Another Helldivers 2 exosuit is close to being deployed, bringing dual-Autocannon firepower to the enemies of Super Earth. Joining the original Patriot Exosuit, the EXO-49 Emancipator is a new type of mech that further expands the growing list of Stratagems available to Helldivers. However, it's not available in Helldivers 2 yet as a Major Order needs to be completed first. If you want to know how to help with unlocking this new Helldivers 2 Exosuit and how exosuits work in general, I've explained everything you need to know about these mechs below.
How to unlock the Helldivers 2 Emancipator Exosuit mech
The current Helldivers 2 Major Order tasks soldiers with liberating the planet of Varylia 5. This Automaton-held planet has a petafactory on its surface, mass manufacturing Automaton war machines, but liberating it means it can be converted into a Super Earth factory for Emancipator Exosuits.
If you're not sure how liberating planets in Helldivers 2 works, the short answer is to simply complete operations. If the order is a success, expect to see Emancipator mechs available in game afterwards. Victory also means a reward of 50 Medals, though these may take a while to be deposited due to lingering issues with not getting Medals in Helldivers 2.
All Helldivers 2 Exosuits
The bulky Helldivers 2 Exosuits can be unlocked as Stratagems and called in during missions for extra protection and fire support. Currently, Helldivers 2 has one exosuit in the game and one other has been revealed:
- EXO-45 Patriot Exosuit: Equipped with a heavy machine gun and rocket launcher, this exosuit has a general-purpose loadout capable of taking down the smallest and largest foes and even certain structures from either Helldivers 2 Faction, but it has a very limited ammo capacity – 1,000 rounds for the machine gun and 14 rockets for the launcher. To buy the Patriot Exosuit Stratagem on your Destroyer, you must be at least level 25 and must spend 20,000 Requisition Slips.
- EXO-49 Emancipator Exosuit: This Exosuit is not yet in the game, so we don't know much about it aside from that it comes with dual-Autocannons on each arm. That sounds like it'll be great against the Helldivers 2 Automatons.
If you've got any exosuit Stratagems unlocked, you can choose them as one of your Helldivers 2 Stratagems at the pre-mission loadout screen, so you'll need to choose what else you'll be packing wisely. You can call in a maximum of two Helldivers 2 Exosuits per mission, and there's a 10-minute cooldown between uses, so you won't get many chances to use them during a mission. Factor in that exosuit ammo is also very limited and that there's no way to resupply like a regular soldier, and you'll need to make each one count!
Importantly, you can't deploy Stratagems while inside an exosuit, so if you need to call in a dead teammate or a new weapon, you need to hop out your mech first. Exosuits also don't benefit from any Helldivers 2 Ship Modules, but hopefully that's something that changes in a future update.
Helldivers 2 Exosuit tips
Now that you know about the basics of exosuits, here are some additional tips and features to be aware of when using one in a mission:
- The dropship also provides some fire support. When you call in your mech, it doesn't plummet down like a Hellpod and is instead dropped off by a ship identical to the one that collects your team at extraction points, even firing its gun to clear the area for your mech.
- If you're out of ammo, you can resort to the Exosuit's stomp attack. With the regular melee button, you can crush smaller bugs and bots underfoot, though you can actually squash basic Terminid Scavengers just by walking on them.
- Movement is a major weakness of the exosuits. On-foot Helldivers are much faster than the mech and they can't sprint either, so you may have to consider ditching your mech if time is of the essence during your mission.
- Watch for signs of damage and be prepared to ditch your exosuit. The Patriot unfortunately gives you very little warning that its time has come, violently exploding with you inside. But try to keep an eye out for black smoke coming out of the mech, and you'll know it's reaching its last legs – time to bail out!
- Use abandoned exosuits as cover. If your mech hasn't exploded yet but you feel like bailing out, try to position it to either provide cover or block a path to make things harder for the enemy, then get out.
Will more mechs be added to Helldivers 2?
While nothing has been confirmed in the Helldivers 2 roadmap beyond the Emancipator Exosuit, it is likely that more mechs and exosuits will be added to the game in the future. The Patriot and Emancipator Exosuits use loadouts from the Stomper and Obsidian Exosuits from the first Helldivers game, so it's possible that an equivalent to the original's "Lumberer" is added to Helldivers 2. This mech came equipped with a powerful 90mm cannon and a flamethrower, which sounds like it would be great against the Helldivers 2 Terminids.
Previous leaks and datamines that showed off both current mech types also revealed that Helldivers 2 vehicles could arrive in a future update too. Given that they were a major part of the first game, this seems likely as well, but nothing has been hinted at just yet.
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