The next premium Helldivers 2 Warbond includes a new lightning shotgun, and of course more capes

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Warbonds are Helldivers 2's version of a battle pass, and as Morgan recently pointed out, they're not nearly as obnoxious as these things can be. There are lots of free tiers to unlock, but for $10 worth of credits, you can get alternate versions of some guns and quality capes in the current premium Warbond, Steeled Veterans, and a second premium Warbond is coming soon.

The premium Cutting Edge Warbond will release on March 14, and includes "experimental armor" and three new primary guns that'll be recognizable to players of the original Helldivers: the LAS-16 Sickle, SG-8P Punisher Plasma, and ARC-12 Blitzer. The latter is a lightning shotgun.

There are new capes, too, of course, as well as a pistol, the LAS-7 Dagger, and a stun grenade, the G-23 Stun, that looks like a mini version of the existing EMS mortars and orbital strikes. Hopefully it's not as impotent as the smoke grenade.

In Helldivers 2's current free/premium battle pass dynamic, the free Warbond offers similar guns to the premium one. For example, you can get a medium-armor-penetrating AR-23P Liberator Penetrator from the free Warbond right now, while the Steeled Veterans Warbond includes an AR-23C Liberator Concussive, which deals bonus damage to weak spots with explosive ammo.

I'd expect that pattern to continue, with alternative versions of the premium Cutting Edge guns available on the free track. It also bears mentioning that Warbonds don't expire, so players can take as long as they need to complete them.

You can find a full breakdown of the Cutting Edge Warbond's contents in this post on the PlayStation Blog.

Tyler grew up in Silicon Valley during the '80s and '90s, playing games like Zork and Arkanoid on early PCs. He was later captivated by Myst, SimCity, Civilization, Command & Conquer, all the shooters they call "boomer shooters" now, and PS1 classic Bushido Blade (that's right: he had Bleem!). Tyler joined PC Gamer in 2011, and today he's focused on the site's news coverage. His hobbies include amateur boxing and adding to his 1,200-plus hours in Rocket League.