[The massive destruction of the automaton on X-45 unlocked both a flashy new quad rocket launcher and the mysterious promise of an "interplanetary battle station." What function the latter will provide (current speculation is some sort of clan system), players will have to wait to discover, but galactic warfare does not wait for its citizens. Even if it is still something we do.

First, the X-45 MO was quickly followed up with a new MO that asks players to kill 100 million Terminids. The following Super Earth success was announced as a result, and soon followed by another major order:

"As a result of the Super Earth High Command's explosive power in a much shorter time than anticipated, the number of fascist bugs in the Galaxy has been reduced by 100 million. The killing power of the Helldiver should not be underestimated. The addition of coercion to control the terminid threat has resulted in exciting discoveries, such as the fact that terminids produce higher quality E-710 when harvested under extreme coercion.

"Close examination of the terminids has revealed new behaviors. This development does not appear to be a threat, but will be closely monitored.

As familiar as it sounds, in March Helldiver conducted a MO focused on the deployment of the Termiside Tower. After Helldiver's success, scientists misjudged the situation. The miticide caused a mutation that led to an explosion in insect populations.

So the Terminoids making their own copies of these towers was... . worrisome," but I found a compelling player theory: "Fish and Cargo Cult behavior, they are making their own versions of the Termiside towers (which are no longer there)," writes Kingshare. The Termiside mutants that hatched there, now that they are "adults," want to restore the spawning environment."

Whatever the ultimate goal, these new structures have yet to do anything. The strategic element of the new MO comes in the form of attacking supply lines and splitting up enemy forces, something players have theorized for some time; Helldivers 2's galactic map has supply lines, now hidden, but players have found them and flipped the script on Arrowhead attempted to do.

"Now the Super-Earth High Command directs the Helldivers back to the Western Front. 'The automaton has opened an opportunity to split their forces from the center. It will throw their detached forces into disarray and weaken the defenses of the detached planet for a short time. The Helldiver is ordered to cut into the Andromeda Sector, join with our X-45 forces, and split the automaton forces in two."

Now we are talking about democracy. The idea of an MO that has the potential to change the composition of the battlefield in a meaningful way, rather than merely acquiring weapons or advancing in a particular sector, is an immediately attractive prospect. In fact, it was never something that needed massive support, but something that players themselves had suggested as a community tactic in previous MOs.

That does not mean that everyone agrees. The idea of cutting the automaton army in half is appealing, but the flip side is that everything could go wrong and the Helldivers would be fighting on multiple fronts instead of one, and X-45 could end up back in bot hands.

Aesir Pass is the first planet that needs to be occupied, and with a liberation rate of less than 40%, it should be under Super Earth control in a little over a day. Three more planets need to fall one after the other, but even then the outcome is unknown. It could be a devastating blow to the automaton's ability to reinforce its target planet, and many dominoes could fall very quickly. ...... Or it could be really bad. A little worrisome, but don't tell the democratization officer.

.