Helping Hand?Helldivers 2's latest mission has had a big Illuminate invasion sting in the tail, leaving some players freaking out, while others reckon it's J.O.E.L helping out againBad news going forwards, or J.O.E.L chucking out another MO bone? We'll see.Image credit: Arrowhead News by Mark Warren Senior Staff Writer Published on Jan. 22, 2025 Helldivers 2's latest Major Order has packed a final twist into its tail. As things were looking pretty bleak in terms of Super Earth's chances of pulling out a victory by fending off enough Illuminate attacks, the squids have launched a bunch more of them, meaning players may have an admittedly dwindling shot of winning if they can all stop freaking out about the enemy now having a proper map presence.The big thing about this latest MO has been a quest to use the freshly-updated Democracy Space Station to help fend off 14 assaults from Helldivers 2's newest foe. That's a big number, so even with J.O.E.L having deployed some weather that actually helped secure a planet that was driving a wedge between two different kinds of player, it's been a steep hill to climb.To see this content please enable targeting cookies. Now, though, some players are speculating that with less than a day left to go in the order, and only nine of those 14 attacks repelled, Arrowhead's game master might have played his hand again. You see, the Illuminate have suddenly deployed a bunch of extra attacks on different planets, in such numbers that they're actually now registering as in control of several sectors in the southern bit of the game's map.Naturally, the first response from some folks was to freak out, and title posts things like 'TF IS GOING ON ON THE SQUIDS FRONT' and 'WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED!! THEY BARELY HAD A PLANET NOW THEY HAVE 4 SECTORS!!', in all caps so you know they're properly panicking. WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED!! THEY BARELY HAD A PLANET NOW THEY HAVE 4 SECTORS!! byu/voidknight119 inHelldiversTo see this content please enable targeting cookies.Aside from the usual roleplaying - the top response to one of these posts is "Their autocratic intentions remain shrouded in mystery", which looks like it could be the divers' new favourite copypasta - a number of players have concluded that this last ditch spike in attacks may actually have been a gift from the Galactic War's super-god."This is Joel frantically trying to tow the community across MO finish line before the deadline hits," user Jack_VZ speculated, "All of those attacks are just level 3, the lowest I've ever seen. We don't deserve Joel." While that's a nice thought, it's looking like it's not worked if it is the case, because as I mentioned, players currently have five more attacks left to stop, and only just over two hours to do so.So, that leaves the other school of thought yopu alweays get with MOs - are we meant to lose this one? Some folks think so, with this last minute upping of the ante possibly being Arrowhead setting up the next stage of the Illuminate invasion.Who's right? We'll just have to wait and see.