Yesterday saw players 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:lose Tibit while the majority ജof the player base was asleep, missing the benchmark for Phase 2 of Operation Swift ꧋Disassembly. Shortly after, a new Major Order was issued: Liberate Malevelon Creek, often referred to by players as Robot Vietnam.
High Command told us Automatons have been illegally occupying the planet for too long, “desecrating the memory of the fallen by rapidly depleting the planet's exceptionally rich rhodium deposits”. We were to “take vengeance” for the millions of “valiant heroes” that have died defending the planet. It only took a few hours for players to gain back control of the planet.
If you’re not plugged into the Helldivers 2 discourse, welcome, and I’m sorry for making you a part of it. Malevelon Creek is a huge part of the culture that has formed around the breakout live-service co-op shooter. The planet is notoriously brutal, 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:even for an 𝓡Automaton-controlled planet, which is how it got its nickname – people go there to die. Soon, a faction of players calling themselves ‘Creekers’ emerged, formed of people who pretty much only played on Malevelon Creek.
This Week In 🌠Helldivers 2: Snowballs, Quasar Cannons, And An App
Over Easter weekend, we got new weapons, an app, the answer to a mystery, an♊d hints at more to come.
It’s obvious that developer Arrowhead is extremely in tune with its audience. After all, 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Game Master Joel has to tweak the game’s overall narrative in accordance with player behaviour and interest – and let it be known that he’s very good at his job, as the timelin🌟ess of this particular order has demonstrated.
The Major Order for Malevelon Creek did two important things. Firstly, successfully holding it through the current Major Order will take it off the map for a little bit. Now that we have the planet, we have to defend it, Ubanea, and Draupnir for the next two days. Achieving this will give us the reward for Phase 3 of Opera꧙tion Swift Disassembly, and until Joel instigates another Automaton assault on the p🌠lanet, it will stay liberated. The Creekers will have to go elsewhere if they want to keep playing.
Why does this matter? Well, when we lost Tibit, many players felt it was because a whopping 35 percent of play💝ers were fighting a pointless battle on Malevelon Creek instead of contributing to the war effort. There were also a ton of players on the bug front, but 35 percent on a single planet is a lot. It was significant enough that the developers themselves commented on it in a High Command Dispatch 𓆏in the official Discord server. By taking Malevelon Creek out of the equation, Arrowhead is gently redirecting hardcore Creekers and their battle-honed skills elsewhere, preferably to contribute to Major Orders.
But secondly, and more importantly, it did this while still giving players what they wanted. Creekers were fighting for liberation because the planet is a symbol, and giving them an opportunity to reclaim the planet brought closure to that smaller, organically created subplot. And by requiring players to defend it for a few days after, this quickly-completed Major Order doesn’t f🌟eel like a cheap shortcut to force players elsewhere, it feels as important to the narrative as anything else. Creekers will be happy with the outcome, and players fighting to complete Major Orders will be happy with the backup from the now highly skilled and battle-hardened Creekers looking for something else to do afterwards. Everybody wins.
In Helldivers 2, a game where the story is created almost entirely emergently through player behaviour. Being able to nudge players towards doing what you want without making them feel like they’ve lost agency is a crucial skill. Game Master Joel is a game master, after all, and just like in tabletop games like Dungeons & Dragons, the person shaping the story has to be able to adapt to obstacles and guide players without making them feel like they’re being guided. It’s impressive to see a developer so deftly tread the𝄹 line between satisfying its player base while still getting a preferable outcome for everybody. Give Joel his♑ flowers.
Helldivers 2 is the sequel to the third-person shooter from Arrowhead Game Studios. This time out, the Helldivers are deep in the Galactic War, and it's up to you to bring Managed Democracy to the masses.
