Helldivers 2’s take on a galaxy-traveling Death Star really is a death trap: “risk of collapse,” no toilets, and the beds are stolen from “very sick children”

Helldivers 2 is making players work to build a “gigastructure” known only as the Democracy Space Station, which the community will then be able to deploy anywhere on the Galactic War table via a “cutting-edge voting system.” Details on what exactly the DSS can do are under wraps, but I’m guessing it’ll be mighty since High Command is sacrificing the wellbeing of many a sick child to build the thing. 

Arrowhead Game Studios today tweeted a construction blueprint for the DSS showing its various parts, a circular protective plate, and various bolt-ons poking out of it. “Once complete, the Democracy Space Station will be a new strategic-level weapon,” the tweet reads. “It will wield powerful, Helldiver-directed weaponry to aid in the liberation of it’s orbited planet. Through a cutting-edge voting system, the Helldivers will determine where to deploy the DSS, and when to use its capabilities.”

Things get interesting when you zoom into the fine print, however, specifically with the “Known Issues” section hiding at the bottom. Despite funneling an exorbitant amount of steel and sweat into the station, “bedding for living spaces” is apparently “not within budget reach” and High Command is instead compensating by taking “donations” from the sick children at Super Citizen Anne’s Hospital – aka, the kids we saved in a previous Major Order who thanked us with a little crayon drawing. Oh, sorry, that’s “Super Citizen Anne’s Hospital for Very Sick Children.” My mistake. 

Knowing High Command and the way its democracy works, I wouldn’t bet that those donations are being accepted so much as they’re being taken from the kids. At least they’re getting a “field trip to DSS” as compensation, though I can’t imagine “Very Sick Children” would be over the moon about visiting a flying hunk of metal that’s always waging war.

Other known issues make Super Earth’s superweapon seem a little creakier than you might expect from the sterling, never-fail technology that the Helldivers are so used to. There’s a “risk of collapse,” a “risk of self-combustion,” unstable pressure readings, and the cherry on top: lavatories were removed to make space for sentry repair units. 

Arrowhead hasn’t discussed much about what the DSS can actually do just yet aside from warping to any destination that the community chooses. The blueprint above does detail a laser targeting system and a weapons bay, however, so maybe it’ll be able to rain down extra support for Divers or hold back Automaton reinforcements from above. That’s purely speculative, though. Fans have guessed that the DSS might tie into a potential clan system, but I’m hoping it can eventually turn into some kind of player hub.

Either way, Helldivers 2 players still need to complete at least four separate Major Orders before we even get to use the DSS.

Elsewhere, a Helldivers 2 poll sees over 70% of 69,000 players complain about the game’s “not great” and sometimes even “awful” ragdoll physics.