Oozing with vibes and references from John McTiernan's Predator (1987), starring Arnold Schwarzenegger and Carl Weathers, and 1985's Commando, the upcoming Helldivers 2 Viper Commandos Warbond finally looks worthy of our money. Previous attempts at Warbonds were all right, but they were no pop-culture Fortnite skins, that's for sure. It's about time Arrowhead Game Studios introduced some enticing gear.
"What's The Matter? The CIA Got You Pushing Too Many Pencils? Huh? Had Enough?" said Dutch (Arnold) to Dillon (Weathers) during the most legendary iron-pumping, testosterone-filled, bicep-bulging bro handshake modern civilization has ever witnessed. This scene is replicated exactly in the latest Helldivers 2 trailer by two patriotic Super Earth Citizens with a Bile Titan gloriously exploding in the background from a tactical nuke strike.
So, what does the Viper Commandos Premium Warbond contain? Well, weapons, armor, capes, patterns, boosters, and one of the best utility items from any shooter ever invented in human history... the mighty throwing knife.
I can already see the YouTube videos of Helldivers jumping on their backs from their ammo-depleted EXO mechs in slow motion like Max Payne, with the Gladiator soundtrack playing in the background at full blast. It's cool—no denying that—but because it's locked behind a paywall, many players will rightfully be left with the bad taste of microtransactions.
Photo: Arrowhead Game Studios
The Primary Weapon, the Liberator Carabine, doesn't look amazing by any stretch of the imagination, but the SG-22 Bushwhacker three-barrel sawed-off shotgun looks like tons of fun. The best part is that it has two firing modes, one of which lets you empty all barrels at once. There's even a first-person point of view in the trailer during the Bushwhacker secondary weapon scene, which shows the potential of a fully 1st-person mode.
The PH-202 Twigsnapper and PH-9 Predator armor sets look hand-crafted for the marshes. As a bonus, both armor sets have improved melee damage and weapon handling via the Peak Physique passive perk. Even the "Mark of the Crimson Fang" and "Executioner's Canopy" capes look awesome, which can't be said about most previous capes.
Combined with the Vietnam-style head berets, the entire ensemble is a great fit for the Predator-like swamp-infested planets. The woodland and tiger stripe camouflage patterns, like the Undergrowth Shuttle, Hellpod, and Exosuit camos, fit right into the scenery.
To unlock the amazing EXO-45 Patriot and EXO-49 Emancipator Exosuits, you first need to get to level 25 with enough resources, so around level 20, get ready to save up. The former is equipped with a rocket launcher and a heavy machine gun, while the latter simply has two dual autocannons. Some small tanks would also be nice to play with.
Photo: Arrowhead Game Studios
If you have never dabbled in Helldivers 2, a Warbond is a free in-game catalog where you spend a form of currency known as Medals to buy aesthetic gear like character or vehicle skins, weapons, perks, capes, emotes, victory poses, and so on. A Premium Warbond is locked behind a paywall and typically costs 1,000 Super Credits.
Luckily, they're not timed like in Fortnite, and you can access the previous ones at your leisure, like the Polar Patriots, Democratic Detonation, Cutting Edge, and Steeled Veterans.
The current price for 150 SC is $2, 375 SC is $5, 1,000 SC costs $10, and 2,100 Super Credits are 20 bucks. Technically speaking, you don't necessarily have to pay, because you can put in the hours and farm the currency to gain access this way, but it takes much longer. I collected around 1,100 SC after almost 50 hours of game time.
The Viper Commandos Warbond is incoming on June 13, where you get to say "GET TO THE CHOPPA!!!" near the end of every successful mission. With the reveal of this Warbond, the developers said they're slowing down the output of these DLCs to focus more on quality over quantity.
Helldivers 2 has wonderfully recovered from the negative reviews Steam debacle, going from an abysmal 40% user score back up to a 74% Mostly Positive score from a pool of 643,217 players. Even the 34,508 recent reviews gave it a 75% Mostly Positive score.
Codrin just loves American classics, from the 1940s and ‘50s, all the way to the muscle cars of the '60s and '70s. In his perfect world, we'll still see Hudsons and Road Runners roaming the streets for years to come (even in EV form, if that's what it takes to keep the aesthetic alive). Full profile
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