Helldivers 2 players just miss out on unlocking the Orbital Napalm Barrage - after Arrowhead itself leaked the Stratagem last month

Helldivers 2 enemies.

Unfortunately, Helldivers 2 players aren't getting their new Orbital Napalm Stratagem after all, following Arrowhead itself leaking it last month. 

Back in early August, Arrowhead participated in a live stream to promote the new Helldivers 2 Escalation of Freedom update. Unfortunately, the hosts showed a then-unannounced Stratagem called the 'Orbital Napalm Barrage,' which coated a planetary area in flames for an extended period of time. That could only be good for Super Earth's troopers, surely.

Last week, the Orbital Napalm Barrage was finally dangled in front of players' faces as the reward for a new Major Order. The only catch was that players would have to eliminate 500 million Automatons to succeed, and as of yesterday, September 2, Helldivers 2 troopers unfortunately failed to eliminate the number of Automatons necessary to unlock the new Stratagem.

Fans received the in-game message from Super Earth's government seen just below, which is a brutal 'Major Order: Failure' text with nothing accompanying it whatsoever. The Helldivers 2 developer really isn't hiding the fact that players came up short in the quest to unlock the long-awaited Orbital Napalm Barrage. 

Thanks Super Earth for that message... no need to rub it in from r/Helldivers

"At least you got a message, all it did in my instance is to show me an empty map and get rid of the cursor," responds one Reddit commenter. Another feels like Arrowhead's statement reads like it's from an overly disappointed parent, while a third reply feels like Arrowhead expected players to succeed, hence the empty notification. 

As you can see below, Arrowhead has moved on pretty swiftly from the whole debacle. The new Helldivers 2 Major Order now tasks players with defending against four incoming Terminid attacks in the Jin Xi sector and holding three planets when the Major Order expires later this week: Phact Bay, Gar Haren, and Gatria. Instead of a potential Stratagem as a reward this time, players will merely net 50 Medals.

MAJOR ORDER: A massive Terminid outbreak has erupted out of the Gloom into the Jin Xi sector. Colonies in the Jin Xi sector are only weeks old, but millions of families are trapped within, awaiting emergency evacuation.All Helldivers are called to the colonies' defense. pic.twitter.com/izzscpMSYVSeptember 2, 2024

Helldivers 2 creative boss agrees the game has gotten less about "a fun, chaotic, challenging, emergent experience" and too much about "challenge and competitiveness."