Fans of Helldivers 2 are counting down to the release of the massive Escalation of Freedom update on PS5 and Steam. Described as the game’s biggest update yet, the big new content drop has an August 6 release date. While there’s no exact launch time, the update is expected to drop at around 10am BST UK time. It’s the same time developer Arrowhead Games will hold a 24-hour Escalation of Freedom live stream, which will be used to showcase all of the changes available as part of the update. Fans who tune in will receive the ‘TR-40 Golden Eagle’ armour 48-hours early.
In terms of the new update, Arrowhead has already given fans a pretty good idea about what to expect from the Escalation of Freedom content drop.
If you’re breezing through missions, then you’ll be pleased to hear that Arrowhead is making the game even more challenging.
The new Combat Rating 10 Super Helldive is described as the game’s most “relentless dive difficulty level yet”.
Elsewhere, Arrowhead is adding new enemy types, including the Impaler from the original game. That’s on top of the Spore Charger, which is shrouded in fog.
Needless to say, the new update will make a ton of bug fixes and gameplay tweaks, not to mention countless quality of life improvements.
It kicks off a busy week for Helldivers 2, which is getting the new Freedom’s Flame Premium Warbond on August 8.
You can check out the Escalation of Freedom early patch notes below…
Helldivers 2 Escalation of Freedom early patch notes…
Combat Rating 10: Super Helldive
– CR 10: Super Helldive is our most challenging, most relentless dive difficulty level yet
New mission objectives and bigger enemy outposts
– These outposts will be heavily fortified, and require players to coordinate and strategise in order to take them out.
– Players will receive new Super Sample rewards
New Enemies and Dangerous Swamps
• The Impaler enemy returns from the original Helldivers
– No longer can you run from the bugs when the Impaler is around–big, imposing, and destructive, it demands to be dealt with.
• Spore Charger enemy
– As if the regular old Charger wasn’t scary enough, the Spore Charger is shrouded in fog to obscure its location until it’s right up on you, Helldiver.
• Terminid Alpha Commander
– Supercharged Brood Commander that’s bigger, meaner, and doesn’t hesitate to call in other bugs for backup.
• Rocket Tank Automaton enemy
New Swamp Biome
– With rolling fog and the untamed flora, the blackened trees obscure the light and the air itself feels haunted.
– Keep your flashlight handy, as visibility is limited and light is key.
New Grief Kicking system
– To help improve this we have implemented a system where if a player is kicked, they will spawn into a new session as the host with all of the team’s loot from their previous session.
– All items can now be picked up by the player before extraction.
– The squad doing the kicking will see a message in the chat widget that a player has been kicked, yet their loot remains unchanged.
– With these changes, all players have the opportunity to leave with all loot collected on mission, with no one Helldiver losing out.
Quality of life upgrades
– Major fixes to the social menu to make diving with your friends easier.