Who is Joel in Helldivers 2? Community legend explained

There are few individuals as mysterious as Helldivers 2's galactic game master Joel – the man pulling all the strings of the war, constantly working to evolve the third-person shooter's evolving narrative, as well as issuing Major Orders to us all. 

Helldivers 2 fans tired of toxic hosts kicking players out of missions are taking justice into their own hands.

Helldivers 2's Cutting Edge Premium warbond, aka DLC battle pass, is now available to buy in-game, and it is chock-full of oddball gadgetry such as lightning shotguns, burst-fire laser rifles and experimental armour. As with the Arc Thrower stratagem, the lightning shotgun fires arcs of electricity that conduct between players and enemies alike, but there's a fresh armour perk, Electrical Conduit, which reduces arc damage by 95%, allowing close-knit teams of Helldivers to roll around the battlefield frazzling themselves without much penalty.

While continues to dominate the video game industry, one star is eager for a crossover with the game his film inspired. It doesn't take a lot to recognize that Arrowhead Studios' game and Paul Verhoeven's cult-classic sci-fi have a great deal in the company especially given that both act as satirical comments on the modern military-industrial complex and the influence of propaganda on society. Despite these heavy themes, there's still a great amount of fun to be had in either given that they also spotlight soldiers firing big weapons at giant alien bugs.

Several players have insisted that they've encountered a new type of flying Terminid but in keeping with the game's satirical tone,Arrowhead Studios' CEO Johan Pilestedt believes it's all nonsense. In the weeks after the game's launch, the community has been hard and working trying to figure out exactly what could be causing the Terminids to spread so rapidly among the stars. Some are speculating that Super Earth itself could be creating the «aliens» but the game's director is trying to throw everyone off the scent.

presents players with an abundance of different tools to eliminate the deadly armies of the Terminids and Automatons and Arrowhead Studios is giving fans some insight into how those Stratagems are created. One of the core components of the popular co-op shooter is the ability to call down equipment and support from the skies, most of which take the form of explosive air strikes or precision missile launches. They're undoubtedly one of the most fun aspects of and director Johan Pilestedt wants everyone to know how the team creates them.

makes a point of throwing droves of enemies at players but those who do their best to avoid combat may be shocked to learn that enemies have a few extra tools in their arsenals to detect sneaky players. During some of the game's larger open-world missions, Helldivers have the option to engage with roving bands of foes or, if they're careful, sneak past without raising the alarm. That's easier said than done, especially when the Terminids can use more than one of their sense to track their prey.

The Helldivers 2 devs have a pretty simple process for designing new Stratagems: they just make a new one whenever they get bored of the old selection. That's perhaps oversimplifying the process a bit, but Arrowhead Studios CEO and creative director Johan Pilestedt says it's all about having a fun idea and iterating on it until it makes sense in the game.

Helldivers 2 creator director Johan Pilestedt is teasing developer Arrowhead Studio's "grand plans" for the hit democracy-'em-up, letting slip that we can expect heaps of quality-of-life improvements based on the community's feedback. 

Helldivers 2's director has turned to its community for suggestions on how to stop meta-following players from kicking others.

Helldivers 2 is an early 2024 smash hit, with critical and commercial acclaim following its explosive launch on PlayStation 5 and PC. But there are some aspects of the co-op shooter that can result in a frustrating experience, and one of them has to do with the behavior of your teammates.

is a game with plenty of strategic possibilities, but there's one key aspect of tactics that has been misrepresented from the start. Some areas where the game can be confusing have to do with bugs present at its launch, like the armor issue that has rendered heavy armor significantly less useful than intended. On the other end, however, some information can be deliberately withheld with the intention of making the game easier to get into rather than harder.