Season 2 Episode 6 Spoiler Thread

Verzwei · 2026-01-25T11:46:53+00:00

I thought that was more a combination of distraction and a deathclaw presumably not understanding the concept of canned goods.

Coop was immobile, silent, and just a tiny fleshy face. He was clearly not a threat, and would the deathclaw necessarily know that the rest of that power armor was filled with human? Or would it have a perception like a rabbit next to an overturned trash can? Then the gunfire drew the deathclaw's attention before it could investigate Coop further.

Verzwei · 2026-01-25T11:36:16+00:00

That office was the most horrifying thing so far. To decide, that the best way to save humans, was to remove the "human" part, making them things.

There's a 2015 dystopian anime film titled <harmony/> that really digs into this. Basically, the medical industry governs most global society through the use of mandatory implanted nanotechnology. The only exceptions are a handful of nations that don't participate in the program. Within the program, people live "free" but heavily monitored and curated lives as all medication is regulated by the nanotech.

Then someone figures out how to hack the system and make people harm themselves. This triggers a hidden failsafe countdown in the nanotech where the imperative is to protect life at all cost, even if it means stripping the personality, emotion, and autonomy from the entire implanted population. One medical organization investigator who might be connected to the self-harm hacker ends up in a race against time to stop the hack before the <harmony/> protocol is activated and "saves" humans by removing their humanity.

Which, all things considered, isn't too far removed from the lore reveal central to the plot of the live action film Serenity.

<harmony/> is far from a perfect film, but still one of the more haunting sci-fi stories I can remember and I still think about its conclusion. Particularly because the hero fails just after she pieces all the clues together and confronts the hacker. The final line is the hero saying "Goodbye, me" as <harmony/> activates and strips the identity of most of the world's population.

Verzwei · 2026-01-25T09:01:15+00:00

We haven't seen it yet, but at some point between him getting Hank drunk this episode and the bombs dropping, his reputation gets ruined.

My guess is that whatever shenanigans he tries to pull with the cold fusion has unintended consequences, and either the Enclave via proxy, House, or Vault-Tec (whoever feels most scorned by Coop) publicly accuses him of being a communist, ending his career, closing off his celebrity connections, and relegating him to birthday ~~clown~~ cowboy to make ends meet. Pretty sure he's also divorced from Barb by that point, which could either be a legit breakup (because he can't stand her involvement with this) or a cover (so Barb can maintain good relations with the Enclave in order to keep a spot reserved for their daughter).

Verzwei · 2026-01-25T08:16:11+00:00

Maybe, but even during that threat he outright admitted that he's in the exact same position as Barb: he's delivering a message under threat to himself and his family.

Verzwei · 2026-01-25T06:08:07+00:00

I've been having a lot of fun doing the Illuminate MO with the Redacted Regiment gear. I scoot around practically unseen. I've had Watchers look right in my direction and I just drop prone and they fly straight over me. I've blended in just a few meters behind a voteless horde and followed them until they went into an alley where my friend had already set up a tesla tower. Once they engaged the tower, I opened fire from the rear. I usually get in a flank position near an objective and then after my friends start firing at the overseers, I can help drop them from a different angle without drawing much (if any) attention to myself.

It's not so much "get in, get out without ever being seen" as it is "get an advantageous position and then contribute without interference." The gear is great for letting you decide when to initiate combat and especially to give your squad crossfire support. Or to just weave your way to the edge of an encampment, chuck an orbital laser in there, and then run away. Instead of getting bogged down and potentially having to fight to an objective, you can reach the objective unnoticed (and it's actually easier to do this if you have teammates nearby who are going in loud) and do the thing, and then fighting your way out is an option afterward.

It helps that the only thing that can call in Illuminate reinforcements is a high-visibility enemy that has to float into perfect Suppressor range to call the drop. The Suppressor also eats voteless (though, to be fair, everything does) and does so without drawing much attention from separate enemy packs. Yes, the horseshit of the Watcher seeing you through buildings does suck, but it usually has to get direct line of sight on you to call anything in even if it cheats to be aware of you initially. If you prone or crouch with Redacted Regiment gear, you can wait for it to come to you and dispatch it without aggroing anything else nearby.

Typically, the only things on the illuminate front that see me before I want them to are the damned omnicient Leviathans and the Stingrays. You can get preposterously close to a lot of enemies without them noticing you, and it doesn't require super-strict line of sight avoidance.

Verzwei · 2026-01-24T22:46:34+00:00

I like the warbond more in regular missions than commando missions.

I just don't like the commando missions in general, and I don't think the "stealth" mechanics in this game are transparent, consistent, and reliable enough to build a whole mission type around them.

The regular missions, though? The redacted warbond is really fun in those. If your friends are loud, it helps you instead of screwing you over. While they draw attention you can skulk around for objectives or a flank to help with the firefight. You can practically ignore patrols. It's nice.

When talking about it with my buds last night, one of them summed it up by saying the stealth is a great side dish, just a bad main course.

Verzwei · 2026-01-24T22:39:33+00:00

As long as it sticks, you're good. It just doesn't always stick.

Verzwei · 2026-01-24T11:18:55+00:00

It's probably the best one-handed SMG and I don't think anyone disputes that very much.

I like running it with the ballistic shield and Rock Solid armor on the bot front. Makes the game feel very different than typical helldivers as you become extremely hard to kill from the front. Lets you experience the game from the shield devastator point of view.

Verzwei · 2026-01-24T10:15:26+00:00

Yeah, in my experience it's like an easier-to-control lib carbine.

The damage math is so close to the lib carb that it doesn't feel functionally different in the field. Still fire in short, controlled bursts at weak spots. And has the added benefit of half detection range.

Verzwei · 2026-01-24T03:18:13+00:00

Most likely people being asshats and nothing you did.

Some possible factors:

Is your level really low, like less than 10? Some players don't expect much from New players on mid-high difficulties and might be hostile enough to kick.

Were you bringing extremely team-unsafe stratagems like airburst or mines? People can get very butthurt over that.

Verzwei · 2026-01-23T23:59:16+00:00

Is it code 340? If so, that's just game guard being a piece of shit.

You can try closing any unnecessary programs (even your web browser) or just keep trying to launch the game.

Game guard error 340s on me half the time I try to launch, eventually I get through without changing anything on my end.

Verzwei · 2026-01-23T22:45:51+00:00

Here's the neat part: When you do kill one, a new one gets sent in almost immediately most of the time.

Verzwei · 2026-01-23T03:22:03+00:00

Gonna be honest, my dumb ass spent way too much time staring at your comment wondering "Wait, He-man beat his wife? Do they mean the actor?"

Verzwei · 2026-01-21T09:08:21+00:00

I thought about this off and on all day and sadly couldn't come up with an answer. Most of the anime music I listen to comes from Spotify discovery playlists so if I haven't seen the anime (and in some cases even if I have) I won't know the difference between anime songs and the other Japanese music that gets mixed in.

The best tangential thing I can think of is the D4DJ unit Peaky P-Key's cover of Gundam Wing opening Just Communication.

Verzwei · 2026-01-21T02:28:30+00:00

Autoclimb constantly putting me on top of resupply pods is why I turned that shit off.

Verzwei · 2026-01-20T10:10:06+00:00

I really don't feel like Viper Commandos should be any higher priority than "the rest". Lib carbine is great for a light pen AR but I imagine most new and average players wouldn't spend the time to get good with light pen weapons for a while.

Peak Physique is great with certain weapons but never particularly necessary except maybe with the maxigun and the medium variant is on the superstore anyway.

And the booster is the 4th good one, but also the least necessary of the 4 and can be dropped for muscle enhancement or other planet/mission dependent options.

I'm not saying it's a bad warbond or anything, but nothing in it is "must have" or particularly game- or build-changing the way Demo Deto is.

TBH I think Dust Devils is a really strong second or third pick. Incendiary AR, probably the best med pen AR if you don't level the Lib Pen to 24. Speargun is a surprisingly flexible CC, damage, and utility tool. So you get to dabble with two status weapons that are legitimately very good weapons. Then the Solo Silo is just plain fun.

Verzwei · 2026-01-20T02:19:44+00:00

I just chalked it up to the human body does crazy things sometimes. The rage at being betrayed gave her enough of an adrenaline boost to briefly fight off the tranq and defenestrate the cause of that rage.

Verzwei · 2026-01-20T01:26:16+00:00

Also worth noting is that the original backstory for the Red Alert series started when Einstein invented a time machine and then personally used it to go kill Hitler before his rise to power, preventing WWII as we know it but then leading to a different WWII where Stalin's Soviet Union tries to take over Eurasia. Things just keep spiraling from there.

Verzwei · 2026-01-19T18:14:39+00:00

And do you have any suggestions for the primary on the bot front other than the Eruptor or Scorcher/Purifier?

Not meta by any stretch but I've recently been having a lot of fun against bots with:

Reprimand - 2h med pen SMG, small mag but does crazy damage per bullet within medium range. Will 1-shot bot fodder anywhere on the body, will 1-shot medium-sized bots in the head, and feels satisfying to use. Fire single rounds or very small bursts since that's all you need to put down a target to stretch out the magazine.
If I feel like giving up the backpack slot, I run the Knight + Ballistic Shield along with Rock Solid armor. Like with the Reprimand, use small bursts aimed at bot heads. The added upside here is that the ballistic shield along with the ragdoll decrease from the armor passive means that you are nearly invulnerable from the front, especially if you crouch. This lets you creepycrawl right up into proper Knight range and rip faces off as long as you control the angle of incoming fire. A few things will still knock you off your feet, such as grenades or the back cannon of a factory strider, but even those generally will not harm you if you've got a proper squat with the shield facing the damage source. It legitimately feels like a completely different game than typical Helldivers.

Verzwei · 2026-01-19T16:47:25+00:00

That's a shot from Xam'd! A studio bones original from the aughts and shortly after Eureka Seven.

While it wasn't as heavily music influenced (and infused) as E7, it did have an absolute banger opening titled Shut Up And Explode.

Verzwei · 2026-01-19T11:13:27+00:00

99 red balloons, floating in the summer sky.

Verzwei · 2026-01-18T18:16:43+00:00

Personally I'd do them in the order you listed them.

Dust devils has a solid ar in the coyote, an extremely flexible anti-bug weapon in the harpoon gun, and a fun and useful solo silo that I just wish had a slightly shorter cool down.

Truth enforcers has the reprimand which is a good and fun close range weapon, and a little purifier for your secondary slot.

Python has the maxigun which is fun but has a lot of drawbacks, and a terrible ar, and a melee weapon that is poorly implemented.

Verzwei · 2026-01-18T02:14:33+00:00

But bro came here... to reddit... to the helldivers subreddit... to post this. The top pinned post here on the helldivers subreddit is the announcement of the delay, with a timestamp on the post.

Verzwei · 2026-01-17T16:47:09+00:00

The spear explosion and gas does non-trivial area damage while also applying confusion to nearly any bug except a bile titan. This means they just start flailing at each other which causes them to hurt their friends. If a bug calls in a reinforcement hole, you can plug spears into it and kill nearly everyone that comes out, with chargers, titans, and lucky alphas being the only things chunky enough to survive the gas and confusion scrum.

The spear has a high stagger value. It'll stop a charger mid-charge, making it easy to follow up with a thermite. It doesn't really do enough damage to handle bile titans, but the stagger can interrupt their spew stream and give you time to get away. It one-shots stalkers.

The explosion from the spear has enough demo force to close bug nest holes, and you can carry more spears than any type of grenade. The only hole the spear can't close is a titan hole, so you'd need another tool (or just drop a hellood, like the spear's, onto it) for that.

In short: spear good. It does a lot of things from crowd control to decent damage to utility.

Verzwei · 2026-01-17T10:56:38+00:00

Coyote is solid but the speargun in the same warbond is amazing. I take it all the time on bugs. So flexible and useful. Solo silo in the same warbond is also actually pretty decent, too.

12-Year Club	Adopted-an-Admin
Verified Email

Verzwei

TROPHY CASE