Helldivers 2 Escalation of Freedom update finally solves its undemocratic team kicking issue

After three weeks of summer vacation, Arrowhead Game Studios are set to bring the largest Helldivers 2 update to date. The new Freedom of Escalation update brings new maps, enemies, missions, and much more. That is without taking into account that the next Warbond, titled Freedom’s Flame, is right around the corner. However, one change that is being made could be the highlight of the update, and it will prevent players from trolling their teammates by kicking.

In a blog post, Arrowhead Game Studios shared information on what to expect when the Freedom of Escalation update comes to Helldivers 2 on August 6th. One of the highlights is that the developers are finally set to address the team-kicking issue that plagues the game, which turns many players off wanting to jump into missions with others.

“We’re making changes to mitigate the problem of grief kicking in Helldivers 2. While it’s our hope that players engage with the game in good faith and sportsmanship, we do recognize that some players are using the team kicking to grief others,” they said.

Grief kicking has become a major issue in Helldivers 2, with some players booting teammates from the game at the last possible second. This wastes all of the time and effort that they put into a mission, sometimes up to 40 minutes, as they then return to their ship with no XP or Samples.

With the Escalation of Freedom update, Arrowhead Game Studios will now implement “a system where if a player is kicked, they will spawn into a new session as the host with all of the team’s loot from their previous session. All items can now be picked up by the player before extraction. The squad doing the kicking will see a message in the chat widget that a player has been kicked, yet their loot remains unchanged.”

This is fantastic news and a much-needed quality-of-life change as “all players have the opportunity to leave with all loot collected on a mission, with no one Helldiver losing out.”

Arrowhead Game Studios has been on summer vacation for the past few weeks, and it looks like the developers aren’t slowly easing themselves back into work. Escalation of Freedom update is one of the largest changes that we’ve seen since launch. The new update is set to bring new missions, maps, planets, enemy types, and much more, which will shake things up and make the game feel fresh again after being very stale in recent weeks.

This comes as the Automatons have been left decimated after Super Earth destroyed the supply lines to the Andromeda Sector. The new enemy types could help the robot army regain a footing in the Galactic War.

But, it’s not just the Automatons that are going to benefit from this new Helldivers 2 update, as the Terminids are also bringing new enemies to the game, including the Impaler from Helldivers 1, a group of tentacles that will unexpectedly rise from the ground and cut off your escape when you’re least expecting it. There will also be the new Alpha Commander and Spore Charger, which are upgraded versions of existing enemies.

With so many changes coming to the game, being prepared for what Arrowhead Game Studios has planned could be the difference between victory and failure. To ensure that democracy continues to be spread across the galaxy and the Galactic War remains in Super Earth’s favor, we highly recommend checking out our Helldivers 2 best weapons guide and best armor guide.