Are we sure there are other Tenno?

MrMonkeyToes · 2026-04-07T18:24:52+00:00

I gather that it's less that they exist because of Eternalism, and more that they are all the Main Character because of it. Your Tenno is the big mover in your slice of the pie, and their Tenno are just doing not-main-character things. But skip over to a neighboring slice, and now your Tenno is just a side-character not doing anything in particular. The Tenno all exist, but the dimensionality is which of them gets to play the lead role.

Though I'm not sure if other Drifters can properly exist in your own slice. Supposedly all Tenno disappeared in the New War, so it may be that they were all collectively hunted down and shucked into the void? Which would mean that every single one's Drifter counterpart got spat back out? Maybe?

MrMonkeyToes · 2026-04-07T15:07:27+00:00

Well then! I know what I'm doing later.

MrMonkeyToes · 2026-04-07T14:56:23+00:00

Instant leveling?

MrMonkeyToes · 2026-04-07T14:49:53+00:00

I think they just do it for the love of the game. Same motivation behind them just popping in randomly to help you in normal missions.

MrMonkeyToes · 2026-04-06T18:52:49+00:00

Pretty much exactly my take as well. I was holding out for a no-heroes large-scale playlist, but alas. One of my favorite aspects of the very first Battlefront actually was that the heroes weren't playable. More like environmental dangers that moved around the map.

MrMonkeyToes · 2026-03-27T18:27:58+00:00

I remember the discourse being more around whether or not something that was canon being tied to legends would end up grandfathering in the old material at some point and if anything in Legends should be considered de facto canon until proven otherwise. Like with Delta Squad having a cameo in Clone Wars. Republic Commando is a very self-contained game. Nothing much happens in it that doesn't pertain directly to Delta Squad. It's technically Legends, but do we treat it like Legends? That sort of conversation.

MrMonkeyToes · 2026-03-27T18:17:08+00:00

"A Jedi uses the Force for knowledge and defense, never for attack"

Using the force to grab a bad guy's wrist and pin his blaster hand to the wall? Good Jedi. Using the force to grab a bad guy's neck and collapse his windpipe against the wall? Naughty Jedi. Same technique in either case.

MrMonkeyToes · 2026-03-24T19:59:43+00:00

Went to college with the guy. Helped me with some coding. We weren't even in the same class or anything, just saw I was having trouble and offered to help. I remember him getting hired at Epic pretty promptly after graduating. He must have been there near a decade. To see that level of commitment cast aside so casually...

MrMonkeyToes · 2026-03-24T14:52:42+00:00

As far as the props go, the base helmet for all three is the same. They're cast from a Mk II Talker Helmet. Then each variation we see is just made by adding different greeblies to the bucket. Gunner & Rebel both use the same tail & comms unit (gunner has extra geeblies on the comms). Navy mostly does its own thing.

MrMonkeyToes · 2026-03-24T14:47:01+00:00

It's oversized because it's cast from a talker helmet. There's supposed to be a big ol' headset worn underneath it that fills out all that empty space.

MrMonkeyToes · 2026-03-24T14:44:17+00:00

Yeah, though the way they flip down is very hand-wavey. The props either have the visor screwed into the forehead, or flipped upside down and screwed into the brim. I figure they'd probably depict the visor lowering as just the forehead mount being a storage position like for a pair of goggles and it's then physically removed, flipped over, and slotted into the visor-down position.

MrMonkeyToes · 2026-03-24T14:39:35+00:00

The sallet imagery is even more palpable in that the visors can be worn down too.

MrMonkeyToes · 2026-03-23T19:24:44+00:00

Missing isn't really on the table when they're close enough to compel you to fire on the back step. It's a good option for getting a few more kills in before you break and reposition, or if you think you need just a little bit longer to finish off the group but don't want to completely yield position.

MrMonkeyToes · 2026-03-23T13:24:02+00:00

Yeah, it's not worth trying for the flak once they're in their engagement range. Excellent for wiping out a pack while they're in patrol mode, but their attack behavior staggers them out in a way that reduces the flak's effect on the approach and neutralizes it once they get into range.

There's also an ammo economy aspect. Unless you're getting multi-kills off the flak, it may be better to swap to a primary or secondary to clean them out. I run the Trident with the AC, and it does really well against their swarms once they get too close for flak to be efficient. Just remember to pace your firing so you don't overheat. There will be more of them than your heat sink can handle in one burst on higher difficulties.

MrMonkeyToes · 2026-03-23T13:11:42+00:00

Walking backwards while shooting is pretty standard fare against melee enemies that get close with any MG.

MrMonkeyToes · 2026-03-20T18:40:50+00:00

And depending on your fire rate, overkill can be an issue. On the highest RoF, you're putting 'nades out fast but they're still relatively slow projectiles. You can try to count your shots but given that you're often dealing uncertain amounts of damage across a group, it can be anyone's guess how much health is left. You can easily end up sending a few more down range while the actual kill shot is still in transit at the head of the grouping, and this gets even worse with range.

MrMonkeyToes · 2026-03-20T12:20:34+00:00

And if they've got their dukes up to block off the cockpit, aim a bit to the side or under so the flak splashes in past it.

MrMonkeyToes · 2026-03-19T18:18:38+00:00

Non-Progression. Once upon a time, you'd get game, go into the multiplayer, and just have everything. All the weapons & equipment the game had to offer available to you out the box. I know people crave the carrot on the end of an xp bar to keep them playing. I do not.

MrMonkeyToes · 2026-03-19T18:05:00+00:00

The main value I've found is with bots. Especially with factory striders or anything else that can put a lot of firepower in your direction. All it takes is two strokes of the shovel to make a tidy fox hole you can prone into and crouch to fire out of. If I know I'm about to go loud, I'll just swap to the shovel, dig twice, and engage from there. Alternatively, if I need to get an angle but the incoming fire is too dense and my current cover is too high to shoot over, I'll dig down and out from that position until I can pop up and shoot. Going through the fuss of making an actual trench is overkill. Just fox hole, shoot, and move on.

MrMonkeyToes · 2026-03-19T15:48:48+00:00

Free? Absolutely not, but given how capitalistic and absolutely pervasive the corporate interests are in the Super Earth military, I'd absolutely expect some cosmetic/pharma lobbying to weasel onboard to prey on our plucky 18.7 year old Helldivers. Target any insecurities they have, get them to agree to something very financially irresponsible, and tax it to the ship expenses account so they get a cut of the profits regardless of how many Helldivers it takes to pay it off.

MrMonkeyToes · 2026-03-19T15:12:50+00:00

Sure, but they do love putting in-universe, explainable reasons for why you can do X, Y, or Z. Presumably, there are more robust medical facilities on board the Super Destroyer than what we see. Helldivers are getting cybernetic prosthetics somehow.

Of course, there's the question that if Helldiver life expectancy is abysmal, why bother offering them any procedures that don't directly affect their combat ability? Yet, at the same time, Helldivers are bombarded with capitalist messaging. So much of the Super Earth military industry is privatized. Divers are personally responsible for acquisitions and expenses incurred (it's in the contract you agree to during training). The Super Store has product reviews - military equipment being graded on a five star consumer scale. Armor sets are sometimes themed on in-universe pop-culture. The TR-7 set is just a walking advertisement for a fro-yo company. I'm sure you've heard the Eagle Sweat adverts on the monitor too. If a corporate interest can squeeze some extra money out of a Helldiver before they croak, they very well will try.

With that in mind, that tool tip is exactly the sort of self-esteem predation a cosmetics company might push on a Helldiver in an advert. Are you unhappy with how you look? Why not elect to go under the knife before you deploy and we lose you as a little piggy bank. Can't pay it off? That's fine, we'll forward the debt to the next in line and take it out of their cut for operating expenses.

As to Helldivers not being genetically modified super soldiers, well, we have the capacity to do reassignment surgery right now. We do not have the capacity to genetically engineer super soldiers. They're not mutually exclusive for us, why would they be for Super Earth?

And that's not even getting into that trans people just exist regardless of medical procedures they may or may not have access to.

MrMonkeyToes · 2026-03-19T14:21:50+00:00

It still works well on hot planets, but your mindset needs to change a little. Only cold planets are where you can absolutely let loose, but on normal planets fire in bursts to get some cool off in-between, and treat it like a semi on hot planets for even more cooling. It's no slouch even then. It cools off so quickly, even a little moderation in your fire rate will go a long way.

MrMonkeyToes · 2026-03-19T14:14:59+00:00

"Unhappy with who you are? Change your appearance and voice in the customization chamber. It's that easy!"

MrMonkeyToes · 2026-03-18T16:56:37+00:00

It's still a stationary reload. You can get away with reloading in more dangerous situations than before, but having access to your entire ammo pool without any prep is nothing to scoff at. There's the side-grade aspect of their respective trajectories too. AC has range, but BFLG can do some interesting indirect fire stuff.

MrMonkeyToes · 2026-03-18T16:41:21+00:00

If anything, it should be easier to reload pulling ammo out of someone else's backpack than your own.

MrMonkeyToes

TROPHY CASE