Highlights

  • Newer mission types in Helldivers 2 like 'Evacuate High-Value Assets' offer engaging tactical challenges but lack side objectives for progression.
  • The newest major order in Helldivers 2 wields punishing difficulty and requires teamwork and specific stratagem knowledge.
  • Strategic coordination and relentless effort are needed to succeed in the intense and chaotic dark fluid Meridia mission in Helldivers 2.

It’s never a dull moment in Super Earth’s Galactic War for managed democracy and new Helldivers 2 mission types ensure that. ‘Evacuate High-Value Assets,’ known colloquially as Helldivers 2’s defense missions, was until recently one of the newest mission types and is endlessly engaging due to its simple loop and an emphasis on tactical preparation. That said, such niche, focused mission types lack side objectives and resources that are vital to stratagem and ship module progression.

Helldivers 2 had a string of failed major orders before players succeeded in earning the EMANCIPATOR EXOSUIT and Arrowhead has wasted no time introducing the newest major order along with a brand-new mission type: ‘Deploy Dark Fluid.’ Chosen difficulty levels play a role in how hard these missions tend to be, but if any major order is at risk of failure it was this one due to how punishing the dark fluid mission on Meridia has proven to be thus far. Fortunately, Arrowhead has swiftly and graciously rushed to players’ aid.

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Helldivers 2’s Dark Fluid Meridia Mission Had Put Squads at the Mercy of RNG

At Helldivers 2’s highest difficulty, Helldive, players will experience the most outrageous occurrences that actively thwart any critical objective progression at the literal root of Meridia’s ‘Deploy Dark Fluid’ mission. Undoubtedly the biggest concern during this mission was that bug breaches would spawn directly atop the drill, swarming it with orange plumes and a supercolony of Terminids seconds after players had slotted a dark fluid vessel into it.

It’s tough enough to quell or stall a mound of scavengers and warriors before they can begin hacking away at the drill, but these breaches don’t discriminate against any manner of bugs, either; bile titans will emerge from the ground and the collateral of their giant limbs can inadvertently cut down the drill in a matter of moments if players are unfortunate regarding enemy spawns. Plus, with at least one breach occurring every time a dark fluid vessel is tossed into the drill, the dark fluid mission is incessantly grueling with few sacred moments for players to prepare each payload site with mortars or supplies.

Ironically, bugs spawning on the drill was apparently a “bug” in and of itself and Arrowhead has thankfully patched this out , which has alleviated the worst of the dark fluid mission.

That’s not to say this mission type was downright impossible to complete before the patch and yet squads’ chances were drastically decreased while bugs were unceremoniously spawning and attacking the drill in the same animation. Helldivers 2’s dark fluid mission also requires stalwart teamwork and a knowledge of what stratagems will or won’t damage the drill, which was a huge learning curve, but no amount of strategy is enough when RNG is crushing and omnipotent.

That’s all before the dark fluid mission’s last stand finale, too, where players hold out against shriekers and any number of various bugs and await the Pelican to rescue them. Remaining prone can only help evade so much damage since the hill players hold out on can be overrun quickly, though this is only a quandary players are privileged to deal with if they can deploy dark fluid at three payload sites and reach the mission’s endgame.

Helldivers 2’s Dark Fluid Meridia Order is No Longer a Suicide Mission and Not a Moment Too Soon

At the moment, the dark fluid mission seems most reliably successful if players spam the drill and its nearby bug breaches with EMS AoEs , smoke stratagems, and stun grenades, preferably in staggered increments so their effects last the duration of the drill’s meter while Railcannons pinpoint titans, chargers, and spewers without nuking the surrounding area.

Thus, when RNG is kind and players are all working together harmoniously, the dark fluid mission is an incomparably cinematic and pulse-pounding epic bearing tales worth retelling on Super Earth. Measures can be taken to lessen the Terminid onslaught slightly, including caving in sparse bug holes and cutting down spores nests, but nothing prepares players for how chaotic Meridia is when players and the drill are equally vulnerable.

This makes for some of the most gratifying gameplay in Helldivers 2 to date, as well as some of the sequel’s most aggravating or rage-quit-inducing gameplay—at least before the latest patch. It’ll be interesting to see whether this major order succeeds or fails and it’ll be doubly interesting to see what may come of Meridia’s obliteration if players miraculously deploy an adequate amount of dark fluid into the planet’s crust.