Helldivers 2’s Illuminate faction unleashes deadly new enemy terrors as latest update lands

It’s all go on the Illuminate front in Helldivers 2, with the co-op sci-fi shooter’s powerful third faction having now set a course for Super Earth – and it’s bringing “new terrors” along too.

All this arrives as part of Helldivers 2’s latest update which – in lore terms at least – sees the squid-like Iluminate emerging from the Meridian singularity in order to bring the never-ending fight for Democracy to Super Earth itself.

In more specific terms, that means a wave of brand-new Illuminate enemies. There’s the Stingray – jetfighters that unleash devastating strafing runs from above – and the Crescent Overseer, which “has the ability to lay barrages on Helldivers in cover”.

Worse still are the Fleshmob; failed Illuminate experiments assembled from Voteless parts and let loose on the battlefield. Developer Arrowhead is also teasing “even larger ships”, but is leaving players to discover these on their own.

Elsewhere, Arrowhead has introduced a new load-out customisation feature it says will work with “the bulk of” Helldivers 2’s weapon offerings. “Most primary weapons now have levels that are achievable by completing missions,” it explains on the PlayStation Blog, “which then in turn unlock new attachments obtainable through Requisition.”

Players can also unlock patterns and apply them to their weapons, and a variety of patterns tied to previous Warbonds – specifically Viper Commandos, Freedom’s Flame, Chemical Agents, and Truth Enforcers Warbonds – will be made available on 15th May. That’s the same day the new Masters of Ceremony Warbond arrives.

And finally for Helldivers 2’s latest update, item rotation has been removed from the Superstore, meaning players can purchase any item they want anytime they want, no waiting required. It launches today on PS5 and PC.