted mortar station or if a random stranger on your squad ran off into one by themselves.
6	** You'll similarly be reminded ''very'' often that extraction is available once the main objective has been completed. Not a big deal if you decided to explore the map and do secondary objectives first before focusing on the primary objective, but if you decide to do it the other way around and complete the main objective in the mission's first 10 minutes, prepare to be reminded about extraction every few minute for the rest of the mission.
7	* {{Anvilicious}}: Unlike the first game, ''Helldivers II'' goes out of its way every few seconds to remind you that Super Earth has a terrible, incompetent government running it and would be an ''awful'' place to actually live, so that there can be absolutely no doubt in the player's mind that they're playing as a VillainProtagonist.
8	* SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic: [[AwesomeMusic/{{Helldivers}} Has its own page]].
9	* BestLevelEver:
10	** Cold worlds are considered the only positive modifier. The lower rate of fire is more than offset by the lower heat build-up on energy weapons, making laser weapons like the Sickle better than ever. While not directly related to the temperature, the lack of plants and plentiful rock/glacial outcroppings on such worlds also mean generally clear lines of sight, but with no shortage of cover if needed. Even the hostile plants found on ice worlds, which generate a severe slowdown area when detonated, are a mere annoyance to Helldivers but can tie up enemy forces if used tactically. This is a distinct departure from their incarnation in the first game, where they were purely negative, necessitating the use of cold-weather gear or vehicles so as not to get constantly bogged down in the knee-deep snow.
11	** Overall, players seem to prefer missions where a planet is defended over attempting to liberate the planet, in part because higher-difficulty missions lack [[ThatOneDisadvantage enemy-generated modifiers such as AA Defenses and Spore Clouds]] that make the missions far more difficult than they should be.
12	** Evacuate High Value Assets is infinitely better than Evacuate Scientists. Instead of escorting TooDumbToLive scientists with bad path finding, you need to HoldTheLine against the enemy advance, and stop them from destroying a pair of generators. Three sets of gates form chokepoints to help you out. One pair and two singles. Getting pushed back a gate moves the enemy spawn further up. As the mission progresses, the enemy spawns get more and more intensive. On helldive difficulty against Automatons, they start you off with Hulks right off the bat supported by Devastators and Troopers. Towards the end, it becomes a ''tidal wave'' of devastators, and multiple tanks closing in on the generators.
13	* BreatherLevel: Stop Illegal Broadcast side-missions can be completed in a second - tossing most red stratagems at them will destroy it with ease, and plenty of weapons (such as the Autocannon or Expendable Anti-Tank) can just destroy it the moment someone sees it off in the distance by shooting once at the televisions on the top of the tower.
14	* ComplacentGamingSyndrome: Like the first game, ''Helldivers II'' has numerous gear selections seen as inherently better than others, which sees them getting run a lot with no variation. This problem is further exacerbated by how the option to play with a randomized loadout for an EXP boost from the first game was removed, taking away any incentive to try other loadouts:
15	** The Railgun was ''the'' GameBreaker on launch. With the ability to pierce all armour in the game with massive damage when on Unsafe mode, ability to OneHitPolykill, and extreme range, its only real drawbacks are its single-shot capacity, basic holo/reflex sight rather than a full high-magnification optic, and the risk of ExplosiveOverclocking when in Unsafe mode. It could kill ''Bile Titans'' with a single shot. It got nerfed fairly hard and is no longer 'the best' option, suffering reductions to its armour penetration and damage, and requiring the use of Unsafe mode for maximum results.
16	** The Shield Backpack provides some insane durability, both against the melee strikes of the Terminids and the gunfire of the Automatons. In a game where you die in just 5 or so good hits, being able to tank an additional 5-7 is game changing. Especially since the shield regenerates but your health doesn't, so the shield can soak up grazing hits that would otherwise add up over time, as well as stop you from getting outright oneshot by certain enemies. It's become less vital now that the bug that caused Helldivers to get absolutely obliterated by explosions has been fixed, but it's still a very popular choice (much as it was in the first game).
17	** 500kg Bomb is your average SmartBomb. It can OneHitKill almost anything in the game if it's centered dead on the blast zone, and it has respectable AOE to wipe out fodder. It also has a short cooldown of 2 minutes for its ability to wipe out hordes - and you get two per rearm pass if you fully upgrade the Eagle, giving you two of those on an at-most seven second cooldown between them both.
18	** Orbital Gas Strike has a really short cooldown of just 75 seconds, the lingering gas can be used as area denial, and if you have any stims on you then you can survive calling it down on yourself to wipe out swarming terminids. Automatons are usually too slow to escape the gas cloud once they enter it, and even if they do manage to escape, the DamageOverTime is usually a death sentence for them. Bonus points if you combine it with the EMS Strike, which has a similarly short cooldown and ensures that nobody will be escaping the gas cloud. Oh, and it can occasionally take out fabricators too.
19	** The EMS Mortar does no direct damage, but can stunlock a huge amount of enemies quickly and efficiently. This is much more useful on evacuation and extermination missions, where friendly fire is a huge threat that the regular mortar turret has. It can be combined with the Orbital Gas Strike to clear out entire hordes of enemies with little fuss or muss.
20	** The Breaker shotgun combines rapid fire and good firepower with decidedly non-ShortRangeShotgun tendencies, being capable of making short work of enemies much further away than one would expect. It cannot deal with heavy armour in the slightest (particularly Chargers, Titans, or Tanks), but it can still take out most smaller units either by targeting their weak spots or through simple raw power. Despite several nerfs that reduced its capacity and increased its recoil, it's still considered the go-to primary weapon. Similarly, one of its variants, the Breaker Incendiary, is considered one of the most effective anti-Terminid weapons due to its chance of setting enemies on fire. Since burn damage ignores armor, it's particularly effective against Hive Guards and Chargers.
21	** After getting a substantial buff to its direct and burn-over-time damage per second, the Flamethrower has become a top contender for replacing the Railgun against the Terminids. What it lacks in range, it makes up for in horde killing and area denial. Lighter bugs are roasted to a crisp in seconds, while Chargers will survive little more than a couple seconds of concentrated fire. About the only thing it can't do against Terminids is kill Bile Titans or close their nest holes. It even has a Tier 4 upgrade that increases its damage by a further 25%.
22	** Impact Grenades are just shy of anti-tank levels of damage, and deal a hefty amount of damage. The fact that they don't need to be cooked, or predicting enemy movement means you can easily just toss one and not have to worry about enemies escaping or blowing yourself up. Two impact grenades to the back of an Automaton tank or Hulk can instantly kill them, and a dead-on hit will one-hit kill Devastators (unless you hit a Heavy's shield arm). Likewise they work on most Automaton emplacements (turret towers, mortars, anti-air turrets). They require a little more finesse to take out bug holes and fabbers with, but this is a minor tradeoff given the benefits.
23	** Flashbangs can stun anything smaller than an Automaton Tank or Bile Titan. This makes it easy for you or your teammates to line up shots with precision weapons like the Anti-Material Rifle or Railgun, or with stratagems that take time to land like the 500kg bomb. They also make for great escape tools. If a bunch of Hunters or Berserkers are right in your face or are nipping at your legs as you run, you can safely pull a flashbang out and hold onto it, stunning your attackers, while merely slowing you down, giving you plenty of time to retaliate or escape.
24	** The Quasar has quickly become a favorite among Helldivers because it addresses many of the weaknesses the other AT weapons have. As an energy weapon, it effectively has unlimited ammo so you don't have to keep calling in resupply stratagems or replacement [=EATs=]. In addition, while the time it takes to cool between shots is comparable to that of the Recoilless Rifle or Spear's reload time, the Quasar will passively cool while stowed away, meaning the wielder can swap back to one of their other weapons to keep fighting and moving, rather than risk being caught by a Berserker or Hunter mid-reload. Finally, the Quasar doesn't need to use up a valuable backpack slot to store extra ammo, granting the user more flexibility (or survivability, as anyone facing the Automatons will probably be taking the shield). In comparison, the requirement for a wind up time before firing and the lack of splash damage seems like a small price to pay for an AT weapon that a single Helldiver can effectively wield solo.
25	** As mentioned in JackOfAllTrades on the main page, the mighty autocannon is a pretty good choice against almost all enemies at almost all ranges thanks to its power, accuracy, and generous ammo reserves, and is near-unparalleled for long-ranged engagements against packs of medium enemies like Automaton Devastators and Terminid Bile[=/=]Nursing Spewers. You'll probably want to bring along some dedicated anti-vehicle[=/=]anti-structure stratagems for quickly and easily getting rid of heavily-armoured enemies without having to bother getting an angle on their weak points, and an effective short-ranged primary is important against anything that gets within your {{BFG}}'s minimum safe distance, but apart from that, being the Autocannon Guy will make you welcome in just about any battlefield scenario.
26	** The Sickle is widely considered to be the best primary energy weapon and one of the most effective primary weapons in general. Its extremely high rate of fire and damage per shot gives it massive DPS potential that shreds light and even medium enemies if you can focus on their weakspots. And being an energy weapon, the Sickle effectively has infinite ammo as long as you manage your shots and don't burn through your heatsinks.
27	* DemonicSpiders:
28	** Automatons:
29	*** Scout Striders. Common automaton infantry and even all three devastator models can be defanged if not relatively easily killed by any small-arms weapon (though the degree of 'easily' will vary on range, type, etc.), but Scout Striders? If you don't have anything with Medium Armour Penetrating or Explosive damage, you ''need'' to flank them. Even then, with just Medium AP you're stuck shooting out their legs before taking out the pilot - because the pilot's plating can shrug off absurd amounts of firepower. Add onto this they have a gun that can casually two-shot all but the heaviest armour and that they will doggedly pursue you across rough terrain whilst easily keeping pace the entire time even if you're sprinting around with a stamina booster, and they're just absolute nuisances that can be incredibly frustrating or resource-consuming to quickly kill. Oh, and your Super Destroyer can consider them a priority target for railcannoning over much more dangerous targets like Hulks, if you're not careful with where you drop the beacon.
30	*** Of particular notoriety are the Devastators. While all Automatons are considerably more durable than the Terminids, Devastators stand out for being ''so'' heavily armored that the only way to reliably damage them is to hit their heads and shoulder joints, which are [[TinyHeadedBehemoth disproportionately small and hard to hit compared to the rest of their massive body]], especially when you're already in the thick of battle with other Automatons firing at you from all angles. And to add insult to injury, they can spawn as early as Easy tier. If you have a pair of Heavy Devastators pinning you down, you can say goodbye to your chances of taking them out first. Worse yet, their standard cannon hits hard enough that even a grazing hit will flinch you out of the vast majority of actions, such as injecting stims or throwing beacons.
31	*** If Devastators were bad, when a Hulk joins the fray, it's a near guarantee someone will die unless your team is well-prepared and/or coordinated. They are heavily armored to the point that nothing short of armor-piercing weapons or stratagems can kill them, are equipped with both rockets and flamethrowers, are deceptively quick despite their large frame, and on higher difficulties, a dropship can spawn up to '''3''' of them. While they do have a weak spot on their backs, they are so aggressive that it's nearly impossible to hit it. Their other weakspot? [[TinyHeadedBehemoth Their tiny little head]], on the front. Good luck hitting ''that'' whilst it's bearing down on you though.
32	*** Gunships are capable of one-shotting a Helldiver regardless of their armor, cover, and seemingly whether or not they actually hit their mark. Worse, they spawn infinitely from a specific sub-objective on higher difficulties, meaning that if you can't get them down (which is near-impossible to do when you have gunships, heavy devastators, hulks, tanks, and Democracy-knows-what-the-fuck-else swarming your squad) you're going to be using up your entire reinforcement budget in the space of seconds. Even worse: a Hellbomb is ''required'' to get rid of their fabricators, and the gunships can blow them up with one shot.
33	** Terminids:
34	*** Chargers. They're strictly close-range, unlike the Automatons, but they hit like a train, are outrageously aggressive (it's not unusual for a Charger to pursue its quarry across the entire map) and on harder difficulties can pop up in groups of three or more. They're also covered in armor plate except for their backside, which itself has heavy damage resistance. Their biggest weakness is also unconventional: rather than shooting their backside, you need to blow off the armor on one of their legs, then shoot the exposed leg a few times. Chargers are such a terror that high-level parties have one or two Helldivers kitted out solely to deal with them, which typically involves a Railgun, which can punch through their armor and break the plating off their legs, and a shield backpack to mitigate damage and stagger/slowdown from the armies of lesser bugs that accompany them. An update around the same time as the Railgun nerf mentioned earlier on this page softened them up enough where a well-aimed shot from a recoilless rifle or expendable anti-tank launcher to the head will kill them in one hit, but if the player firing the rocket isn't a good shot or they can't get the shot lined up then Chargers still fit this trope.
35	*** Stalkers only spawn whenever Helldivers are near a Stalker Lair tactical objective. These freaks of nature are almost [[VisibleInvisibility transparent]] when attempting to take down Helldivers until they're within striking distance. While invisible, they don't show up on the radar, and cannot be pinged. When they do strike, they hit hard and fast, and can launch you several meters with their tongue attack. To top it all off, they have medium armor, on most parts of their body, so you'll usually have trouble punching through with your primary weapon. It's not uncommon for the team to immediately drop whatever they're doing and beeline to the Stalker Nest the moment a single Stalker makes itself known, or when it shows up on the radar from completing a Radar Station side objective.
36	*** Hunters. These jumpy bastards are GlassCannon and FragileSpeedster in bug form. While they only take a few rounds to put down, they will constantly side step and juke to throw off your aim whenever you begin looking in their direction. They also possess a DeadlyLunge that they can use to quickly close the distance, and then follow up with a tongue attack that slows you down. They're essentially a weaker Stalker, but unlike the Stalker they spawn VERY frequently, independent of a specialized nest. Some would argue that they're more dangerous than Bile Titans, as while Bile Titans can be ran away from, or even manipulated to take out their fellow Terminids, Hunters can't be easily ran away from, and their slowing attack guarantees other bugs can and will catch up to you.
37	* DiscreditedMeme: When the Reclamation storyline came around, focusing the playerbase on the bot front, Malevelon Creek went from a beloved in-joke to being regarded as a wasteful boondoggle. (Fitting for a world already nicknamed "Space Vietnam".) Many Helldivers went to it because of [[ThatOneLevel its reputation]] and to be [[PlayAlongMeme part of the meme]], but players who check the supply lines (which is only possible with 3rd party tools) noticed that it is strategically entirely unimportant. The Creek and its fanbase was eventually blamed for the failure of Super Earth to achieve the second part of the Reclamation storyline, and the devs decided to give a Major Order with the express purpose of taking the Creek once and for all to end the toxicity (not that it helped much in that regard, as now some people are teamkilling or immediately kicking anyone who dares to wear the Malevelon Memorial cape instead). On April 1st, 2024, The Creek finally fell to Super Earth's onslaught.
38	* DoNotDoThisCoolThing: Despite being much, ''[[DenserAndWackier much]]'' less of a StealthParody of MilitaryScienceFiction than ''VideoGame/{{Helldivers}}'', the game's unexpected and widespread popularity has lead to it falling into the same category as its predecessor, with many players only really being interested in the cool MilitaryScienceFiction aspects than the satirical aspects (and that's not even mentioning [[MisaimedFandom all the people who ignore the satire entirely or reappropriate it towards things it isn't targeting]]).
39	* EnsembleDarkhorse: Both Eagle-1 and Pelican-1 are well loved and respected in the community despite only playing minor support roles. For Eagle-1, she always provides [[DeathFromAbove prompt air cover]] to any Helldiver that requests it, no questions asked (unless the beacon lands too close to a Jammer or [=AA=] Site). For Pelican-1, he will always land on the drop zone no matter how hot it is to get as many Helldivers out alive as possible. This has led to many fans creating fanart and fan depictions of both pilots, even going so far as to ship them together.
40	* EvilIsCool: The Automatons. Unlike the Terminids, the Automatons are more sophisticated, have their own society, have a slick [[RedAndBlackAndEvilAllOver red and black aesthetic]], are shown to attack the Helldiver Dreadnaughts in space, and even have their own [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U5KOgaE3FG4&t=0s marching chant]]. This, combined with their intimidating appearance and a [[VillainHasAPoint level of sympathy]] given how they are [[UndyingLoyalty fighting Super Earth to avenge and liberate their creators, the Cyborgs]], make them insanely cool and threatening, becoming a bit of a WorthyOpponent for much of the fanbase. So much so that when the Automatons were (seemingly) eradicated, a number of fans have expressed [[AntagonistInMourning melancholy over it]].
41	* FanNickname:
42	** Terminids and Automatons in the are near-universally referred to among the playerbase as 'bugs' and 'bots' for convenience's sake. It's simple, descriptive, and alliterative. They're often referred to as such by the Super Destroyer crew as well. This ''has'' lead to occasional confusion when discussing the Bugs from ''VideoGame/{{Helldivers}}'', who are thus usually capitalized to distinguish them from the bugs and prevent misunderstandings.
43	** Almost all FantasticSlurs across fiction directed toward robots get used by the playerbase against the Automatons, including "[[Franchise/StarWars Clankers]]" and "[[Franchise/BattlestarGalactica Toasters]]".
44	** Players who spend a lot of time on Malevelon Creek are referred to collectively as "Creek Crawlers" or, less affectionately, "Creekheads".
45	** The Detector Tower is the "[[Literature/TheLordOfTheRings Eye of Sauron]]". The comparison is near universal, as the tower looks so much like the eye does in [[Film/TheLordOfTheRings the movies]] (a black tower with a glowing "eye" between two spires that slowly sweeps across the land) the similarity is almost certainly intentional. The term is so widespread that random teammates are probably less likely to immediately know what you meant if you call it by it's proper name.
46	** Players refer to difficulties by the number associated with them, rather than their names; for example, instead of saying "Looking for Suicide Mission difficulty", one would say "Looking for Difficulty 7".
47	** The Quasar Cannon is jokingly referred to as the Queso Cannon.
48	** Fans have begun referring to individual bug types by [[TabletopGame/Warhammer40000 Tyranid]] strains. Scavengers, Pouncers, and Bile Spitters tend to be lumped together as [[TheGoomba Gaunts]], Hunters tend to get called [[SuspiciouslyStealthyPredator Lictors]], Shriekers get labelled [[AirborneMook Gargoyles]], and Brood Commanders tend to get called [[LargeAndInCharge Tyrants]]. Seems to have come from the fact that Hive Guard and Warriors share their names and roles with Tyranid strains.
49	* {{Fanon}}:
50	** Contrary to popular belief, Pelican-1 and Eagle-1 are NOT married. This statement started to float around when fans found a Tumblr account that people mistook as an official ''Helldivers 2'' account due to its name that claimed that the two pilots were married. This was later disproven when Arrowhead Studio devs confirmed that they don't run an account on Tumblr. Despite this, it hasn't stopped many fans from shipping Eagle-1 and Pelican-1 with each other and there's quite a bit of fanart of them "flirting" by [[PopulationControl offering to apply for a C-01 form with each other]].
51	** Ever since it was made public that Joel was the gamemaster that dictated the flow of which planets get attacked and need to be liberated/defended, a portion of the fandom have headcanoned him as a traitor Helldiver. Though when it came to the Automatons, he would be J.O.E.L., the main strategic AI/supercomputer for the bots that plans their every move.
52	* GameBreaker: The Eruptor, added in the Democratic Detonation Warbond, is what would happen if the Slugger had a baby with a Grenade Launcher. Despite being a primary weapon, it being explosive means that it can [[AntiStructure close bug holes, blow up fabricators]], and has medium armor penetration; one headshot from this will core out the skull of any type of Devastator on any difficulty below Helldive, and it can kill Hive Guards with a single well placed shot at times as well. What sets it apart is that its projectile essentially has hitscan-level aiming; provided you're not moving and not getting hit, the grenade will go ''exactly'' where you're aiming it. Its main drawbacks, which any reasonably competent player can work around, are its low ammo capacity (five rounds per magazine), low rate of fire (being a heavy bolt-action rifle), and the fact it has a hard range limit of around 150 meters (at which the projectiles detonate). Unfortunately, attempts to fix bugs with the Eruptor have taken it out of this category, as it now does ''far'' less damage and basically completely lacks its AOE.
53	* GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff: Helldivers 2 has [[https://www.vgchartz.com/article/460229/ps5-best-seller-in-the-uk-in-february-helldivers-2-is-a-hit-on-ps5-and-pc/ gained quite a bit of popularity in the UK]]. One reason may be the game's nature as {{Satire}} and the jabs at American neoconservatism.
54	* GoddamnedBats:
55	** Terminids:
56	*** Scavengers and their relations are individually the weakest and least dangerous breeds, but their attacks are capable of staggering hapless Helldivers to weaken them for their bigger cousins. There's also never just ''one'' Scav -- they're often found in small packs either scouting the map or guarding mission-critical objectives, and if you alert one before you take them all out, they'll [[EnemySummoner summon a Bug Breach]]. Bile Spitters in particular are especially annoying, as getting hit by one will slow you to a crawl.
57	*** Shriekers are {{Airborne Mook}}s that fly quickly and hit moderately hard with their swoops, but have low health to compensate. Their main dangers are that they will continuously appear in swarms from any of their nests (which often tend to be clustered together), and worst of all, if they're killed while swooping at a Helldiver, gravity and momentum will turn their [[TakingYouWithMe entire dead body into a high-velocity projectile]] (with a [[HitboxDissonance disproportionately large hitbox]]) that can OneHitKill any Helldiver it hits.
58	** Automatons:
59	*** Marauders are the most annoying unit you can face. They are equipped with rocket launchers, and while they may go down like any other automaton unit, one hit from their rocket will knock you to the ground, rendering you vulnerable for a few crucial seconds. It gets especially bad when you are already surrounded by other enemies, or preoccupied with doing something else, where they can attack you at a fairly long range.
60	* GoodBadBugs:
61	** By spam pinging the map, players can find secondary and tactical objectives without needing to see them first. The ping will transform into a square, and the side/tactical objective will appear on the top compass bar.
62	** While its usefulness is debatable, the Grenade Pistol on launch had a bug where the first shot fired wouldn't consume a round, essentially giving your first magazine an extra shot.
63	* ItsPopularNowItSucks: As to be expected of any fanbase of an indie game series suddenly and unexpectedly shoved into the mainstream, there are some old-guard ''VideoGame/{{Helldivers}}'' fans who dislike how ''II'' has become the next gigantic gaming phenomenon, as it supposedly devalues the once-intimate experience they had with the series and has flooded the sequel with bandwagoners and casuals who aren't really dedicated fans of the games and are just following a trend.
64	* LikeYouWouldReallyDoIt: At the conclusion of a major offensive campaign against the Automatons in early April 2024, all Automaton presence was completely wiped off of the galaxy map with Super Earth leadership declaring the Automaton threat destroyed and turning all attention towards the Terminids. However, none of the players were buying it at all, and sure enough, barely a week later, the Automatons launched a new offensive into Super Earth space with an even larger invasion force.
65	* LowTierLetdown:
66	** Marksman Rifles are considered some of the least effective weapons in the game, due to issues with aiming down the scope and universally having low damage for freaking ''{{Sniper Rifle}}s''. Upon its release as part of the Democratic Detonation Warbond, the BR-14 Adjudicator was immediately trashed as a waste of Medals. It has a lower damage and a higher recoil than the R-63 Dilligence that's available as part of the free Warbond, and its medium armor penetration doesn't even remotely make up for it, and its categorization was actually changed from a Marksman to an Assault Rifle in a later patch. Marksman Rifles as a whole are in such a pathetic position that the SG-8S Slugger, a rare aversion of ShortRangeShotgun in Video Games, is considered a ''better sniper rifle than the actual sniper rifles'', even after a {{Nerf}} to its damage and ability to destroy objects; a poll posted by the developers on the game's official Discord had around 80% of respondents overwhelmingly agree that Marksman Rifles were underpowered and needed tuning. Though it should be mentioned that, as its name implies, the Slugger doesn't fire buckshot but ''[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shotgun_slug slugs]]'', making its range and lack of spread entirely justified.
67	** Secondary weapons are okay, but basically all of them have severely limited ammo and, as of the Polar Patriots Warbond, there are only 6 total options. The achievement "Hold My Primary, I'm Going In", which requires the entire team to go without firing a primary or support weapon for an entire mission on Hard or harder is pushing into ThatOneAchievement territory as a result. Probably the two most popular options are the P-4 Senator, a functional but unremarkable revolver, and the Redeemer, a powerful machine pistol that runs out of ammo very fast due to high fire rate and limited spare magazines. The grenade pistol isn't great in combat, but still has a niche since it's the only secondary that can destroy fabricators/bug holes.
68	** The crossbow got thrown down into this trope during a patch which reduced its splash damage dramatically, cut the reserve magazines in half, and the only compensation was more flinch affliction. Given that it can't destory spawners, has a slow rate of fire, flinching being difficult to use if not impossible during a pitched battle as well as not affecting heavier enemies when they're attacking, shots being affected hy gravity, and taking up a primary slot that could have gone to the Eruptor released in the same warbond many consider the crossbow to have made the worst primary you can use due to being useless at just about everything to the point another weapon would suffice.
69	** On the armor side of things, the EX Prototype armors from the Cutting Edge Warbond are basically considered useless; their passive provides a 95% damage reduction to arc damage from the Tesla Tower and Arc Thrower stratagems. The Tower is stationary and most players pretty quickly learn not to go anywhere near it. Meanwhile the Arc Thrower is absolutely prone to friendly fire, especially in the hands of inexperienced players, but it's still not even close to worth trading a different consistently valuable armor perk to occasionally save you from a careless teammate with a specific weapon. Finally, there are also no enemies that currently ''deal'' arc damage. Barring coordinated teams who choose to all take the above stratagems and armor, pretty much the only reason to wear it is fashion reasons.
70	* MemeticLoser: "Creek Crawlers" have become this due to their insistence on capturing-- and failure to capture-- Malevelon Creek after over a month of combat, which many insist resulted in a major order to liberate Tibit failing, leading to portrayals of them as {{Military Maverick}}s obsessed with revenge who are overall doing more harm than good for the war effort by [[SkewedPriorities refusing to prioritize actual objectives in favor of resuscitating their injured pride]]. These portrayals swiftly evaporated after Malevelon Creek was the prime subject of a Major Order and was finally reclaimed on April 1st of 2024, giving Helldivers everywhere a much-needed morale boost.
71	* MemeticMutation:
72	** "[[Series/ThatMitchellAndWebbLook Are we the baddies]]?"[[labelnote:Explanation]]Jokingly mentioning out loud your reservations about [[TheEmpire Super Earth's expansionist practices]], [[{{Dystopia}} totalitarian government]] and [[HappinessIsMandatory propaganda machine]]. Said out-loud burst of realization will immediately be followed by the other members of your squad [[TreacheryIsASpecialKindOfEvil promptly emptying all their ammo on you like you deserve]]. Rather appropriately, much like the original skit, some available helmets do indeed have skulls on them, as a winged skull is the symbol of the Helldivers[[/labelnote]]
73	*** "Hello, [[ThePoliticalOfficer Democracy Officer]]?"[[labelnote:Explanation]]A PlayAlongMeme themed response to similar sentiments being expressed on public discussion forums, in which the responder takes the role of a Helldiver reporting the original poster for expressing dissident sentiments. Further variations on the joke often include images of a Helldiver dialing on a cellphone with the number pad replaced by the game's trademark directional-arrow terminal inputs.[[/labelnote]]
74	** >Watches propaganda >Buys it unquestioningly[[labelnote:Explanation]] A meme taking the piss out of a [[https://preview.redd.it/where-did-bro-get-all-this-lore-from-v0-arzhem6o94lc1.png?auto=webp&s=1fc3a61ae7a9852dd53109fb5e43de4b0a62b496 4chan greentext post]] where the original poster seems to not understand that the opening cinematic is an in-universe PropagandaPiece and [[MisaimedFandom thinks that Super Earth is really the utopia that it claims to be]]. Variations on this phrase are thus deployed in response to members of the games' MisaimedFandom clearly interpreting the story and world incorrectly.[[/labelnote]]
75	** Space [[UsefulNotes/TheVietnamWar Vietnam]] [[labelnote:Explanation]] An [[EverythingTryingToKillYou apt description of the gameplay]] is that it's UsefulNotes/TheVietnamWar [[RecycledWithAGimmick IN SPACE!]] This phrase is often used in conjunction with the famous "ThousandYardStare" image but modified to be of a Helldiver, denoting that playing ''Helldivers'' [[ShellShockedVeteran changes a man]]. What solidifies this meme is the fact that Malevelon Creek, one of the more infamous planets under Automaton control is very much a lush jungle.[[/labelnote]]
76	*** In a similar vein, Erata Prime is [[UsefulNotes/TheWarOnTerror Bug Afghanistan or Bug Iraq]]. Similar comparisons have been drawn for other planets (Draupnir / [[UsefulNotes/WorldWarI Verdun]], Heeth / Siberia, etc.).
77	** [[RememberTheAlamo REMEMBER MALEVELON CREEK!]] [[labelnote:Explanation]]The battle for the Automaton-controlled planet Malevelon Creek quickly became the first major cultural touchstone, with hundreds of thousands of valiant Helldivers banding together and giving their lives trying to liberate the planet from Bot rule despite heavy resistance. Unfortunately, despite staggering casualties on both sides, The Creek ultimately fell to the Automatons on February 27, 2024. Many veteran players compared the experience to UsefulNotes/TheVietnamWar, the future war scenes in ''Film/Terminator2JudgmentDay'', the [[Franchise/TheMatrix machine war during the 2nd renaissance]], the [[Recap/StarWarsTheCloneWarsUmbaraArc Battle of Umbara]], or the [[VideoGame/HaloReach Battle of Reach]], leading to the common sentiment that there ain't no dropsite like The Creek. However, in a striking and heroic upheaval of events [[UnstoppableRage powered by the burning conviction of countless revenge-hungry Helldivers]], Super Earth managed to turn the tide and completely liberate Malevelon Creek in early April. Suffice it to say, the memory of the Divers who gave their lives during the Fall shall never be forgotten by the playerbase.[[/labelnote]]
78	** "The trees speak binary..." [[labelnote:Explanation]]The typical MadnessMantra of a Malevelon Creek ShellShockedVeteran player.[[/labelnote]]
79	** Up Right Down Down Down / ⬆️➡️⬇️⬇️⬇️ [[labelnote:Explanation]]The code for the [[BigBulkyBomb 500kg bomb]] stratagem, usually used as a [[AppealToForce tongue-in-cheek counterargument]].[[/labelnote]]
80	** [[WesternAnimation/TheIronGiant “That missile is targeted directly to the Giant’s position! Where’s the Giant, Mansley!?”]] [[labelnote:Explanation]]A reference frequently used to poke fun at players who call down orbital or air strikes right on top of themselves, typically getting them and their allies killed [[/labelnote]]
81	** "[[Film/IronMan1 For your consideration...the Jericho.]]"[[labelnote:Explanation]]Recreating the famous scene from ''Iron Man'' where Tony Stark shows off the Jericho Missile's destructive power by obliterating a mountainside in-game using the myriad {{Kill Sat}}s, {{Orbital Bombardment}}s and other means of DeathFromAbove that Stratagems permit has become very popular, especially since a certain taunt allows the player to imitate Tony's "arms outstretched" pose from the scene.[[/labelnote]]
82	** “Damn it Joel!” [[labelnote:Explanation]]Arrowhead revealed they have a staff member named Joel who acts as a game master coordinating the war macro game. Fans were quick to label Joel a KillerGM and blame him for every setback Super Earth has suffered. While Joel does have macro-level control over the general direction of the campaign, he has no direct control on things like the planetary liberation percentages (which players learned much later regenerate over time like HP during non-peak hours), though he CAN increase the enemy reinforcement percentages a little.[[/labelnote]]
83	** "Look for the dick/mushroom shaped rock". [[labelnote:Explanation]] Super samples, unlike rare and common samples are only found near rock formations with a [[https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/1046327231007445052/1211909413330485268/2w77u3v1pcic1.png?ex=65efe998&is=65dd7498&hm=bc11855d1639553080be37cdbb91d89eb978a3f56a5c9e939f526b376a3d253f& rather phallic look to them.]] When newer players ask where to find super samples, people usually say this or some close variant of it.[[/labelnote]]
84	** Automaton psi-ops. [[labelnote:Explanation]] Due to the DemandOverload that the game experiences on a regular basis, the servers have been known to bug out or outright collapse during points of high volume traffic, including missing rewards and levels displaying incorrectly. The fanbase has since joked that it's an Automaton retaliation for strategic losses in order to stifle Super Earth morale.[[/labelnote]]
85	** Blue Beams. [[labelnote:Explanation]] Players have reported and even [[https://www.reddit.com/r/Helldivers/comments/1bf2x06/blue_beam_caught_clear_as_day/ recorded]] blue beams, apparently coming out of nowhere to snipe Helldivers. Terminids don't use ranged weapons, and Automaton weapons are all red, ruling them out. The Illuminate from the first game were known to have powerful cloaking technology and use blue beam weapons... but on the other hand, the Helldivers' own scorcher weapon also fires blue plasma bolts, and ricochets are marked in blue and can cause friendly fire incidents. The devs have added stealth updates before, leading to serious ParanoiaFuel.[[/labelnote]]
86	** "Bugs can't fly." [[labelnote:Explanation]]In mid-March, players noticed that flying terminids were [[https://www.ign.com/articles/helldivers-2-just-quietly-added-flying-bugs-ceo-insists-bugs-cant-fly added unannounced]] in a patch, leading to SuspiciouslySpecificDenial by Arrowhead's CEO and other players jumping in character to declare the idea of flying bugs offensive and treasonous.[[/labelnote]]
87	** "Ha ha...look familiar?" [[labelnote:Explanation]] A trend to use the announcer from the intro cinematic superimposed over other videos in a similar manner to other interrupting memes. [[/labelnote]]
88	*** [[https://www.reddit.com/media?url=https%3A%2F%2Fi.redd.it%2Fzqba7bezolqc1.gif The shocked face]] the Helldiver makes in the PropagandaPiece as his family is murdered by a Terminid Warrior has become a popular reaction gif to disturbing, dreadful, atrocious, etc. content.
89	** '''Democracy!'''/'''Liberty!''' [[labelnote:Explanation]] Words that are often sarcastically parroted by players at the start of a mission, or when discussing the game overall on Website/{{reddit}} or Discord.[[/labelnote]]
90	** Enemy Posting [[labelnote:Explanation]] A flavor of reaction image where anyone criticizing the government of Super Earth, expressing sympathy to the situations the enemy factions are in, or complaining about overpowered weapons will have someone post a picture of a Terminid Charger with a laptop, implying that the critic in question is an angry and seething alien bug. Then it spread to other enemies like Hunters, Scavengers, Troopers, Hulks and even Annihilator Tanks getting their own computers. This eventually resulted into a 3d render and animated gif of a Charger typing away on a comically undersized laptop, with the Trooper and Scavenger following suit, and even culminated into versions of the Helldivers themselves typing on laptops as retorts.[[/labelnote]]
91	*** "[[Anime/DragonBallZ I'M NOT A BIG FAN OF THE GOVERNMENT (30 ON 30)]]"[[labelnote:Explanation]]an extension of the "enemy posting" meme co-opting [[https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/im-not-a-big-fan-of-the-government a viral video of Vegeta singing a bizarre rap song]] pretending that it's an illegal Terminid[=/=]Automaton broadcast dissing Super Earth's government.[[/labelnote]]
92	** [Comment under investigation for treason][[labelnote:Explanation]]In keeping with the ''Helldivers'' fandom's PlayAlongMeme of always pretending to be in-universe civilians who wholeheartedly support Super Earth, on any [=YouTube=] video or social media post of the games you can invariably expect to see a handful of comments that say nothing but this, implying that the original poster said something critical of Super Earth or the Galactic War.[[/labelnote]]
93	** "[[Film/StarshipTroopers I'm doing my part!" "I'm doing my part!" "I'm doing my part!]]" "[[Series/IThinkYouShouldLeaveWithTimRobinson I DIDN'T DO]] [[TheLoad FUCKIN' SHIT!]]"[[labelnote:Explanation]]A meme playing into the propaganda of Super Earth that also mocks players who don't contribute very much to the overall success of a mission.[[/labelnote]]
94	** "SWEET LIBERTY, MY [X]!"[[labelnote:Explanation]]Memes about the Helldivers' much hammier voicelines in the second game abound, especially those that they shout when having a limb damaged. It's sometimes crossed over with the [[Memes/SpongebobSquarepants "MY LEG!" guy]] or modified to be [[VulgarHumor cruder]] by having the Helldivers reference their genitals.[[/labelnote]]
95	** "[[Memes/TheRiseOfSkywalker Somehow, the Automatons returned]]".[[labelnote:Explanation]]A meme ribbing the obvious satire behind [[DontCelebrateJustYet Super Earth claiming that the Automatons were completely defeated after the success of Operation Swift Disassembly and holding massive "Mission Accomplished" celebrations]], only for the Automatons to return not even a ''day later'' with an even bigger fleet and immediately take over the Valdis sector.[[/labelnote]]
96	** 500kg Review Bomb/Orbital Dislike[[labelnote:Explanation]] The re-implementation of the previously waived PSN login requirement by Sony was met with overwhelming backlash for the lack of notice, [[NoExportForYou PSN's unavailability in many countries]], and security concerns. This led to a whopping dislike/review bombing campaign of around 200,000 negative reviews on the ''Helldivers II'' Steam page (and unfortunately other Arrowhead games which had nothing to do with this, including the original ''VideoGame/{{Helldivers}}'' and ''VideoGame/{{Magicka}}'') and memes at Sony's expense. Thankfully, the policy implementation's reversal over the weekend led to the following meme.[[/labelnote]]
97	** '''DEMOCRACY WINS!'''[[labelnote:Explanation]][[invoked]] The reversal of the PSN login requirement was [[SugarWiki/AndTheFandomRejoiced met with far more positivity]], and relief that it would no longer bar players who could not access the game. Such celebrations included an IronicEcho claiming the Helldivers engaged in ''actual'' democracy for once by treating the entire debacle as a Major Order.[[/labelnote]]
98	** C-01 Perms [[labelnote:Explanation]] An in-universe form that Helldivers are required to fill out before engaging in any activities that could result in children. Their very nature has fans coming up with all sorts of ideas on what they entail, and players will often make jokes about how a failed mission (which can delay the approval of said forms) leads to Helldivers complaining about how they can't have sex. Humorously, one of the people mentioning the forms in-game notes their restrictions despite implicitly being lesbian, which implies Super Earth extends to situations that probably shouldn't cause pregnancies in real life.[[/labelnote]]
99	** Shit gun (Arrowhead is listening) [[labelnote:Explanation]] Due to a perception amongst some players that Arrowhead is extremely heavy-handed in nerfing weapons that are used too often, players have now started to jokingly circulate an edit of Kishibe from [[Manga/ChainsawMan Chainsaw Man]] to warn each-other that [[https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/rdt_20240509_2127284368325394879423947.jpg Arrowhead is listening]] and will nerf their favorite gun, so pretend it's awful instead.[[/labelnote]]
100	** "[[ShootTheDog Im Frend]]"[[labelnote:Explanation]]An in-game screenshot of a player about to kick a fellow Helldiver named Dremskiy due to wanting an all-friends only lobby. Dremskiy typed "[[RougeAnglesOfSatin Im frend]]" in the chat and the host responded with "Don't make this harder than it has to be". It has since blown up as a meme within the playerbase, with Dremskiy alternately being regarded as TheWoobie and a MemeticBadass, and the meme was even [[MemeAcknowledgement referenced by]] the official ''Helldivers II'' Website/TwitterX account.[[/labelnote]]
101	** "[[Franchise/StarshipTroopers Pilestedt caught the balance!]]"[[labelnote:Explanation]]When Creator/ArrowheadGameStudios CEO Jonah Pilestedt announced in late May of 2024 that he was stepping down from the position of CEO in order to take a more active role in creative development and [[BalanceBuff help with balancing issues]], players ''immediately'' started comparing it to the iconic ending scene of ''Film/StarshipTroopers'' where a demoted Sergeant Zim captures a Brain Bug, greatly helping the Terran war effort (this scene is also in the book, but Zim isn't demoted).[[/labelnote]]
102	* MemeticPsychopath: [[GameMaster Joel]], the real-life Arrowhead employee who runs the Galactic War, is often jokingly regarded as the GreaterScopeVillain of the game. Sometimes fans go so far as to portray Joel as an in-universe character, usually a Helldiver who committed a FaceHeelTurn and is now working for the enemy by feeding them information on Super Earth's tactics a la [[Franchise/BattlestarGalactica Gaius Balthar]]. Alternatively, he's sometimes characterized as an Automaton super intelligence known as J.O.E.L.
103	* MisaimedFandom:
104	** Like its [[VideoGame/{{Helldivers}} prequel]], there are plenty of fans who unironically celebrate Super Earth's government as a democratic utopia. More troubling, fascists, Nazis and other authoritarians don't care that the game is supposed to be satire, or claim that the game is somehow satirizing modern democracy as a whole. The over-the-top nature of the propaganda and the LargeHam lines from the Helldivers themselves are meant to be funny in how [[HamAndCheese enthusiastically they're delivered]], with most of the humor deriving from the fact that the player can clearly get that this is all a big joke at the expense of warmongering authoritarian governments. [[WeHaveReserves The expendable nature of the Helldivers]], [[OrwellianEditor the hand-waving of discrepancies in the propaganda]], and [[BigBrotherIsWatching the virulent culling of anyone who even slightly dissents]] make it clear that this is a CrapsackWorld with a nice coat of paint. Most players who go on about Super Earth being awesome are doing it [[PlayAlongMeme in a tongue-in-cheek way where it's meant to be understood that they're just kidding]]. The fact that some players miss how over-the-top and silly this all is means that they are, rather ironically, demonstrating that such propaganda can actually work.
105	** While Arrowhead Game Studios is ''technically'' an "indie" game studio, basically all of their games have had larger publishers, Sony Interactive in this case. Overall the game has a lot more in common with AAA releases than it does with small-team indie games in terms of budget and promotion. Despite this, there are frequently claims made that the game's runaway success is somehow "Indie devs sticking it to AAA gaming" and "setting an industry standard" even though the game is literally being financed by the group it's supposedly rebelling against.
106	* NightmareFuel: [[NightmareFuel/HelldiversII Has its own page]].
107	* ObviousBeta: It seems like every time a new patch is released, the number of bugs in the game grows almost exponentially. From weapon glitches such as the Arc Thrower constantly misfiring even at point-blank range to scopes being misaligned so egreiously that there is no guarantee you will actually hit what you're aiming at to Helldivers being thrown randomly into the air by collision glitches to a GameBreakingBug where players are perpetually slowed, people have been begging Arrowhead to focus on bug fixes rather than releasing new content.
108	* PopCultureHoliday:
109	** October 26th celebrates the Super Earth holiday of Liberty Day[[note]]Chosen because October 26th, 1959 was the original publication date of ''Literature/StarshipTroopers'', which the ''Helldivers'' series takes great inspiration from[[/note]], which is accompanied by an in-game celebration on the menu and (usually) new content as well as out-of-universe festivities from Arrowhead Studios, including livestreams and giveaways.
110	** Malevelon Creek Rememberance Day is on April 3rd, to honor the [[CurbStompBattle smashingly successful offensive to liberate Malevelon Creek]] on April 1st, 2024 and [[DueToTheDead the thousands of brave Helldivers who perished during the Fall of Malevelon Creek in late February of that same year]].
111	* PlayAlongMeme:
112	** Fans of ''Helldivers II'' have been known to respond on social media posts related to the game by acting as in-universe citizens who are completely convinced that Super Earth is every bit the democratic utopia that Super Earth claims to be. But it's done in a tongue-in-cheek way where these players are clearly meant to be joking, and it's understood as such. That being said, [[MisaimedFandom some people still miss the fact that it's a joke]].
113	** Treating the Battle of Malevelon Creek with such severity as if it were a real battle in real life which claimed thousands of players. Divers who were there during the Fall will describe it with all the pain of a ShellShockedVeteran, and "[[RememberTheAlamo REMEMBER THE CREEK!]]" is just as common of a BattleCry to hear over comms as "[[UsefulNotes/TheAmericanCivilWar VIRGINIA!]]" or "[[UsefulNotes/TheCrusades DEUS VULT!]]" would have been in olden times.
114	* ScrappyMechanic:
115	** Fire damage as a whole used to be this. While there are still some issues about just how much damage it deals and the lack of any mitigating aid for players there was a much bigger issue that a glitch caused ''only the host to reliably deal fire and poison damage to enemies'' while Helldivers would always take proper damage. The lethality of flames combined with most Helldivers's inability to use it caused a lot of problems for players as Hulks would gladly cook them but their ability to use area control, including poison, was cut very thin them until it got fixed.
116	** Dropping stratagem beacons when your Helldiver gets hit. Sometimes it's not big deal and it just means your resupply gets knocked out of your hand; other times, it means that the airstrike you meant to call in on the bot fabricator is now landing squarely on your squad's position, and the only thing you can do is run.
117	** Hellbombs are cool in theory but very disappointing in practice. For one thing, the stratagem has a long and complex dial combination needed to call it in. For another, apparently Super Earth manufactures them with the finest wet cardboard that Managed Democracy can find, because a glancing blow from a hunter's claw is capable of destroying it-- and despite maps often being littered with 'dud' Hellbombs that are capable of taking out hordes of enemies when shot, a fresh Hellbomb, even if it's armed and a fraction of a second away from actually detonating, will ''not'' blow up if it's destroyed, and Hellbombs can potentially be on a thirty-second cooldown, depending on mission modifiers. Several players have stated that they would be willing to eat a reinforcement if it meant that they could just shoot the damn thing to blow it up after it lands. Thankfully, a lot of objectives that allegedly require a Hellbomb can be done with things such as anti-tank weaponry for mortar and anti-air emplacements, or a 500kg bomb or orbital laser for things like shrieker nests, detector towers or illegal research facilities, or even incidentally blown up by taking out nearby fabricators like Stratagem Jammers. The only sub-objective that outright ''requires'' a Hellbomb 100% of the time is destroying gunship fabricators.
118	** Due to players [[GoodBadBugs exploiting elevated terrain]] by either dropping themselves or sentries on areas unreachable by enemies, Arrowhead introduced an ObviousRulePatch where strategem beacons will bounce off of elevated terrain. However, one side effect of this fix is that strategem beacons have a tendency to bounce off of flat ledges even when they are fully accessible, often ruining a Helldiver's aim or sentry placement for no reason.
119	* ScrappyWeapon:
120	** The release version of the Breaker Pray & Spray could not even pierce the leathery shells of Terminid eggs. Buffs took it out of this category; it's mostly considered an overall acceptable sidegrade to the Breaker due to its larger ammo capacity which makes it better for dealing with [[TheGoomba scavengers]] and the like nicely.
121	** The Spear is generally considered the worst anti-tank option. It's a HomingProjectile that requires locking onto a target to shoot it and said lock-on has historically been awkward at best and outright non-functional at worst. Even at appropriate distances with a clear view it often still fail to lock on to the intended target or at all, and locked on missiles will '''still''' sometimes miss. The Recoilless Rifle is fairly similar but without the lock-on, but is arguably the more reliable option, as you might miss more without the lock-on, but you can at least consistently shoot it when you want to. Plus it has more extra ammo in the backpack.
122	** The preview version of the Airburst Rocket Launcher was met with much derision by the playerbase due to how overly sensitive and unreliable the proximity fuse of its rockets are. You essentially ''cannot'' fire the weapon with your teammates ''anywhere'' in your line of sight because there is a high chance of the airburst rocket fusing on them and blowing up your team (and in many cases, yourself as well) instead of the enemy. [[note]] This was, in part, due to glitch that got patched. When first unveiled the rockets would treat ''other Helldivers and friendly structures'' (friendly structures included most other things in the game, such as resupplies or trees) as valid targets. Despite being fixed, the massive area of effect that can cause friendly fire is still there.[[/note]] Even when you have a clear lane of fire, the airburst rocket is prone to simply just exploding spontaneously in the air or triggering on random terrain, destructible objects, or a different enemy instead of your intended target. And this comes with the typical drawbacks of low ammo count, long reload, and the requirement for a backpack that are common among all heavy launchers. This was fixed after the stratagem was fully released, making it a...well, still dangerous, but entirely usable weapon that can clear away groups of enemies in a moment, even medium-armored ones like Devastators.
123	* {{Scrub}}:
124	** Several people on the Helldivers subreddit have reported facing backlash from other players for wearing the Malevelon Creek Memorial Cape[[note]]Due to lingering resentment towards "Creekheads" for supposedly taking the Malevelon Creek meme too far at the expense of actual objectives[[/note]], ranging from being kicked from squads to active {{Griefing}}, such as [[UnfriendlyFire having stratagems thrown on top of them or being subjected to intentional friendly fire]].
125	** Several people also report a certain subset of players getting salty at not being called in for reinforcements for an extended period of time, apparently not comprehending that the presence of a Stratagem Jammer prevents ''all'' stratagems, including Reinforcement.
126	* SelfFanservice: Though [[TheVoice Eagle-1 goes completely unseen during actual gameplay]], enough players have apparently become [[ArousedByTheirVoice smitten by her calling out when she's going to do an airstrike]] that she is invariably depicted in fanart as a well-endowed, spiky-haired "{{Tomboy}} GF"-looking woman.
127	* SpiritualSuccessor: The game is largely considered by ''{{Franchise/Halo}}'' fans to be the sequel to the original trilogy that they always wanted, due to the many similarities Super Earth's war against the Automatons and Terminids has with the UNSC's war against the Covenant and Flood as well as the namesake Helldivers being direct analogues to both the [=SPARTANs=] and [=ODSTs=].
128	* ThatOneAchievement:
129	** "Kill It With Fire!", requiring the player to kill 100 enemies with fire damage in one mission, is this due to the fact that fire damage does not work as intended . Fire is supposed to apply a DamageOverTime effect, but it only works for the host, meaning that bringing stratagems that use Napalm or the Flamethrower weapon is an active hindrance to your squad.
130	** "Hold My Primary, I'm Going In!" specifies that nobody on your squad can use a use primary weapons ''or'' support weapons, only secondaries and stratagems like turrets or airstrikes on Hard (Difficulty 5) or higher. Hard is where heavily-armored enemies such as gunships, factory striders, and bile titans start showing up ''far'' more often, and unfortunately, out of all 6 secondaries currently in the game, only the P-4 Senator has medium armour penetration, which is why the recommended strategy to use is to load up with Eagle and orbital stratagems, take an armour with an increased number of grenades and pick a mission that can be completed very quickly, such as disabling the TCS.
131	* ThatOneDisadvantage:
132	** Certain missions have modifiers to them on harder difficulties. Two of the worst are "AA Defenses", which reduce the number of stratagem slots for each Helldiver by 1, and "Complex Stratagem Plotting", which formerly doubled the deployment time of all Stratagems except Reinforcement. The latter was especially bullshit, as it doubled the deployment time ''of extraction'', meaning players had to fight off waves of enemies for four minutes instead of two. Both of these turn what should be fairly simple missions into bloodbaths, as your squad is inevitably not going to be fighting at 100%. The latter was eventually given a {{Nerf}} down to just increasing deployment times (including extraction) by 50%, which still sucks, but is marginally less painful.
133	** The Stratagem Scrambler prior to its removal from the game was a particularly infamous mechanic that would cause your inputted code sequences to have a chance to replace whatever it is you chose replaced by another stratagem in your inventory. This lead to a ''lot'' of incidents such as players calling in their support weapons upon first landing only to be met with a carpet bombing over their own heads instead. Even when players are aware of the presence of a scrambler and know how to work around it (simply cancel and redial your stratagem), it still makes calling vital stratagem completely unreliable during emergency situations, causing the inverse of the previous situation where players trying to call in an orbital bombardment on a horde of enemies closing in on them are repeatedly given the stratagem to instead call in a support weapon instead.
134	** Terminid Spore Clouds modifier disables your EnemyDetectingRadar, and also hides the Terminids' location on the initial drop map. The latter half can potentially cause a death spiral that drains you and your team of your reinforcement budget if you just happen to drop into a large outpost with a Bile Titan and its Charger escorts. And while to some this might not seem so bad compared to other modifiers that hinder or outright remove stratagems, this modifier is especially bad on blitz missions. Due to not being able to see where the Terminid outposts are, it'll be a mad scramble to actually find them in the twelve minutes you have. If you're unlucky, you'll be short just one or two bug holes, and will be stuck trying to find one last outpost to obliterate before the Super Destroyer leaves and Pelican-1 is called early.
135	* ThatOneLevel:
136	** There's a reason, out of the myriad procedurally generated planets, Malevelon Creek has achieved MemeticMutation as "Space Vietnam" and, for certain kinds of players, the BestLevelEver. It's inhabited by the Automatons, who are generally seen as more dangerous than the Terminids for their use of military equipment including but absolutely not limited to: strategic jammers, anti-aircraft guns, mortar pits, bulletproof armor and main battle tanks. Going from a planet where the most dangerous thing is a bile titan or a stalker, to a battlefield where the first sign you've been spotted is the air becoming majority tracer by volume takes quite a bit of getting used to. Helping the "Space Vietnam" meme, they're also [[DirtyCommies dirty commie]] [[RobotWar robots]] (according to [[UnreliableNarrator Super Earth propaganda]]). It is a swampy jungle world, with poor sightlines on the shore. The sightlines are better in lagoons, but with Helldivers' SuperDrowningSkills and the slow movement through the shallows, that's just asking to get shredded by Automaton fire from the shore. Other jungle worlds are often bright, but Malevelon Creek is shrouded in a dark blue twilight even at high noon. While Automatons' fire can be disrupted by smoke and such, the darkness doesn't seem to affect them as badly as it affects players. The addition of planetary weather effects in later patches only adds to the fun - the Creek has ion storms, electromagnetic disturbances in the atmosphere that block your stratagems for short periods of time (often when you've got an irate KillerRobot horde on your tail who you'd very much like to get rid of). All of these combine to make a ''unique'' experience: creeping through the thick jungle, hoping to spot Automaton red in the dark blue foliage... before the Automatons spot the Helldivers and the jungle erupts in red tracers.
137	** [[IDontLikeTheSoundOfThatPlace Hellmire]] has earned its place as the Terminid front's answer to Malevelon Creek. While the Creek is mostly dangerous because it suits the Automatons well, Hellmire is an outright DeathWorld. Every few minutes on Hellmire, the entire sky ''bursts into flame'', with fire tornadoes descending to wreak havoc. Hellmire is also a world of narrow, craggy canyons; Liberty help the Helldiver who is stuck in one when the flames descend. The only partial silver lining is that the flames of Hellmire do not differentiate between Helldivers and Terminids... but even then, the single-minded Terminids will [[InfernalRetaliation continue to assault Helldivers while on fire]], and can potentially set said Helldivers alight before giving into the flames.
138	** Dedicated "[[EscortMission Extract Essential Personnel]]" missions have this reputation. The objective is to get scientists from their hiding spots to a shelter, which sounds simple on paper, but is a nightmare in practice: the area the mission takes place in will soon grow absolutely ''clogged'' with enemies that will kill any scientist they can get at while also overwhelming the players, often to the point that it's impossible to get the scientists to start moving towards the shelter without risking life and limb. Further aggrivating the matter is the fact that every scientist that dies ''penalizes'' your Requisition Slip total for the mission. Finally, unlike most other mission types where the time limit is roughly 40-50 minutes, these missions always have a time limit of ''15 minutes'', and it is ''very'' easy to run out the clock due to how many scientists you need to escort and how many enemies you have to fight through at any given moment. The version of this mission that takes place on full-scale maps tends to be much more forgiving, making the intensity of the 15-minute evac variant seem even more wildly out of hand than it already is. On top of this, if you're unlucky enough to be on a squad that doesn't prioritize the objective and just go around doing points of interest needlessly, especially on higher difficulties, you're going to inevitably fail.
139	** Vernen Wells lacks the fire tornadoes or massive rainstorms of either Hellmire or Malevelon Creek. What it ''does'' have are skyscraper-sized mesas and plateaus that are capable of obstructing stratagems. You thought that airstrike was going to take down the fabricator, or that the 500kg bomb would obliterate the Detector Tower? Nope! Caught on a massive cliff instead.
140	* ThatOneSidequest:
141	** Destroying Gunship Fabricators. It doesn't matter what you throw at it, from two 500kg bombs to an orbital laser to half a dozen blasts from a Quasar Cannon, the only thing that's destroying them is a Hellbomb[[note]]Or, if the lucky stars have aligned, a mini-nuke shell from the SEAF Artillery side objective or a Gunship crashing down right on top of one.[[/note]]. Gunships are already DemonicSpiders, and they are more than capable of destroying a Hellbomb just by glancing at it. Even better? Sometimes ''two'' fabricators spawn next to each other, and you have to call in ''multiple'' Hellbombs to take them out.
142	** Destroying a Stratagem Jammer is basically a flip of a coin. Did a fabricator spawn right next to it? If so, blow that up and you're golden. If not, the fight is going to be arduous, as only the explosion of either a fabricator or a Hellbomb is powerful enough to take it out, and if you're forced to use the latter, you need to activate a terminal and defend it from hordes of bots dropping in. Hellbombs universally have the durability of rotten wood, so even if one does manage to call it in and arm it, there's no guarantee it will actually detonate, as a glancing blow from a Bot's weapon can destroy it without it exploding. Not to mention, Jammers can become even more of an ordeal to destroy if they are in close proximity to other Automaton structures, especially Detector Towers and Gunship Fabricators because those objectives can ''only'' be destroyed by strategems, making them pretty much invulnerable until the Jammer is dealt with.
143	** On the Terminid front, Spore Spewers reduce visibility to mere inches until they're blown up. Good luck avoiding the chargers you can't see. On top of this, they have a similar visual profile to Shrieker Nests, so if you spot one from a far distance you can't tell if getting close will drop you into a fog of spores or swarm you with flyers. Thankfully there's no requirement to Hellbomb these- they can be taken out from afar with any sufficiently powerful explosive weapon.
144	** Stalker Nests are by far one of the most feared side objectives to encounter on a Terminid world because there's really no way to know one exists up until the Stalkers actually begin attacking you. Stalker Nests don't show up on the minimap until you get in close proximity to them, don't look all that much different from a regular nest, and there's no easy way to spot them from a distance like Shrieker Nests. This usually means the Helldivers have to perform a mad scramble around the area to sniff out the Stalker Nest before they get picked off by the Stalkers.
145	* TheyChangedItNowItSucks: Arrowhead has become notorious for questionable balancing decisions for the game's weapons, most of which are {{Nerf}}s. Patch 1.000.300 has, to date, been the nadir of this, with basically every remotely 'Meta', or even remotely ''decent'', weapon, recieving either a drop in damage, a drop in ammo capacity, or both. This has baffled a majority of the playerbase, as there is no direct PVP element to the game, {{Griefing}} aside, so several people have argued that sweeping changes to make weapons objectively worse doesn't make sense. The fact that this came hot on the heels of Sony's attempts to force PSN integration didn't help matters.
146	* SugarWiki/VisualEffectsOfAwesome: This game is Arrowhead Game Studios' first venture into making a AAA title, and it ''shows'' with the graphical jump to photorealism compared to the first game's stylized artstyle. There are countless examples of both SceneryPorn and SceneryGorn to be found across the varied biomes of every planet you can drop on.

Context YMMV / HelldiversII