Helldivers 2 New Major Order: Best Ways to Defend Planets From the Terminid’s Relentless Gloom Expansion

High Command has issued another Major Order in Helldivers 2, and this one’s different. No more sample grinding through Oshaune caves while dodging Rupture Strain bugs. This time, we’re defending seven planets from Terminid attacks while preventing Gloom expansion.

The bugs violated their unspoken ceasefire and launched coordinated strikes on Federation worlds. Crimsica and Gacrux are under siege as of writing, with mutated strains showing up outside Hive Worlds for the first time. The community failed the last MO, but we at least held Hellmire and kept Outpost Alpha operational.

Here’s how to actually contribute instead of flailing around the galaxy map, hoping democracy sorts itself out.

1. Decipher What the MO Is Actually Asking

Let’s be honest: half the reason players fail a Major Order has nothing to do with firepower and everything to do with confusion. The latest directives are clear if you take time to read them—but somehow “Defend against 7 attacks” translates to “everyone scatter and hope for the best.” This is the kind of blunder that gets entire outposts lost to bugs.

With Crimsica and Gacrux already besieged, expect those fronts to keep evolving over the next week. Fail to defend one, and you’re looking at a fresh pair of invasions on adjacent worlds as the bugs swing deeper into Federation territory. Knock back their first push, and you might just buy time to regroup and counterattack. The war won’t wait for stragglers.

So before you even gear up, check the galactic map. Make sure your squad’s landing on a planet that truly matters to the order, not just whatever’s got the highest XP farm or lowest risk. Defending the right spot now means fewer bugs rampaging through colonist bedrooms later.

2. Defense Gambits Are Your Secret Weapon

Nothing makes Super Earth’s bureaucrats prouder than a tactical two-for-one. In Helldivers 2, a Defense Gambit means recapturing the planet that serves as the point of origin for multiple enemy attacks—a single coordinated push that can abruptly end multiple sieges. It’s democracy at its laziest and most effective.

Finding these choke points, however, takes map awareness and patience. Look for planets that connect to multiple contested worlds. The enemies aren’t random; they follow logical attack patterns that you can disrupt if you think past the next reinforcement call.

Execute this correctly, and your squad helps defend multiple planets in fewer successful operations. Ignore it, and you can keep playing whack-a-mole with an enemy that breeds faster than you can kill them.

Remember: the enemy adapts, so Helldivers need to stay even shadier.

3. The Helldivers Companion App Isn’t Optional Anymore

If you’re not running the Helldivers 2 Companion app (or haven’t even heard of it), you’re fighting with one hand tied behind your back. This godsent of a fan project taps directly into the game’s API to reveal hidden data that would otherwise overwhelm the UI of the in-game war map.

The app shows real-time population distribution, liberation percentages, supply line connections, and attack timers that remain invisible in-game. For the current Major Order, you can zoom into the Terminid front and look for planets marked with shield icons. These indicate active defense campaigns that require your immediate attention.

Now, new users might find the interface overwhelming at first, but know that persistence will pay off. Start with the galactic map overview, then drill down into specific sectors. Within a few sessions, your brain automatically filters relevant information while ignoring unnecessary data streams.

4. Track and Leverage the Democracy Space Station

Now that you’re out of the tunnels and back onto actual planetary surfaces, don’t forget the Democracy Space Station. This floating fortress does more than just look fancy: wherever DSS parks itself, you’ll find the highest Helldiver population, meaning more support and more bodies funneled toward the right objective.

Want results fast? Check where the DSS is orbiting and follow suit, especially when the station’s passive boosts kick in. These progress aids aren’t just for show. Collective voting can unlock bonus support, speed up campaign progress, and help struggling squads close the gap in territory defense.

Keep one eye on Companion for population stats, another on DSS for active boosts, and know when to go where the action is!

5. Objective Over Everything (Sample FOMO is Out)

Tempting as it is to hunt every bug breach, patrol, or glowing sample, discipline wins wars. Your stratagem cooldown and reinforcement supply have limits, especially on the higher difficulties of the game, where patience and precision trump all.

Drop in and sweep the main objectives first. If an enemy patrol isn’t on your route to the goal, resist the urge and save your squad’s energy and ammunition for what counts. Too often, lost squads hemorrhage lives chasing the wrong firefight.

Your squad’s mission: drop in, scour, complete, extract. Samples, ordnance, heroics—these are all secondary to ending the bug threat and keeping the front lines intact for civilization’s survival.

6. Bring the Right Tools for Those Rupture Bugs

The Rupture Strain bugs are no longer a Gloom-exclusive nightmare. Arrowhead has now let them loose on standard Gloom-adjacent planets, too. These digging, burrowing kill-machines pop up where you least expect them; sometimes right under your boots, sometimes disturbingly close to the extraction point.

Bring gear designed for crowd control, mobility, and surprise attacks. Laser-powered weapons, napalm air strikes, and plenty of explosive ordnance are your best friends. To that end, don’t forget to check out our specialist Rupture Strain loadout guide for the latest (and practical) tips on how to keep your team alive.

Wiping the bugs might be fun, but as this Major Order proves, real democracy only arrives with discipline, a functional comms app, and maybe some luck. Success means coordinated play, disciplined objectives, and knowing which planet holds the fate of civilization.

Here’s a brief of everything we have gone through so far:

Which planet is giving your squad the biggest headache? Are the new Rupture Strain bugs ruining your morale, or inspiring superior teamwork? Let us know in the comments below!