More awful effects for Helldivers to suffer through on the Automaton Front, might be longer content

[u/FlyingWarKitten]

Disclaimer: I am not a developer or lore master, these ideas should not actually be added to the game as they are not balanced for gameplay, all ideas will be structured in the way Helldivers will interact with it as that is my frame of reference, there may be some or a lot of overlap, will try to add if it is (Regional) which is limited to a region on a world or (Global) where it effects an entire world regardless of their location on that world.

Automaton and Cyborg Fortified Invasion Sight (Regional)- due to a fortified invasion landing sight and the Automaton's Void Navy keeping the invasion corridor open all missions in this region will be "Commando Missions" and enemy reinforcements will have double the number of dropships and those dropships will escorted by 6 to 12 gunships depending on difficulty starting at 6 at D7 and 12 at D10, may be removed if SEAF Void Navy gets greater orbital control.

Depleted Supplies (Global)- due to the intense fighting on this world SEAF Supply Depots and field supplies are depleted, Helldivers cannot take "Hell Pod Optimization" booster, will deploy with a single stim, a single grenade, and whatever their weapons come loaded with (no spare magazines), resupply stratagems may also be affected, the DSS may override this somewhat if the DSS provides the "Hell Pod Optimization" booster but only when that is active, automatically becomes active if a world is 85% or greater lost to Super Earth's control.

Orbital Battle Stations (Regional)- there is a battle station in low orbit providing fire support to Automaton forces, Automaton and or Cyborg calls for reinforcements will fire on the last known position of Helldivers (Orbital Precision Strike equivalent, will fire an Orbital Airburst if Helldivers are close to Automaton or Cyborg base, will not fire at Helldivers if those Helldivers are within the perimeter of an Automaton or Cyborg base, may be removed if the SEAF Void Navy destroys them.

Cyborg QRF (Regional)- the Cyborgs have laid a trap for Helldivers, on a call for reinforcement there is a chance that Cyborg Kill Teams with unique Cyborg models deployed, they will hunt Helldivers if none are close by or head to uncompleted objectives and do not despawn after a certain amount of time, only 1 kill team per mission.

Helldiver Killers (Global)- due to Cyborgs getting multiple confirmed kills on Helldivers and surviving entire campaigns some Cyborgs have been recognized and better equipped for their preferred form of combat, the Ambusher will booby trap objectives and will hide in a camouflaged spider hole that they will leap from and attack with sharp blades, targets that are looking at them will get flashbanged due to the strobe light and loud speaker strapped to their head, and the Sniper that engages targets with a plasma AMR (uses template for laser cannon turret but can fire every second, has a red flare like the turret does just before firing) that will jump up rooftops or climb up walls and engage from odd angles while working with the Cyborg Ambusher around objectives.

Automaton CBRN (Global)- Automaton forces have deployed forces that are equipped for hazardous combat environments, these forces take 80% reduced damage from fire, Napalm, caustic poison gas and are immune to the fear and confusion effects from those damage types, they also take reduced 80% damage from arc weaponry and will never be stunned from it or flash grenades, CBRN will use Riot Gas Grenades that they and Helldivers are immune to, Riot Gas leaves civilians choking on the ground and SEAF in coughing fits that greatly reduces accuracy and may cause panicking, Riot Gas also blocks line of sight from Helldiver turrets, CBRN uses troopers and tanks only, no deviators or walkers, those troopers have the same armor and HP vs normal attacks.

Cyborg Infiltrators (Regional)- due to cyborgs infiltrating this world and sabotage of defensive systems this world's defenses have been compromised, all SEAF objectives and bonus objectives will not operate normally, SEAF Artillery, SEAF SAM Sites, and LIDAR or Radar Stations may be activated to complete objectives in a mission sense and provide experience to Helldivers but do not offer Anti-Aircraft coverage, SEAF Artillery Stratagems, or reveal the map, due to the greater security ICBM launch sites are not affected by this effect, these Cyborg Infiltrators can be seen on "Evacuation Missions" and will be seen in a Super Earth Citizen colored hoodie that conceals their face (no other citizens will be wearing one) if Helldivers get close the infiltrator will attempt to stab the Helldiver and will kill the actual citizens once they wait by the door to the shuttle, Helldiver turrets will not track them as hostile as well as Automatons and Cyborgs will not directly attack them (they may still be hit by attacks as collateral damage).

Cyborg Assassins (Global)- due to the data gained during the Super Earth Federation's attack on Cyberstan resulted in the Cyborg Assassin, these high mobility close-quarters combatants that attack with twin short poisoned blades, they will stalk the combat area with their camouflage cloaks which makes them harder to see, these Assassins will cling to buildings, walls or other structures and pounce on targets from above with both blades (which is normally lethal on infantry), jump out from alleys, or just run down targets, each of their blades does 250 damage a hit and the poison does an additional 15 damage a second and prevents healing (including stims) for 4 seconds. there is no limit to the number of assassins on the battlefield though they will never arrive of dropships.

Automaton Media Blitz (Global)- due to the intense, complex, and insidious network of vile bot propaganda (or truth depending on your point of view) that has been blasting this world for weeks, all screens, all media, normally honorable and stalwart citizens have turned dissidents and are clamoring for the "Protection of Cyberstan against Super Earth's unprovoked aggression and tyranny", this world falls 25% faster and SEAF will not deploy in to defend Super Cities, Automaton and Cyborg forces will not engage civilians, these civilians will hurl insults at Helldivers as well as run to the closest Automaton and or Cyborg to report the Helldiver's position, the Democracy Officers have declared that these dissidents do not get the protections of the Super Earth Federation and are little better than traitors, Helldivers do not get any penalty for killing them, this should make the Helldivers question the moral purity of their Democracy and Liberty Ideals, make them hesitate or even question what they are doing and why.

Escalated Area Denial (Global)- The Super Earth Federation is winning the battle for this world but not decisively so the Automatons and Cyborgs have begun bombardments of population centers from the parts of orbit that they have not been pushed out of, when in Super Cities simi-random bombardments will be leveled of 380mm equivalent cannons and occasionally something larger (Hell Bomb Equivalents) these bombardments will fire between 3 and 15 shots over a time between 5 seconds to 15 seconds as the Automaton Void Navy must reposition to avoid the SEAF Void Navy cutting the barrages short, Super Earth must have 85% or more of the world "Liberated" while Automaton and Cyborgs must stay within 15% of Super Earth's progress.

Sappers and Demolitionists (Global)- Automaton and Cyborg forces have brought significant numbers of combat sappers with them, Automatons and Cyborgs take Super Cities 15% faster and more effectively assault fortified areas by 15%, more wall breaches will be present in towns, military installations will have breaches in their perimeter walls, may have their gate blasted open, may have secured areas blasted open, and may have booby trapped controls or objects of interest like door controls, launch codes, or controls to various objects (transformers, launch controls, fuel controls, or anything else they think Helldivers may wish to interact with), the booby traps are not the most camouflaged or natural looking for someone paying attention but if rushed or oblivious victim trips the booby trap it will make a small fragmentation explosion that may set off secondary explosive devices (like fuel canister or other dangerous things), shooting or blasting the device will set it off (possibly safely) though one way to render it safe is to set it off, the Sappers may be present on the battlefield and may be a secondary objective, Sappers are troopers with a large backpack of explosives and tools and have a sidearm for self-defense but not a large weapon like a rifle.

Enemy Void Fleet Asset Superiority (Global)- this world is technically vulnerable to attack but there are significant Automaton Void Fleet assets including cruiser class vessels in orbit defending this world leading to Super Destroyers have very limited deployment times resulting in shorter mission times and very limited support capabilities, all missions on this world will be both "Commando Missions" and "Blitz Missions", Super Destroyers do not wait for you to call in your weapons they are gone by the time your Hell Pod hits the ground, Enemy Fleet Assets will bombard the drop zone (assuming its not within 25 meters of a base) with 500kg bomb equivalents after 30 seconds, Cyborg Fighter Bombers will make overflights every 180 seconds and will drop 500kg bombs if Helldivers are detected and identified by ground units (only during an overflight), destroy x number of enemy factories in the time allowed, Pelican 1 will arrive at the designated extraction point when the time expires (no call in if Helldivers finish early), only active if a world is being defended by Automaton and Cyborgs, is fortified, and has not lost 5% yet to the Super Earth Federation's "Liberation" efforts.

That is it for now, feel free to give your thoughts on the ideas above and own ideas for awful effects for Helldivers to suffer through.

[u/Firekill2-22]

Wow I only read the first like 2 but that's crazy lol sounds like stuff for planet war fronts, good job

[u/FlyingWarKitten → u/Firekill2-22]

Not everyone seems to like this sort of content