Helldivers 2 Major Order: How to successfully defend five planets

Helldivers, just when you thought we got rid of the Automaton for good, their ships arrived to wreak havoc across the Lacaille and Hydra Sectors. A new Major Order is in, and its everyone’s least favorite campaign—Defend. It’s time to get back out there, Helldivers.

Clock in, my dear Helldiver, as this Helldivers 2 Major Order asks you to join forces and defend at least five planets. Perhaps this is punishment for failing Phase II of Operation Swift Disassembly, but we ran it back, and sent those tin men packing. Little did we know that the Automaton planned this from the start, as the lovely animation provided by the Galactic War Console demonstrated the live attack on the northwestern side of our beautiful Sol System. There are only three days to act at the time of receiving this Major Order. We can worry about the Illuminates some other time.

How to defend at least five planets in Helldivers 2

Defend Campaigns follow a specific formula in Helldivers 2 that demands players actively visit a planet that needs defending from the invading force. Yes, we may have ignored previous orders to defend Draupnir against the Automaton, but we cannot ignore this one now, as 45 Medals are up for grabs (unless you’re a Bugdiver… then you can do what you want).

The Defend Campaign follows a Defend Planet Operation, asking us to “Repel the Automaton invasion fleet attacking this planet.” While the Operation seems new, the missions within are what we typically see against the Automaton. Stick to what you know best, Helldiver, completing missions as quickly as you can to push that Defend bar in our favor. We want the blue bar (Helldivers) to be fuller than the red bar (Automaton). If the blue bar is larger than the red, we will resume control of the planet, giving us 20 percent Major Order Overview completion.

Planets that currently have Defend Campaigns are:

• Menkent: Hydra Sector (23:22:20 remaining)
• Lesath: Lacaille Sector (23:22:40 remaining)
• Chort Bay: Lacaille Sector (23:22:30 remaining)

How to get more Defend Campaigns in Helldivers 2

Defend Campaigns don’t include a liberation bar. Instead, track your defend progress by completing missions to push the planet’s blue bar further in our favor. Once the 24 hour timer ends on the planet, control will resume either for us or the Automatons. At the time of writing, only three planets hold Defend Campaigns. Of course, once the timer ends, you may assume that a new Defend Campaign will start elsewhere. But this is not always the case.

The supply lines (although currently invisible) act as a means to see which planets will open and close upon completing a Campaign. All failed Defend Campaigns transform into Liberation Campaigns, meaning they’re removed from the Major Order Overview, regardless of whether we successfully defended it in time.

Failing to defend Chort Bay in time will likely close Penta and Choohe (nearby planets). But what about new planets with Defend Campaigns? New planets with Defend Campaigns will likely open on 100 percent liberated planets (like Vernen Wells and Aesir Pass).

The next Major Order should arrive on April 12 at 0800 hours (CT). Will we beat this one in time?