Helldivers Interview with Johan Pilestedt CEO of Arrowhead and Helldivers Game Director
HELLDIVERS is a topdown shooter set in a satirical dystopian future where mankind is ruled by a managed democracy. You are part of the Helldivers – the spearhead of humanity’s defense against the perpetual alien threat on Super Earth.
With up to four player co-op missions, working together as a team is vital, whether calling in strikes or placing weapons, each action must be totally synchronized to achieve the objectives. This isn’t just a four player co-op game; it’s a co-op game that relies on the global efforts of the entire HELLDIVERS community!
What enemies will you face?
There are of course the space Bugs, a crustacean-like race of varying sizes and types. Then we have the Cyborg nation, a race of bionically augmented separatists with heavy armor and weapons. And then there’s the Illuminates…
Will it have friendly fire?
In true Arrowhead spirit, Helldivers features full “friendly” fire, allowing you to “accidentally” kill your friends, again.
What’s the character level cap and can you drop in and out of games?
The current level cap is 50 and at any time you or another player can join the action.
Will it have local multiplayer or only online play?
Helldivers offers 4-player local and online co-op multiplayer for PC.There is no cross-play between PC and PlayStation.
Is there a single player offline mode?
You can play the game offline with 1-4 local players. However when played offline, mission progress will not contribute to the global Galactic Campaign.
What is the Galactic Campaign?
By playing Helldivers, every player in the world participates in the same global meta-campaign called the Galactic Campaign.
Each time a player completes a planet their progress is uploaded and their contribution to the Galactic Campaign will be registered.
From time to time, the enemy will try to counterattack, spawning events where you have to defend a city planet from invading enemies.
These events give double experience, and should the community fail to defend a planet, the region will be lost. The challenge of the campaign is dependent on the performance of the entire community in the previous campaign.
How does the Galactic Campaign work?
The Galactic Campaign takes player numbers into account when attack or defend events are created. The difficulty also scales to how well the players have been doing. If players win wars and events then the events get more difficult, and if the players lose then the events get easier – all to create a fair game where both outcomes are possible.
The players, Humanity, has been doing extremely well for a long time and so it has slowly been ramping up. Most of all wars have been won. Now that the game has been out for a year and there is a smaller player base, the campaign and events should scale by itself to match the players. We will of course also keep a close eye on it in case something needs a change.
Helldivers DLC
Helldivers DLC is sold as an entitlement, meaning that only the primary account which purchased the DLC is able to use it, but DLC can also be shared with other local players while in the same game.
When purchasing the Helldivers DLC, please note that the regions of both the game and the DLC packs need to match in order to use it. For example, you will not be able to play if you have purchased the Asian DLC bundle and are playing with the European version of the game.
Is there any character customization? Are there female characters?
You will unlock new equipment and gear as you rise in ranks. There are not only female Helldivers, there are male too!
