Helldivers 2 is getting its first new battle pass since launch on March 14, and it’s sure to come in handy with the upcoming mech invasion. Arrowhead Game Studios announced on the PlayStation Blog Thursday that the new “Warbond,” as the battle pass is called in Helldivers 2, will focus on electric and energy-based weaponry and “ultra-futuristic armor.”
You can check out the new equipment in action by watching the official trailer, but here’s a rundown. In terms of guns, you’ll be able to unlock the LAS-16 Sickle (a short-burst laser rifle that doesn’t require reloading), the SG-8P Punisher Plasma (a plasma shotgun), and the ARC-12 Blitzer (a gun that shoots lightning at close range). There’s also a new stun grenade and pistol.
The new armor is part of the EX Series Prototypes series, which at the time of writing doesn’t do much beyond developing more hilarity for lore fans, with descriptions that say the armor can’t be used “near stapled paperwork” or cost billions of Super Credits. These have been in development for at least 12 years in-game, and seem to possess some useful status effects. For example, the EX-03 Prototype 3 includes “a rubber underlayer for insulation” while another generates a “strong magnetic field.”
To unlock items in the Warbond, players need to earn medals by completing missions or finding them as loot throughout the map. While some armor suits and helmets are available in the Superstore (the game’s premium store that takes Super Credits, which can be bought with real-world currency), you can unlock armor, guns, grenades, and other cosmetics just by playing the game and earning rewards. Along with armor and guns, the battle pass will also feature new capes and three new emotes, which are arguably the most important additions.
The new Warbond couldn’t come at a better time for the game’s community. While mechs, a new enemy type, haven’t technically been announced, numerous leaks have surfaced, with some players even gaining access to the unreleased content. They’ve also been teased heavily on the game’s social media, with propaganda-styled posters announcing the new “EXO-45 Patriot Exosuits” and saying they’re “ready for deployment.” Helldivers have also just been called to liberate Tien Kwan, which is home to factories working on the suits. and has been attacked. The theory is that once the planet is liberated, the mechs will be available.
There was also a new patch released Wednesday that nerfed some fan-favorite weapons but added fire tornadoes. So the game is changing up in a big way, arguably the biggest since the developers had to fix all the server and progression problems at launch.
