Welcome to another community update for the month of July! We’re back again to give you an update on the Galactic War happenings, some of our favorite moments, and a development spotlight for Helldivers 2! The War Report Our last war update took us through the destruction of Meridia. After that, the Helldivers turned their attention to the Automatons and Database One – a stronghold of bot information, hidden deep in Automaton territory on the planet Wasat and protected by super strong encryption. With the help of complementary FX-12 Shield Generator Relays (thanks to our Ministry of Defense!), our troops successfully captured Database One, extracted the info, and liberated Wasat from the Automaton forces. But then the Automatons did the unthinkable. They came after two of our greatest resources: raw ingredients used to create the MD-17 Anti-Tank Mines and the precious children of Super Citizen Anne’s Hospital for Very Sick Children on Vernen Wells. Due to the unfortunate timing of these distress calls, our Helldivers were forced to make a choice – save the mines, or save the children. The Helldivers wisely chose the children. [img]https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images//44156989/cccfee7ddd5c8bca1e3daafda45ae680ed50e69e.png[/img] The Ministries of Truth, Defense, Humanity, Expansion, Science, Unity, and Prosperity have authorized us to thank our Helldivers for their decision to rescue the children of Super Citizen Anne’s. We are proud of our soldiers, diving and fighting for all those little lives on Vernen Wells. The victory was sweet, but the war continued on the Terminid front. The Supercolony might be gone, but Terminid population levels were still too high, particularly in the Mirin and Draco sectors. The Ministry of Defense granted Helldivers the temporary use of the Hive Breaker Drill (modified from the Tectonic Drill) to successfully destroy underground Terminid nurseries, eliminating the vile bugs before they matured into full grown terrors. The Helldivers continued to jump back and forth, agilely holding the Automaton front and the Terminid front as both made advances. In the Xzar sector, Automaton forces were attempting to reactivate their defunct factories and reclaim territory, but the Helldivers held their ground and prevented another bot uprising, assisted by a short-term authorization for use of the AC-8 Autocannon. After the victory on Mirin and Draco, the Terminids spread their vile legions to Falstaff and Jin Xi, both sectors reserved by the Ministry of Expansion’s colonization efforts, and the Helldivers were once again called in to reduce their numbers. The Automatons rose up while Helldivers were distracted and mounted an attack on X-45, the site of the Advanced Weapons Lab from the First Galactic War, to steal plans for a powerful interplanetary battle station. But the Helldivers again emerged victorious, holding X-45, securing the battle station plans, and gaining access to the MLS-4X Commando stratagem. An opportunity to test the Helldivers’ ever-expanding arsenal arrived in the form of an order to kill one hundred million Terminids. For our troops, this was child’s play, with the Helldivers completing the major order well ahead of schedule. The War Table Game Master Joel and the community team have really only one major highlight for this month because we’re all still reeling from how it unfolded. Solving the Trolley Problem Helldivers proved us wrong in the most wonderful way possible when they chose to save the children of Super Citizen Anne’s instead of saving the raw materials to make Anti-Tank Mines. Some did it for laughs, of course, but regardless it was inspiring to watch the community come together to do something wholesome. As a result, our Supreme Leader and Chief Creative Officer, Johan Pilestedt, donated $4,311 to Save The Children to make your in-game kindness a reality. [img]https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images//44156989/4f1ba4d7cd87d606275658bdb508d1657897cb1f.jpg[/img] Game Master Joel’s office wall with a new addition from the children of Super Citizen Anne’s. In truth, I think we thought players would pick the mines. We’re well aware of the in-joke that not picking the mines has created (as in, “it’s funnier to keep missing them”), but this seemed like an easy victory to grant the community the missing stratagem. Instead, this was one of those truly incredible moments where the community surprised and delighted us. It felt like the perfect moment for us to live up to your grand example. We’re also grateful for the continued donations made to Save The Children, again showing us that you go above and beyond as a community. You are truly amazing, Helldivers. Research & Development Developer Spotlight: Vidar Rapp One of the things we’d like to tackle in this section of our updates is introducing our community to our developers, and showcasing their talents and creations. For this month, we talked with one of our character artists, Vidar Rapp! Q: Tell us a little bit about yourself and what you do for Arrowhead Game Studios. A: I'm a Character Artist here at Arrowhead. I've been in the games industry for almost 20 years, starting out at Avalanche Studios back in 2005 and spending my longest stretch working for MachineGames on the Wolfenstein reboot. I joined Arrowhead rather recently, a few months ahead of launch! It's been quite a ride and I'm very excited about all the things we'll be bringing players to enjoy and encounter in the game. When I'm not working on cool art for Helldivers 2, I enjoy cooking, making traditional art, painting sneakers and hanging out with my family & friends! Q: What’s your favorite thing you’ve contributed to Helldivers 2? A: My favorite thing I've worked on isn't yet released live, but of the things that are out there in the galaxy, I think the Factory Striders were my favorite contribution as it was one of the first full units I got to tackle since coming aboard. Going online and seeing the first reactions to them from streamers and fans alike was very satisfying! [img]https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images//44156989/ca86ce7ebf0aaa191585f05afe37e846329d7251.jpg[/img] Vidar’s Factory Strider Q: That’s quite the tease! Can you tell us anything about what you’re working on right now? A: I'm currently working on a planetary modifier that will see new lethal variants of some of our existing bugs spawn. I'm pleased with how they are turning out and I think they will present a unique challenge for the Helldivers. Another enemy I've worked on is the Impaler, which I will not say more about at this point - though returning Helldivers will recall this name with a certain amount of trepidation. Check out Vidar’s art portfolio here. https://www.artstation.com/vidarrapp The Mess Hall And finally, we would like to introduce our long-awaited community team section! The first order of business is to highlight a few of the incredible fan creations we’ve seen. We are continually amazed by our community’s creativity and talent across so many different mediums. Keep it coming! First up, we have this stunning piece by LevaSoj which was shared with us in Discord: [img]https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images//44156989/aa300f7b94e4c7401e1f5063d887603e9890d3cc.jpg[/img] @LevaSoj / @levasoj_ Next we have these three stellar pencil sketches from WisdomThumbs, also on Discord: [img]https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images//44156989/053966f03b9d820bc0caa189d7a7dc8b81b97cc7.jpg[/img] [img]https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images//44156989/31b190648c8c2933018e270d0adc1c046a3f64c4.jpg[/img] [img]https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images//44156989/470aaa20f34dfaaf53a5173337f0e6521984c55c.jpg[/img] Finally, check out this incredible Airsoft Liberator build by Shirley Productions! [img]https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images//44156989/b9bfa732993fe83f785ba86558dc3f7ab73e5d15.jpg[/img] We’re excited to shine a spotlight on your creations. If we want to feature you, we will reach out via DM, so be on the lookout, artists! That’s a wrap for this month, Helldivers, but we’ll be back with more from the front lines in August!