Highlights

  • Helldivers 2 offers a captivating Sci-Fi co-op shooter experience with brutal combat and bombastic set pieces worthy of a blockbuster.
  • Terminids in Helldivers 2 provide fun and challenging gameplay, but risk becoming stale without adjustments to maintain player engagement.
  • The balance between keeping Terminids challenging for experienced players and approachable for newcomers is crucial for the game's longevity.

Helldivers 2 has been the talk of the gaming world for a few months now, and for good reason. A rare example of a genuinely excellent live-service game that uses the model to actually benefit its gameplay loop, Helldivers 2 offers a captivating Sci-Fi co-op shooter experience filled with brutal combat, satisfying progression, and absurdly bombastic, emergent set pieces worthy of a Michael Bay blockbuster.

One of the most engaging aspects of Helldivers 2 is its ever-evolving galactic war. Currently, there are two main antagonist factions in Helldivers 2, the robotic Automatons, and the bug-like Terminids, both of which have spread themselves across the galaxy. As a Helldiver, it's the player's task to exterminate these threats completely and assume control of their planets for the sake of democracy. Over the last few months, these enemy factions have received a handful of tweaks and additions, but there's a case to be made for the Terminids to stay exactly as they are.

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Helldivers 2's Terminids Are a Tricky Faction to Balance

Helldivers 2's Terminids Could Become Underwhelming

Generally speaking, Terminids are currently very fun to fight against. Thanks to some devastating weaponry, some impressive gore effects, and some satisfying physics systems, blowing up bugs in Helldivers 2 always feels rewarding, and on higher difficulties, they still provide a great challenge, with most Terminid units being able to wipe out the player in just one or two hits.

There's also already quite a bit of variety with the Terminids. From easy-to-mow-down units like the Scavenger to armored units like the Hive Guard and Brood Commander, to major threats like Chargers and Bile Titans, Helldivers 2's Terminids are a fairly varied species, with many units requiring different strategies to defeat efficiently. But the Terminids aren't a perfect enemy faction.

Helldivers 2's Terminids are at risk of eventually becoming a bit stale. While some Terminid units encourage different strategies, the vast majority of them can still be defeated by simply running away and calling in a Stratagem, and that's especially true once higher-level Stratagems like the Orbital Railcannon Strike and Eagle 500kg Bomb are unlocked.

It's widely believed that the Terminids are a much easier enemy to fight than the Automatons, requiring less teamwork and strategy to conquer successfully. If the Terminids stay as they are right now, with no major additions or tweaks, this feeling could only worsen with age.

Helldivers 2's Terminids Should Stay as They Are For The Sake of Newcomers

But there's also a good case to be made for Terminids to stay exactly as they are right now, and it all revolves around new players. Despite some excellent early sales figures, Helldivers 2 is hopefully only just getting started, and more players will continue to join the fight for democracy.

Those new players are going to need a faction that eases them into the game gradually, and the Terminids should continue to fill that niche. While the Automatons can be incredibly intimidating even at lower difficulty levels, the Terminids remain fairly simple to defeat, giving new players plenty of time to learn Helldivers 2's intricate mechanics and systems.

This doesn't mean that Helldivers 2's Terminids have to fade into irrelevancy for higher-level players. Developer Arrowhead could balance this by keeping the Terminids as they are now for lower-level players, but continue to add new enemy types and harder mission variations for those playing on higher difficulty levels, thus keeping newcomers and veterans happy at the same time.