Skip to main content
GamesRadar+ GamesRadar+
US EditionUS CA EditionCanada UK EditionUK AU EditionAustralia
Sign in
  • View Profile
  • Sign out
  • Games
    • Game Insights
      • Games News
      • Games Features
      • Games Reviews
      • Games Guides
      • Big in 2026
      • The Big Preview
      • On The Radar
      • Indie Spotlight
      • Future Games Show
      • Golden Joystick Awards
    • Genres
      • Action Games
      • RPGs
      • Action RPGs
      • Adventure Games
      • Third Person Shooters
      • FPS Games
    • Platforms
      • PS5
      • Xbox Series X
      • PC
      • Nintendo Switch
      • Nintendo Switch 2
      • Tabletop Gaming
    • Franchises
      • Grand Theft Auto
      • Pokemon
      • Assassin's Creed
      • Monster Hunter
      • Fortnite
      • Cyberpunk
      • Red Dead
      • The Elder Scrolls
      • The Sims
  • Entertainment
    • TV Shows
      • TV News
      • TV Reviews
      • Anime Shows
      • Sci-Fi Shows
      • Superhero Shows
      • Animated Shows
      • Marvel TV Shows
      • Star Wars TV Shows
      • DC TV Shows
    • Movies
      • Movie News
      • Movie Reviews
      • Big Screen Spotlight
      • Superhero Movies
      • Action Movies
      • Anime Movies
      • Sci-Fi Movies
      • Horror Movies
      • Marvel Movies
      • DC Movies
    • Streaming
      • Apple TV Plus
      • Disney Plus
      • Netflix
      • HBO
      • Amazon Prime Video
      • Hulu
    • Comics
      • Marvel Comics
      • DC Comics
    • Toys & Collectibles
    • Lego
    • Dungeons and Dragons
    • Merch
  • Hardware
    • Insights
      • Hardware News
      • Hardware Reviews
      • Hardware Features
    • Computing
      • Desktop PCs
      • Laptops
      • Handhelds
    • Peripherals
      • Headsets & Headphones
      • TVs & Monitors
      • Gaming Mice
      • Gaming Keyboards
      • Gaming Chairs
      • Speakers & Audio
    • Accessories & Tech
      • Gaming Controllers
      • Tech
      • SSDs & Hard Drives
      • VR
      • Accessories
      • Retro
  • Deals
    • Game Deals
    • Tech Deals
    • TV Deals
    • Buying Guides
  • Video
  • Newsletters
    • Quizzes
    • About Us
    • How to pitch to us
    • How we score
    • Newsarama
    • Retro Gamer
    • Total Film
  • home
  • Games
    • View Games
      • Games News
      • Games Features
      • Games Reviews
      • Games Guides
      • Big in 2026
      • The Big Preview
      • On The Radar
      • Indie Spotlight
      • Future Games Show
      • Golden Joystick Awards
      • Action Games
      • RPGs
      • Action RPGs
      • Adventure Games
      • Third Person Shooters
      • FPS Games
    • Platforms
      • View Platforms
      • PS5
      • Xbox Series X
      • PC
      • Nintendo Switch
      • Nintendo Switch 2
      • Tabletop Gaming
      • Grand Theft Auto
      • Pokemon
      • Assassin's Creed
      • Monster Hunter
      • Fortnite
      • Cyberpunk
      • Red Dead
      • The Elder Scrolls
      • The Sims
  • Entertainment
    • View Entertainment
    • TV Shows
      • View TV Shows
      • TV News
      • TV Reviews
      • Anime Shows
      • Sci-Fi Shows
      • Superhero Shows
      • Animated Shows
      • Marvel TV Shows
      • Star Wars TV Shows
      • DC TV Shows
    • Movies
      • View Movies
      • Movie News
      • Movie Reviews
      • Big Screen Spotlight
      • Superhero Movies
      • Action Movies
      • Anime Movies
      • Sci-Fi Movies
      • Horror Movies
      • Marvel Movies
      • DC Movies
    • Streaming
      • View Streaming
      • Apple TV Plus
      • Disney Plus
      • Netflix
      • HBO
      • Amazon Prime Video
      • Hulu
    • Comics
      • View Comics
      • Marvel Comics
      • DC Comics
    • Toys & Collectibles
    • Lego
    • Dungeons and Dragons
    • Merch
  • Hardware
    • View Hardware
      • Hardware News
      • Hardware Reviews
      • Hardware Features
      • Desktop PCs
      • Laptops
      • Handhelds
    • Peripherals
      • View Peripherals
      • Headsets & Headphones
      • TVs & Monitors
      • Gaming Mice
      • Gaming Keyboards
      • Gaming Chairs
      • Speakers & Audio
      • Gaming Controllers
      • Tech
      • SSDs & Hard Drives
      • VR
      • Accessories
      • Retro
  • Deals
    • View Deals
    • Game Deals
    • Tech Deals
    • TV Deals
    • Buying Guides
  • Video
  • Newsletters
    • Quizzes
    • About Us
    • How to pitch to us
    • How we score
    • Newsarama
    • Retro Gamer
    • Total Film
Trending
  • Pokemon Winds and Waves
  • New Games for 2026
  • GamesRadar+ Replay
  • Mario Day deals
Don't miss these
Helldivers 2 soldier with an explosion reflecting in their visor
Third Person Shooters As death threats derail Helldivers 2's wholesome D10 challenge, devs address “increasing hostility in the community”
Helldivers 2 soldier watches a nuclear explosion in the distance with his arms stretched wide
Third Person Shooters Helldivers 2 CEO seems to accept fans' $1,000 challenge to play on the nastiest difficulty, but it's already backfiring
Helldivers 2 screenshot of two soldiers cheering in the desert
Third Person Shooters Helldivers 2 retires gratuitous 154GB Steam build this month in favor of "slim" PC version
Helldivers 2 democratic detonation warbond page
Third Person Shooters Best Helldivers 2 Warbonds to buy first and tier list ranking all 19 of them
Helldivers 2 soldier in intro animation with shocked expression
Third Person Shooters Helldivers 2 fan intent on challenging Arrowhead to beat the game's toughest challenge for $1,000: "No funny business"
Helldivers 2 Helldiver looking at snowy automaton base getting bombarded by two orbital 380mm HE barrages
Third Person Shooters Helldivers 2 Stratagem tier list and the best ones to choose
Helldivers 2 PS5 screenshot
Games The 25 best online games to play in 2026
Silver Pines protagonist shoots crows from a cable car
Survival Horror Games Helldivers 2 veterans stole Arrowhead's "fantasy approach" to action while making stunning new horror Metroidvania
Helldivers 2
Co-op Games Helldivers 2 support agent says "there's no balance team" at Arrowhead because "it's all a team effort"
Cropped Helldivers 2 art from the official 'Save Cyberstan' poster.
Third Person Shooters Helldivers 2 players cheated so hard that Arrowhead had to "disable the Galactic War" and change a Major Order
No Man's Sky promotional images for the new Remnants expedition update
Survival Games I became a space trash collector in No Man's Sky and fell in love with a community doing the same
Cropped Helldivers 2 art from the official 'Save Cyberstan' poster.
Third Person Shooters Helldivers 2 devs "underinvested" in the game's engine, Arrowhead CEO admits, who pledges "things can/will get better"
Helldivers 2 Commando mission sneaking past automaton outpost
Third Person Shooters Tips for beating the new Helldivers 2 Commando Missions and the best gear
Helldivers 2 Bastion tank near an automaton base with automatons directly ahead of it
Third Person Shooters How to unlock the new Bastion Tank in Helldivers 2 and some tips for how to use it
Helldivers 2
Third Person Shooters "A lot of Helldivers will die," Arrowhead CEO says of the next Helldivers 2 major update, teasing roadmap update
  1. Games
  2. Third Person Shooters
  3. Helldivers 2

Helldivers 2's Joel gives cruelest Major Order yet as High Command eyes "disenfranchised families" as "cheap labor" to work on the dangerously sketchy new superweapon

News
By Jordan Gerblick published 4 November 2024

Fight for what's right, or whatever Joel tells you to fight for, I guess

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

GJA 2024
(Image credit: Arrowhead Studios)
  • Facebook
  • X
  • Pinterest
  • Flipboard
  • Email
Share this article
Join the conversation
Follow us
Add us as a preferred source on Google
Get the GamesRadar+ Newsletter

Weekly digests, tales from the communities you love, and more


By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

You are now subscribed

Your newsletter sign-up was successful


Want to add more newsletters?

GamesRadar+

Every Friday

GamesRadar+

Your weekly update on everything you could ever want to know about the games you already love, games we know you're going to love in the near future, and tales from the communities that surround them.

GTA 6 O'clock

Every Thursday

GTA 6 O'clock

Our special GTA 6 newsletter, with breaking news, insider info, and rumor analysis from the award-winning GTA 6 O'clock experts.

Knowledge

Every Friday

Knowledge

From the creators of Edge: A weekly videogame industry newsletter with analysis from expert writers, guidance from professionals, and insight into what's on the horizon.

The Setup

Every Thursday

The Setup

Hardware nerds unite, sign up to our free tech newsletter for a weekly digest of the hottest new tech, the latest gadgets on the test bench, and much more.

Switch 2 Spotlight

Every Wednesday

Switch 2 Spotlight

Sign up to our new Switch 2 newsletter, where we bring you the latest talking points on Nintendo's new console each week, bring you up to date on the news, and recommend what games to play.

The Watchlist

Every Saturday

The Watchlist

Subscribe for a weekly digest of the movie and TV news that matters, direct to your inbox. From first-look trailers, interviews, reviews and explainers, we've got you covered.

SFX

Once a month

SFX

Get sneak previews, exclusive competitions and details of special events each month!


An account already exists for this email address, please log in.
Subscribe to our newsletter

Helldivers 2 players are faced with potentially their most morally dubious Major Order yet: help High Command enlist families of refugees to build the structurally unsound superweapon called Democracy Space Station... which doesn't have beds or toilets and is at risk of collapse and self-combustion.

That's pretty messed up, man. It is far from the first time I've seriously questioned the moral fortitude of Helldivers 2 Game Master Joel, who previously sent freedom fighters to literally blow up bug babies and sacrificed the well-being of sick children to help get the DSS built. Oh, not to mention the fact that the latest MO was widely called "unwinnable" and, wouldn't you know it, was not won.

Still, I think this latest MO might be the elusive game master's cruelest update yet. In a tweet, Arrowhead said Helldivers 2 players failing to complete the most recent MO was a "minor setback" and then went ahead with describing a new MO with some truly irredeemable demands.

You may like
  • Helldivers 2 Killzone Legendary Warbond helldiver in Helghast sniper armour Helldivers 2 High Command thinks we suck on Magma Planets, but don't worry, at least the Killzone collab is returning
  • Helldivers 2 screenshot showing a fully geared/armored diver standing with gun in hand as three jets soar the skies behind him Helldivers 2 players fail the game's "biggest" battle ever as the Cyborgs prepare for an "unjust counter-offensive"
  • Two Helldivers pull a classic fart gag Helldivers 2 grunts vote on which planet to fire our shiny new laser beam at

"Despite the narrow setback, construction of the DSS continues unabated," reads the tweet. "It is currently in its third construction phase, and before it can be activated, it must be staffed. Fortunately, cheap labor is emerging from the colonies near the Gloom that is currently experiencing something of an eruption with extremely fierce attacks coming out of it.

"The Helldivers are ordered to hold the designated planets while these disenfranchised families make their new home aboard the superweapon."

MAJOR ORDER: The Helldivers valiantly achieved two of the three objectives set by High Command, capturing the Automaton Database and limiting the bots' territorial expansion, but falling short of re-securing the Terminid Research Preserve. Security has been doubled at the… pic.twitter.com/aaHTorIJgSNovember 4, 2024

Basically, the Terminids are attacking planets obscured by the spore cloud they created called The Gloom, and families fleeing these planets are being recruited by High Command, and apparently paid peanuts, to help build the new DSS superweapon, which could blow up and kill everyone onboard at any time. It's players' job to secure those planets for easy passage.

It's still not entirely clear what the DSS will even do if and when construction is complete, which is a little weird because it's been dominating our MOs for months the last month. Arrowhead recently said it still wasn't ready to go "into the details," but from what we have heard it sounds a little like the Helldivers 2 version of the Death Star from Star Wars, a galaxy hopping space station that'll be a "powerful strategic tool for reshaping the Galactic Map" that could ultimately "change the course of the war."

Sign up to the GamesRadar+ Newsletter

Weekly digests, tales from the communities you love, and more

By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

This is why you read Helldivers 2 patch notes closely: a goldfish "was laid to rest" in space where the pressure "caused it to heat up, violently explode, and disintegrate".

CATEGORIES
PC Gaming PS5 Platforms PlayStation
Jordan Gerblick
Jordan Gerblick
Social Links Navigation
Staff Writer

After earning an English degree from ASU, I worked as a corporate copy editor while freelancing for places like SFX Magazine, Screen Rant, Game Revolution, and MMORPG on the side. I got my big break here in 2019 with a freelance news gig, and I was hired on as GamesRadar's west coast Staff Writer in 2021. That means I'm responsible for managing the site's western regional executive branch, AKA my home office, and writing about whatever horror game I'm too afraid to finish.

Read more
Helldivers 2 Killzone Legendary Warbond helldiver in Helghast sniper armour
Helldivers 2 High Command thinks we suck on Magma Planets, but don't worry, at least the Killzone collab is returning
 
 
Helldivers 2 screenshot showing a fully geared/armored diver standing with gun in hand as three jets soar the skies behind him
Helldivers 2 players fail the game's "biggest" battle ever as the Cyborgs prepare for an "unjust counter-offensive"
 
 
Two Helldivers pull a classic fart gag
Helldivers 2 grunts vote on which planet to fire our shiny new laser beam at
 
 
Cropped Helldivers 2 art from the official 'Save Cyberstan' poster.
Helldivers 2 players cheated so hard that Arrowhead had to "disable the Galactic War" and change a Major Order
 
 
Cropped Helldivers 2 art from the official 'Save Cyberstan' poster.
Helldivers 2's Cyborgs are real, and they'd kindly like you to "defect" from Super Earth
 
 
Helldivers 2 screenshot of two soldiers cheering in the desert
After Helldivers 2 boss teased chaos in upcoming update, new Illuminate structures appear in Super Earth media
 
 
Latest in Third Person Shooters
Cropped Helldivers 2 art from the official 'Save Cyberstan' poster.
Helldivers 2 devs "underinvested" in the game's engine, Arrowhead CEO admits, who pledges "things can/will get better"
 
 
Marvel Rivals Season 5 Rogue and Gambit
Marvel Rivals implements a "Victim Compensation Protocol" for players affected by "malicious match-losing"
 
 
thor looking into the camera with a steely stare
As Marvel Rivals players get paid to throw games, devs threaten permabans for those who "deliberately sabotage matches"
 
 
Helldivers 2 soldier with an explosion reflecting in their visor
As death threats derail Helldivers 2's wholesome D10 challenge, devs address “increasing hostility in the community”
 
 
An Arc Raiders taking cover behind a ruined car as a giant spider-like robot towers over the road
Arc Raiders was recording private Discord DMs, engineer claims in report, Embark rolls out hasty hotfix
 
 
Helldivers 2 screenshot of two soldiers cheering in the desert
Helldivers 2 retires gratuitous 154GB Steam build this month in favor of "slim" PC version
 
 
Latest in News
Yuta getting ready to attack in Jujutsu Kaisen season 3
Jujutsu Kaisen actor offers perfect response to why AI should stay out of anime
 
 
Pickmon
Pokemon fan artist alleges new Palworld clone Pickmon "stole one of my designs"
 
 
Life is Strange
Join Chloe and Max on a "fiery weekend" for a better glimpse into Life is Strange: Reunion at the Future Games Show this week
 
 
Mortal Kombat movie
Mortal Kombat 2 star joins in with Street Fighter movie beef after Game Awards dig because he "loves a good rivalry"
 
 
Mackenyu as Zoro in One Piece season 2
One Piece season 2 actor Mackenyu says he learned Roronoa Zoro's 15-minute 1 vs 100 fight in just 6 hours
 
 
Fujino and Kyomoto eating in Look Back
Live-action adaptation of Chainsaw Man creator's Look Back will escape Japanese cinemas and come to the west
 
 
LATEST ARTICLES
  1. Virtual Boy for Switch 2 sitting on coffee table with TV in backdrop displaying Wario Land gameplay.
    1
    I respect the Virtual Boy as a collectable Switch 2 gadget, but it’s not exactly a retro console remake
  2. 2
    Bizarre Lineage codes (March 2026) for free Stat Point Essence, Rare Chests, and more
  3. 3
    The Thrustmaster T248R is making me question where a sim racing wheel with no direct drive and no modular wheelbase fits in the market in 2026
  4. 4
    These Mario Day-inspired Switch 2 accessories will power up your console more than a super star
  5. 5
    Pokemon fan artist alleges new Palworld clone Pickmon "stole one of my designs," saying "they didn't even try to change something and make it a bit less obvious"

GamesRadar+ is part of Future US Inc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.

Add as a preferred source on Google Add as a preferred source on Google
  • Terms and conditions
  • Contact Future's experts
  • Privacy policy
  • Cookies policy
  • Accessibility statement
  • Careers
  • About us
  • Advertise with us
  • Review guidelines
  • Write for us
  • Accessibility Statement

© Future US, Inc. Full 7th Floor, 130 West 42nd Street, New York, NY 10036.

Please login or signup to comment

Please wait...