As Helldivers 2 gears up to bring back an old threat, veterans of the original shooter come together to train newer recruits on how to squash them: "It is our duty"

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This can only go badly

Two Helldivers shake hands in a screenshot showcasing the Viper Commandos Warbond
(Image credit: Sony)

Veteran Helldivers players are joining forces to brace relatively new Helldivers 2 grunts for the imminent return of the Impaler.

Earlier this week, Helldivers 2's huge Escalation of Freedom update was announced. Set to launch on August 6, it's effectively a massive free update introducing new enemies, mission types, difficulty levels, and more. One of those new enemy types is actually a returning one, called the Impaler - a series of huge tentacles that jut up from the ground and block the path of any unlucky Helldivers.

This has got some Helldivers veterans, who played the original Arrowhead shooter back in 2015, attempting to prepare newcomers on how to deal with the encroaching threat. That's what the Reddit post below posits - that it's their "duty to train the youngbloods on how to fight" the Impaler, and not leave them out to get massacred.

To My Fellow Helldiver 1 Veterans: They're Coming Back & It Is Our Duty To Train The Youngbloods On How To Fight Them from r/Helldivers

In the Reddit post below, a fellow Helldivers 2 newcomer wonders whether there are any other bugs accompanying the new Impaler. "If it's like the original game, when the tentacles are deployed, its head will be vulnerable," a veteran player responds, instructing the grunt on how exactly to safely take down the new enemy. Well, maybe safety isn't entirely guaranteed.

With the impaler, do you only fight the tentacles or is there a bug running around on the surface you can kill? from r/Helldivers

The post below is a super-helpful walkthrough on how to kill an Impaler. The veteran writes that players "must prioritize on killing them first when spotted," and that "their main attack is the tentacles which will pop up under the ground." The player recommends "either quickly running away of its range of attack or use heavy damage weapons and support weapon to clear them out."

An Old Enemy will returns, IMPALERS from r/Helldivers

Meanwhile, there are other veterans that are simply looking forward to going toe-to-toe with the Impaler again after years away. "A graph chart can not tell you how much I been wanting this Terminid added into the game just to see the community scream in frustration about them on Reddit. I cant wait for these bastards to be released," the player writes. Thanks, newbies are crying.

They are adding the impaler to HD2 from r/Helldivers

"We could never have predicted how far this game would go": Helldivers 2's biggest update yet is just the "first step" to "expand the game in big, meaningful ways."

Hirun Cryer
Hirun Cryer
Freelance Writer

Hirun Cryer is a freelance reporter and writer with Gamesradar+ based out of U.K. After earning a degree in American History specializing in journalism, cinema, literature, and history, he stepped into the games writing world, with a focus on shooters, indie games, and RPGs, and has since been the recipient of the MCV 30 Under 30 award for 2021. In his spare time he freelances with other outlets around the industry, practices Japanese, and enjoys contemporary manga and anime.