In late February, players of "Helldiver 2" suffered their greatest defeat to date in a simulated galactic war when the community's favorite planet Maleberon Creek fell to the man-made forces of the automaton faction. And now, as a new Major Order demands that democracy be restored to the sultry, perpetually twilighted jungle world, players have returned to the celestial center of the game.

"A few weeks ago, the citizens watched in horror as Maleveron Creek fell to the automatons. 'We cannot allow this travesty to continue any longer. Revenge on the fallen. Honor the heroes. Stop the theft of precious minerals. Liberate Maleveron

Maleveron has been a favorite planet of the community since the launch of Helldivers 2 and quickly garnered affection for its dingy 'Nam atmosphere. Players who fought on Maleveron were dubbed "Creek Crawlers" by the rest of the community and even earned their own nickname. Even after the planetary defense missions failed and the focus of the war shifted elsewhere, the Creek Crawlers continued to fight relentlessly, seeking to reclaim the world from the robotic threat.

Now it seems that the Creek Crawlers' faith has paid off. When I began writing this, the liberation rate for Malevelon Creek was 90.8%. This is an astonishingly fast rate by Helldivers 2 standards. Tibit-sizing the Creek, which had just failed to liberate another automaton-controlled planet, would be a morale booster for Super Earth.

The frenzy surrounding Maleveron Creek is a testament to how exciting "Helldiver 2's" approach to live-service gaming is. In fact, hardly a day goes by now that something fascinating doesn't happen in the game. Developer Arrowhead recently added Mechs, quasar cannons, and heavy machine guns to the player's extensive weapons list, bug squads have been bolstered by flying terminids, and rumors of aerial automaton gunships and snipers of alien races yet to be encountered are flying around. Additionally, after it was discovered that the game's galactic warfare was being DM'd by a single man named Joel, a fake Joel hacked the game and began dropping unannounced vehicles from the sky to assist players.