Are Helldiver units cannon fodder?

[Blozzy]

I saw how they treated these elites looking childish with all those patriotic democratic nonsense they spout about in those videos.

I'm new to the game and i don't know bout the lore but are Helldivers the real deal? We know theyre capable but expendable too. Are there tougher military branches?

[MrMorrison226]

Originally posted by Blunkn:

assuming super earth's government is a competent one, i think they're used more like paratroopers/airborne rangers

i'm not sure why they would spend so much of their defence budget giving every helldiver a personal space destroyer, an arsenal of weapons and armour, and a whole crew of technicians, pilots, and political officers supporting them if they're cannon fodder

loading screen tips even make jokes like "everyone's contribution is equally important to the war, but helldivers' contributions are more important" or something along those lines

if helldivers really were cannon fodder, i'm pretty sure they'd just be given the bare minimum to complete a mission, and may not even be guaranteed exfil or resupply

Bro there's like hundred of hell divers frozen in those destroyers

[Ishan451]

Originally posted by Blozy:

i don't know bout the lore but are Helldivers the real deal?

If only there was a network of computers that store information, to which you could send questions like "what is the lore of Helldivers" and then find something like an encyclopedia explaining it.

We could call that place "Internet", because its like a web interconnecting various computers.

I know.. i know.. silly idea. We just ain't there yet.

Originally posted by Blozy:

We know theyre capable but expendable too.

What gave it away? The exhaustive training camp, with the canned voice lines? Or the fact that they enter into a small tube, to be deep frozen like a box of sardines?

Originally posted by Blozy:

Are there tougher military branches?

Ever considered that if they really wanted, all those Destroyers in orbit could Glass the surface of any planet...

So why would you need something "tougher" than Helldivers, when Helldivers are more than you could ever need for the purpose they serve?

[Neon Samurai]

Originally posted by Blozy:

Originally posted by Forblaze:

Didn't you see the training? You think they'd invest all of that time and energy training up a helldiver if they were expendable nobodies?

I guess that training is the final test for practical combat

Nope that is pretty much their only training.

Remember the opening screen where the recruits have like 97% patriotism and 27% combat readiness, and an expected survival rate of 21% (all of which is within quota).

We are a bunch of dumbasses high on patriotism, and low on brain power, being thrown into the meat grinder for managed democracy. Every time you die, you become another person, not a clone.

[Thwartgorgon75]

Helldivers are the special forces. the planetary defence armed guards are the real cannon fodder given that we only ever see corpses of them.

[Forblaze]

Originally posted by Ishan451:

What gave it away? The exhaustive training camp, with the canned voice lines?

Are you saying that general brasch wasn't actually super impressed by the way I jumped over that jersey barrier?

[Aethrys]

Originally posted by Ramses101:

Originally posted by Blunkn:

assuming super earth's government is a competent one, i think they're used more like paratroopers/airborne rangers

i'm not sure why they would spend so much of their defence budget giving every helldiver a personal space destroyer, an arsenal of weapons and armour, and a whole crew of technicians, pilots, and political officers supporting them if they're cannon fodder

loading screen tips even make jokes like "everyone's contribution is equally important to the war, but helldivers' contributions are more important" or something along those lines

if helldivers really were cannon fodder, i'm pretty sure they'd just be given the bare minimum to complete a mission, and may not even be guaranteed exfil or resupply

You mean weapons that could hold enought ammo to finish a mission or bring firepower strong enought to fight off a titan? I mean you have to earn a rocket launcher which you toss right after

Ammunition is heavy. What you're carrying is probably already a bit too heavy for a realistic combat load after adding a support weapon.

[Evil Gnome]

!!!MY LIFE FOR SUPER EARTH!!!

[Neon Samurai]

Originally posted by Aethrys:

Originally posted by Ramses101:

You mean weapons that could hold enought ammo to finish a mission or bring firepower strong enought to fight off a titan? I mean you have to earn a rocket launcher which you toss right after

Ammunition is heavy. What you're carrying is probably already a bit too heavy for a realistic combat load after adding a support weapon.

Actually what they are carrying is realistically possible, as they don't need to carry all the other typical grunt stuff, like MREs, water, shelter, sleeping bag, entrenching tool, etc. All they carry is their armor, a primary with a reasonable number of magazines, a secondary with also reasonable number of mags, some grenades, and a support weapon + maybe a backpack.

[Formous]

Helldivers very explicitly are citizens convinced that they are invincible and unbeatable, save when they have trouble staying alive of course. Think of helldivers as above average grade armed and equipped troops very similar to the US Air Force's TACC units, if I remember my briefs.

While a helldiver is themselves expendable and heavily indoctrinated, Super earth on the other hand never refuses them equipment or support on demand. A entire destroyer is slaved to it's assigned helldiver unit, and though the helldiver can die and is replaced, they maintain just one both since they maybe have 2 dozen divers at most on any one ship. So they bring a squadron together to increase their mass of munitions, and minimize the total noticeable losses from any one ship. And SE does make a effort to get them out alive, as veterancy is a thing. Consider that as you play, you get better at the game right? I see that more that the ship is getting more and more helldivers out canonically, and the frozen cadre is getting more elite over time.

Despite the disposability of things, I am absolutely positive that the ships receive very frequent resupply from super earth on a individual level. This is due to the actual dimensions of the ships, and how we observe they store munitions openly as opposed to in a secure room. Which is reinforced by how when the Trons kill a Destroyer outside, they explode violently. I believe the ships sport limited on demand manufacturing for sentries and the like, and for small scale munitions, while the "Floor" of the hanger just has its huge stockpile loaded directly from and reinforced during average trips home or by automated FTL ships.

For perspective, a Super destroyer is built in 3 sections. The forward platform which sports orbital artillery, sensors, communication equipment, and relevant loading mechanisms that are made of auto-loaders. The middle, carries the Bridge, manufacturing, storage, and Eagle and dropship hanger, which is our space between missions. The last is a compact Engine section for fuel, FTL drive, and loading area for socketting Helldivers. By length of the conveyer belt for the defrosted divers, there is space for a circular belt on the side of the ship about 16 to 20 strong, and where the pods are also restocked from on the outside.

Crew wise, I think my last count for the total crew was in the ball park of around 16 people total. Which is nuts when you consider its more or less just the size of a large air crew, with only 14 being operational. Anyone value-able to Super earth is kept on the ship however.

[Recel]

The way I see it is, that we are NOT expandable, but the rules and missions are more important than human lives. The whole lore is riddled with quotes that suggest that the system is rigid and filled to the brim with paperwork.

So while we get every bit of support, starting from weapons to strikes, supplies and support, and even send a Pelican down for us as the ship is leaving, the number one importance isn't us, but the mission at hand.

If YOU die during the mission, they will send in the next person to finish the job... even if that "finish" means just getting out of the pod and walking two meters to the Pelican. Why? Because those are the rules of Managed Democracy, and not abiding by them is treason!

[junimai233]

Your Super Destroyer doesn't even have handcarts by default lmao

[capybaras are cool]

the game makes it very clear that helldivers are entirely expendable. why do you think you can complete a mission with everyone dead?

[capybaras are cool]

Originally posted by Recel:

The way I see it is, that we are NOT expandable, but the rules and missions are more important than human lives. The whole lore is riddled with quotes that suggest that the system is rigid and filled to the brim with paperwork.

So while we get every bit of support, starting from weapons to strikes, supplies and support, and even send a Pelican down for us as the ship is leaving, the number one importance isn't us, but the mission at hand.

If YOU die during the mission, they will send in the next person to finish the job... even if that "finish" means just getting out of the pod and walking two meters to the Pelican. Why? Because those are the rules of Managed Democracy, and not abiding by them is treason!

helldiver training is 15 minutes long in its entirety. irl soldiers in america have like 6 months of training. i think that shows you how valued individual life is in the games setting.

[Narky]

Yes.

Helldivers are very much considered cannon-fodder. They're the equivalent of a Suicide Squad being sent in to do jobs their higher-ups entirely expect them not to come back from.

It's the whole reason the Super Destroyer ship you're on is packed full of cryogenicly frozen Helldivers in the event a Helldiver dies they just quickly thaw another Helldiver out and send them down as a replacem-- sorry, "reinforcement". This is why the default for the character customisation has them come down with either a male or female voice and the lean/brawny body changes at random.

[Note, in-post mission dialogue from the first NPC you see on the ship after 'Return to Ship' is clicked, she will sometimes comment how 'No Friendly Fire' or 'Casualties' (if no one on the Squad dies or Teamkills) among the Helldivers is an anomaly. Meaning Helldivers are dying very often].

Also, if you happen to read the terms and conditions in the Tutorial at the end just before you pick up your cape....

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/j73WFx678p8?feature=share

The Helldiver is literally just cheap product; you agree to the Terms and Conditions by crossing the line to "become a hero" (and there's a hilarious bit at the end: by reading the terms and conditions, you're in breach of the T&C and therefor must be terminated). They've been brainwashed by propaganda to the point they THINK they're very important. They aren't - the individual doesn't matter. Helldivers are cheap to train and from the implication.

[tanjin90]

Originally posted by Blunkn:

assuming super earth's government is a competent one, i think they're used more like paratroopers/airborne rangers

i'm not sure why they would spend so much of their defence budget giving every helldiver a personal space destroyer, an arsenal of weapons and armour, and a whole crew of technicians, pilots, and political officers supporting them if they're cannon fodder

loading screen tips even make jokes like "everyone's contribution is equally important to the war, but helldivers' contributions are more important" or something along those lines

if helldivers really were cannon fodder, i'm pretty sure they'd just be given the bare minimum to complete a mission, and may not even be guaranteed exfil or resupply

So each helldiver does not get a ship, they are assigned to a ship and then placed into cryo until needed. As each diver is defrosted he is put in charge of the ship until he is no longer is a position to be in command and then the next one is defrosted.