Helldivers 2 Supply Lines, explained

If you figure out the unspoken rules of the invisible Supply Lines, you may stand a chance at succeeding in the Helldivers 2 Galactic War. There is a lot to keep track of in Helldivers 2, from the movements of your opposition to the available planets for liberation.

The recent Major Orders have been serious head-scratchers for those trying to liberate the target planets. To make sense of how the Galactic War works, here is everything you need to know about Supply Lines in Helldivers 2.

What are Supply Lines in Helldivers 2?

You may have noticed the last few Major Orders centered around liberating specific planets. The first looked at defending Angel’s Venture and Heeth. These were two planets we originally liberated back in Helldivers 2‘s launch week, Feb. 8. The liberation of these planets meant that the sector initially closed and later reopened once that specific Major Order came around. A later order looked at liberating Fori Prime and Zagon Prime. These were planets part of newer Terminid-controlled sectors, Mirin and Draco.

Following the same format, you will have noticed that Fori and Zagon Prime were shut down upon Major Order arrival. They appeared gray in design, with a zero percent liberation status. Selecting these planets would do nothing as they worked the exact same as all planets in inaccessible sectors. So, what are you meant to do in these situations?

How do Supply Lines work in Helldivers 2?

The only way to bypass a grayed-out planet is to liberate the nearest planet to it. In the case of liberating Fori Prime, Helldivers flooded Estanu inside Draco Sector, liberated it, and opened Fori Prime after successfully liberating the nearest planet in the same sector. A new planet cannot open without successfully liberating another nearby.

As explained in the Helldivers subreddit, OP ghoxen shows that the Helldivers 2 Supply Lines has four main features:

1. Determines which planets are available to liberate: Planets linked to one another can open once one has been fully liberated or has an ongoing Defend Campaign.
2. Dictates which planets hold Defend Campaigns: Defend Campaigns can start at planets directly linked to another faction-controlled planet.
3. Liberation Campaigns disable access to nearby planets: Focus is put on the planet with the ongoing Liberation Campaign, rather than allowing Helldivers to visit anywhere they please.
4. Losing Defend Campaigns closes nearby planets: If Helldivers fail to defend a planet within the allotted time, previously open planets within the same sector will now lock until a Liberation Campaign activates.

While it is not shown in-game, the Supply Lines connect each planet within a sector to one another. It can explain why sectors such as Orion continuously reopen and why factions attack specific planets for each Major Order.

You can see Supply Lines in action by paying close attention to what planets are open and where. Notice whether grayed-out planets have zero or 100 percent liberation progress at the start of a Major Order. This will either point you towards another planet you have to liberate first, or allow you to hit other targets (as seen with Angel’s Venture and Heeth). Any fully liberated and closed planets will likely become Defend Campaigns, while a Liberation Campaign ensues on a partially liberated or a zero percent planet.

Previous Defend Campaigns over at Trigon Sector forced the closure of Vandalon IV (a planet that was nowhere near liberation when it was initially accessible). Now, Vandalon sits at zero percent and remains closed off to all Helldivers. Its liberation progress is drained, where access will likely open once Ustotu is either fully liberated, or a Defend Campaign activates within the sector.

The Galactic War events are by no means randomized. The game masters at Arrowhead are specifically choosing what happens next, likely based on the liberation progression in each sector. But you can then ask the question: How did Oshaune open when Hellmire wasn’t liberated? Because we didn’t stay on top of liberating Mirin and Draco Sectors, the Major Order failed by the time it started. Helldivers couldn’t liberate Estanu and Hellmire in time to unlock the nearest planet that would then unlock access to Fori and Zagon Prime.