This latest Helldivers 2 patch is only for the true patriots – the Super Earth Flag stratagem can now be "proudly" planted directly into living and dead enemies: "Absolute Democracy"

A Helldiver waves a flag while looking down at a battlefield in a screenshot from Helldivers 2's Masters of Ceremony trailer.
(Image credit: PlayStation Studios / Arrowhead Game Studios)

Good news, citizens of Super Earth, Helldivers 2 just got a heck of a lot more patriotic. A new update adds plenty of buffs, but the one I'm most excited about is the fact the flag stratagem has been upgraded so that we can now use it to skewer fallen enemies, planting it directly into their bodies so it can proudly stand erect upon their corpse.

A new video and blog post on Steam shares the details about the CQC-1 One True Flag's changes. "Thanks to some groundbreaking military research into pointier flag tips, the flag can now be proudly planted directly into enemies – dead or alive – ensuring the eternal colors of Super Earth are never tainted, only quenched by the blood of its foes. Absolute Democracy."

Helldivers 2 Patch Notes - Patch 01.003.200 - YouTube Helldivers 2 Patch Notes - Patch 01.003.200 - YouTube
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The fact this can be done to enemies while they're alive is pretty cool, and could lead to some very funny shenanigans. I'd love to see someone use a jetpack to get onto a Bile Titan and then plant the flag directly in its head. Imagine taking down the behemoth with the flag waving atop its maw. Beautiful. Make sure you salute it.

I also love the lore reminder that, despite the Helldivers universe containing faster than light travel, seemingly sentient war machines, and several species of aliens, the humans themselves are actually pretty technologically stunted. They've only now researched pointy flag tips? That's almost as bad as the fact they used to reload the orbital guns on your Destroyer by manually inserting shells down the front of the barrel.

Also included in this update are improvements to the stun weapons, which now paralyze enemies for longer, and a lot of fire weapons have some boons, too. This is great news for me and terrible news for my squadmates. Hope they've packed some SPF.

If that's not enough to make you want to strap into a Hellpod and fight for Managed Democracy, then check out the best online games you can play with your friends instead.

Issy van der Velde
Contributor

I'm Issy, a freelancer who you'll now occasionally see over here covering news on GamesRadar. I've always had a passion for playing games, but I learned how to write about them while doing my Film and TV degrees at the University of Warwick and contributing to the student paper, The Boar. After university I worked at TheGamer before heading up the news section at Dot Esports. Now you'll find me freelancing for Rolling Stone, NME, Inverse, and many more places. I love all things horror, narrative-driven, and indie, and I mainly play on my PS5. I'm currently clearing my backlog and loving Dishonored 2.

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