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The Predator Strain of Terminids was introduced a couple of months ago, and Helldivers 2 players had several opportunities to face it. The Helldivers fought them in the Gloom (twice!), and even the current Major Order is centered around these pesky bugs. So, how do the players truly feel about the Predator Strain? As always, the community is divided!
Some Helldivers Claim the Predator Strain Gave Them a New Challenge
If you’ve fought in the Gloom, you know how extreme the conditions are. If your team wants to survive and complete the mission, you’ll need to stick together. In other words, cooperation is key. Well, some players found this to be quite a nice change of pace, since everyone was already used to killing bugs solo on level 10 difficulty.
One player, jhm-grose, raved: “Predator Strain made me drop the difficulty down from 10 to 7. Bravo, Arrowhead, for giving me a proper challenge. I’m just getting mobbed by Predator Hunters that leap at me and spit at me, and Predator Stalkers that run me down, and even the almighty Incendiary Breaker isn’t enough to save my hide”.
According to this player (and many others), all the relatively new enemies were, well, fine. The Jet Brigade was shocking when it first arrived. But once the players got used to it, it became quite easy to deal with. The spore burst bugs were fun, but the bile was just replaced with smoke. Finally, the latest addition, the Incineration Corps, was challenging and fun, but on the bot front. The bug front needed something as exciting! The Predator Strain turned out to be just that, the players just needed some more time to get used to it.
Live_Meeting8379 explained: “Predator strain is peak Helldiving imo. At level 10, you are almost forced to stick together as a group and work together. I am nowhere near good enough to carry lvl 10 dif, but with the right team, working together, we’ve been able to clear very challenging maps. Well done, Arrowhead”.
Some Helldivers Disagree…
So, while the majority of the Helldivers 2 community claims the Predator Strain is actually quite fun to face, some players are unimpressed. Truth be told, the biggest change was that this strain made players work together and communicate. If the players were already good at teamwork, the new strain wasn’t much of a challenge. Or, if they simply preferred other factions.
One player, SugarNaught, noted: “I don’t care for the Predator Strain. Probably an extremely unpopular opinion, but what’s the actual difference between fighting normal bugs and predator strain bugs? How does having stalkers that don’t go invisible change the way I play? I still bring the same stratagems and weapons I bring on any other bug mission”.
Another player, AvD141, complained: “Boring Bugs MO. Anyone else getting fed up with the terminid front? We just had another gloom dive (not got a problem with that, think it spices up the bug front a bit), but then straight into predator strain defences? We’re still waiting for more Illuminate enemies, bots we just lose ground or stalemate”.
This goes to show that you can never please everyone, and that’s completely fine. We’re sure the unsatisfied players will love some other content. Maybe even the rumored E-710 Terminid Strain? We’ll have to wait for new Squid units for a while longer, but we’re sure they’ll be fun once they arrive. However, let’s use that time well and complete the current Major Order. You’ll find us diving on Acamar IV, join us! For Liberty and Super Earth.