Helldivers 2 community rallies behind wholesome hero after a remorseful villain kicks them, giving rise to Super Earth's new battlecry: 'im frend'

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For prosperity. For liberty. For democracy. For frend.

Helldivers 2 two characters hugging as an explosion detonates in the background
(Image credit: Arrowhead Studio)

Helldivers 2 players have added a new deity to their ever-evolving lore—joining the pantheon alongside the almighty Joel, his loki-like doppelganger, and the betrayer deity GantzTheDemon. This latest addition is more innocent and wholesome by half: the big-hearted dremskiy, who wants you to know one thing: "im frend". 

It all begins in a set of screenshots that went viral, capturing a harrowing kick from a Super Destroyer. It's an interaction that's so sincerely written out by the two players involved—made all the funnier and authentic for the spelling errors, so I'm going to leave them in, including the immediate misspelling of dremskiy's name.

"Sorry dreamski", says a doubtless teary-eyed diver—who, I like to imagine is holding up a gun in a shaking hand, aimed at dremskiy, marooned on some desolate world where the wind howls like the cries of the damned: "we playing friends opnly … i hav to kick you". 

The interraction that can make a grown man cry from r/Helldivers

Heart turning to ice, and possibly crying, dremskiy responds with the shellshocked: "im frend".

This is a truth their compatriot cannot acknowledge out loud—and even if they know it in their heart, they have their mandate. Something has to be done. Their finger begins to squeeze down on the trigger, as they whisper a plea to the deadened air: "dontmake this more difficult". 

Reader: dremskiy was kicked.

As the images circulated, the sense of a cosmic injustice grew. So the Helldivers 2 community proceeded to do what it's good at: namely, making bullseye memes about the tragedy of dremskiy the frendly.

The interraction that can make a grown man cry from r/Helldivers
I'm Frend from r/Helldivers

It wouldn't be long before the official Helldivers 2 Twitter account gave dremskiy post-kick honours with a Super Earth-sanctioned tweet, reading: "For prosperity. For liberty. For democracy. For frend."

The Playstation UK Twitter account responded with a sorrowful "im frend", perhaps forgetting that Sony is not the most popular company among this contingent of players right now. So rather predictably, and hilariously, the attempted branter (a portmanteau of "brand" and "banter") was immediately ratio'd with "not you" to the tune of around 500 likes at the time of writing—a potent 'silence, brand' moment, and just desserts delivered with ruthless efficiency after the PSN controversy earlier this month.

Don't worry, though—this story has a happy ending. Our brave hero dremskiy has been adopted by, uh, a couple hundred different parents from the Helldivers 2 community. 

As spotted by a Redditor who tried to be pals with the formerly friendless, dremskiy's friend list is currently full. Steam allows you to have 250 friends baseline, plus 5 for every level of your Steam profile, so suffice to say dremskiy's got pals coming out of their ears—just as lady liberty intended.

Dremskiy have Frends from r/Helldivers

Stumbling across the hero in-game, Reddit user ReasonableBarber9996 posted a conversation with the new prodigal son of the entire Helldivers 2 community, and again we'll stick with the original grammar and punctuation, in honour of dremskiy's indomitable spirit: "i found out today some1 said meme and then a streamer friend of me showed me the meme," they write, before adding: "makes me genuinely happy". 

Aside from my shrivelled heart growing three sizes, this whole thing is yet another example of how potent the Helldivers 2 community can be—as a former Arrowhead Games writer noted earlier this week in the context of the account controversy: "We trained them to fight together. And then they fought together". Compatriots, companions—and frends. 

Harvey Randall
Harvey Randall
Staff Writer

Harvey's history with games started when he first begged his parents for a World of Warcraft subscription aged 12, though he's since been cursed with Final Fantasy 14-brain and a huge crush on G'raha Tia. He made his start as a freelancer, writing for websites like Techradar, The Escapist, Dicebreaker, The Gamer, Into the Spine—and of course, PC Gamer. He'll sink his teeth into anything that looks interesting, though he has a soft spot for RPGs, soulslikes, roguelikes, deckbuilders, MMOs, and weird indie titles. He also plays a shelf load of TTRPGs in his offline time. Don't ask him what his favourite system is, he has too many.