Helldivers 2 boss hopes Illuminates will be a 'tremendous challenge' for hardened vets of the galactic war

Helldivers 2 has been a little softer on players recently thanks to a batch of updates that saw most weapons getting a buff, which is great for those wanting to expand their arsenal and take advantage of the bevvy of gear Arrowhead has been throwing at its players. Unfortunately, soldier, we ain't at boot camp anymore. Now drop to the floor and give me 20.

The Illuminate, a long-teased faction who were a scourge of the first game, are finally invading Helldivers 2—along with a four-player vehicle, urban environments, and a freakin' stun baton to conk them over the head with, in the Omens of Tyranny update that released today. What's more, they're going to be tough to democratise, according to Arrowhead CCO Johan Pilestedt, who spoke to PC Gamer about the update earlier this week.

"So in regards to difficulty, I think we've sort of stopped trying to get the enemies to be perfectly balanced," said Pilestedt. "Instead, the bugs are what the bugs are, the Automatons are what the Automatons are, and the Illuminate follow the same kind of formula. We lean into the fact that the Illuminate are massive, massive beings with advanced technology, they're naturally going to be a more challenging foe to encounter.

"The Illuminate are mostly going to be for the players that have played the game for some time, and know the ins and outs, and know how to be able to handle that threat."

That's a pretty interesting tactic to take, given Arrowhead has had trouble wrangling people over to non-bug fronts in the past. Historically-speaking, the Automatons have always been tougher than the Terminids to take down, meaning major orders that direct us to them suffer from a dearth of ground troops. If the Illuminate are an extra difficulty setting unto themselves, it's gonna be even harder to drum up support for the 'southern' front.

"We know that there are a lot of players that want that challenge … the Illuminate are a step in that direction, and playing a high-difficulty Illuminate mission is going to be a tremendous challenge for even the most experienced players, I hope."

Still, Pilestedt admits, liberty's strongest soldiers tend to have a trick or two up their sleeves, so maybe they'll find a way to neutralize Illuminates more efficiently than expected: "The community is so smart and so skilled at the game that they have a tendency to surprise us, to our delight … It's also something that we're continuously looking at long-term: How can we create different experiences within Helldivers 2 for those that play more socially, versus those that play for mastery, and really want that skill factor."

Omens of Tyranny was announced at The Game Awards and is available right away—so chances are high that by the time you've got eyes on this, dear reader, you can go and get slaughtered by the game's new aliens yourself. Or do donuts in a buggy, your call. (The new recon vehicle can be found on some maps now, but we won't be able to call it in ourselves until a certain Major Order is completed.)