Highlights

  • Helldivers 2 has many orbital strike stratagems, but Arrowhead can innovate on them for more explosive fun.
  • Orbital strikes are a crucial type of stratagem to keep fresh, since they can make a massive difference during missions and see lots of use.
  • Arrowhead can enhance orbital strikes with new powerful options or by reducing existing limitations for higher-ranking players.

Helldivers 2 has been receiving plenty of new content, allowing players to create new ways to cause chaos. The inclusion of mechs, for example, can change the sway of a battle within a few seconds. These constant updates are appreciated, especially when they come with bug fixes as well.

There's one stratagem that has been neglected in Helldivers 2 updates so far- orbital strikes. There are many ways they could be innovated upon to provide more explosive fun. Hopefully, Arrowhead circles back to the orbital strikes and gives players more options.

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Orbital Strikes are Helldivers 2's Bread and Butter

Orbital Strikes are blasts that come from Super Destroyers flying above. The following orbital strike stratagems can be called upon when players are in a pickle, provided they've been unlocked and equipped:

  • Orbital Laser - A laser focused blast strikes
  • Orbital Walking Barrage - Explosives are dropped going from where the stratagem was thrown
  • Orbital Gatling Barrage - A shower of explosives is unleashed
  • Orbital 120MM HE Barrage - Small missiles are dropped
  • Orbital 380MM HE Barrage - Missiles are dropped over a large area
  • Orbital Airburst Strike - Shrapnel is blasted over a large area
  • Orbital Railcannon Strike - A priority target is struck

There is a good variety of orbital strikes to choose from. However, Arrowhead Games could do a lot more, not just with the number of orbital strikes available, but also how they function.

Using Orbital Strikes in Helldivers 2

Using these orbital strikes takes some skill, but they are incredibly effective when used correctly. For instance, the Orbital Gatling Barrage is good at attacking a large area of foes, but it can be dangerous to players and their teammates as well if they get caught in the strike zone. Certain Helldivers 2 missions can also be completed relatively quickly and efficiently with a well-aimed orbital laser.

Expanding Orbital Strikes in Helldivers 2

Currently, if players want to improve their orbital strikes, it has to be done through ship upgrades. This is achieved by purchasing Helldivers ship modules which are paid for using Samples. These are collected during missions and shared among teammates at the end of a successful mission.

There's a lot that Arrowhead can do when it comes to making orbital strikes as interesting as mechs and other Helldivers stratagems. The simple option would be to provide more powerful orbital strikes, which would come in handy as players rank up. Alternatively, it could add an orbital strike that uses a wide spread of homing missiles to replicate the effects of the orbital gatling barrage without all the chaos that comes with the chance of friendly fire. Another strike could deploy land mines to turn the battlefield into a dangerous minefield from a distance. Arrowhead could also get creative with things and offer elemental orbital strikes that blast fire or snow.

Is the Lack of Orbital Strikes a Matter of Game Balance?

As players rank up in Helldivers 2, they unlock more orbital strikes. However, there's usually a cost or downside to using these high-level strikes to keep things balanced, like a longer cooldown period. Perhaps the key to improving orbital strikes is not to add new ones but to simply buff the existing ones by reducing the limitations that are present. Players that are high ranking should be able to use their toys without having to wait for excessively long cooldown periods, given that it can leave them without any stratagems to use for a very long time.

With updates coming out regularly, upgrades to orbital strike stratagems could become a reality. Giving players more weapons to experiment with could ensure the player base is kept alive and the PvE doesn't meet an untimely demise.