Helldivers 2 community figures out the invisible ‘Supply Line’ mechanics

destructoid.com:

It’s clear by now that Helldivers 2 is way more than just a simple bug hunt co-op shooter. On top of its surprisingly deep gameplay mechanics and an ever-evolving campaign narrative, though, there’s a whole extra layer of community-based meta-progression, with Supply Lines being a particularly notable highlight.

If you’ve been befuddled by how Helldivers 2 chooses which planets the Terminids and the Automatons attack next, it would appear that it’s not all just the whims of a potentially sadistic dungeon master. According to a Helldiver 2 community member, Ghoxen, there’s an entire Supply Line feature carefully hidden away from public eyes dictating how the war efforts progress, and it’s way more intricate than the game might otherwise have you believe.

On Reddit, Ghoxen, who established their expertise in Helldivers 2‘s gameplay mechanics with a remarkably in-depth planet liberation guide, also posted about Helldivers 2‘s Supply Line. His information is based on the handy (and ominous!) Galactic War Status and Progression resource. With most of the active battlefields in a “LOSING GROUND” state at the time of writing, it can get rather disheartening to see the Terminids and Automatons mopping the proverbial floor with Helldiver cannon fodder, but that’s beside the point.

Ghoxen explains that developer Arrowhead Studios has set up a massive interconnected network setting the stage for the war efforts at large. This Supply Lines feature determines which war front ought to open up next. It’s complicated, factoring in variables like whether the Helldivers win against the opposing faction, so the network changes accordingly. Thus the theoretical Maginot Line moves inwards or onwards. Supply Lines dictate features like:

Ghoxen did point out that the mechanics of the Terminids’ onslaught and propagation are currently unknown, as they sometimes “skip” the supply chain by a single planet/battlefield. Spore propagation, perhaps.

“When a planet is attacked by bugs,” Ghoxen