Democratic Detonation Warbond release date & start time in Helldivers 2

Democratic Detonation is the second Premium Warbond to hit Helldivers 2 post-release, following the electric Cutting Edge Warbond back in March.

Democratic Detonation will net you some new cosmetics to outfit your character and — most importantly — give you access to some new weapons to use in the fight to save Super Earth. If you’re looking for new Stratagems, you won’t find any here.

In this Helldivers 2 guide, we’ll walk you through when you can pick up the Democratic Detonation Warbond, how much it costs, and what all comes with it.

Democratic Detonation Warbond release time: When does the new Helldivers 2 update launch?

The Democratic Detonation Warbond for Helldivers 2 will launch on Thursday, April 11. And while PlayStation Studios and Arrowhead Games haven’t announced an official time for the new update, we can make some educated guesses based on previous releases.

Helldivers 2 itself launched at 4 a.m. EST on Feb. 8, and most patches seem to appear within two or three hours of that same window. Cutting Edge, the previous Warbond, released around 6:30 a.m. EST. Assuming the Democratic Detonation Warbond releases around Arrowhead Games’ usual update time, here’s a three-hour window of when you can expect it to appear in your time zone:

• Between 2 a.m. and 5 a.m. PDT for the west coast of North America
• Between 5 a.m. and 8 a.m. EDT for the east coast of North America
• Between 9 a.m. and 12 p.m. GMT for the U.K.
• Between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. CET for western Europe / Paris
• Between 6 p.m. and 9 p.m. JST for Tokyo

We’ll update this post if Arrowhead Games announces an official time for the Warbond’s release.

How much does the Democratic Detonation Warbond cost in Helldivers 2?

Image: Arrowhead Game Studios/Sony Interactive Entertainment

Arrowhead Games and Sony haven’t specifically announced how much the new Warbond will cost. However, the other two premium Warbonds — Steeled Veterans and Cutting Edge — both ran players 1,000 Super Credits (or $9.99).

Both other Premium Warbonds offered four new weapons — the same number as Democratic Detonation will — as well as a new grenade type, so it seems 1,000 Super Credits is the going rate for Warbonds in Helldivers 2.

Just remember that Warbonds do not automatically grant rewards. Like a Battle Pass track in Fortnite or Destiny 2, you’re paying for the right to unlock items from the Warbond as you play, earn medals, and purchase the new goodies you want most. If you play long enough, you’ll eventually be able to unlock everything in the Democratic Detonation Warbond. And, unlike season passes in some other live-service games, Warbonds never go away in Helldivers 2.

What’s new in the Democratic Detonation Warbond for Helldivers 2?

The Democratic Detonation Warbond comes with four new weapons, three capes, three armor sets, a new grenade, and a variety of other goodies like player cards and emotes. Let’s break it down.

• The BR-14 Adjudicator Rifle is a fast-firing marksman rifle. While it doesn’t necessarily fit into the explosive theme of the Warbond, it is capable of penetrating armor.
• The R-36 Eruptor Rifle is a hybrid weapon, a bolt-action rifle with a sniper-like scope on top. The catch is that instead of shooting big sniper bullets, it fires exploding shells.
• The CB-9 Exploding Crossbow is exactly what it sounds like. This is a crossbow that shoots explosives instead of standard bolts.
• The GP-31 Grenade Pistol is an odd one. It’s shaped like a pistol, and it looks like a pistol, but it shoots grenades instead. While this sounds and looks amazing, there is a minor catch: you’ll need to reload after each shot.

The three armor sets are the CE-07 Demolition Specialist (light), the CE-27 Ground Breaker (medium), and the FS-55 Devastator (heavy). The grenade is an incendiary sticky grenade called the G-123 Thermite Grenade.

This Warbond seems especially good for dealing with Terminids (the bugs), whereas the last bond was angled toward the Automatons.