Do Helldivers 2 Players Just Prefer to Fight Bugs Than Bots? It Certainly Looks Like It

ign.com:

Ever since Helldivers 2’s explosive launch on PC and PlayStation 5, players have had two alien factions to battle against: the terrifying robot Automatons and the brutal bug-like Terminids.

One ongoing theme coursing through the wonderful metanarrative that is Helldivers 2’s Galactic War is that the wider player base enjoys playing against the bugs more than the bots. This debate surfaces whenever a Major Order — Helldivers 2’s time-limited, community-wide missions - revolves around battling on Automaton planets. And almost every time, try as it might, the hardcore Helldivers 2 community that fusses over the success of the Galactic War can’t quite wrestle the majority of players over to the Western Front.

It’s happening again now, after Helldivers 2 developer Arrowhead granted a bonus to planet liberation, but only if training facilities on Automaton planets (Vernen Wells) liberated in the prior Major Order remain under Super Earth control.

The problem is, most Helldivers 2 players are perfectly happy playing on bug planets, putting Vernen Wells, and thus the bonus liberation, at risk. Players have a number of theories why this sort of thing happens. The lack of in-game communication is certainly a valid suggestion. Helldivers 2 itself does not flag to players that Vernen Wells is a particularly important planet for players to focus on right now, so most won’t be aware it's in need of attention. Players have called on Arrowhead to add more in-game communication to help drive the wider player-base to Major Order-focused planets, rather than rely on social media posts and the likes of Discord and Reddit.

But, as many Helldivers 2 players have also suggested, the simple truth is many players prefer fighting against the bugs. The Terminids are, after all, the alien faction that realizes the Starship Troopers fantasy Helldivers 2 so heavily leans upon. And bugs are just a lot more squishy than their metal clad counterparts. On the harder difficulties, all Helldivers 2