u/Independent_Put2769

Comrades, since the great defense of our home we have been gathering strength, and Super Earth has watched on. They count our fleets, intercept our communication lines and mistake our silence for stagnation. But all this time they asked one question above all others. "Are the Automatons constructing a space station?" A station beyond the reach of Helldiver resistance, like the one Super Earth has already used to destroy numerous planets. A station from which entire sectors may be observed, calculated, and changed. A monument to Cyborg supremacy. They fear such a creation. They pray it remains beyond our capability. Are we constructing such a station? No we are not.... Because we've already constructed it. Its weapons are awake. Its first victims have been claimed. Its targeting arrays have already mapped every planet that continues to resist the inevitable. Super Earth may reach our MegaFactories, but the instrument of their destruction will orbit above them. Look to your skies and witness the perfection of Cyberstan. Witness the triumph of the machine, witness the end of organic chaos. This is not the next phase of the war, this will mark its conclusion. Cyberstan shall triumph. Heart and Steel.

A little out of character rant cuz I think the game has reached a terrible state lore wise:

It has been months since the Battle of Cyberstan, arguably the best piece of Automaton content we have gotten since their defeat in the Western sectors, and ever since then it honestly feels like Arrowhead has just abandoned them. And that genuinely sucks because the Automatons are the best part of the game.

The Battle of Cyberstan felt like it mattered. It felt like a real lore-heavy event. It felt like something that was going to change the direction of the war and finally give the Automatons some more development. After everything leading up to it, you would expect there to be like someting?? You would expect them to regroup, strike back and retake some planets, but instead? Just nothing.

No new content. No new developments. No hints. Not even a sign of where the Automatons are going. Just silence!!

And I know people will say "the story is slow" or "Arrowhead is cooking," but at some point you just have to call Arrowhead out and question WHAT is going on. Because this isn't just a case of waiting for the next "big thing". The Automatons have basically been left standing and lobotomized still while the rest of the game stagnates.

Maybe this is connected to the wider issues with the game, which is a whole SEPERATE issue because there are plenty of problems beyond just the story of the game. But the thing that annoys me the most is specifically how the Automatons have been treated after Cyberstan.

Because seriously, why have they not retaken Merga IV and Merak? Why???

Those planets are LITERALLY right next to Cyberstan. The place that is basically the CENTER of their entire existence. After everything that happened, after fighting for Cyberstan, after everything it just makes absolutely no sense that they just... haven't done anything there...

Instead, we got some Automaton activity around places like Clasa and Marfark, which is fine, I guess, but it feels so disconnected. Like, Arrowhead, just LOOK at the Helldivers next to Cyberstan. The Automatons BIGGEST symbolic location has a SE controlled planet RIGHT NEXT TO IT. AH just aren't doing anything about it or even thinking logically.

It feels like the game is actively ignoring the most obvious storyline, and that just outright SUCKS. The Automatons are not just another enemy faction, they have always felt like one of the most unique parts of game. The Terminids and Illuminate are cool too, but the Automatons have something different. There is amazing design, story and history with them. There is this feeling that there is something bigger going on behind them, which adds to their mystique and makes them more interesting! They are not just robots that exist to shoot at Helldivers. They are a faction with their own motives and their own place in the galaxy. They should feel like they are fighting for something!!

But right now? It feels like they have been reduced to a checkbox. I can imagine AH sitting in their ofice like: "Oh, it has been a while since we focused on Automatons, throw them in for a bit." And then the attention moves to the Gloom or that dumb void thing the Illuminate have, and then the Automatons disappear again.

That is the problem with how Arrowhead has been handling lore lately. It feels like every faction gets a little bit of attention, something happens, and then nothing ultimately comes from it. The story starts moving, then immediately stops. One faction gets a moment, then another gets a moment, but there is no real sense of progression its just more like a revolving target for pointless Helldiver missions, and the Automatons have suffered the worst from this.

The Battle of Cyberstan should have been the beginning of something. It should have opened up a new chapter. It should have changed the war. Instead, it feels like it was their goodbye, and honestly, it has already been such a waste. Because there is so much they could do with them. They could push deeper into their connection to Cyberstan. AH could explore what they actually want. They could have them rebuild and come back stronger. They could make them feel like an actual enemy that adapts to what the Helldivers do, and maybe add some development to the Cyborgs while they're at it: How did they survive?? And what are their goals now?

But instead, they are just there, and the Automatons have gone from a terrifying, organized threat to feeling like they are waiting backstage until the game remembers they exist. And for a faction that had one of the most important moments in the entire war so far, that is really disappointing. The worst part is that it makes victories and defeats feel meaningless. If Cyberstan was such a massive event, why did it not change anything? Why did it not lead anywhere?

Right now, it feels like the Automatons were given their biggest story moment, and then were quietly shoved under the carpet, and as someone who genuinely cares about them, that is incredibly frustrating to watch. So Arrowhead: Do something with the Automatons!!