Who are The Illuminate in Helldivers 2? Rumoured new faction explained

Considering they were present in the original game, it's a little sad that The Illuminate are not currently in the popular sequel.

There has been no mention of The Illuminate in the roadmap, but this hasn't stopped dataminers trying to find mention of them within the game's files.

Now, the CEO of Arrowhead Studios and Helldivers 2 creative director Johan Pilestedt has stirred the pot.

With a previous Helldivers Major Order eliminating Automatons completely, could The Illuminate be the first new faction added post-launch?

Who are The Illuminate in Helldivers 2? Rumoured new faction explained

The Illuminate are a highly advanced civilisation found in the original Helldivers who are known to themselves as the Squ'ith.

Originally an aquatic species, they have spread out across the stars with a neural network that allows them to traverse space.

With the Automatons leaving a significant power vacuum on the left side of the Galactic War, will the Illuminate move in to to fill it?

Are The Illuminate being added to Helldivers 2?

While not present in Helldivers 2, a datamine – which also revealed stratagems like mechs – suggests that The Illuminate will be set for a return in Helldivers 2.

We even get an idea of what enemies to expect:

New Faction – Illuminate

• Adept – Can call for allies
• Ghoul
• Illusionist – Fire projectile – Force choke victim
• Obelisk – Fire
• Outcast
• Pathfinder
• Summoner

The Illusionist, Obelisk and Outcast were present in the original game, making the Adept, Ghoul, Pathfinder and Summoner new to Helldivers 2.

This was uncovered by Redditor u/stodal, who shared it on the r/GamingLeaksAndRumours subreddit.

Whether or not this means we can expect to see The Illuminate in Helldivers 2 remains to be seen, but it seems very possible at the least.

Also found in the datamine is a Nuke stratagem – perhaps something players will need to take on the mighty Squ'ith.

Helldivers Alerts on X (you know, what used to be Twitter) also posted leaks of the Illuminate enemy designs.

Johan Pilestedt, creative director of Helldivers 2 and Arrowhead CEO, posted on X this vague message: "Blue beams aren't real, it can't hurt you."

Those blue beams you've been seeing on Reddit and the like? What blue beams?

Time will tell if The Illuminate enemy faction is added to Helldivers 2. For now, you might just want to keep an eye out for those blue beams.

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