Previous installments: Intro for Xbox Players (and Everyone Else) and Stratagems, or How We Spread Democracy! Now it's time to look at the free Warbond available immediately to all players.
What's a Warbond?
If you've played any online shooter/fighting games in the past decade or so, you're probably familiar with limited-time seasonal items and battle pass micro-transactions. What if that kind of reward was available without a time limit, and could be purchased with in-game currency? Welcome to the Helldivers 2 Warbond concept, and everyone gets access to the Helldivers Mobilize warbond right away for free!
Helldivers Mobilize
This warbond is ten pages of weapons, armors, boosters, cosmetic items, and even 750 Super Credits to use toward subsequent warbonds or Superstore exclusives. Most premium warbonds are only 3 pages long, so this is an absolutely massive list of items. Here are some highlights.
Page 1
- G-6 frag grenade, a sidegrade to the default G-12 with a bigger explosion radius but less armor penetration. Better on the bug and squid fronts.
- SG-8 Punisher, a pump-action shotgun adding the first new primary weapon option for most players. Effective against all basic foes with damage, stagger, and knock-back effects.
- SC-34 Infiltrator, light armor with the Scout passive ability suite, good for mobility and stealth.
Page 2
- FS-05 Marksman, heavy armor with the Fortified passive ability suite, which helps control recoil and resist explosion damage. Good for anyone playing The Heavy.
- P-19 Redeemer, a secondary weapon which I consider an upgrade from the default P-2 Peacemaker thanks to fully-automatic fire and a much larger magazine. With controlled bursts, it can sweep several smaller threats away between reloads. A mag dump might save you from a medium threat.
- R-63 Diligence, another primary weapon option, this time as a marksman rifle. With good shot placement, this can be viable against weak points on all but the most armored Automaton threats, and its standard scope makes those shots possible.
Page 3
- Hellpod Space Optimization, the first booster for most players. Activating this during loadout ensures every Helldiver drops with full ammunition and grenades.
- SMG-37 Defender, a primary weapon which can be fired in one hand, meaning missions which require carrying something like a black box or hard drive do not require switching to your secondary weapon, likewise for carrying stratagems like the ballistic shield. I like it.
- CE-35 Trench Engineer, one of my favorite medium armor options because the Engineering Kit passive ability reduces recoil on all weapons and it adds two to my maximum grenade capacity. Oh, and it's safety orange.
Page 4
- Vitality Enhancement, a second booster which adds a bit of extra resistance to all forms of damage. Useful for all situations.
- CM-09 Bonesnapper, a medium armor set with the Med-Kit passive ability which boosts your stim capacity and stim effect duration. I don't usually use this, but there are players who like it.
- SG-225 Breaker, a fully-automatic shotgun which can sweep away smaller foes like little else.
Page 5
- LAS-5 Scythe, a laser rifle which fires a continuous beam. If you manage its heat, it has effectively infinite ammo. If you overload the heat sink, it can be "reloaded" with a spare. It's an effective weapon with pinpoint accuracy.
- DP-40 Hero of the Federation, medium armor with Democracy Protects, which prevents bleeding out from chest wounds, offers a 50% chance to survive lethal damage, and the most gold-trimmed drip available from any default armor in my opinion. I regularly use this.
- G-16 Impact, perhaps my favorite of the basic grenades. Not ideal for bot fabricators or bug holes, but good for direct damage.
Page 6
- FS-23 Battle Master, heavy armor with the Fortified passive again, basically offering a cosmetic alternative to the Marksman armor.
- AR-23P Liberator Penetrator, a sidegrade to the base Liberator with slightly lower damage and slightly heavier recoil but with medium armor penetration. Incredibly useful on the bot front, especially with the upgrade options now available to be earned as you use your primary weapons.
- UAV Recon Booster, which offers increased detection range on your mini map, useful for stealthdivers who want to see threats and avoid being seen.
Page 7
- Stamina Enhancement, a booster which increases stamina and the rate of stamina recovery. This is a good all-around option, especially as maps get bigger when difficulty increases.
- R-63CS Diligence Counter Sniper, a medium armor penetration upgrade to the base Diligence from Page 2, and with more raw power per shot, but with lower magazine capacity.
- SC-30 Trailblazer Scout, light armor with the (surprise!) Scout passive, which pairs well with the UAV Recon Booster above for stealth, and that Diligence or Diligence CS makes an effective rifle for such players.
Page 8
- SA-04 Combat Technician, another set of light Scout armor.
- SG-8S Slugger, a pump-action shotgun loaded with slugs for high-damage single-projectile focused fire. I haven't really used it, so I can't offer an opinion. It does punch through medium armor, though, which makes it distinct from other shotguns in another way.
- G-3 Smoke, a grenade that does no damage to enemies or their structures. Concealment does work in this game, though, especially for stealthdivers.
Page 9
- SG-225SP Breaker Spray&Pray, another fully-automatic shotgun, this time with birdshot and a duckbill choke for a wider shot pattern. Good for crowd control.
- CM-14 Physician, another medium Med-Kit armor option.
- Muscle Enhancement, "Allows Helldivers to traverse difficult terrain with ease." According to the wiki, this reduces how much Helldivers are slowed by sandstorms, blizzards, water, snow, mud, foliage (various shrubs), barbed wire, and Terminid acid, but not sand, slopes, vaulting/climbing or earthquake tremors. Useful.
Page 10
- Increased Reinforcement Budget, a booster I argue is generally useless. Other boosters keep you alive or make you more effective. If you need the extra reinforcements this offers, you probably should have used another booster instead. This is the first item on this entire list I have never seen a case for equipping, though.
- DP-11 Champion of the People, another Democracy Protects armor like Hero of the Federation above, but in white. I prefer black and gold, but you may prefer this look instead.
- PLAS-1 Scorcher, a new energy weapon, this time firing explosive balls of plasma! I've been slowly ranking up my other weapons to unlock new attachments, but I look forward to returning to this soon.
My Thoughts
This warbond gives new players a solid foundation of different armors, cosmetics, and weapons plus a head start on the Super Credits for their first Premium Warbond. Between that and diligently scouring Points of Interest, you'll have more than enough. As I noted, there's only one item in the entire list I think is completely useless. The rest definitely ranges from generally good to perfect for specific play styles.
I recently revisited the Diligence, Diligence CS, and Redeemer since I have shifted to other weapons over time, and was surprised to see they're not really overshadowed by other guns in premium warbonds. The developers try to avoid power creep and keep everything in balance with frequent updates.
Where next?
If you're ready for a premium warbond, I would advise either Democratic Detonation if you like to see things go BOOM! or Freedom's Flame if your Pokemon starter was a fire type. I don't really have anything to add about Steeled Veterans (the first-ever premium warbond) beyond this youtuber's take.
All warbonds offer something useful, and again, they never expire. Play the game, have fun, and unlock what you want as you go!
I generally recommend against buying Superstore items until you have had time to familiarize yourself with the game, explore whether they really benefit how you want to play, and squirrel away enough Super Credits to absorb the cost and still have enough for your next warbond. These can unlock a few unique items, or get an armor passive you want without buying a full warbond, but I still suggest resisting that urge.
Finally, if for some reason you can't shake that FOMO mindset, or just really want to get something NOW, you have the option to buy Super Credits with real money. I suggest not, but hey, at least Arrowhead isn't wholly evil like EA or Activision.
No matter what you choose, just remember, Democracy won't spread itself. It's up to us to bring justice to the bugs, bots, and squids!
