Helldivers 2’s DSS is back online with a beefy overhaul that should more permanently stop it being a friendly fire menace, as the Iluminate jump back in your sights

Helldivers 2’s Democracy Space Station is back with a vengeance, just in time for the Galactic War to shift back to the Illuminate front. And, thank Christ, Arrowhead has implemented some changes to the giant space station that should make it a little bit more effective an asset to the cause – as well as stopping it from being very lethal to friendly forces.

In case you weren’t around to get blasted into the stratosphere by a careless teammate, back when the DSS first arrived back in November last year, it quickly got on the bad side of a lot of players, due to its orbital barrage proving to be very good at killing helldivers, even more so than the intended target of enemies.

Now, after players beat the terminids in the last Major Order, the DSS has returned from a bit of a break with the latest MO, which turns the action back to the Illuminate front. You’ve got 14 attacks from the Illuminate to repel with the “repaired” station’s help, and two have already been repelled, because this is Helldivers 2 and things never stop moving for a single second, ever.

The official reason being given by Arrowhead for the DSS’ little chill sesh is that it suffered “a system-wide breakdown during the initial Illuminate invasion”, which, to be fair, we all got a bit excited then, so it’d have been easy for a floaty space thing to over-exert itself, fall over, and temporarily die.

But, now it’s been repaired, and has had some adjustments made. “The Planetary Bombardment tactical action has been taken offline, until adjustments to optimise certain undesirable externalities has been taken,” Arrowhead writes in its briefing, “The Heavy Ordnance Distribution tactical action has been added, which will augment Helldiver loadouts on the orbited planet.” The station also can now move more often – “six times more frequently” according to the devs.

What are the early reviews of the changes like? Well, as ever with Helldivers, a bit mixed. Some like it, some think it still needs a bit of work and have conveyed that through Lamar Davis from GTA 5.

Anyway, at least you’re now less likely to be killed instantly when you drop, sharing the fate Arrowhead’s CEO wants for any A-list actors cast in the Helldivers movie.