The Orbital Drop Shock Troopers from the Halo series are joining the Helldivers as our game is added to Xbox. Rebadged as “Obedient Democracy Support Troopers” to fit the game's satirical sensibilities, this looks like a Big Deal. This is also the first Legendary Warbond, costing 15,000 Super Credits instead of 10,000, but as always, Arrowhead made sure we can earn the premium currency in-game instead of being pressured to buy stuff, and since this is a warbond, there is no FOMO! Official announcement article link.
MA5C Assault Rifle: A staple since Halo: Combat Evolved, with a working digital compass and ammo counter display!
M7S SMG: One of two iconic pieces of ODST gear from an underappreciated Halo game, and the integral suppressor will help stealth gameplay.
M90A Shotgun: did we need another one in our armory? No. Am I complaining? Also no!
M6C/SOCOM Pistol: The other iconic ODST weapon, also suppressed.
A-9 Helljumper: no specific stats yet, but I expect typical medium armor protection and movement.
A-35 Recon: the light armor version with some of the pieces removed for faster movement and agility. UPDATE: Both are reported to be medium armor
Both will have the Feet First Armor Passive. "...[T]his passive allows your Helldiver Helljumper to make less noise when moving, become immune to leg injuries, and increases the range of discovering points of interest by 30%." This will be awesome!
We get two capes, one inspired by the ODSTs, and the other by ONI. IYKYK. Both patterns look like they'll be player cards as well, as is often the case with capes in warbonds.
We get a new title: "Rookie." If you've played Halo 3: ODST, you get the reference. Yes, this will replace my "Fire Safety Officer" title pronto.
We get Mean Green paint for our hellpods, walkers, Pelican 1, and the Fast Recon Vehicle (FRV). The FRV is like a Warthog, but with a second row of seats for carrying a full squad.
This has almost everything I hoped it would, and some things I didn't expect. One of those is the higher price, and while I have enough Super Credits saved up from gameplay, I'm hoping there are a few surpises. Maybe a 4th page compared to the usual 3 in premium warbonds. An emote. A couple surprise covenant weapons like the needler or a plasma grenade. But hey, this isn't a limited-time thing, and they've gone all-out to make everything look pretty dang good. Maybe some or all of these guns will even be medium-armor penetrating? We'll see in a week. There may be more surprises in the Superstore, too.
UPDATE: the AR is reported to be medium pen! No Superstore items will be added, and supposedly there are no more surprises on the way. We'll see.
We also have a new major order: Kill 6,000,000,000 Terminids and defend New Hope City on Fort Union. Xbox players get to jump in and join the bloodshed. Europe may be on vacation, but Super Earth never rests!
Read my previous posts to get acquainted with Helldivers 2 if you're a green ODST getting ready to drop into our universe.
Helldivers 2: an Intro for Xbox Players (and Everyone Else)
Helldivers 2: Stratagems, or How We Spread Democracy!
Helldivers 2: Your First Warbond
If you're not on Hive yet, I invite you to join through InLeo or PeakD. If you use either of my referral links, I'll even try to delegate some Hive Power to help you get started.
