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Helldivers 2 has teased an update called Face the Unknown for 12 August 2026. What is actually in it has NOT been announced: the teaser shows an armoured bear falling through a rift, and the community is split between an Illuminate push and something tied to the Warhammer 40,000 crossover landing the same day. This guide reads the teaser as an Illuminate lead because that is where the evidence points, and flags every step where that is inference rather than confirmation. PC Gamer broke down the teaser trailer as the news hook for this, noting the squids have been mostly dormant since their last big offensive. This guide covers what the Illuminate actually are for anyone who’s forgotten, where to fight them right now, how to farm the campaign efficiently, and what the update and the same-day Warhammer 40k warbond actually put in your loadout.
TL;DR
- Face the Unknown arrives 12 August 2026. Arrowhead has NOT said what is in it — the Illuminate reading comes from the teaser and community analysis, not from an announcement
- The Illuminate are Helldivers 2’s third faction, built around swarming Voteless, tanky Fleshmobs, and heavy units like Harvesters and Leviathans
- A separate Warhammer 40k crossover warbond arrives the same day, but it is not Illuminate content — the two are unrelated releases sharing a date
- Rumors of a new “Cultist” subfaction are speculation from the teaser, not a confirmed Arrowhead announcement
- Galactic War Campaigns (the evolved Major Order system) currently drive where and how Illuminate fights unlock rewards
What Are the Illuminate in Helldivers 2?
The Helldivers 2 Illuminate, sometimes called Squids or Squ’ith aliens, are an ancient alien race with a long, mysterious history. They’re the third enemy faction alongside the Terminids and Automatons, and they lean on psionic tech, energy shields, and hit-and-run tactics rather than the Automatons’ armor or the bugs’ numbers. Fights against them tend to swing between overwhelming swarms and single tough targets, which is why loadout choice matters more here than against either other faction. Community sentiment has generally leaned toward the Illuminate being the least varied of the three factions until recent additions filled that out.
| Unit | Role | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Voteless | Swarm | Voteless Hordes swarm and distract players, drawing attention from main threats. |
| Watcher | Scout | The best strategy is to eliminate Watchers preemptively before they alert enemy ships using silenced weapons, orbital strikes, or sniper shots. |
| Overseer / Crescent Overseer | Elite | The Crescent Overseer has the ability to lay barrages on Helldivers in cover. |
| Fleshmob | Brute | These Voteless monstrosities are failed experiments, surprisingly robust despite having no armor, and charge around trying to trample nearby Helldivers. |
| Harvester | Heavy | These giant armored tripods are the Illuminate's answer to Bile Titans and are arguably the deadliest threat of the faction. |
| Stingray (Interloper) | Aerial | Jetfighters that provide Illuminate support from the sky, targeting Helldivers and lining up devastating strafing runs. |
| Leviathan | Superheavy | Huge airborne spaceships shaped slightly like trilobites that never land, firing cannons and spawning new ground forces beneath them. |
Where to Fight the Illuminate in Helldivers 2 Right Now
Illuminate engagements are tied to wherever the faction currently holds territory on the galactic war map, and that territory shifts as the community pushes Galactic War Campaigns — the system that replaced Major Orders. If you’ve been away, that overhaul changed how missions get distributed and put more weight on Super Destroyer upgrades, so it’s worth reading up on habits that used to work before 6.3 but don’t anymore before diving back in. Right now the fighting is concentrated in the lower quadrant of the galactic war map, where Illuminate fighting tends to go down, and several entire planets have been swallowed up by a spreading void. That void is the anomaly Face the Unknown is expected to expand on.
| Source | What you get | Requirement | Who it suits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Illuminate-controlled planets | Standard squid fights, samples, medals | Any current difficulty | Players who just want to fight the faction now |
| Face the Unknown campaign (Aug 12) | New story beats, likely a new enemy type | Update installed on PS5, Xbox, or PC | Players chasing new lore and content |
| Void-consumed planets | Narrative clues on the spreading anomaly | Reach the affected sectors | Lore-focused divers |
| Warhammer 40k warbond (parallel release) | New weapons and armor, unrelated to Illuminate lore | Super Credits and Medals | Players who just want new gear |
Step-by-Step: Preparing for the Illuminate's Return
Follow this sequence to get it done fast.
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1
Check the galactic war map
see which planets in the lower quadrant are currently Illuminate-held or void-consumed before you commit a loadout.
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2
Bank samples and medals now
campaign rewards and warbond unlocks both draw from the same currencies, so stock up before August 12.
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3
Review your Illuminate loadout
anti-armor for Harvesters, anything that kills Watchers fast before they signal reinforcements.
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4
Read the patch notes on launch day
Face the Unknown is light on pre-release detail, so the actual mechanics will only be confirmed once the update lands.
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5
Decide on the warbond separately
it releases the same day but is not Illuminate content, so don't wait on it to start the new campaign.
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6
Jump into the first new missions early
Galactic War Campaigns run on community progress, so early participation matters for unlocking campaign-tier rewards.
Best Illuminate Farming Methods for Samples and Medals
If your goal is grinding currency and samples while the new campaign runs, method matters more than raw kill count. For a deeper breakdown of currency sources across all three factions, the sample and medal farming guide covers routes that still hold up post-6.3.
| Method | Speed | Effort | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| High-difficulty blitz missions | Fast | High | Experienced squads chasing medals |
| Defense missions during campaigns | Moderate | Moderate | Players prioritizing campaign progress over loot |
| Retrieve/evacuation missions | Moderate | Low | Sample-focused solo or duo runs |
| Solo speedrunning | Slow | High | Players who prefer control over co-op chaos |
Face the Unknown Rewards and What the Update Unlocks
Arrowhead hasn’t detailed specific Face the Unknown rewards yet — the trailer is intentionally vague — so treat anything beyond the confirmed release date as speculation until the patch notes land. What is confirmed is the parallel Warhammer 40k warbond, which brings three of its most iconic weapons and two Imperial Guard armor sets. No price has been announced, but the source report explicitly expects it priced above a standard warbond.
The True Grit passive armor set
The Kasrkin-inspired armor coming with the crossover leans into heavier support-weapon play rather than stealth. If you want the full passive breakdown and both armor variants side by side, that’s covered in the True Grit passive guide rather than repeated here.
The “Cultists” rumor
Some outlets have floated that the figure reaching for the teddy bear in the teaser belongs to a new Illuminate subfaction nicknamed the Cultists with magic-style abilities. That’s fan and press speculation off a few frames of trailer footage, not something Arrowhead has confirmed — treat it as a leak until the patch notes say otherwise.
Note
The Warhammer 40k warbond and the Face the Unknown Illuminate update share a release date but are unrelated systems. Don’t expect crossover weapons to interact with the new squid content.
| Reward | How you get it | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| New Illuminate content (unconfirmed specifics) | Playing Face the Unknown missions post-launch | First real Illuminate expansion since last year's Super Earth invasion |
| Kasrkin-style armor with a reload/loadout passive | Warhammer 40k warbond unlock track | Changes how support-weapon builds play |
| New primary and secondary weapons | Warhammer 40k warbond unlock track | Fresh loadout options regardless of faction fought |
| Medals and Super Credits | Completing Galactic War Campaign objectives | Funds both warbonds and future unlocks |
Common Misconceptions About the Illuminate's Return
Myth: the squids were removed or abandoned
They weren’t removed, just quiet. It’s been a few months since the last time Illuminate fighting was the main focus, and not since the invasion of Super Earth have the squids been a legitimate threat to democracy. The faction has been present on the war map the whole time.
Myth: this update adds Space Marine-scale enemies or armor
Nothing official points to that. The crossover content is Kasrkin (Imperial Guard) themed, not Space Marine, and the two updates aren’t mechanically linked.
Myth: you need the warbond to access the new Illuminate content
No — Face the Unknown is a separate update tied to the galactic war campaign, and the source reporting frames them as two distinct releases landing on the same date rather than one bundled package.
Our Take: Is the Illuminate Return Worth Jumping Back In For?
Our Take
Worth checking out on day one, but keep expectations in check until the patch notes confirm what actually changed.
The Illuminate have genuinely been the thinnest faction in terms of enemy variety, so any real addition is good news on paper. The teaser is deliberately vague, though, and outlets running with the “Cultists” theory are reading tea leaves off a few seconds of footage. If you enjoy the endgame loop already, this is a fine excuse to log back in around August 12; if you’re burned out on squid fights specifically, wait for the actual patch notes before committing time. For a broader sense of what’s worth doing between major content drops, the endgame guide covers the loop outside of any single update.