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There are three Helldivers 2 factions at time of writing: the Automatons, the Terminids and the Illuminate, the last of which was added to the game post-release in a free update and have become a major antagonist ever since. Factions provide very different gameplay experiences in Helldivers 2, depending on whether you want to battle back mindless hordes, conduct sci-fi shootouts, or some combination of the two. To help you understand what you're up against, here's all you need to know about the factions in Helldivers 2.
All enemy factions in Helldivers 2
There are three enemy factions in Helldivers 2 at time of writing that you can fight against.
- Helldivers 2 Terminids / "The Bugs". Terminids are huge insects that tend to focus on melee attacks, swarming opponents in great numbers, and frequently fire jets of corrosive bile. Terminids are usually vulnerable to fire, and while many of them have armor, they're generally less protected than others.
- Helldivers 2 Automatons / "The Bots". Many consider the Automatons - steel robots with glowing red lights - to be the deadliest of the three factions. The bots use more armor plating, have a greater emphasis on ranged firearms, and struggle more against energy weapons than other enemy types.
- Helldivers 2 Illuminate / "The Squids". An alien force that was added post-launch, the Illuminate mainly use hordes of mutated humans, but back them up with a mix of alien soldiers and powerful vehicles, like tripods and strafing spaceships. You'll need a mix of tactics and weapons to fight them.
Will there be a fourth faction in Helldivers 2?
Right now there are no known public plans for developer Arrowhead to add a fourth faction to Helldivers 2. That doesn't mean it's been publicly ruled out or that it can't happen, only that we've yet to hear any confirmation that there will or won't be a fourth group of enemies to come. It goes without saying that we'll update this page if we hear more on that score.
With many of the iconic tentpoles of science fiction covered by the three factions already (aliens, monsters, zombies, robots, dimensional travellers, kaiju), it's hard to know what new space a fourth faction could cover. Perhaps time travellers, or maybe rebel human factions resisting the authoritarian reach of Super Earth? We'll have to see.
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