It was down to the wire, but Helldivers 2 players are celebrating after giving the Illuminate the galactic boot on Calypso (Update: They're back already)

(Image credit: Arrowhead Game Studios)

Update, December 17: The Illuminate are already back, making all of that hoo-rah chest thumping a smidge premature. While I was doing undemocratic things like 'sleeping' and 'enjoying my evening' yesterday, the alien menace swept back into the galaxy. Please enjoy this footage, captured by Reddit user DrGooseThumb, of their return happening in real time.

ILLUMINATE ON GENESIS PRIME from r/helldivers2

At the time of writing, the Illuminate are currently invading the worlds of Mog and Bellatrix, with a new major order reading: "Their numbers are limited. This attack is an opportunity to complete the eradication of this xenophobic threat, securing the galaxy once more". Which is entirely unlike the last opportunity we had to complete the eradication of this xenophobic threat, securing the galaxy once more. It's for real, this time, the super president pinky-promised.

Helldivers are now tasked with grabbing a gun and blasting some squids to defend against 7 attacks from the Illuminate in the latest major order. Original story follows.

Original story: Helldivers 2 introduced the Illuminate, recently—aaand they're gone. No, really. While the Illuminate definitely are in Helldivers 2, you actually can't fight them right now, because Super Earth's finest gave them the boot so hard in Calypso that they've been stomped off the galactic map.

The Major Order, which came alongside the surprise update Omens of Tyranny, saw players defending the galaxy from an Illuminate attack on Calypso. Over 100,000 players leapt into action to do so—a 24-hour peak that the game hasn't seen since April—and thoroughly trounced the invading force.

An image with text that reads: "The resurgent Illuminate have been repelled by the Helldivers. Order has been restored on CALYPSO.It is assessed that a small cell of the Illuminate forces survived their eradication at the end of the First Galactic War, staying hidden until now. Recent Democratic activity may have made their discovery imminent, precipitating the recent attack.The shocking invasion of CALYPSO left colonies in ruins. Thousands remain unnaccounted for. Multiple units have reported human-like combatants on the battlefield. Investigations into these reports are ongoing.Despite the audacity of this shocking and unprovoked assault, the Helldivers once again proved their umatched martial prowess. The enemy has retreated in defeat. SEAF recon units will soon hunt down any remnants.As soon as they are located, they will be eradicated." — (Image credit: Arrowhead Games)

That's not to say it wasn't a close battle, though. If you're unfamiliar with how defense campaigns work in Helldivers 2, it's essentially a race. Players need to fill out their defense bar before the enemy's offense bar completes. It came down to the last percentage point—as this graph, courtesy of helldiverscompanion shows, Super Earth achieved its 100% defense score while the Illuminate was sat on 99%. The margin of error was razor-thin.

A graph showing just how close Calypso came to falling to the Illuminate in Helldivers 2. — (Image credit: Helldivers Companion)

"Order has been restored to Calypso," reads an in-game announcement celebrating the completion of the Major Order. "SEAF recon units will hunt down any remnants. As soon as they are located, they will be eradicated."

The community, meanwhile, is currently in full hoo-rah mode. "A HUNDRED YEARS WASTED," roars a particularly liberty-drunk player on the game's subreddit, "GET THE F*CK OUT OF OUR GALAXY AND STAY OUT." The memes, as one might imagine, are also coming out in full force. Helldivers do really have hands.

Better luck next time, squid.... from r/Helldivers

I doubt the squids were expecting this much resistance. from r/Helldivers

I feel like we might all be chest-bumping a bit too soon, though. Naturally, Arrowhead isn't just going to eradicate the enemy faction that's the flagship feature of its new big patch for long. I'm also reminded of a similar moment earlier this year, when a concerted effort by the Helldivers 2 community to push the Automatons off the map resulted in a massive retaliatory invasion fleet. For the time being, though? Patriotism is at an all-time high.

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.

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