Arrowhead, the developer behind Helldivers 2, has revealed significant changes coming to the game, including a roguelite system known as Planet Warfronts. In a Steam post detailing the future of community and player progression, game director Mikael Eriksson confirmed that Planet Warfronts is the roguelite system previously teased by Arrowhead CCO and Helldivers 2 creative director Johan Pilestedt back in December.
Eriksson explained that before launch, the team experimented with dynamic warfronts on planets, requiring strategic community decisions at the planet level to liberate it. While promising, they lacked sufficient content at the time. Now, with enough content added, Planet Warfronts is the next big focus for the Galactic War. When Pilestedt mentioned experimenting with roguelite systems, he was referring to this.
Once live, missions will be grouped into different categories. Players will fight to reach key strategic locations like cities, which may feature various enemy variants across different planet areas. Game Masters will still pose challenges. The final version will include gameplay-altering effects and consequences for achieving liberation goals, such as reaching a city within a time limit or disabling enemy artillery to unlock crucial Operations.
Eriksson emphasized that the goal is to make liberating planets more fun with your squad, deepening the Galactic War and Community Progression systems. He noted that while development and design work remains, more details will emerge in the coming months.
When Pilestedt first teased the roguelite mode, he said it "changes the game fundamentally!" This sparked excitement among fans of the explosive co-op action shooter, imagining how a roguelite mode would fit into the game's time-limited missions.
Additionally, Helldivers 2 will introduce Galactic War Campaigns this month. These campaigns are the "next evolution" of Major Orders, lasting 1-3 weeks. Eriksson stated that the goal is to always make clear the active campaign, its progress, outcomes, and stakes, addressing previous confusion with the Galactic War system.
Campaigns will always offer at least one reward if conditions are met. Eriksson hinted that rewards will be special, including gameplay-altering items and cool gear, offering more goals beyond warbonds. He teased that the first unlockable reward is a new FRV, hoping J.O.E.L is generous.
Personal Orders are being replaced by Personal Campaign Progression, a system where each Galactic War Campaign includes a personal reward track. This ensures players can still earn rewards for their participation even if the community fails to meet larger goals. This change is planned for later this year, not with the Campaign launch.
Finally, Arrowhead announced an overhaul of the ship module system, significantly expanding player progression options. Even more exciting, new ships are being added. Eriksson revealed a dedicated ship team is working on the first new ship, each with unique progression paths, specializations, and customizations. More ships are planned, with details to come later this year.
