If I had a penny for every time Helldivers 2 players supposedly encountered a new enemy type, just in case the CEO of Arrowhead Studios completely denied their existence, I'd have two pennies. That's not much, but it's strange that it happened twice.
This time the evidence is much thinner and less substantial – but first, some context is in order. Helldivers 2 is “missing” a faction from the original game, which can be deduced from the fact that there is an entire southern part of the galactic map without enemy forces.
The Enlighten from Helldivers 1 were a highly advanced, Protoss-like faction with snipers who would ruin OG Helldivers' day by hunting them from outside their isometric camera with blue beams. Said lasers are the cause of this current conspiracy theory – here's one Reddit thread details an account belonging to user Dye335, who was completely isolated when he was struck by the alien threat.
“Out of nowhere, I was hit by a bright blue laser shot that almost resembled a sniper grenade, from an angle that suggested a long-range shot,” writes Dye335, as if recounting an alien abduction. “In heavy armor I was struck down [by around 60% HP] immediately and ever so slightly ragdolled, just maybe a foot backwards
They then go on to say that there was no trace of their attacker on their radar as every point was behind cover. They claim that the sniper “must have been teleported out immediately after firing.” That wouldn't be anything special in and of itself – sometimes people lie on the Internet for fun – but there is also a flood of video “evidence” making the rounds.
Blue laser treatment!! The rumors could be true! out of r/Helldivers
What makes this different from the flying Terminid sightings, where fully animated, sound-designed enemies swoop down on hapless Helldivers, is that laser weapons typically turn blue when they bounce off armor. I admit, though, the more I see of it, the more I start to believe it. Johan Pilestedt, CEO of Arrowhead Games, even agreed on Twitter: “Blue rays are not real, [they] can't hurt you.
Personally, I think Arrowhead Games leans into the fog of mystery that surrounds its game for sick, sadistic kicks – it's clearly a studio that likes to hide extremely rare enemy types in certain missions, but I'd bet it's just as likely Add excitement to the pot and let players hallucinate hidden enemies all alone.
Who knows. Maybe there's a tiny chance that a blue shotgun will knock our brave soldiers on their asses – and I'll bet the Illuminati have a good chance will will come at some point. Now if you'll excuse me, I have some unread notifications from my next democracy commissioner to look through.
