One of Helldivers 2's most ludicrous guns yet arrives in new Warbond

There's only one answer when someone asks you: 'Would you like to obliterate some aliens with a seven-barreled volley gun?' And that's 'hell yes.' Helldivers 2 just unveiled its next Warbond, Control Group, that contains some experimental and ludicrous weaponry forged from alien tech. The Warbond, which arrives in Helldivers 2 on Thursday July 17, also contains a new Stratagem that lets 'Divers teleport around the battlefield.

Yes, it's time for yet another Warbond to arrive in and lure some Super Credits from your account. While Helldivers 2 has long held a spot on our best co-op games list, one could argue that it's never been better, with Arrowhead finally letting us battle it out on Super Earth itself. In an effort to keep your arsenal feeling fresh, the next Helldivers 2 Warbond is packed full of weird and wonderful guns, grenades, and Stratagems.

The highlight for me is that seven-barreled volley gun, officially known as VG-70 Variable. On appearances alone, it looks like a beast - a mix between a Gatling gun and a battle rifle. However, its party trick is that it has three different firing modes. As Arrowhead explains in a new blog post, there's "Auto, which has three selectable RPM values; Volley, which fires a single shot from each barrel at once; and Total, which fires all remaining ammunition in one go." It also notes that using the Total mode has the potential to harm the user, so there is a tradeoff for all that devastating firepower.

Also included in the Warbond is the PLAS-45 Epoch. This Stratagem lets you hold down the trigger to charge up a ball of plasma energy, but like the VG-70, there's some risk-reward at play here. If you charge it up for too long, the weapon could explode, so knowing its limits will be key.

Another new Stratagem that's also completely bonkers is the LIFT-182 Warp Pack (I wonder if that's a Blink-182 homage? Rock on, Arrowhead). Harnessing the power of Dark Fluid to create a mini wormhole, it allows Helldivers to teleport short distances without a cooldown. Again, though, there's a trade-off. "The head of R&D noted that the dematerialization process can be somewhat painful, and that users should bear in mind that the wormhole cannot maintain integrity for extended periods - each jump will further destabilize it, and the wearer may experience death should the singularity fully collapse," the blog post reads.

On top of all of that, there's the new G-31 Arc grenade which can bounce around and discharge electricity and a third Stratagem, the A/LAS-98 Laser Sentry, which swaps ammo for a laser beam that can be continuously fired, just so long as you don't overheat it. There's also new armor sets and a brand new title: Exemplary Subject. Aptly named, given you're going to be testing some pretty dangerous tech.

The Control Group Warbond goes live in Helldivers 2 on Thursday, July 17. If you want to read Arrowhead's full blog post on what's included, head here.

If you're looking for something else with a Helldivers flavor, check out our best space games list. Alternatively, if you want to upgrade your set up, head to our best gaming monitor guide for some expert recommendations.

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