Helldivers 2 boss turns to the community for an Eagle stratagem brainstorming session: 'This is way more fun than a conference room'

Two Helldivers share a tender moment in Helldivers 2, while Automatons ravage the landscape behind them with explosions.

(Image credit: Arrowhead Studios)

Even if Arrowhead is signaling a move towards a slower, more sustainable pace of Helldivers 2 updates, you can never have too many ideas to work with when you're dreaming up the next installment of Super Earth ordinance. Arrowhead chief creative officer Johan Pilestedt seems to think so, at least. Taking to Twitter over the weekend, Pilestedt put out a call asking for the community's best ideas for Eagle air support stratagems.

Helldivers 2 fans were more than happy to provide their creative input. At time of writing, Pilestedt's request for stratagem ideas has gotten over 5,000 replies. Suggestions range from Dr. Strangelove references to simple requests for punchier strafing run audio. And unsurprisingly, some took the opportunity to air their grievances about balance changes.

A screenshot of a Twitter interaction between @NorCalRiverRat and @Pilestedt. Responding to @Pilestedt's call for Eagle stratagem ideas, @NorCalRiverRat writes: &quot;One that doesn't get nerfed once it gets popular.&quot; @Pilestedt responds: &quot;For my next degree: all eagle stratagems to be p**s aweful! &#128514;&quot; @Pilestedt replies again, writing: &quot;Dammit. Decree. I hate botching jokes haha &#128514;&quot; — (Image credit: @NorCalRiverRat and @Pilestedt via Twitter)

Here's some highlights from the fan stratagem brainstorm:

A squad of "3 autonomous mini mechs" to support the players, delivered by fighter jet. Also from the same user: a bomb that sweeps the nearby area with a rotating laser cutter, a la Iron Man 2.
A jammer to temporarily prevent enemy reinforcements, which Pilestedt noted as echoing the Automatons' jamming towers.
The Fulton surface-to-air recovery system, which I'm obligated to list as a Metal Gear Solid 5 sicko. "Could be to cash in sample containers," Pilestedt said.
"Eagle Cryo Spray," to flash-freeze clusters of enemies—potentially offering an opportunity to shatter now-brittle armor plating with conventional weaponry.
A fighter-deployed swarm of Guard Dog drones, "but they gotta fly higher so I don't get constantly lasered in the face."

As to whether we're likely to see any of these ideas appear in-game: I wouldn't expect to actually see any mini-mech squads or drone swarms hit the Helldivers battlefield. "Let's see if any gets picked up," Pilestedt said in a follow-up post to appreciate the "many great ideas," which is a gentle let-down if I've ever read one.

Presumably, sourcing feature concepts directly from the community could expose the studio to potential intellectual property disputes, which likely leaves this brainstorming session safely in the realm of a community creative exercise. But you never know with Helldivers 2—if airdropped mini-mech squads eventually appear, I certainly won't refuse them.

Lincoln has been writing about games for 11 years—unless you include the essays about procedural storytelling in Dwarf Fortress he convinced his college professors to accept. Leveraging the brainworms from a youth spent in World of Warcraft to write for sites like Waypoint, Polygon, and Fanbyte, Lincoln spent three years freelancing for PC Gamer before joining on as a full-time News Writer in 2024, bringing an expertise in Caves of Qud bird diplomacy, getting sons killed in Crusader Kings, and hitting dinosaurs with hammers in Monster Hunter.