Helldivers 2 Illuminate Return: What “Face the Unknown” Turned Out to Be (Devoid of Liberty, 7.0.0)

Update, 12 August 2026: the teaser called Face the Unknown turned out to be the Devoid of Liberty update (7.0.0). It shipped the Illuminate return on Void-mutated planets with new mission types (destroy Illuminate spires and gateways, gather data, infiltrate structures), two new enemies — the Wretch and the Crusher — SEAF platoons that deploy alongside you on any planet, a level cap raised from 150 to 300 with 15 new titles, and, the same day, the Castellan’s Creed Warhammer 40,000 Warbond (1,500 Super Credits, a separate purchase). The reading below was written from the teaser on 6 August; the sections on what the Illuminate are, where to fight them and how to farm them still hold, and every “expected” is now settled by the notes.

Void missions, the Crusher and Wretch weak points, the SEAF squad, the level 300 cap and the 15 new titles each have their own guide now.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.